Jig - Ireland and Scotland

Ireland and Scotland

During the seventeenth century the dance was adopted in Ireland and Scotland, where it was widely adapted, and the jig is now most often associated with these countries. The jig is second in popularity only to the reel in traditional Irish dance; it is popular but somewhat less common in Scottish country dance music. It is transcribed in compound meter, being 6/8 time. The most common structure of a jig is two eight-bar parts, performing two different steps, each once on the right foot, and one on the left foot. As with most other types of dance tunes in Irish music, at a session or a dance it is common for two or more jigs to be strung together in a set, flowing on without interruption.