edit to add: don't mean to insult Kevin Burke or Lunasa at all! I am big fan.

Bluegrass... of course.

My heroes: Kenny Baker, Byron Berline, Michael Cleveland.

Wow...great question! I started off interested only in pretty basic OT tunes, but realized later that a Hank Williams laid-back style was lurking in the back of my mind and needed addressing.

Then at some point I realized everything also needs a choir...lol. I guess that's my current style...sorta inspired by OT, not emulation of any one fiddler, just the style itself, then a Hank Williams, songsy, laid back inspiration, and by this time it's gone to the choir. I think my biggest mistake was the choir parts in Great Big Taters in Sandy Land...that one never made it to my YouTube channel...lol...just too weird...lol.

Oh I hope Mr Violin the B doesn't come and anlayze my motives and contradictions within this simple response...lol...we'll see.

Appreciation for A - have attempted to duplicate when there is an appeal, but never because tradition was my sole aim.
Appreciation for B - have made that the goal in a BG band and solo material - challenging and fun.
Appreciation for C - mostly when attempts to copy my heroes force me to accommodate and find ways to play what I can.
Appreciation for D - I don't always know I'm doing it - but... I think "other" is a mixture of all the above. it just kinda happens without trying

Hopefully. I'm not stuck in one - but if I am - it's probably D

I'd have to go with selection C...

Selection A for me is hard to listen to some times.

Choice B may never come.

Other works too!

Interesting question, NCnotes.

My Irish fiddle paragons would be the likes of James Kelly, Brian Conway or John McEvoy (to name a few). Fiddlers playing with the highest of respect for the tradition of whatever regional style they play in, but not exactly 'the geezers' (generations of the past going back to the early recording era). So, along the lines of "A". There are so many great solo albums to listen to and absorb, it's a lifetime pursuit.

quote:

---

Originally posted by NCnotes

POLL
What fiddling style do you aspire to?

A. A style rooted in history, tradition and authenticity, aka “playing like the old geezers”

I found out early I wasn't going to be Cyril Stinnett. Also, i didn't want to be judged as an almost 'insert name here.'
B. A modern ‘band’ style, inspired by bands that are in and current popular albums

Probably this. I enjoy a band.

C. Your own style…whatever appeals to you

See A. I don't want to be labeled an almost Irish, or Scott's either. Again. I enjoy a band. I'd rather make a style with others than come up with something nobody understands. 
D. Other?
There's just so much this box can do. Jazz. Blues. Cajun. Zydeco. Country. Swing. Bluegrass. I haven't found the limits. 

---

I think I aspire to a combination of various “A”s to form C. I don’t watch television or listen to the radio so what happening in the B world doesn’t have much affect on me except what trickles through from sessions and the likes of this forum.

Very interesting, guys!

I see that some of us are more “open-minded” and “self-creating” and some of us lean towards more “traditional” (because we tend to like our music that way, not due to being bound by the rules)

I’ve been migrating from B to A, but I think I just lack the confidence to carve my own path currently…still busy copying other fiddlers... But maybe someday I might become a “C”! :-)

quote:

---

Originally posted by Erockin

I'd have to go with selection C...

Selection A for me is hard to listen to some times.

Choice B may never come.

Other works too!

---

I know..some of the scratchy old recordings are good for study...but not like I'd kick back and turn it on while washing the dishes! 

quote:

---

Originally posted by groundhogpeggy

Wow...great question! I started off interested only in pretty basic OT tunes, but realized later that a Hank Williams laid-back style was lurking in the back of my mind and needed addressing.

Then at some point I realized everything also needs a choir...lol. I guess that's my current style...sorta inspired by OT, not emulation of any one fiddler, just the style itself, then a Hank Williams, songsy, laid back inspiration, and by this time it's gone to the choir. I think my biggest mistake was the choir parts in Great Big Taters in Sandy Land...that one never made it to my YouTube channel...lol...just too weird...lol.

Oh I hope Mr Violin the B doesn't come and anlayze my motives and contradictions within this simple response...lol...we'll see.

---

Peggy, I feel that your music is personal and unique. LIke if I heard it, I could tell that's your music.

AS for me, I change my style depending on who I'm playing with...but maybe that's how it has to be if you like playing in groups?. HOwever maybe you never develop enough of a sense of your OWN music when you're a session/jam player. Hmmm.

Its hard to put this into neat boxes, for me. I like so many styles and individual players. but:

C or D - Depends on who and what style the ensemble is performing, but I like to incorporate elements not necessarily associated with the style of the song or tune. I'll cajun up 'Ring of Fire' or put Scottish hammer-ons and snaps in a bluegrass song, or play some swing or blues elements into an old time tune. Lionel Hampton licks in a rock-a-billy song, Scotty Stoneman riffs in a Linda Ronstadt tune. And trying to not repeat breaks. Most times it works - I'm happy with what comes out, fellow band mates and audiences seem to like it. And occasionally it spectacularly fails LOL. Thems the breaks with live music. Studio - thats different, surprises can waste time and $. However all choices above, A, B, C or D are equally valid and worthy - play what you like!

I cross the categories... because within the "old geezers" in my parts...there was an expectation of playful, self expression...never preservation... or putting the music on a pedestal.

My ear has always been attracted to the players around me who played what I call a "stately" style... nice old tunes.

At the same time there was a tradition of whipping up a storm for dances or contests just as strong. I like playing around with that range. And then a huge respect for bluegrass fiddlers like Kenny Baker or Clark Kessinger...

But have listened to fiddlers like Joe Coe and Mose Coffman more than Kenny Baker

I'm mostly interested in playing fiddle in song-oriented styles, whether backup or breaks. I tend to like the simpler, more straightforward melodic players, like Jerry Rivers, Paul Warren, and Tracy Schwarz.

yes, maybe it’s easier to narrow down preferred style by naming fiddle heroes!
Nobody has yet named Bruce Molsky or Mark o’Connor, which is interesting.

MIne are the more lyrical Irish fiddlers…Martin Hayes (of course!), Eimear Arkins, Adam Agee, Maura Shawn Scanlin…I seem to have an affinity for Clare style…(but the last two on my list are not Irish-born!) All of them have a smooth expressive sound, maybe tend to play in more minor/modal keys. Hey, maybe I DO kinda have a style without knowing it!

This is really interesting, Shawn, and I need to ponder this… ” …within the "old geezers" in my parts...there was an expectation of playful, self expression...never preservation... or putting the music on a pedestal.”

I actually think I would feel more free playing American music because as an American, I wouldn’t worry about getting creative with it. PLaying Irish music, I try to stay ‘true to the style’ which means having a preservation mindset. It’s some of the native Irish players who are more like,”Hey, let’s throw some bluegrass/punk rock/reggae into this ole diddly tune.” :-). ÝEt I think some of the players there would NOT be into that, and I also think some of the OT players here have a preservation /historical mindset.

It’s all good, but interesting to me…relevant when thinking about where you want your own playing to go.

i'm also a big martin hayes fan. some of the irish bowing is a lot like fiddlers i grew up a round. different music for sure, but some uncanny bowing similarities.

as far as self expression or playful...it's done within certain parameters/expectations. when i was younger i had some good players reel my 'adventures' in...

If I'uz a mathematician, I'd throw all of these answers into a big pot and see what it boils down to. I'm thinking there's really a lot of similarities in the individualism. Regardless...it's all very interesting. This is a great topic.

When I moved back east in 1972, from Colorado to Charlottesville, VA, and started mainly playing old time music, backing up people on guitar, I got into playing clawhammer banjo as a means of remembering tunes. I have to play the tune to remember it, not just backup on guitar. Anyway, I progressed from banjo to fiddle a few years later. Now I play mostly fiddle. I find that all my years playing jug band and ragtime music on guitar (1958-1972), has had some influence on my personal fiddle style. Can't help it.

The lesson is that all the styles of music you've played in your life will, in some way, effect your personal fiddle style.

The posters here are a diverse set of players with diverse goals that will influence how they approach a style. I guess that goes without saying but I thought I'd mention it anyway.

My primary goal as a fiddler has always been to be able to play competently in an Irish session anywhere in the world. So lots of technique development towards a more or less standardized style of playing (lilt, rhythm, ornaments), and lots of tunes to learn within that style.

A secondary goal is to be able to play for dancers in a contradance setting where steady rhythm and groove are foremost.

Interesting, Jon! So it seems like you don't aspire to a "solo fiddler" style? I feel like that's a goal of mine but I dunno why...maybe for art's sake. When I could stand the sound of myself playing alone in the garage, I felt like that was a milestone. :-D

*We played for dancers at a house recently. All of the dancers were older...lots of grey-haired folks. Lead player started a reel at a steady tempo. Then one of the dancers came over and said "Faster!" These 'old folks' wanted it FAST...we were playing at a really fast clip, and they were like, leaping in the air!? Do not underestimate the 'old' dancers, hahaha.*

Dancers need a bit of speed. It’s very hard to hang in the air between steps. They say that comfortable tempo for dancers is determined by the length of their legs. What would be comfortable for a mouse to dance would be a lot quicker than a giraffe. Old or young we humans dance at pretty much the same tempo.

I enjoy various styles of fiddling. What I've been into in recent years may not have been mentioned. And that's Old Time style fiddle as rendered by some younger players. It's reflected often in the versions of tunes I choose to transcribe for fiddletunes.net. There are lots of players where the distinction blurs, but I include Betse Ellis, Fly By Night String Band, Rachel Eddy, The Onlies, Foghorn String Band, Nokosee Fields, etc, etc. I find the old time style is alive in the present with these players.

@NCnotes, I feel like my style is the same whether solo or with other instruments. In a big loud fast session obviously the playing is a bit different, but my favorite session is a relaxed one with just 2-4 instruments, and you're all listening and meshing the tunes. Had that experience recently, magical!

I'd love to get more into old time fiddling, but I feel like switching genres in that way takes a boatload more talent and time than I have. My gosh there are some talented old time fiddlers out there, just listen to Get Up in the Cool to hear some great stuff.

I try to play in the style of musicians that I find appealing, in the style for that type of music.
*Old-time: I spent a lot of time listening to Geoff Seitz (who made a couple fiddles for me), Chirps Smith, and Rhys Jones, among others who were around, so I suppose when I play old-time, Midwest (Missouri/Illinois would be the style I play).

*Irish: James Kelly was an early influence, just because he was so good and I got to see him frequently over the late 70s/early 80s, as he was in the house band that resided at McGurk's Saloon (St. Louis) for three or four years or so. I constantly had a tape of Kevin Burke's "If the Cap First" queued up on my tape machine in my van, and enjoyed whatever recordings I could get (Irish recordings were very difficult to procure). After James Kelly and Paddy O'Brien left McGurk's, Joe Burke took over and booked all the best Irish pure drop musicians, so a bunch of great players and fiddlers ended up coming through McGurk's during the Joe Burke era. If you went there, you would always find about four fiddlers hanging out in the first room, next to the band. One of these players was Martin Hayes, who was a revelation.

*Cape Breton: I was awestruck when heard Buddy MacMaster at Elkins, WV in 1987, so I wanted to learn to play like him—playing Cape Breton is a mighty high peak to climb, you may find my body pretty high up there on Mt Everest, but a long ways from the top.

*Add in Scandinavian, contradance, English Country Dance, Morris dance, and even 13 years of pretending I could play classically in a community college orchestra, so I pretty much have tried to play anything I heard and like (for me to "like" someone, I mean I want to *play* like them—I got in trouble earlier here when I used that meaning in referring to Darol Anger, using my own stupid use of the word.

To undertake all this, I passed by lots of things that "normal" folks pursued in life and was unable to develop a huge repertoire in any one style, so don't expect a thousand tunes out of me in any one genre. (Right now, I am making a stab at doing better at the classical stuff.)

***I have always had the goal of wanting to make dancers go.***

So I guess that I fit into your category A—I want to play like those who passed on the tradition to me, though the reason for it isn't any adherence to tradition for tradition's sake, it is because their rendering of the tradition is so compelling and I want to play that way.