Well I thought I would start a thread for all things to do with Jigs. What are your favourite Jigs? Links to favourite videos, other people or your own versions, mandolin or any related instrument. Tips, tricks and even arguments on picking patterns! Here is a current favourite of mine. The Lilting Banshee played on my Jimmy Moon mandolin.
Nice one, James - definitely lilting! I like the pace too, as also The White Petticoat.
Thanks John. My speed increased just before the finish line - camera nerves again. I should have used the metronome.
My own white petticoat - no, wait , my own White Petticoat is next door at the SAW group *, but my favourites are these: Calliope House can be a problem in sessions, because approx. half the players do it with A/B parts exchanged and you always hit them unawares with the next tune. Nothing helps but a loud Hup!! * has me thinking: what would happen if a Scot wore a white petticoat under his kilt?
Come now, Bertram, you must know that a true Scotsman would have no nether garments under the kilt, which of course allows us to quote the famous exchange between naive non-Scottish lady and kilted Highlander: She: Excuse me, my man, but is anything worn beneath your kilt? He: No, ma'am, I can assure you everything is in perfect working order! By the way, both Calliope House and Petticoat seem to be in perfect working order in your playing above!
everything is in perfect working order!
one of my favs as well james, i enjoy playing it slow , theres a sadness to it played that way that i like. lovely bertram, still working on the petticoat myself, a strange but nice tune my contribution after a few delicious armagh ciders east at glendart/ brian o'lynns i chickened out at trying to complete the set with pay the reckoning
the full set , playing along with a flute player on youtube, at a time when i thought a beard would improve my playing i only play for my own amusement at home,so this is about as close as i got to playing in a session, i really must take the leap but lack of confidence always gets the better of me
Now Lawrence, that is much better than you need to be to stand your ground in a session. That alleged lack of confidence is but a petty illusion. Take the plunge and you'll find out how playing can improve your beard
I would second what Bertram says above, G. You play more than well enough to play along with others. Playing live with others can actually be a bit less restricting than playing to a recording - the recording goes on without pause or adapting to your possible slight variations in time or phrasing, whereas playing live with others creates a sort of dynamic where the players feed off each other to quite an extent.
Great triplets Lawrence. I've had to impose a temporary ban on them in my playing as it's been causing havoc with my timing.
I too love 'The Lilting Banshee', one of my favourites, here is a rough recording from my phone of me playing it on my bouzouki as a change up to the mandolin, I feel the bouzouki gives it a real drive!
The bouzouki does drive the tune well, but then so do you in your playing! Great performance.
Thanks John, it's interesting to hear the difference the bouzouki can make in some tunes ,Would love to see some pictures of your instruments, I have two uncles who are makers and am developing an interest in it myself.
Just before the day ends, I felt like posting one more of my favourite jigs, I'm a new member of the cafe but long time reader so I enjoy posting videos for once. The Rambling Pitchfork, classic tune played a lot in sessions. (sorry about the short noodling at the start)
Fantastic performance. Inspired me to tune up my bouzouki to GDAE from GDAD. Can't match your playing though!
Hello everyone, I'm excited to see that a Celtic mando group had started here at the Cafe. Thank to MacAoidh for starting it. AFA jigs, here is a set that I did for the Song A Week group. Not necessarily my favourites, but certainly mainstays: Thanks to the SAW, my new fave is White Petticoat, but I haven't recorded it yet (maybe this weekend.) I look forward to hanging out here. - CMD
Great stuff. You must have attended a lot of sessions to play like that.
Really lovely celtic dude - and great whistle playing. My own attempts to learn the whistle keep stalling.
Cheers James, I actually haven't played in many sessions I'm just trying to build up my tune bank before going full out, I've been to loads of them though and have met a lot of the top players at the trad fests and stuff so once I get enough tunes ready I'll be going for it. Do you play much yourself?
nice playing CelticDude, Love the track, what did you use to record?
Thanks James, and Ambrian. I use a Tascam Portastudio for the audio, whatever camera is handy for the video, and put it all together in PowerDirector.
Fine playing from both of you, Ambrian and CelticDude. Liked the split screen on the mandolin/whistle combination, CD! Ambrian, you can see some of my instruments if you have a look at my website: http://www.luthierjohn.co.uk
Ambrian - like you I am trying to expand my tune bank but also my speed as the local session is fairly brisk. I've banned triplets from my playing which has helped and I can get to session speed on a jig but reels are still a challenge. It doesn't help that I keep getting distracted by a local bluegrass jam and the fact I've just bought a piano accordion!
James- Yeah because I have played in a few sessions and have been told by a few top players that you need to know loads of tunes to be playing all the time, but in terms of playing I'm grand, and yeah I'm playing a lot of low whistles these days as well, but i always get a few hours of mandolin/bouzouki in, I've nothing else to be doing!
Cheers John!
Ambrianbrosia, nicely played Lilting banshee. That's a mighty fine looking zouk you're playing. What make is it? Sláinte!
I like the 5-part jigs - The Frieze Britches, Dr. O'Neill's and the Slip Jig Kid on the Mountain...
Kyle Baker, cheers, it's an APC bouzouki I got in waltons recently for 450 on sale, it's pretty nice alright, had some issues when I first bought it but got it all sorted now, what do you play?
A few jigs... Merrily Kissed the Quaker and The Kesh
A couple of Slip Jigs: The Kid on the Mountailn and The Foxhunter's
And a couple of 5-parters... Old Man Dillon and The Frieze Britches
Banish Misfortune...
CelticDude, that's a very nice-sounding whistle. What brand is that? Thanks - Mike. EDIT: okay, got it - brass Burke. Can you tell me if it's narrow or session bore then please?
one of my favorites
Great playing Lawrence, as usual. I love the tune. I've not heard it before, scary title. Some interesting discussions on the session about the origins of this expression. Happily mythical folklore rather that psychotic mass murderer. I'd love to learn it but I pitched up at our local Irish session with a mandolin this week and managed about 5 tunes in a 2 hour session so I'm concentrating on the tunes that crop up in this session for the time being. I think if I suggested this one as a newbie, from its title they might get the wrong impression of me!
thanks James, i like the story which goes with it myself.
I suspect the saying just provides a reason for doing something pleasant more than once, similar to the German saying "you can't stand on one leg" (*), as in - "should I have another drink?" "pull the knife and stick it again" - "should we play another round of this tune?" "pull the knife and stick it again" - ... * optional: further mystification by saying "I am not Ian Anderson nor are you"
I have been playing Mandolin abiut 5 weeks . Just having a break from the fiddle. I found the pete Loud collection of Northumbrian, Tyneside & other fiddle tunes . This one is called Coffee Bridge Jig composed by Billy Pigg . I am also using it is a practice piece for right hand picking technique.
5 weeks on the mandolin, but surely many years on the guitar before this or life just isn't fair Great playing and a lovely tune.
Thanks for the reply James. I played a few years on the guitar, finger picking Mississippi Delta blues. However my hearing has got really bad. In fact I now wear a bone anchored hearing aid ( BAHA ). The resonance of the guitar is to low for me now, and its just not the same when you plug in ( the guitar that is ). I think because fiddle and mandolin are upper register I've taken to it . As for the tune its a nice Northumbrian Jig. And als o warmest regards to a fellow yorkshireman ( or is that adopted yorkshireman )
I'm Scottish Yorkshire mix. My mum and all her side of the family were from Huddersfield and I went to sixth form college there. So not a true Yorkshireman but more than an adopted one, though no doubt not sufficient a claim to play for Yorkshire County Cricket under the old rules - aside form the lack of ability!
Fine playing there, Mandoritz. Clean sound and fine technique. Interesting point you make about your hearing and the frequencies which you hear better - I play along with an accordion player who has a hearing aid (and even sometimes wears it!) and he always likes when the mandolin is being used as he says he hears it better than the guitar or the bouzouki. We have been listening to some Northumbrian tunes recently as our concertina player is very keen on the music and there are indeed so many great tunes from there.
Hello James. I am also bit of a mix. Half Danish/English. Lived in Copenhagen for 10 years. A great thread concerning the jigs . Studying the various styles of playing that are posted here. Thanks John for your reply. I have not been playing long so all feedback is invaluable to me. I would love to start a string band for hard of hearing and name it something like " Deaf Metal" Nice to hear your also listening to some Northumbrian tunes also. Currently got my music book opened at Bonny Woodside ( slow march ) composed by Billy Pigg.
I only recently started DUD DUD-Jig Picking, so "Tripping up the stairs" might still sound a little wonky https://soundcloud.com/tele1310/tripping-up-the-stairs
If that's wonky I'd settle for that! If you want wonky see my version from a while back. You've done a really good job. One of my favourite Jigs and I find it one of the hardest to play. Like the introduction of the decidedly non traditional (?) telecaster.
I like the drones in your version a lot. Yes it's my old Telecaster. I have it laying around almost unused, after I quit playing in an electric band, so once in a while I use it in a more acustic context. Like in "Haste to the wedding" another favorite jig https://soundcloud.com/tele1310/haste-to-the-wedding
Love it. enough to give the traditionalists a cardiac event. I may need to dust down my own telecaster!
Watching James' zouk video once more demonstrated how far outside the tradition my own playing style seems to be. I may be playing riffs rather than drones. Here, for demonstration, Rakes of Kildare/Tenpenny Bit:
A Visit to Ireland followed by Welcome to Cork, 2 traditional Irish jigs.