What is the difference between a reel and a jig

This gives them a bouncy feel that, along with usually! Try it with the two hornpipes in the video below! We all love to feel appreciated! Thank you so much for this article. I am blind, and I have been playing traditional Irish, Scottish, English, etc. I really like your mnemonics, although there are always exceptions to the rule. I would also like to add that even though I play at a session and enjoy it very much, I dislike the way reels are played most of the time. They are played faster than anyone could conceivably dance to them, and new people who join a session are driven from playing many times because of the speed.

These tunes need to be treated like music, not like competitions. Just saying. Thanks again for the article because I enjoyed it very much. Thank you for your comment, Barbara. That is such a pity that sheet music for traditional Irish music is not available. Traditional Irish music is still mostly learnt by ear so it is a part of the tradition, one could say.

Thank you for your interesting and informative input! Thank you so much now I can understand the difference time signatures when I am playing my Irish music —Jigs reels and Hornpipes. This is, hands down, 1 of the best simply explained traditional irish music and the corresponding dances. My daughter has some mild developmental delays language developmental delays both expressive and receptive language delays , yet she was able to conpmletely undestand your blog and all explanations.

I wish they could! The point is to allow the person reading to come away with an idea of what the differences are, so that when they listen to the music immediately afterwards they might have a better idea and be able to distinguish between them.

I can never spell particualry right, its just one of those words….. Forget all the counting and beats to the bar. But the real give away that it is a hornpipe is that each section ends with three even crochets quarter notes. Good explanations, Beanstalk. To Trad people this Discussion sounds ridiculous, yet I have a son who is big very big into Musical Theatre.

He can read music and with the aid of a keyboard learns his show songs from the dots. He was reared in a household surrounded by Trad music, and even went to Irish dance lessons for a time. We talk music regularly, yet, he still struggles to tell the difference between a jig and a reel. Thanks nigel that was a typing error on my behalf. Was thinking of word devices for saying along with a reel, how about: reel-in good-time reel-in good-time….

As a mathematician, I like the following: Jigs are "calculus calculus" Reels are "logarithm logarithm" Hornpipes are "cosine tangent secant angle".

Enroll in an Irish Step Dancing Class! Best way to know the differences is to know some steps. My nemesis is getting a reel to sound like a reel! I think "reel-in good-time reel-in good-time. But NB the recent swing discussion in all this!

Jig: 3 letters, three beats - count in threes. Crocodile, crocodile…. BIll said I forgot this: Treble jigs are called " double jigs" as well; they use the same music as light jigs, just slowed down. Asked by: Crisogono Altdorfer asked in category: General Last Updated: 21st March, What is the difference between a jig a reel and a hornpipe? Which is faster a jig or a reel? Difference between jig and reel: for non-musicians To tell whether a tune you're listening to is a jig or a reel, let your foot tap along with the music at a natural pace, then see how many fast notes you count between each tap.

If you can count to 3, it's a jig. If you can count to 4, it's a reel. How many beats does a reel have? What is a reel? In Irish dance, a reel is any dance danced to music in reel time see below. In Irish stepdance, the reel is danced in soft shoes and is one of the first dances taught to students. There is also a treble reel, danced in hard shoes to reel music.

What is the tempo of a reel? Jigs can have different personalities, so tempo can vary from about to bpm. About bpm is good for dancing.