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@JimandThomas
You've got me thinking about my quest I embarked on, starting 2½ years ago, when I decided to learn to play the Fiddle.
...I'm still on this journey!
I've added quite a bit of interesting info and examples of music to the 'Genre' section of this forum, but I know there is sooo much more to explore!
This adventure of mine has never stopped being exciting! Even though some genres can get confusing they have ALL been worth learning about, because I have discovered wonderful music. Some tunes are hard to play, some are just plain fun and others are so beautiful they haunt me.
I ask myself enough questions it keeps me searching. So, here's a fairly recent video that shows a FABULOUS variety of genres for comparison. Michael Burnyeat chose great examples to play - 30 different fiddling styles and you can hear the differences!
Here are the 30 styles listed in order of play:
Scottish, Irish, French Canadian, Canadian Old-time, American Old-time, Métis, Cape-breton, Texas style, Bluegrass, Western Swing, English, Gypsy Jazz, Cajun, Country, Swedish, Klezmer, Prairie Canadian Old-time (Calvin Vollrath), West Coast, Contemporary, Ukrainian, New England, Breton, Blues, Shetland, Mariachi, Jazz, Maritimes, Choro, Folk (fiddle backup), Czech.
Whew! ...and y'all thought I was crazy with 10 tunes for the Christmas Party! 🤣
- Emily
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Thanks for posting this, I enjoyed watching it. Very fun and interesting.
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Well that is some exceptional playing and fun to watch! liked his Angeline the Baker especially. Im doing good with 1 and possibly 2 of those styles..lol. I know youre getting better by the day at multiple ones! very inspiring to watch not only this but anyone that can do more than a few.
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Well,
That was enlightening, he was not only a very good player but his ability to switch from one style to the next was just as, if not more impressive.
Thanks for posting this great find.
Mark
Master the Frog and you have mastered the bow.
Albert Sammons
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Finally watched this last night and was blown away by him. A single take, his ability to play all these genres for over 18 minutes straight, and it seemed mostly with no music, although he may have been using a computer or pad.
Fascinating!
The old curmudgeon!
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thank you very much for showing us this. It sure does musically explain so much.
Jim(Thomases Dad)
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@JimandThomas , @Ripton -
The thing that drives me a little crazy about Fiddle Styles, is trying to wrap my head around 'sub-genres' - styles within a genre.
Music Style boundary lines can get VERY blurred - even between genres!
Here's a short, interesting look at 'Regional Styles' of Irish Traditional music by Chris Haigh.
"Regional Style in Irish Traditional music - Fact or Fiction?"
Here's a good thread to check out!
https://fiddlerman.com/forum/c.....t/#p122960
- Emily
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Great, thanks now I have a few more books to buy....🤪
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@Ripton -
🤣 You can't have too many Fiddling Books... can you?
@JimandThomas -
We've been talking about Mardi Gras and you may be interested in how 'Cajun', 'Creole' and 'Zydeco' Fiddle music is similar to 'Old Time' - with double stops and shuffle bowing.
You've probably heard examples since Maine has a large presence of Acadian Culture - this is some FUN music to play!
Mitch Reed resides in Maine, now - moved up from Louisiana a while back.
In this video, Mitch talks about some differences you'll hear down South, as well as in Northern Louisiana 'Acadian' music.
- Emily
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I have to say something very weird. You woke me up ELCBK!!! My father always used to say that most answers are right under our noses and you just nailed it!!! Fiddlin' began actually 6 generation ago in my family, and it all started with my French(Acadian) gr gr great grandfather, David Thibodeau. He was known to fiddle to his kind of music which was exactly as you described. I have been trying to find that perfect genre that Thomas loves and have been wholely unsuccessful until now. All I had to do was look in front of my nose. Thank you so much. YOu may not know what you did, but I sure did my friend.
Jim(Thomases Dad)
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@JimandThomas -
I am SO happy I could help you make that connection! 🤗
Besides the the link (in my previous post) to the "Cajun Fiddle" Thread, you will find music of interest in the "French Canadian Fiddle" thread, here:
You might have also heard the traditional 'Down East' Style tunes around where you live - made famous by Fiddlers like "Don Messer" and popular in the Northeast.
Hope you both find something you'd love to try!
- Emily
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Interesting comparison video - "Two Fiddle Styles, Mariachi and Western Swing", from Smithsonian Folklife!
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Here's some styles of Fiddle Music you may not have heard.
Ran across a Beth Bahia Cohen Jam from the August 2020 Fiddle Hell Online Festival.
It's a wonderful demonstration of tunes from Romania, Klezmer, Hungary, Greece and Turkey! She also explains a little about the scales & microtones.
I have really enjoyed taking several of Beth's workshops during the last few Fiddle Hell Festivals - she's an excellent instructor!
Sorry, the video image isn't great (sitting in front of her computer to interact), but the sound IS!
Tunes in order:
ROMANIAN:
Hora de la Munte -Gm
Hora Mare – Am
Geamparele - D/E
Hora de la Cimpulung - Dm
KLEZMER:
Hora Di Sapozhkelekh – Am
Husidl – Em
Dave’s Bulgar – Dm [Dave Reiner]
HUNGARIAN:
Dunantuli Ügros - Am & A
Lorincreve A - 2 men’s dances
2 Wedding songs from Őrdőngősfűzes – Am
Gyimesi Kerekes – Am
GREEK:
Tourna - Bm (Asia Minor)
Kalamatianos from island of Naxos – A
Kalamatianis: Ti Thalassa tii Galani - A
Kalafatikos - Syrtos from island of Hydra - A
TURKISH:
Sala Sana – Am
Tapan camin sarmini – E
Karpuz Kestim Yiyen Yok – Am
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Another 30 Fiddle Styles! Examples from 30 more types of fiddle and folk music from Michael Burnyeat!
Styles: Danish, Welsh, Italian, Contradance, Newfoundland, Algerian, Romanian, Argentine Tango, Macedonian, German, Mi'Kmac, Classical (the Classical interpretation of fiddle music to be more precise), Finnish, Pop, Norwegian, Midwestern, Big Band, Peruvian, Newgrass, Galician, Greek, Turkish, Belgian, Bal-musette, Rock, Hip-Hop, Chinese, Japanese, Bulgarian, Ragtime.
If you are interested in a tune, the names are given in the Video description.
Here's 10 Canadian Regional Fiddle Styles from Michael Burnyeat!
West Coast- Horseshoes and Rainbows (Oliver Schroer)
Prairie Old-Time- Little John Macneil (Calvin Vollrath)
Metis- Old Reel of 8 (Traditional)
Down East- Fireman's Reel (Traditional)
French Canadian- Point-au-pic reel (Joseph Allard?)
Cape Breton- Carl's Reel (Jerry Holland)
Newfoundland- Bridget's Reel (Emile Benoit)
Acadian- Reel de Joseph Larade (Joseph Larade)
Ottawa Valley- Two-step d'Armand (Graham Townsend)
Canadian Folk- Log Driver's Waltz (Wade Hemsworth)
Michael has some other great videos to check out at his YT channel!
BUT, browse around in the 'Genres & World Music Styles' Section on THIS FORUM to listen to & learn how to play some really great Fiddle music of these genres!
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thank you!!
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Great stuff, Emily! Thank you!
Fiddling is like going to one of those all-you-can-eat Chinese restaurants -- tons of choices to pick from, but unfortunately you cannot eat everything!
Strabo
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@Strabo -
You're right, you can't eat everything - but you CAN 'taste' a little of everything!
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If ANYONE is interested in learning to play different genres - take a peek at this!
20/20 hindsight: think I'd be MUCH farther ahead if I could've got my hands on THIS BOOK by Julie Lyon Lieberman - to start with!
Includes video tutorials and backing tracks!
"A Festival of Violin & Fiddle Styles"
Books available for Violin/Fiddle, Viola and Cello!
Covers:
Old Time, Bluegrass, Cajun, Franco-American, Western Swing, Blues, Swing, Pop/Rock, Irish, Scottish, Shetland Islands, Cape Breton, Hungarian, Ukrainian, Klezmer, Roma, Calentano, Galician, Afro-Cuban, Swedish, Bollywood, Québécois & Métis!
@Strabo , @JimandThomas -
You might be interested in this.
I NEVER seem to be in the right place at the right time - used to be "a day late and a dollar short"! Now it appears I'm just a few YEARS late!
...this book was available right about the time I was really getting thirsty for info on different genres, I just didn't know it existed - or maybe I was overwhelmed & didn't notice, but think it's great way to get a little taste of the smorgasbord! 😊
Btw, don't overlook that Chris Haigh has published great books on individual genres (with audio CD).
Exploring Series:
Folk Fiddle, Country & Bluegrass Fiddle, Klezmer Fiddle, Jazz Fiddle, and Discovering Rock Violin.
Plus:
French Fiddle Tunes and Hungarian Fiddle Tunes.
Schott World Music... similar Fiddle Tune Books (with audio CD):
Scandinavian, Russian, Eastern European, Welsh, Mexican Folk, Canadian, Scottish, English, American Old Time and Irish.
- Emily
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Daniel Hoffman - perfect for this topic!
Think you might be interested in learning to play Irish music?
Otherwise It's Just Firewood - Trailer!
Otherwise It's Just Firewood - link to watch the full documentary (for free) on Vimeo. ...just shy of 1 hour, I REALLY enjoyed it!
Daniel Hoffman is a remarkable violinist - started out playing Classical, then Klezmer... but that's NOT what's most exciting for me! He has experimented with 'DOUBLE' STRINGS!
He regularly plays & composes music on a VIOLIN with 'pairs' of strings, but unlike mandolins - these strings are tuned in octave pairs (Gg,Dd,Aa,Ee)!
...Daniel has some VERY amazing videos on his YT Channel, I hope he makes more films like 'Otherwise It's Just Firewood'!
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I just want to say you are all very, VERY bad influences on me and I love you all for it lmao. My ADD brain says "WATCH ALL THE THINGS READ ALL THE BOOKS NOW NOW NOW" but my poor wallet and my time budget go "but how......"
I'm bookmarking this whole dang thread to keep coming back over and over and over
"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known." - Sharon Begley
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