My son spent a few weeks in Santa Fe during a festival and he said the music scene was great !  I guess he was there at the right time!

I believe it was classical. 

I think that the biggest difference fiddle and classical is that fiddle roots come from the dance which signifies people having a good time.  Calling classical "fun" would be insulting to many people.  ( However, I do love Mozart's sense of humor)

I never remember any classical performance where people tapped their foot ??

I don't remember any fiddle performance where anyone fell asleep !!

PS  Most fiddle music is too fast to fit in any vibrato although there are fiddlers who DO play vibrato on a limited basis for ballads, church music, etc.

Also, I think classical music is more fussy about technique such as bowing directions and other articulations but then fiddle music almost always has a lot of double stops.  Fiddle music does not have nearly as many shifts, if any.  Then too, nothing is faster (tempo) than Blue Grass!

Is that a Classical event?  I would think there would be a lot of country music going on in NM ...... or Spanish ?

And what kind of music do you prefer to play?

I began mainly as a classical student but I have switched to "fiddle" after attending a fiddlers convention.  That change has not been easy and I figure at least the rest of the year to really show progress.

I am not a blue grass fan, but prefer folk and mountain music.

No.

I don't own any useful audio equipment for recording.
I do not like the sound of any of my acoustics.

I have only recently gone to playing without a shoulder rest which will take some time getting used to although I still like it.  (Major repositioning of left elbow as I have mentioned before.)

I am also making a shift in repertoire from Classic to Folk so everything is in a state of change.  Frequent double stops is coming along but slowly.

I am also awaiting the ZOOM G1N (tomorrow) and I will see to what extent I might use that with my electric ( the one I just re-glued ).

However, I am expecting to sort all this out by the end of Summer so maybe I can record something then.

PS  It is my endless string of dilemmas that qualify me as an expert regarding what not to do.  That can work sometimes

I'd like to pick up this thread again.
I pick up songs/music from Suzuki book much faster than picking up fiddle music probably because I've heard the music before and hearing my daughter's practice and the cd.

To me, it is harder to play fiddle music for the following reasons:
1. too fast for me
2. too many repeats (similar parts)
3. Because of #2, it is harder for me to memorize the music, even though most of the music I play now only have part A and part B and mostly four lines (16 to 20 measures).
4. It's harder for me to learn by ear which most fiddlers do and I am a visual learner.
5. I am not familiar with the music.

I didn't start the thread. After all, I am comparing fruit, citrus fruit in particular- lemon, orange, grape fruit, tangerine, etc. May be I am comparing apples to apples. Mckintosh, red delicious, Fuji apple, etc. (they are still different)? Because if it is citrus fruit it would be violin, viola, cello, and bass music. oranges and apples would be piano and violin or something else:)

It was just how I felt when I try to learn fiddle music, even after I am familiar with the music - listening to it till it stuck to my mind, it is till difficult for me even though a particular song only has about 20 measures. I could play by sight no problem, it is just more difficult for me to memorize a piece.