Dale Russ: “Tom Billy’s Jig”
Our Irish Fiddle instructor plays a spirited jig in the Peghead Nation studio.
Dale Russ teaches Peghead Nation’s Irish Fiddle course, with an emphasis on playing the dance music of Ireland, including jigs, reels, polkas, slip jigs, hornpipes, and more. Dale has been playing Irish fiddle since his move in 1973 from his native Connecticut to Washington State, where he is now regarded as “the shining jewel of Northwest fiddle players.”
Tom Billy was a blind fiddler and teacher in the Sliabh Luachra area of Ireland on the borders of County Cork and County Kerry, and in this video, Dale plays “Tom Billy’s Jig,” which he learned from a recording of Denis Murphy and Julia Clifford. Dale teaches the tune in his Irish Fiddle course, starting by showing you an unornamented version of the way they played the melody, and then shows some ways to ornament and vary all three parts of “Tom Billy’s Jig” with rolls, slides, grace notes, double stops, and more.
Start learning fiddle in Dale’s Irish Fiddle course on Peghead Nation!
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