I enjoy listening to both violin and fiddle playing though I play the fiddle (to me there is no snobbery involved - its just a stylistic description). A violinist calling themselves a fiddler or a fiddler calling themselves a violinist is just misrepresentation. Would a traditional singer call themselves an opera singer or visa versa ?

To Marion and her friend I would suggest that you try and get hold of a copy of Eileen Ivers first solo CD featuring an amazing version of Pachelbel's Canon. It starts off reasonably "classical" then herself and Winnifred Horan progressively turn up the Irish fiddle style.

I think this highlights the difference between the classical style being purely for listening and the fiddle style positively making you want to dance superbly, which I think is the basic difference.

Ian