I was born at a very early age. Unfortunately, I didn't start playing the fiddle until I was well into middle age. No, that's not a picture of me, it's just a cute picture I found while surfing the internet. Don't ya just want to pinch his cheeks? If you know anything about him, let me know.

My main musical interest has been old time, the type of music played in the southern Appalachian mountains. I really appreciate the honesty of the music and the musicians. Anybody can play it, at any level of accomplishment, and it will be appreciated by others.

Some of my favorite fiddlers are J. P. Fraley, Wilson Douglas (R. I. P.), John Hartford, Charlie Acuff, and countless others.

I also enjoy contra-dance and bluegrass music.

The Top Twenty (?) Fiddle Tunes

A few years ago, Fiddler Magazine made a survey to determine the top twenty fiddle tunes. They got responses from all over the world. The results were published in the Spring 1995 issue. I guess they got carried away because there are actually 60 tunes listed... but who really cares...

How many of these tunes do you know?

1. Soldier's Joy
2. St. Anne's Reel
3. (tied) Old Joe Clark, Ragtime Annie
4. Arkansas Traveler
5. Ashokan Farewell
6. (tied) Cripple Creek, Liberty, Westphalia Waltz
7. Redwing
8. (tied) Fisher's Hornpipe, Mississippi Sawyer, Whiskey Before Breakfast
9. (tied) Faded Love, Golden Slippers
10. Tennessee Waltz
11. (tied) Devil's Dream, Over the Waterfall, Turkey in the Straw
12. (tied) Bill Cheatham, Boil Them Cabbage Down, Blackberry Blossom, Flowers of Edinburgh
13. (tied) Angeline the Baker, Midnight on the Water
14. (tied) Boys of Bluehill, Eighth of January, Flop-Eared Mule, Sally Goodin
15. (tied) Chinese Breakdown, Over the Waves, Sailor's Hornpipe
16. (tied) Down Yonder, Girl I Left Behind Me, Irish Washerwoman, Kitchen Girl, Leather Britches, Wildwood Flower
17. (tied) Billy in the Lowground, Cindy, Cotton-Eyed Joe, Forked Deer, Harvest Home, Joys of Quebec, Kentucky Waltz, Sally Ann, Salt Creek, Year of the Jubilo
18 (tied) Bonaparte Crossing the Rhine, Bonaparte's Retreat, Buffalo Gals, Darling Nellie Gray, June Apple, Miss McLeod's,Orange Blossum Special, Rock the Cradle Joe, Snow Deer, Staten Island Hornpipe, Temperance Reel, Under the Double Eagle

Here are some of the things you'll find on this site:

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE FIDDLE A tongue in cheek look at the history of the fiddle.

FIDDLE AND OLD-TIME MUSIC LINKS A list of links to some sights I've found interesting. Also information about festivals, workshops, etc.

MUSIC & INSTRUCTION BOOKS Here's a bunch of fiddle instruction and music books.

OLD-TIME MUSIC RECORDINGS Of course, my favorite recordings are by J. P. Fraley and John Hartford, but you'll find CDs here for many other great old-time fiddlers too.

Let's all go out on the front porch, rosin up the bow, and play some music...