The Donegal fiddle tradition is one of the distinct fiddle traditions within Irish traditional music. The distinctness of the Donegal tradition developed due to the close relations between County Donegal and Scotland,and the Donegal repertoire and style has influences from Scottish fiddle music. For example,in addition to the ”universally known”standard Irish dance tunes,there is an added volume of Scottish and Nova Scotia tunes played,with even some tunes from Shetland and Orkney. This includes standard tune types such as double jigs,slip jigs,reels,and hornpipes. It has been claimed that Donegal musicians play more slip jigs than any other region of Ireland. This is potentially due to the geographical borders/mountains keeping Donegal's repertoire more locally-known for decades. There is also a prevalence of mazurka playing. Mazurkas are historically mainland-European tunes very similar to a waltz,in its 3
4 meter,though generally livelier and with more emphasis being placed on the second beat of each measure. Another uniquely Donegal tune is called the barndance,stemming from the Germanic schottische,also similar to the Norwegian reinlander. The barndance is very similar to a hornpipe,but slower than a reel;typically they are played with less of a hornpipe's “swing”and more of the “drive”of a reel.
A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument,most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin,used by players in all genres,including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous,the style of the music played may determine specific construction differences between fiddles and classical violins. For example,fiddles may optionally be set up with a bridge with a flatter arch to reduce the range of bow-arm motion needed for techniques such as the double shuffle,a form of bariolage involving rapid alternation between pairs of adjacent strings. To produce a "brighter" tone than the deep tones of gut or synthetic core strings,fiddlers often use steel strings. The fiddle is part of many traditional (folk) styles,which are typically aural traditions—taught "by ear" rather than via written music.
Old-time music is a genre of North American folk music. It developed along with various North American folk dances,such as square dancing,contra dance,clogging,and buck dancing. It is played on acoustic instruments,generally centering on a combination of fiddle and plucked string instruments,most often the banjo,guitar,and mandolin. Together,they form an ensemble called the string band,which along with the simple banjo–fiddle duet have historically been the most common configurations to play old-time music. The genre is considered a precursor to modern country music.
Scottish fiddling may be distinguished from other folk fiddling styles by its particular precision of execution and energy in the delivery,for example,the rendering of the dotted-quaver/semi-quaver rhythmic patterns,commonly used in the Strathspey. Christine Martin,in her Traditional Scottish Fiddling players guide,discusses the techniques of "hack bowing","the Scotch snap",and "snap bowing". These techniques contrast quite sharply with the most common bowing patterns of Irish fiddling. The style has a very large repertoire consisting of a great variation of rhythms and key signatures. There is also a strong link to the playing of traditional Scottish bagpipes which is better known throughout the world.
Brad Leftwich is an American old-time fiddler,banjo player,singer and teacher of traditional old-time style. He is originally from Oklahoma but has resided in Bloomington,Indiana for most of his life. He performs solo and with his long-time musical partner and wife,Linda Higginbotham,and with his band,The Humdingers,which also includes Sam Bartlett and Abby Ladin.
Kenneth Clayton Baker was an American fiddle player best known for his 25-year tenure with Bill Monroe and his group The Blue Grass Boys.
Bob Holt was an American fiddler,playing old-time and for square dances. He was known for his lightning-fast,energetic style of playing. He played his signature song "Ninth of January" at as much as 144 beats per minute while playing for dances. He was born on November 25,1930,in Ava,Douglas County,Missouri. He died March 19,2004,in Ava.
James Benton Flippen was an American old-time fiddler from Mount Airy,North Carolina. He was one of the last surviving members of a generation of performers born in the early 20th century playing in the Round Peak style centering on Surry County,North Carolina. His contemporaries included Tommy Jarrell,Fred Cockerham,Kyle Creed,and Earnest East.
Missouri fiddling is a unique style and repertoire of traditional folk violin playing practiced in Missouri,United States. Historian and fiddler Howard Wight Marshall has been active in its preservation and has published several full-length books on it. Today,numerous traditional jam sessions and fiddle competitions are held throughout the state,along with summer camps for aspiring young fiddlers
The National Oldtime Fiddlers' Contest is an old-time music competition,festival,and musical gathering in the western United States,held annually during the third full week in June in Weiser,Idaho,about fifty miles (80 km) northwest of Boise. Within the fiddling community,it is often referred to simply as "Weiser";the contest draws musicians from across the country. Nearly 7,000 attend for the week and almost 350 fiddlers compete in eight divisions. In addition to the contest there are workshops,performances,a battle of the bands,a parade and a carnival. The contest is held at Weiser High School:the competition is held in the gymnasium,and most of the contestants camp in the school's sports fields.
American fiddle-playing began with the early European settlers,who found that the small viol family of instruments were more portable and rugged than other instruments of the period. 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,Scottish,and English fiddle styles,as well as the more upper-class traditions of classical violin playing. Popular tunes included "Soldier's Joy",for which Robert Burns wrote lyrics,and other tunes such as "Flowers of Edinburgh" and "Tamlin," which have both been claimed by both Scottish and Irish lineages.
Old timefiddle is the style of American fiddling found in old-time music. Old time fiddle tunes are derived from European folk dance forms such as the jig,reel,breakdown,schottische,waltz,two-step,and polka. When the fiddle is accompanied by banjo,guitar,mandolin,or other string instruments,the configuration is called a string band. The types of tunes found in old-time fiddling are called "fiddle tunes",even when played by instruments other than a 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 French folk music tradition but has distinct features found only in the Western hemisphere.
Westerns swing originated in the 1920s and 1930s;small towns in the US Southwest. Although sometimes subject to the term "Texas swing" it is widely associated with Tulsa,others contend that "Western Swing music finds deep roots in the dust bowl of Oklahoma",and its influences include jazz from the major urban centers of the United States. Its stylistic origins lie in Old Time,Western,blues,folk,swing,Dixieland and jazz. Writing in Rolling Stone,Dan Hicks described it as Texas-bred music grafted to jazz,or as "white country blues with a syncopated beat.".
Bluegrass fiddling is a distinctive style of American fiddle playing which is characterized by bold,bluesy improvisation,off-beat "chopping",and sophisticated use of both double-stops and old-time bowing patterns.
Graham Craig Townsend was a Canadian fiddler,mandolin player,pianist and composer active from the 1950s through the 1990s.
Athabaskan fiddle is the old-time fiddle style that the Alaskan Athabaskans of the Interior Alaska have developed to play the fiddle (violin),solo and in folk ensembles. Fiddles were introduced in this area by Scottish,Irish,French Canadian,and Métis fur traders of the Hudson's Bay Company in the mid-19th century. Athabaskan fiddling is a variant of fiddling of the American southlands. Athabaskan fiddle music is most popular genre in Alaska and northwest Canada and featuring Gwich'in Bill Stevens and Trimble Gilbert.
Randy Howard (1960–1999) was an American bluegrass,country and old time fiddler.
Lonnie Robertson was an American musician,singer and composer
Vivian Williams was an American fiddler,composer,recording artist,and writer. She won national fiddling titles,including the National Oldtime Fiddlers Contest,and in 2013 she was inducted into the North American Old Time Fiddlers Hall of Fame.
