When I was fifteen years old, I went to my first bluegrass camp, Delfest Academy. Up until that point, I had never participated in a jam session, nor had I considered what it would be like. I was quickly encouraged by a nice group of really good musicians to play with them in their jam, and I was nervous to say the least. Although I had learned the melody of lots of different fiddle tunes, I had never attempted to play backup for someone, and I didn't understand the concept of chords at all. The next day, I was assigned to a band for the Delfest Academy Band Scramble competition. This was totally new territory yet again, because I didn't know how to pick up on a song I had never heard before. Luckily, one of the nice folks I had met the night before at the jam session was willing to help me. She explained that a chord was made up of three notes: 1, 3, and 5. She then said that I could choose two of the three notes in each chord and play double stops to back people up in a song I didn't necessarily know. She also passed on the all important knowledge, of WHICH chords I could expect in many common bluegrass songs: 1, 4, and 5.
That brings me to my explanation of how to gain an understanding of chords if you play the fiddle (or any other non-chordal instrument). When I heard this lady's explanation of how chords were built, and which were the most common chords in any given key, I was able to connect this new information to prior music theory knowledge that I had never really found useful before. I decided to put my new knowledge to the test, and go out jamming that night. I walked up to a jam, and someone called a song in the key of G (I actually don't remember what the key was, but statistically, it was probably in G). I started thinking what the chords could be and how I could play them. If the key was G, then the three major chords would be G, C, and D, because that's the 1st, 4th, and 5th scale degree in G. I figured out that in a G chord, the three notes (1, 3, and 5) were G, B, and D. I then figured out various ways to play combinations of those three notes, expressed in double stops on the fiddle. I went through the same process to figure out how I would play the C and D chords. Then, the song started. I decided to look at the guitar player, to try and get a hint of where the chord changes were. Although I didn't play any guitar at the time, I was able to start recognizing what each chord shape looked like, and which chord it represented. I was behind for the whole song. Every time there was a chord change, I tried to listen for what it could be, and then try my different chord options on the fiddle. But, it didn't take long before I could observe what was going on and pick up a new song. I didn't play any fiddle solos in that jam session, except for a few fiddle tunes, but I started getting the hang of playing fiddle backup. At least in theory. Over time, I started going to more jam sessions, and using all of my strategies to figure out new songs that I didn't know. I also started trying to hear and recognize chord progressions when I listened to music, in order to sharpen my ear and hear patterns. That week at Delfest Academy, I didn't become a master fiddle backup player, nor did I gain a deep understanding of chords. But it did give me that one missing piece of information I needed to break through and start figuring out chords on the fiddle.
5 Comments
Alani
7/5/2021 02:31:28 pm
Hi Donna! I would love to help you learn more music theory. I am currently teaching fiddle, mandolin, and music theory private lessons online via Zoom or Skype. If you are interested, please send me an email: [email protected]
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Eddy
7/5/2021 04:40:35 pm
Hi. Interested in your chord theory on fiddle. I’m primarily a banjo player spending very little time with the fiddle.
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Alani Sugar
7/5/2021 06:23:16 pm
Hi Eddy! Yeah, it can take some time and serious brain power to really get the hang of! I spent a lot of time watching and listening to other people, while trying to point out patterns and imitate them in my playing. That's how I started to get the hang of common chord progressions and how to express them on fiddle. Keep on fiddling (and banjo-ing, of course)!
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Liz
7/11/2021 06:23:14 am
Alani! I think I was at your first Delfest and it was mine too! So great to see how far you've come! Happy Fiddling :)
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Alani SugarAlani Sugar is a young fiddle and mandolin player from Maryland. She has been involved in the region's music scene since she was 15 years old, and has the attention of musicians and music lovers alike in the area. She currently works as a professional musician and teaches fiddle and mandolin lessons online via Skype Archives
January 2024
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