• New in Print and eBook - Cape Breton & Prince Edward Island Fiddle Tunes for Clawhammer Banjo by Ken Perlman

    Cape Breton & Prince Edward Island Fiddle Tunes for Clawhammer Banjo by Ken Perlman

    FENTON, MO. — Mel Bay Publications, Inc. has announced the availability of Cape Breton & Prince Edward Island Fiddle Tunes for Clawhammer Banjo, by Ken Perlman.

    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 ornaments
    • 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

    • About the Author
    • Foreword
    • Preface
    • Angus Campbell
    • Arkansas Traveler
    • Aura Lee
    • The Battle Cry of Freedom
    • Beaumont Rag
    • Billy in the Lowground
    • Blackberry Blossom
    • Bonaparte’s Retreat
    • Carthage Waltz
    • Cherokee Shuffle
    • Cluck Old Hen
    • Cotton Eyed Joe
    • Cotton Patch Rag
    • Cripple Creek
    • Devil’s Dream
    • Down Yonder
    • Eighth of January
    • Forked Deer
    • Gardenia Waltz
    • Grandfather’s Clock
    • Green Willis
    • Indian’s Farewell Waltz
    • Irish Washerwoman
    • La Bastringue
    • Leather Britches
    • Liberty
    • Martin’s Waltz
    • Mason’s Apron
    • Mississippi Hornpipe
    • Mississippi Sawyer
    • Old Dan Tucker
    • Old Joe Clark
    • President Garfield’s Hornpipe
    • Pretty Peg
    • Red-haired Boy
    • Red Wing
    • Sailor’s Hornpipe
    • College Hornpipe*
    • Saint Anne’s Reel
    • Sally Ann
    • Sally Goodin’
    • Sally Johnson
    • Salt Creek
    • Soldier’s Joy
    • Swallowtail Jig
    • Temperance Reel
    • Tom and Jerry
    • Turkey in the Straw
    • Uncle Joe
    • Under the Double Eagle
    • Whiskey Before Breakfast

    Additional Information