Just in case there isn't enough controversy on FHO, I'd thought I'd post a link to some samples from a local fiddler. BTW, she can do the real stuff too, very well. Check out: http://fleurmainville.ca/?page_id=23 at the bottom of the page, especially "St Cecilia's Rights" and "You Think That's Clumsy."

So, what do you think? Or have I done the unspeakable in bringing this up?

Harold

I've posted videos of various kinds of fiddlers - jazz, honky-tonk, rock - and they've been well received.  It doesn't all have to be about old-time.

I agree with Woodwiz... there is NOTHING that says it has to be about Old Time.

There IS a large community of Old Time players here, partly because it seems like half of us were clawhammer players in the clawhammer section of the Banjo Hangout, so we heard about the Fiddle Hangout right away.
Because of that, any topic pertaining to Old Time is going to resonate more with that (sometimes controversy-prone) community.

But clearly, Eric isn't himself an Old Time player- he's a bluegrass banjo player- and his mission statement makes it clear that he doesn't intend this Hangout to be all about one or two styles.

Keep in mind that there are lots of lurkers, and if nothing else, links like you just shared will probably be enjoyed by some of them.... or by some of us Old Time players that enjoy good fiddling in other styles, even if it doesn't represent our own playing goals.

For instance, you are Canadian, and from Nova Scotia- do you play in a Maritimes style? There are lots of Canadian fiddlers on the Hangout, and quite a few from the Eastern provinces- why not start some threads on those topics? Maybe take us on a tour of the maritimes styles with some of your favorite links. Cape Breton has a lot of visibility in the US, the other styles much less so- you could do a service by making us more aware of them.

And for instance, bj and I both like April Verch's playing. I've enjoyed Pascal Gemme, the Quebecois fiddler.
Jean Carignan is on my influences list. I've enjoyed the tunes Calvin Vollrath has posted. Idle Hands likes Ashley MacIsaac.
And I suspect others would be interested too.

Also, Gordon Stobbe's bowing book gets lots of mentions.  And there was at least one Canadian participant in groundhogpeggy's Virtual Fiddle Festival last month.

The problem is that you or some other Canadian needs to do it- even though some of us LIKE different Canadian fiddlers, we don't really know enough to really say much about it... but that doesn't mean we wouldn't enjoy READING about it.

Of course, whoever does so needs to be able to speak knowledgeably or at least respectfully about the different Canadian styles.... otherwise you may add Canadian controversies to our US Old Time ones!!!

Or, depending on who is available, you could have several Canadian fiddlers each take a region they are more familiar with.

Edited by - fiddlepogo on 07/19/2012 14:13:54

I'm listen to Fleur Manville's tune player, and enjoying it- it reminds me a bit of the Fairport Convention album my sisters and I had when we were teenagers... but the backing musicians have a heavier sound.

Total agreement......Eric knew whut he was doin calling it FHO, not OT-FHO, VHO, or designated by any other genre. Tho. it IS predominately OT, it is a mixture of all genres for all to enjoy.

We salute ya Eric.  

Harold, there's certainly no reason not to bring this up at the FHO. I play American Old Time, but I really appreciate the contributions of other styles and wish there were a lot more of them.

As far as this young lady, I enjoyed listening, but I wasn't exactly knocked out (you asked what we thought). Thanks for posting it though.

​Oh yes!  Not only a tolerance of other styles besides oldt time but also a ​yearning for​ other "flavours" of fiddling--that we might better ourselves as fiddlers (and as people!)--this is the attitude which makes us here at FHO so great, albeit we don't actually ​say​ anything of the sort, generally, in our various discussions and dissertations nor, granted and thankfully, do we actually mean anything of the kind.  Thusly, I think I'll have to report this said "New-time fiddling" to the moderator for...oh...sounds recommended which are unbecoming of a member in good standing?

quote:

---

Originally posted by Jaunskots

Just in case there isn't enough controversy on FHO, I'd thought I'd post a link to some samples from a local fiddler. BTW, she can do the real stuff too, very well. Check out: http://fleurmainville.ca/?page_id=23 at the bottom of the page, especially "St Cecilia's Rights" and "You Think That's Clumsy."

So, what do you think? Or have I done the unspeakable in bringing this up?

Harold

---

Hi Harold,

I enjoyed St. Cecilia's Rights as it was a fun listen.  The only other tune I heard was Si Bheag Si Mhor and while I congratulate her on the correct spelling, I didn't care for her voice nor her fiddle playing of this tune.  We all have different tastes and different expectations especially when it comes to tunes we know well.  However, it was good of you to take the time and trouble to post.

Thanks to everyone for the encouragement.  I'd be honoured to be reported for sounds recommended unbecoming a member in good standing -- I didn't know I had achieved that distinction yet. I'd better point out that I: (1) never use the term "Celtic," (2) never voluntarily listen to Ashley MacIsaac, and (3) have never owned or wanted to own an electrified instrument. I thought the music I linked was interesting, even if it's not at all how I dream of playing the Rights of Man. It's not typical of local fiddling any more than Ashley MacIsaac's is of Cape Breton. And Lord knows I can't play the Clumsy Lover anywhere near as well as Fleur. BTW, If I had to describe myself and my aspirations, I'd say I do not play no rock and roll, just a straight natural old time fiddling, to paraphrase one of the greats in another genre entirely. I don't usually go near this kind of thing, but I do know how well she plays the real thing. And I got tempted to stir the pot.

As fiddlepogo says, I am a Canadian and a Nova Scotian, so my Old Time is probably not exactly the same as most American Old Time anyway, except New England maybe. I live in Pictou County, just on the fault line between the Cape Breton influence and what I still think of as more mainstream fiddling, which probably shows where my tastes run. There have to be lots of people better qualified that I am to describe the local fiddle music, but I could give a couple of examples to whet your appetites if they don't bore you to death. Describing even the local styles would be a big job; the whole country would be about as big a job as covering U.S. fiddling. Maybe I'll try to pick away at an intro to Nova Scotia over the next while and post in a week or two. Then the knowledgeable can correct me and we'll all be better off.

Contests often reflect local tastes. There will be one in River John, on the western edge of Pictou County, next week. What will be valued there will be different from what would be desired somewhere to the east. In River John, according to a  former winner, the jig must not be ridiculously fast (i.e., one should be able to dance to it), the reel must be super clean, and the waltz a touch faster than elsewhere. A good tone, smoothness, and a clean approach emphasizing the melody are necessary. So, smooth and clean in River John. Elsewhere perhaps, speed, grace notes, cuts, and other ornaments, a certain roughness, with a smooth tone much less important.

Examples of Cape Breton style are common, so I won't link. For some modern really nice smooth playing, try the B flat Sisters, Kimberly Holmes from Halifax County, NS, and Sherryl Fitzpatrick from Ottawa, Ontario: http://bbsisters.ca/wordpress/?page_id=6.

See also the video bj posted of Matilda Murdoch playing one of her compositions: http://www.fiddlehangout.com/myhangout/videos.asp?id=4093 Northern New Brunswick, but not so far away in spirit probably.

Gordon Stobbe deserves his own thread for sure. He has done a lot more than his bowing DVD. His instruction books, Of Course You Can Play the Fiddle (3 vols.) are probably the best I've seen. His collection Canadian Old Time Fiddle Hits (also 3 vols.) is terrific and deserves to be on your shelves too, alongside Cole's or Ryan's. Most -- well, many -- of them will be familiar; the tunes that are not familiar are a good intro to various regional idioms in Canada.  He has introduced pdf files of his tune books with bowings indicated, BTW (I haven't seen them yet). His site is:http://www.fiddlebooks.com/. It includes some mp3 examples of his own tunes.

And there are some Maritime bluegrass players who are really terrific, BTW. There's another potential thread. Lots of work for somebody -- somebody more knowledgeable than I am, no doubt.

Harold

Harold,

You write well, and while I'm sure there are people more knowledgeable (it seems there's always SOMEONE more knowledgeable, just like there's always someone who plays better than we do), I'd say you have more than enough knowledge to give people an introduction that could whet their appetite for deeper research of their own. Write on, as much as you WANT to, considering the pay is VERY low! And if you attract others who are more knowledgeable and want the job, you can let them HAVE it! And don't think you have to do dissertation level research... think of it as writing for a travel magazine for fiddlers!

I thought it was interesting that you said that they like their fiddling smooth in River John, but rougher elsewhere (in Pictou, I presume).
I've thought about the issue of roughness ever since hearing Jean Carignan in the early 70's on an LP recording in the college library.
He obviously had the bow control to play smoothly if he wanted to, but he most clearly did NOT want to, on that recording at least.
So it's interesting for me to hear about rough vs. smooth playing as a stylistic thing in your local fiddle styles.

In US Old Time, it's hard for me to think of any examples of intentional roughness in the older tradition. So many of the fiddlers who were recorded the late 30's, the 40's, the '50's and the '60s were old enough that one would tend to assume that any roughness was just part of getting older and not an intentional stylistic thing. But I wonder if there weren't situations like you describe in Pictou in various places in the US- where one locale would favor a rougher, another a smoother fiddle tone.

Among the younger generation of fiddlers, you do get a few that seem to have a deliberate roughness going on sometimes.

Do you think you will be going to the River John contest??

Edited by - fiddlepogo on 07/20/2012 13:58:45