Morrison’s Jig Workshop

🧭 Overview

Morrison’s Jig is a lively E Dorian tune that’s perfect for building ear-first learning, jig bowing feel, and confident string crossing. In this workshop we learned the tune by ear in small chunks, looped key phrases, and used simple variations to help memorization and groove. You’ll leave with the A part solid (and most of the B), plus a handful of practice ideas you can use on any tune.

You’ll find sheet music at the bottom of the page.

But I encourage you to not look at that until it’s absolutely necessary.

Challenge yourself to learn as much of the tune by ear as possible.

🪜 Learning Steps

Warm up: find E Dorian + a relaxed left hand

We started with D1 on the D string and listened for a resonant sound before playing—light finger pressure, easy shoulders, and longer bows. Then we played the E Dorian scale (same notes as D major, but starting/ending on E):

D1-2-3-A0-1-2-3-E0

We alternated four bows on D1 and four on open E to hear the tuning “octave” relationship—use this anytime you don’t have a drone.

Feel the jig: triplets and “long–short”

To set the groove, we ran the E Dorian scale with triplets, then used a long–short–long–short bow pattern (count in six) to feel the pulse of a jig. The goal was steady rhythm and relaxed motion, not speed.

Learn the A part by ear: one small win at a time

We learned the first quarter (phrase) by call-and-response, then chained a few notes at a time until the chunk felt natural. After that, we looped the chunk and tried it at different tempos. We repeated the process for the second quarter, then combined both to play the whole first half. The third quarter mirrored the first; we finished the A part by learning and looping the fourth quarter.

Memory check: put the paper down

After learning a phrase, we paused to recall it without looking at music. This ear-first recall is the fastest path to memorization. Tip: play the E Dorian scale between attempts to reset your intonation and timing.

B part map: repetition + a longer second ending

We listened to the full B part, noting that it’s heavy on repetition and includes an unusual longer second ending. We then learned the first quarter, looped it, and added the second quarter—same process: call, chain, loop, combine.

String-crossing workout: the “pedal pattern” exercise

A key bar in the B part alternates back to open E (a classic pedal pattern).

A1-E0-0-1-0-0 | E3-0-0-1-0-0

We isolated and looped this measure to coordinate string crossing and left-hand accuracy. Then we reduced it to the core pedal exercise:

A1-E0-1-0 | E3-0-1-0

Try two approaches with the index finger:

• Lift and place between A1 and E1
• Lean and keep down, lightly angling the finger across both strings.
  Both are useful—experiment to find what’s cleanest at tempo.

Variation lab: bowings, dynamics, and feel

Once phrases were memorized, we tested simple bowing variations to wake up the groove:

• Separate 1, slur 2
• Slur 2, separate 1 (shifts accent to the third note of each triplet)
  We also tried tempo shifts, soft vs. loud, and staccato for articulation practice.

Transpose by feel: move to A Dorian

Same melody, same fingerings—start on G1 (A note) and switch your drone to A. When the tune lives in your ear and fingers, transposing becomes a fun challenge rather than a puzzle.

🎶 Learning content

Audio

Sheet Music

🪞 Reflect

What did I learn?

What doesn’t make sense yet?

What can I improve?

📌 Summary

• Learned Morrison’s Jig in E Dorian by ear using call-and-response, chaining, and looping.
• Locked in the jig feel with triplets and long–short bowing.
• Strengthened string crossing and timing with a pedal pattern workout in the B part.
• Explored musical variations (slur 2/separate 1, separate 1/slur 2), dynamics, and staccato to aid memorization and groove.
• Keep it playful—own one small chunk each day and the whole tune falls into place.

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🚀 Further Learning

Keep looping short phrases at multiple tempos; end each mini-session with two confident run-throughs of the A part.

Transpose the song to A Dorian. It will use the same exact fingering but start on the G string. Here’s a hint to get you started: G1-1-D1-1 | G1-1-D0-G2-0

Add the jig accent

Variation ideas

Related Lessons

• Fiddling With Dorian Scales
• Jig Bowing
• Call-and-response Central

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