Which Irish tunes types are the easiest to learn?

Which Irish tunes types are the easiest to learn?

Well, polkas are probably the easiest to learn. They are among the simplest types of tunes with straightforward, often happy melodies. Polkas sound relatively normal to Americanized ears, along the lines of nursery rhymes or basic folk songs. Barndances with their moderate tempo, and marches with their stately, unhurried style are also fairly easy to pick up.

Jigs. What makes jigs difficult is not necessarily the notes but the rhythm. However, once you conquer the “pineapple apricot” rhythm, jigs can become fairly easy to learn. For one thing, jigs have fewer notes per measure than most other Irish tune types, which adds up to fewer notes to have to remember across 8 or 16 measures. 

Slides are also pretty easy to learn, probably because they are very whistleable. Slides can feel fast, but if you slow them down and bring out the dotted swing of the rhythm you’ll often find that slides are melodically more simple than jigs. The 12/8 time signature seems like it would be complex but it doesn't have to be.

Reels can be intimidating due to their fast tempo and blazing runs of notes. With practice, you may find that reels are the most “fiddle tune” like of the Irish tune types. For example, the bluegrass or old-time tune Liberty could definitely pass for an Irish reel. Once you become familiar with how reels are structured, including repeated patterns that show up time and time again, you can eventually hack your way through learning them.  

I find hornpipes to be among the more difficult tunes to learn. I think this is because hornpipes have some intervallic leaps unique to their structure which require stable technique to pull-off. Hornpipes also commonly feature built-in triplets that can make the standard melody more challenging to play. One other aspect of difficulty could be attributed to the more complex chordal structure found in hornpipes. 

Lastly on my list there’s slip-jigs. These "hoppy" tunes are in 9/8 time which can seem the most baffling and unfamiliar from a rhythm standpoint. The unusual timing makes it very hard to stay in sync with where the “one” is and know where to place the emphasis as phrases begin or end. Never fear. With practice and familiarity, once mysterious tunes such as The Butterfly will become ones you can play in your sleep!

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