Picking patterns for reels, jigs and hornpipes

Start with the pulse

Hold the pick so it passes through the string without catching. Play quietly enough to notice uneven timing. If the forearm tightens, pause and restart more slowly.

The diagrams below are beginner exercises using continuous short notes. A tune also contains held notes, rests, pickups and ornaments. Those need to be considered within the phrase; the pattern is not an instruction to strike every subdivision.

Reels: alternate down and up

For a bar containing eight quavers, try alternating down and up. Count four quarter-note beats as 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and. Start each numbered beat with a downstroke in this exercise.

Jigs: two groups of three

For six quavers in 6/8, try D U D / D U D. Both groups begin with a downstroke. Danny Carnahan’s jig lesson teaches this grouping for mandolin; Mike Mulready’s Irish Style Tenor Banjo discusses jig accents and down-up-down picking on tenor banjo.

Count 1 and a 2 and a. After the third downstroke, return the pick without sounding a note so it is ready for the next downstroke. Keep that recovery small and relaxed.

Try this pattern with the playable 6/8 jig exercise, then choose a tune from the jig library.

Take the pattern into a tune

Jig: Out on the ocean. After its pickup, the first three main notes descend D, C, B. Practise that group, then add the next three main notes B, A, G. Leave the small grace note aside while you establish the six-note phrase.

Reel: Drowsy Maggie. Start with its first bar. The opening E is held for two quaver lengths. Count through it, then continue with B, E, D, E, B, E. Do not turn the held E into two attacks just to fill a pattern.

Use the tune player’s speed control to follow the phrase. The metronome panel names its beat unit; check that before entering a number. Our tempo guide explains the relationship between beats and bars.

Hornpipes, slip jigs and ornaments

For a hornpipe, begin with alternating strokes while listening carefully to the long-short feel. Pick direction and note length are separate decisions. Try the first phrase of The boys of Bluehill slowly before adding swing or decoration.

For a slip-jig exercise in 9/8, you can extend the jig grouping to D U D / D U D / D U D. That gives three groups of three. Treat it as an exercise to discuss with your teacher, especially at string crossings.

An ornamental triplet places three attacks inside the time being decorated. It is different from a jig’s ordinary three-quaver beat. Learn the undecorated phrase first, then check how the ornament leads into the next main note.

Can you use a different jig pattern?

Yes. Alternating D U D / U D U changes which direction starts the second group. A skilled player can still place the musical accents with that pattern. For a beginner, the repeated D U D grouping is a useful way to practise hearing two clear beats.

Keep a pattern that lets the phrase flow at a comfortable speed, and take persistent awkward crossings to a teacher. Enda Scahill’s free Jim Ward’s Jig course starts with the melody and marked picking directions before introducing ornaments.