Set Dances

[Cathy_Wilde]

@Nanohedron

@Cathy Wilde

Treble jigs. What’s with those? I just can’t grok treble jigs.

(I also can’t grok why yer doin’ this to yerself Nano, but the desire to play at a feis is between ye and yer demon …)

John mentioned, and rightly, that as far as the musician is concerned, a treble jig is basically a jig played slowly, and sometimes veeerrrrrrrry slowly, depending. The the idea as I understand it is the more advanced the dancer, the more flashy bits there will be in the footwork, and the slower the jig needs to be to accommodate that (same goes for hornpipes; as a musician, I loathe really, really, really slow hornpipes. They suck. They make me want to slit my wrists. But what’re ya gonna do? There you are, and the dancers need you to get it right for them). I usually play double jigs as treble jigs. Clear as mud? I have no idea why the word “treble” is used unless there’s three times as much footwork in them as in a single jig or something. I’m no dancer, myself.

But don’t try to grok too hard about my demon and me. I don’t play at a lot of feiseanna; that would be like wearing a hair shirt, and I don’t feel the need for doing penance or anything. I just want to be able to do it well when I do do it.

Thanks. It is indeed the “treble” thing I’ve never been able to understand … the dancers ask for a treble jig and sometimes a treble hornpipe, and we just play a jig or hornpipe at, like, 72 or something. (Maybe faster than that, but it sure doesn’t seem like it!) It does seem certain tunes lend themselves better than others, but even on the “official” tunes I’ve given up trying to figure how the footwork goes with the music.

My fella plays fiddle for feiseanna occasionally (another glutton for punishment); from what I understand from him there’s not a lot of interpretive latitude. BUT … do you know a fiddler named Sandy Dennis? He seems to be on the feis circuit – does lots of these things in the Midwest (I think he’s out of Ohio?) – and could probably tell you more. Also, I remember John (Skelton) mentioning a feis past – if you’re in touch with him you could ask.

But bottom line, I’m thinking this might be a VERY good question for the box or fiddle forums, as those seem to be the most popular feis accompaniments.

Wow, that was probably TOTALLY useless. But what the heck.

[Nanohedron]

@Cathy Wilde

…from what I understand from him there’s not a lot of interpretive latitude.

Yeah, you can’t go too far afield. A clear, discernible beat and steady pace are of greater importance than anything else in those situations. Nevertheless, no matter how clear and danceable one’s playing, tunes themselves can be problematic if the dancer isn’t familiar with them. Me, I’m like, “The Butterfly or O’Farrell’s Welcome into Limerick…they’re both slip jigs. What’s the problem?” Many dancers I’ve encountered cannot dance O’Farrell’s simply because of unfamiliarity. Give 'em The Butterfly and they’re good to go. It has little if anything to do with the beat sometimes.

@Cathy Wilde

BUT … do you know a fiddler named Sandy Dennis?

Jeez, that rings a bell.

[Nanohedron]

@Cathy Wilde

…but even on the “official” tunes I’ve given up trying to figure how the footwork goes with the music.

Plenty of times it doesn’t. But that’s another issue.

[Kevin_L_Rietmann]

@Nanohedron

Speaking of tunes that didn’t make the list, there’s another tune called The Ace and Deuce of Pipering in Amix with three parts that I much prefer to the standard one.

Seamus Ennis had a version of this in “A,” his father seems to have taken the A major setting from O’Neill’s Music of Ireland and played it with two sharps. Very unusual sounding results. Seamus plays both on the Return from Fingal CD.
Dave Power played the King of the Fairies in A minor at the tionol in Seattle this last Feb., that was very nice work too although a tricky piece on the pipes. Various books have the set dances in unusual keys, I think the Music of Ireland has Bonaparte’s Retreat in D for instance.
The set dances were very nice tunes, I think this is why they got special notice in the old days.

[Nanohedron]

Tunes in A (minor and Mixolydian-ish in particular) on the pipes always change character for me when the drones are on. I don’t always care for the result, but some A tunes really work well with the drones, for me. The 3-part “Ace and Deuce” in A is one of them. Sounds very oblique and abstract in its intricacy when the drones are on. It’s a challenging tune for me, and in no way can I claim to be able to play it yet.