Belle of Lexington-Fiddle (Standard tuning: key of D)
kenkolodnerWhen I first jammed this tune, I immediately recognized that the tune was essentially the old-time version of the Irish hornpipe Kitty’s Wedding. The source is often attributed to VA fiddler Emmett Lundy. This piece uses a wide range but is straightforward in its “question and answer” or “call and response” construction. We cover 3-1 bowing, Nashville shuffle, a 4th finger unison, and the simple use of open strings as drones.
Here's What You Get:
$15 (Sheet music PLUS video lessons you can watch over and over, and play-through videos to practice along with)
Videos Included
- A part
- B part
- Slower Play-through
- Faster Play-through
***Videos can be streamed, downloaded, or viewed in the Gumroad App on mobile devices. Watch your email for instructions after purchase***
The Sandbridge Old-time Fiddle Video Project
For the last few years, I have run a 3.5-day old-time fiddle retreat for intermediate level players in Sandbridge VA – The Sandbridge Old-Time Fiddle Retreat. https://www.sandbridgedulcimer.com/the-sandbridge-fiddle-retreat We hold the workshop in a couple of beautiful oceanfront houses. We focus on a variety of bowing systems to create a solid groove, left-hand techniques (chording, slides, ornaments, 4th finger unisons etc), altered tunings, chord theory and more. For all the tunes, we prepare summary videos and provide written transcriptions with all bowings and notation of the left-hand techniques. I am pleased to now make many of these recordings available for everyone. The scope of material presented for each tune is comparable to several private lessons.
Topics covered in most of the videos include the following:
Basic melody broken down phrase by phrase
Bowings for all phrases
Bowing ideas include 3-1 bowing, Nashville shuffle, bow pulses, ghost bows, bow rocks
Rationale for bowing
Altered tunings include ADAE, ADAD, AEAE, AEAC#
Description of all chording
Left-hand techniques
Discussion of the chord progression
Variations
Written transcriptions with bowings and chords
Practice tracks along with a play-through of the full tune
See also Ken’s book Old-time Fiddle Style (Mel Bay, 2010) https://shop.kenkolodner.com/store/old-time-fiddle-style-book-mp3-set
Thank you for your support - I hope you enjoy the tune! Please do not share your purchased music and videos.
© 2022 Ken Kolodner/All Rights Reserved. Recorded at Fenchurch Studios, Baltimore MD for the Sandbridge Old-Time Fiddle Retreat (Sandfiddlers)