Guitar Dictionary Category
Roots & Traditional Styles
What Is a Jig?
A jig is a traditional dance-tune type built in compound metre. The most familiar form is the double jig in 6/8, where each bar contains two main beats and each beat divides into three eighth notes.
Count a 6/8 jig as ONE-two-three FOUR-five-six. The two capitalized counts are the main pulses; treating all six notes as equal beats makes the tune feel heavy and mechanical.
Common Jig Metres
- Double jig: commonly 6/8, with two groups of three eighth notes.
- Single jig: also commonly 6/8, but often shaped by longer-shorter rhythmic figures rather than uninterrupted groups of three eighth notes.
- Slip jig: commonly 9/8, with three compound beats per bar.
- Slide: commonly 12/8 in Irish traditional practice, with four compound beats and its own dance character.
These labels describe related traditions, not interchangeable strumming patterns. Regional phrasing and dance function matter as much as the time signature.
Playing a Jig Melody on Guitar
Flatpick the melody with the two large beats clearly felt. Alternate picking can work, but string changes may require crosspicking, slurs or carefully chosen downstrokes. The goal is not to make every group of three sound identical; phrase endings, repeated notes and ornaments shape the lift.
Learn the tune without ornaments first. Then add a cut, hammer-on, pull-off or triplet only where it preserves the beat and clarifies the phrase.
Accompanying a Jig
A simple accompaniment can place bass or chord weight on each main beat rather than strumming six times per bar. Open-string drones and partial chords can preserve clarity, especially in DADGAD or other open tunings.
Listen to the melody before choosing chords. Dense changes can flatten the tune’s modal character or obscure a pickup into the next phrase.
Jig Counting Exercise
- Tap two steady beats while saying “ONE-two-three FOUR-five-six.”
- Strum only on ONE and FOUR.
- Add a quiet eighth-note motion between the main beats.
- Play one eight-bar melody while continuing to feel two beats per bar.
- Record it and check whether the second main beat arrives evenly.
Why Jigs Matter
Jigs are a major part of Irish, Scottish and related traditional repertoires. For guitarists, they develop compound-metre timing, dance phrasing, efficient string crossing and accompaniment that supports rather than crowds the melody.
Kalymi Tip
Start with the two large beats, not the six written eighth notes. Clap or tap the bar until the compound pulse feels natural before adding guitar.
Use a sparse accompaniment at first. One bass or chord event on each main beat often preserves more lift than a continuous six-note strum.
Keep the melody complete without ornamentation, then add one figure at a time. An ornament that delays the next beat is not yet ready for the tune.
Related Terms
Learn More
- 12 Tips for Flatpicking Celtic Guitar
- DADGAD Guitar Celtic Flatpicking
- Celtic Flatpicking in Open D
- Open G Celtic Guitar Flatpicking
- Open Tunings Guitar Learning Path
- Irish Traditional Music Archive: Dance-Tune Description
Reviewed by
Brent C. Robitaille,
music educator and founder of
Kalymi Music.