What time signature is an Irish jig?

6/8. Six eighth notes to the bar, grouped in two threes, with the first note of each group played longer and stronger than the two that follow.

How do you count a jig?

Two beats to the bar with three notes on each. Count 1 2 3, 2 2 3. The mnemonic most teachers use is "rashers and sausages" repeated quickly, which puts the stress in the right place without you having to think about it.

What is the difference between a jig and a slip jig?

A jig has two groups of three notes per bar in 6/8. A slip jig has three groups of three in 9/8, so it feels like a jig with an extra group added, which gives it a lift and a slight sense of falling forward.

What is the difference between a double jig and a single jig?

Both are in 6/8. A double jig plays three even eighth notes twice per bar. A single jig plays a quarter note followed by an eighth, twice per bar, so it has four notes to the bar rather than six. Single jigs are rare, around 1% of the tradition.

How fast should a jig be played?

54 to 62 bars per minute, which is 108 to 124 dotted quarter notes on a metronome. Set the metronome to the dotted quarter, not the eighth note, or you will be out by a factor of three.

930 tunes

Irish jigs

The jig is the oldest form here and the second most common. Six notes to the bar in two groups of three, with the weight on the first note of each group. Say "rashers and sausages" three times quickly and you have the rhythm.

Time signature: 6/8
How you count it: Two beats to the bar, three notes on each. Count 1 2 3, 2 2 3.
Session tempo: 54 to 62 bars per minute (108 to 124 dotted quarter notes)
Structure: 8 bars per part, almost always AABB
Share of the tradition: 18.1% of all tunes, 21.8% of tunes played at sessions

Where the jig came from

The jig has a longer lineage than the reel and a much shakier paper trail. The word probably comes from the French giguer, to jump, or the Italian giga. It was known as a dance in sixteenth century England, often in 12/8 rather than 6/8.

The usual claim that it arrived in Ireland in the mid sixteenth century rests on one letter from Sir Henry Sidney to Elizabeth I praising the jigs of Galway. That is thin evidence, and "jig" in sixteenth century English does not reliably mean the 6/8 tune an Irish player means today.

How a jig is built

Two 8-bar parts, each repeated. Jigs are the most regular tune type in the tradition, which is part of why they are taught first.

Playing jigs on banjo and mandolin

This is the one thing teachers openly disagree about, and it is worth knowing that before you pick a side. Marla Fibish and Danny Carnahan both teach DUD DUD, a downstroke on every pulse, which puts the accent where the rhythm wants it. Carnahan says it stops a jig "galumphing like a misbehaving horse". Against that, Enda Scahill devotes lesson two of his free course to "Breaking the Picking Rules", and players on Chiff and Fipple argue that habitual DUD limits your options as the tempo rises. Tim Connell refuses to prescribe at all and builds the jig up from downstrokes only. Connell also names why jigs defeat people who can already play reels: almost everyone arrives with years of 4/4 behind them and no experience of 6/8 at all.

Every jig in the library

930 jigs, each with tab already written. The 17 that turn up most often at sessions are first.

Showing all 930 jigs

FAQ

Questions about Irish jigs

6/8. Six eighth notes to the bar, grouped in two threes, with the first note of each group played longer and stronger than the two that follow.
Two beats to the bar with three notes on each. Count 1 2 3, 2 2 3. The mnemonic most teachers use is "rashers and sausages" repeated quickly, which puts the stress in the right place without you having to think about it.
A jig has two groups of three notes per bar in 6/8. A slip jig has three groups of three in 9/8, so it feels like a jig with an extra group added, which gives it a lift and a slight sense of falling forward.
Both are in 6/8. A double jig plays three even eighth notes twice per bar. A single jig plays a quarter note followed by an eighth, twice per bar, so it has four notes to the bar rather than six. Single jigs are rare, around 1% of the tradition.
54 to 62 bars per minute, which is 108 to 124 dotted quarter notes on a metronome. Set the metronome to the dotted quarter, not the eighth note, or you will be out by a factor of three.

The other tune types

Each one counts differently and runs at a different speed.

Reels601 tunes · 4/4

The reel is the backbone of an Irish session.

Hornpipes291 tunes · 4/4

A hornpipe is written like a reel and played nothing like one.

Slip jigs113 tunes · 9/8

Nine notes to the bar in three groups of three.

Set dances29 tunes · Usually 4/4 or 6/8

Set dances break the 8-bar rule on purpose.

Airs36 tunes · Free

An air has no strict metre.

Tempo ranges, structure percentages and repertoire shares from Alan Ng,irishtune.info Irish Traditional Music Tune Index. Historical sources are named in the text.