A Country Rag Gloria!

An Appalachian traditional music festival always showcases a rainbow of different instruments and players, some common, some extremely rare. Attendees may see anything from guitars to dulcimers, from mandolins to banjos, from musical saws to harp-guitars-you name it, you’re likely to find it. But the one instrument which will always be present, whose voice will be heard above all, is the fiddle.

Since the earliest settlement days on this continent, the fiddle has been a part of American culture. In the sixteenth century primitive forms of the fiddle were found in settlements in Canada. Music was an integral aspect of life in the American colonies from the 1600s on, especially in the Southern settlements; in the majority of communities, no matter how small, there would be someone who played music. If not, someone from a neighboring community would be hired to come in and provide entertainment for a special occasion. Along the way other instruments were added to the social mix, but the most frequently found instrument was the fiddle. In fact, people went to great lengths to get their hands on something even vaguely resembling a fiddle. There are extant examples of home-made instruments, fashioned by resourceful musicians from such disparate items as cigar boxes and tin cans; this speaks volumes for the importance of the fiddle to these tough-minded but gentle-souled people. The entertainment value of watching talented players quickly caught on; records in Hanover County, Virginia indicate that as early as 1736 fiddlers in the area were competing against one another for money and prestige.

Here in the shadow of the Appalachian ranges, Southern music’s affinity for the fiddle is quite audible. In the region’s three most prevalent types of traditional music-the classic “old-time” music, the more contemporary bluegrass music and the primitive, hard-core “mountain music”-the fiddle has always been a cherished participant. This is largely attributable to the Celtic roots which all three musical genres share. Indeed, this Celtic heritage is one of the richest socio-cultural veins in the Appalachian South even today. From the early eighteenth century on, immigrants from Ireland and Scotland poured into this region; by 1800, more than 750,000 residents of Celtic lineage shaped the emerging Southern way of life. As these immigrants created new lives in this area, they brought with them their culture’s ancient love of music, song and dance. The world they had left behind in Great Britain and Ireland was one where people would gather as often as possible for “guid craic”, which was to be had at a ceilidh or dance. One of the guests of honor at these gatherings would be a fiddler. The link of the fiddler and the dance was a crucial one; often, in the rural areas, a dance succeeded or failed on the strength of the solo fiddler’s playing. However, dances were held by all classes of society, and the fiddle was played by artists in all social classes. Unlike the bagpipes or the harp, which were generally found only in the houses of the wealthy, the fiddle and its music crossed all social boundaries.

When these people started their new lives in the colonies, they brought their music with them, and the fiddle continued to be a major part of their world. This instrument, through its music, served as an aural memory of the lives they left behind; it also helped them to settle in and find comfort in the new society in which they found themselves. Just as dance had been important in Europe, it was also a popular reason for social gatherings throughout the colonies, in both rural and urban communities. Many of the dance tunes played by the fiddlers came straight out of their memories of their Celtic homes. Hundred of tunes came over to the U.S., to be adopted into Southern culture with open arms and ears. For example, the eighteenth-century Scottish tune “Little Beggar Man” was taken to Ireland, where it became known as “The Red-Haired Boy”. It was later transported to the Southern colonies, where it retained its Irish name but became a renowned American old-time fiddle tune. The same was true for a Scottish Highland reel known as “Miss Macleod’s of Raasay”. Upon arrival in this country, the tune name was shortened to “Miss Macleod’s” or “Miss McCloud’s”. It developed in to the song “Did You Ever Go A-Courtin’ Uncle Joe”, and west of the Mississippi the melody became known as “Hop High Ladies”. “Miss McCloud’s” has become a fiddle standard among old-time and bluegrass players, as has a tune known as “Devil’s Dream”-possibly the best-known of all bluegrass fiddle showpieces. Predictably, this latter tune also has roots in the Celtic world. It started life in Scotland as “De’il Among the Tailors” in the early eighteenth century; the name was taken from a popular board game of the age.

Not only was the repertory of the Celtic world preserved in the music of the fiddler-some of the players’ ornaments traveled over from Scotland and Ireland. For example, in both old-time and bluegrass music one of the signature sounds in fiddle playing is the use of open string drones underneath a melody. This is a direct borrowing out of the older piping tradition in Scotland, one which a Southern traditional player would never do without. It is also an ever-present reminder of the rich, exciting music which gives the fiddle its voice.

The Appalachian fiddle repertory had a sizeable number of additions from the other cultural groups who settled in this area, such as the Germans and the English, but by far the Celtic tunes reigned supreme for this versatile instrument.

Through the distillation of passing time, Southern Appalachian music has achieved its own distinctive sound, one which cannot be mistaken for any other style. In the development of this sound, the fiddle has played a seminal role. Fiddlers’ conventions have become a staple of this part of the world, an important gathering place for those who cherish the old tunes and the players who can keep them alive. Whether you are at Mount Airy, Galax, Fiddler’s Grove, Star in North Carolina, Grayson County in Virginia, Clifftops in West Virginia or at Star in North Carolina, the music you will hear contains both the echoes of our past and the lively spirit of today. Above all the guitar, banjos, string basses, mandolins and whatever else joins in, you will hear the bright sound of the fiddle dancing away into the night-as it has for nearly three hundred years. And in that dance you can hear the tread of those whose culture made us what we are in this region today.