Why are slip jigs are the most difficult tunes for people to understand?  Because slip jig timing is almost unheard of today, the tendency is for the listener to try to fit the slip jig melody into the more common timing of most music.  The typical practice by beginning dancers of counting out their 12345 step to a tune leads to mistakes because it doesn’t take into account the unusual timing of the slip jig.  Another method often used with beginner dancers, singing 12345 to a well-known tune, leads to the idea that slip jigs other than the particular one being sung to are strange because you can’t sing 12345 to them!

Most Irish music is in “Duple” meter, meaning you tap your foot twice per measure.  For slip jigs, you tap your foot 3 times per measure.  The highly unusual thing about slip jigs is that each of those beats is then divided into three.  To get the feel of this, you might try saying “slippery” for each time you tap your foot.  The diagram shows how the 12345 step fits into the slip jig timing.  As you can see, four of the nine divisions have no number.  This is the cause of the confusion with many young or beginning dancers, who do not yet grasp the subtlety of this syncopation.

Of course, there’s no substitute for listening.  So to improve your listening skills, view the diagram, tap your foot, and say “slippery” while you listen to slip jigs and see how the tunes fit the meter of the measure, regardless of your steps or the melody of the tune!

Related posts:

1. Light, Heavy, Single, Treble, Hop: All Jigs
2. Intro To Series: Understanding Music For Irish Dance
3. Listen For Phrases To Improve Hearing, Playing & Dancing
4. How Is A Hornpipe Different From A Reel?
5. Treble & Slip Jig or Hornpipe & Reel?