Arto & Antti Järvelä workshop

Posted on September 25, 2014 by Paul Tyler

Finnish Fiddle & Guitar workshop with
Arto Järvelä & Antti Järvelä
Seman Violins (4447 W. Oakton, Skokie).
Monday, October 6
Admission is $15 at the door. *
A family friendly workshop will begin at 5:30pm followed by the regular workshop at 7pm.

* Present a ticket stub from Arto & Antti’s concert at the Old Town School of Folk Music on Sunday. Click here for information and reservations on what is sure to be a fabulous show.

Top ten reasons why you don’t want to miss this workshop.
10. This is Arto’s 3rd visit to Fiddle Club of the World. **
9. Arto’s first two visits were awesome.
8. Polskas are awesome
7. Finnish fiddling is both archaic and contemporary.
6. Järveläs have been playing the fiddle for at least 7 generations.
5. Antti is a really friendly guy.
4. This will be a load of fun.
3. Antti and Arto are awesome musicians.
2. Arto is one of Fiddle Club’s best friends.
1. Did I mention that Finnish fiddling is awesome?

** Check out these previous Fiddle Club posts (or just click Arto’s name in the tag cloud in right hand column). Check back later in case they send us more tunes.

Like these . . .
Foops two polskas from Maria Spoofs manuscript collection, circa 1800.

Reinon Knäpsäys a polkka (aka polka)

Arto Järvelä’s 2009 visit – reprise

Posted on March 3, 2012 by Paul Tyler

Links to tunes he taught

— NEW! – –
All the tunes Arto taught in September 2009 gathered onto one page . . .
on DrDosido.net

From the Flog [Fiddle student blog (now defunct)], here are links to all the tunes he taught in workshops and to classes during his residency at the Old Town School in September 2009.
Weeks 1 & 2
Weeks 3 & 4

From the Fiddle Club blog, here are the tunes he gave us in 2009.
Arto Järvelä tunes

Special Meeting, Special Guests, This Saturday

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Paul Tyler

Arto Järvelä with Kaivama – Finnish Trad
Saturday, March 3, 7:30p
Old Town School East (4545 Lincoln), Rm E324

We welcome back Arto Järvelä, our good friend from Finland, for his second visit to Fiddle Club of the World. Many of us have warm memories of his residency at the Old Town School in 2009. Joining him for their second visit to the Old Town School is Kaivama, the duo of Sara Pajunen and Jonathan Rundman, from the Northwoods of Minnesota. Separately and together they have excavated many beautiful, archaic gems from the music traditions of the Finnish people, while also contributing new melodies in those ancient keys.

Here’s a sample, recorded during their visit in June 2011, when the three of them dropped in on my Fiddle 4 class.

Minuet efter Matti Haudanmaa

Arto Järvelä & Kaivama
(click here for another view)

To learn a couple of tunes to play with Arto, click here to listen, or here for the notes.

$15 dues for only this meeting, click here to register.

Join Fiddle Club of the World for $60 yearly dues, support our guest artists and save 20% off the spring schedule alone. You will then have free admission for the rest of your year-long membership. Plus you get your own very cool Fiddle Club card.

Notes for Arto Järvelä Tunes

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Paul Tyler

Arto returns for another good tune session
His first visit to Fiddle Club in September 2009 was a memorable night. He’d like to play some of those tunes again. I’ll post some links later this week. He also sent us a few new ones, which were posted earlier. Listen to the tunes, first and often, while learning to play them from the following notation.

ABC Notation. Free software to read, print and play the ABCs is available here. And a short tutorial on ABC notation for fiddlers can be downloaded from the Old Town School’s Tune Archive using this link.

X:5
T:Wikström Vals
M:3/4
L:1/8
S:Arto Järvelä
K:Am
A2 | d2d^c de | f2e2 d2 | d2^c2 cc | ^c4 A2 |
A2^cd ef | g2f2 e2 | f2dd d2 | d4 ::
c2 | f3e fg | a2g2 f2 | e3d ^cB | A4 A2 |
Ad2^c de | f2e2 d2 | ^c3A ce | a4 g2 |
f2e2 d2 | ^c2A2 c2 | e2d2 d2 | d4 :|

X:6
T:Starc 44
T:Stare 44
M:3/4
L:1/16
S:Arto Järvelä
K:D
d2A2 F2A2 d2f2 | {fg}f2ed c4 A4 | d2ef g2{fg}f2 e2d2 | dcBA B2B2 A2(3ABc |
d2A2 F2A2 d2f2 | {fg}f2ed c4 A4 | d2ef {ga}g2eg {fg}f2df {ef}e2ce d8 ::
a2f2 f2d2 d2A2 | b2f2 g4 e4 |d2ef g2{fg}f2 e2d2 | dcBA B2B2 A2(3efg |
a2f2 f2d2 d2A2 | b2f2 g4 e4 |d2ef {ga}g2eg {fg}f2df {ef}e2ce d8 :|

With the Starc polska, I tried to notate it roughly the way Arto played it, with suggestions for ornamentation. Here is a starker (pun intended) published notation for Starc 44.

Answers to questions I’ve been asked about Fiddle Club. If you have a yearly subscription, you do not need to register. We welcome everyone who wants to hear and/or learn some Finnish fiddling. It would be great if you register online, but you can also pay at the front desk on Saturday night.

Two Fabulous Guests

Posted on February 19, 2012 by Paul Tyler

David Greely – Cajun Fiddler
Friday, February 24, 7:30
Old Town School East (4545 Lincoln), Rm E324

David Greely

Founding fiddler of the Mamou Playboys, David Greely has assembled a repertoire of uncommon Cajun music and new companion pieces to entertain and inspire you.

To learn a couple of tunes to play with David, click here.

$15 dues for either of these meetings, click here.

Arto Järvelä with Kaivama – Finnish Trad
Saturday, March 3, 7:30p
Old Town School East (4545 Lincoln), Rm E324

Arto Järvelä & Kaivama

Born to a family of fiddlers from Kaustinen, the epicenter of Finnish fiddling, our good friend Arto Järvelä makes a return to fiddle club, bringing with him Kaivama, the Minnesota-based duo of Sara Pajunen and Jonathan Rundman, for their second visit to the Old Town School.

To learn a couple of tunes to play with Arto, click here.

line
Join Fiddle Club of the World for $60 yearly dues, support our guest artists and save 20% off the spring schedule alone. You will then have free admission for the rest of your year-long membership. Plus you get your own very cool Fiddle Club card.

Tunes from Arto Järvelä

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Paul Tyler

Arto Järvelä is the first Fiddle Club of the World guest to make a return appearance. Along with Kaivama, a duo from Minnesota, he will be perform at the Fiddle Club meeting on Saturday, March 3rd at 7:30pm in room E324 in Old Town School East (4545 Lincoln). He’s looking forward to another good jam session after their concert. Here are some tunes to work on.

Kesäkuun Polkka, a polka in 2/4

Masurkka Eräjärveltä, a mazurka in 3/4

Wikström’s Vals, a waltz in 3/4

An ancient polonaise or polska in triple time that Arto learned from a 1806 manuscript collection kept by Adolf Frederik Starc (or Stare) in Turku, the old capital city of Finland.
Starc No. 44

Stare No. 44 stemma, a 2nd voice

For notation to some of these tunes, click here.

You might also want to check out the tunes Arto gave us for his last Fiddle Club appearance in September 2009. Click here. Plus, here is a new super-link to all the tunes he taught in workshops and to classes during his residency at the Old Town School in September 2009: DrDosido.net.

Dues for the March 3rd meeting are $15 – you can register here (03/03/12).
Save money with a yearly subscription of $60. It gives you admission to all Fiddle Club events.

Fiddle Club meetings for Fall 2009

Posted on September 18, 2009 by Paul Tyler

ARTO JÄRVELÄ – Sept. 25

Arto Järvelä is a world-class musician from Järvelä, a small village just across the Perho River from the slightly less smaller town of Kaustinen, seismic center of the Finnish Folk Music explosion of the last few decades. Arto’s grandfather Johannes led the Järvelän Pelimannit (Järvelä Village Fiddlers) through the 1970s. Since then, Arto has made a name for himself as a solo fiddler and as a member of many important folk bands, such as Pinnin Pojat, the Helsinki Mandolinners and Nordic Tree. He perhaps is best known for JPP (short for Järvelän Pikkupelimannit, or little village fiddlers band).

Arto will perform Finnish polskas, polkkas, sotiisis (schottisches) and more on fiddle and nyckleharpa (Swedish keyed-fiddle).

Nyckelharpa
Arto Järvelä will play for the Fiddle Club of the World on
Friday, September 25, 2009 at 7:30pm
Leadway Bar & Gallery (5233 N. Damen)

Click here to register for Arto’s visit to the Fiddle Club of the World

Go here to download Arto’s jam session tunes.

PETE SUTHERLAND – Oct. 16

Pete Sutherland is a fiddler’s fiddle (also a master songwriter and multi-insturmentalist). A native of Vermont’s Champlain Valley, Pete sojourned in southern Indiana during the 1980s, where your Fiddle Club convener was lucky enough to live, dance and soak up tunes. Pete’s band credits include Arm & Hammer Stringband, Metamora and the Clayfoot Strutters.

Pete will be joined on his visit to the Fiddle Club by Jeremaiah McLane (piano & accordion) and Mark Roberts (flute & banjo). They are in town for a barn dance and workshops at the University of Chicago, where they will spin out more driving square dance and contra dance melodies to complete a great Fall weekend.

Pete Sutherland

Pete Sutherland, with Jeremiah McLane & Mark Roberts
will play for the Fiddle Club of the World on
Friday, October 16, 2009 at 7:30pm
Leadway Bar & Gallery (5233 N. Damen)
NB: location may be changed to a larger venue

Click here to register for Pete’s visit to the Fiddle Club of the World

Go here to download Pete’s jam session tunes

RUTH BALL – Oct. 25

Ruth and her accompanist, Tom Cronin, are from Newcastle, England.
Unfortunately, the US Department of Homespun Inferiority might interfere with this meeting. Plans for a substitute guest artist are underway. Stay tuned for more details

(Click picture for a full view.)

KENNY STONE – Nov. 22

Chicagoland Bluegrass. Jam session tunes to be posted in October.

Kenny Stone of the Chicago Bluegrass Band
and a master folk artist for Traditional Arts Indiana

SEASON PASS for all four Fall 2009 Fiddle Club meetings is available through Sept. 25.

All meetings scheduled for
Leadway Bar & Gallery
5233 N. Damen
Chicago, Illinois

-Paul Tyler, convener
Fiddle Club of the World (Chicago Chapter)

Arto Järvelä tunes notated

Posted on September 17, 2009 by Paul Tyler

These transcriptions of Arto Järvelä’s tunes were made by Paul Tyler as a sketch of the general melody. Arto’s uses more fingered and bowed ornaments, double stops and subtle variations in playing the tunes. Listen carefully to the recordings, as posted here.

Click on thumbnail to enlarge.
(The music sheet should print nicely.)

Arto Järvelä will be performing at the Fiddle Club of the World‘s meeting on Friday, September 25 at the Leadway Bar & Gallery (5233 N. Damen). Click here to register, or call 773.728.6000.

Nota Bene: Musical notation is only a guide to one way to play a tune. Use the written notes along with the recordings. If you hear something different than what is written down, good. Trust your ears. Play what you hear.

Arto Järvelä’s visit to Chicago: nearing the final week

Posted on September 17, 2009 by Paul Tyler

Don’t miss hearing Arto play. It is sublime.

Check out this tune he made up while sitting on our couch: Kostner Avenue Waltz

This Saturday, he’ll be doing 2 workshops and a concert at Little Prairie Farm (aka Dot & Chirps place) near Kettle Moraine State Park in Wisconsin. Here’s the information on a flier

Don’t forget his appearance at the Fiddle Club of the World on Friday, Sept. 25 and the workshop on new Finnish folk fiddling on Saturday, Sept. 26, his last day here.

Here are some more artistic selections for you to enjoy.

A tune on nyckelharpa (aka keyed-fiddle)
Hellstrand 1990 (composed by Arto Järvelä)

and one on fiddle
or
Jarvelan Antin polska

Arto Jarvela with nyckelharpa
Arto Järvelä with nyckelharpa

— NEW! – –
All the tunes Arto taught in September 2009 gathered onto one page . . .
on DrDosido.net

Arto Järvelä tunes

Posted on September 7, 2009 by Paul Tyler

Here are solo fiddle performances by Arto of three tunes we can all play together at the jam. Arto learned both the march (marssi) and polska from Elias Tallari of Kuortane, Finland. The waltz (valssi) is “efter” (from the playing of) Johan Petter Ragvals of Övermark.

Peli-Jussin syömämarssi

slow

Peli-Jussin syömämarssi can also be heard on the CD “Arto Järvelä Plays Violin” (there is a tunebook with the same name) one of the many you can purchase from Arto during his residency at the Old Town School.

Mäläskän kuoleman polska

slow

Both polskas and waltzes are in 3/4 time. But it is easy to hear that they are for totally different dances.

Ragvalsin valssi

slow

Go here to view Paul Tyler’s notation of Arto’s tunes.

Arto Järvelä will be performing at the Fiddle Club‘s meeting on Friday, September 25 at the Leadway Bar & Gallery (5233 N. Damen). Click here to register, or call 773.728.6000.