That said, believe it or not, buying those first few albums for your music collection can be a bit intimidating too. Likely, your interest in old-time fiddle began after you heard someone playing at a festival or local event. You weren't familiar with any names of well-known old-time fiddlers, nor many names of fiddle tunes for that matter. So where should you start? Whose music should you pick up first?
The best advice I can give you here is to do your research (Google is a great starting place) and see what turns up. There are quite a few remastered, vintage recordings out there of now famous old-time players as well as a handful of relative unknowns. There are also many younger musicians that have really taken to this genre and have served to rekindle much of the popularity that this music once enjoyed in the 1920s and 30s.
Most importantly listen, listen, listen......and buy what you like. In the end, it's all about what YOU like - not someone with a name known to be important to the genre. Listening to music you truly love encourages you to play more and, I believe, helps you develop your own unique style (as you pick up and adapt the various nuances of the artists you listen to).
Below is a smattering of albums (most from the 1920s/30s heyday of old-time) that I personally think offer tons of inspiration in the way of style, syncopation and emotion. Perhaps if you are still unsure of where to begin, one of these selections just might be the start of something good.
(NOTE: Amazon offers previews of every tune on these albums, enabling you to get a great feel for what the music is like.)
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Once you comment and your comment has been moderated by the blog's author (that would be me), you will be able to view your comment by clicking on the number beneath the title of the post to which you commented.
~Melissa