Champion Fiddler, Inspired Performer
Early on in Fiddle Tune a Day, I put out a request for original tunes that I could play as part of Fiddle Tune a Day. Linda Relph was the first to respond. She sent me sheet music to this cool reel in F – Incandescent Reel. It’s pretty tricky, and it fits together so [...]
Jean Carignan was an AMAZING fiddler. Henry the Fiddler Introduced me to Jean’s playing on Youtube about 5 years ago, and I became an instant fan. Jean’s bow work is fantastic. I don’t know if I have ever heard someone play with as cool of bowing rhythms, while still being spot on precise. Two other [...]
I learned April’s Reel from Aubrey Haynie’s Bluegrass Fiddle Album. He’s the only person I had ever heard play it, so I assumed that he wrote it. It’s a cool tune, and one of the few bluegrass reel’s in the key of Bb. I contacted Aubrey to see if he wrote it, and he told [...]
The only thing I know about Big John McNeil is that it’s a popular Canadian fiddle tune. It’s a fun tune to play, not too difficult, but when you play it as fast as they do, just about anything can tie your fingers in a not. It also has some similarities with Durham’s Bull. I [...]
One of the fun things about teaching fiddle camps is that the other teachers bring tunes to teach too, and sometimes I don’t know them. And when that happens, I can make it my fiddle tune a day. And, It’s especially cool when I can do it on the last day of fiddle camp and [...]
What can I say? I have a special place in my heart for tunes in the key of Bb, even if they aren’t hornpipes. I found Daley’s Reel in the book “Hot Licks for Bluegrass Fiddle” by Stacy Phillips. I hadn’t looked at that book in a while, and thumbed through it, and found Daley’s [...]
This REALLY has to be some kind of record. I have played so many old-time fiddle tunes in this last week. This is crazy! I remember having this tune stuck in my head for weeks about a year ago. The tune was there, and I couldn’t think of the name of it. It was quite [...]
I don’t remember where I first heard this tune, but I remember that I didn’t think it was all that cool at first. I didn’t bother learning it at that time. What changed my mind was hearing Dale Morris play it on New for ’78. Dale really played it cool. So, just hearing a song a [...]
This is a great story if I have ever heard one. There is an Italian violinist who is a bit of a snob. So much so that there is a story of him intentionally cutting his strings to avoid playing for a dance. And…his lasting legacy is that a couple of tunes he wrote ended [...]
Liberty is a traditional fiddle tune that is played throughout the United States and Canada. I have always enjoyed playing it as a twin fiddle tune. Today, I played a 4 hour gig with Steve Eulberg at the Winter Farmer’s Market, and when it came time to pick the fiddle tune for the day, this [...]
