Fiddling Around

Long ago, I picked up a fiddle and started to play. I studied the violin from the age of seven. Some people think that the fiddle and the violin are two entirely different instruments. If you are speaking about an older version of the instrument, then, yes, there are anatomical differences. If not, they are one and the same - the reason they have different names is that it depends on how the instrument is played. A violin can almost magically transform into a fiddle in the hands of a skilled musician. So I am a violinist, and I am a fiddler. My skills at playing classical styles are better developed than those of fiddling (Bluegrass, Celtic fiddling, Gypsy music, and other folk styles), though I long to study more fiddling.

Though the name "violin" is lovely on its own, when speaking colloquially I prefer to use the term "fiddle". It evokes a certain nostalgia which opens unto a world of idylls and tears.  Scottish fiddler Aonghas Grant says it best: "You moved into a different world...It was a great comfort to you, playing the fiddle. It was a sweetener" (Fiddler Magazine, 2011). Fiddling culture revolved around an alternate existence, since the act of making music was an escape from the drudgery of routine as well as a form of deep emotional expression. As a folk art, fiddling was like the oral tradition of storytelling in that very few tunes were ever transcribed until recent years. Fiddlers would begin young and become familiar with the instrument, playing by ear and sight until they learned hundreds to thousands of fiddle tunes. In the Highlands of Scotland, dances, fleadhs and ceilidhs were the primary outlets for making this music. Many tunes reflected the beauty of the natural landscape and others captured the essence of local legends.

My own experience with fiddling began early in my musical education. One of the first pieces I learned to play in elementary school was an American fiddle tune, a "Hoe Down" - the sort of piece that would be played after coming in from the fields, as folks gathered together.  In the next few years, I learned a few Stephen Foster pieces, including the well-known "Oh Susanna". My first year playing in the district honor orchestra allowed me to learn more popular American fiddle tunes in a medley, and my middle school orchestra introduced me to "Corn Pone County", "Blue Fire Fiddler", and other delightful pieces of music.  I also began to learn Celtic tunes, famous Irish songs and folk and fiddle tunes.

My private lessons were centered around classical music, and in the summers I studied jazz improvisation. I never considered myself much of a soloist or virtuoso-in-training; I much prefer chamber ensembles and orchestras for performance. At home, though, I love to spend time composing my own tunes, usually lyrical tone-poems and folksy melodies, meant to be unaccompanied. Of course, I aspire to learn solo repertoire to improve my technique and because there are pieces for which I have developed a certain fondness, one of them being Felix Mendelssohn's violin concerto No. 3 in E minor. Right now, I am working on learning the Old Time Fiddler's Repertoire as well as the above-mentioned classical piece. I am also composing again.  Musically, there is so much that I want to learn, so much to experience, and life is just too short to die.