So, it seems we've been getting a bit more interest in the Traditional Irish, Scots, Welsh, American, British fiddle etc, and as there are a few of us on the board that specialise in playing these styles, I thought it might be a good idea to start a threat about fiddling where we could post information on the styles and techniques used in our respective fiddling traditions, post links to great performances online, share tunes in ABC format and perhaps violinists in other styles who are interested in playing some fiddle too could get advice from the fiddlers on the board as to how to go about it. Maybe we could also post some learning videos or clips of tunes in our respective styles, breaking down the various steps so that others could learn it? I'd be interested in learning some English, American and Welsh stuff, that's for certain, if anyone fancies teaching it!

Anyone interested?

I'll get the ball rolling with my number one piece of advice for aspiring fiddlers - avoid sheet music like the plague when learning traditional tunes - it will only teach you a standardised version of the melody with no rhythmic or stylistic indications. Much better to listen to the version of the tune played at your local session (or on your favorite CD if you don't have a session) and learn that - you'll find it will differ considerably from what you'd see on the page. Learning this way will make you more musical when playing the tunes, it will stop you from playing the same thing three times through, and will give you the skills necessary to (eventually) pick up a tune on the fly in a session and join in.

Anyone else ?

Allan

yay!

well, i mostly play English, so by association i also play a lot of Morris tunes--as many English tunes are also Morris standards. i don't play for a Morris side, although i think it's something that'd be a lot of fun.

as far as sheet music goes--i still learn most tunes from the dots, but my teacher usually plays it a little differently, so we use that as an opportunity to discuss various ornamentations, variations etc. that work with a particular tune. the first thing i do with a new tune is learn to play it without the dots, so i can play around with it without having to look back at the dots all the time. i think a good way to avoid getting stuck in one version of a tune is to listen to as many versions as possible--either recordings, or live shows, or, once you know it well enough, starting a tune at a session and listening to how other people are playing it.

speaking of sessions, my advice would be: find a local session that plays the music you're interesting in, and go there. you don't even have to play anything; just listening is a great way to learn how the music's meant to sound. if you hear a tune you like, ask what it is; that way you can build up a bit of local knowledge (even within the same style, there are usually standard tunes or sets at one session that you might not hear at another).

Hello

This is the type of music that got me into playing the fiddle. Still getting the basics, but I am right behind you.

hi Sandy! don't worry--not only do i remember what it was like as a beginner, i am in fact still a beginner myself, so i can relate ;-)

well, to start, here's a nice English tune i've been playing this week:

X:1
T:Old Tom of Oxford
K:Dmaj
M:4/4
L:1/4
|: A B/c/ d A | G F E F/E/ | D F/G/ A d | c d e c/B/ |
A B/c/ d A | G F E (3A/B/c/ | d A G F | E2 D2 :|
|: F A F A | F A d/c/B/A/ | G B G B | G B d/c/B/A/ |
F A F G | A B/c/ d (3A/B/c/ | d A G F | E2 D2 :|

this is a good tune to play around with--i like to play the quavers slighted dotted, almost like a jig, and the B part almost cries out for a bit of double stopping.

Great stuff!

Sandy - you'll have such fun with this style of music - I still go to different countries on holiday, find a session, take my fiddle and end up having a night out with a load of people I've never met before - trad music is SUCH a great passport!

River - excellent advice about the sessions - listening is absolutely key in this approach - some sessions will even let listeners record the tunes if they explain it's for learning purposes.

I'm off to learn your tune and I'll post one later.

Allan

Oh help, am I being a bit thick? How do you read that? (no dots )

haha - well - some people can play from that, but most people (including me) convert it into dots first. if you go here, and copy+paste the text into the box (starting from X:), it'll convert it for you. (use the PDF version, it's much better quality!)

don't bother with the MIDI version though; if i'd written this using quavers instead of crotchets, it might be okay, but as it is it's far too slow.

this format is called ABC, and it's designed for sharing tunes (mainly traditional ones) via the Internet. since it's text, you can post it anywhere (like a forum, or email), and everyone can read it without needing a special program. it's also really easy to write once you get the hang of it; if you put "ABC tutorial" into Google, there's several good resources.

*sticks her head round the door*

(very) beginner fiddler here

Rosfrog, I was wondering... you say to avoid sheet music like the plague, yet ABC format is ok? Surely the end result of the two is much the same? They both give just the basic notes and rhythm and both miss out the stylisations and ornamentations.

This is my favourite tune at the moment:
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/sheetmusic...epetticoat1.gif

It's called ABC, Lottie and no, you're not being thick! It's only really used in trad circles but is becoming more popular as a way to quickly note down tunes and share them. Real trad fiddlers tend not to use dots at all - simply because accurate versions of the tunes don't really exist in dot format and ABC even gives you good ways to note down traditional ornamentation.

It's quite simple to read. I've copied and pasted the original tune and given you some pointers :

X:1 (this is the number of the tune in the 'collection' - it's irrelevant here, but river is being consciencious and using good ABC technique as, if we were using an ABC decoder on a computer, this line would let the computer know that an ABC tune follows)
T:Old Tom of Oxford (T tells us that this is the title - you can leave this line blank, but for good form don't leave it out or the computer - in the case of an ABC decoder - would have problems reading the tune)
K:Dmaj (This is the key signature and - really if we're being pernickety - should come last in the header, right before the tune starts)
M:4/4 (The time signature)
L:1/4 (The default length of any note in the piece - here we are told that the default length, unless otherwise stated, is a crotchet - if it had been a quaver, it would have said 1/8).
|: A B/c/ d A | G F E F/E/ | D F/G/ A d | c d e c/B/ |
A B/c/ d A | G F E (3A/B/c/ | d A G F | E2 D2 :|
|: F A F A | F A d/c/B/A/ | G B G B | G B d/c/B/A/ |
F A F G | A B/c/ d (3A/B/c/ | d A G F | E2 D2 :|

In this bit, A is your open A string, D is your open D string but d is the third finger on the A string. Your violin's notes would be written like this in ABC, starting from the lowest and staying in first position

G, A, B, C D E F G A B c d e f g' a' b'

The slashes tell you that the notes that they follow are half the default value - if we wanted to make them twice the default, we would put a 2 after. The Brackets tell you that some kind of triplet will follow, we see the three so we know it's a standard triplet.

So the first bar reads : Crotchet on open A string, Quaver on B on the A string, Quaver on C sharp on the A string, Crotchet on d on the A string, Crotchet on open A.

You can get programmes to decode it (Barfly is popular) or you can learn to read it - it doesn't take long and makes life very easy when you need to jot down a tune quickly.

There are loads of other interesting things - ways to note rhythm and ornmenation accurately (or as near as darn it) for traditional purposes, additional fields for the header etc - but rather than try to cover it all, here's a link to a page on ABC http://abcnotation.org.uk/ it's very good indeed!

Allan

That link didn't recognise the cut and paste I tried.. pity. I think I get the drift but it's horribly complicated to my tiny brain I'll sit down and try and work it out.

I started out wanting to learn 'fiddle' tunes but my teacher seems to have gone down the classical route. It's a great pity because she's an amazing fiddle player herself and a great teacher. She sometimes gives me a sheet of fiddle music but doesn't explain the ornaments or anything. She's probably given up on me because of my shockingly bad memory (honestly nothing sticks and I've really tried) so I'd be no use as 'sessions' or any kind of fiddle-playing set up I'm too dependent on the black stuff.

Did you paste the whole thing? You have to get all the bits at the top as well as the notey bit.

Hi Sarah - great tune that!

I do avoid it like the plague, you're right - and ABC I'd avoid generally too. What we have to remember is that learning tunes from notation is generally a bad way forward, whether it be ABC or classical notation. Whilst ABC is generally better because of the facilites for notating traditional rhythm and ornamentation - I'd still tell people - at least for the first few years - to avoid any kind of notation system and listen to the tunes played by real people, and learn them by ear. That way you pick up the right feel, rhythm, swing, ornamentation, variations etc right from the start.

Once you're advanced enough, you can play directly from a score or ABC and the style and ornamentation will just add themselves as you go, without you having to think about it.

ABC, however, is a great tool for sharing tunes with other experienced players via internet, on the back of a beermat or just so you don't forget the tune (I'm approaching somewhere near 2000 tunes memorised, so I've made a catalogue of the first bar of each in ABC format that I have on my iPhone and if I'm in a session and want to play a particular tune but can't find the starting bar in my head, I can just have a quick look at that, then I'm off!)

So I'd say - use your ears until you can comfortably sing a jig, reel, hornpipe, barndance, polka etc and vary and ornament it without your instrument, then use your instrument to learn it and once you've got your style down, you can by all means learn the odd tune from a score or ABC if there is no other way (i.e. if you have no access to a good recording by a top player) - as your style will be solid and add itself onto what you play and you will be able to vary the melody spontaneously without difficulty.

Hope that helps!

Right, here we go here's my offering for the day, a gorgeous jig in Gminor - sounds beautiful, especially if you play it after a jig in Gmajor.

X: 1
T: Crabs In The Skillet
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
R: jig
K: Gmin
|:DGG ABc|cdB ~c3|Add cBA|dcB AGF|
D2 G ABc|cdB ~c3|cAc fed|1cAF G2 F:|2cAF GBd||
|:~g3 ~g3|fag fed|cde fed|cde fed|
[BD]gg gag|(3fga g fed|cde fed|1cAF GBd:|2cAF GDB,||
|:G,B,D GBd|~c3 dcA|~B3 Adc|AGF DCB,|
G,B,D GBd|~c3 dcA|~B3 Adc|1AGF G2 G,:|AGF G2 D||

A couple of pointers for Irish music beginners :

A jig is a traditional dance, counted in 2, subdivided into three - it doesn't, however, sound like a classical gigue at all. You need a slight stress on the first beat of each bar, then you'll need to give a lift to the third quaver of each group of three, apart from when you really want to accentuate the first beat again, in which case the third quaver of the last group will be linked into the first quaver of the next bar with a down bow that will start slowly and suddenly speed up as we change bar - this kind of cross bar bowing is what gives the tune its lift.

Play it first in separate bows, long short short, long short short - then try short short LONG, short short LONG, then a mixture of the two - then try somethink like Long short short, Long for 3, Long short short, Long short LONG (crossing bar line) etc - Irish bowing is insane when you start as it appears to make no sense, but watch a lot of the great fiddlers on youtube and you get the idea!

If I have the time I might try to post a version on youtube.

Have fune !

Allan
(oh, and remember that Irish music uses natural minor scales, so unless otherwise stated the F's are going to be natural)

Edit : ARG! I forgot to mention that the tilde sign indicates an ornament - not any particular kind of ornament, but here a roll would be most appropriate. A roll is similar to a classical turn, only we only want to hear the main note three times, with the finger just interrupting the string vibration for the other notes - it sounds crunchy and percussive when you get it right - think of that first g with the tilde in the second part - what we play is gfgag - but what we want to hear is g()g()g with the first g being a bit longer and the brackets indicating a hiatus in the sound caused by the finger flicking the string to break its vibration pattern.

I'd find it frustrating if I didn't have a copy of the music as I have a habit of getting home from a lesson and already I've forgotten most of the tune I just learned. For the first couple of weeks I didn't realise you can easily get most fiddle tunes on the internet, so i was stuck not being able to practice at all.

Most people coming from classical music do find it frustrating at first, but you really do need to let go of the scores - most top irish and scots musicians agree that a score should only be used by a very advanced player who is already comfortable with the idiom - if you're just starting out, the score may seem like it's helping you but you ultimately end up stuck in a version of the tune - even if it's one with variations and ornaments etc - it will ultimately hamper your ability to pull new variations and ornamentations out of the hat on the spur of the moment, and to vary your style to fit in with the people you're playing with.

I totally understand how it feels though - I was convinced that I would never be able to remember them without the scores and it was hard for the first few months, but now I find it so easy that in the midst of a session, I can usually play a tune I've never heard before by the second time through and am quite solid by the third.

Give it a go - go on, go on, you know you want to

I can remember them without the scores eventually and I try not to play directly from the scores, but especially with new tunes, I need something to jog my memory (I have a short term memory comparable to that of your average goldfish!). The week before last, in my lesson we did that white petticoat tune and I had it pretty much there, but i forgot to ask the name. By the time I got home, literally all i could remember was 3 notes of it. I spent the entire week really annoyed that I couldn't play it at all.

The notes on the score may not be exactly the ones that you play, but they do help you remember how the tune goes.

Hence the purpose of learning to sing the tunes before playing them. All good trad players do this - they listen to it until they can sing it, and then they start to play - that way you don't forget!

It could be that you're an exception, but everyone I've seen try to learn with scores ends up hampering their progress and some of the top teachers report this too. Remember that in the course of a session, you may have to play up to five hundred tunes if it's a good one - you'll need to remember them!

Try it for a week - listen to a tune over and over, don't read the dots. Once you can sing it, pick up your fiddle and then play it. You'll be surprised at the results and you'll find you won't forget the tune.

and where might i find a tune to listen to?

Well, on a CD of a good fiddler would be the best place to start (your teacher will have recommended people to listen to?), if you haven't got any CD's you could start with Youtube - search for any of the great fiddlers (Frankie Gavin, Liz Carroll, Fergal Scahill, Gerry O'Connor etc if you like Irish, Alasdair Fraser, Alasdair White etc if you like Scottish - if it's English you're doing, river will advise you better than I).

This really is an Aural tradition - build yourself a huge library of the playing of great players and listen to it - it's the only way to get it right - just like the only way to learn a language is to listen to it spoken by native speakers and copy - sure you can learn bits from books, but it will always sound unnatural and odd that way.

Plus it's an excellent excuse to buy shedloads of new CD's!

Maybe even try listening to the White Petticoat on youtube and seeing how different people play it - that would be a great way to get used to it.

Hi, just sticking my head round the door to say great thread Haven't got time to read it all through at the moment, but I'll sit down some time and digest it all and look at the tunes etc. and maybe offer some of my own.

Brill, Anna - Please do post some tunes, or observations on stylistic playing etc. The more the merrier !

Allan

What a great thread - thank you, Allan.

No problem, Miss Ross! I bet you've got a few nice Scottish tunes hiding up your sleeve, hae ye no ? Go on, post one!

If you learn the tunes by singing them first how do you know you're playing them in the right key?

Or are there just standard keys everyone uses? Or do you practice them in every key? And then in a session does someone announce the key before you all start to play?

I'm never going to pick this up

That's a good question, Lottie (and of course you'll get it!)

Most traditional tunes, with very few exceptions, are written in G, D, A, E, F and C major, the relative minors and the modes (mostly dorian and mixolydian) thereof. You get the odd tune in Eb or Bb, but it's quite rare.

When starting out, it's best to learn 'standard' tunes that you know other trad players will definitely play - whilst the standards vary from one session to another, there's a body of a good thousand tunes or so that most sessions will know, or at least have one other player that knows. As all good traditional musicians learn by ear, you can bet safely that these standard tunes have come from Standard recordings so the first thing to do is listen to standard recordings (using the artist names I've mentioned) - perhaps I'll post a wee list to get people going as well.

I say sing them, but that's because I'm a singer - you can also just listen to them over and over until you've got the melody in your head perfectly. Because these tunes are short, you can get that very quickly - it used to take me around a day, now it's a matter of minutes - it gets easier because the same figures keep repeating (doh, mi, doh, soh, doh, mi - for example) in a lot of tunes.

So, choose your tune - let's say the jig saddle the pony - then you listen to a version of it over and over again - preferably from a 'standard recording'. Those that are really score dependent (as I was - I was definitely one of the 'Oh, I understand that's what you're meant to do, but I can't do that - I NEED the score' crowd !) can use software to really slow the tune down without changing the key - then it becomes a matter of listening to it slowly until it sticks.

Then try playing with the recording slowly - stopping as often as you need to.

Then gradually speed up. Session speed is ridiculous, though, and it will probably take a while to get that fast with good execution, rhythm and ornamentation, but that's ok - play your tunes as fast as you can play them well and you'll gradually reach session speed. When you're a little below session speed, start to go to sessions and let them 'drag' you higher as it were.

Once your tune is under your fingers, listen to lots of versions of it to hear how a traditional musician will spontaneously vary the melody, use chords and double stopping, ornament, swing the rhythm (good excuse to go to lots of ceilidhs here...) and add one, just one, variant or ornament to each part of the tune.

You'll find - especially if you think you can't do it - that when you learn your first tune by ear, you'll be so proud of yourself!

The second one will be easier again and it just gets quicker from then on in.

So, you've learned your jig in the same tune as the recording, then you go to your session and have a go! Very rarely you'll find that they play the tune in a different key at the session - that won't matter, if it's you that starts the tune, the others (if they're good) will spontaneously play it in your key instead of the more usual key.

The freedom you get to focus on the actual music when you're not using a score is excellent!

So, here's the challenge - go to youtube, click on fiddle4u's channel and look for his version of saddle the pony - it's about as standard as you can get. Listen to it (he plays it very slowly and he's not the most technically assured player, but he does have a cracking swing!) and see if you can learn it. I bet you can!

Here's this evening's offering - a really easy reel - but such a nice sounding one.

X: 1
T: Old Copperplate, The
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: Ador
A2 EA cAAe|aged cAFA|G2 DG BGBd|gedc BAGB|
A2 EA cAAe| aged cAGB|ABcd efge|aged cA A2 :|
ageg a2 eg|aged cA A2| gfef g2 ef|gfge dBGB|
ageg a2 eg|aged cAGB|ABcd efge|aged cA A2 :|

So, in Irish fiddle style, the reel is a 4/4 dance, played with essentially just two beats to the bar and a fairly marked accent on the off beat to make it swing.

A good bowing strategy on this one would be to bow by threes, with a separate note now and then - for example, in the first part perhaps we could bow it :

(upbow) A2 (downbow)E (upbow) ACA (downbow) e | ag (downbow) e (upbow) d (downbow) c (upbow) A (downbow) F A G(doublestopping with open G).

Just an idea!

Hope you like it.

Now I am very confused! I'll stick to learning notes and things for the moment.

Hi Sandy,

Don't worry about it if the ABC looks a bit odd - if you can only get your head round dots for now, you can paste the tune into an ABC convertor and it will generate a score for you!

By the way, what do X and L refer to?

X is the "index" of the tune. it's used in collections of ABC (tunebooks): you write several ABCs in one text file, one after the each, and give each one a different X: number. then you can refer to a particular tune by its number. (it's more useful for computer programs than humans--but to be a technically correct ABC file, the X: is required, so i always write X:1 when writing out a single tune.)

L is the length of a "plain" note. for example, 1/4 would be a crotchet ("quarter note" in Americanese), so "| A B C D |" would be four crotchets. if i'd written L:1/8, "| A B C D |" would be four quavers (eighth notes) instead. L:1/8 is actually a lot more common in tunes like this (especially fast tunes like reels) but i felt L:1/4 was more readable here.

you can still change the length of a note from the default L: length; e.g. A/2 for an A half the length of the default, A/4 for a quarter the length, etc. you can abbreviate /2 to just "/"; so in "A B/c/ d", the B and c are half the length of a 1/4 note, making them 1/8 notes. to make a note longer, write A2, A4, etc. if i'd written this using L:1/8, the first line would look like this:
|: A2 Bc d2 A2 | G2 F2 E2 FE | D2 FG A2 d2 | c2 d2 e2 cB |

rosfrog--do you know the reel Eddie Moloney's Favourite? this reminds me rather a lot of that! unfortunately i didn't get very far with your jig, but i shall have a stab at this one today...

L = note length. Thank you! That clears up a long-held question in my mind about ABC notation!

First I have to learn how to use youtube!!

How do I find the channel.. there's a channel tab but do you have to go through all those pages?

(I really am pretty dumb )

Och - I'll work it out somehow... will let you know how I get on later with the learning part

Hi Lottie! Once you're on youtube (you don't need to be a member, even - you can just go to the website) - just search for fiddle4u in the search box - at least one of his clips will appear. Then click on his name to go to his channel (rather than the video) and you'll find loads of tunes to learn there.




Hi river - no, I don't know that one. Do you have a good recording you can suggest so I can learn it? I'm all for learning new tunes!

The jig is gorgeous, but it's a bit finger trappy at times, especially if you want to roll some of the notes.

if you have a copy of Altan's Harvest Storm, it's track 13 (second tune). i found a harp version on youtube, here--although harpers often tend to play slowly, it actually is played this slow, at least when i've heard it (although it sounds good a bit quicker, too).

(despite the title of that clip, as i noted in the comments, this is not the same tune as Dobbin's Flowerly Vale...)

Excellent! I'll check it out (I love Altan - I don't play in a Northern fiddle style at all, but I love it - it's so aggressive and in your face !)

hmm, i'm not sure if i'm about to use up my 'quota' of tunes, but i can't resist posting this one ;-)

X:1
T:The Sloe
L:1/4
M:C|
K:Dmaj
| A \
| d>A d e | f>e d c | B A B/c/d/B/ | A F E D
| d>A d e | f>e d c | B A B c | d2 d :|
| A \
| (3B/c/B/ A F A | (3B/c/B/ A F d/d/ | d c/c/ c B/B/ | B A A d/d/
| c c e/e/ | e d d e | f e B c | d2 d :|

this is a very lively tune, but it's easy to kill it stone dead by playing it straight (which makes it one of those deceptively simple tunes...). it should be played not too slowly, but quite deliberately - almost like | d> A d/z/ e | f>e d/z/ c |. there's a few on youtube, but i think i like this one the most. if you can, listen to Spiers & Boden's version (it's on Bellow); Jon Boden does a spiccato-like thing in the B part that i've been trying to emulate (but so far, all i've managed is to give myself a sore arm.)

(for those who are new to ABC: d>A means the d is dotted and the A is half its normal length. z means a rest.)

on a different note (hah): what strings do people use for fiddling? i know many people use steel strings (Helicores seems popular), but my cheap fiddle is kind of brash already, and i think it might be unbearable with steel strings on. right now i'm using dominants, although i've just ordered a Pirastro No. 1 E to try...

What a great tune (haven't got my fiddle to hand so I've had to sing it, but nonetheless...) - I'm looking forward to playing it later. I think it could be played as a hornpipe in an Irish dance setting, so I might try to sneak it into our session that way...

As for strings, I've used obligatos, olivs, dominants, infeld red, helicore and many others beside. The helicores are not at all brash sounding - they sound much more like synthetics than other metal strings and have a lovely quick response for rolls and such. They a lack a little in overtones, but at the speed you go when playing most trad stuff, it makes no difference.

If you want to hear them, I can send you an MP3 of a fiddle player friend of mine who uses them on an old French fiddle, which has a relatively brash voice too.

I'm currenly on wiener melange - but I'm seriously considering going back to the helicores - cheap, great sound and very responsive.

If you want to try them, river, I've got a set on an old Chinese fiddle somewhere that I'm not using - they're a bit used, but I can send them to you if you like. You'll get an idea.

Right, here's todays offering - Randall Bays (an American fiddler) plays some reels at a concert, accompanied on the bouzouki.

His intonation isn't perfect, but what style and such clever melodic variations.

Enjoy !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6xm_QgKyeY

well... this thread seems to have died a bit. here's a couple more tunes.

X:1
T:Sheriff's Ride
M:4/4
L:1/4
K:Emin
|: B/A/ \
| G E E F/G/ | A/G/ F E B | e e e f/e/ | d B B c |
| d d e/d/ d/c/ | d/c/ B A E | G A d/c/B/A/ | B E E :|
| B \
| e2 e f/e/ | d B B2 | e e/f/ g f/e/ | d/e/ d B> c
| d d e/d/d/c/ | d/c/ B A E | G A d/c/B/A/ | B E E :|

X:2
T:Dear Tobacco
M:2/2
L:1/4
K:Edor
|: B E E F | G/F/E/D/ F2 | B E E c | d c B A
| B E E F | G/F/E/D/ F2 | D> E D c | d c B A :|
|: B e e f | g/f/e/d/ e2 | B e e f | g e f d |
| B d d e | d/c/B/c/ d2 | F A A F | d c B A :|

(often played together around here.)

and a question: how do you play a highland?

Do people play fiddle music on the viola or does it just bounce along the bass line? I've never seen a viola play fiddle music

i think it'd be challenging, because most trad tunes tend to be towards the higher end of the fiddle's range--the E string is used a lot more than the G string. i'm not a viola player, but i think that'd involve a lot of uncomfortable shifting ;-)

hmm, i suppose you could play it an octave lower instead...

I play the viola sometimes in our session if there's loads of fiddle players - I'll alternate between playing things an octave lower, playing cords and rhythm accompaniment and playing in the same octave as the fiddle and shifting up for the higher bits. It's great fun.

The problem you will have is that the viola has a kind of inbuilt inertia that makes it unsuitable for playing really fast reels with clean, precise ornamentation - but for things like jigs, hornpipes etc it's great and, you really can't beat it as a slow air instrument.

If you're playing alone, Lottie, play the tunes posted as if you were on the fiddle - they'll just sound a fifth lower, which isn't a problem unless you're in a session. If you want to focus purely on viola for a bit, practise octaving the second parts or shifting. Could be fun technique exercises.

Great tunes River ! I'm really enjoying getting some new tunes from non Irish and Scots sources - it's excellent!


Here's my tune for the day - something for the Scots music lovers - a thoroughly gorgeous strathspey :

X: 1
T: Marquis Of Huntley, The
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: strathspey
K: Gmin
F|D<G G>F D<G G>A|F>GA>B c/B/A/G/ F<A|D<G G>F D<G G>g|f>c e/d/B/A/ G2G:|
d|g>ab>g d>gb>g|a/g/f/d/ ~c>d f>c a<f|g>ab>g d>gb>g|b/a/g/f/ d>^f g/g/g ~g2|
g>ab>g a>^fg>d|f>c d<f A>Fc>A|D<G G>F D>GG<g|f>c d/c/B/A/ G2G||

To get it right, aim to make the uneven pairs really snap - think fi-ddle and flick the bow with your fingers to change notes. Listen to the battelfield band for a fantastic version.

Allan

Oh I love the Marquis of Huntly (but it is Huntly without an 'e' - Huntly is only 15 miles away from me )

I've got it in my fiddle book... just can't read these charts yet

Have any of you heard of the Scottish fiddler Paul Anderson?

Sorry! I shall remember to spell it correctly in future (I think with trad tunes it's especially important to get the names right...)

I know Paul Anderson's playing - very nice indeed.

Paul Anderson comes from a village near here (close to my parents) and I've seen him play quite a few times.. quite incredible on the slow airs as well as the 'hot stuff'! He's a lovely lad from a farming family and is very well known, a real 'community' supporter - he was 'composer-in-residence' at Huntly a few years back and wrote a lot of music about the town so I must see if I can look out the book. He's considered to be a very 'North East of Scotland' fiddler, lots of snaps and sharp bow-movements, very much like the local spoken accents of this part of Scotland... compared to the lilting softer sounds of the West Coast. He's just written some more tunes based on locations around here but I haven't heard them yet...

Just out of interest! But I do like his playing... and, by contrast, I love Catriona MacDonald too...

Just to re-iterate - A great thread, thankyou. I'm going to sit and go through everything that's been said, very slowly this weekend. I spent a few days in Cornwall not so long ago where local' folkies' played every evening in the pub - (only 2 short staggers away from where I was staying ),and I soooo wanted to join in, but didn't know how to. ( I'm a cellist by the way). I reckon I could have a go on fiddle so long as I could play it in cello position (upright on my lap), - although I'd much prefer my own instrument of course. I suppose I could play up in the treble register on the cello or maybe grab hold of a bass line or something ?????

Any thoughts on how someone with a big fiddle could get involved?

Hi!

We have a cellist who sometimes takes part in our sessions. She plays bass and accompaniment and sometimes lead too.

You could also check out the fire and grace album by fiddler Alasdair Fraser and Cellist Nathalie Haas.

Brilliant!

Here's a clip : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTbrbLC4q_U...feature=related

I love Catriona MacDonald too! How are you on Alisdair White? Great West Highland style. Sounds like a bagpipe playing! You'll find him on youtube.

Here's a great clip, actually : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7BSIrb9nbc

yep, today is "three-two day".

X:1
T:The Half Century
M:3/2
L:1/4
K:G
|: D> G G E F E | D> B B G A B/c/ | d> e d B A G | A> B A F E D |
D> G G E F E | D> B B G A B/c/ | d> e d B A G | A> B A F G2 :|
|: d> e d B c d | e> d c B A2 | B> c d B A G
|[1 A> B A F G A | d> e d B c d | e> d c B A2 B> c d B A G | D B B A G2
|[2 A> B A F E D | D> G G E F E | D> B B G A B/c/ | d> e d B A G | D B B A G :|

X:2
T:Jenny pluck pears
M:6/4
L:1/4
K:Gdor
|: G2 G A> B c | B> A G ^F2 D | G2 G A> B c | B> A G ^F2 D
| d2 d c2 A | B> A G ^F2 D | E> F G ^F> E F | G4> :|
M:3/2
L:1/2
|: G d c | B2 A | G d c | B2 A | G d c | B> A/ G | ^F> E/ F | G-G/ :|

Oooohhh the second one is really nice! And we likes titles that can be said with a wry grin over a glass of whisky.

STOP DISRUPTING MY WORK WITH YOUR INTERESTING ENGLISH FIDDLE TUNES, MAN!

I had enough to do with the Irish and Scots stuff, now here you go unearthing a whole load of other goodies that I'm going to have to try now.

Ah well, let's see if I can sneak this one into our session too - what to describe it as though... Air? Slow Waltz? Some kind of odd gavotte.... hmmm.

Open to ideas on masking techniques!