Buttered Beans is a old-time sounding tune I wrote rather recently. It has a pretty simple AABB structure, and chords (just G and D). There isn’t any deep meaning to it, or real significance to the name. I think it’s a fun tune, and I hope you enjoy it too. Learn to play Buttered Beans […]
Irish Washerwoman – Fiddle Tune a Day – Day 57
The Irish Washerwoman is one of the first jigs that many fiddlers learn, and I think the reason is because its melody is so catchy. It’s the kind of tune that you hear once an you hum the rest of the day. Hopefully this ear worm won’t invade your head for too long. Learn to […]
Liza Jane – Fiddle Tune a Day – Day 54
Today, we remember a legend in fiddling. Dick Barrett was a great fiddler. He was a four time National Grand Champion, and one the Senior, and Senior-Senior Categories of the National Contest every time he entered. Dick wasn’t just a great fiddler, but he was a man’s man. He wasn’t afraid to tell you what […]
Back Up and Push – Fiddle Tune a Day – Day 53
When I was a kid I used to play this song ALL the time. My dad thought it was great since it has the Georgia shuffle in it, so he would make me play it every stinkin’ time we played a show. I grew so sick of Backup and Push that I went without playing […]
Jesse Polka (Jesusita en Chihuahua) – Fiddle Tune a Day – Day 49
I originally learned this tune when I was about 12 from Heather Humphries, who was my first “real” fiddle teacher. Before Heather, I had violin teachers trying to teach me fiddle tunes, and I played tunes that I learned by ear from my dad or grandpa. Heather is a really sweet lady, and not only […]
Temperance Reel – Fiddle Tune a Day – Day 48
I first learned Temperence Reel, because my mom was learning it on the hammered dulcimer, and I had to learn it so that I could help her learn it. I had heard it many times before, and I’ve always thought it was a cool tune. I like the way it goes back and forth between […]
Shortnin’ Bread – Fiddle Tune a Day – Day 47
The first time I heard a recording of Orville Burns playing Shortnin’ Bread, my fiddling life was changed. Orville’s bumping breakdowns had awesome drive, without really being very fast. He could groove a breakdown like a mad rooster strutting around a hen house. There aren’t many fiddlers that hold a candle to the rhythmic feeling […]
Polly Put the Kettle On – Fiddle Tune a Day – Day 46
This is one of the many tune known by the name “Polly Put the Kettle On”. This is the version that they play in Texas, Oklahoma, and Southern Missouri. There is also a French Canadian tune that Donna Hebert played for me once that has a very similar melody, but I don’t remember the name […]
Stool of Repentance – Fiddle Tune a Day – Day 41
One of the really fun things about the Fiddle Tune a Day experience is learning the history of the tunes I have played for a long time. This tune has a very interesting story to tell. Stool of Repentance, is a Scottish Jig, and the Stool of Repentance was also a kind of Scottish institution […]
Colorado Waltz – Fiddle Tune a Day – Day 40
I wrote the Colorado Waltz when I was 12 years old. That was way back in the 1980’s for those of you young whipper-snappers. I was fooling around on my fiddle, and I started playing the A Part of the song, and my dad liked it, and he wrote the B part to it. So, […]