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Yes, standard tuning. No tricks up my sleeve this time :)

@@RhysJonesMusic ok, great! I’m gonna add this to my list of songs to learn.

Just standard tuning, unless otherwise specified. EADG from high to low.

It’s very similar to a tune often called The Faerie Dance in Irish music.

Thank you so much! I appreciate it.

@@RhysJonesMusic I have been a violin maker and fiddle player most of my 76 years. I knew or know many of the great ones, having made their instruments or repaired them. I watch tons of videos about old time music. Some performances and some clifftop videos, on all of these you have very sophisticated bowing and timing, and I see that you are emotionally involved in the tune like a classical soloist is. Thanks for giving me lots of video (unintentional) lessons. Take care. Keep playing, Pete

That’s a good idea. With spring approaching, it’s time to release some new videos, and I’ll add that to the list.

If you prefer to go coarse to fine, then AEAE. I describe my tunings fine to coarse, as a rule.

Thanks! That’s where all the magic is (if there is any at all, anyway 😂)

😂

Hey there - it definitely is possible. Old-time tunes like Poplar Bluff or the Cherry River Rag (to name just a couple) have extended passages in 2nd or 3rd position. I play without chin rest or shoulder rest, and shifting position isn’t a problem. Aside from the absence of chin and shoulder rest, I also hold the violin in a non-classically standard way (but which was one of many ways the violin was held in the 17th century). I have a secret fondness for Baroque violin pieces, and these routinely require shifting into extremely high positions on the violin. There are many professional Baroque violinists who play with the violin off the shoulder, some even down against the chest. There have been a myriad of ways to hold the instrument over the centuries - none of them are inherently limiting, but just require a slightly different technique). Thanks for the question!

You're welcome! Enjoy!

I didn’t write that one - it’s a traditional piece, however it often goes by a more common title. Would you like to sleuth that out, or should I tell you? I’ll give you a clue: we call it Bob Wills Tune because the source for it said he learned it after hearing Bob Wills play it.

Thanks Rhys. I’ll research that a little more. Being retired gives me time for pursuits like this. Looking forward to more lessons.

Rhys, Hows "Go Home with the Girls in the Morning" for the answer? Found a discussion with Howard Rains and Tricia Spencer talking about the tune. The internet has its faults but for research it's hard to beat.

@@stevehodgin391 That’s it!

You’re so welcome! Thanks for the feedback.

I’m so glad you’re inspired! I love playing without chin and shoulder rest - apparently I’m in good company with a large number of Baroque performers, but I think the violin just sounds better when it is unencumbered. I don’t even use fine tuners - it’s a naked fiddle.

Thank you! My fiddle was made by Bronek Cisson, a Polish maker living in Chicago who makes violins out of the workshop of William Harris Lee.

That’s incredible - some of the lyrics of Molly Put the Kettle On clearly indicate early English origin, particularly the “Suki put the kettle on” part. Suki was a shortened form of the common Burmese (Myanmar) woman’s name Sukiyalap, who was the queen of King Thebaw just before the British colonial entanglement with Myanmar. Many young Burmese women made their way to England where they found work as housemaids and serving girls, and the name Sukiyalap was so common that it became a semi-derogatory and generic term for servant: Suki.

Thank you so much for the kind words - I haven’t been checking the comments as often as I should. Always great to see something like this!

Rus, you have always been so kind, generous, and open with your compliments and appreciation - thank you. Can’t wait to see you again.

Hi there - sorry for the very tardy response! This bowing is definitely an almost essential part of many tunes, but most typically arises when the end of the tune’s phrase has two consecutive 1/4 notes, which is a common ending to the parts or phrases of old-time tunes. I realize this explanation may not make much sense without examples, so I’ll try to put up a video with some context. In the meantime, all of my longer videos where I teach the entire tune contain examples of this bowing!

Thank you! :)

Absolutely - I would love to come. I haven’t played in TN in decades.

I’m so glad this unlocked some secrets for you. I’ll be adding a few more videos in the coming days