Southern Fiddlers and Fiddle Contests explores the phenomenon of American fiddle contests, which now have replaced dances as the main public event where American fiddlers get together. Chris Goertzen studies this change and what it means for audiences, musicians, traditions, and the future of southern fiddle music. Goertzen traces fiddling and fiddle contests from mid-eighteenth-century Scotland to the modern United States. He takes the reader on journeys to the important large contests, such as those in Hallettville, Texas; Galax, Virginia; Weiser, Idaho; and to smaller ones, including his favorite in Athens, Alabama. He reveals what happens on stage and during such off-stage activities as camping, jamming, and socializing, which many fiddlers consider much more important than the competition. Through multiple interviews, Goertzen also reveals the fiddlers' lives as told in their own words. The reader learns how and in what environments these fiddlers started playing, where they perform today, how they teach, what they think of contests, and what values they believe fiddling supports. Southern Fiddlers and Fiddle Contests shows how such contests have become living embodiments of American nostalgia.

Meticulously collected from recordings, square and contra dances, fiddle contests, jam sessions and individual fiddlers- this book is meant to provide a snapshot of what American fiddlers were playing and listening to in the latter part of the 20th Century. As the vinyl record format disappears from the marketplace, a great deal of recorded fiddle music will no longer be available. In this book, Stacy Phillips shares the fruits of some timely collecting for all fiddlers to enjoy. Bowings, fingerings, and guitar chords are provided for each melody line.

North American Fiddle Music: A Research and Information Guide is the first large-scale annotated bibliography and research guide on the fiddle traditions of the United States and Canada. These countries, both of which have large immigrant populations as well as Native populations, have maintained fiddle traditions that, while sometimes faithful to old-world or Native styles, often feature blended elements from various traditions. Therefore, researchers of the fiddle traditions in these two countries can not only explore elements of fiddling practices drawn from various regions of the world, but also look at how different fiddle traditions can interact and change. In addition to including short essays and listings of resources about the full range of fiddle traditions in those two countries, it also discusses selected resources about fiddle traditions in other countries that have influenced the traditions in the United States and Canada.

Classical violinists can help keep alive the historic traditions of American fiddle music, but doing so requires a clear understanding of performance practice. A Guide to American Fiddling exposes serious students of the violin to the technical nuances of traditional Old Time fiddling. In this book, violinist/fiddler Andrew Carlson provides a detailed technical analysis of Missouri-style fiddling, focusing primarily on the use of the bow. Carlson further offers a comparison of classical and non-classical techniques, a brief history of American fiddling, plus 23 traditional tunes with authentic bowing indications. A CD recording of the tunes is included.

A unique collection of 66 fiddle tunes illustrating the major regional styles found across America and Canada. This book contains rare vintage photographs, player's biographical profiles, historical and performance notes, bowing indications, and information on cross-tunings and the American institution of fiddle contests. the authors have collaborated brilliantly on this labor of love to produce a definitive volume of tunes transcribed from recordings by many of the best fiddlers in North America. Exemplary tunes are included from the Northeast, Southeast and Western regions, plus various widespread ethnic styles including Cajun, Irish, Scandinavian, Klezmer, and Eastern European styles.

Play of a Fiddle gives voice to people who steadfastly hold to and build on the folk traditions of their ancestors. While encountering the influences of an increasingly overwhelming popular culture, the men and women in this book follow age-old patterns of folklife and custom, making their own music and dance in celebration of them. Shedding new light on a region that maintains ties to the cultural identities of its earliest European and African inhabitants, Gerald Milnes shows how folk music in West Virginia borrowed rhythmic, melodic, and vocal forms from the Celtic, Anglo, Germanic, and African traditions. These elements have come together to create a body of music tied more to place and circumstance than to ethnicity. Milnes explores the legacies of the state's best-known performers and musical families. He discusses religious music, balladeering, the influence of black musicians and styles, dancing, banjo and dulcimer traditions, and the importance of old-time music as a cultural pillar of West Virginia life. A musician himself, Milnes has been collecting songs and stories in West Virginia for more than twenty-five years. The result is an enjoyable book filled with anecdotes, local history, and keen observations about musical lives.