Jig - Short (or Half) Rolls
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Rolls can occur on single quarter notes as well as dotted ones. These are called "short" or "half" rolls and are decorative in nature; that is, the ornaments don't serve to separate the notes. They simply ornament a single note to give it more emphasis and interest.

To perform a short roll on G, use the following steps:

If you are doing this correctly, you will get what amounts to a long roll, but without the first main note. Instead, the first note of a short roll is the grace note. Additionally, short rolls are played more quickly than long rolls, so what you get sounds like a short flutter or burst of notes that lends it emphasis. Short rolls occur on quarter notes as opposed to dotted quarter notes (long rolls).

As you are learning to do these, don't let the cut and strike overlap. Make sure you are hearing the note between the cut and strike.

EXERCISE 20
Practice short rolls on each note between E and B. Start very slowly and gradually increase your speed, making sure you are keeping your fingers relaxed and relatively straight. You will eventually need to be able to play these very fast, but they must also be clean, so spend as much time on this exercise as you need to master it.

At this point, take a minute to review the elements of good form: are your fingers relaxed and flat? Are your shoulders relaxed and low? Is your back straight? It is easy to forget these things as you progress, so it is good to periodically go back and keep them fresh in your mind. Also, check that you are not tonguing too many notes, and make sure that you are using only your first or third finger to cut with (a common mistake is to forget and start cutting with the finger just above the main note).

EXERCISE 21
Refer to the music above. This is a version of our jig that is slightly modified to take advantage of short rolls. The long rolls in the previous version are replaced by a short roll followed with an eighth note. Play through the tune slowly, using cuts and short rolls where indicated, and gradually increase your speed. Continue until you can play the tune with short rolls from memory.

Notice the difference in rhythm that this change of ornamentation causes. The previous version, with long rolls, has a very even, fluid rhythm, while this version gives much greater emphasis to a few notes (namely, the ones with the short rolls). This is an example of how your choice of ornaments can affect the feel of a tune. By combining different ornamentation in a tune, you can create variety and make the tune more interesting to listen to and play (which is good, because by this point, you are probably getting sick of this tune!)

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