Fiddle tunes

[Martin_F]

I know that some of you out there like to pick some fiddle tunes on the guitar. I am wondering, what is everyone's favourite fiddle tunes for the guitar?

I sometimes go to the Old Time Fiddle Tunes page as a repository of fiddle tunes: https://www.mne.psu.edu/lamancusa/tunes.html

Picking fiddle tunes is also a good way to practice sight-reading notes for the guitar and learning the fingerboard really well. Try to play some of the easier fiddle tunes in every major position on the fretboard (ie. I, V, VII X)! It can be a challenge!

So what does everyone think are the best? Which fiddle songs sound as good on guitar as on the fiddle? I think some songs tend to lose a little on the guitar.

Martin

[Ben M.]

Black mountain rag would be a good one to start with. There are plenty of tabs and lessons for it out there.

I’d recommend listening to some Doc Watson if you haven’t already. He was one of the first people to start playing fiddle tunes on the guitar.

Red haired boy, Old Joe Clark, Beaumont Rag, and Angeline the baker are some others that come to mind. They’re all pretty popular so it should be easy to find resources for them.

[RP]

I play a "medley" of Sailor's Hornpipe and Turkey in the Straw....

[Mr. Jelly]

Here are the top 10 fiddle tunes played by parkinglot pickers according to one sight.

1 BlackBerry Blossom
2 Whiskey Before Breakfast
3 Red Haired Boy
4 Wildwood Flower
5 Salt Creek
6 Black Mountain Rag
7 Soldier's Joy
8 Foggy Mountain Breakdown
9 Bill Cheatham
10 Billy in the Lowground

[CelticDude]

If your taste goes a bit more Irish, listen to John Doyle flatpicking jigs and reels (and combinations thereof). Pretty amazing.

[archerscreek]

Clarence White was so smooth he could make any fiddle tune sound as good on the guitar as it did on the fiddle. Check out his 33 Acoustic Guitar Instrumentals CD. And I love listening to Bill Monroe (in his prime) play fiddle tunes on his mandolin. He tore into ‘em.

Ten of my favorites offhand.
Gold Rush
Jerusalem Ridge
Temperance Reel
Stoney Point
Arkansas Traveler
St. AnneÂ’s Reel
Sally Goodin
Billy in the Low Ground
Forked Deer
Lost Indian

But I could go on and on. IÂ’m debating between Back Up and Push and Uncle Pen for my next one. Uncle Pen, though it has words, seems like itÂ’d be a natural for a fiddle tune as well.

[Mandobart]

Thanks for that link! I've been playing fiddle tunes on fiddle, mandolin and guitar for a long time. My favorites are Angeline the Baker, Big Scioty, Billy in the Lowground, Bill Cheatham, Cherokee Shuffle, Cuckoo's Nest, Blackberry Blossom, Forked Deer, Red Haired Boy, Sail Away Ladies, Saint Anne's Reel, Swinging on a Gate to name just a few.

[DukeX]

I'm not experienced in this area, but one of my favorite fingerstyle guitarists, Harvey Reid, is well known for adapting old fiddle tunes to fingerstyle guitar. He also uses various partial capos at times.

If you want to see what a master plays, check Harvey out: http://www.woodpecker.com/

[merlin666]

Only one I have memorized is Devil's Dream and I sure can't play it nearly as fast as my fiddler buddies.

[Erithon]

Lonesome Fiddle Blues

Other favorites:

• Jerusalem Ridge (mentioned above)
• The Rocky Road to Dublin

I play a lot more Celtic and Irish material than American folk so I slipped that second one in there

[Martin_F]

Originally Posted by Erithon

Lonesome Fiddle Blues

Other favorites:

• Jerusalem Ridge (mentioned about)
• The Rocky Road to Dublin

I play a lot more Celtic and Irish material than American folk so I slipped that second one in there

Gotta love the tune to The Rocky Road to Dublin!

Martin