Fiddle 4 Old-Time (Tue) – week 3

A couple of tunes with some nice bow-rocking/shuffle pattern opportunities. Both are from John Salyer.

Jack Wilson in D

[under construction]
played slow

medium tempo

The Speed of the Plow in A (cross-tuning)

[under construction]
played slow

Filed under: Fiddle 4, Paul Tyler by Paul | March 17, 2010 | Comments (0)

Fiddle 4 Old-Time (Tue) – week 2

We bravely made our way to the key of C. (Hey, this is Fiddle 4).

Our tune comes from John Salyer, a fabulous fiddler from eastern Kentucky who made a bunch of home recordings in the early 1940s. He traveled around the entire planet after being discharged from the army in the Phillipines. He came to Chicago for the World’s Fair and played for dances in a downtown hotel. He went back to Kentucky where he farmed and taught school. He never made any commercial records.

Indian Ate a Woodchuck

played slow

medium tempo

Filed under: Fiddle 4, Paul Tyler by Paul | March 16, 2010 | Comments (0)

Fiddle 4 Old-Time (Tue) – week 1

Doc Roberts of Richmond, Kentucky is in the top five of my list of favorite fiddlers. Born in 1897, he was christened Dock Phil in honor of the man of medicine who delivered him. Many of the tunes he recorded between 1924 and 1934 were learned from Owen Walker, a local African-American fiddler.

Here’s Brickyard Joe from 1928.

The tune demonstrated, with some shuffle bowing . . .

slow

medium

[click on the arrow to play or right click on the highlight to download and save]

Filed under: Fiddle 4, Paul Tyler by Paul | March 8, 2010 | Comments (0)

OLD TIME ENSEMBLE GRADUATION

8:15 wednesday feb 24
paddy o splaines 2434 w montrose
Just west of western
http://www.paddyosplaines.net/?p=home

old time ensemble class stringbands
(spongebob squaredance & CF and the pardon me boys)
banjo classes
saturday old time ensemble
specialty fiddle classes
much more, plus good food, good beers. paddys is under new management, so
lets show them how much fun old time music is and what a great crowd we are. and don’t forget to tip your waitstaff!

Filed under: Fiddle 3, Fiddle 4, Old Time Ensemble, Paul Tyler, Steve Rosen by Steve | February 23, 2010 | Comments (0)

Fiddle 4 Cajun (Tue) – week 4

A standard today. You can dance a two-step to this. Maybe a jitterbug as well.
It’s in A on the fiddle. But your guitarist has to play it in G. Remember? Because
you’re tuned down.

Lake Arthur Stomp

Recorded by Miller’s Merrymakers in 1937

medium tempo in standard tuning

Filed under: Fiddle 4, Paul Tyler by Paul | January 27, 2010 | Comments (0)

Fiddle 4 Cajun (Tue) – week 3

La Valse de Gran Bois is a waltz I learned from Raymond Francois over 25 years ago. I have found no recordings of the tune. This is a different tune than one with the same name played by the Balfa Brothers.

The first time through is the chordal skeleton of the tune. In the second time through, I added pickups to each phrase. We’ll learn those next week, plus how to embellish the basic melody.

medium tempo/ low-tuned fiddle

Here it is in standard tuning with more shape to the melody.

medium tempo/ standard-tuned fiddle

Filed under: Fiddle 4, Paul Tyler by Paul | January 20, 2010 | Comments (0)

Fiddle 4 Cajun (Tue) – week 2

A great two-step in A, ‘Tit Galop pour Mamou.

Once again, the classic recording is from the Balfa Brothers.
The recording is available through Floyd’s Record Shop.
(See the post from Week 1)
Dewey Balfa fiddle break with the Balfa Brothers

Here’s another fiddle break. This one is twin fiddling from
Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys

This is the title track of an early Rounder CD by the band

These are the tune played on a fiddle tuned down one step.
The B-part (the “turn”) is played as I taught it in week 3.

slow

medium

Here I played the tune on a fiddle in standard tuning
medium/standard tuning

Filed under: Fiddle 4, Paul Tyler by Paul | January 20, 2010 | Comments (0)

Fiddle 4 Cajun (Tue) – week 1

Let’s start with a waltz

Chère Bassette from the CD Balfa Brothers – Play Traditional Cajun Music, Vol. 1 & 2
[The link above takes you to the CD at Floyd's Record Shop in Ville Platte, Louisiana]

Here are two fiddle breaks played by Dewey and Will Balfa (Bolfa)

And a slower and different version played by your teacher.

Remember these melodies are very fluid and variable.

Listen for the chord changes in the band. Can you hear or imagine them when listening to the solo melody or when you play it by yourself?

Filed under: Fiddle 4, Paul Tyler by Paul | January 6, 2010 | Comments (0)

Fiddle 4 (Mon) – Week 6

Colby Maddox took my place (Thanks, Colby) and taught

Ook Pik Waltz

This performace comes from Geoffrey Seitz of St. Louis. It’s on his 1998 CD, “The Good Old Days Are Here.” Geoff is also a violin maker, as featured in this slideshow.

Filed under: Fiddle 4, Paul Tyler by Paul | October 15, 2009 | Comments (0)

Fiddle 4 (Mon) – Week 7

Another American Indian tune,

Devil Shake the Half-Breed

by Doc Bill Cameron of Brimley, Michigan, circa 1977

by Paul Gifford of Flint, Michigan, 1998
.mp3
(Paul made the recording of Mr. Cameron on the Anishinabe reservation in the Upper Peninsula)

Filed under: Fiddle 4, Paul Tyler by Paul | October 15, 2009 | Comments (0)


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