When I was nine years old, I started playing the violin. I took lessons at my elementary school with a wonderful teacher, and then joined my school's orchestra. When I was fourteen, I started taking private lessons at a local music shop, and that's when my musical interests shifted from classical violin to various types of traditional music. Growing up, I was always painfully shy and very quiet. Although I don't have a particular memory of how I felt about taking private violin lessons, I can only imagine that I was super nervous. When I showed up for my first lesson, my teacher walked up to me, and enthusiastically asked, "so, how long have you been playing fiddle?" In that moment, I didn't understand what he said. It could have been a combination of several reasons, including the buzzing of teachers and students playing instruments, or my nerves getting to me, but I think the main reason why I didn't understand him, was because I had never heard the term "fiddle" before in my life. I looked up at my mom, and she repeated the question to me, but with the word "violin" instead.
As it turned out, my new teacher was Patrick McAvinue, a renowned fiddler in Baltimore and all over the country, and he was going to open up my mind to an entirely new world of music. After our first few lessons, he started teaching me these short melodies called "fiddle tunes". They were new to me, as was the method of learning by ear. But, as he taught me, many styles of traditional music were meant to be learned by ear and passed from person to person in this way. Although I continued playing classical violin in my school's orchestras all the way through high school, once I had learned about fiddle music, I could never see myself going back. I became obsessed with learning all about fiddle music, and trying to become a great fiddle player. I eventually started to hear more of all the different styles of fiddle that existed, including Bluegrass, Old Time, Irish, Scottish, English, Cape Breton, Cajun, and many others. I recognized the main difference between fiddle music and classical violin in how it's learned. One by ear, and the other with sheet music. But, the more chances I got to play fiddle in various ensembles and with different people, I saw the distinctions in how each type of group plays together. In string orchestras, there are several musicians who play each part, and the groups are larger, with at least 10-20 string players in an orchestra. In groups that play traditional styles of music such as bluegrass or old time, there is usually only one person to play each part. This is partly because these types of groups can rely heavily on improvisation, and therefore don't always play the same thing. Because of this, traditional string bands usually only have between 4-6 members. There are lots of little differences that distinguish the various types of fiddle music from classical violin. But in reality, they are the same instrument, and whatever you can learn, from any genre of music, will help you improve and get closer to your goals as a musician.
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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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