Appalachian Fiddle Style

[stevejay]

I've been adapting fiddle tunes for the 30 button anglo, (Forked Deer, Cumberland Gap, Cripple Creek etc,)

 

Any examples you know of I can listen to? The shuffle and drones can be quite a challenge sometimes, and it's a different attitude than Irish for sure. Often "across the row" works out a lot better than cross fingering but not exclusively.

 

Anything on youtube for 30 buttons? I might check out Jody Kruskal's but he plays with more buttons usually I believe.

 

Certainly a nice change from the typical meat and potato Irish I usually play. I am learning from fiddle examples, not concertina, which is working out fine, since it's the source of the sound I want anyway.

 

Thanks

Edited May 7, 2008 by stevejay

[Henk van Aalten]

Often "across the row" works out a lot better than cross fingering but not exclusively.

 

Please explain, or do you mean "along the row" works better than cross fingering

[stevejay]

Often "across the row" works out a lot better than cross fingering but not exclusively.

 

Please explain, or do you mean "along the row" works better than cross fingering

 

I meant in row sorry. It's ok if nobody can lead me in any directions, it is sometimes better to get it on one's own

Whatever feels right, after all it's NOT a fiddle, I found it is better to focus on what an instrument can do well, not what another does well. This will make sense to some.

[Dan Worrall]

Steve,

 

You might check out Bertram Levy's playing from the 1970s...'Sageflower Suite' has a large number of American tunes on anglo with a fiddler. And his tutor has some old time American tunes as well. Bertram played in the very well known Hollow Rock string band (banjo) back in the 1960s, before he took up the anglo, so has impeccable credentials for attempting it on the anglo.

 

Jody's CD 'Poor Little Liza Jane' is all old time, and delightful. He did a great job teaching this style at our Palestine workshop. He keys in on intracacies of old time rhythm and style. He does use a lot of buttons though....he likes to play the whole instrument. Nonetheless, the music of either of these folks can be stripped down to a fiddle-type melodic approach, if one gets the rhythm right.

 

Dan

[stevejay]

Steve,

 

You might check out Bertram Levy's playing from the 1970s...'Sageflower Suite' has a large number of American tunes on anglo with a fiddler. And his tutor has some old time American tunes as well. Bertram played in the very well known Hollow Rock string band (banjo) back in the 1960s, before he took up the anglo, so has impeccable credentials for attempting it on the anglo.

 

Jody's CD 'Poor Little Liza Jane' is all old time, and delightful. He did a great job teaching this style at our Palestine workshop. He keys in on intracacies of old time rhythm and style. He does use a lot of buttons though....he likes to play the whole instrument. Nonetheless, the music of either of these folks can be stripped down to a fiddle-type melodic approach, if one gets the rhythm right.

 

Dan

 

That's what I'm thinking, rhythm first, drones and double stop techniques later. Also learning the tune of course. It can be very awkward because you are forced into a bellows direction change where you want to keep your drone. I like the challenge and will continue to learn from fiddle players to approximate the sound. Drone buttons would help, but that ain't going to happen, plus I don;t always play this style.

 

I will look for Sageflower Suite, thanks.

Edited May 8, 2008 by stevejay

[mthatcher61]

I know what you mean Steve, I am trying to develop an 'American' style of rhythym accompanyment for OT fiddle tunes. I finally got Jody's CD Poor Little Liza Jane last week and I am loving it. the Tunes 'Texas', 'Coleman's March', 'Sail Away ladies', Big Sciota are perfest examples of that OT fiddling tune style I am chasing. Also 'Going across the Sea', and 'The Good Times Outweigh the Bad' are fantastic singing tunes. Exactly what I want to do. Ideally I'd like to take the fiddle/pipes oriented licks from the Irtrad and the chordal accompanyment from the English style, and that modal funky appalachian melody approaches from OT and develop something I can take to Jams and play with my flatpicking buddies. Currently the only template I can use is Jody's CD. I shall have to check out the Bertram Levy CD too. If he was a banjo player first, I imagine he has what I am looking for.

I am not that familiar with what is meant by the statements that Jody " does use a lot of buttons though....he likes to play the whole instrument" Do you mean he uses RH and LH at the same time? Or cross row?

Could this be what you mean: Irish is lots of cross row, fingering dictated by which way you want the bellows going, with an occasional drone or harmonically related button, and English style being pretty much RH - melody in the treble range and LH - chord accompanyment in the Bass range? Are these assumptions correct? And Jody being a combination of the two?

On Coleman's march, it sounds like he pretty much plays melody in the lower octave, LH, for the first verse, then 2nd verse, mando takes the break with Jody accompanying the melody on the RH fiddle style (some melody notes but accenting on either the 1,3,5 of the chord) , 3rd verse, guitar takes it and Jody is back on the LH side accompanying fiddle style, final verse he pretty much takes the lead on the RH side and by the end of the 2nd B part he has descended back down into the lower octave on the LH side. Pretty cool, attainable too, doesnt seem to difficult.

Edited May 20, 2008 by mthatcher61

[John Sylte]

I play anglo with old time music and I love it, it works very well. I am a fiddler primarily, and I play a lot of old time tunes. I also play clawhammer banjo and diatonic harmonica... The trick for me is definitely playing in the rows. I basically play the anglo as a harmonica, which presents a few added bonuses... the first and most significant of which is not having to breathe into the thing. It's also nice to be able to play chords and octaves. Sometimes I wear a neck rack and play harmonica and anglo at the same time, which offers a very cajun-esque quality. I tuned up a 20 button C/G Lachenal into D/A, and I travel to jams with my C/G and my D/A. By far, most of the tunes I play are in A and D, so the extra box is nice.