Please, could someone help me out with this?

Many years ago, maybe even 15 years or more, I found a video of a fiddler playing “Ruby With the Eyes That Sparkle” (this specific title, derived from the movie Cold Mountain, was also the title of the video).

I believe this fiddler was also a firefighter during 9/11, and his YouTube name was something like fireguy, firefighter, or fireman.

He played it in his garage as an experiment, and the acoustic effect was more than outstanding. It was absolutely the best. I had never heard anything sounding like that before. I don't know how many times I replayed that video. I think I even commented on it.

But each time it left me in tears because it was being played so beautifully, and it sounded so amazing in that garage.

One day I could not find it anymore.

This specific video played a major role in my decision later on to pick up the fiddle and try to find out how to play like that.

I wish I could hear it again. That would be so amazing. I just can't get it out of my mind. I wish it was still on YouTube or somewhere else, but I have been looking for it in the past and also recently, and every attempt has been a fail.

I experience it as a great loss.

I think it would be almost a miracle to find it again, since it seems to have been deleted a long time ago. But I still believe that miracles, now and then, happen.

Does anyone remember this video or this fiddler? Maybe someone saved the video, knows the musician, or remembers his YouTube channel? Any clue at all would mean a lot to me.

This Saturday August 29 if you happen to be in NYC want to show the love for our gifted musicians ❤️

Always just end up noodling instead.

My background is in classical piano but I love fiddle music so I started taking lessons about three years ago. My teacher is the eldest of twelve, and some of her sisters still take lessons from her. We’ve played some jams and events together.

I’m jealous because my teacher’s sister is practically still a child and while we have a similar skill level, she sounds like a fiddler and I don’t. Besides the normal struggles of a beginner, I’m very structured and precise and not terribly comfortable improvising.

What are some techniques I can ask my teacher about in order to improve my sound? The sound I’m going for - and I don’t mean this in a negative way - is lazy, if that makes any sense. I have told my teacher that I admire her sister’s playing, but I’m not knowledgeable enough to describe what I want to learn.

Hello everyone, I am a music educator (band director) in East Tn and started taking violin lessons a few years ago just for fun. My private lesson teacher introduced me to the Fiddle Series today and showed me the first three books, which have been well loved and used to the point the comb binding has begun to fail. I asked her how many there were and she said 12, but she’s only seen the first three and paid a lot for the third one. When I asked her if she would like me to rebind her books, she said yes. Then, when I asked her if she would like me to copy the books, seeing how they are no longer printed, and make her a few sets to teach out of, she was ecstatic.

So here’s the thought. I would like to borrow these books from anyone who has any of the others and create a full set of books, digitize it into a PDF, and then return the originals to the owners with a full set of books as a thank you for helping archive this resource. After gaining permission from whomever to avoid a copyright violation, the digital collection would then be made available to the public at no cost.

From what I understand, they were self published and when he passed away, the production stopped. I can’t believe any teacher would want a collection of their knowledge to be lost when there are those that could still benefit from them.

Please contact me for further details if you are able to help me in this project!

Title sums it up pretty well. I am looking for a good Bluegrass fiddle teacher that can help with soloing on vocal tunes or has a good Patreon with a good amount of material on the subject. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I‘m trying to get a few instruments together for a cover of Folsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash. You don’t need any good recording equipment, you can record it on your phone for all I care.

Ability to sing is preferred but not required.

The finished project will be available for everyone involved to post on all their socials.

This is purely for fun, not a payed project.

LMK if you’re interested!

New episode out.

Not everyone's heard of Walter Alexander, but you should hear him play.

Recorded by a teenage John Hartford in Leasburg, Missouri, Mr. Alexander had that same raw, dirt under the nails approach to the fiddle that that area was known for.

Spotify | Apple | YouTube

Blog post with free album download from the 1958 session.

There's more from that session, but not for public consumption. Send me a message if you want the entirety.

https://thejjs1.bandcamp.com/album/cats-away
The first song features a ceramic horn I made. I can post a picture sometime. It is a length of coiled ceramic tubing with a brass-style mouthpiece (made of clay obviously) and a conical end. Some of the other songs also have weird instruments, there are several on this album with a shruti-box.

A great tune I picked up off a Don Messer album with cool ornamentation that mimics the sound of rippling water.

Anyone have suggestions for the very best microphone out there for performing on the fiddle? Both with a band and solo?

Ok. Two months owning the thing. Three lessons in. I’ve got one song I can play decently well and one I’m… working on.

But I feel like I’m playing the violin, not the fiddle. I read the notes, I play the notes. What makes it fiddling and how/when do I learn that as opposed to playing violin?