Champion Fiddler, Inspired Performer
A couple of weeks ago I got a message through my website from Menachem Vinegrad, an Israeli radio DJ, who chose a selection from Fiddle Whamdiddle – Old School Old Time to play as part of his Americana set that he played to welcome President Obama to Israel. It totally blows me away that our [...]
… for all levels, from beginners to professionals — play together, experiment together, have a blast! Using improvisation exercises inspired by theater games, instrumentalists can discover a deeper level of emotional and technical engagement with spontaneous musicmaking, no matter if they are already expert improvisers in a particular style or students who have never tried to improvise in public at all. [...]
Why Music Should Be Used More Effectively in Education This is a video of me giving my signature talk – Can’t Stop the Music: Why Music Should Be Used More Effectively in Education, at TEDx Fort Collins. If you aren’t familiar with TED Talks, you really need to check TED out. TED is an annual [...]
I first heard Who’s Gonna Talk to Dinah at The Grand Lake National Fiddle Contest, when Junior Marriot and Alita Weisgerber (then Stoneking) played it to win the Twin Fiddle Division at the Contest. As a side note, Fred Stoneking recorded Who’s Gonna Talk to Dinah? on his album Saddle Old Spike. I highly recommend [...]
Black Pine Waltz is more than just a little way off the beaten path when it comes to waltzes. The structure is non-standard. The chords are a little bit strange (and you are unlikely to find a guitar player who knows it at most contests you go to.) And, I think it’s a cool tune, [...]
Greensleeves is another classic melody that would be a contender for the most beautiful tune award (at least in my book.) It’s haunting notes bring me back to medieval times. Hearing this song also reminds me of hearing Steve Tiilikainen play this tune on the piano so beautifully when we were in college – not [...]
Today we have a birthday dedication. This fiddle tune (Little Rhino) is dedicated to Ryan Wickam, who is one cool little dude! I wrote this one day when he was running around the house like a crazy wild rhino.
I wrote the Harlaxton Hornpipe in the basement of Neu Chapel on the campus of University of Evansville. It was the fall of 1996, and I was getting ready to leave for England to spend a semester abroad at Harlaxton College, near Grantham, Lincolnshire. I had my copy of Cole’s 1000 fiddle tunes and I [...]
We all know that some songs give us chills when we hear it, or makes us well up with tears. What most of us don’t know is what about that song makes this happen. What is the anatomy of a tear jerker? In short, a tear jerker contains the following attributes: Unexpected change in volume, [...]
A recent study by Finnish scientists shows that listening to music doesn’t just activate the auditory areas of your brain, it also activates the motor areas, showing the strong link between movement and music, and activates the limbic system (our emotional center.) We know that music makes us want to dance, and we know that [...]
