Old-Time Kentucky Fiddle Tunes

I'll preface this saything that this is the first review I've ever written on Amazon, that's how strongly I feel about this book. I've been an Old Time Fiddle teacher for years and have used this book a whole lot. It's a wonderful resource for both students and teachers of Old Time Fiddle. It has really great tunes, filled with versions of well known tunes that are not in any other books and also has tons of material that is not well known. Also, there are great photos and the introduction is a must read for Old Time aficionados, or anyone who is interested in the history of music in the USA. I'm so glad that this book has been reissued - it's bigger than the original (which became impossible to find for a few years and got VERY expensive) and the binding is good - anyone who needs to put a book on a music stand will know what I'm talking about.

Some fiddle books I bought have academic text as a big part of the content with very little tunes. This book is all tunes and comes with a CD. It's an awesome book!!

For American old time fiddlers, this is an essential resource.

I enjoyed this book very much. It doesn't have all of the most popular fiddle tunes one could think of, but there are a few like "Big Sweet Taters in Sandy Land" or "Sally Goodin", along with many that I have never heard of before. If you are looking for a book purely to learn fiddle tunes from, I would not recommend this. But if you have any appreciation for the old songs and want to know a little background history, I would buy it. It is valuble to have the songs published before they are forgotten forever. There was also an obvious respect for the fiddlers themselves, which was interesting and nice to see.

This is a wonderful book for anyone who is interested in regional fiddling styles, musician or non-musician. As a fiddler, this appeals to me personally, of course. I've wanted to own this book for some time, and I was glad to find it still available for sale. The included CD is an invaluable resource if you are looking for more insight or inspiration. The written word and the written music alone simply can not convey the spirit of this music, these players, or the context in which these tunes are / were played. Absolutely timeless music!

The book was in excellent condition - better than I thought it would be - and it came in much sooner than I thought it would. I was definitely impressed and would give them 5 stars!!!

Great collection of fiddle tunes which are not easy to find anyplace else. This is especially nice if you use your iPad for reading music -- it does look nice on my Paperwhite but the smaller screen makes it less useful for playing the music. I don't have a Kindle Fire but I imagine that would be great to perform from.

This is a terrific book for anyone who loves old time fiddle music. Easy to read transcriptions of some different regional styles, including references to field recordings and other artists. The back of the book features biograpies of important Kentucky fiddlers with many great old photos.Then, if you really want to know what this stuff sounds like... there is a cd included which is guaranteed to inspire you to play or just go to Kentucky as I did.

My wife recently bought me this book as a gift and what a gift it is. The introductory narrative is informative and takes the reader through some of the history of Kentucky Fiddling and those fiddlers whose shoulders we stand on. Jeff Todd has done his research well and brings the reader not only to the music but also gives insight into some of the personalities and character of the Kentucky Fiddlers that have carried these tunes and the style forward. Having learned some of these tunes from Metis and Aboriginal Fiddlers in northern Canada it is very interesting for me to compare the difference in the evolution of the tunes through the various styles. Jeff Todd has documented the tunes well with some variations and traced their origins back to Scotland, Ireland, England as well as the many of American Heritage. I think Jeff Todd deserves credit for rescuing these tunes from the obscure with a scholarly work worthy of note. I recommend this book to all fiddlers. The CD is very useful and demonstrates a number of the tunes in their historical context. The book and CD explain tunings, bowing and variations from musician to musician. Well Done Jeff !