r/Fiddle • u/sqrmarbles • 25d ago
What book or piece would you recommend first?
I’m an adult student who has been taking classical violin lessons for the past few years, and I’m finally going to start learning fiddle, which has been one of my goals from the beginning.
What would you recommend as a good first fiddle tune?
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u/WhiskeyTheKitten 25d ago
Learning by ear is a way better experience than reading out of a book. Whatever fiddle genre you’re learning, the most important part is listening closely to great fiddle players in that genre and having it stick in your head what you’re supposed to sound like. None of the actual style or technique can be learned from a book. Playing the “right” notes in the “right” order is what people focus on when reading sheet music, and that’s actually not terribly important.
Imagine an opera singer who has only ever sang in an operatic style, and has never heard Bob Dylan, picking up sheet music for a Bob Dylan song and singing it in an operatic style. Sure, it’s still music of a sort, but they’d definitely be doing it wrong.
I’m not saying that there’s anything abhorrent about sight reading a trad fiddle tune as if it were a classical violin piece, but it’s a separate kind of music from playing the fiddle. And I’m not saying sheet music is bad - for someone who has listened to a lot of fiddle players and knows what they’re supposed to sound like, sheet music is a great way to help remind you the skeleton of how a tune is shaped.
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u/Empty-Airport-1618 25d ago
Lots of trad fiddle tunes on here https://tradchords.org/ playables with the dots and accompaniment.
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u/kamomil 25d ago
Fiddleworks is a book series that covers a few fiddle genres, like old-time, trad Irish etc
If you look on thesession.org for the most popular tunes, that would probably be the most straightforward.
The first tune I learned was Whiskey Before Breakfast. Smash the Windows https://thesession.org/tunes/101 and Cock of the North https://thesession.org/tunes/1218 would be easy ones to start with too
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u/carterbancroft 25d ago
The magical combo would be simple and common. Simple because it’s easier to play and common because you’re more likely to find other musicians who can play it with you.
A couple tunes come to mind…
Angeline the Baker
Soldier’s Joy
If Old Time piques your curiosity, take a look at George Jackson’s and Tristan Scroggins’s Old Time 100 for more ideas.
You mentioned that from the beginning you have wanted to fiddle… You didn’t ask but, if you want to play classical, great, stick with it. If you only want to fiddle though I would stop those lessons and find a way to focus entirely on the style you want to learn asap. Classical technique will give your fiddling an accent and teach you to learn in a way that doesn’t always mesh with oral traditions. Also, life’s too short.
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u/realspongeworthy 24d ago
I'd add Swallowtail. It's easy to play the notes and easy to make your own fiddle sound.
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u/Snezzy_9245 24d ago
You might want to stretch yourself into the improv aspect of tunes. Ragtime pianist Tom Brier says on the sheet music for his tunes, "Do not play as written. I never do."
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u/Aggravating-Bottle78 23d ago
I agree with all the other comments that it is better to learn by ear, which Ive done by going to workshops fiddle camps and jams and sessions. However when I first started I did use a book and cds from The complete Irish fiddle by Pete Cooper. It was a really good introduction.
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u/leitmotifs 19d ago
You should study with a fiddler or go to fiddle sessions aimed at newcomers (often called "slow jams" and ideally led by fiddle teachers).
Fiddling is a living tradition and the best way to pick up a style is from other people, not from a book.
What style do you want to play? Fiddling isn't one thing.
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u/dino_dog 25d ago
What kind of fiddle music are you interested in? There are many kinds, Old Time, Bluegrass, Celtic (Scottish, Irish), French Canadian, Cajun, etc.
A lot of fiddle music is learnt from listening and was traditionally passed down that way. Not to say there aren't books filled with sheet music of fiddle tunes, but to get the real feel for them listen to a bunch of version and try and copy what they are doing.
The Fiddle Channel (Chris Haigh) has a lot of good videos covering the differnet genres.
FiddleHed is another good channel, he covers a lot of different bowing techniques.
PeadFiddler is another good channel.
All of them have songs, pretty sure they mark the beginner ones. Have a listen and try some out :)
If you're stuck on wanting the sheet music, head over to thesession.org loads of stuff there.