A Mel Bay Publications, Inc. Webzine
June 2006 · Bimonthly
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In this issue: How To Fake Your Way Through V to I or I to IV Chord Changes With The Harmonized Scale... | Beginning Irish Tenor Banjo: Jigs |
Find a Mentor; Be a Mentor | Vinnie Mondello: Bringing Old Banjos Back To Life Print this Article (PDF) Email Article to a Friend 
Beginning Irish Tenor Banjo: JigsThe term "Irish Jig" may be a redundancy because tunes in 6/8 timing are almost always considered Irish even when they are not. In our weekly session we always have a period when we play "Jigs Are Us." The rules of the game are simple, we go around the circle and everyone has to play a jig set of two or more jigs until we run out of jigs to play. The game can last for 60 minutes on a good night. Jigs are fun to play on the banjo, but for a beginner they can offer some challenges. The first one is that most beginners know one jig, "The Irish Washerwoman", which is one of the most difficult to play and, while a neat tune, was written for an English stage play. They try it and then give up because it requires a lot of precise fingering, especially at high speed. The second problem is often found in sessions, speed. When played in sessions, jigs are usually at Warp 7 and it is easy to get lost. If you played a jig at those speeds for dancers, you will kill someone. Jigs are meant to be played at moderate speeds or even slowly (if you play for step dancers the tempo is around 75 bpm for good dancers) so the real beauty of the tunes can be heard. Play too fast and they all sound alike. 6/8 time is not easy for someone whose first music is Bluegrass or Old Time. There are very few jigs in those styles of music and the timing is strange, especially if you are trying to feel the lilt at the same time. I know very good musicians who still take a little time to get the jig rhythm in their heads before they play because they are used to the 4/4 reel timing. I always think in terms of fruit: a bar of jig music is "PINEapple, PINEapple" in my head while a reel is "WAtermelon, WAtermelon." The differences are very distinct. The biggest problem is learning how to use the pick in a jig. DUDUDU Vs. DUD DUDNo, I am not stuttering. Probably the biggest argument in lists such as www.mandolincafe.com, www.thesession.org, and www.banjohangout.org is whether you should use a picking sequence of alternating strokes (DUDUDU) or should you emphasize the first part of the three note half of a bar with a downstroke (DUD DUD.) Each side has its proponents, but for a beginner it is too hard to make the decision. If you start to look at your hand while you are playing to see if you are doing one or the other, you will do neither and will just mess the whole thing up. I recommend that you ignore all of these discussions until you are confident enough to hear and play the music. Once you get the lilt and the timing right, the "correct" pick sequence will reveal itself to you automatically. The truth is that the best players use both or whatever is needed. Playing jigs is like a chess game, you have to plan ahead a little if you want to play the jig smoothly and you will have to make sure that you are ready to put in your ornaments when your pick is going in the right direction, usually on a downstroke. This also means that you have to practice jigs a lot more than you would practice reels or hornpipes because they latter are a lot more predictable and you can change ideas in midstream without penalty. Crosspicking A good example is in the tune "Paddy O'Rafferty" in which the first note of the first bar is played on the A string and the next two notes are on the E string. The initial D note is struck with a downstroke which continues on to hit the F# on the E string. The third note in the triplet (this is not an ornament triplet but a triplet of eighth notes) is also an F# and it is hit on an upstroke. The upstroke continues and the C# note is hit. Right after the C# is hit, another downstroke is started but this time on the E note on the E string. This triplet is ended with another upstroke. It is easier to show you than to tell you. Paddy O'Rafferty If you are able to do this, you are doing what Gerry O'Connor calls "Staying in the hole" or the space between the two strings which is the most efficient way to play smoothly and quickly. After a lot of practice you can produce a pulsing rhythm that is typical of crosspicking and especially of jigs. Rock players call this "economy picking" (see http://www.jrsmoots.com/guitarlessons/ ) and it is a very common technique in both reels and jigs. Another technique is to start on the downstroke on the A string, hit the E string note with the continuation of the downstroke, pick the E string on the upstroke and then start all over again on the downstroke. This can produce a very jiggy feel to the music and if you are going to throw in an ormament, then this is the best way to go. Paddy O'Rafferty w/ Ornamental Triplets 
Here is another example using the fourth part of the common session tune "Lark in the Morning". Lark in the Morning 
Don"t just take my word for it, here is Tom Hall playing a John Carty composition called the "Seanamhac Tube Station" (found on John"s album "Yeh, that's all it is.") Seanamhax Tube Station 
Tom Hall taught banjo at the St. Louis Tionol (www.tionol.org) this year and is a good friend of John Carty's. Tom Hall Banjo Class Here is John Carty playing "Cuiledgh Jig" (sp?) I've included a short clip of John's grip which I think I got wrong in my article on the right hand (I showed the first finger too loose, compare it to the picture in www.banjosessions.com/aug05.righthand.html .) Ciuledgh Jig John Carty Grip References Tom Hall is a blues musician whose hidden passion is the Irish tenor banjo. His web site is www.tomhallmusic.com. Gerry O'Connor has many teaching tools out all of which can be bought at Elderly Instruments (www.elderly.com/search/elderly?terms=gerry+o%27connor&x=0&y=0). A good collection of music is the current CD by Chris Smith, Roger Landes, and Randall Bays called "Coyotebanjo". It had 44 tunes and songs on it all of which are must learn for the beginning banjo player and all are easy to play along with. You can get it from Chris Smith at http://coyotebanjo.com/products.html If you have questions, email me at mikeyes@charter.net Mike Keyes, a native of Franklin, Tennessee, has played tenor banjo since 1957 and over the years has learned to play five string banjo, mandolin, and guitar. He earned his way through college and medical school playing in bluegrass and dixieland bands and currently plays in the Irish band "Good Luck." He is an expert in sports performance and has written and book and over 200 articles on the subject. His interest in Irish music started a number of years ago when effort to learn more about his musical roots led him to the discovery of session playing. Since then he has been to Ireland to learn more about the music and has taken classes and interviewed such banjo greats as John Carty, Charlie Piggot, and Gerry O'Connor. His medical practice is in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin where he practices Psychiatry. He can be reached at mikeyes@charter.net. If you are ever in Plymouth, Wisconsin on a Wednesday night, come on by and play in the session at 52 Stafford (http://www.52stafford.com/stafford_landing.htm), he is sure to be there. [ top ]
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