Cross-tuning geography
Paul M. Gifford
What's the geographical distribution of cross-tuning on the fiddle and how
widespread is it in those areas where it is/was practiced? Pretty much
everywhere from VA/NC westward to TX/OK? Is it done anywhere north of KY?
I'm talking here about locally learned traditions.
It's totally unknown up north (MI), but recently I heard Teddy Boy Houle from
Manitoba play a number of things, in AEAE, AEAC#, and DDAD. In the last
tuning, he played a nameless tune learned from his father which was quite
similar to "Bonaparte's Retreat." I do know that some fiddlers in Quebec play
a tune called "Reel du Pendu," in AEAC#, I think, but I never encountered
anybody in Ontario that did this.
All this leads me to believe that the practice of cross tuning was an
18th-century Scottish/Ulster practice. This can be the only explanation for
this traditional geographical distribution. Comments?
Paul Gifford
CoraDye
I wonder if there is any connection between the cross tuned fiddle and the
Hardanger fiddle, which I understand uses lots of different tunings. But
maybe not, because Wisconsin has a lot of people with Swedish heritage,
and is not noted for crosstuning. Just a thought.
Peter Moxhay
In article <gifford_p.1...@lib.flint.umich.edu>,
giff...@lib.flint.umich.edu (Paul M. Gifford) wrote:
> What's the geographical distribution of cross-tuning on the fiddle and how
> widespread is it in those areas where it is/was practiced?
>I do know that some fiddlers in Quebec play
> a tune called "Reel du Pendu," in AEAC#, I think, but I never encountered
> anybody in Ontario that did this.
There are quite a few Quebecois tunes played in ADAE, the most common
being Grande Gigue Simple. Andre Alain plays a couple of others on
his tape. Also, Louis Boudrealt, for one, played a number of tunes
in AEAE.
Peter Moxhay
Bo Bradham
Paul M. Gifford <giff...@lib.flint.umich.edu> wrote:
>What's the geographical distribution of cross-tuning on the fiddle and how
>everywhere from VA/NC westward to TX/OK? Is it done anywhere north of KY?
>I'm talking here about locally learned traditions.
In the summer issue of Fiddler Magazine, Cape Breton fiddle Sandy
MacIntyre said that his grandfather & his mother used AEAE when
playing for dances, to get more "ring" and volume. His mother was
of the opinion that it "puts more Gaelic" into the music,
whatever that means.
Bo Bradham
--
"Learning to drive a car is easier than learning to play the
fiddle. And it's a lot safer, too" -- Kevin Burke
Jim Nelson
Paul M. Gifford wrote:
>
> What's the geographical distribution of cross-tuning on the fiddle and how
> widespread is it in those areas where it is/was practiced? Pretty much
> everywhere from VA/NC westward to TX/OK? Is it done anywhere north of KY?
> I'm talking here about locally learned traditions.
>
I don't know if you'd consider Southern Illinois north of Kentucky--much
of it is actually next to Kentucky--but I've heard a couple of fiddlers
use AEAE tuning. Pappy Taylor from Effingham and Noah (pronounced Noey)
Beavers of Elkville. Just for the record< Mr. Beavers' father was a
fiddler from Kentucky and though I don't know for sure I suspect a
similar connection in the case of Pappy Taylor. Here in Missouri, Bob
Holt plays a few numbers using AEAE and also AEAC#. I believe I've
heard Pete McMahan play the Arthur Smith piece "Pretty Polly Ann" in
AEAC# as well. Nile Wilson, another (northern) Missouri fiddler, plays
a tune called "Little Whiskey" in AEAE tuning. And Cyril Stinnet played
one called "Little Dog Trotting Down the Road" with his fiddle tunes
GDAD. As far as this part of the Midwest is concerned, I'd guess that
alternate fiddle tunings were once quite common.
Jim Nelson
Andrew Phillips
In article <gifford_p.1...@lib.flint.umich.edu>,
>18th-century Scottish/Ulster practice. This can be the only explanation for
>this traditional geographical distribution. Comments?
>
If you can find a copy of old scottish fiddle tunes like the Gow collection
you will find bunches of AEAE tunes as well as tunes in a few other non-
standard tunings. Of course, this sample of one does nothing to prove or
disprove your hypothesis......
Drew
em...@leela.swt.edu
In article <gifford_p.1...@lib.flint.umich.edu>, giff...@lib.flint.umich.edu (Paul M. Gifford) writes:
> What's the geographical distribution of cross-tuning on the fiddle... [snip]
I realize that the following quote doesn't directly address the question, but
it relates to the overall idea, and is, in my opinion, beautifully written.
It's from Annie Dillard's _Teaching a Stone to Talk_.
The rocks shape life like hands around swelling dough. In Virginia,
the salamanders vary from mountain ridge to mountain ridge; so do the fiddle
tunes the old men play. All this is because it is hard to move from mountain
to mountain. These are not merely anomalous details. This is what life is all
about: salamanders, fiddle tunes, you and me and things, the split and burr of
it all, the fizz into particulars. No mountains and one salamander, one fiddle
tune, would be a lesser world. No continents, no fiddlers. No possum, no sop,
no taters. The earth, without form, is void.
.
Oldtime1
If you dig back thru the decades far enough everyone is cross-keyed,
including classical players. There's several small forks in the road and
one really big one. The big one is the so-called "standard tuning"
popularized by N. Paganini some 200 years ago. He's been gone a long
time, but classical violin is still in his shadow. He also popularized
the style that became common to classical players. My time with the
horsehair and cutgut was too short to create a full appreciation of his
legacy, but a precise quality in noting is part of it (piano ears?) and
writers during three decades thought he was the ace showman of all time.
There's a lot of good players out there who can tell us more about this
than I'll ever know. Joe Wilson