Chords for Irish Dance Rhythms - FREE Fiddle Lesson by Kevin Burke
Tempo:
95.45 bpm
Chords used:
A
G
B
Bm
F#
Tuning:Standard Tuning (EADGBE)Capo:+0fret
Start Jamming...
[D#] [F] [G]
[N] So much of the music that I play is dance music, Irish dance music, and I've been asked
over the years lots of questions about the different dance rhythms, what makes a jig
a jig, what's the difference between a reel and a hornpipe.
So the reel and the hornpipe
are both related to each other in so far as they're both in 4-4 time, or they're usually
written in 4-4 time.
But you'll never hear a reel played with just four quarter notes
in each measure.
You know, the time signature is made up of two numbers, the top one tells
you how many notes and the bottom one tells you what kind of note, so we've got four,
four, four quarter notes.
But I sometimes think it should probably be written 8-8 because
it's always, or a lot more often, it's 8 -8th notes, not 4-quarter notes.
So we count it
one and two and three and four and.
And the ands are quite important.
So again, don't
be confused when you hear about 4-4 but you see 8 notes there.
The hornpipe, similarly,
is usually written with 8 notes in 4-4 time, but to be completely accurate you should probably
write it in 12-8.
But I'll get into that later.
So I'm going to spend a bit of time
giving you some thoughts about these different rhythms.
And I'm going to start off with the
jig.
Now everyone's heard of the Irish jig, but it may be a surprise to some people that
there's more than one jig.
Hundreds and hundreds, probably thousands of jigs.
And not only are
there thousands of jigs, there are several different types of jig.
So with the help of
this whiteboard here I'm going to try to explain some of the qualities of the jig.
Now the basic
beat of a jig is made up of three notes.
Three eighth notes, three quavers.
So I'll write these
three notes here.
And some jigs have two sets of three.
Maybe like this.
And that's the standard
jig.
Most people when they say let's play a jig, this is what they're talking about.
It's a tune
in 6-8 and it's referred to properly as a double jig.
Probably because it has two beats.
One here
and one here.
And in between the two beats there are these two notes.
Now as the jig goes on,
there'll be variations of this.
There might be a quarter note here, a crotchet.
Or it might be a
dotted note.
But this is [B] the fundamental setup for a jig.
[Bm] And if [G] you [A] miss out [D] these two notes,
they're not audible.
[Em] [A] It ceases to be a jig.
[A] [F#m] So [G] we have an emphasis [A] on this first note and on [Em] the
fourth note.
[B] They're the beat notes.
So it goes one, two, [F#m] three, four, five, six.
[Bm] Now for those
of you that read music, that's quite simple, quite straightforward.
But unfortunately
[F#] [B]
[Bm]
[F#] [B]
[D] [Bm] [G]
[N] So much of the music that I play is dance music, Irish dance music, and I've been asked
over the years lots of questions about the different dance rhythms, what makes a jig
a jig, what's the difference between a reel and a hornpipe.
So the reel and the hornpipe
are both related to each other in so far as they're both in 4-4 time, or they're usually
written in 4-4 time.
But you'll never hear a reel played with just four quarter notes
in each measure.
You know, the time signature is made up of two numbers, the top one tells
you how many notes and the bottom one tells you what kind of note, so we've got four,
four, four quarter notes.
But I sometimes think it should probably be written 8-8 because
it's always, or a lot more often, it's 8 -8th notes, not 4-quarter notes.
So we count it
one and two and three and four and.
And the ands are quite important.
So again, don't
be confused when you hear about 4-4 but you see 8 notes there.
The hornpipe, similarly,
is usually written with 8 notes in 4-4 time, but to be completely accurate you should probably
write it in 12-8.
But I'll get into that later.
So I'm going to spend a bit of time
giving you some thoughts about these different rhythms.
And I'm going to start off with the
jig.
Now everyone's heard of the Irish jig, but it may be a surprise to some people that
there's more than one jig.
Hundreds and hundreds, probably thousands of jigs.
And not only are
there thousands of jigs, there are several different types of jig.
So with the help of
this whiteboard here I'm going to try to explain some of the qualities of the jig.
Now the basic
beat of a jig is made up of three notes.
Three eighth notes, three quavers.
So I'll write these
three notes here.
And some jigs have two sets of three.
Maybe like this.
And that's the standard
jig.
Most people when they say let's play a jig, this is what they're talking about.
It's a tune
in 6-8 and it's referred to properly as a double jig.
Probably because it has two beats.
One here
and one here.
And in between the two beats there are these two notes.
Now as the jig goes on,
there'll be variations of this.
There might be a quarter note here, a crotchet.
Or it might be a
dotted note.
But this is [B] the fundamental setup for a jig.
[Bm] And if [G] you [A] miss out [D] these two notes,
they're not audible.
[Em] [A] It ceases to be a jig.
[A] [F#m] So [G] we have an emphasis [A] on this first note and on [Em] the
fourth note.
[B] They're the beat notes.
So it goes one, two, [F#m] three, four, five, six.
[Bm] Now for those
of you that read music, that's quite simple, quite straightforward.
But unfortunately
[F#] [B]
[Bm]
[F#] [B]
[D] [Bm] [G]
Key:
A
G
B
Bm
F#
A
G
B
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[D#] _ _ [F] _ _ [G] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[N] _ _ So much of the music that I play is dance music, Irish dance music, and I've been asked
over the years lots of questions about the different dance rhythms, what makes a jig
a jig, what's the difference between a reel and a hornpipe.
So the reel and the hornpipe
are both related to each other in so far as they're both in 4-4 time, or they're usually
written in 4-4 time. _ _ _ _
But you'll never hear a reel played with just four quarter notes
_ _ in each measure. _ _
_ You know, _ the time signature is made up of two numbers, the top one tells
you how many notes and the bottom one tells you what kind of note, so we've got four,
four, four quarter notes.
_ But I sometimes think it should probably be written 8-8 because
it's always, or a lot more often, it's 8 _ -8th notes, not 4-quarter notes.
So we count it
one and two and three and four and.
And the ands are quite important.
_ So _ again, don't
be confused when you hear about 4-4 but you see 8 notes there.
_ _ The hornpipe, similarly,
is usually written with 8 notes in 4-4 time, but to be completely accurate you should probably
write it in 12-8.
_ _ But I'll get into that later. _
So I'm going to spend a bit of time
_ giving you some thoughts about these different rhythms.
And I'm going to start off with the
jig.
Now everyone's heard of the Irish jig, but it may be a surprise to some people that
there's more than one jig.
_ _ Hundreds and hundreds, probably thousands of jigs.
And not only are
there thousands of jigs, there are several different types of jig.
_ _ So with the help of
this _ whiteboard here I'm going to try to explain _ some of the qualities of the jig.
Now the basic
beat of a jig is made up of three notes.
_ _ Three eighth notes, three quavers.
_ _ So _ I'll write these
three notes here.
_ _ And some jigs have two sets of three.
_ Maybe like this.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
And that's the _ standard
jig.
Most people when they say let's play a jig, this is what they're talking about.
It's a tune
in 6-8 _ _ _ and it's referred to properly as a double jig.
Probably because it has two beats.
One here
and one here.
_ _ _ _ And in between the two beats there are these two notes.
_ Now as the jig goes on,
_ _ there'll be variations of this.
There might be a quarter note here, a crotchet.
Or it might be a
dotted note.
_ _ But this is [B] the fundamental _ setup for a jig.
_ [Bm] And if [G] you [A] miss out [D] these two notes,
they're not audible.
[Em] _ [A] It ceases to be a jig.
[A] [F#m] So _ [G] we have an emphasis [A] on this first note and on [Em] the
fourth note.
[B] They're the beat notes.
So it goes one, two, [F#m] three, four, five, six.
[Bm] Now for those
of you that read music, that's quite simple, quite straightforward.
But unfortunately_ _ _ _
_ _ [F#] _ _ [B] _ _ _ _
_ [Bm] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [F#] _ _ _ _ _ [B] _ _
[D] _ _ [Bm] _ _ _ _ [G] _ _
[D#] _ _ [F] _ _ [G] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[N] _ _ So much of the music that I play is dance music, Irish dance music, and I've been asked
over the years lots of questions about the different dance rhythms, what makes a jig
a jig, what's the difference between a reel and a hornpipe.
So the reel and the hornpipe
are both related to each other in so far as they're both in 4-4 time, or they're usually
written in 4-4 time. _ _ _ _
But you'll never hear a reel played with just four quarter notes
_ _ in each measure. _ _
_ You know, _ the time signature is made up of two numbers, the top one tells
you how many notes and the bottom one tells you what kind of note, so we've got four,
four, four quarter notes.
_ But I sometimes think it should probably be written 8-8 because
it's always, or a lot more often, it's 8 _ -8th notes, not 4-quarter notes.
So we count it
one and two and three and four and.
And the ands are quite important.
_ So _ again, don't
be confused when you hear about 4-4 but you see 8 notes there.
_ _ The hornpipe, similarly,
is usually written with 8 notes in 4-4 time, but to be completely accurate you should probably
write it in 12-8.
_ _ But I'll get into that later. _
So I'm going to spend a bit of time
_ giving you some thoughts about these different rhythms.
And I'm going to start off with the
jig.
Now everyone's heard of the Irish jig, but it may be a surprise to some people that
there's more than one jig.
_ _ Hundreds and hundreds, probably thousands of jigs.
And not only are
there thousands of jigs, there are several different types of jig.
_ _ So with the help of
this _ whiteboard here I'm going to try to explain _ some of the qualities of the jig.
Now the basic
beat of a jig is made up of three notes.
_ _ Three eighth notes, three quavers.
_ _ So _ I'll write these
three notes here.
_ _ And some jigs have two sets of three.
_ Maybe like this.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
And that's the _ standard
jig.
Most people when they say let's play a jig, this is what they're talking about.
It's a tune
in 6-8 _ _ _ and it's referred to properly as a double jig.
Probably because it has two beats.
One here
and one here.
_ _ _ _ And in between the two beats there are these two notes.
_ Now as the jig goes on,
_ _ there'll be variations of this.
There might be a quarter note here, a crotchet.
Or it might be a
dotted note.
_ _ But this is [B] the fundamental _ setup for a jig.
_ [Bm] And if [G] you [A] miss out [D] these two notes,
they're not audible.
[Em] _ [A] It ceases to be a jig.
[A] [F#m] So _ [G] we have an emphasis [A] on this first note and on [Em] the
fourth note.
[B] They're the beat notes.
So it goes one, two, [F#m] three, four, five, six.
[Bm] Now for those
of you that read music, that's quite simple, quite straightforward.
But unfortunately_ _ _ _
_ _ [F#] _ _ [B] _ _ _ _
_ [Bm] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [F#] _ _ _ _ _ [B] _ _
[D] _ _ [Bm] _ _ _ _ [G] _ _