The Snowy Path

Irish Slip Jig in D Major

Here’s a beginner lesson on how to play this upbeat slip jig by Mark Kelly of the band Altan. Slip jigs are similar to jigs, but they are nine beats per bar (9/8) instead of six (6/8).

There’s a lot of repetition, which you can see in the color-coded sheet music. I suggest you memorize and master the first bar before moving on. Also, warm up with the basic rhythm on a single note. If you do these two things, you set yourself up for success in the rest of the tune.

This tune is recommended for students in Module 1.6 or higher. It’s a good way to practice the D Major scale and the swing feel.

I made a supplemental video in which I’ll show you how to apply different slur patterns.

 

Unlock all the content on this page for free!

Full content for this lesson (all learning chunks, video loops, sheet music, audio and supplemental video) is available with a paid subscription. But you can use it NOW with a Free Two-week Trial Subscription.

Sign up here 🎻

Video loops 🔁

Note: if you want to turn the video looper on or off, click the button in the lower left corner. Also, you can adjust the speed of the video by clicking the gear icon ⚙
A Part, 1st Quarter

Learning chunks 

I’ve made some “Learning Chunks” to help you learn more easily. These focused exercises contain sheet music, tabs and mp3 snippets to guide you on your fiddle journey.

Preparation

Review and practice these lessons:

D Major Scale

Fingering and String Crossing 1

Play a D note with a D drone. Allow your breath, body, and mind to relax. Listen to the blend of your fiddle with the drone, and enjoy the sound.

D drone

Next, warm up with the the scale and phrases from the tune (once you’ve learned it) using the drone above.

D Major scale: D0-1-2-3-A0-1-2-3 | E0-1-L2-3-4 

A part, first quarter

A part, second quarter

This Learning Chunk™ (tab, sheet music and mp3 snippets) is available to All-access users. Subscribe here. And thanks for your support. 🙏

A part, third quarter

This Learning Chunk™ (tab, sheet music and mp3 snippets) is available to All-access users. Subscribe here. And thanks for your support. 🙏

A part, fourth quarter

This Learning Chunk™ (tab, sheet music and mp3 snippets) is available to All-access users. Subscribe here. And thanks for your support. 🙏

B part, first quarter

This Learning Chunk™ (tab, sheet music and mp3 snippets) is available to All-access users. Subscribe here. And thanks for your support. 🙏

B part, second quarter

This Learning Chunk™ (tab, sheet music and mp3 snippets) is available to All-access users. Subscribe here. And thanks for your support. 🙏

B part, third quarter

This Learning Chunk™ (tab, sheet music and mp3 snippets) is available to All-access users. Subscribe here. And thanks for your support. 🙏

B part, fourth quarter

This Learning Chunk™ (tab, sheet music and mp3 snippets) is available to All-access users. Subscribe here. And thanks for your support. 🙏

Further learning and practice

Make sets

Here’s a set you can do with this tune.

Snowy Path / The Butterfly / Drops of Brandy

You can also pair this tune with standard jigs like Kesh Jig

Related Learning

If you want to get better at extracting the rhythm, then take this lesson: Extract The Rhythm

 

 

Bowing variation - supplemental lesson

Other versions

Full Content 

Full tabs, audio and sheet music downloads are available to All-access users. Subscribe here. And thanks for your support. 🙏

Practice tracking

Return to top of Irish Fiddle Journeys >>

Help to make Fiddlehed better

Leave a Reply

One response to “The Snowy Path”