A Post by Adam Sweet, CEO: What are some good fiddle tunes for a beginner?

So as you know, I teach violin and many fiddle styles including celtic, bluegrass, klezmer, jazz, western swing, texas style and Quebecois.

Someone recently asked me to suggest some tunes a beginner can learn.  I decided to include some more advanced  tunes as well

Camptown Races comes to mind, as does Liza Jane, Buffalo Gals, Shady Grove (it's in Bm but doable), Shortnin' Bread, Oh, Susanna, Cindy, Dixie, Wildwood Flower, Soldier's Joy, Going to Boston, Flop Eared Mule, Skip to My Lou, Girl I left Behind Me, Old Joe Clark, Cripple Creek...all basically level 1 tunes except maybe the last 3 or so.

Slightly more advanced would be Mississippi Sawyer, Arkansas Traveler, Rose Tree, Over the Waterfall, Newcastle, Southwind, Si Beg Si More, Sandy River, Salt Creek, Chinky Pin, Cotton Eyed Joe, Cameron Highlanders, Scotland the Brave, Harvest Home, Ash Grove, Amazing Grace, Swinging on a Gate, Fisher's Hornpipe, Snowflake Reel

Every fiddle player needs to learn the "double shuffle" bowing pattern. Here are some good tunes to practice with it:

Orange Blossom Special, Back Up And Push, Rubber Dolly,.

Now we get into some jigs! Here are some easier ones: Irish Washerwoman, Garry Owen, St Patrick's Day (inna mornin), Haste to the Wedding, Road to Lisdoonvarna, Swallow Tail, Kid on the Mountain and Pipe on the Hob.

How about some Polkas? I like: As we Went Out On The Ice, Kangaroo, Kerry, Spare Leg, Andy Boyle's, Britches full of Stiches.

Dance Forms: What are Hornpipes?

 One of the oldest of the dance forms from western Europe/Great Britain are the Hornpipes.  

Here are some of the Hornpipes I like

There are two basic types of common-time hornpipe, ones like the "Sailors' Hornpipe", moving in even notes, sometimes notated in 2/2, moving a little slower than a reel, and ones like "The Harvest Home", moving in dotted notes. Some 19th-century examples mix the dotted and even styles.  (Other types of Hornpipes are in 3/2 and 9/8 time.)

Examples of Hornpipes:

• Fisher's
• Harvest Home
• Boys of Bluehill
• Rights of Man

Fisher's Hornpipe