12 Original Breakdowns & Jigs For The Banjo by Arthur Tilley

[Joel Hooks]

Here is an early one with second banjo parts that dip down low for you 6/7 stringers.

https://archive.org/details/12-orignial-breakdowns-jigs-for-the-ban...

[Jody Stecher]

Does anyone know what, in 19th century tune books (for banjo and sometimes fiddle)  determined whether a tune was a jig or a breakdown? It's not time signature or dotted rhythm. (I'm not talking about Irish 6/8 or 9/8  jigs).  I am guessing it was tempo but this is no more than a guess.

[Byron Thomas]

From my understanding, whenever I have heard a breakdown, it was characterized by being played at breakneck speeds. A great example would be Foggy Mountain Breakdown. (I know that this isn't a classic banjo song but it's the first that comes to mind)

Jody Stecher said:

Does anyone know what, in 19th century tune books (for banjo and sometimes fiddle)  determined whether a tune was a jig or a breakdown? It's not time signature or dotted rhythm. (I'm not talking about Irish 6/8 or 9/8  jigs).  I am guessing it was tempo but this is no more than a guess.

[Joel Hooks]

It was dancing music. A dance card might feature each.  What that means, I do not know. 

[Jody Stecher]

Well yeah but which is which?

Joel Hooks said:

It was dancing music. A dance card might feature each.  What that means, I do not know. 

[Jody Stecher]

Sure but that's now. I'm asking about the mid 19th century when these terms start to appear in print. On the page there is no clear difference between the structures of what are called jigs and what are called breakdowns.  Reels, hornpipes, clogs, waltz, etc are all obvious but not these two.

Byron Thomas said:

From my understanding, whenever I have heard a breakdown, it was characterized by being played at breakneck speeds. A great example would be Foggy Mountain Breakdown. (I know that this isn't a classic banjo song but it's the first that comes to mind)

Jody Stecher said:

Does anyone know what, in 19th century tune books (for banjo and sometimes fiddle)  determined whether a tune was a jig or a breakdown? It's not time signature or dotted rhythm. (I'm not talking about Irish 6/8 or 9/8  jigs).  I am guessing it was tempo but this is no more than a guess.

[Jody Stecher]

What I mean is that based on the evidence on the page (having not been around in the 19th century to observe the dancers and musicians) it seems that jig steps and breakdown steps could be danced as easily to either type of tune. I'm finding no defining element that determines the category. I suspect there is such an element but I'm not perceptive enough to find it.

Jody Stecher said:

Well yeah but which is which?

Joel Hooks said:

It was dancing music. A dance card might feature each.  What that means, I do not know. 

[Byron Thomas]

IMHO, I feel that "Breakdown" is the page context. It seems like a category label that sets the mood of the piece similar to adding "Waltz", "Valse", "Mazurka" etc... to the end of or underneath the title of a piece. It seems provide an idea of the articulation of the song even within the same time signatures. I would love to read something on this topic to better solidify this claim, however this is my hunch based on what I've seen.

Jody Stecher said:

What I mean is that based on the evidence on the page (having not been around in the 19th century to observe the dancers and musicians) it seems that jig steps and breakdown steps could be danced as easily to either type of tune. I'm finding no defining element that determines the category. I suspect there is such an element but I'm not perceptive enough to find it.

[Joel Hooks]

Perhaps 19th century dance methods?

I've assumed that "breakdown" and "jig" were somewhat interchangeable, but I have no authority on the matter.  

[Jody Stecher]

Exactly. They seem interchangeable. And yet here is a book offering a selection of "both".  

Joel Hooks said:

Perhaps 19th century dance methods?

I've assumed that "breakdown" and "jig" were somewhat interchangeable, but I have no authority on the matter.  

[Joel Hooks]

Not that it matters, but this was bound in a large and heavy book, of the sort that business records were bound in before filing cabinets.  About half is banjo music and the other half is piano with one random violin solo.   I've got a few of these big and heavy bound books of music.  I'm not sure if this was the best idea ever or a terrible way to store sheet music. 

But it does look much nicer than stacks of plastic tubs.

[Byron Thomas]

The best thing that I can find is this definition that came from thesession.org. The link from which they pulled the info seems to be defunct.

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/reed/hrabout.html
Breakdown: instrumental tunes in duple meter (2/4 or 4/4) at a quick dance speed. This general term in the American South is roughly equivalent to the term “reel” elsewhere in the English-speaking world. But it does not imply a particular type of dance; a “breakdown” tune may be used for square dances, longways dances, or other group dances, as well as for solo fancy dancing.
Reels: a class of dance tunes in duple meter (2/4 or 4/4 time), played at a fast tempo. The reel as a dance was originally a “longways” dance with couples forming facing lines, but the reel as a tune class is used for all sorts of group dances. In the American South the reel class has expanded into the large and generic breakdown class of dance tunes.

[Jody Stecher]

This is 20th and 21st century stuff. I am asking if anyone knows what breakdowns and jigs meant to the compilers and composers of 19th century tune books.  Because if jigs and breakdowns were the same thing I think  there would not be two classifications in one book. 

Byron Thomas said:

The best thing that I can find is this definition that came from thesession.org. The link from which they pulled the info seems to be defunct.

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/reed/hrabout.html
Breakdown: instrumental tunes in duple meter (2/4 or 4/4) at a quick dance speed. This general term in the American South is roughly equivalent to the term “reel” elsewhere in the English-speaking world. But it does not imply a particular type of dance; a “breakdown” tune may be used for square dances, longways dances, or other group dances, as well as for solo fancy dancing.
Reels: a class of dance tunes in duple meter (2/4 or 4/4 time), played at a fast tempo. The reel as a dance was originally a “longways” dance with couples forming facing lines, but the reel as a tune class is used for all sorts of group dances. In the American South the reel class has expanded into the large and generic breakdown class of dance tunes.