Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

The Jig Of Slurs

jig

Key signature: Dmajor

Submitted on May 21st 2001 by Jeremy.

This tune has been added to 508 tunebooks.

Also known as Jar Of Slugs, Jig O' Slurs, Jig Of Slurs.

Recordings of a tune by this name:

A Language I Understand by Annwn
A Tune For Bill by Banchory Strathspey And Reel Society
Alba by Alba
Beyond The Borders by Brandon Vance, Mark Minkler
Ceol Tigh Neachtain - Music From Galway by Various Artists
Coppers And Brass by Dick Gaughan
Days Of Doolin by Dulsert
Devenish by Mick Heffernan, Niall O'Callanain, Brid Donnelly And Cillian O'Briann
Edge Of Reason by Face The West
Fiddle Sticks, Irish Traditional Music From Donegal by Various Artists
Gaughan by Dick Gaughan
General Humbert 2 by General Humbert
Harvest Home by Filska
Into Folk by Rapalje
Jack In The Box Irish Session by Tionol
Live 01 by Feast Of Fiddles
Live And In Session by The Tannahill Weavers
Live At Carnegie Hall by Boys Of The Lough
Live At Martyrs' by Gan Bua
Live In Alaska by Surreel
Nice To Meet You by Kaitlin Hahn
Oidhreacht by Conor Keane
Paddy On The Railway by Ten Penny Bit
Spinndrift by Mooncoin
Stony Steps by Matt Molloy
Take To The Floor by Haste To The Wedding
Tampa Session Sets, Vol. 1 by Clan Tampa
Tannahill Weavers by The Tannahill Weavers
The Ale Is Dear by Clandestine
The Best Of ... by The Tannahill Weavers
The Coming Of Spring by Cliff Moses
The Final Fling Part One by NE66
The Last Order by Ceol
The Mason's Apron by Sully
The Music Makers by Geantrai
The Red Shed by Heartland
Tone Roads by Wild Asparagus
Tuned In by Johnny Murphy
Whistle O'er The Lave O't by Alex Green
Whistle Wizardry by Vinnie Kilduff
Wolfstone by Wolfstone

Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

This is a classic Scottish tune which has crossed over into the Irish repertoire.

The key change from D to G at the beginning of the third part is wonderful. Just make sure that guitar accompaniasts are aware of the change.

Actually, I find this is tune which lends itself quite well to the guitar so stop strumming and start picking.

Fiddlers, you can get some great drone action going in the first part: just keep playing that open D string. At the start of the third part and fourth parts, you can drone on the open G, if you can reach that far quick enough.

Here's some extra info from Kenny Hadden:

"This tune is probably the best known composition of George 'G.S' McLennan, an Aberdeen piper, who as a boy played before Queen Victoria. He is regarded by many as the greatest composer of 'light' music on the Highland bagpipes in the 20th century."

# Posted on June 1st 2001 by Jeremy

I heard somebody call it Jar of Slugs once...It was just a joke, but I went ahead and posted the name anyways.

# Posted on May 19th 2002 by Musicalbison

For fiddlers, it's great to do the low G in the 3rd part on the open G string, then make an instant 2-octave jump to the high G on the E-string. It sounds and looks spectacular. Go for it!

# Posted on January 25th 2003 by lazyhound

Jig of Slurs

I just read that there is a key change. I think its so funny that I didn't realize that when I learned I several months ago.

# Posted on July 26th 2006 by enirehtac

Gee!

Your guy -George 'G.S' McLennan- durst play in G over his A drones then! I doubt it was forgetfulness did it!
Unless he was playing with just a D drone on? (border pipe style?) Or maybe he'd gone deaf, not so surprising for a piper after all! The result is mighty (it's the tonal shift I relish most too)
A 'musthear' is Molloy's rendition (acc.by Arty McGlynn) both in top form!

# Posted on September 30th 2006 by birlibirdie

George-y-boy

G.S. was definatly not deaf... ; )

Playing tunes or sections of tunes in other keys over the drones in A is a great way to build up tension before blasting back into a tune in the original key of A or D.

BTW: George defineinelty did not have a D drone... The Queen might have had him hung for that!!!

# Posted on January 30th 2007 by Ben Miller

"The Jig of Slurs" ~ by Pipe Major George Stewart McLennan

"Highland Bagpipe Music book 1", 1929

Jack Campin's Homepage:
http://www.purr.demon.co.uk/jack/
The abc's for some of the compositions of Pipe Major George Stewart McLennan
http://www.purr.demon.co.uk/jack/Music/McLennan.abc

The following is based on a reduction of a transcription from there:

# Posted on March 7th 2007 by ceolachan

The Jig of Epithets

Here's some background on this tune that I pulled from a thread on the differences between Irish and Scottish jigs:
***
It's interesting how much a jig can change when it travels across the idioms. Perfect example it "The Jig Of Slurs". This was composed by a Highland piper to highlight the technique Highland pipers call a "slur", which is what uilleann pipers call a "pat", that is a lower gracenote used to seperate a quarternote into two eighth-notes. The Jig Of Slurs therefore, as originally written, progresses almost entirely by pairs of notes. When I heard Matt Molloy's version I was amazed because he entirely changed the tune, replacing all the "slurs" (pairs of notes) with long rolls (groups of three notes). So, from the Highland piping perspective, he had removed all the slurs from the jig of slurs!
# Posted on June 22nd 2007 by Richard D Cook

# Posted on June 22nd 2007 by patrick cavanagh

Jig of Slurs

I am trying to make sense of this tune - I would have posted in the comments section of the tune, but I have doubts that anyone would read a question posted there...

It is about all these double notes as the second and third parts of a Jiglet (jig triplet), especially where the third part follows with the same note again, but as the first note of the following triplet. Various attempts to make sense of this musically only seem to come out as a blur to me. So, how would all of you out there play this?

(I am playing this on a flute)

Taking, for example, the section GBB Bdd dee edB (start of last section) or Add dcd ... (start of first section). Alternatives that I have tried:
1. Triple tongue the lot... i.e. tGkBtB kBtdkd tdkete kedb (t/k are the tonguing sylabbles)
2. Rolls with the Tap on the start of the new triplet. i.e. GB(cut)B (tap)Bd(cut)d (tap)d ...
3. Tongue some of the above. i.e. GBtB (t or k)Bdtd (t or k)dete...
4. Same as 2. or 3. but just using cuts, or just using taps.
5. Various mixtures of the above, using some cuts, some tonguing and some tongued cuts

None of the above sound like I want them to. Possibly this could be due to my execution? Or possibly due to a faulty approach to it all. As one commenter in the tune section said, this is originally a pipe tune, so tonguing based approaches are probably not "traditionally" right. How did (do?) the pipers do it?

So, who has any better ideas? If possible , with a source of some good audio clips of how you think it should sound.

Thanks,

Chris.

# Posted on August 13th 2007 by Crackpot

Re: Jig of Slurs

Triplets can annoy me, but i generally use rolls and sometimes i tongue them. Just use whatever you feel comfortable with. I play whistle, so i understand, but if all else fails with the "traditional" way of playing the tune, go for the tongue solution! Sorry i can't help anymore.
Niamh

# Posted on August 13th 2007 by NiamhB

Jig of slurs time line

Does anyone no what year this was written?

# Posted on October 28th 2008 by Anna Ludlow

Per birlibirdie's comment, GS MacLennan was a highland piper, i.e. no so-called D drone. The highland pipes have two tenor drones tuned a few cents above concert B flat, and a "bass" drone tuned one octave below that. The drones match perfectly with the tonic note of the chanter, what we call the "low A", likewise a B flat a bit above concert pitch. In MacLennan's time, around the 20s, the pitch was certainly closer to concert B flat, if not even a bit lower. The third and forth parts harmonize perfectly with the drones, as the Low G (in fact an A flat to be exact) is fine tuned so that it essentially harmonizes. I know this sounds odd, but it's strictly not the same thing as attempting to harmonize an A flat and a B flat on a fretted instrument...the fine tuning allows for a perfect blend with the drones. The best analogy in session playing would be a guitar accompanying a fiddle player playing a tune in A mixolydian (as many tunes are). The flat seventh does not contrast negatively with the A drone that the guitar player is playing. The essence of a drone note is the ability to work harmonically with notes which would not conventionally be thought to harmonize.

Secondly, the sheet music on all versions listed on this site should be changed. I realize sessions have a tendency to change tunes over time, but some of the note changes suggested here produce a significantly less interesting tune than the original transcription. MacLennan's books should still be in print, and if all else fails, the Scot's Guard (either book one or two) has the original version.

Finally, as far as the "deaf" comment, when you listen to the best highland piping today...try Willie MacCallum or Angus MacColl on youtube, you'll notice that the tuning is much more precise than almost any session you'll ever play in. Precision of tuning is valued as highly as technique among highland pipers, which is carefully mastered over a number of years.

No wonder pipers make better whistle players! =)

# Posted on January 24th 2009 by dudehere44