Henry - I believe "Cherokee Shuffle" is a more modern variation on the old time tune "Lost Indian." They're in different keys, and a little different, but clearly related.
You might also say that they're both members of a "Coon Dog" or "Liza Jane" family of tunes that go to the relative minor, which is relatively rare in American "old time" music.

Ernie - Glad you liked that recording. Joe Birchfield was a very rhythmic fiddler! That was recorded in the early 1980's when we went to visit Joe and Ethel to learn about his life, where he learned tunes, and how he played them. We didn't intend to play, but we had our instruments, and a neighbor stopped by and asked for a few tunes.
Funny that I never noticed it had three parts until you mentioned your version and I went back and listened again! Joe's third part is the B part played an octave lower, so what I hear is A B B', A B B' erc. He starts on my B part though, so maybe its A A' B instead, although he ends on the B part. I think he's probably crosstuned, but tuned down so its in concert G instead of A where its often played. I've noticed that around here there was a preference for G and C for tunes that may be played in A and D other places.
We also played "Lost John" on that same visit.

That sounds so perfect! Love the foot stomping with it :D

First attempt to play fiddle with the Wayfaring Stranger sample of the singer I met ... We haven't met yet , only online . It's not perfect this first fiddle together with voice recording attempt but I find it so great I figured out the right tuning on my fiddle and even figured out better to leave first position.

I feel so lucky this guy wants to meet and play with me!!! I hope I made him happy with the tuning I figured out,  which strangly appears to be D#G#D#A#. I feel like a musician almost!! Now where are we going to write this?? It is so much fun to figure out what works!! Cross tuning for the win and fingers dunno where exactly but hey it seems to work lol.

Magic it is.

Wayfaring stranger again, found out I also for this one would rather need D#A#D#A# to match the singer's voice and ti just make it easier for myself. Also made a recording this evening of me playing it more tuned up. I find it's a good tune for practicing long bow strokes... making sure I have enough bow to stretch each note out.
It sure sounds different than the way I played it before!

Quincy - When you describe your tuning are you going high to low? I'm used to seeing low to high. Several years ago Peggy asked if anyone played a "droney" version of this song and I thought I'd give it a try. I think you've heard this already, and its not perfect, but maybe it'll give you some ideas. ADAD (low to high) and I'm singing at the ame time.

Doug, I always go from low to high. I actually used D#A#D#A# to match his voice :)
I am glad to hear your version of the song again, I'll be wise and save it now!

I love the repetitions very quickly after certain parts of the fiddling, I want to be able to do this as well! It sounds like you are chasing the notes , I love that effect although not sure how it can be best described so not sure if you understand what I want to say. This version is so special and I can learn a lot from this fiddling at this moment in time. To be continued!

Today I played Ernie Carpenter's Elk River Blues, faster than I played it before but not too fast an using all of the right notes, but still it does sound quite different from Ernie's playing.

There are meanwhile many ways I can play this tune when I feel experimental, but when it comes to it I prefer just plain simplicity and double stops. I like the slow version better.

Btw: Merry christmas to all fiddlers ...no christmas tunes for me, but peace to all of good will!

Nice fiddling, Anja! I like 'em both, and it's cool you play them how you like them. I love the bowing licks!

Thank you Peggy, I don't know what it is with me lately, too much free time or a complete fiddle obsession :-D I blame the fiddle , it is constantly asking 'please pick me up'. I managed to deep clean my house so now I can even enjoy it without feeling guilty.
Please pick up your fiddle as well!

I think I like the slower, more lonesome Elk River Blues.
Pull out those lonesome tones, Anja!

Yesterday I was messing with Doug Saum's, Anybody Going to SanAntone.
Also Guitars Cadillacs (Dwight Yokum). And another homegrown Nortanya Polka.

Today has to include:


Uncle Dick Hutchison's "On Christmas Eve"   (I learned to play this one from a recording by "Big Medicine" on their CD "Too Old To Be Controlled") They may have titled their version as Christmas Eve, but the tune is listed as On Christmas Eve on Slippery-Hill. Very similar to Duck River. Fun to play.

Isham Monday's "Christmas Eve"   (I learned to play it from a recording of The Stuart Brothers on their self-titled CD)  ...great one!

Too late to learn to play it for this Christmas (maybe), but I discovered Hick Edmonds' "Christmas Time is Coming"  - tuned DDad!  I'll be working on that soon.

quote:

---

Originally posted by farmerjones

Also Guitars Cadillacs (Dwight Yokum). 

---

LOVE the Country Swing stuff ("Texas Swing", if you must).

The fiddle intro & break on Yoakam's version of "Heartaches by the Number" makes your eyes water.  I'm copying it for our next gig.

I had been on vacation for a week. Hadn't touched nothing for a week. That's long for me.  So I made a loop or three and calmed my brains. Merry Christmas!

"Christmas Time in the Morning" from the playing of Stephen B. Tucker. I believe this was a song once upon a time, I'm told Bill Monroe made a version of it.

Jimmy Johnson, the Dwight Diller version. I have the recording on 40% of the normal speed and first I am listening to it , then I will start humming it and if that goes well I might pick up my fiddle and start practice at a low speed. Love this tune!

I suggest you speed it up. At 40% a tune loses it's feel/swing, and phrasing gets weird when a recording is slowed down in the extreme. Learning slowly is one thing, internalizing the melody is something different. Unless you want to internalize a slow motion version, but that's not how Dwight plays it, is it? Do you think you would have still been inspired to play the tune of it were presented to you at that speed?

Thanks Billy it is indeed driving me nuts this way:-p I am having a short break here because it felt wrong that I still don't have the beginning of the tune right. And yes also at full speed the Dwight Diller version speaks to my imagination :-) I didn't want to miss the nuances, but I have to admit it is driving me crazy at 40%.

It was time to dig out the classics:
Red-haired Boy
St. Anne's Reel
of course i had to have a Blues in A, as well.

For those who listened to Eileen Ivers play Tripping Down the Stairs... I can finally play along at full speed..However, I'm only going to be able to play Along.. NOT LIKE her.. After I became comfortable with the tune, I slowed down her playing and was blown away by all the things she is doing with the tune.. I'll have to settle for MY rendition!!("setting", as they say on the Session.com)..Happy New year to ALL of you.. no exceptions.

Today, which has just begun, and I'm going for my walk as soon as I finish writing this. I will no doubt play 'Billy in the Lowground' again has I have done for the few years now, but I am reluctant to learn any version 'note-for-note' as I have done with many other tunes, I play them the same way every time.
With 'BITL' as with a many other tunes especially OT tunes, I endeavor to internalize the phrasing and bar lengths and maintain the basic melodic contour with slight alterations. Thats my main focus rather than thinking of what the next note should be. I've had much success in the practice room, and I haven't missed a beat at the jams yet.....

Chickenman - I'd been thinking about this regarding the thread about putting energy in your playing. In the old days we learned tunes by live listening, maybe the radio, and often by listening to records. If you had the right turntable you could listen to Earl Scruggs at 16 rpm and try and figure out what he was doing, but for the most part I just listened at normal speed (many times) and gradually tried to play along, picking up bits and pieces. I think this way you absorb the feel and energy along with the tune. You lose this by slowing it down, or learning a phrase at a time in a lesson format.
I'll also admit that in later days I've resorted to the frequency analyzer in Sound Forge to confirm the pitch of an isolated note, but that's very rare.

I just gave Monroe's Scotland a run-through. In AEAE. Just to do it.

Woke up at 4 am ... play now crash later :-)
Listening and studying also the Rector Hicks version of Jimmy Johnson on Slippery Hill, especially the parts where he plays the lowest strings are very attractive!
Time to tune my fiddle down and experiment with these two versions.