Leather Britches is a great old breakdown, and one of the classic breakdowns in the key of G. I hope you enjoy this video of Matthew Hartz playing the heck out of it. If you would like to learn to play fiddle tunes like this one, and… If you are looking to study […]
Shortnin’ Bread – with Matthew Hartz
Shortnin’ Bread is an old time breakdown that was popularized in the Texas Fiddling Tradition by Orville Burns, one of my favorite breakdown fiddlers. It really has that bump, like an angry rooster strutting around a barnyard! If you would like to learn to play fiddle tunes like this one, and… If you […]
Choctaw – Fiddle Tune a Day – Day 356
Choctaw has long been one of my favorite breakdowns to listen to. It’s about time I worked it out, and I didn’t want to miss out on having Choctaw be a part of Fiddle Tune a Day. I love the way that Orville Burns played it. It has all kinds of soul, and growl to […]
Bitter Creek – Fiddle Tune a Day – Day 350
Bitter Creek is a cool breakdown in the key of G. I have some good memories of playing it with Bill Jones and Ed Carnes at the Indiana State Fiddle Contest a few years back. It’s fairly straight ahead as a tune. I didn’t realize it at the time I wrote it, but Harlaxton Hornpipe […]
Sally Goodin – Fiddle Tune a Day – Day 331
Sally Goodin truly is THE Texas fiddle breakdown. Really. It’s the one. The melody is simple as all getout, but playing Sally Goodin the way it’s supposed to be is anything by simple. Eck Robertson set the bar high with his recording of Sally Goodin. It’s smooth, fast, and has the rhythmic bump like a […]
Walk Along John – Fiddle Tune a Day – Day 313
Tonight, I met Betse Ellis. She plays fiddle for The Wilders, and was opening for Finnders and Youngberg at Avogadro’s Number tonight. I heard that she was playing there from a couple of my students, so I stopped in to say “Hi!” on my dinner break. I brought my fiddle with me because you never […]
April’s Reel – Fiddle Tune a Day – Day 309
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 […]
Dusty Miller – Fiddle Tune a Day – Day 232
Dusty Miller is one heck of a Texas Breakdown. I’ve never really worked up something specific with it, but it’s a fun one to jam with. There is another tune that some people call Dusty Miller, but I call that tune Miller’s Reel, and it’s a very different tune altogether. I was so tickled to […]
Hot Springs – Fiddle Tune a Day – Day 192
Hot Springs is considered a breakdown by most fiddlers that I’ve talked to, even though the verses are 16 bars instead of 8, and it follows a chord pattern almost identical to I Don’t Love Nobody (when you play it in C and play the A minor part.) Regardless of whether you consider it a […]
Say Old Man – Fiddle Tune a Day – Day 177
WOW! I’m posting this fiddle tune a day as the LOST Fiddle Tune from Fiddle Tune a Day. Somehow I posted the Video, but I never made a blog post for it…until now. Say Old Man (Can You Play the Fiddle?) is one of my 5 favorite breakdowns for sure. It’s got a serious attitude, […]