Cape Breton & Prince Edward Island Fiddle Tunes / Clawhammer

The island of Cape Breton & its close neighbor, Prince Edward Island in eastern Canada are home to two of the oldest, strongest, and most vibrant fiddling traditions in North America. Cape Breton gave rise to a professional Celtic-based fiddling scene to rival anything coming out of Scotland & Ireland. Prince Edward Island’s traditional fiddlers developed lively, idiosyncratic styles every bit as musically compelling as anything you’ll hear on archival recordings of iconic American old-time fiddlers from the Appalachians. This book features 136 tunes from these two distinct but related fiddling traditions, collected by the author directly from master fiddlers, and arranged note-for-note for clawhammer banjo with as much flavor and nuance as possible. These settings of reels, hornpipes, jigs, marches, strathspeys, airs, and other fiddle tunes are all eminently playable and fully benefit from the author’s half-century of experience playing banjo, arranging for banjo, writing banjo instruction books, and researching fiddle-music traditions.

Here’s what you’ll find in this volume.

136 fiddle tunes arranged for clawhammer banjo in clear tablature
Over 40 musical examples & exercises
Instruction on basic and advanced techniques
Fingering diagrams & detailed fingering suggestions
A systematic approach to playing up-the-neck
A thorough treatment of playing triplets, grace notes, and other characteristic ornaments in clawhammer
Guides on how to approach playing various kinds of fiddle tunes
A framework for understanding the modes encountered in fiddle music
Historical notes on the tunes and musical traditions
Biographical information on source fiddlers
169 audio illustrations available online

Note: Most audio illustrations for the tunes in this book are drawn directly from the author’s CDs, Devil in the Kitchen, Frails & Frolics, Island Boy, and Northern Banjo.

Contents

Andy Renwick's Ferret, Angus Campbell, Archie Menzies, Banks Hornpipe, The, Bear River Jig, Bee's Wing Hornpipe, The, Belfast Hornpipe, The, Belfast Jig, Big John McNeil, Bonaparte Crossing the Alps, Bonniest Lass in A' the World, The, Bonny Lass of Fisherrow, The, Bonny Lea Rig, The, Brae Reel, The, Braes of Auchtertyre, The, Brenda Stubbert's Reel, Caber Feidh, Cape Breton Wedding Reel, The, Captain Campbell, Carleton County Breakdown, Carnie's Canter, Chaisson Reel, The, Cheticamp Reel, The, Chorus Jig, Come Under My Plaidie, Compliments to Buddy MacMaster, Cutting Ferns, Darlin' Don't You Meddle Me, Delphine's Reel, Democratic Rage, The, Devil in the Kitchen, Dillon Brown, Dinkie's Reel, Don't Be Teasing, Dr Keith, Aberdeen, Dragger's Reel, The, Drunken Piper, The, Dublin Porter, Duke of Gordon's Birthday, The, Durang's Hornpipe, East Neuk of Bear River, The, Emil Gaudet's Reel, Farmer's Daughter, The, Farmer's Reel, The, Fay's Hornpipe, Fermoy Lasses, Fig For a Kiss, Fisher's Hornpipe (F Setting), Fred Wilson's Hornpipe, Glencoe March, Green Meadow Reel, Haggis, The, Hector's Fancy, Hector's New Dance Hall, High Level Hornpipe, The, Homeward Bound, Honeymoon, The, Inverness Jig, Irishman's Heart to the Ladies, Iron Man, The, Island Boy, Jack Webster's Reel, Jackson's Jig, Jenny Dang the Weaver, Jerome's Farewell to Gibraltar, Jerry Holland's Jig, Joe Kearney's Reel, Joe MacInnis' March, Kenmure's on & Awa', Willie, Killiecrankie, Koehler's Hornpipe, Lad O'beirne's Reel, Lasses of Glenaladale, The, Levantine's Barrel, Light & Airy, Little Donald in the Pigpen, Little Jack's Reel, Londonderry Hornpipe, Lord Gordon, Lord MacDonald's Reel, MacDonald's March “Reel”, MacKinnon's Rant, Marchioness of Tullibardine, The, Marie à Pierre, Marquis of Huntly, The, Meeting of Waters, The, Miller o' Drone, The, Miller's Reel, Miramichi Fire, The, Miss Barker's Hornpipe, Miss Georgina Campbell, Miss Gordon, Miss Lyall Strathspey, Miss Maxwell, Mr. Murray, Munlochy Bridge, Munster Lass, The, North Side of the Grampians, The, Northside Tune, Orange & Blue, The, Ottawa Valley Reel, Paddy on the Turnpike, Pigeon on the Gatepost, Plains of Boyle, The, Poppy Leaf, The, Pride of the Ball, Prince Edward Island Wedding Reel, Princess Reel, River Bend Jig, Robert Cormack, Aberdeen, Robert Stubbert, Rock Valley Jig, Rose in the Garden, The, Rose of Tennessee, The, Rothiemurchus Rant, The, Royal Circus Jig, Shandon Bells, Shores of Lough Gowna, The, Silver & Gold, Sleepy Maggie, Souris Breakwater, Southern Melody, St Anne's Reel (Original Version), St Anne's Reel (Prince County Version), St Kilda Wedding, Stack of Barley, Stella's Trip to Kamloops, Stool of Repentance, The, Teviot Bridge, Trip to Windsor, West Point Jig, When I Go Out the Door, Where the North River Flows, Whiskey Jig, Wilfred's Fiddle, You Married My Daughter, & Yet