Jig

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This article is about the folk dance; for other meanings, see Jig (disambiguation).

The jig (sometimes seen in its French language or Italian language forms gigue or giga) is a folk dance type as well as the accompanying dance tune type, popular in Ireland and Scotland, and particularly associated with the former. It is a popular tune-type within tradition of the Irish dance music, second only to the reel. It is transcribed in a time which is a multiple of three, 12/8 time for a 'single jig' or 'slide', 6/8 time for a 'double jig', and 9/8 time for a 'slip jig'.

The most common structure is two 8-bar parts, each of which is repeated (AABB). There are a number of tunes with three or more parts, and some in which the length of one or more parts varies from 8 bars. 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, flowing on without interruption.

In Costwold morris, a jig is a dance performed by a single dancer, or sometimes two. Its music is not usually a jig in the sense given above.

Origins and etymology

While it is often stated that the jig is of Irish origin, it is more than likely that this dance-type originated in the Germanic countries. A closer look at the etymology of this word reveals that Gig (g[i^]g) in its several variant forms describes a certain type of (repetitive) motion. Examples such as Icelandic "geiga" (which means to "rove at random" or "take a sudden unexpected direction"), the High German "Geigen" (a "back and forth motion") to the Low German dialects such as that spoken in the Swiss Canton of Bern (where "gyg-ampfe" called a reel it is in fact a jig).be:Джыга de:Gigue fr:Gigue nl:Gigue ja:ジグ (音楽) pl:Gigue ru:Жига