Minstrel Banjo

For enthusiasts of early banjo

A lovely slip jig composed by Mark Kelly of the Irish band Altan.

Views: 252

Comment by Strumelia on February 16, 2016 at 9:48am

That B part is quite unusual and beautiful.  

I love hearing the slip jigs, there's something so unique about their feel but I can't put my finger on it.  Can you say anything about this Mark?

Comment by Mark Weems on February 16, 2016 at 10:18am

There is some kind of delicacy to the sound of the 9/8 time slip jig as opposed to the 6/8 regular jig. The only other one I think I play is Old Plantation Gals which is a lot harder to execute. This is a good one to try if you have never tried a slip jig before. I got to play this piece in some concerts with Daithi Sproule of the band Altan backing me up on dadgad guitar recently and that was amazingly fun! I have the tabledit tab if you want to try it.

Comment by Strumelia on February 16, 2016 at 10:45am

Thanks Mark, that's the impression i get too- a delicacy, and I can almost feel the dancers.  Not sure i'd be able to actually identify something as a slip jig yet.

I'll hold off on the tab for now- i think this one's still a bit beyond my skill level.  It certainly would call for frets though if I attempted it!   lol

Comment by Wes Merchant on February 16, 2016 at 11:42am

There are a number of 9/8 jigs in Howe's Jigs and Reels and Ryan's Mammoth collection. You have to count them in threes, I think that's what gives them that loping feel. 3/2 tunes for me have that same kind of feeling, though more 18th century than 19th.

Comment by Al Smitley on February 16, 2016 at 12:23pm

Yes, Wes.  It seems that at least in the 1880s (Ryan's) they were still among the repertoire but they seemed to have fallen out of favor over time......other than in some current Irish groups.

Comment by Mark Weems on February 16, 2016 at 2:03pm

I think that as the bum-ditty pattern of claw-hammer (which is so great for Reels) came to dominate old-time banjo, the skills were lost to play jigs and slip jigs. They also went out of fashion as dances, people preferring Virginia Reels etc., much as Hornpipes were transformed into Reels.

Comment by Al Smitley on February 16, 2016 at 2:13pm

Decades ago, I used to wonder if jigs went out of fashion in the south because they weren't conducive to the banjo.  Yet, just this morning, I was thinking that my previous notion may have been wrong because I've since learned that 6/8 time is not difficult to play on banjo after all, though as you say, Mark, maybe claw-hammer just naturally suits 4/4 time, while in the north the banjo wasn't quite as prominent, or at least other instruments (hammered dulcimer, etc.) played 6/8 time easy enough to keep the genre going.  Still, 9/8 time, even in the north has fallen off.

Comment by Strumelia on February 16, 2016 at 4:22pm

This is fascinating.   :)

I think it's also possible that we give ourselves too much importance as banjo players-

For every banjo player between 1850 and 1950, there surely must have been 100 or more people who danced at community dances...dancers...and I imagine also that fiddlers tended to lead in playing the melody of dance tunes way more often than banjo players during that whole era in general.  Minstrel shows were more performances than participatory dances, but I'm talking dance.  I suspect that if jigs gave way to reels it was likely due more to the dances themselves gaining or fading in favor than due to any influential banjo player finding them troublesome to play.  

Comment by Al Smitley on February 16, 2016 at 4:46pm

Then, Strum, I'd have to say that dances in the north differed from dances in the south....and why not, just as language and customs differ from one area to another.  I know that in New England, and Michigan, as well, 6/8 time was still used often for dancing.  I have less familiarity with dances in the south over the past 150 years.

Comment by Bob Sayers on February 16, 2016 at 5:07pm

In considering early minstrel music, one tends to think mostly of the minstrel line:  the end men (Tambo and Bones), the Interlocutor, as well as the fiddle and banjo players.  But the minstrel show almost always included jig dancers and sometimes "wench dancers" (female impersonators).  That was a big part of the show that is rarely discussed.   

Comment

You need to be a member of Minstrel Banjo to add comments!

Join Minstrel Banjo

About

John Masciale created this Ning Network.

© 2024   Created by John Masciale.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service