Old-Time and Appalachian Fiddle Music

History

Old time and Appalachian music retains some of its Celtic roots, but it a unique style relying heavily on double stops (chords) and cross tuning (changing the pitch of the strings to facilitate drones and harmonics) and uniquely rhythmic bowing. Like Irish music, it often uses modal constructs rather than keys.

Not to be confused with Bluegrass, invented by Bill Monroe, a native of Kentucky, and the members of his band: Earl Scruggs, Lester Flatt, and Chubby Wise. They developed a hard-driving sound that incorporated anything that they heard that they liked: jazz, gospel, country, rock-n-roll. Together and separately they became national stars; they were sought after for radio, TV, national tours, mustic festivals, and movie soundtracks. The Bluegrass genre remains intensely popular.

From BiteYourOwnElbow.com:

• Appalachian: a style of fiddling from the Appalachian Mountains of the United States that uses modal sounds and techniques;
• Old-time: a pre-bluegrass string band style with country dance rhythms, including music from vaudeville, minstrel shows, British Isles folk traditions, early 78 RPM country recordings, old songs played on the fiddle, Appalachian modal tunes, and listening tunes unsuitable for dancing;
• Bluegrass: a musical style that originated with Bill Monroe in the late 1930s with increased improvisation and flashiness; primarily meant for a listening audience.

"Old Time Music was the heartbeat of Anglo-Celtic Southern America for many generations... [Cecil Sharp, during his 1916-1918 song-collecting field trip] found American variants of many hoary British ballads with impressive pedigrees. Songs scarcely remembered in their land of origin still held a spell over Southern descendants of expatriated yeomen. But the ballad tradition was not static: newer songs of outlaws and train wrecks sprang up alongside old ones of knights and ladies...

"Despite the European background of much of this music and of such instruments as the fiddle, the influence of African-American phrasing and syncopation profoundly affected old time music. (This influence becomes particularly striking when you compare American stringband music to that of Canada, a New World culture which lacked a significant African-American presence.) The banjo is the most obvious legacy of African-Americans in old time music, for the instrument itself is African in origin. It came to white Southerners via the nineteenth century minstrel show... Compared to the banjo, the guitar was both a latecomer and a folk instrument by commercial fiat. It was in the late nineteenth century that such mail order catalogues as Sears & Roebuck made inexpensive mass-produced guitars widely available, and it was by such prosaic means that the guitar and mandolin entered Appalachia." — Mark Humphrey

"In oldtime music the tradition has not been lost, it may be resisting change but it has not been displaced, it is not a modern music. I for one celebrate the fact that oldtime music is not bluegrass or dawg music or new grass or even claw grass (which sounds like an agricultural disease or killer weed). Oldtime works from different tonal centers, it uses open tunings and harmonic resonant overtones and incidentals, it mixes non-tempered scales with harmonization or it's completely modal. Compared to bluegrass or country western its largely dance centered and not song centered, many of its songs are verses to dance tunes, and most of its songs were meant for solo and unaccompanied performance in their oldest form. It is often not strictly symmetrical in its rhythms; a-rhythmic fiddle and banjo tunes are common particularly in West Virginia and Kentucky. Drones, bowed or fifth stringed, are central and not incidental to the music." — Allen Feldman

Melodic Modes

One day I got tired of not knowing why a fiddle tune with two sharps was not automatically in the key of D or A minor, which meant learning about pentatonic, hexatonic and heptatonic scales and the modal variants which form the structural underpinnings of much of the older old-time music. What I learned is explained in Musical Architectures: Modes, Intervals and Scales on this website.

Typical fiddle cross-tunings include GDAG, ADAD, DDAD, AEAE, AEAC#. This helps the fiddle player add the drones that mark so much of old-time sound. Droning involves playing two strings at once, but the secondary string is a drone and does not change often, as compared to double-stopped notes which can change as often as the primary note does. Cross-tunings do have an effect even if no drone on a second string is attempted; a sympathic vibration is created in the secondary string which enhances the sound.

"Scordatura is the fancy name for it; also known as cross tuning, open tuning or out-of-tuning. It involves changing the relationship between the four strings of the violin, so that you no longer have G,D,A,E, but some other combination...Until very recently I avoided it like the plague, for all sorts of reasons. It upsets the instrument, which likes stability and doesn’t take kindly to such unnatural practices...However, there are some styles of traditional music for which cross tuning is essential if you are to achieve an authentic sound. As we will see, the most significant of these are American Old Time, and Norwegian fiddling... In old time jam sessions fiddlers are happy to stay in a single key and a single tuning for up to an hour. At some point a key change will be suggested, and everyone will retune. If an outsider sees fit to criticise this practice, fiddlers will habitually blame it on banjo players, who apparently find it harder to retune. Banjo players of course blame the fiddlers. Bluegrass players, who pride themselves on their ability to play in any key, of course refuse to retune at all, and sneer at the lot of them. —Chris Haigh.

"Fiddle music does not as a rule call for the use of the fourth, or little, finger. The open string is used instead. If the older fiddler desires a double note on the same pitch, which would involve the fourth finger in conjunction with the open string to the right, he gets around this by taking the loer of the two strings involved and tuning it up one whole tone in order to be able to play the prime with the third finger instead. True, some fiddlers do play the prime with the fourth finger, but I always feel, when I run across this, that the original way of playing the tune was with the string tuned up... The holding of the fiddle with the palm of the hand against the neck of the instrument makes the use of the little finger difficult." —Marion Thede.

Rhythmic Modes

"99% of fiddle novices think it's about the notes when it's really about the bowing. When a fiddler develops the ability to accent and syncopate around the musical beat while borrowing from an arsenal of traditional bow patterns, the fiddler is born. It is a rhythm instrument with notes included." - David Bragger

Michael Ismerio recommends learning a song's bowing first, then melody! "Number one job of fiddle player is to communicate down beat."

Clogging while fiddling: Using feet as a percussion instrument is fun for audience and performer. The simplest steps are little more than a shift of weight from left to right in a shuffle rhythm, with the short-short as a pickup to the long (1st and 3rd beat)step: short-short long, short-short long, step-back step, step-back step.

A lot of the older versions of old-time music (such as those in Cecil Sharp's collections) are composed of varied rhythms; individual measures of 4/4 interleaved with 3/2, for instance. The net effect supplies a certain kinetic energy to songs which are simple and composed of many verses, avoiding listener fatigue. Not an easy thing to pull off at a fiddle jam, but worth the effort for your own repetoire.

Time Signatures

2/2, 2/4, and 4/4 (AKA Duple Time)

I have, in my sheet music collection, many transcriptions for Arkansaw Traveller; some in 2/2, some in 2/4, and some in 4/4. The moral of the story is: let the music, not the time signature, be your guide.

The syncopated duple meters, which I shall call hornpipes for lack of a better word, are less popular than reel time because more difficult to play, but the ability to syncopate a tune comes in handy when trying to match up with a banjo or when playing modal tunes. The same tunes often function as both reel and hornpipe, depending on the fiddler.

Hornpipe rhythm example from American Fiddle Tunes.

"The duple-time hornpipe... was at the height of its popularity on both sides of the Atlantic in the period roughly between 1780 and 1850. The dance was executed at a slower pace than reel time and frequently featured fancy footwork. Similar dances – probably descendants – are the clogs that flourished in the latter half of the nineteenth century and the tap dances of [the twentieth] century. Hornpipe tunes, besides being properly rendered at a slower pace than reels, usually employ a rhythmic pattern. The melodic lines often rely heavily upon arpeggios... Since the demise of the hornpipe as a dance, American hornpipe tunes have tended to be drawn into the general reel repertory, which calls for a faster tempo. But the hornpipe tunes are often showpieces with rather complicated left-hand fingerings; executing them at a reel tempo can easily lead to the sense of harried effort ... Although a few fiddlers such as Leizime Brusoe have cultivated their left-hand technique to the extent that they can execute complicated hornpipes at a dazzling pace, most fiddlers are more at home with the ordinary reels, where the left hand has fairly simple fingering patterns.' — Alan Jabbour.

The Old Time Fiddler's Repertory contains a number of songs named as hornpipes, including the B-flat Hornpipe as played by one-armed Luther Caldwell.

Breakdown, Reel, Hoedown

3/4 (AKA Waltz time)

6/8 (AKA Jig time)

Bow Strokes

Saw Stroke: this would be the One Stroke, One Note technique cited above.

Son Filé and Portato: the classical techniques that play several distinct notes on one bow has been adapted by fiddle players. Nathan Cole put out a training video on the one-minute-bow (see references) , which is overkill for fiddle players but still useful.

Syncopated 2/4 or 4/4:this can be a good way to kick a somewhat boring reel down the road. Maybe not a hornpipe in the Irish sense of the word, but the syncopated pulse produced by many mandoline and banjo players means the fiddle needs to pulse along too. Dwight Diller describes it as 'I Think I Can I Think I Can.' or the 'Boomalaka': BOOM-ah-LAK-ah.

Circular (or oval) bow pattern: It softens the bite and results in a nice swing at speed. Down-bow is the lower half of the oval; upbow is the top. A flat bridge helps.

Figure-8: on one or two strings: or on two strings, using one string as a base and touching down to another string on the off-beat. The bow moves in a circular or figure-eight pattern (depending on your point of view) (I see it as a figure-8 but I use a very flexible wrist when bowing). The on-beat note is often emphasized with double-stopping.

Slurring into the first beat: a bowing pattern that slurs into the first beat of a measure will soften the texture of the song and make it roll. If your music is written as 4/4 instead of 2/4, you are probably playing it as a 2/4 if you are playing to tempo, so count the pulses rather than the quarter notes.

Double-Stopping: Playing two strings at once is an important part of much old-time music. It results in the violin equivalent of a chord. The technique is often used to emphasize the rhythm. Much double-stopping is actually done by playing a drone (an open string) along with the melody note. Hence the prevalence of fiddle music in G, D, A and E: those are the open strings at our disposal.

• Variation on a double stop: while playing a string smoothly, allow the bow to touch, very briefly, an upper string on the strong beat. This gives a nice pulse.
• Cross-tuning the violin is frequently employed to both simplify and emphasize the double stop.

Bow Patterns

1. Emphasis on the strong beat;
2. Emphasis on the back beat (the & in the diagram below);
3. A mix of the above.

Alan Jabbour on Henry Reed's bowing style:

• The bow arm is more important than the left: Sound and Scratch.
• How you combine the Sound and Scratch is your style. The increase in slurs and the decrease of scratch (the little articulation when the bow changes direction) is part of your style.
• Saw stroke;
• Slurred in groups of twos;
• Slurred in groups of fours;
• Reed's special syncopated pattern (typical of upper South) was 3-3-2, with some emphasis on the first note of each subgroup.
  PA pa pa PA pa pa Pa pa
• Reed often anticipated the beat as well, especially at the end, followed by an anticipated phrasing (pickup).

When using the chart below, be mindful that strokes are not static. Surges in volume and tone are common within one bow stroke, short or long.

* AKA Double or Hokum. The unaccented beats are played on a lower string and then the accented stroke is played on next string up. It is common to change the high note, but not the lower one, as the fiddler goes through the phrase.

**John Hartford described this as playing three notes per stroke against a 2/4 rhythm. He called it 'the Paganini' because somewhile after John incorporated it into his fiddle playing technique he saw Paganini doing the same thing.

Performance Music

"May all that has been reduced to Noise in you become Music again."

Learning, performing and improvising by ear (without sheet music) is an important skill set. The music is expected to come from the heart and in synergy with other performers. Printed music often provides the initial information about the song for people who have learned to read sheet music, but as the musician works towards performance quality the sheet music is best left behind.

28th of January

• Jake Krack. Fast.
• Mark Nelson on dulcimer.
• Unknown on fiddle with a certain amount of dash.
• Darcie Deaville on fiddle with ceili-style backup on guitar / mandolin.
• Old Time Band on fiddle with guitar and bass backup. Lively.

Abe's Retreat, A Modal

• Roger Howell
• Dwight Diller, banjo solo
• Tim Rowell, banjo solo
• Sheet music, Melody only

All Young

• Melvine Wine with banjo duet.
• Melvin Wine 1/2 pitch higher.
• Tab transcription on Banjo Hangout.
• Banjo rendition of the above transcription.
• All Young in G on banjo.
• The Ruglifters.

Angelina Baker (aka Angeline the Baker)

• Sammy Walker, interesting A part.
• Stamper's album Pineywoods at 5:00.
• Home Folks in a more conventional version.
• Wayfarers string band.
• Nashville Bluegrass Band, fast.
• Roger Howell in a meditative version.
• Lonesome River Band in a stellar performance during which the banjo player and a guitar player break strings at exactly the same time [2:27]. The fiddle player never misses a beat.

Arkansas Traveller

• Mark O Connor and Guests kill it in several different ways.
• Tommy Jarrell and Aly Bain and friends in 1985.
• The Canote Brothers playing a song called Down in the Old Home Town with a cleverly modified version of Arkansas Traveller as the break.

Backstep Cindy

• Bruce Molsky and Pete Sutherland
• John Lamacusa transcription of Tommy Jarrel version, D Major, no chords.

Barbra Ellen

• Alan Moores old time version.
• Pete Seeger.
• Emmylou Harris.
• Joan Baez.

Betty Liken, A Mixolydian

• Strumelia on fiddle with banjo ceili-style backup.
• Jed Todd fiddle with lots of drones.
• David Holt on cross-tuned clawhammer banjo.
• Jason Halliday on solo banjo.
• Jonathan Lewis, Ukelele, diddly bow and guitar.
• Fiddle and Banjo.
• Sheet music in A Mixolydian.

Bill Cheatum

• Bill Monroe at the speed of light.
• Casey Willis fiddle lesson. Bluegrass swing.
• Cabin Creek Boys in a more old-time version.

Billy in the Lowground

• Roger Netherton and Chrinstina Tanczos at Clifftop 2018.
• Romero and Friends.
• Ian Walsh lesson.
• Traditional Tune Archive links to sheet music and a charming Fiddle and accordian version on mp3 which has a very Irish flair.

[ Garfield's ] Blackberry Blossom

• John Hartford and an amazing version.
• Jane Rothsfield

Blackest Crow Waltz

• Bruce Molsky and Aly Bain.
• Jay Ungar and Molly Mason Family Band.
• Tatiana Hargreaves, lots of droning. And a cello!
• Red Tail Ring, lots of droning, cross-tuned.
• Craig Judelman lesson.
• Tommy Jarrell banjo version, brisker than a waltz. AKA As Time Grows Near.
• Lyle Lofgren sheet music transcript and words.

Boating up Sandy

• Snake Chapman original.
• Snake Chapman tune played by Matt James.
• Cowan Creek Music School.
• David Bragger
• David Bragger fiddle lesson.

Bonaparte's Retreat

• William Stepp, 1937 recording.
• Paul Kirk and string band.

Buffalo Gals

• Allison de Groot &Tatiana Hargreaves at Old Time Tiki Parlour. Lydian Mode, augmented 7th.
• Katie Henderson a la Bruce Molsky. Cross A tuning.

Calico

• Jim Bowles, AEAE Crosstuning.
• Blockader ala Jim Bowles in FCFC tuning.
• Calico transcription in four parts, ala Jim Bowles.
• Paul Kirk and friends

Cherokee Shuffle

• Great string band version (including Byron and Darol Anger) with two fiddles in harmony and dobro.
• O'Rourke and friend in a guitar version from Australia.
• Sheet music at Traditional Tune Archives.
• Sheet music and midi file at Pete Showman's Tunes Page.
• Transcript with melody and chords at GuitarNick.com.

Childgrove:

• Childgrove in a Baroque style.

Cluck Old Hen (A Dorian)

• John Ashby; Simple old-time version. A-A-A B-B.
• Grayson and Whitter, fiddle, Old-Time guitar and vocals.
• The Hillbillies (1926) with vocals.
• Earl Brothers, banjo, violin, mandolin and guitar with vocals.
• Two Chord Sing Along, Ukelele, banjo, with vocals.
• Berklee American Roots with LOTS of instrumentalists! Some vocals.
• Cluck Old Hen, Aubrey Atwater, banjo with vocals.
• Bluegrass style, fiddle and string band.
• Paul Tyler, on fiddle, slow.
• Paul Tyler fiddle, full speed.
• A Dorian sheet music on Wikipedia.

Cold Frosty Morning A Dorian

• Milltown instrumental.
• Tara Linhardt and friends, Mandolin, bass, guitar.
• Squirrel Hunters ensemble, including fiddle.
• Neverisky solo banjo.
• Sheet Music with guitar chords
• Irish style. Not a fan of the photography but the playing is smooth as silk.

Cookoo is a pretty Bird

• Wolf Gap Ramblers, strong fiddle.
• Steve Martin, ok singing but clever short fiddle breaks.
• Maiden Radio, fiddle, guitar and banjo.
• Donovan's lyrics, including Jack Of Diamonds references.
• Clarence Ashley's famous version
• Bob Dylan, guitar with vocals.
• Doc Watson Family with lyrics.
• Dry Branch Fire Squad.
• George Gibson, banjo.
• Townes Van Zandt, 1973.
• Doc Watson and Mike Seeger, 1991.
• Rory Gallagher, 1973
• 2-chord sing-along with clever break.

Cripple Creek

• Frank George and Jerron Paxton, fiddle, banjo, and voice.
• Sherman and Lee Hammons.
• Ian Alexander and friends performing Earnie Carpenter's distinctive 5-measure per phrase version of Cripple Creek.
• Ian Walsh teaches fiddle version of Cripple Creek.
• Tommy Jarrell and friends in a session-like rendition, complete with lyrics by Jarrell while he plays.
• Ira Mullins with sliding B part and variable C part. Unique.
• Ernie Carpenter: A and B parts are composed of 5-measure phrases. Fun to listen to.
• David Bragger teaching Cripple Creek on cross-tuned (G-D-G-D) fiddle. 30 minutes, very detailed.
• Earl Scruggs and Lester Flatt; fiddle and banjo.

Cuckoo is a Pretty Bird

Cuckoos Nest

• Vestenor does a distinctive syncopated version.
• Ian Walsh in fiddle lesson format in D.
• Paul Tyler on fiddle, slow.
• Paul Tyler on fiddle, to speed.

Cumberland Gap

• Burnett and Rutherford.
• Cuje Betram version with bones accompaniment.
• New Lost City Ramblers.
• Fly BY Night String Band nice and crooked.
• Flathead String Band Nice and a little less crooked.
• Gregory and Davenport in a lively banjo / fiddle version.

Dark Hallow

• Grateful Dead.
• Doc Watson and Pete Rowan.

Darling, You Can' Love But One (New River Train)

• Hoosier Hot Shots with kazoo.
• Monroe Brothers.

Dollar Down and a Dollar a Week

• New Lost City Ramblers

Dry and Dusty

• Fiddle Hangout.
• Fiddling Mike Rolland
• Kenny Baker .
• Brittany Haas.

Ducks on the Millpond

• Old Time, fiddle, banjo, guitar and bass.
• Clawhammer Banjo video, and perfectly charming.
• Traditional Music Library On Line sheet music to match the clawhammer banjo version.

Ducks on the Pond, A Mixolydian (Henry Reed)

• Reel Island Rounders, fiddle with guitar and banjo.
• Jason Halliday on solo banjo.
• Solo banjo by Neverisky.
• Lisa Ornstein, Henry Reed version, video and sheet music.
• Henry Reed sheet music transcription from LOC.

Durang's Hornpipe

• Rachel Eddy
• Carolina Chocolate Drops with unusual drum backbeat.

Eighth of January

• Seth Newton Mize on Slippery Hill website. 3-part version.
• Willie and David Morrison on Slipper Hill website.
• Enos Canoy on Slippery Hill.
• Paul Kirk's version of Enos Canoy's version.
• Tatiana Hargreaves and Allison de Groot.

Elk River Blues

• Ben Zorn plays an Ernie Carpenter version. Charmingly romantic and crooked.

False Sir John (May Colvin)

• Jean Ritchie acapala.
• Patrick Tworney accapala.
• Meg Baird, strings.

Fisher's Hornpipe

• Ian Walsh plays both bluegrass and Irish version, hornpipe.
• Chris Haigh teaches it with more of a breakdown feel.

Five Miles from Town (Clyde Davenport version

• Berea College archives, very clear rendition.
• Traditional Tune Archive transcription with historical annotations.
• You Tube audio with banjo accompaniment.
• Sutherland version.
• Gellert version.

Flop Eared Mule

• Chris Haigh.
• Unidentified gentleman using a lot of saw strokes and plucking.
• Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys in a syncopated version.

Flatwoods

• Clyde Davenport in 2004
• Clyde Davenport, again.

Forked Deer

• JP Fraley.
• JP Fraley, Slippery-Hill.com.
• Edden Hammons, lots of droning.
• Henry Reed at LOC.
• OTFT: includes a downloadable midi file.
  • Sheet Music;
  • Bruce Greene version;
  • Jojn Sayler version
• Ian Walsh fiddle lesson format.
• American Fiddle Method Online brief tutorial.
• Berline, Crary and Hickman, fiddle, banjo and guitar. Nice swing.
• Elmer Rich plays his family version, with the occasional extra measure thrown in.

Frosty Morning

• Katy Adelson. I am not a fan of all the posing and smiling but I like both the slow and fast versions she presents here.
• Melvin Wine-inspired version on banjo.
• Ian Walsh.

Granny Will Your Dog Bite

• Stringband.Mossyroof.com; a fine crooked version at a slower pace for learning.

Greasy Coat, A Modal

• Chance McCoy and the Appalachian String Band.
• 2 banjos, a fiddle, a guitar and two cloggers.
• Greasy Coat fast, cross tuned Tuning GDGD David Bragger.
• Medium tempo fiddle: David Bragger.
• Slow tempo fiddle, David Bragger.
• Sheet music, melody and chords.
• Sheet music, melody and Chords.
• Banjo tab

Greasy String

• Dwight Diller plays Lee Hammond's laid-back version.
• Darin Gentry and Dwight Diller in another laid-back version.
• Tommy Jarrell in a fast not-square version.
• Reeltime Travelers in another fast version.

I don't drink and I don't smoke,

and I don't wear no greasy coat.

I don't cuss and I don't chew,

And I don't go with boys that do.

I don't kiss and I don't tell,

Those who do will go to hell.

I don't cuss and I don't lie

I'll go to heaven when I die.

The Gypsy Laddies (Raggle Taggle Gypsies, Black Jack Davie)

For there are seven brothers of us all,

We all are wondrous bonnie oh

But this very night we all shall be hanged

For the stealin of the earl's lady oh.

Haste to the Wedding

Hawks and Eagles

• Cross tune ADAE by Gary Sizemore.
• Shuffling approach by Brett ZKE1
• Shuffling by Carter Bancroft
• Sheet music in G, melody only.
• Sheet music with melody, chords and mandolin tab.

Hard Times

Hell Among the Yearlings

Hickory Jack

• Fiddle solo, Luther Strong.
• Fiddle and bass duet
• Sheet music A MIXolydian 3 parts melody only

Horse and Buggy

• Art Stamper (at 21:40).
• Jesse Wells.

House Carpenter (Daemon Lover)

• Sheet music, D Dorian, no chords.
• English FOlk Songs from S Appalachia book has an entire chapter on the Demon Lover. First one is in D Dorian.
• Doc Watson with vocals.
• Bob Dylan, lowered by three semitones as part of a project.
• Jeff Lang with extra vocals and an interesting rolling background.

Hunting the Buffalo

• I draw slow.

Indian Ate a Woodchuck

• Chance McCoy does a lively 2-part versiom.
• Crutchfield Project does a 3-part learned from Ed Haley.
• Greg Canote and friends do a 2-part version.
• Ed Haley three-part fiddle version.

Jambalaya

Jenny Get Around

• David Bragger and Seth Shumate.

Jenny [Mule] in the Cotton Patch (clyde Davenport version)

• Transcription. Kay of A. Cross tuned to GDGD.
• Brief recording at Brown University

Josie-O

• Art Stamper, Goodbye Girls.
• Adam Hurt solo banjo.
• Art Stamper's album Pineywoods.
• Stamper's album, The Lost Fiddler.
• Hiram Stamper.

June Apple: A Mixolydian

• Ian Walsh fiddle lesson format, 110 b/m
• Bryan Sutton guitar lead, strong solo by fiddle player.
• Michael Daves with strong fiddle
• Doc Watson and Dave Holt Banjo and guitar with great lyrics:
• Sheet music melody with chords.
• Sheet Music with melody and mandolin tab.

Bring me spring water

Bring it in a cup

Me and my love we fell out

Ain't gonna make it up.

Hand me down the old banjo

String it up with twine

The only song it will play

Is 'Love that gal of mine.'

Kitchen Girl (Henry Reed)

• Banjo solo by Neverisky.
• Banjo solo, slow solo, lesson format.
• Flat pick guitar solo.
• Mandolin solo.
• Ian Walsh fiddle solo in lesson format.
• Sheet music, 2 versions: First one, Jay Ungar transcription, melody only. Second includes chords.

Laughing Boy

• Benny Thomasson at Slippery Hill.

Little Girl with her Hair Hanging Down

Little Pink

• ID Stamper
• Chance McCoy.

Liza Jane in A

• Black and Tan String Band, cross tuned AEAE.
• name unknown String Band, cross tune AEAE.
• Lauren Rioux in a fiddle-lesson format.

Liza Jane in D

• SAW, mandoline solo.
• Stringbean at the Opry, banjo solo, maybe in D.
• Nina Simone, vocal solo at top speed.

Long Journey Home (Two Dollar Bills)

Louisville Breakdown

• Art Stamper on the Pineywoods album at 27:30.
• Kenny Baker/Bobby Hicks.

Midnight on the Water Waltz

• Benny Thomasson. Exquisite, brisk tempo.
• Jay Ungar and Molly Mason.
• John Hartford.
• Vi Wickam: fiddle, hammered dulcimer, guitar.
• Fiddlehed lesson

Mississippi Sawyer

• Banjo solo

Money Musk

• Highwoods String Band

Music for a Found Harmonium

• Patrick Street.
• Tarahan, with a harmonium.
• Celtic Fiddle Festival, including Kevin Burke. With a bunch of mad improvised bits included.

Nancy Blevins

• New Ballards Branch Bog Trotters.

New River Train

Old Joe Clark, Mixolydian (A, E)

• Frank George and Jerron Paxton, banjo, fiddle and voice.46 5
• Rosinators string group, heavy on the lyrics, by a UK group.
• Ian Walsh fiddle lesson format.
• John Fiddle Lesson with lyrics and a explanation of the shuffle, which he didn't really use a lot of: more a great reel state.

Obama's March to the White House

• Canote Brothers, the composers of this lively tune. Calico tuning.
• Ol Timey Messengers.
• Banjo version from Hurt and Hartness.
• StringBand.MossyRoof.com version at a slow pace to learn from.

Old Cumberland

• Old Cumberland; a little crooked but kenetic. Fiddle lesson with Craig Judelman.
• Billy Mathews

Old Grimes

• Nancy Blake fiddle and cello duet.
• Julian Lage and Chris Eldridge guitar duet.
• Jeff Norman, banjo solo.
• Dr Humbead's New Tranquiity String Band, guitar, fiddle, and mouth harp.

Old Joe Clark

• StringBAnd.MossyRoff.com: a fine, unusually syncopated version.]

Oopik Waltz

• Pineywoods [1985] - Art Stamper at 7:45.

Possum's Tail is Bare in D

• Melvin Wine at Digital Library of Appalachia. Excellent.
• David Bragger fiddle lesson format.

Paradise

Pretty Little Girl with a Red Dress On

• Rhiannon Giddens and the Chocolate Drops, 2015.

Pretty Little Dog

• Southern String band: two of everything
• Foghorn Trio: mandolin, fiddle, guitar.
• Fiddlehead violin in lesson format.
• Sheet music, melody only.
• Melody and mandoln tab.
• Banjo tab

Pretty Little Indian A Modal

• Ray Cline
• Gerry Milnes violin solo with guitar backup.
• Sheet music with melody and banjo tab.

Quail is a Pretty Bird (A Mixolydian)

• John Hartford on fiddle, with Hamilton Ironworks.
• Cross Tuned G/D/G/D in a slow rendition, fiddle and mandolin.
• Velocipede fiddle and mandoline.
• Transcription of John Hartford tune. Melody only.
• Transcription with melody and chords.

Queen of Earth and Child of the Skies (D Major)

• JOn Bekoff: old time fiddle version.
• Don and Ed as a banjo duet. They recommend DDAD tuning for fiddles.
• John Doyle as an Irish air.

Rain and Snow (A Modal)

• Obray Ramsey, banjo, guitar and vocals.
• Grateful Dead, July 1986
• Peter Rowan and Tony Rice, nice vocals, mandoln, bass.
• Sheet music from Cecil Sharp book, E Aeolian.
• Sing Out online magazine published a 2-page article on Cold Rain and Snow as part of their Murder Ballad Monday series.

Well I married me a wife,

Gave me trouble all my life.

Ran me out in the cold rain and snow.

Rain and Snow...

Ran me out in the cold rain and snow.

Well she came down the stairs,

Combing back her long held hair.

And her cheeks were as red as a rose...

As a rose...

And her cheeks were as red as a rose.

Well I did all I could do.

To try and get along with you.

And I'm not gona be treated this way.

This a way, oh Lord...

I'm not gonna be treated this way.

Well she came into the room

Where she met her fatal doom.

And I'm not gonna be treated this way.

This a way, Oh Lord...

And I'm not gonna be treated this way.

Well I married me a wife,

Gave me trouble all my life.

Ran me out into the cold rain and snow.

Rat's Gone to Rest

• George Hawkins on Slippery Hill.
• Michael Garvin.
• Rumblefish.
• Old Time Gathering.
• Ben Townsend.

Red Haired Boy

Rock Andy (A modal)

• Mark Ralston, Fiddle and banjo, slow. Fiddle tuned AEAE.
• Red State Ramblers, two fiddles, guitar, banjo.
• Owen Snake Chapman fiddle solo. 1975.

Rock the Cradle Joe

• Bruce Molsky and the Atlanta Oldtime Jammers.
• The Zorns.

Rockingham Cindy

• Tommy Jarrell and Brad Leftwich.

Roll in My Sweet Baby's Arms

• Leon Russell
• Clinch Mountain Boys.
• The Tillers with two fiddles.

Sadie at the Back Door

• Canote brothers in their original version
• Paul Kirk and friends.
• Mandolin version, very appealing.

Saint Anne's Reel

• Ian Walsh shows the difference between Irish and bluegrass style.

Sail Away Ladies

• Kenny Baker fiddle tune.
• Fiddle tune in lesson format.
• Sheet music: melody and chords in G.

Sally Ann in D

• Sally Ann for Bluegrass Fiddle.
• Bruce Molsky on fiddle.
• ADAE version.
• Sally Ann sheet music a la Bruce Molsky in G with melody and chords.
• Sheet Music, melody only.

Sally Gooden

• G.B. Grayon plays and sings Sally Goodin.

Salt River/ Salt Creek

• Tom Sauber, outstanding.
• Clark Kessinger on fiddle.
• Clawhammer Banjo version.
• John Cockman, several different versions. Fiddle.
• David Bragger, fiddle only.
• Trio (mandolin, banjo, cello.
• Joe Greene, fidde player, with guitar and banjo.
• Sheet music, chords, melody and tab.
• Doc Watson, banjo, vocals.

Sandy Boys (A mixolydian)

• Clawhammer banjo version in A.
• String band, fiddle cross-tuned to AEAE. Edden Hammons solo.
• Carolina Chocolate Drops. Fast and good.
• Fiddle, guitar, banjo trio.
• Sheet music: Melody and chords.

Sandy River Belle

• Sharon Shannon: Sandy River Belle goes back to Ireland! Great accordian solo.

Shady Grove

• Neverisky solo banjo.
• Jerry Garcia, guitar and mandolin, with vocals.
• Peter Rowan and Tony Rice.
• Paul Tyler on fiddle.
• Paul Tyler, on fiddle, slow.
• Fiddle by or collected by Alan Jabbour.
• Sheet music with melody and chords on Wikipedia.

Single Girl

Sitting on Top of the World

Snake Winder

Snowbird in the Ashbank

• Jim Booker version, played by John Masters, recorded by John Harrod
• Another Jim Booker version, by Truman Price, featuring opening bird calls.

Snow Shoes

• John Ashby at Slippery Hill.

Soldier's Joy

• Byard Ray plays an unusual version. ADAE.

Spanish Johnny

• Emmylou Harris, Waylon Jennings.

Squirrel Hunters

• John Hartford fiddle with string band.
• Velocipede fiddle and mandoline. Starts at about 2:40.
• Mandolin with string band backup.
• John Hartford fiddle lesson format.
• Ian Walsh fiddle lesson format.
• Melody with both notes and tab. No chords.
• Sheet Music with chords.
• Sheet Music A Dorian. No chords.

Tallahassee

• Kenny Baker.
• a href = 'https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlcWyr1T8S0' target = 'new' class = 'show'>Stuart Duncan.

Tater Patch (A Mixolydian)

• Banjo, fiddle and guitar.
• Fiddle and Banjo. Relatively straightforward..
• Lively kick-ass fiddle solo ala Tommy Jarrell by Michael Ismerio.
• The Bailers, two fiddles, banjo, guitar, bass.
• Sheet music with melody, chord and dulcimer notation.
• Melody and chord sheet music.

Tennessee Mountain Fox Chase

• Rhys Jones.

Tennessee Wagonner

• 8 Patrick McAvinue, fiddle and banjo.
• Jesse Milnes, fiddler with string band, at 3:15.
• Carlton Rawlings on Slippery Hill.

Turkey in the Straw in G

• Chris Haigh gives a lesson on playing Turkey in the Straw.
• Solo fiddle in G. Not strictly Old-Time but a lot of fun! A clear sound. Fast.
• Katrina Nicolayeff, fiddle, a bit slower.
• Fiddle and Harmonica. A bit abrasive, but energetic.

Walking in the Parlor

• Bruce Molsky.
• DD Hollis Fiddle from 1924.
• Fiddle and banjo, 1959.
• Bacophone solo... much like a banjo.
• Balina Shalers

Waynesboro

• Ben Zorn and friend in a great version with an nice swing.

Ways of the World

• Bill Stepp version as played by Andrew FitzGibbon, AEAE.
• Bill Stepp recording on the DIgital Library of Appalachia.
• Library of Congress, Bill Stepp from Alan Jabbour's pre WWII field recordings.
• Bruce Molsky, You Tube.
• David Bragger via Carter Bancroft.

What Will I Do With the Baby-O

• Jean Ritchie

Whiskey Before Breakfast

• Doc Watson.
• Old Town School of Folk Music midi file. Nice swing.

Wildwood Flower

Wolves a Howling

Woodchuck Tune

• Ed Haley, fiddle.
• Brittany Haas, fiddle, with Jordan Tice, guitar.
• Rhys Jones, fiddle, with Jeff Miller, and Jim Nelson.

Wreck of the Dandenong

• Bruce Molsky
• Andy Irvine
• Raglins accapala
• Sophie Crawford
• The Fates, accapella.
• Hazleton and Burke

Oh wild and furious blew the blast, And the clouds were hangin' round
When the Dandenong from Melbourne sailed To Newcastle port was bound
She had eighty three poor souls on board Through the storm she cleaved her way
It's sad to relate her terrible fate Was just off Jervis bay

And I dream of you, I dream of sleep
I dream of bein' warm
But through the night I have to sail
To brave this raging storm

While steering through the briny waves, A propelling shaft gave way
And the waters they came crashing in Which filled us with dismay
All hands on board did all they could 'Till at length all hope was gone
And they hoisted a signal of distress On board of the Dandenong

It was not long until a barque Of a brisk and lively crew
Came bearing down and the Captain cried, "We'll see what we can do!"
Came bearing down with might and main In spite of land or wave
They did all they could as sailors would Those precious lives to save

And I dream of you, I dream of sleep
I dream of bein' warm
And pray the sea will leave me be
To see another dawn

Now some in boats they tried to reach That kind and friendly barque
And numbers of their lives were saved But the night came on pitch dark
What mortal man then could do more When the storm increased on strong
And the rest now sleep in the briny deep Along with the Dandenong

And I long for you, I long for sleep
I dream of comin' home
But a mile of water buries me
Beneath this ragin' foam
And I dream of you, I dream of sleep
I dream of bein' warm
But through the night I have to sail
To brave this raging storm

Yew Piney Mountain (French Carpenter)

• Ernest Carpenter
• Chance McCoy in a very original interpretation.
• Ben Paley fiddle solo.
• Melody transcription of the above, no chords.
• Andrew FitzGibbon fiddle solo. First fast, then slow.
• Vasen, Swedish string group. Starts at 3:00.
• Bing and Lund, fiddle and banjo duet.
• Dwight Diller, fiddle solo.
• Banjo tab and melody transcription of French Carpenter rendition. Melody very similar to the one in the Applachian Fiddle book by Miles Krassen.