I love Irish music and I’ve been listening to it and playing it for quite some time, but I never understood something, What’s the difference between a Jig, a Reel and a Hornpipe? These are common classifications for Irish music, both instrumental and vocal, I wasn’t sure if they referred to something about the music or the scales or if they’re just 3 names for the same thing. Can somebody fill me in?
Oh, you’ve opened a can of worms here, Huns. 
Jigs, reels and hornpipes are most certainly not the same thing. Here’s a quick and simplistic rundown of the general qualities of each:
Double Jig: 6/8 time signature, a lot of eighth notes. This is the most common form of jig.
Single Jig: 6/8 time signature, lots of quater-eighth rhythms. This is not an amazingly common form of jig.
Reel: 4/4 or 2/2 time signature, straight eighths.
Hornpipe: 4/4 time signature. If it’s in eighth notes, the eighth notes are swung (like jazz, sort of); if it’s written in a dotted eighth-sixteenth idea, it’s played the same way.
There’s a lot more, but I figured I’d give you a basic idea. You might consider buying a Grey Larsen book or some other tutorial if you want to really learn more.
Here’s some examples of each:
Double Jigs: Banish Misfortune, Blackthorn Stick
Slip Jig: The Butterfly
Oh, I forgot about slip jigs. They’re in 9/8. That’s pretty much a give-away.
And Waltzes are in 3/4: Arran Boat
Reels: Bank of Ireland, Connemara Stocking
Hornpipes: Boys of Bluehill, The Blackbird
Actually a Single Jig is the same thing as a Slide and is usually in 12/8 not 6/8. Slip or Hop Jigs but Hop Jigs are usually written in 9/8 but the difference is that a Hop jug is 3/4 with the Slip rhythm. I believe the Blackbird is a set dance which can be played like a Hornpipe but the amount of bars in each part is different. Reels are fast and are supposed to be in Cut tim (2/2) Hornpipes are slower with a swung rhythm (usually) and are also in Cut time.
I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure there’s a difference between single jigs and slides. I remember a thread on this in the semi-recent past, so I’ll do a search.
The “Blackbird” that I linked is most certainly a hornpipe, and has the same number of bars in each part.
I have seen many reels in 2/2, but I’ve seen many more in 4/4. I don’t consider either “correct,” just different. I mentioned both for this reason.
I can’t recall having seen a hornpipe in 2/2.
Here’s a site that has some very interesting information about this sort of thing. And since it’s on the internet, it must be true.
There are at least 5 tunes with the title “Blackbird”, so be sure you’re talking about the same tune. The Bothy Band played 3 on their "Out of The Wind "etc album. The slow air and set-dance were the same tune in different time, and the reel is associated with Northern Ireland, possibly Scottish in origin. There is a completely different Irish hornpipe called “The Blackbird”, and also a Scottish piper’s version of a tune called the “Manchester” hornpipe, which has been altered to go on to the piping scale. It too is known as the “Blackbird”.
think you should try and keep it simple…they are all dances …just different dances…in the same way that you would find say a waltz, foxtrot and quickstep in ballroom dancing. They have therefore …different timings , rythms etc…listen to them played as frequently as possible …obviously by those who know how to play them…probably well of the sort of answer you are looking for but …it’s worth a try…Les.
There is a very slight difference between a Slide and a Single Jig being that a Single Jig is closer to a Double Jig, they are both in 12/8 so it really doesn’t matter the difference pertains to dancing, like the Hop vs. Slip even though Hop jigs are in a different tim signature.
I was thinking of a different tune called the Blackbird, I just was making an ass out of u and me.
2/2 is the correct rhythm for Reels and Hornpipes, reason being how it is danced. Hornpipes were originally in 3/2 and were invented in Northern England. Starthspeys are the only 4/4 dance tune in Irish or Scottish music, but Flings are in Cut time.
A single jig and a slide may share the same time signature, but rest assured they are way different. The dances are very different. Playing wise the main difference, to non-dancers, is the tempo. Single jigs are q u i t e s l o w. Were you to attempt to dance a single jig to a tune played at slide tempo, you would quickly end up in the ER with at best, a broken ankle, or, at worst, a coronary. Just figured I should warn you before you attempt it.
Mark
Whatever happened to the simple ‘watermelon’ vs ‘strawberry’ test?
Your basic jig can be sung to strawberry, strawberry, strawberry.
Your reel basically goes watermelon watermelon watermelon.
You may substitute paradimethylaminobenzaldehyde for the strawberry.
Oh, hornpipes are pretty much apple apple apple.
That’s as maybe, but (and I rely very little on notated music anyway…), if you look at tune-books, you will find reels are in 4/4, as are hornpipes. Jigs are in 6/8. Slip jigs are in 9/8. Slides are in 12/8 (what the dickens is a “single jig?” Forget it!). Polkas are in 2/4. Waltzes are in 3/4, as are mazurkas, though the latter should be played with the emphasis on the second beat in the bar (they never are - everyone plays 'em as fast waltzes - sheesh). No advice is good advice, but if you want some from me buy a few CDs by Planxty, Bothy Band, De Danaan, Danu or whoever, listen to what they’re calling jigs, reels and the rest on the sleeve-notes and you’ll soon pick up the distinctions. And sod all this theory!
Steve