dsreiner

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  1. dsreiner
    Hello Friends at Maestronet- I’d like to invite you to our 10th Annual Fiddle Hell Gathering at the Westford Regency, Westford, Massachusetts, USA, Nov. 7-9, 2014. An overview of Fiddle Hell 2014 is at http://www.reinerfam...troduction.html There will be a full schedule of over 130 hands-on workshops and jams at http://www.reinerfam...l-schedule.html Rates are very low for the weekend (with discounts for kids and seniors) and you can also just pay for a single day. Prepaid admissions for the entire weekend are $90 or less. Parking is free and plentiful. You can stay at the Regency in disco
  2. dsreiner
    Hello Fiddling Friends at Maestronet- I’d like to invite you to our 9th Annual Fiddle Hell Gathering at the Colonial Inn and Scout House in Concord, Massachusetts, Nov. 8-10, 2013. An overview of Fiddle Hell 2013 is at http://www.reinerfam...troduction.html There's a full schedule of over 100 hands-on workshops and jams at http://www.reinerfam...l-schedule.html Rates are low for the weekend or a single day, and parking is free. Our fiddle staff includes 22 excellent traditional players who are also great teachers: Alan Kaufman, Andy Reiner, Barbara McOwen, Bob Alessio, Clayton March, Dave R
  3. dsreiner
    Hello Fiddling Friends at Maestronet- I’d like to invite you to our 8th Annual Fiddle Hell Gathering at the Colonial Inn and Masonic Lodge in Concord, Massachusetts, Nov. 2-4, 2012. An overview of Fiddle Hell 2012 is at http://www.reinerfam...troduction.html There's a full schedule of over 150 hands-on workshops and jams at http://www.reinerfam...l-schedule.html That’s twice as many sessions as last year! Our fiddle staff includes 20 excellent traditional players who are also great teachers: Alan Kaufman, Andy Reiner, Anne Hooper, Becky Tracy, Bob Alessio, Clayton March, Dave Reiner, Dav
  4. dsreiner
    The Old Groton Inn burned down on August 2, 2011, fortunately with no injuries. The new venue for Fiddle Hell Massachusetts is the Colonial Inn in Concord, MA. Dave
  5. dsreiner
    What: Fiddle Hell is an informal gathering of fiddlers to meet, jam, learn, and have fun. The invention of the late, great fiddler Dale Hopkins, Fiddle Hell occurs periodically in fun locations worldwide. Prior Fiddle Hells have occurred in the US, the UK, the Netherlands, and Germany. The term "Fiddle Hell" refers to the Saturday night portion of the program when all the fiddlers play tunes together. Last year (2010), we had 200+ musicians, mostly fiddlers, at the sixth Massachusetts Fiddle Hell, including fiddlers from 13 states and 4 foreign countries! This amazing gathering starts at 5PM
  6. dsreiner
    There is definitely a lot of interest in 5-stringers these days, from the groups you mention and also from "world" players. I scheduled a 5-string fiddle show-and-play session at Fiddle Hell Massachusetts at 7PM Saturday night (FHM is Nov 13-15, 2009, in Groton, MA), and I know you'll be there for that! Regards, Dave Reiner www.reinerfamilyband.com/fiddlehellmassac.html P.S. Now playing Marmaduke's HP, thanks to your session last year
  7. dsreiner
    Any opinions by people who looked at or tried lot 139, a bow by Sartory? The combination of worn stick, later frog, and lift behind head probably destroy its value to a collector, but what about to a player? Dave
  8. dsreiner
    On this topic, I have an amazing fiddle made from matchsticks and popsicle sticks by a prisoner in Kentucky. He called it a "Voodoo Fiddle," with interesting inlays and a bridge in the shape of a lizard. I posted some photos on my homepage over at the Fiddle Hangout (http://www.fiddlehangout.com/myhangout/photos.asp?id=385). Dave
  9. dsreiner
    Just in case you need a few more reasons to join us for the upcoming Nov. 14-16 weekend in Groton, MA Saturday night, Nov 15th: Free Coda bow giveaway (high-end Diamond SX model, retail value $575) to one lucky fiddler who is present, thanks to the Codabow company! Free violin case giveaway thanks to Michael Richwine of Kansas City Strings! Fiddle bottle giveaways to youngest fiddler present, oldest fiddler present, and fiddler who has traveled from farthest away. Previous winners ineligible. Sunday 1PM, Nov. 16th: Free Bobelock violin case giveaway (new model 4002, retail val
  10. dsreiner
    I'd say fiddle solo rather than violin solo is what you're likely looking for. You should be able to find plenty of versions played by bluegrass / oldtime bands on iTunes or other online sources. The two pdfs above are not quite representative, since the first is for two fiddle parts, and the second is the unadorned melody. Fiddlers tend to play great double stops on this tune; my band does it in D rather than C. Regards, Dave
  11. dsreiner
    What: Fiddle Hell is a free, informal gathering of fiddlers to meet, jam, learn, and have fun. The invention of the late, great fiddler Dale Hopkins, Fiddle Hell occurs periodically in fun locations worldwide. Prior Fiddle Hells have occurred in the US, the UK, and Germany. The term Fiddle Hell refers to the Saturday night portion of the program when all the fiddlers play a few tunes in unison. Last year, during the weekend of Nov 2-4, 2007, we had 110+ musicians, mostly fiddlers, at the third Massachusetts Fiddle Hell, including fiddlers from 10 states and 4 foreign countries! There is no
  12. dsreiner
    I wholeheartedly agree with what Bob and Mark and others said, about reasons for AEAE (ringing fiddle, easier double stops, playing an octave down) and about some common cross-tunings. As Don said, this is a very traditional approach in Southern oldtime and various other styles. Eck Robertson played his famous 13-variation version of Sally Gooden in AEAE (recorded in 1922). When I was transcribing cross-tuned fiddle tunes for my book, Oldtime Fiddling Across America, I had to address an interesting question. Do you transcribe as if the fiddle is tuned standard (as Thede did in The Fiddl
  13. dsreiner
    You missed it! But Fiddle Hell will return on November 14-16, 2008. Plan to be there! Dave
  14. dsreiner
    I'll be teaching a workshop on bluegrass fiddle chording at the Joe Val Bluegrass Festival in Framingham, MA, at 4PM on Sat Feb 16th. Playing chords helps you construct solo breaks, fill out your sound, play harmonies to another instrument, and back up singers. The festival will sell out soon, info at www.bbu.org Dave Reiner
  15. dsreiner
    Two days and counting... Fiddlers are coming from 10 states and two foreign countries. We've added more jams and workshops for different fiddle styles and techniques, including several slow-speed workshops on common tunes, and a kids' workshop on Sunday. If this were an "official" weekend fiddle camp it would cost you $300 or more! We ask for a $20 donation -- if you can afford it. See you there... Dave
  16. dsreiner
    The schedule, common tune list, and hints for jamming are now posted online . You don't have to sign up -- just come join us for a few hours or the whole weekend. Dave
  17. dsreiner
    What: Fiddle Hell is a free, informal gathering of fiddlers to meet, jam, learn, and have fun. The invention of the late, great fiddler Dale Hopkins, Fiddle Hell occurs periodically in fun locations worldwide. Prior Fiddle Hells have occurred in the US, the UK, and Germany. The term Fiddle Hell refers to the Saturday night portion of the program when all the fiddlers play a few tunes in unison. Last year, during the weekend, we had 110 musicians, mostly fiddlers, at the second Massachusetts Fiddle Hell. In 2007, we expect more, including fiddlers from Texas, Florida, and Europe! How about
  18. dsreiner
    We've added a couple of workshops and jams (Scottish fiddle, beginning fiddle, and more) to the schedule on my website. See you there this weekend! Dave
  19. dsreiner
    Don't be stodgy! Loosen up and join us at Fiddle Hell in Groton, MA, Dec 8-10. The workshops are particularly good at helping classical players understand more about fiddling techniques such as bowing and chording. Dave
  20. dsreiner
    What: Fiddle Hell is a free, informal gathering of fiddlers to meet, jam, learn, and have fun. The invention of the late, great fiddler Dale Hopkins, Fiddle Hell occurs periodically in fun locations worldwide. Prior Fiddle Hells have occurred in the US, the UK, and Germany. The term Fiddle Hell refers to the Saturday night portion of the program when all the fiddlers play a few tunes in unison. Last year, during the weekend, we had 35 musicians, mostly fiddlers, at the first Massachusetts Fiddle Hell. In 2006, we expect quite a few more, including fiddlers from Texas, Florida, and Europe!
  21. dsreiner
    More info at http://www.mugwumps.com/bcn.html This is at Grotonwood, about an hour northwest of Boston, and should be a lot of fun as always. Dave
  22. dsreiner
    Stop in for a few hours, a day, or the whole time! Free! There are quite a few local fiddlers coming, as well as some out-of-staters. There will be a bunch of good backup players, too, to bring some balance to the jams. The workshops (such as bowing patterns and chords) will be excellent -- hands-on, with informative handouts. The jams will be the real thing -- bluegrass, old-time, Texas, Irish, swing, Cape Breton, Western Swing, New England, and other styles. The location is great -- a cozy New England Inn on a winter weekend. See you there... Dave Reiner More info at my web
  23. dsreiner
    Some really useful free workshops at Fiddle Hell: Dec 10 11AM: Cool rags for the fiddle workshop (Dave Reiner) 1PM: Extend your reach with 5-string fiddle workshop (Adam Sweet) 2:30PM: Essential bowing patterns & accents workshop (Dave Reiner) 4PM: Incredible chop bowing workshop (Andy Reiner) Dec 11 11AM: Demystifying chords for the fiddle workshop (Dave Reiner)
  24. dsreiner
    On Saturday night at Fiddle H e l l, after each fiddler has played a tune for the rest, we'll play some tunes together, and several people have asked what these might be. While there will be many thousands of rare and beautiful tunes played over the 3-day weekend, we're looking for some common tunes that most fiddlers will know. Here are some suggestions to start with -- tunes that are often played by all the fiddlers together after a New England fiddle contest, plus a few more. Some of these are "overplayed," but still can be fun, especially in adding harmonies. We'll likely group tunes
  25. dsreiner
    I'll be teaching a hands-on, one-hour workshop on "Three fiddling secrets!" at the NOMAD festival on 11/5 in New Haven, CT. This will cover bowing, chords, and variations. Dave Reiner See http://www.nomadfest.org for more information