Can someone explain the difference between a jig and a slip jig? 
The best way to keep loyalty in a man’s heart,is to keep money in his pocket 
Hi Orinda
A Jig is in 6/8 time and a Slip Jig is in 9/8 time.
Basic jig rhythm is 123 456
Basic slip jig rhythm is 1-3 456 789
The numbers in bold are where the beat is emphasised the - is where a beat is skipped.
For a good example of a slip jig try the Butterfly.
Can you explain what you mean by skipping a beat?
Hi Erik
I am describing the basic slip jig rhythm from a bodhran player’s perspective.
A skip is a beat where the stick does not hit the skin. Slip jigs are sometimes called hop or skip jigs because of that missed beat in thier rhythm.
If you are a whistle or flute player then your equivelant of a skip is when you take a short breath between two notes within a bar of a tune.
Hope this makes it clearer.
David
Just to make clear – slip jigs do not generally involve a skip in the first beat of a measure for melody instruments. That might be one way to play them, but it is not the only way to play them.
My understanding is that hop jigs are not quite the same thing as slip jigs, but it’s one of those subtle distinctions that’s very hard to pin down, much like the difference between single jigs and slides, or that between Newfoundland singles and polkas.
The tune types are named for the type of dance that goes with them: a slip jig has a slip step, a hop jig has a hop step. Hop jigs are usually played a bit faster than slip jigs. The beat count is 123-456-789.
djm
Talking of beats and bodhrans, I’m learning a reel beat that goes:
12345678
I’ve come across the same thing on the fiddle. It drives the tune along.
Double Jig rhythms we’re learning more like:
123 456
Hi Colomon.
You are correct in that there is no missed beat in the melody of a slip jig. The missed beat on the drum is to allow it to ring for two beats in the bar, the equivelant of a holding a note for two beats in the bar.
If you are playing along with a mouth blown instrument such as a flute or whistle then putting a skip in where the player is taking a short breath or a stop where she/he is taking a deeper breath sounds better than just bashing away with no sensitivity to the tune or the player you are accompanying.
I suggested the Butterfly as it is a lovely tune, is definately a flute/whistle tune and incorporates skips and stops within it.
David
I have seen slip jigs in 12/8. Sometimes I think they do those things just to confuse me.
A jig in 12/8 is not a slip jig. It is called a slide, and has its own very distinct rhythm.
djm
Ahh. thanks. The ones I saw must have been mislabeled.
Hey, Martin! How are you going about learning that reel beat? I’ve been pushing away at that for what seems like an eternity but still can’t seem to get it thru my thick head. Anyweird, I love the emphasis on the 1,4, & 7 – it really gives that sort of lolloping feeling – but I’m wondering if I’m too mired in three classical decades of hitting just the 1 & 5.
So boring! Argh! Help!
Hi Cathy
but I’m wondering if I’m too mired in three classical decades of hitting just the 1 & 5.
Try 3 and 7 instead. It will fit in with a lot of Irish reels and give you break from the classical 1 and 5.
David
I trust you’re not holding rigidly to any one rhythm emphasis. Mix them up. It’s even more effective that way. 
Listen for where changing the emphasis helps the tune along. You don’t want it getting too predictable.
Tony
Thanks, Davy … I ultimately want to be able to put emphasis wherever it seems right, but … how? Right now I’m really pushing with my breath (which of course sounds like dukey – I play flute, BTW) to try to put a pulse on it, but even still, retraining my brain is not going well. Basically, I can’t seem to figure out how to reprogram my built-in metronome. But thanks for the tip. I’ll keep plugging away, because I think it’s about the most important thing a non-trad-baby like me can do to get “closer to right.”
(At least this year 
)
At the end of the day,or the start..
It’s something that you FEEL
Slan,
D.
Hi Cathy
Hope that you can add to the metronome programming (not reprogramming it). I made the suggestion that you use 3 and 7 as this is the most common ground rhythm for reels in the the subsections of ITM that I am most familiar with - the Ulster styles.
TonyHiggens is right in saying that you should be able to mix the two at will, but this will usually be in a set of reels, individual tunes will normally be one or the other. For example St Annes reel would suit 1 and 5 whereas Toss the Feathers suits 3 and 7.
Please note that this is a gross generalisation of the the actual rhythm of both these tunes. Dubhlinn is quite correct in that the tune should tell you its rhythm naturally.
If you have access to a reasonably accomplished percussionist try working on a few sets of tunes with him/her, this will help you with your metronome.
Enjoy your playing.
David
I don’t know. I just play what I feel would be right… sometimes I imagine a beat in my head, etc. I don’t really know. Of course, like most musicians, I started on a non-traditional instrument like a normal flute with common time, etc… so it’s a little challenging to me to get the “feel”
Yeah, unfortunately when I try to play what I seem to “feel” it all too often translates into something that SOUNDS … mildly schizophrenic? Manic depressive?
Anyway, thanks for the tips. I’ll keep chugging.