Breakout jig

This is one of the first tunes I ever learned on the fiddle. ‘Breakout’ is a set of a waltz and a three-part jig. I will *hopefully* be adding the jig at some point.

What a great sounding tune. Do you play this to dance to or is it purely a session tune? If you can find the three part jig which goes with this, very greatly appreciated - is the jig in F or what key …

I’ve only seen this tune danced to in the LOTD live show. It’s an all-female hardshoe piece. The girls come out and do the waltz, and then they “break out” into more skimpy outfits and do the jig. It’s a battle between the two lead females in the show. The jig is in E Dorian.

A “strip” jig, no doubt, having seen LOTD on TV. That was close enough. Seriously though, errik, I have never been to a session where any of the LOTD/ Riverdance music was played, nor can I imagine much of it entering the active repertoire of many trad players, popular as these shows are and nice as some of the music may be. You are far better off learning the session repertoire in your area and you can probably find most of those tunes right here.

Yup, that was the title of the number, LongNote, as you probably already know. I remember there was this outcry amongst the dance community about it. (“They *took* off their *shirts*…!” LOL)

There are a couple of the tunes from the shows that might make it into session rep, but probably only once someone half remembers it without remembering where it came from and then the entire session not realizing until it was firmly set in their rep. But mostly they’re all a little too…orchestrated sounding, I’d agree…

But the music from the shows *is* a lot of fun to dance to, even if they’re not much good as session tunes… The Countess Cathleen is one of my favorite show slip jigs tracks ever, though you have to allow for a couple of times when the vamps between parts means it goes crooked.

When I first started playing the fiddle, I learned all the good old tunes from my teacher. And, obviously, I still play trad music. After all, it was that music that got me interested in the music of LOTD/Riverdance. I just think of the show music as fun to play, and it’s interesting to give them a trad twist.

After some consideration, playing the tune as I know it and watching the video recording of LOTD I have to disagree with the description of this tune as being a Waltz. In fact the girls do not dance to a Waltz but to a slow jig at the outset then break into a fast jig after the ‘strip’.
I’m sorry Eric but the tune should be written in 6/8, keeping the bar lines where they are but instead of grouping the notes in three pairs of quavers writing them in two groups of three quavers. The notes are correct and need no altering except to add a sharp on the C in bar 30. It’s a super tune played gently and should be a pleasure to play at any session, maybe transposed to Em.

further considerations: it could be written as a waltz by dividing the existing bars into 2, which will make it a 64 bar tune, and rewriting the notes to fit a 3/4 tempo in each bar or by keeping the present note values but still deviding the exhisting bars in half and changing the time signature to 3/8. In the end it comes down to tempo, either a slow jig or a fast waltz and in this instance determined by the requirements of the hard shoe dance in which context it is being considered.

A lovely tune. Looking above me, I can see people talking about the fact that the Lord of the Dance isn’t traditional. I read up on it and apparantly Ronan Hardman didn’t compose all of the music in it. Traditional tunes are scattered in it… but I’ve forgotten the names. As much as I enjoy the music in the shows, I hate Mr. Flatley with a passion, fueled by the fact that he had artistic control over costumes (Which got progressivaly worse as he created new shows). Getting back on topic, I would like to see the jig that comes after this waltz, I’m tired of rewinding to learn pieces.

hetty, I wasn’t sure if it was a jig or a waltz. I hear more of a “one-two-three” waltz rhythm in the tune, rather than the rolling feeling you get from 6/8. I had tried transcribing it in 6/8, but it never really fit. 3/4 worked perfectly.

I am adding the jig right now…

eric, I posted a comment earlier this month but it got lost somehow. You seem to have missed my point. In the first bar of your manuscript you have three groups of two quavers, 1&2&3&.
Play the music from this and you will find it does not equate with the rhythm, structure and feel of the tune on the video recording. As previously stated if the quavers are placed in two groups of three = 6 beats, then the tune will fit that which is heard in the music and through the stepping of the dance itself. try listenin to the music again and I am sure you will agree that your music needs to be rewritten to avoid confusion and miscommunication.

Hetty,
I have changed the ABC to 6/8, and listed this tune as a jig. So is it a treble jig, then?

Hi Errik, I’m smiling now and my daughter (who dances and knows LOTD inside out) will be pleased, as long as everyone realises it is played slowly. Could be a ‘trouble’ jig !!!

This song is more commonly known as the Tain, because it is a Trad song, used in LOTD, like Simple Gifts (reel) was.

Hi,
What is the chord for this tune to play accompagnement with guitar?
Thank you

So that was my old account “errik” when I was in high school, and I posted this tune originally. Wow, did I really not know what a treble jig was?! My God. My apologies everyone. What the hell. I guess at the time, it hadn’t occurred to me that a treble jig may yet be in 6/8, albeit slower and steadier? Who knew??? Embarrassing. And there I was, giving AP Music Theory lessons in school about Irish music, special senior projects, and even going to Univ of Limerick…! Blasphemy!

So… in the end, I had to post it under “waltz”. Just as when someone posts a “highland”, it may be labeled as a reel or strathspey, or even hornpipe, just for sake of posting. I “thought” that treble jigs were danced to a 3/4 meter?! Wow… but the fact that I actually referred to this as a waltz! Hahaha. Ugh. Sad

This is the final tune from Breakout. The double jig (assuming) after the treble jig.