Emily @ELCBK you are finding some good stuff! I havent seen that.  I enjoy watching these things.  Especially liked the tune around 22:00 before the fretless banjo section.  All these can be inspiring until I pick up the fiddle.  I think Ive determined my style is west crap county.  Its real off beat flatsharp stuff.  I get a kick out of the stories and history and they give a goal to work toward.  Thanks for sharing this!  

@AndrewH Old time vs country or western swing..or cajun  yes.  but Individual regions lin old time like round peak vs say something from kentucky id select incorrectly unless lucky.  there some videos out there ive seen that do some side by side comparions.  better to hear it.

one thing off that subject..after i started learning fiddle I started listening to alot of different syles.  someone on here I cant remember who is from Finland and was linking some Finnish and Scandanavian tunes a year or two ago.  I really liked that.  The way they tuned and the instrument they played on sounded more like cross tuned appalachia stuff to me more than a bagpipe drone which is what Ive heard the drone strings in old time fiddle was suppose to be trying to mimic.  I couldnt ever find where someone likened old time to scandi tunes.  From what the videos call Donegal style Irish fiddle..that sounds more old timey to me than what people call Sligo or Clare.   Those 2 when pointed out this is that and the other sound similar to me.  Scottish sounds the most technical in my opinion..someone more versed would have to say.  Cajun reminds me of Quebecois.  Look for Andre Brunet on youtube for some fun Quebecois.  I like that people are out there trying to demonstrate the differences.  Doesnt help the practice except maybe give context on what stuff is supposed to sound like.

Emily @ELCBK said..Maybe you actually have a "Scandinavian Style"!  Here's an excerpt from the link below - "Like in Norway, Swedish fiddlers often use the natural or untempered scale. This means that some notes are played slightly sharp or flat to what you would expect, for example, from a conventionally tuned piano.

HEY!  well whatta yah know 😂  and I never knew....  

@ elcb said..so, I'm having a really hard time wrapping my head around all these "Genres" and "Sub-genres", too!

@ELCBK thats my fault with all the cork sniffing type stuff.  just play!    I geek out too much for me own good.  

Yeah me too.  I find myself in some deep rabbitt holes.  Organizing the playlist can be daunting!  My classical playlist has my favorite German classical composer Hans Zimmer mixed in with Bear McCreary.. oh no here i go again 😋

I always liked this.  

no on any of the video tunes I saw.  I cant find that kind of groove with the bow.  Doing good to work shuffle in.

Theres an exchange between one of her old students and her daughter, I think it is, in the comments of the video.  The whole channel has a bunch of great videos..Theres also a documentary about her where she talks about her beginnings thats good to watch.  Thanks @Mark!

AndrewH said
Can anyone explain how old time fiddle differs from other American fiddle styles? I can sort of identify larger overarching categories (Celtic, Scandinavian, Eastern European, American) when I hear them, but most of the time I honestly can't tell the difference between styles within those larger categories and the online resources I've found mostly seem to assume that people at least grew up hearing American folk music and are already able to hear the differences between styles.

  

Ill try and give it anither go.  of course this is all gonna be general and maybe will help looking from a jam perspective.  Ive participated in old time jams...I dont/cant play bluegrass jams so theres that up front.

think of old time as being played in 1st position.  open drone strings used..unison 4th finger ( what im struggling with ) drones used alot.   Youll notice more alternate tunings here from what ive seen.  although not at the jam ive attended. 

what ive seen of bluegrass will have the fiddler shifting to 2nd and 3rd as desired.  I havent seen that in the old time jams any.  also the choice of double stops is more advanced and im not even going to attemot to explain what their doing...maybe 7ths and bluesy sounding stuff.  banjo wise in general think clawhammer for old time scruggs style for where you hear the fast rolling played with finger picks type stuff.  ( the bluegrass players chuckling out there at that one)

old time will have everyone playing the melody tight..or at least thats the desire in what ive seen.  you could have a bass..guitars could play melody with the fiddles mandolins or provide bum chuck at the least.  youll hear alot more walking bass type stuff from good old time guitar players almost mimicking a bass, especially if the bass isnt in the jam.  

bluegrass is more vocal songs than "fiddle tunes"  although there is alot of crossover.  angeline the baker, big sciota(scioty) , cheerokee shuffle, red wing...good crossover examples.  almost always the individual bluegrass player will be expected to take an improvised solo "break" based on the vocal melody.  you wont have that in old time..unless maybe in a performance string band thing butbto me thats getting more into bluegrass..  VOCAL songs are a big hint youre listening to bluegrass..or at least not whats USUALLY considered old time.  sometimes the fiddler will sing a tune he is llaying.

i suppose bluegrass can be said is way faster tempo.  it seems to be part of the genere unless its something like a waltz or whats supposed to be a slow ballad.

keys in old time are usually g,d,a some c ive seen a limited number of ones in Dm.   bluegrass will fit the key of singer alot.  youll see more varied key choices.. u nless theyre playing a fiddle tune such as big sciota which will revert to whats considered more standard for that tune.  maybe more liberal choices in "newgrass" but thats getting more splitting hairs.

i guess from a violin perspective bluegrass will be way more challenging from what i kniw about it.  the fact that position shifts and imorovisation are there leaves me out now.  speed is a problem in old time for me.  and the groove which i cant explain.

so if youd listen to The Stuart brothers, Erynn Marshall ( or galax bogtrotters) Matt Browns "Lone Prairie" album ( has some ragtime type stuff too) Megan Lynch Chowning..you get a better sense of old time.  those are REALLY good clean sounding players to me.  some old recordings of marcus martin, tommy jarrell are out there.  blasphamy but i prefer the ones i listed that are newer.  probably because of the recording quality in part.  maybe as a last example and this is more my opinion but bluegrass is more individual player focused and privides a chance to show chops..kinda like jazz maybe.  hope that helps more.  like i said still getting my own feet wet.  hopefully i didnt get to far out there..again