I love playing at weddings, and it’s even more fun when you have things to make the wedding more interesting. This weekend, I had the pleasure of playing at a wedding where a substantial part of the family was Italian, and they wanted to hear the Tarantella. Since I had never played the Tarantella before, […]
Blanchard’s Hornpipe – Fiddle Tune a Day – Day 120
Blanchard’s Hornpipe is a tune that I have heard a handful of times before, but I can’t place where. There’s a good chance I have a recording of Benny Thomasson Playing it somewhere. I was reading through Cole’s 1000 fiddle tunes, and picked it out a couple of days ago. Tonight I decided to work […]
Harlaxton Hornpipe – Fiddle Tune a Day – Day 87
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 […]
Grain Valley Waltz – Fiddle Tune a Day – Day 18
I have judged a lot of fiddle contests, and one of my favorite characters to have met at a fiddle contest is J.C. Hounshell. I had the opportunity to judge the Grand Lake National Fiddling Championships with J.C. a few years back. After the contest, we went back to the Grand hotel with Gayle and […]