To Thread - Forum Home

The Mudcat Café TM
https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=26025
7 messages

Question about notation in fiddle music

01 Oct 00 - 09:02 PM (#309917)
Subject: Question about notation in fiddle music
From: Marion

Hello. I have some pages from an oldish book of Scottish fiddle music, and something in the sheet music that I don't understand.

In several places I see a "double" note: there are two circles in the same position on the ledger, slightly overlapping, with one line sticking up (or down) from between them.

My teacher says that this means that I should do a quick bow cut in the middle of whatever length of time that note takes - that the presence of two circles mean the note should be cut in two.

However, I have found that this double symbol ONLY appears with D, A, and E (the D, A, and E that are on open strings). So I suspect that the double note means that the open string should be played simultaneously with the fretted equivalent on the string below.

Am I right?

Marion


01 Oct 00 - 09:17 PM (#309924)
Subject: RE: Question about notation in fiddle music
From: Bud Savoie

I would say yes, but oldish notation just might mean a bow cut. I have never seen anything like that, but the "prime" is often one note with two lines, one up and one down.


01 Oct 00 - 09:17 PM (#309925)
Subject: RE: Question about notation in fiddle music
From: Sorcha

Yes, Marion, you are correct. One is a fingered 4th, the other is the open string which matches it. Called a double stop.


01 Oct 00 - 09:24 PM (#309930)
Subject: RE: Question about notation in fiddle music
From: Marion

Holy rapid responses. Thanks.

Bud, what's a prime? Is that the same as a tonic? I've seen the one-circle/two-lines symbol that you mention - I always thought that meant that the sopranos and altos were singing the same note temporarily.

Sorcha, or anyone, I thought when you play a fingered 4th with the matching open string that was called a unison, and playing two fretted notes simultaneously was a double stop, and playing a fretted note with a non-matching open string was a drone. Is this more or less right?

Thanks, Marion


01 Oct 00 - 09:42 PM (#309941)
Subject: RE: Question about notation in fiddle music
From: Sorcha

Unisons, yea, I guess. I just call em all double stops if they are fingered. Continuous open string is drone, with fingerings usually on the string above it.


01 Oct 00 - 10:15 PM (#309968)
Subject: RE: Question about notation in fiddle music
From: Bud Savoie

As I understand it, "prime" is the, ahem, correct way to describe playing the same note on the next lower string. Marion Thede uses the term in "The Fiddle Book."


02 Oct 00 - 09:22 AM (#310186)
Subject: RE: Question about notation in fiddle music
From: IanS

I have noticed that a lot of fiddlers play these unison notes with there 3rd finger with quite an aggressive slide up to the unison. I've always used my 4th finger with a more subtle slide.

How does everybody else play them ?

On the same subject Gina Le Faux does a brilliant version of Jacksons Reel (the one in D not the Em one) with fingered drones through most of the tune - the 4th finger is held down while the tune is played on the next string.