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I would like to share a piece my grandfather used to play all the time. It is called Fiddlin the Fiddle and composed by Dave Rubinoff. Back in the 50s, my grandfather and Dave were great friends and both my father and grandfather sat at Davids table during a concert/luncheon in Orono, Maine. Before David got up to play, he invited my grandfather up to play this piece but thought he would surprise David and played it in 8 variations. I have an old reel to reel of him playing it and it is soooo hard to play it to tempo. Thomas has played every song from my grandfathers audtion tape for the Lawrence Welk show from the early 60s....except this crazy piece. Today, he was feeling like he should give it a try, LOL. I honestly had no faith in his being able to play it at all but boy oh boy, the true fiddler came out. I will post him trying it in the next couple days but I wanted to show you the sheet music and maybe someone can give it a try @Fiddlerman ? If you go to the last couple minutes of this youtube video, you can hear my grandfather play it. Crazy fast. t=1169s
Jim(Thomases Dad)
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@JimandThomas -
That's wickedly fast RAGTIME!!! 
How fabulous to have such inspiration in your family history - going to be quite the endeavor with all those double stops!
I've only memorized one (simple) ragtime tune, Double Chocolate Insomnia Rag (post#37, Ragtime & Swing on the Fiddle! Thread).
Here you can actually see David Rubinoff play his "Fiddlin' The Fiddle" in this video - starts at 0:29. Love he adds a little klezmer-like fiddle 'laugh' in it, too!
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Thats some brilliant fiddle playing, the double stops are amazingly quick, it a a real wow from me. It actually looks like something paganini would have written.
Have you still got his fiddle?
Thatts a grea vid as well Emily no doubt about that.
Cant beat a sunny day
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@stringy I have my grandfathers fiddle, yes. Thomas will be playing it for his first concerto competition in high school for luck. I t is a beautiful instrument. Would love to hear someone give Fiddlin the fiddle a go though.
Jim(Thomases Dad)
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I dont think he needs a fiddle for luck, I dont comment on his playing often, he doesnt need it, he is a real talent, and thats the truth, no doubt about that.
As for trying that tune out, I wish I was at that level, if I was I would give it a go but I am what I am.
If I was half as good as Thomas I would be twice as good as I am, and I would be four times happier with my playing.;)
Cant beat a sunny day
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@stringy That was awfully nice of you to say but the end....well, the older I get the more mindboggling things become, hahahaha. You set off some sparks in my brain. Only joking of course. Well, here is Thomas giving it the old Yankee try. It really is hard but he wants to keep working it.
Jim(Thomases Dad)
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That was absolutely the best one yet! I loved that, There were many parts I was picturing the old black and white silent cartoons, like the background music during a chase. Please take that as a compliment! I LOVED this!
Forgot to say how fun this was to listen to.
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@Mouse Of course it is a compliment....had no idea what you said HAHASHAHAAHAHAHA.
@ELCBK You turning Yankee? Ya used the word wicked.
Jim(Thomases Dad)
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Was he reading that straight off if he was it was absolutely amazing, and even if he wasnt it was still incredible, that is one really tough piece of music, you should be extremely proud of him, tell him well done from me, he will have the chair very soon.
Cant beat a sunny day
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@stringy I dont know what you mean reading it straight off. What he was playing was the music I posted,same exact thing. he took the piks after he played it and I posted them. And he is reading everything with me as I speak so thank you again myfriend.
Jim(Thomases Dad)
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JimandThomas
I have feeling that Thomas will get that down before long.
Great fiddling
Mark
Master the Frog and you have mastered the bow.
Albert Sammons
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@JimandThomas said
I dont know what you mean reading it straight off. What he was playing was the music I posted,same exact thing. he took the piks after he played it and I posted them. And he is reading everything with me as I speak so thank you again myfriend.
Maybe he was talking "sight reading"?
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@Mouse He had played it a couple times before we took this video
Jim(Thomases Dad)
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@JimandThomas -
That's AWESOME, Thomas - you're on your way!
Foxtrot tempo is considered 120-136 BPM, isn't it? That's quite a clip!
Are you trying to learn this by a certain date?
I love music from the 1920's-30's, so this really interests me. I took a few minutes to learn more about David Rubinoff. Seems to have had a kind/generous personality, quite the 'showman' - always busy promoting his music in ways that inspired others (including Schoolchildren). So, Thomas, since YOUR Grandfather & Great-grandfather were acquaintances with David, they must've been a lot of fun to be around!
I did find a video made just a couple years before David Rubinoff's death. Starting at 12:48 - he tells the story of how Irving Berlin coaxed him into composing this piece, which he did... overnight! David also had to ask Irving to explain what 'ragtime' was!
Jim - do you have film footage of your Grandfather playing his demo? If you can't watch Samuel Bailey play "Fiddlin' The Fiddle", maybe this video will help for visual reference of articulation, bow distribution & phrasing.
I'm having a hard enough time focusing on all the Halloween-feeling music I want to work on right now. I know if I tackled a few measures at a time (slowly) "Fiddlin' The Fiddle" would help me improve my double-stops - will keep this in mind for after the holidays. Meanwhile, I enjoy watching Thomas's progress - VERY inspiring!
'Wicked'... I remember first using 'wicked & 'wickedly' (like awesome, or awefully good) back in the 70's. Maybe picked it up from books/film/TV (maybe from Stephen King?), or from fellow soldiers in the Air Force.
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JimandThomas said
I would like to share a piece my grandfather used to play all the time. It is called Fiddlin the Fiddle and composed by Dave Rubinoff. Back in the 50s, my grandfather and Dave were great friends and both my father and grandfather sat at Davids table during a concert/luncheon in Orono, Maine. Before David got up to play, he invited my grandfather up to play this piece but thought he would surprise David and played it in 8 variations. I have an old reel to reel of him playing it and it is soooo hard to play it to tempo. Thomas has played every song from my grandfathers audtion tape for the Lawrence Welk show from the early 60s....except this crazy piece. Today, he was feeling like he should give it a try, LOL. I honestly had no faith in his being able to play it at all but boy oh boy, the true fiddler came out. I will post him trying it in the next couple days but I wanted to show you the sheet music and maybe someone can give it a try @Fiddlerman ? If you go to the last couple minutes of this youtube video, you can hear my grandfather play it. Crazy fast.
t=1169s
Fun piece. Thanks for the share. Maybe when I pick up the fiddle again, I'll look at it.
Cheers to both you and Thomas!!!
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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@Fiddlerman That would give him such a thrill, thank you. @ELCBK He isnt going by any certain tempo, he is trying to emulate his great grandfather, which I think is about 120 or more. He constantly listens to him play the piece and just sits there, slows down the tempo to get the notes right, then speeds it up a bit...no time frame, he just wants to play everything his great grandfather played on this recording and all he has left is Fiddlin the Fiddle and Souvenir.
What we have been blessed with is THomases great great aunt Marian Bailey, who just turned 98. SHe has all her faculties and now is able to attend Thomases concerts,
which brings him a wicked amount of joy. SHe has told us stories about David and my grandfather and father playing the violin at her house when he came to visit because they had a piano and her husband(my great uncle and grandfathers brother) played the piano as an accompaniment to them once they took out the scotch, hahahaha. I record everything she tells me about the old days so Thomas can listen to it years from now.
Thank you for showing me the link and no, sadly we dont have video of the audition music or anything with my grandfather playing although I have been reahing out to various churches, halls...and such to find one. IN the meantime, he honestly does not care how other people play Fiddlin the Fiddle, not even Rubinoff himself, he only cares about how his gr. grandfather played it and wants to do it just like him. I must agree, I like it better too. I think because Sam grew up playing old Grange Halls playing this type of music and HIS grandfather did the same, so it is something that truly is in the blood. If you are used to playin fiddliin music and love it and it is in your genes, (as Sam grew up doing before attending the Boston Consertory back in 26)I dont think any classical violinist can match it. I like my grandfathers rendition so much better the Davids.
Jim(Thomases Dad)
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@JimandThomas -
Thanks for the additional info!
Know you've been terribly busy, but forgot if I asked you - did you get to attend the "Wicked Good Fiddling" exhibit at the Brick Store Museum (ran April - May)? Paul Wells curated the exhibit & launched his book, "The Maine Musical Compendium".
It is a book of fiddle tunes drawn from published and manuscript music collections that were created in the 1820s, the era when Maine achieved independent statehood.
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@ELCBK I wish. But it is about 2 1/2 hours from where we live.
Jim(Thomases Dad)
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@JimandThomas Great playing, Thomas! A tough, fast one, for sure. Neat tune 
Characterize people by their actions and you will never be fooled by their words.
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stringy said
If I was half as good as Thomas I would be twice as good as I am, and I would be four times happier with my playing.;)
Alright, Bilbo hahahaha ("I know half of you half as well as I'd like and I like half of you less than half of what you deserve" for those of you who aren't Lord of the Rings nerds)
Sweet buttery baby Buddha that's a song! It's going on my "one day" list to learn as well, that sounds like it'd just be just as fun to play (once you've learned it of course) as it is to listen to. Thomas, dude, keep it up. Not only are you incredibly talented to be able to play that so well after only a little bit of practice on it, it's amazing to see someone less than half my age keep history like that alive like I wish I could (though maybe one day I'll be able to play like you do now).
"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known." - Sharon Begley
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