American fiddle

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Fiddler in Wichita Riverfest Fiddler in Wichita Riverfest.jpg
Fiddler in Wichita Riverfest

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". [1] 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.

Contents

Soon these tunes developed American identities of their own; local variations developed in the 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 stops and in some instances the incorporation of dance calls or simple lyrics. [2]

Fiddle playing distinguished from violin playing

Some folk fiddlers distinguish "fiddle" from "violin", though this is far from universal - many classical violinists refer to their "fiddle". Nevertheless, a few common differences may be observed;

Instrument

Generally, the setup of the instruments is different:

Playing technique

Fiddle playing generally avoids vibrato except for occasional slow tempo pieces and even then uses less vibrato. Shorter bow strokes are also consistent with the fiddle players' 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 intentionally grip the frog in a cruder manner and typically 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, partitas 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. Fiddles are typically associated with country and other genres of popular music while violins are usually associated with classical and other genres of art music.

Types of tunes

Woman playing fiddle (right) with her family in a California migrant camp, 1939 HillbillyFamilyBandDLange.jpg
Woman playing fiddle (right) with her family in a California migrant camp, 1939

Canonical Tunes

Orange Blossom Special

Also known as "OBS", Orange Blossom Special 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 Daniels as an interpretation the "Lonesome Fiddle Blues" by Vassar Clements and has been covered innumerable times. 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

According to London-based music writer Chris Haigh, fiddle " was among the primary instruments used by the rural blacks..." [3] He contends that by 1930 over 50 different black blues fiddle players had recordings. Many musicians who were guitar stars also played fiddle including:

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.

Appalachian Old time fiddle

Old time fiddle uses a profusion of double stops and many players typically tune their instruments in "open tunings" or cross tunings. The set ups often include flattened bridges and in some cases no chin rest. The most popular tuning ia AEAE for the key of A, but the instrument can be down tuned to GDGD, which may put less tension on the neck when playing solo. ADAE is also popular for the key of D, and standard (GDAE) is often used for G. 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.

According to some sources, old time music is actually the "early recorded country music of the 1920s and 1930s, particularly of the southeastern states" thus narrowing the definition considerably. [4] Nevertheless, a broader definition usually prevails which incorporates unrecorded music with roots long before radio transmission and sound recording were invented. Within old time music there are regional subgenres, 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. [5]

Bluegrass fiddle

Bluegrass music originated with the fiddler Bill Monroe. According to Haigh, "Monroe always considered the fiddle to be the key instrument of bluegrass". [6] Other key fiddlers in bluegrass include:

Cajun fiddle

According to Ron Yule, "Louisiana fiddling had its birth roots in Europe, with fiddling being noted as early as the 15th century in Scotland." [1] The most widely known Cajun fiddler is Doug Kershaw. Zydeco 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". [7] Rock has roots in folk music 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.

Rock violinists often use solid body electric violins to reduce feedback. Rock is an international phenomenon and is consequently influenced by cross fertilizations from rock players such as Ashley MacIsaac [8] Nevertheless, American rockers continue to experiment. For instance, eclectic rocker Natalie Stovall, [9] a graduate of Berkelee Conservatory, [10] covers Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Michael Jackson, Lenny Kravitz, The White Stripes, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Jimi Hendrix, all the while alternating between standard rock vocals and fiddle/violin riffs. [11]

Other rock fiddle or violin players include

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). [12] Nevertheless, instructional jazz playing was preceded by the highly influential 1992 Oak Publications volume Jazz Violin" by Matt Glaser and Stephane Grapelli. [13] The topic is indeed covered on the Wikipedia online encyclopedia at the article page entitled Jazz violin. Australian jazz player Ian Cooper is presented as a violinist. [14] 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".

Texas swing

This music, usually considered to be synonymous with Western swing, is bona fide fiddle music and is deeply intertwined with country and folk music as played by Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Vince Gill, Dale Watson, the Wheel's Jason Roberts, Jesse Dayton, and Garrison Keillor. [15] A well-known example of this music is "Faded Love", which despite some controversy is generally attributed to Bob Wills. [16] Mark O'Connor is a legendary[ peacock prose ] performer who also plays bluegrass and jazz, but got started as a youth contender in fiddle contests.

New England, "Down East," Yankee, or Boston fiddle

One of the most prominent examples of the New England fiddle tradition was Maine's Mellie Dunham, who was a sensation in his day. Today New England fiddle playing is exemplified by Rounder Records artist Frank Ferrel. [17] He refers to the style as "Down East" in his volume Boston Fiddle. [18] Unlike other fiddle traditions, piano accompaniment is common, and, he notes occasionally saxophone or clarinet would join in. [19] 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. [20] Like all Celtic American fiddle traditions, his is influenced by the publication of Chief O'Neil's massive directory of fiddle tunes in 1903 [21] 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.

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 Canadian sources. Québécois French, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. [22] Folk music tradition but has distinct features found only in the Western hemisphere [23] This influence is largely due to immigration and cross-border commerce. [24] 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 (Québécois) and Maritime. [23]

Scottish style American fiddlers

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donegal fiddle tradition</span> Traditional fiddle-playing method from County Donegal, Ireland

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fiddle</span> Bowed string instrument

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old-time music</span> Genre of folk 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, 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 has historically been the most common configuration to play old-time music. The genre is considered a precursor to modern country music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape Breton fiddling</span> Violin style from Nova Scotia, Canada

Cape Breton fiddling is a regional violin style which falls within the Celtic music idiom. The more predominant style in Cape Breton Island's fiddle music was brought to North America by Scottish immigrants during the Highland Clearances. These Scottish immigrants were primarily from Gaelic-speaking regions in the Scottish Highlands and the Outer Hebrides. Although fiddling has changed considerably since this time in Scotland, it is widely held that the tradition of Scottish fiddle music has been better preserved in Cape Breton. While there is a similar tradition from the Irish-style fiddling, that style is largely overlooked as a result of the strong Scottish presence in the area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Celtic music in Canada</span>

Celtic music is primarily associated with the folk traditions of Ireland, Scotland, Brittany and Wales, as well as the popular styles derived from folk culture. In addition, a number of other areas of the world are known for the use of Celtic musical styles and techniques, including Newfoundland, and much of the folk music of Canada's Maritimes, especially on Cape Breton Island and Prince Edward Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irish fiddle</span> Music style

The fiddle is one of the most important instruments in the traditional repertoire of Irish traditional music. The fiddle itself is identical to the violin, however it is played differently in widely varying regional styles. In the era of sound recording some regional styles have been transmitted more widely while others have become more uncommon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Five-string violin</span> String instrument

A five-string violin is a variant of violin with an extra string tuned below the violin's usual range. In addition to the G, D, A, and E strings of a standard violin, a five-string violin typically includes a lower C string. Violins with 6 or more strings may add a low F, low B♭, low E♭, or a soprano violin high A.

Calvin Vollrath is a Canadian fiddler and composer and is one of the few European-Canadian fiddle players playing professionally in the Métis style. He lives in St. Paul, Alberta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock violin</span>

Rock violin is rock music that includes violin in its instrumental lineup. This includes rock music only and does not include classical style music using melodic motifs from rock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old time fiddle</span> Style of American fiddling

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.

"Blues fiddle" is a generic term for bowed, stringed instruments played on the arm or shoulder that are used to play blues music. Since no blues artists played violas, the term is synonymous with violin, and blues players referred to their instruments as "fiddle" and "violin".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian fiddle</span>

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.

Métis fiddle is the style that the Métis of Canada and Métis in the northern United States have developed to play the violin, solo and in folk ensembles. It is marked by the percussive use of the bow and percussive accompaniment. The Metis people are a poly-ethnic post-contact Indigenous peoples. Fiddles were "introduced in this area by Scottish and French-Canadian fur traders in the early 1800s", where the Metis community adopted the instrument into their culture.

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.

Billy Contreras is an American jazz violinist and bluegrass fiddler, multi-instrumentalist, session player and educator.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howard Wight Marshall</span> American academic

Howard Wight Marshall is an American academic, author, folklorist, historian, and fiddler. He is a professor emeritus and former chair of the Department of Art History and Archeology at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri. In addition to his work on regional folk architecture he researches fiddling traditions in Missouri and the Ozarks, especially the style known as Missouri fiddling. Marshall is the founding director of the Missouri Cultural Heritage Center. In 2018 he received the Missouri Humanities Council Distinguished Literary Award.

References

  1. 1 2 "Living Traditions: Articles and Essays". Louisianafolklife.org. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
  2. E.g., Rye Whiskey, fiddle tune
  3. name=Haigh http://www.fiddlingaround.co.uk/blues/index.html
  4. Ahmet Baycu. "Roots of American Fiddle Music". 1001tunes.com. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
  5. Oldtime Fiddling Across America, by David Reiner and Peter Anick (1989), Mel Bay Publications. ISBN   0-87166-766-5
  6. 1 2 "Bluegrass Fiddle". Fiddlingaround.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
  7. "Rock Violin". Fiddlingaround.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
  8. Brad Wheeler (2011-06-20). "Why Ashley MacIsaac decided to rock his fiddle". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
  9. "News – Amarillo Globe-News Article « Natalie Stovall". Nataliestovall.com. 2011-01-29. Archived from the original on 2012-03-26. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
  10. "Natalie Stovall - Indie Artist Spotlight on". Countrystarsonline.com. Archived from the original on 4 July 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  11. "Natalie Stovall - Crazy Rock/Fiddle Medley - Chicago". YouTube. 2010-03-13. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
  12. "A Practical Guide To Jazz Improvising For Strings". Jazz Fiddle Wizard. 2011-07-13. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
  13. Jazz Violin| Grappelli and Glaser| Publisher: Music Sales America |(January 1, 1992)| ISBN   0-8256-0194-0| ISBN   978-0-8256-0194-1
  14. "Biography". Ian Cooper. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
  15. "Welcome to Johnny Gimble's world of Texas Swing!". Johnnygimble.com. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
  16. ^ Wolff, Country Music, p. 112: "It ['Faded Love'] originated with western swing pioneer Bob Wills, who grew up in the 1910s and '20s fiddling in rural Texas with his father, John Wills. They wrote the melody together when Bob was very young; it wasn't until 1950 that the song gained lyrics, courtesy of Bob's younger brother, Billy Jack.
  17. Notable as heard on A Prairie Home Companion. In the Boston Globe he was referred to as "one of the finest living masters," of that genre.
  18. "Official Website". Frank Ferrel. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
  19. "Home".
  20. Ryan's Mammoth Collection
  21. "Irish Fiddle". Fiddlingaround.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
  22. Mel Bay Danse Ce Soir: Fiddle And Accordion Music Of Quebec Book/CD Set [Paperback] Laurie Hart (Author), Greg Sandell
  23. 1 2 David Reiner and Peter Anick|Mel Bays' Old Time Fiddling Across America|1989
  24. Frank Ferrel|Boston Fiddle|Mel Bay|1999

Further reading