An Original Jig

by Joe Carr

The recent birth of my first grandson seemed like a good excuse to write a tune. Master Gavin's Favourite is a standard double jig. As you may know, Irish musicians pick jigs in a DUDDUD fashion in order to keep the downstrokes on the downbeat of the music. The strong two beat pulse is essential to achieve the real sound of an Irish jig.

If you are a faithful alternating picker, (as I have been for years) this picking approach will be difficult. Irish players break all the rules of alternate picking and make wonderful music doing it. In fact, multi-instrumentalist Seamus Egan says he develops a unique picking pattern for every song! This might include consecutive downstrokes in a run of eighth notes and various forms of "economy picking." This seemingly random type of picking is exactly what I have tried to stop my beginners from doing for years.

After my initial outrage at this pick direction anarchy, I have developed a new set of guidelines. This may seem like moral "situational ethics," but here goes: To sound authentic in any style, you must pick the way the style is picked! To get the staccato Bill Monroe "stomp" sound, you have to play all downstrokes. To get the smooth American eighth note fiddle tune style, you have to alternate with the downstrokes on the downbeat. To sound Irish, play like the Irish do.

Before all my old students come back to haunt me screaming "But you said. . .," let me defend myself. Senseless, random picking is still to be avoided. In all the styles I've mentioned, the picking patterns work because they are chosen to compliment the music. You should be in charge of the pick, not the other way around. There. . . I feel better now.

Before the lecture began, we were going to play this little jig. Do that and don't think about it too much. Have fun!