Why play the fiddle (Sally in the Garden)

(Note, at the last minute after I'd already recorded the speaking for this podcast I picked a different Sally in the Garden, so this isn't Brad and Ken's version, it's Marion Sumner's.)

Welcome to the Fiddle Studio Podcast featuring tunes and stories from the world of traditional music and fiddling. I'm Meg Wobus-Beller and today I'll be bringing you a setting of the tune Sally in the Garden from a jam in Baltimore, <aryland.

Hello everyone, I hope you are well. We are getting into the heat of summer. I am working on my course Fiddle for Kids, or Fiddle Class, if you will, and you can check it out at fiddlestudiocom. It's coming along, should be out soon. You can check out all my courses there. Just go to fiddlestudiocom and click on courses. That's probably enough of an advertisment.

The topic this week is why play the fiddle. Week is why play the fiddle. I guess when I picked this topic I was thinking about just the reasons that folks pick up the fiddle. Because I'm a fiddler and a fiddle teacher. People talk to me about it. Talk to me about why they started or why they'd like to start. 

Sometimes they talk to me about why they'd never like to play the fiddle. Maybe I'll do a sister podcast called why Not Play the Fiddle. Actually I did do a podcast about stopping. That was kind of a silly topic. So this is just a discussion a little bit about why people get into fiddling, what they think about it. If you're curious about fiddling, yeah, I can just let you know what I hear. 

Maybe you'll have some new ideas or inspiration for fiddling or just kind of know how other people think about it, why they get into it. So there is the basic question why do we do anything? Something in us wants to do something and, based on our whatever combination of genetics and environment, we pick things to do. And some people pick playing the fiddle. 

I've heard from a lot of people who probably prefer classical violin. That's what inspires them, but they think fiddling will be easier. I don't think it's a bad reason to play. Why not Try it out? I think in some ways it is easier. 

But you can't really learn classical violin by learning fiddle. It's not like a stepping stone. To learn classical violin, you need to learn classical violin. It's like if you learn karate you haven't learned Muay Thai. Learn Muay Thai, you have to learn Muay Thai. Karate is a different thing and I would say the same. Like classical and fiddle, it is an easier alternative. 

And if you love the sound of the violin and you're feeling a little overwhelmed by you know, trying to work up to a concerto or something, a fiddle tune is going to be a much smaller hill to climb and you might find you like the repertoire and the sound. 

Who knows, now, some people are really drawn to the twang or the kind of folky country sound of the fiddle because they love the music. They love bluegrass or country, either as something they grew up with or knew from their parents or their grandparents, or sometimes just something they come across in the world and they're drawn to it. It's like oh, I love the sound of that. 

I talk to a lot of people who are like I just love the sound of the fiddle, the twang of the fiddle. A lot of classical violin players get the opposite. People maybe grew up playing in their school orchestra but they always loved the sound of fiddling. So they're trying to switch over the opposite of loving the sound of violin and getting into fiddling instead. 

There are folks who get started with the fiddle because of because of, like folk or traditional music heritage. I've taught kids and adults who were Irish, their family and they wanted to learn Irish music, or who had roots in Eastern Europe. You know Jewish folks who wanted to learn klezmer, or people from down south who wanted to learn some of the traditional music that came from that area. 

There are people who decide they want a hobby and they pick a hobby, and sometimes that hobby is fiddling. Maybe it's because you have a fiddle. Yeah, I've met people who said well, I have this fiddle for my uncle, have this fiddle from my cousin. I want to do something that challenges me, so I want to learn it. Basically just a hobby of opportunity, you could say. 

There's folks who are inspired by their friends or family members who played. I've taught a lot of kids like that. Oh, she saw her cousin play, or want to play, like my older brother. People like that, even someone that you heard or saw in a movie or on TV or read about in a book. Yeah, something inspiring involving fiddling and it sparks your interest. Yeah, a lot of different places to come from, but I guess all of these roads lead to the fiddle. If you're thinking about learning the fiddle, I recommend it. It's not too hard, it's very fun. Check out my courses if you need some help. Find some folks to play with. It'll be fun. 

Our tune this week is Sally in the Garden. This is a lovely old minor tune. Charlie plays it on the banjo. First. I heard it from him quite a bit back in the day when Charlie used to play a lot of banjo, and from playing it a few times recently in Baltimore. Here Seems to come out of Kentucky, as with several of the songs we're doing this month and there are some different versions with words, but I wouldn't say they were fine upstanding words, and Sally is usually not being a fine upstanding person in the garden. 

Maybe she's waiting to meet someone or maybe she's up to no good. Either way, we won't be doing the words but we will be doing the tune. So this is Sally in the Garden and there's a version on a Brad and Ken Kolodner album that you can check out where they pair it with Home with the Girls in the Morning. So a couple of really nice minor old time tunes. Here we go. 

Thank you. Thank you for listening. 

You can find the music for today's tune at fiddle studiocom, along with my books, courses and membership for learning to fiddle. I'll be back next week with another tune for you. Have a wonderful day.