Jig Tempo?

[Scott L]

I'm trying to understand proper tempo to play jigs when using the metronome. I've looked on The Session and elsewhere and am seeing a tempo of 100 to 120 bpm commonly stated. The thing that doesn't make sense to me is that when I program my metronome (iPhone or iPad - Pro Metronome) using 6/8 time this seems exceedingly slow (like half speed). My understanding is that 6/8 is playing 6 eighth notes per measure. I find that when I tap my foot when playing, I'm tapping only on 1 and 4, so I setup the metronome to also tap on just 1 and 4 (muting the other beats). Using my metronome, I'm finding that I'm having to program it for at least 200-250 bpm to play just 6 notes per measure at what seems a decent tempo. If I don't mute the beats other than 1 & 4, it does sound very fast, but I am in fact playing an 8th note on each of those beats. Am I just thinking about this incorrectly? I know the Irish tradition emphasizes learning by ear, in which case this doesn't really matter. But when using sheet music, which I do because I play by myself, the 100-120 bpm just doesn't make sense.

[HonketyHank]

I, and I know many others of us (but not all), was taught that 3/8, 6/8, 9/8 time signatures are usually "special" and most easily regarded as having one beat per three eighth notes. Thus, for 6/8, we were taught to count as follows:
1 2 3 2 2 3 1 2 3 2 2 3 .
The tempo of 100 - 120 for a jig refers to one beat on each of the boldface counts, that is, two beats per measure.

Others argue against this "convention" because it does not seem to conform to the formal definition of a time signature. All I can say is "Stop! Stop! You're both right!"

[Kevin Stueve]

6/8 is often counted in two, just the way you are tapping your foot. So 100 bpm is most likely just counting beat 1 and 4

[foldedpath]

Yep, as noted above, there's a convention in Irish trad and related styles like Contra dance to count beats in 2.

I've heard various explanations for that. One reason might be that it makes music notation less cluttered, especially for reels. Another more "organic" explanation is related to the natural human rhythms of walking as expressed in various dance rhythms. Explained here by fiddler Jaime Laval (I've posted this before, but I think it's the best explanation for where these rhythm pulses come from):

[Scott L]

Thanks for the responses. This is sort of what I thought.

[Peter Coronado]

Instead of setting the metronome to 6/8, set it to 2/4 and 100 bpm. Then think of each measure as two triplets.

[HonketyHank]

Thanks for the embedded video, foldedpath. That covers both the jig question and a related question about reels that has lately tripped me up.

[Scott L]

Yes, I'll give that a try. That'll simplify things a bit - no need to mute beats 2, 3, 5 & 6. Thanks.

[Bertram Henze]

That video is intriguing. The concept of walking as an original pattern for metronome beats seems to go with walking being the most simple form of dancing, so walking beats are a good basis for dance music.

My own explanation for this 100 thru 120 metronome setting has always been that this is also the rate of heartbeats you might have while playing and therefore feels natural. This would also explain why we tend to play faster in front of others.

[John Kelly]

The idea of walking to get the beat is fascinating and one I have heard used a lot in relation to the tempo of bagpipe tunes, especially the 6/8 and 2/4 marches. Scott, your 6/8 jig time signature is the same (nominally) as the 6/8 march, but the jig is generally played faster and is more regular in its rhythm (the triplet) compared to the pipe march; the march uses a dotted eighth followed by a sixteenth (the dot-and-cut pipers talk about) and this pattern reversed, and this is what gives the pipe tune the great lift you'll hear, where the jig generally uses straight triplets. Many fiddle players and accordionists play those marches at too fast a pace (in pipers' terms) as they are playing for dances rather than marching.

A very fine piper I play along with at times told me that his old teacher had explained to him that a 2/4 march should be played at the pace that two people "sauntering down the Gallowgate chatting to each other" would be walking at. The Gallowgate is a street in Glasgow here in Scotland! Our accordion player in our band always stressed that the 6/8 march had to be kept to a pace where we could imagine the shoulders and the kilt swinging as the piper walked along. He was a great advocate of playing pipe marches at piping speeds, though if playing for dancing we would up the tempo to suit the dance.

Hope this helps!