Lesson 24: 6/8 Time and Compound Meter
- Feel 6/8 as two beats of three eighths, not six beats.
- Play a jig and a gigue.
- Lesson 23 — 3/4 time.
- Lesson 12 — eighth notes.
- 6/8 (compound meter).
- Two-to-the-bar pulse.
- Jigs and tarantellas.
Six eight is two, not six.
A 6/8 time signature looks like six beats but feels like two — two big beats, each divided into three eighth notes. The eighths group in threes, and the second triplet of each group has a slight lift. This is the rhythm of the jig, the gigue, the barcarolle, the 12/8 blues. The lilt is so distinctive that the meter is named in nearly every culture for its dance.
Two groups of three eighths per bar. Feel ONE-two-three / FOUR-five-six, with weight on ONE and FOUR.
The big beats are dotted quarters — one for each group of three eighths.
Play: a jig
The Irish jig — the source of nearly all modern English-language fiddle tunes in 6/8. The melody runs in groups of three; tongue the first of each group lightly.
Now play these
- The Rakes of Mallow
- An Irish jig. Quick, lilting, two beats per bar.
- Gigue
- The Baroque dance suite's closing movement. A more contrapuntal cousin of the jig.
- The Irish Washerwoman
- The other most-known Irish jig. Test of finger speed inside the 6/8 lilt.
When the eighth-note triplets feel like a single dotted-quarter pulse with three subdivisions — not six discrete beats — move on to Lesson 25.