Hop Jig (Slip Jig), Em, Traditional Irish
The Butterfly is a slip jig and hop jig that is a favorite among listeners and players. It was recorded in 1972 by Dublin fiddler Tommy Potts, who may have adapted it from an older tune, Skin the Peelers. The tune was made even more broadly known from its performance by The Bothy Band, and from its use in the soundtrack of the movie The Secret of Roan Inish.
A hop jig, like other slip jigs, is in 9/8 time, with three pulses per measure. But hop jigs feature a long-short note pattern, where each of the three pulses consists of a quarter note followed by an eighth note. The rhythm of a hop jig can be spoken as the friendly suggestion: “buy the band a beer.”
Recordings
- Video – Kevin Burke: The Butterfly – solo fiddle, from the album In Concert
- Video – The Bothy Band: The Butterfly – from the album After Hours (1978)
- Video – Mason Daring: Fiona – from the soundtrack to the movie The Secret of Roan Inish (1994). In this version each of the three parts of the tune is played once (ABC) instead of the more usual form in which each part is repeated (AABBCC).
Sheet Music
As always for traditional tunes, the musical notation and chords do not indicate the “right” way to play the tune, but are a useful reference.
Play-along Tracks
Sets
Examples of sets that include this tune.
- Hair B&B Hop Jig Set: Comb Your Hair and Curl It / The Boys of Ballisodare / The Butterfly
- Humours of Whiskey / The Kid on the Mountain / The Butterfly
- The Butterfly / Kid on the Mountain
- A Fig for a Kiss / The Butterfly
References and Resources
For those who want to dig deeper, here are some other resources.
- More Recordings
- Video – Tommy Potts: The Butterfly – from the album The Liffey Banks (1972)
- Video – Ben Hockenberry: Cucanandy and Butterfly (Hop Jigs) on Irish tenor banjo
- Books
- Book & Audio – Matt & Shannon Heaton: In Harmony
- Lessons
- Lesson – Kevin Burke (Fiddlevideo): The Butterfly – Irish Slip Jig Fiddle Lesson – partial lesson. (Full lesson requires subscription to Fiddlevideo.)
- Lesson – Mandolessons (Baron Collins Hill): The Butterfly – mandolin lessons with sheet music, video, and play-along audio tracks.
- Lesson – Mando Mike: The Butterfly – An Irish Slip Jig – Mandolin Lesson (Beginner & Intermediate)
- Additional Resources
- Webpage – The Session: The Butterfly (slip jig) – crowdsourced sheet music, comments, and other information
- Webpage – The Session: Skin the Peelers (slip jig) – crowdsourced sheet music, comments, and other information
- Webpage – The Irish Traditional Music Tune Index: Butterfly – archival information about the tune, curated by Alan Ng
- Webpage – The Irish Traditional Music Tune Index: Skin the Peelers – archival information about the tune, curated by Alan Ng