7 tips for classical violinists to unlock their inner fiddler

7 tips for classical violinists to unlock their inner fiddler

Violin player Colin Jacobsen (far right) with Brooklyn Rider and Irish fiddler Martin Hayes (second from left)
Colin Jacobsen (far right) with Brooklyn Rider and Irish fiddler Martin Hayes (second from left)

Colin Jacobsen from string quartet Brooklyn Rider has some advice for classically trained approaches to folk traditions

Sadly, like many languages and species of animals around the world, many folk traditions around the world are being lost to urbanisation, modernisation, globalisation, etc. The flip side is that those same forces have allowed more of us to know more about a greater diversity of folk music than at any other time.

Obviously, the problem with saying ‘folk’ as a general concept is that it is an impossibly large umbrella to describe a world with as many variations in style as there are languages, dialects and specific accents within languages. So for the purposes of this article, I will generalise ‘folk’ music in this context to mostly refer to Celtic and North American fiddling traditions, though some of these things I feel are applicable to things as diverse as Chinese or Persian folk music, the music of the Roma people, etc.

Here are the 7 tips for classical violinists to unlock their inner fiddler…..

Violins escape Holocaust

‘Violins of Hope’ escaped the Holocaust

The Bielski Violin - made in Germany around 1870, was featured in one of dozens of Violins of Hope events
The Bielski Violin – made in Germany around 1870, was featured in one of dozens of Violins of Hope events

Why do so many Jews play the violin? Because, according to one old explanation, when the time came to flee, you could always run with a violin.

Indeed, some Jewish fiddlers fleeing persecution in Europe and the Russian Empire managed to escape. But multitudes were caught, especially during the Holocaust.

That’s the tragic yet ultimately inspiring origin of Violins of Hope, a collection of stringed instruments that survived the Shoah, though their former owners did not.

Read more on this remarkable and emotional event here…

Meet Sam Sweeney

Interview with Stroud fiddler Sam Sweeney…

Interview with Sam Sweeney for fiddle and violin players
Sam Sweeney

Nominated four times, and winner in 2015, of Musician Of The Year BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, Sam is a veteran of the mighty Bellowhead, former and inaugural artistic director of the National Folk Youth Ensemble, founder member of the acclaimed instrumental trio Leveret, and a superb instrumentalist at the forefront of the revival in English traditional music. Sam has also recorded and performed with The Full English, Eliza Carthy, Jon Boden & The Remnant Kings, Fay Hield & The Hurricane Party, Emily Portman, Martin Carthy, as well as his own critically acclaimed show Made In The Great War.

https://www.samsweeneymusic.com/

About to release his 2nd solo album, here is an interview with this remarkable fiddler….

Hinged bow makes a solo violin sound like a full string quartet

Hinged Bow for violin and fiddle players
Charlie McCarthy and his ‘hinged bow’

Ever wanted to play several string instruments at once? Well, now you (kind of) can…

An Australian bow-maker has developed a hinged bow, allowing solo violinists to play several strings at once.

Also known as the Polycorde Bow, it comes some 500 years after the first violin was made in Italy during the 16th century.

Since a violin bridge is curved, violinists can usually adjust the angle of a regular bow to play either single notes on one string or two strings at once.

Now, Charlie McCarthy’s new, curved bow enables solo string players to more easily play four-note chords – or five, if you’re playing a five-string instrument like McCarthy is (watch video below).

Read more and see the video here…

6 Amazing Facts About The Violin

Under an MRI scan, the brain of a violinist will generally show that the regions associated with left-hand finger movements are more responsive and advanced.

6 AMAZING FACTS
ABOUT THE VIOLIN

Invented in the 1500s by an Italian named Andrea Amati, the violin is one of the most beloved instruments in the world. The word violin comes from the Latin, “vitula,” meaning string instrument. The term vitula was derived from “vitulari,” which meant “to be joyful.” For an instrument that makes people feel a wide range of emotions, “violin” seems like an apt name. Here are 6 interesting facts about the instrument.

Find out more about this joyous instrument and the 6 amazing facts

Meet Mark Sullivan

MARK SULLIVAN

“A force in the world!” says Grammy nominated fiddler, Liz Carroll.

Mark Sullivan

Among his many awards, Mark Sullivan is a 3-time Canadian Grand Masters Fiddle Champion and is widely regarded as one of the finest fiddlers in North America today.  He is in demand as a spirited performer and continues to collaborate with many of the finest names in traditional music today.

See more of Mark’s incredible work here.

VALE: Armagh fiddle player – Brendan McGlinchey

VALE: Brendan McGlinchey

A renowned fiddle player from Armagh has passed away at his home in Sussex, England. Brendan McGlinchey, one of the greatest musicians that Armagh city has ever produced, had been ill with cancer for some time. He was 79-years-old.

Brendan McGlinchey
Brendan McGlinchey

For more on this story click here…

TEEN VIOLINIST PLAYS FOR QUARANTINED NEIGHBOURS

‘Highlight of the quarantine.’ Teen violinist brings joy to neighborhoods amid pandemic.

When people suddenly hear the music, they come out of their homes or stop their bike rides.

At an apartment building on Key Biscayne, Zach Buttrick, 18, plays a violin concert for the residents. Jennifer Stearns Buttrick
At an apartment building on Key Biscayne, Zach Buttrick, 18, plays a violin concert for the residents. Jennifer Stearns Buttrick

They practice social distancing, and wear their masks to listen to a teenager play his violin.

For more than a month, Zach Buttrick, 18, has performed his mini-concerts in neighborhoods all over Miami. He brings people together in joy, as they stand, or sit, apart.

One listener called it the “Highlight of the Quarantine.”

Read more and see a video here.

WORLD FIDDLE DAY

The Irish Traditional
Music Archive
celebrates
World Fiddle Day 2020

Celebrate World Fiddle Day
Celebrate World Fiddle Day

Ahead of a Rolling Wave special this Sunday on RTÉ Radio 1, Irish Traditional Music Archive Director Liam O’Connor celebrates World Fiddle Day, which takes place today May 16th 2020.

To celebrate World Fiddle Day, the Irish Traditional Music Archive is sharing a video of renowned fiddle player, James Kelly finding artistic inspiration from Raidió Éireann recordings of his father, the legendary fiddle player John Kelly Senior (1912-89).

Go here to see the full story and check out the video.

Did Emperor Nero really play the fiddle while Rome burned?

Did Emperor Nero really play the fiddle while Rome burned?

Did Emperor Nero really play the fiddle while Rome burned?
Did Emperor Nero really play the fiddle while Rome burned?

Writings from around 64AD inform us that Nero was a passionate lover of music and gifted on the cithara, a stringed instrument like a lyre, but there was no way he was playing a fiddle. It hadn’t been invented yet…

But if your a music history buff or you like interesting stories, read on here:

https://www.historyextra.com/period/roman/did-emperor-nero-fiddle-while-rome-burned-true/