Hey there, Dennis. First off, let me say I appreciate your being diplomatic in stating your observation. You are not alone on that thought as this channel has gotten comments along those lines before, but usually they are more dismissive and critical in tone. People’s definition of what “contest style” means can vary from person to person and I won’t presume to always know what anyone’s might be. But the term is sometimes intended as a slight. So, thanks for being nice. One of the greatest things to me about fiddling is the incredibly diverse universe of styles played on the fiddle. And with that comes an unlimited number of opinions on style, technique, choices of tunes and choices when playing those tunes. For the record, as you may already know, Tashina is well versed in a myriad of styles… Texas style, Celtic, yes , Old-time, and others. And to state the obvious, while this particular series of videos of Tashina at “Camp Sumner” were shot in Weiser during the week of the National contest, this was an impromptu jam session in the campground, where contest rules or style hold no sway. She did not show up and say “Let’s play contest style”. She was not playing to score points. Merely she was playing the tune how she felt it needed to be played in the moment she was playing it. Throughout musical history, no matter the genre of music, whether it be Jazz, Punk Rock, Bluegrass, Reggae, you name it, whenever musicians take the music in a new or different direction, there have always been and always will be, folks who do not like the direction it is headed in or who say it’s “lost” something. And that’s ok. I once asked Kentucky fiddler Daniel Carwile (a good friend, one of my favorite musicians, and heavily featured on this channel) how he came to play a certain tune in a certain way….it was a familiar tune but it sounded different in his hands. Daniel said, “I don’t know…that’s just how I always heard it in my head”. It was a simple statement but it stuck with me and made more sense to me the more I thought about it. I am a big believer in allowing a tune to tell you how it wants to be played by you in the moment. That is the definition of musical self expression. It’s part of what makes fiddling a living breathing art form. I have my favorite styles of fiddling, but my ears are also wide open to every other style. There is always room on my plate to sample something different, new, unusual, foreign, etc. I love Old-time tunes played in an Old-time way. And I love what Tashina did with this classic Old-time tune. The original melody is not lost to me but comes through to my ears clear as a bell. At the same time it is absolutely valid for someone to prefer a less progressive approach. To each, his or her own. I like to focus on the fact that our love of this instrument and this music unites us…and I’ve always gotten a little rankled when stylistic differences are emphasized as a tool to divide. And I am sure that is not what you had in mind. Just wanted to offer up a different perspective. Adding my 2 cents to the ocean of pennies.
What do you call this style of guitar playing. I play a lot of fiddle tunes on guitar and fiddle but we play rythym guitar different. I'd like to learn some of the chord progressions that guitar players in your video play. Is it western swing? or what?
Great observation, Bryan, as most folks watching these videos are, of course, paying close attention to the fiddlers. But this style of guitar accompaniment would certainly come across as "different" if one was not already familiar with it. An answer to your question could easily be very long and and very detailed,...an entire book could be written, but I'll try to give you a Cliff Notes version. Most people would refer to this style of picking as Texas style back-up. Obviously, this style of guitar accompaniment in most all cases is going to be heard or seen when the fiddler is playing Texas style fiddling. Texas style fiddling has its roots in old-time fiddle and the creators and innovators of this style were very much influenced by Western Swing (Bob Wills) and the jazz violinists from the 1920s and 1930s (Stephane Grappelli, Joe Venuti, and others) And just as this style of fiddling was evolving, so too was the style a guitar that was backing it up. If you are truly interested in learning more about this style of backup, here are some names you may want to research as they were the pioneers of this style. Omega Burden, Ray and Royce Franklin (sons of Major Franklin) Rex Gillentine, Jerry Thomasson (Texas style Tenor guitar genius! Son of Benny Thomasson) and Bobby Christman, just to name a few. All these men spent a great deal of time honing their craft over years playing with Texas style fiddle legends Benny Thomasson, Major Franklin, Terry Morris, Orville Burns, Norman Solomon, again, just to name a few. If you are serious about learning more, there are countless opportunities online for lessons. But it will take an Investment of time and dedication. Texas style guitar backup truly is an art form unto itself and not for dilettantes. In the meantime, the majority of the picking you will see in the videos on this channel (Joy of Fiddling) can serve as examples of contemporary Texas style back up. (one exception being the Red Bluff Session with Calvin Vollrath and Clinton Pelletier who demonstrate a mix of Canadian style and swing back up.) Hope that helps, Bryan. If you liked what you heard in this video, be sure to check out the rest of the videos of Tashina from this jam session, as well as the other fiddlers featured on this channel: Daniel Carwile, Katrina Nicolayeth,Jesse Maw, Terry Morris, etc. LOTS of Texas style back-up going on here on the Joy of Fiddling.
One more thought, Bryan, if you watch only one more video on this channel, I would suggest it be Daniel Carwile playing "Snow Shoes" in the Atherton Session playlist. You will actually see Daniel discussing with the back-up pickers different chord progressions they could choose from before they make a final decision and play the tune. Good fun and potentially very educational for someone just discovering Texas style back up accompaniment.
Joey Mackenzie of Burleson TX is as great a TX style guitarist as anyone around. And national fiddle champion as well. He and his wife teach at their studio.
Howdy Alan. Nice to hear from you again and glad to see you are checking out other videos on the Joy of Fiddling channel. To respond to your comment, out of the hundreds of thousands a fiddle tunes out there, there are countless examples of tunes that sound alike, but go by different tune titles. The same can be said for fiddle tunes that share the same title but do not sound even remotely similar to one another. I recommend that you check out legendary and iconic fiddler Eck Robertson’s recording of “Brilliancy Medley” from which the tune in this video (and many others on youtube) is derived.
Actually, Alan, the more time one spends in the fiddling universe, the more often you will run into this sort of thing. Not long ago, I received a recording of a Kentucky fiddler friend of mine playing a tune that I took a liking to immediately and I decided to learn it. She said it was called "Old Grimes". Literally, a couple days later I was at a friend's Bluegrass show and backstage their fiddler was warming up playing the tune. I said, "Hey, I just learned that tune. Old Grimes!" And she said, "Old Grimes? I thought it was called Duck River?" Sure enough, if you search online you will find many examples of Duck River and Old Grimes and as far as I can tell they are the same tune. Now, when I play it at jam sessions, I am often asked about the tune and what it is called. I give both tune titles and let them decide what they would like to call it.
The best version of this song I ever heard
Best fiddle player ever.
So uplifting- love this piece- a joyful rolling adventure and loved seeing you play it- lots of love from Tamara
This is really great. Thanks for posting. :)
More than welcome, EvanKerry. Glad you found it.
Excellent playing..!!
Indeed, Tashina's fiddling is known for excellence.
Ha, this sounds familiar. Nicely done!
Nice I gonna learn. That one soon
Nice! Goals.
Sometimes contest style fiddling and contest style backup obsures the actual oldtime melody, though you can't deny the talent.
Hey there, Dennis. First off, let me say I appreciate your being diplomatic in stating your observation. You are not alone on that thought as this channel has gotten comments along those lines before, but usually they are more dismissive and critical in tone. People’s definition of what “contest style” means can vary from person to person and I won’t presume to always know what anyone’s might be. But the term is sometimes intended as a slight. So, thanks for being nice. One of the greatest things to me about fiddling is the incredibly diverse universe of styles played on the fiddle. And with that comes an unlimited number of opinions on style, technique, choices of tunes and choices when playing those tunes.
For the record, as you may already know, Tashina is well versed in a myriad of styles… Texas style, Celtic, yes , Old-time, and others. And to state the obvious, while this particular series of videos of Tashina at “Camp Sumner” were shot in Weiser during the week of the National contest, this was an impromptu jam session in the campground, where contest rules or style hold no sway. She did not show up and say “Let’s play contest style”. She was not playing to score points. Merely she was playing the tune how she felt it needed to be played in the moment she was playing it.
Throughout musical history, no matter the genre of music, whether it be Jazz, Punk Rock, Bluegrass, Reggae, you name it, whenever musicians take the music in a new or different direction, there have always been and always will be, folks who do not like the direction it is headed in or who say it’s “lost” something. And that’s ok.
I once asked Kentucky fiddler Daniel Carwile (a good friend, one of my favorite musicians, and heavily featured on this channel) how he came to play a certain tune in a certain way….it was a familiar tune but it sounded different in his hands. Daniel said, “I don’t know…that’s just how I always heard it in my head”. It was a simple statement but it stuck with me and made more sense to me the more I thought about it. I am a big believer in allowing a tune to tell you how it wants to be played by you in the moment. That is the definition of musical self expression. It’s part of what makes fiddling a living breathing art form. I have my favorite styles of fiddling, but my ears are also wide open to every other style. There is always room on my plate to sample something different, new, unusual, foreign, etc. I love Old-time tunes played in an Old-time way. And I love what Tashina did with this classic Old-time tune. The original melody is not lost to me but comes through to my ears clear as a bell. At the same time it is absolutely valid for someone to prefer a less progressive approach. To each, his or her own. I like to focus on the fact that our love of this instrument and this music unites us…and I’ve always gotten a little rankled when stylistic differences are emphasized as a tool to divide. And I am sure that is not what you had in mind. Just wanted to offer up a different perspective. Adding my 2 cents to the ocean of pennies.
What do you call this style of guitar playing. I play a lot of fiddle tunes on guitar and fiddle but we play rythym guitar different. I'd like to learn some of the chord progressions that guitar players in your video play. Is it western swing? or what?
Great observation, Bryan, as most folks watching these videos are, of course, paying close attention to the fiddlers. But this style of guitar accompaniment would certainly come across as "different" if one was not already familiar with it. An answer to your question could easily be very long and and very detailed,...an entire book could be written, but I'll try to give you a Cliff Notes version.
Most people would refer to this style of picking as Texas style back-up. Obviously, this style of guitar accompaniment in most all cases is going to be heard or seen when the fiddler is playing Texas style fiddling. Texas style fiddling has its roots in old-time fiddle and the creators and innovators of this style were very much influenced by Western Swing (Bob Wills) and the jazz violinists from the 1920s and 1930s (Stephane Grappelli, Joe Venuti, and others) And just as this style of fiddling was evolving, so too was the style a guitar that was backing it up.
If you are truly interested in learning more about this style of backup, here are some names you may want to research as they were the pioneers of this style. Omega Burden, Ray and Royce Franklin (sons of Major Franklin) Rex Gillentine, Jerry Thomasson (Texas style Tenor guitar genius! Son of Benny Thomasson) and Bobby Christman, just to name a few. All these men spent a great deal of time honing their craft over years playing with Texas style fiddle legends Benny Thomasson, Major Franklin, Terry Morris, Orville Burns, Norman Solomon, again, just to name a few.
If you are serious about learning more, there are countless opportunities online for lessons. But it will take an Investment of time and dedication. Texas style guitar backup truly is an art form unto itself and not for dilettantes.
In the meantime, the majority of the picking you will see in the videos on this channel (Joy of Fiddling) can serve as examples of contemporary Texas style back up. (one exception being the Red Bluff Session with Calvin Vollrath and Clinton Pelletier who demonstrate a mix of Canadian style and swing back up.)
Hope that helps, Bryan. If you liked what you heard in this video, be sure to check out the rest of the videos of Tashina from this jam session, as well as the other fiddlers featured on this channel: Daniel Carwile, Katrina Nicolayeth,Jesse Maw, Terry Morris, etc. LOTS of Texas style back-up going on here on the Joy of Fiddling.
One more thought, Bryan, if you watch only one more video on this channel, I would suggest it be Daniel Carwile playing "Snow Shoes" in the Atherton Session playlist. You will actually see Daniel discussing with the back-up pickers different chord progressions they could choose from before they make a final decision and play the tune. Good fun and potentially very educational for someone just discovering Texas style back up accompaniment.
Joey Mackenzie of Burleson TX is as great a TX style guitarist as anyone around. And national fiddle champion as well. He and his wife teach at their studio.
If you like fiddlin study Mike Humphreys that man could play fiddle he was so clean he was 30 years ahead of his time on a fiddle
Swingy!
“I’ll try it”
She did. She tried.😬
Man she likes her bow hairs tight... good stuff
It's a borouqe bow...supposed to be that way
Incredibows are not adjustable, cannot be tightened or loosened
Doesn't sound a bit like Sam Bush' mandolin version...
Howdy Alan. Nice to hear from you again and glad to see you are checking out other videos on the Joy of Fiddling channel. To respond to your comment, out of the hundreds of thousands a fiddle tunes out there, there are countless examples of tunes that sound alike, but go by different tune titles. The same can be said for fiddle tunes that share the same title but do not sound even remotely similar to one another. I recommend that you check out legendary and iconic fiddler Eck Robertson’s recording of “Brilliancy Medley” from which the tune in this video (and many others on youtube) is derived.
@@joyoffiddling So it's an entirely different tune?! Gasp! That explains it ;)
Actually, Alan, the more time one spends in the fiddling universe, the more often you will run into this sort of thing. Not long ago, I received a recording of a Kentucky fiddler friend of mine playing a tune that I took a liking to immediately and I decided to learn it. She said it was called "Old Grimes". Literally, a couple days later I was at a friend's Bluegrass show and backstage their fiddler was warming up playing the tune. I said, "Hey, I just learned that tune. Old Grimes!" And she said, "Old Grimes? I thought it was called Duck River?" Sure enough, if you search online you will find many examples of Duck River and Old Grimes and as far as I can tell they are the same tune. Now, when I play it at jam sessions, I am often asked about the tune and what it is called. I give both tune titles and let them decide what they would like to call it.
@@joyoffiddling I learned Old Grimes a while back, I'll use both names too and make myself think I learned twice as many tunes!
Your secret will be safe with me, Alan.😉 It's a great little tune no matter what anyone calls it.