Fiddle Traditions: A Musical Sampler from the Pages of Strings Magazine

by Master Teachers at Acoustic Guitar

(String Letter Publishing). Learn more about your favorite fiddle styles and techniques through the writings of experts in bluegrass, country, Irish, Cajun and swing traditions. Covers the difference between classical violin playing and fiddling, "chopping" technique, bariolage, double-stop playing, and alternate tunings, plus lots of info on fiddle tunes from around the world.

112 pages, Paperback

Published June 1, 2007

Reviews

[Lara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I appreciated the way this book bridged different styles of playing, even when they seem worlds apart on the surface. It was an interesting read, with plenty of material to play around with, and it got me thinking about my own playing. Most of my training has been classical, but left to my own devices I’m drawn to traditional/folk, especially Irish and Bluegrass. I’ve experienced a lot of tension between my training/what I “should” be learning, and what I actually want to play. This book gave me new connections to consider between the two. There’s a lot of freedom in understanding the technical differences—not just the cultural ones—between classical violin playing and traditional fiddling. A great book for classically trained violinists looking to explore traditional fiddling, or self-taught fiddlers looking to expand into more advanced theory and technical skills. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it for
beginners (it’s not presented as such) as there’s quite a bit of theory that I think would be an unnecessary headache to jump into with little prior knowledge.