In this generous collection, Nova Scotian fiddler Bill Guest presents standard notation of easy to intermediate-level traditional tunes, some of his own more complex original compositions plus works by twenty-one of his Canadian fiddling contemporaries. The collection offers approximately 120 dance tunes including: waltzes, hornpipes, jigs, polkas, two-steps, airs, breakdowns, reels, swing tunes, and a few 4/4 melodies for slow dancers. “The Irish Washerwoman” is presented in 3 versions with different time signatures, and five selections are arranged as duets. The salient feature of this book, however, is the enjoyment and multifaceted musical perspective gained from playing the work of so many fiddlers from across the vast commonwealth of Canada.

In this generous collection, Nova Scotian fiddler Bill Guest presents standard notation of easy to intermediate-level traditional tunes, some of his own more complex original compositions plus works by twenty-one of his Canadian fiddling contemporaries. The collection offers approximately 120 dance tunes including: waltzes, hornpipes, jigs, polkas, two-steps, airs, breakdowns, reels, swing tunes, and a few 4/4 melodies for slow dancers. "The Irish Washerwoman" is presented in 3 versions with different time signatures, and five selections are arranged as duets. The salient feature of this book, however, is the enjoyment and multifaceted musical perspective gained from playing the work of so many fiddlers from across the vast commonwealth of Canada.

"John Hartford's Mammoth Collection of Fiddle Tunes" contains 176 of John's original compositions, most never before available, taken from the sixty-eight handwritten music journals he kept between 1983 and 2001. Interspersed with stories, quotes, rare photos, and his own personal artwork, this is a fiddle anthology unlike any other. A peek inside the unique mind of a prolific musician and composer, "Hartford's Mammoth Collection" will inspire musicians, artists, music historians, and anyone who loves the creative process.

Mel Bay's Complete Fiddling Book is a compilation of arrangements of traditional tunes by several outstanding practitioners of the art of fiddle playing: Craig Duncan, Bill Guest, Dave Reiner, Frank Zucco, and Joe Castle. From The Arkansas Traveler to The Yellow Rose of Texas, over 300 colorful fiddle tunes populated this book's 205 pages. Scant on text or historical notes, but long on musical content, the Complete Fiddling Book is a great resource for any fiddler or teacher in search of a delightful, toe-tapping repertoire. Although most of the tunes are written for solo fiddle, the last ten pieces are arranged as fiddle duets. A masterful solo collection presenting a vivid assortment of fiddling styles and repertoire. On the companion DVD, fiddler Craig Duncan and guitarist Robert Bowlin perform 34 favorite tunes which are played at a slow and medium tempo to demonstrate many fiddling techniques. Split-screen filming features close-up angles of both the left hand and the bow. This DVD is the perfect companion to the Complete Fiddling Book, bringing the teacher right into your living room. Compilation of arrangements of traditional tunes Over 300 colorful fiddle tunes populate the 205 pages Most for solo fiddle, but the last ten pieces are arranged as fiddle duets Intermediate to advanced in difficulty Split-screen companion DVD of 34 tunes performed by Craig Duncan and guitarist Robert Bowlin.

A critically acclaimed book covering old-time, bluegrass, Irish, blues, Scandinavian, Cajun, Texas, swing and jazz, and twin fiddling styles. This book also covers bowing, chords, chord progressions, kickoffs and endings, and improvisation. The companion recording features David Reiner's solo performance of all the tunes in the book.

Presents 140 of the most frequently played tunes in old time fiddle contests as well as the most popular bluegrass, square dance and country tunes heard throughout the United States. the performance length arrangements of contest tunes include standard as well as challenging variations on hoe-downs, rags, polkas, show pieces, and waltzes complete with suggested accompaniment chords. This encyclopedia of fiddle tunes and variations spotlights American popular fiddle music as played by the great fiddlers of our time.

This unique volume is the only book solely about antebellum American fiddling. It includes more than 250 easy-to-read and clearly notated fiddle tunes alongside biographies of fiddlers and careful analysis of their personal tune collections. The reader learns what the tunes of the day were, what the fiddlers’ lives were like, and as much as can be discovered about how fiddling sounded then. Personal histories and tunes’ biographies offer an accessible window on a fascinating period, on decades of growth and change, and on rich cultural history made audible. In the decades before the Civil War, American fiddling thrived mostly in oral tradition, but some fiddlers also wrote down versions of their tunes. This overlap between oral and written traditions reveals much about the sounds and social contexts of fiddling at that time. In the early 1800s, aspiring young violinists maintained manuscript collections of tunes they intended to learn. These books contained notations of oral-tradition dance tunes—many of them melodies that predated and would survive this era—plus plenty of song melodies and marches. Chris Goertzen takes us into the lives and repertoires of two such young men, Arthur McArthur and Philander Seward. Later, in the 1830s to 1850s, music publications grew in size and shrunk in cost, so fewer musicians kept personal manuscript collections. But a pair of energetic musicians did. Goertzen tells the stories of two remarkable violinist/fiddlers who wrote down many hundreds of tunes and whose notations of those tunes are wonderfully detailed, Charles M. Cobb and William Sidney Mount. Goertzen closes by examining particularly problematic collections. He takes a fresh look at George Knauff’s Virginia Reels and presents and analyzes an amateur musician’s own questionable but valuable transcriptions of his grandfather’s fiddling, which reaches back to antebellum western Virginia.