This page is about fiddle music in the USA. For other North American styles, see Fiddle#Fiddling_styles.
American fiddle playing began with the early settlers who found that the small viol family instruments were portable and rugged. 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 fiddle styles as well as Scottish and the more refined traditions of classical violin playing. Popular tunes included Soldier's Joy, for which Robert Burns had written lyrics, and other such tunes as Flowers of Edinburgh and Tamlin which were claimed by both Scottish and Irish lineages. Soon these tunes were Americanized and local variations developed in 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 incorporation of dance calls or simple lyrics.[2]
In a radical departure from tradition, groups such as Trio Chipontepec are cropping up at American fiddle festivals.[3] Rock is fusing with country, jazz with rock, and classical violinists are retooling in an era characterized by home recording studios and the easy availability of new media such as MP3 downloads.
Categorization of violin and fiddle can be a source of controversy and is perplexing to those lacking intimate familiarity with the various styles of instrument and playing. Perhaps categorization is more appropriately conducted using the flexible methodology of fuzzy logic insofar as the categories tend to overlap and ambiguity. Nevertheless, traditional modes of typological sorting can be applied as follows.
Generally, the setup of the instruments is different:
Fiddle playing generally avoids vibrato except for occasional slow tempo pieces and even then uses less vibrato. Shorter bowstrokes are also consistent with fiddle player 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 grip the frog in a crude manner, on purpose, and typically do 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 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.
Also knwon as "OBS", Orange Blossom Special exploits the capacity of fiddle or violin to imitate various mechanical tones. Authorship is controversial.
The canonical American fiddle tune, the Devil Went Down to Georgia was written by Charlie Daniels and has been covered inumerable times, notably by Natalie Stovall.[4] 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.
According to London-based music writer Chris Haigh, fiddle " was among the primary instruments used by the rural blacks..." [5] 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.
Violin, Sing The Blues For Me
African-American Fiddlers 1926-1949 Old Hat CD-1002
Old time fiddle uses a profusion of double stops and authentic 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 but the instrument can be down tuned to GDGD. However, tonal quality suffers. 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. But according to some sources, Old Time music is actually the "early recorded country music of the 1920's and 1930's, particulary of the southeastern states" thus narrowing the definition considerably.[6] Nevertheless, a broader definition usually prevails which incorporates unrecorded music with roots long before radio and recording. Within old time music there are regional subgenres particularly emphasized in certain regions 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.[7]
Bluegrass music originated in the person of Bill Monroe. According to Haigh, "Monroe always considered the fiddle to be the key instrument of bluegrass".[8]
According to Ron Yule "Louisiana fiddling had its birthroots in Europe, with fiddling being noted as early as the 1400s in Scotland".[1] The most widely known Cajun fiddler is Doug Kershaw. Zydeco music is closely related.
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".[9] 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.
Johnny Otis:
Rock violinists often use solid body electric violins to reduce feedback. Rock is an international phenomenon, and rock violin is consequently influenced by cross fertilizations from rock players such as Ashley MacIsaac[10] Nevertheless American rockers continue to experiment. For instance, eclectic rocker Natalie Stovall,[11] a graduate of Berkelee Conservatory,[12] covers Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Michael Jackson, Lenny Kravitz, The White Stripes, Lynard Skynard, Jimmi Hendrix,all the while alternating between standard rock vocals and fiddle/violin riffs.[13]
Other rock fiddle or violin players include
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).[14] Nevertheless, instructional jazz playing was preceded by the highly influential 1992 Oak Publications volume Jazz Violin" by Matt Glaser and [[{Stephane Grapelli]].[15] 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.[16] 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". Mark O'Connor is among other distinctions of French jazz masterStephane Grappelli, in whose memory O'Connor recently conducted a performance tour demonstrating that his roots in Texas swing did not inhibit formi
This music, usually considered to be synonymous with Western swing, is bona fide fiddle music and is deeply intertwined with country music as played by Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Vince Gill, Dale Watson, the Wheel's Jason Roberts, Jesse Dayton, and Garrison Keillor.[17] A well known example of this music is Faded Love which despite some controversy is generally attributed to Bob Wills.[18] :*Mark O'Connor is a legendary performer who also plays bluegrass and jazz but got started as a youth contender in fiddle contests. Benny Thomasson
Johnny Gimble, who is in some circles championed as America's leading fiddler.[19]
Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys
New England fiddle playing is exemplified by Rounder Records artist Frank Ferrel.[20] He refers to the style as "Down East" in his volume Boston Fiddle.[21] Unlike other fiddle traditions, piano accompaniment is common, and , he notes occasionally saxaphone or clarinet would join in.[22] 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.[23] Like all Celtic American fiddle traditions, his is influenced by the publication of Chief O'Neil's massive directory of fiddle tunes in 1903 [24] 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.
American fiddle traditions are deeply influenced by international influence from numerous immigrations and ordinary commerce particularly from Anglo-Celtic and Canadian sources. Quebecois French , Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. [25] folk music tradition but has distinct features found only in the Western hemisphere[26] This influence is largely due to immigration and cross-border commerce.[27] 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 (Quebecois) and Maritime.[28]
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