Folk music was formed by fiddles. English and Irish immigrants brought their fiddles with them when they came to “the Colonies,” and as early as the mid 1700s you’d be hard pressed to find an American folk ensemble without one. “The fiddle” was always a bit less reputable than its classical cousin, “the violin”–in fact, the two instruments are exactly the same, the only difference is the approach of the musician. American fiddle players diverged from their European and even their Canadian fellows as they picked up African-American phrasing and syncopation. Watch this 2003 performance of “Orange Blossom Special” by Vassar Clements and the Del McCoury Band for an example of great country/folk fiddlin’.
We are revising the AllAroundThisWorld.com site — the information you’re seeking may still be here, but a lot of links are broken and details may be out of date. We are currently using a new (better!) site — ExploreEverywhere.com — to tell you all about our class offerings, our “pen pal” program and how to become one of our teachers, and will eventually be moving all the goodies from here over to there. So, GO TO THE NEW SITE!
