I have a Chieftains CD – The Chieftains Collection, the Very Best of the Claddagh Years, volume 2 – that has on track one a set called simply “Kerry Slides.” Does anyone familiar with this piece know the names of the three or four individual slides that make up this set. The liner notes do not give the individual tunes in this set.
This piece originally appeared in 1989 on Claddagh’s “The Chieftains Live” album.
Thanks.
I think they’re usually just called Kerry slides. If they have individual names, I haven’t heard them. Pretty standard session fare, I think.
I’m not sure what the definition of a “Slide” is but I like them. “O’Keeffes”, “Art O’Keefes”, “Jim Keefes” are all great music. “Sweeney’s” is a great piece that may also be a slide. A long time ago I heard “Kerry Slides”…can’t remember how the track went, except that it was great music. If you have any luck please let us know.
I’m not sure what the definition of a “Slide” is but I like them. “O’Keeffes”, “Art O’Keefes”, “Jim Keefes” are all great music. “Sweeney’s” is a great piece that may also be a slide. A long time ago I heard “Kerry Slides”…can’t remember how the track went, except that it was great music. If you have any luck please let us know.
“Slide” is a regional term for single jig (12/8 time), if I got that right.
And some of those “slides” I mentioned earlier are actually polkas.
And some of those “slides” I mentioned earlier are actually polkas.
OK – I’m doing it the hard way. I searched JC’s ABC tune finder using just “slide” (“Kerry Slide” only gave me two tunes --Muskerry slides 1 and 2) and I got over 300 hits, although there are multiple hits per tune. So I’m going through them one at a time.
The first slide in the set is Jack kelly’s Slide; the last one is either Denis Murphy’s Slide or Gleanntan Slide (They seem to be about the same).
Now it’s back to work on the middle part. I have to go listen to it more carefully and figure out whether there is one or two more to identify.
On 2002-08-28 16:46, Bloomfield wrote:
“Slide” is a regional term for single jig (12/8 time), if I got that right.
I am reliably informed that slides are NOT the same thing as single jigs; they’re just similar.
Not that I understand the difference. My impression is that it has more to do with the style of playing than the meter.
Gonzo, it sounds like you’ve got a live version of the last track of Chieftains 3 there, in which case the middle tune is “Merrily Kiss the Quaker”.
[ This Message was edited by: colomon on 2002-08-28 23:22 ]
Jigs = 6/8 time.
Slides are played more like a double jig I believe, at any rate, generally faster and with more drive than single jigs, hop jigs or slip jigs.
Almost like the love child between a single jig, and a reel.
That’s it! – Merrily Kiss the Quaker. Thanks, colomon; you saved me a mess of looking because I was getting ready to start over at the top of the list.
It has three parts instead of just two, which is why I wasn’t sure if it was one or two tunes.
And now it’s off to the work of learning them for gonzo, but it’s going to take a lot of practice because these things are really, really fast.
On 2002-08-28 23:30, Brian Lee wrote:
Jigs = 6/8 time.
Double jigs = 6/8 (Kesh Jig)
Slip jigs = 9/8 (Kid on the Mountain)
Single jigs (Slides?) = 12/8 (Merrily Kiss the Quaker’s Wife)
Or did I get that wrong, Brian?
Query: Half Jig = 24/8? 
My understanding:
Single jig = 6/8 time with many quarter-note then eight-note beats, so that the whole thing has a “YAAAH-duh YAAAH-duh” feel to it.
Double jig = 6/8 time with mostly groups of three eighth notes beats, so that the thing has a “YAH-duh-duh YAH-duh-duh” feel.
Slip or hop jig = 9/8 time, usually played a little slower and more laid back than single or double jigs (though there are exceptions).
Slides = 12/8 time, like a double-jig only with a stronger accent on the first beat of each measure and a somewhat weaker accent on the third beat of each measure.
–James
http://www.flutesite.com
On 2002-08-29 10:31, peeplj wrote:
My understanding:Single jig = 6/8 time with many quarter-note then eight-note beats, so that the whole thing has a “YAAAH-duh YAAAH-duh” feel to it.
The difference between 6/8 and 12/8 is a matter of stress, I think, where the “first beat” goes, giving you either 2 or 4 beats per measure. If we agree that Merrily Kiss the Quaker’s Wife is a single jig, try listening for the stresses in a good recording (I seem to recall Seamus Ennis doing it, or perhaps Liam O’Flynn/Planxty is more accessible). Let me know how you hear it.
On 2002-08-29 12:20, Bloomfield wrote:
If we agree that Merrily Kiss the Quaker’s Wife is a single jig…
Someone doesn’t agree – note that it is in the middle of a set called “Kerry Slides”.
YAAAH-duh. 
Leave the theory in the classroom boys, you’re starting to sound like a bunch of engineers!
Regards,
Wes
So does the fear of theory mean you won’t explain the difference between a single and a polka to us? Because that’s even less obvious to me than the difference between a slide and single jig. I’ve heard it said that singles are like polkas only faster, but I’ve never heard a single played faster than we play polkas around here.
(Note: there was a context shift in there, and I don’t mean “single jig”, I mean “single”. Newfound trad.)
For that matter, a double tends to sound a lot like a slide would if it were played in 6/8. For instance, the Plankerdown Band album has a set of three doubles, two of which are Rufus Guinchard tunes. I’d assumed the third was as well – they certainly all sound like the same sort of tune – but in fact it turns out to be a standard Irish single jig/slide, “This is my Love, Do You Like Her?” (The Bothy Band recorded it as a slide, John Wynne as a single jig.)
Serious question – everyone I’ve ever heard use the term “slide” has pronounced the word something like “schloide.” Is that the actual pronunciation or has everybody I know just been reproducing someone else’s thick Irish brogue?
On 2002-08-29 16:27, tomandceil wrote:
Serious question – everyone I’ve ever heard use the term “slide” has pronounced the word something like “schloide.” Is that the actual pronunciation or has everybody I know just been reproducing someone else’s thick Irish brogue?
That’s how I always say it after the fourth pint of Murphy Stout. You should hear me play them, really. It’s funny.