Jig
Fast English-Irish dance, forerunner of the gigue.
What it means
The jig is a fast dance of English-Irish origin, regarded as the forerunner of the Baroque gigue. It is usually in 6/8 time, more rarely in 9/8 or 12/8, and has a hopping, lively character with a clear underlying pulse.
Musical use
In Irish and Scottish folk music the jig remains to this day a central dance type, often played on fiddle, flute, uilleann pipes, and accordion, and accompanies lively group dances such as Irish step dance. In the 16th and 17th centuries the jig also reached the continent and influenced there the development of the gigue, used in the Baroque as the closing movement of many suites.
The jig should be distinguished from the Baroque gigue, which is formally more elaborate and often contrapuntally shaped, and from other Irish dance forms such as the reel, which is in duple metre and has a different rhythmic feel.
Performance practice
Play a jig with a springy, dance-like pulse with two main beats per bar and clear emphasis on the first note of each group of three. If you dance to it or accompany dancers, keep the tempo lively but manageable for the step patterns.