American fiddle
Encyclopedia
This page is about fiddle music in the USA. For other North American styles, see Fiddle#Fiddling styles.
American fiddle playing began with the early settlers who found that the small viol family instruments were portable and rugged. According to Ron Yule, "John Utie, a 1620 immigrant, settled in the North and is credited as being the first known fiddler on American soil". Early influences were Irish fiddle styles as well as Scottish and the more refined traditions of classical violin playing. Popular tunes included Soldier's Joy, for which Robert Burns had written lyrics, and other such tunes as Flowers of Edinburgh and Tamlin which were claimed by both Scottish and Irish lineages. Soon these tunes were Americanized and local variations developed in Northern and Southern colonies. In contemporary American fiddle styles, the New England states are heavily influenced by all Celtic styles including Cape Breton fiddle playing whereas Southern or Dixie fiddle styles have tended to develop their own traditions which emphasize double stop
s and in some instances incorporation of dance calls or simple lyrics.
such as MP3 downloads.
insofar as the categories tend to overlap and ambiguity. Nevertheless, traditional modes of typological sorting can be applied as follows.
Generally, the setup of the instruments is different:
. Shorter bowstrokes are also consistent with fiddle player tendency to use less legato
and more detache bow strokes. Some but not all styles use double stops and open tunings. Trick fiddling is employed, often built upon cross bowing technique such as used in Orange Blossom Special or Beaumont Rag.
Bowing by fiddle players is quite different in that they may grip the frog in a crude manner, on purpose, and typically do choke up on the bow. See for instance Rhiannon Giddens of the Carolina Chocolate Drops Massachusetts performance of Genuine Negro Jig in May 2010.
s have been popular with fiddle players, particularly since publication of the Open House CD by Kevin Burke
, an Irish style player based in Portland, Oregon.
exploits the capacity of fiddle or violin to imitate various mechanical tones. Authorship is controversial.
and has been covered inumerable times, notably by Natalie Stovall. Although classified as Country rock
, the tune uses licks based on old time fiddle playing and rock guitar riffs. Unlike most old time playing, the instrument ranges high up the neck, exploiting both the legendary association of the fiddle as "the devil's instrument" and the intensity of rapid sixteenth or thirty second notes. These effects are achieved through rapid detache bowing bordering on outright tremolo
. The motif of a deal with the devil
may have been influenced by Cross Road Blues
by Delta Blues singer Robert Johnson.
Blues
fiddle uses the pentatonic blues scale to create riffs for breaks and over guitar chords typically in the standard blues progression. Vibrato is not often used, although may occasionally be used in an exaggerated manner for special effect.
African-American Fiddlers 1926-1949
Old Hat CD-1002
. The set ups often include flattened bridges and in some cases no chin rest. The most popular tuning ia AEAE but the instrument can be down tuned to GDGD. However, tonal quality suffers. Some of the earliest popular repertoire includes Turkey in the Straw, Arkansas Traveler, Billy in the Lowground. Accompanying instruments include washboard, jug bass, banjo, dulcimer, guitar, and occasionally kazoo. But according to some sources, Old Time music is actually the "early recorded country music of the 1920's and 1930's, particulary of the southeastern states" thus narrowing the definition considerably. Nevertheless, a broader definition usually prevails which incorporates unrecorded music with roots long before radio and recording. Within old time music there are regional subgenres particularly emphasized in certain regions such as the Deep South and Appalachia where fiddle music is often intertwined with cultural phenomena such as coal mining.
A comprehensive review of Old Time fiddle styles was written by David Reiner and Peter Anick and published in 1989.
. Zydeco
music is closely related.
particularly the American folk revival of the 1960s, and thus as a matter of usage some writers refer to "rock fiddle" when discussing playing by classically trained musicians who join rock bands and thus import classical style rather than fiddle style into their playing.
Johnny Otis:
Rock violinists often use solid body electric violin
s to reduce feedback. Rock is an international phenomenon, and rock violin is consequently influenced by cross fertilizations from rock players such as Ashley MacIsaac Nevertheless American rockers continue to experiment. For instance, eclectic rocker Natalie Stovall, a graduate of Berkelee Conservatory, covers Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Michael Jackson, Lenny Kravitz, The White Stripes, Lynard Skynard, Jimmi Hendrix,all the while alternating between standard rock vocals and fiddle/violin riffs.
Other rock fiddle or violin players include
. Australian jazz player Ian Cooper
is presented as a violinist. Dutch eclectic player Tim Kliphuis presents his jazz instructional material as "Jazz Swing Violin Fiddle" but his website quotes the Glasgow Herald review which denominates hims as a "splendid young...violinist".
Mark O'Connor
is among other distinctions of French jazz masterStephane Grappelli
, in whose memory O'Connor recently conducted a performance tour demonstrating that his roots in Texas swing did not inhibit formi
, is bona fide fiddle music and is deeply intertwined with country music as played by Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Vince Gill, Dale Watson, the Wheel's Jason Roberts, Jesse Dayton, and Garrison Keillor. A well known example of this music is Faded Love
which despite some controversy is generally attributed to Bob Wills. :*Mark O'Connor
is a legendary performer who also plays bluegrass and jazz but got started as a youth contender in fiddle contests.
Benny Thomasson
Johnny Gimble
, who is in some circles championed as America's leading fiddler.
Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys
artist Frank Ferrel. He refers to the style as "Down East" in his volume Boston Fiddle. Unlike other fiddle traditions, piano accompaniment is common, and , he notes occasionally saxaphone or clarinet would join in. Another feature is frequent use of minor keys particularly G minor and also the "flat keys" of F Major and B flat Major, which are not typically used in Old Time and other indigenous music traditions. Ferrell traces his roots into the 1800s Boston Scottish and Irish cultures as typified in musicians such as William Bradbury Ryan. Like all Celtic American fiddle traditions, his is influenced by the publication of Chief O'Neil's massive directory of fiddle tunes in 1903 Thus, Ferrel and others in the North East tradition use the full panoply of Irish fiddle ornamentation.
Other influences include Scottish fiddling
and Cape Breton style, which has its own blend of Celtic traditions which include also Normandy styles.
sources. Quebecois French , Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.
folk music
tradition but has distinct features found only in the Western hemisphere This influence is largely due to immigration and cross-border commerce.
Some observers categorize Maritime influence as a cosmopolitan trend of its own blending otherwise distinct styles
which outlines several influences on what they call Northeastern Fiddling Styles: Cape Breton, French-Canadian (Quebecois) and Maritime.
American fiddle playing began with the early settlers who found that the small viol family instruments were portable and rugged. According to Ron Yule, "John Utie, a 1620 immigrant, settled in the North and is credited as being the first known fiddler on American soil". Early influences were Irish fiddle styles as well as Scottish and the more refined traditions of classical violin playing. Popular tunes included Soldier's Joy, for which Robert Burns had written lyrics, and other such tunes as Flowers of Edinburgh and Tamlin which were claimed by both Scottish and Irish lineages. Soon these tunes were Americanized and local variations developed in Northern and Southern colonies. In contemporary American fiddle styles, the New England states are heavily influenced by all Celtic styles including Cape Breton fiddle playing whereas Southern or Dixie fiddle styles have tended to develop their own traditions which emphasize double stop
Double stop
A double stop, in music terminology, is the act of playing two notes simultaneously on a melodic percussion instrument or stringed instrument...
s and in some instances incorporation of dance calls or simple lyrics.
Contemporary fusionist trends
In a radical departure from tradition, groups such as Trio Chipontepec are cropping up at American fiddle festivals. Rock is fusing with country, jazz with rock, and classical violinists are retooling in an era characterized by home recording studios and the easy availability of new mediaNew media
New media is a broad term in media studies that emerged in the latter part of the 20th century. For example, new media holds out a possibility of on-demand access to content any time, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as interactive user feedback, creative participation and community...
such as MP3 downloads.
Fiddle playing distinguished from violin playing
Categorization of violin and fiddle can be a source of controversy and is perplexing to those lacking intimate familiarity with the various styles of instrument and playing. Perhaps categorization is more appropriately conducted using the flexible methodology of fuzzy logicFuzzy logic
Fuzzy logic is a form of many-valued logic; it deals with reasoning that is approximate rather than fixed and exact. In contrast with traditional logic theory, where binary sets have two-valued logic: true or false, fuzzy logic variables may have a truth value that ranges in degree between 0 and 1...
insofar as the categories tend to overlap and ambiguity. Nevertheless, traditional modes of typological sorting can be applied as follows.
Instrument
- Fiddle bridge is flatter
- Strings may be lower at the nut
- Strings heavier and more often steel rather than synthetic or gut
- Instruments may be hand made by amateur luthierLuthierA luthier is someone who makes or repairs lutes and other string instruments. In the United States, the term is used interchangeably with a term for the specialty of each maker, such as violinmaker, guitar maker, lute maker, etc...
s
- Fiddle more commonly set up with pickup
- Fiddle more commonly set up with individual string tuners; violinists who use tuners more likely to use tailpiece tuners
Playing technique
Fiddle playing generally avoids vibrato except for occasional slow tempo pieces and even then uses less vibratoVibrato
Vibrato is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. Vibrato is typically characterised in terms of two factors: the amount of pitch variation and the speed with which the pitch is varied .-Vibrato and...
. Shorter bowstrokes are also consistent with fiddle player tendency to use less legato
Legato
In musical notation the Italian word legato indicates that musical notes are played or sung smoothly and connected. That is, in transitioning from note to note, there should be no intervening silence...
and more detache bow strokes. Some but not all styles use double stops and open tunings. Trick fiddling is employed, often built upon cross bowing technique such as used in Orange Blossom Special or Beaumont Rag.
Bowing by fiddle players is quite different in that they may grip the frog in a crude manner, on purpose, and typically do choke up on the bow. See for instance Rhiannon Giddens of the Carolina Chocolate Drops Massachusetts performance of Genuine Negro Jig in May 2010.
Fiddle repertoire distinguished
Fiddle players tend to play fiddle "tunes" rather than sonatas and other classical types of compositions. There are exceptions. For instance, partitaPartita
Partita was originally the name for a single instrumental piece of music , but Johann Kuhnau and later German composers used it for collections of musical pieces, as a synonym for suite.Johann Sebastian Bach wrote two sets of Partitas for different instruments...
s have been popular with fiddle players, particularly since publication of the Open House CD by Kevin Burke
Kevin Burke
Kevin Burke is an Irish fiddler considered one of the top living Irish fiddlers. Born in London to parents from County Sligo in 1950, Burke took up the fiddle at the age of eight, eventually acquiring a virtuosic technique in the Sligo fiddling style. In 1974, he moved to Ireland, where he formed...
, an Irish style player based in Portland, Oregon.
Types of tunes
- Reels
- Hornpipes
- Jigs
- Slip Jigs
- Double Jigs
- Waltzes
- Songs with lyrics
Orange Blossom Special
Also knwon as "OBS", Orange Blossom SpecialOrange Blossom Special
Orange Blossom Special may refer to:* Orange Blossom Special , was a passenger train operated by the Seaboard Air Line Railway* Orange Blossom Special , by Ervin T. Rouse* Orange Blossom Special , an album by Johnny Cash...
exploits the capacity of fiddle or violin to imitate various mechanical tones. Authorship is controversial.
The Devil Went Down to Georgia
The canonical American fiddle tune, the Devil Went Down to Georgia was written by Charlie DanielsCharlie Daniels
Charles Edward "Charlie" Daniels is an American musician known for his contributions to country and southern rock music. He is known primarily for his number one country hit "The Devil Went Down to Georgia", and multiple other songs he has performed and written. Daniels has been active as a singer...
and has been covered inumerable times, notably by Natalie Stovall. Although classified as Country rock
Country rock
Country rock is sub-genre of popular music, formed from the fusion of rock with country. The term is generally used to refer to the wave of rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s, beginning with Bob Dylan and The Byrds; reaching its greatest...
, the tune uses licks based on old time fiddle playing and rock guitar riffs. Unlike most old time playing, the instrument ranges high up the neck, exploiting both the legendary association of the fiddle as "the devil's instrument" and the intensity of rapid sixteenth or thirty second notes. These effects are achieved through rapid detache bowing bordering on outright tremolo
Tremolo
Tremolo, or tremolando, is a musical term that describes various trembling effects, falling roughly into two types. The first is a rapid reiteration...
. The motif of a deal with the devil
Deal with the Devil
Deal With The Devil is the fifth studio album by the American heavy metal band Lizzy Borden released in 2000 .A return to form, featuring a cover by Todd McFarlane.2 covers were recorded...
may have been influenced by Cross Road Blues
Cross Road Blues
"Cross Road Blues" is a song by Delta Blues singer Robert Johnson; released on a 78 rpm record in 1936 by Vocalion Records, catalogue 3519. The original version remained out of print after its initial release until the appearance of The Complete Recordings in 1990...
by Delta Blues singer Robert Johnson.
Blues fiddle
According to London-based music writer Chris Haigh, fiddle " was among the primary instruments used by the rural blacks..." He contends that by 1930 over 50 different black blues fiddle players had recordings. Many musicians who were guitar stars also played fiddle including:- Lonnie JohnsonLonnie JohnsonAlonzo "Lonnie" Johnson was an American blues and jazz singer/guitarist and songwriter who pioneered the role of jazz guitar and is recognized as the first to play single-string guitar solos...
- Big Bill BroonzyBig Bill BroonzyBig Bill Broonzy was a prolific American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. His career began in the 1920s when he played country blues to mostly black audiences. Through the ‘30s and ‘40s he successfully navigated a transition in style to a more urban blues sound popular with white audiences...
- Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown
Blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
fiddle uses the pentatonic blues scale to create riffs for breaks and over guitar chords typically in the standard blues progression. Vibrato is not often used, although may occasionally be used in an exaggerated manner for special effect.
Blues fiddle discography
Violin, Sing The Blues For Me- VIOLIN, SING THE BLUES FOR ME
African-American Fiddlers 1926-1949
Old Hat CD-1002
Old time fiddle
Old time fiddle uses a profusion of double stops and authentic players typically tune their instruments in "open tunings" or cross tuningsScordatura
A scordatura , also called cross-tuning, is an alternative tuning used for the open strings of a string instrument, in which the notes indicated in the score would represent the finger position as if played in regular tuning, while the actual pitch is altered...
. The set ups often include flattened bridges and in some cases no chin rest. The most popular tuning ia AEAE but the instrument can be down tuned to GDGD. However, tonal quality suffers. Some of the earliest popular repertoire includes Turkey in the Straw, Arkansas Traveler, Billy in the Lowground. Accompanying instruments include washboard, jug bass, banjo, dulcimer, guitar, and occasionally kazoo. But according to some sources, Old Time music is actually the "early recorded country music of the 1920's and 1930's, particulary of the southeastern states" thus narrowing the definition considerably. Nevertheless, a broader definition usually prevails which incorporates unrecorded music with roots long before radio and recording. Within old time music there are regional subgenres particularly emphasized in certain regions such as the Deep South and Appalachia where fiddle music is often intertwined with cultural phenomena such as coal mining.
A comprehensive review of Old Time fiddle styles was written by David Reiner and Peter Anick and published in 1989.
Bluegrass fiddle
Bluegrass music originated in the person of Bill Monroe. According to Haigh, "Monroe always considered the fiddle to be the key instrument of bluegrass".- Chubby WiseChubby WiseRobert Russell "Chubby" Wise was an American bluegrass fiddler.Wise began playing fiddle at age 15, working locally in the Jacksonville area. He joined the Jubilee Hillbillies in 1938, then began playing with Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys in 1942, including dates at the Grand Ole Opry...
Played with Monroe. Also a Texas Swing player
- Byron BerlineByron BerlineByron Berline is an American fiddle player.-Biography:Berline started playing the fiddle at age five and quickly developed a talent for it. In 1965, he recorded the album Pickin' and Fiddlin with the Dillards...
a bluegrass player, has appeared with the Rolling Stones, Gram Parsons and The Flying Burrito Brothers
- Richard GreenRichard GreenRichard Green may refer to:*Richard Green , American actor*Richard J. Green , American chemist*Richard Green , English cricketer*Richard K...
Played with Monroe. Classical training, old time. Band: Seatrain. tric violin. COMPOSITION: “What if Mozart had played with Bill Monroe; a concerto for violin and orchestra"
Cajun fiddle
According to Ron Yule "Louisiana fiddling had its birthroots in Europe, with fiddling being noted as early as the 1400s in Scotland". The most widely known Cajun fiddler is Doug KershawDoug Kershaw
Doug Kershaw, born January 24, 1936, is an American fiddle player, singer and songwriter from Louisiana. Active since 1949, Kershaw has recorded fifteen albums and charted on the Hot Country Songs charts.- Early life :...
. Zydeco
Zydeco
Zydeco is a form of uniquely American roots or folk music. It evolved in southwest Louisiana in the early 19th century from forms of "la la" Creole music...
music is closely related.
Rock fiddle
Rock fiddle, like rock music in general, owes much to American blues. Incorporation of fiddle or violin into rock, as with jazz, has been a slow process, resisted by some critics as an"unlikeliest and perverse misuse of an instrument". Rock has roots in folk musicFolk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
particularly the American folk revival of the 1960s, and thus as a matter of usage some writers refer to "rock fiddle" when discussing playing by classically trained musicians who join rock bands and thus import classical style rather than fiddle style into their playing.
- Papa John CreachPapa John CreachPapa John Creach played for Jefferson Airplane , Hot Tuna, Jefferson Starship, Jefferson Starship - The Next Generation, the San Francisco All-Stars , The Dinosaurs , and Steve Taylor...
(Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship, Hot Tuna) played in a style more closely approaching true fiddle as opposed to violinistic style.
- Sugar Cane Harris(violin,technically), played with John Mayall Bluesbreakers,John Lee Hooker,Little Richard: Little Richard
Johnny Otis:
- Jerry GoodmanJerry GoodmanJerry Goodman is an American violinist best known for playing electric violin in the bands The Flock and the jazz fusion Mahavishnu Orchestra. Goodman actually began his musical career as The Flock's roadie before joining the band on violin. Trained in the conservatory, both of his parents were...
played (violin,technically), with Mahavishnu Orchestra Birds of Fire.
- Scarlet RiveraScarlet RiveraScarlet Rivera is an American violinist. She is best known for her work with Bob Dylan, in particular on his album Desire and as part of the Rolling Thunder Revue.-Early career:...
(violin,technically), played with Bob Dyan on "Hurricane Carter"
Rock violinists often use solid body electric violin
Electric violin
An electric violin is a violin equipped with an electronic output of its sound. The term most properly refers to an instrument purposely made to be electrified with built-in pickups, usually with a solid body...
s to reduce feedback. Rock is an international phenomenon, and rock violin is consequently influenced by cross fertilizations from rock players such as Ashley MacIsaac Nevertheless American rockers continue to experiment. For instance, eclectic rocker Natalie Stovall, a graduate of Berkelee Conservatory, covers Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Michael Jackson, Lenny Kravitz, The White Stripes, Lynard Skynard, Jimmi Hendrix,all the while alternating between standard rock vocals and fiddle/violin riffs.
Other rock fiddle or violin players include
- Byron BerlineByron BerlineByron Berline is an American fiddle player.-Biography:Berline started playing the fiddle at age five and quickly developed a talent for it. In 1965, he recorded the album Pickin' and Fiddlin with the Dillards...
a bluegrass player, has appeared with the Rolling Stones, Gram Parsons and The Flying Burrito Brothers
- Rufus ThibodeauxRufus ThibodeauxRufus Thibodeaux was an American Cajun music fiddler.Thibodeaux played guitar from age six and fiddle from age twelve. He played in local dance halls at 13, and joined Julius Lamperez's Cajun band in 1949. He worked extensively as a studio musician for J. D...
(Neil Young)
- John CaleJohn CaleJohn Davies Cale, OBE is a Welsh musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground....
of the Velvet Underground notable tracks include Heroin
American Jazz fiddle
Jazz playing on the fiddle is often called jazz violin but there are some instances in which "jazz fiddle" is discussed. For instance Mel Bay contributor Martin Norgard presents jazz fiddle in numerous media (book, website). Nevertheless, instructional jazz playing was preceded by the highly influential 1992 Oak Publications volume Jazz Violin" by Matt Glaser and {Stephane Grapelli. The topic is indeed covered on the Wikipedia online encyclopedia at the article page entitled Jazz violinJazz violin
Jazz violin is the use of the violin or electric violin to improvise and perform utilizing scales and chord progressions unique to the compositions of Jazz musicians . The earliest references to jazz performance using the violin as a solo instrument was during the first decades of the 20th century...
. Australian jazz player Ian Cooper
Ian Cooper (violinist)
Ian Cooper is an Australian Violinist. He was commissioned to compose the "Tin Symphony" for the opening ceremony of the Games of the XXVII Olympiad in Sydney and is proficient in many musical styles including Classical, Gypsy, Jazz, Irish & Country music...
is presented as a violinist. Dutch eclectic player Tim Kliphuis presents his jazz instructional material as "Jazz Swing Violin Fiddle" but his website quotes the Glasgow Herald review which denominates hims as a "splendid young...violinist".
Mark O'Connor
Mark O'Connor
Mark O'Connor is an American bluegrass, jazz, country and classical violinist fiddler, composer and music teacher. O'Connor's music is wide-ranging, critically acclaimed, and he has received numerous awards for both his playing and his composition...
is among other distinctions of French jazz masterStephane Grappelli
Stéphane Grappelli
Stéphane Grappelli was a French jazz violinist who founded the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934. It was one of the first all-string jazz bands....
, in whose memory O'Connor recently conducted a performance tour demonstrating that his roots in Texas swing did not inhibit formi
Texas swing
This music, usually considered to be synonymous with Western swingWestern swing
Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands...
, is bona fide fiddle music and is deeply intertwined with country music as played by Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Vince Gill, Dale Watson, the Wheel's Jason Roberts, Jesse Dayton, and Garrison Keillor. A well known example of this music is Faded Love
Faded Love
"Faded Love" is a Western swing song written by Bob Wills, his father John Wills, and his brother, Billy Jack Wills. The tune is considered to be an exemplar of the Western swing fiddle component of American fiddle.The melody came from an old fiddle tune Bob learned from his father, John Wills....
which despite some controversy is generally attributed to Bob Wills. :*Mark O'Connor
Mark O'Connor
Mark O'Connor is an American bluegrass, jazz, country and classical violinist fiddler, composer and music teacher. O'Connor's music is wide-ranging, critically acclaimed, and he has received numerous awards for both his playing and his composition...
is a legendary performer who also plays bluegrass and jazz but got started as a youth contender in fiddle contests.
Benny Thomasson
Benny Thomasson
Benny Thomasson was an American fiddler in the Texas style of old-time fiddling.Thomasson was born in Runnels County, Texas and raised in Gatesville, one of 10 children in a family where music was not only encouraged, it was a key ingredient of life. His parents were Lucas "Red Luke" and Sarah...
Johnny Gimble
Johnny Gimble
John Paul Gimble , better known as Johnny Gimble, is an American country musician associated with Western swing. He is an award-winning fiddle player and considered one of the most impressive fiddlers in the genre's history....
, who is in some circles championed as America's leading fiddler.
Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys
New England, "Down East", Yankee or Boston fiddle
New England fiddle playing is exemplified by Rounder RecordsRounder Records
Rounder Records, originally of Cambridge, Massachusetts, but now based in Burlington, Massachusetts, is a record label founded in 1970 by Ken Irwin, Bill Nowlin and Marian Leighton-Levy, while all three were still university students...
artist Frank Ferrel. He refers to the style as "Down East" in his volume Boston Fiddle. Unlike other fiddle traditions, piano accompaniment is common, and , he notes occasionally saxaphone or clarinet would join in. Another feature is frequent use of minor keys particularly G minor and also the "flat keys" of F Major and B flat Major, which are not typically used in Old Time and other indigenous music traditions. Ferrell traces his roots into the 1800s Boston Scottish and Irish cultures as typified in musicians such as William Bradbury Ryan. Like all Celtic American fiddle traditions, his is influenced by the publication of Chief O'Neil's massive directory of fiddle tunes in 1903 Thus, Ferrel and others in the North East tradition use the full panoply of Irish fiddle ornamentation.
- Bowed Triple
- The Cut
- The Double Cut
- The Long Roll
- The Short Roll
- The Slide
Other influences include Scottish fiddling
Scottish fiddling
Scottish fiddling, even to many an untrained ear, can be distinguished from other Celtic and folk fiddling styles by its particular precision of execution and energy in the delivery. The style has a very large repertoire consisting of a great variation of rhythms and key signatures, arguably more...
and Cape Breton style, which has its own blend of Celtic traditions which include also Normandy styles.
Canadian and other international influence
American fiddle traditions are deeply influenced by international influence from numerous immigrations and ordinary commerce particularly from Anglo-Celtic and CanadianCanadian fiddle
Canadian fiddle is the aggregate body of tunes, styles and musicians engaging the traditional folk music of Canada on the fiddle. It is an integral extension of the Anglo-Celtic and Québécois Frenchfolk music tradition but has distinct features found only in the Western hemisphere Due to...
sources. Quebecois French , Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.
folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
tradition but has distinct features found only in the Western hemisphere This influence is largely due to immigration and cross-border commerce.
Some observers categorize Maritime influence as a cosmopolitan trend of its own blending otherwise distinct styles
which outlines several influences on what they call Northeastern Fiddling Styles: Cape Breton, French-Canadian (Quebecois) and Maritime.
Scottish style American fiddlers
- Brittany HaasBrittany HaasBrittany Haas is an American fiddle player. She is currently a member of the Boston-based alternative bluegrass band, Crooked Still. She graduated from Princeton University in 2009 and was a member of the Princeton University Band. Previously she was a member of Darol Anger's Republic of Strings...
- Hanneke CasselHanneke CasselHanneke Cassel is a folk violinist. She was born in Oregon and graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance at Berklee College of Music in 2000. Hanneke is the 1997 U.S...
- Jeremy Kittel
- Bonnie RideoutBonnie RideoutBonnie Rideout is a fiddler in the Scottish style, consistently featured on The Thistle & Shamrock, a Celtic music radio show broadcast by the United States' NPR. She lives in Alexandria, Virginia.-External links:*...
- Laura RiskLaura RiskLaura Risk is an acclaimed California-born violinist. She specializes in performing and teaching the diverse fiddle repertoire of Scotland and Quebec.Laura performs both solo and in collaboration with such artists as Sandy Silva, Ken Kolodner, and Paddy League...
See also
- BanjoBanjoIn the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
- DulcimerDulcimerDulcimer may refer to two types of musical instruments:* Appalachian dulcimer, a fretted, plucked musical instrument which is also referred to as a "mountain dulcimer", "lap dulcimer", "hog fiddle", "fretted dulcimer" or simply "dulcimer"...
- John LomaxJohn LomaxJohn Avery Lomax was an American teacher, a pioneering musicologist and folklorist who did much for the preservation of American folk songs...
Musicologist.
- Mark O'ConnorMark O'ConnorMark O'Connor is an American bluegrass, jazz, country and classical violinist fiddler, composer and music teacher. O'Connor's music is wide-ranging, critically acclaimed, and he has received numerous awards for both his playing and his composition...
a major influence.
- Canadian fiddleCanadian fiddleCanadian fiddle is the aggregate body of tunes, styles and musicians engaging the traditional folk music of Canada on the fiddle. It is an integral extension of the Anglo-Celtic and Québécois Frenchfolk music tradition but has distinct features found only in the Western hemisphere Due to...
- Cajun fiddleCajun fiddleCajun fiddle music is a part of the American fiddle music canon. It is derived from the music of southwest Louisiana and southeast Texas, as well as sharing repertoire from the Quebec and Cape Breton traditions...
- Scottish fiddlingScottish fiddlingScottish fiddling, even to many an untrained ear, can be distinguished from other Celtic and folk fiddling styles by its particular precision of execution and energy in the delivery. The style has a very large repertoire consisting of a great variation of rhythms and key signatures, arguably more...
- Irish fiddle