Hi Captain,

Over the years, I have noticed something which I thought was strange and interesting. There are people like Johnny "Ti Jean" Carignan who seemed to do the bow hold "all wrong" according to some classical players. Yet, his feeling and interpretation seemed to be more important than his technique which was prodigious (though some called it "wrong").

I have noticed that some folks who pick up Irish playing don't have the feel. There is something in the genes or phenotypes, I think, that emanates from the Irish culture. The people who pick it up "second hand" may be playing correctly and getting a good tone but their playing doesn't "lilt"or dance. It's like the classical musician who attempts to play jazz. It doesn't "swing". Much of this is subjective and there will be disagreement on this area of interpretation. OTOH, I enjoy very much Mairead Nesbitt's playing with Celtic Woman because she seems to successfully do both. She plays with a very "Irish" feel, in my opinion, with a flawless classical technique.

This is by way of saying that just because you have good classical technique does not automatically mean you can play every type of music on the violin or fiddle. Some of it is cultural, genetic or phenotypical. Some of it means having grown up with it regardless of what classical technique you choose.

I know of a lady who plays correctly with all the notes and ornaments but she comes from a different world of Scottish fiddling and it doesn't translate to Irish. She can articulate the crans and ornaments with long bows or do the Donegal trebling but it just doesn't sound Irish
to me. It doesn't lilt or dance.

Frank Hamilton