The Institute of American Music’s Fiddle Tunes for Young Violinists series contains 29 old time fiddle tunes from North America, the British Isles, and other countries around the world. Each book contains mostly music, but the appendix of each book contains information related to the tunes such as: historical background and tidbits on most of the tunes, tips on bowing and fingering, information on fiddle contests and other music related events around the United States, and a section in the appendix that discusses fiddle music as a traditional component of barn dances and Irish dance competitions. The pages presented below are from the Fiddle Tunes for Young Violinists books. From top to bottom: 1) The Violin harmony part to the tune, Cuckoo’s Nest, from the Harmony book. 2) A page from the Piano Accompaniment book (notice the guitar chords are included above the piano staff). 3) Cumberland Hornpipe, an example of one of the tunes from the Violin (melody) book. 4) The tune, Swallowtail Jig, a favorite Irish jig, from the Viola book. 5) A page from the Appendix of the Violin melody book that discusses the tradition of fiddle tunes in it’s context with old time dance. 6) An excerpt from a section of the Appendix called, “About Select Tunes.” 7) An excerpt from another section of the Appendix called, “Tips from Alina.” 8) Fiddle Tunes for Young Violinists Table of Contents. (Click HERE to return to the Piano Series page.)
