Fiddle Club Meetings New and Old

New Fiddle Club meeting just arranged.

On Sunday, April 13 at 7pm we’ll be joined by special guests, the Folkestra, an 11-piece band from northern England. Details will be forthcoming as to location &c. We will have some tunes to learn ahead of time for what promises to be a memorable jam session. Mark your calendars.

An Old Meeting Noted in a Chicago Tribune Blog

Eric Zorn writes about a tune he found on the Fiddle Club of the World blog (this one!).

Chirps Smith alert! Video images and more.

 

Ten Strike strikes again!

When Chirps Smith visited the Fiddle Club of the World, he played a tune called “Ten Strike” that, well, struck a chord. A Club member requested that the tune be posted to this blog. It already has, on the report of the April 20th meeting. It’s still worth taking a closer look at “Ten Strike.” (Here it is again.)

Ten Strike by Chirps Smith

Chirps learned the tune from the playing of Les Raber (1911-2000), a lifelong resident of Michigan. We both heard Les play the tune on numerous occasions. On this example, I am seconding on guitar and Paul Gifford is on hammered dulcimer. It’s February 1998, and we’re getting Les prepared to perform that summer at the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes in Port Townsend, Washington. The scene is the cozy living room of Les and Rosemary’s farmhouse outside of Hastings in rural Barry County.

Ten Strike by Les Raber

Properly speaking, the tune is for the 4th figure or change of the Ten Strike quadrille, as printed in Gems of the Ballroom, compiled circa 1890 by Geo. B. McCosh of Dekalb, Illinois. Les also played the tunes for both the 1st and 3rd changes. (In fact you can hear both on this CD: Come Dance With Me . . . Again.)

Ten Strike Quadrille in Gems of the Ballroom
(click to enlarge)

When I first met Les in 1981, Paul Gifford had, at my behest, brought him along from Michigan to Battle Ground to perform at the Indiana Fiddlers Gathering. Les had just acquired a copy of the first violin edition of Gems of the Ballroom, had polished up his music-reading skills, and was working his way through book while sitting under the shade of a tall oak that had witnessed the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811, a full century before his birth.

Here’s how, over ten years ago, I wrote down what Les played.

Notation of Les

There is some debate whether Geo. B. McCosh’s “Ten Strike, No. 4” is the source for “Oklahoma Rooster,” a tune associated with old-time fiddler Uncle Dick Hutchison. You can judge for yourself.

Oklahoma Rooster

Paul Tyler, convener
May 14, 2008

Report on April 08 meeting

Lynn “Chirps” Smith was our featured guest, playing a variety of old time dance tunes native to the Midwestern United States.

Chirps cut his old-time teeth during his college days in Charleston, Illinois, where he played with the Indian Creek Delta Boys. More importantly, following the lead of fiddler Garry Harrison, the “Crik Delters” recorded and learned tunes from scores of senior fiddlers in the southern and eastern reaches of the Prairie State. Several of these tunes showed up in Chirps’ performance at the Leadway Bar & Gallery.

Ten Cents
Joe Wingerter tune
Stella’s Jig
Gallatin Special

He started his set off with a version of “Paddy on the Turnpike,” which may owe something to Harvey “Pappy” Taylor of Effingham. But then again, it may have been closer to the “Paddy on the Handcar” recorded in 1928 by Texas fiddler A.L. “Red” Steeley.

For the last several decades, Chirps has lived in the Chicago area. For much of that time, he played with the Volo Bogtrotters an old-time string band named after a natural feature located a short hop away from Chirps’ home in Grayslake. Representing that period of his life are tunes he learned first-hand from elders elsewhere in the Midwest, including Les “Red” Raber from Michigan, Nile Wilson from Missouri, Dwight “Red” Lamb from Iowa, and Lotus Dickey from Indiana.

Ten Strike
Old Reunion
Old Ladies Pickin’ Chickens
Sweet Bundy

Other pieces he played were learned from lesser known recordings of Nebraska fiddler Bob Walters, and a favorite piece of the Native and Métis fiddlers from Central provinces of Canada.

Bob Walter’s Hornpipe
Red River Jig

Finally, we must note that Chirps is now a resident of Wisconsin. Thus he performed a piece learned from a recording of Leonard Finseth of Mondovi, and a waltz from Madison-area concertinist (I believe he calls a bandoneon), Bruce Bollerud.

Stegen Waltz
Leonard Finseth’s Polka

Around 30 musicians enjoyed the performance and the jam that followed. We played all six of the tunes posted earlier on this blog. Plus a bunch more. A request was made for “Ten Strike,” the Les Raber quadrille piece, to be posted here. The tune is, in fact, the melody to be played for the 4th figure of the Ten Strike quadrille, as printed in Gems of the Ballroom (compiled circa 1890 by Geo. B. McCosh of Dekalb, Illinois). Les learned the tune from the book, which he had just acquired in 1981 when I brought him to perform at the Indiana Fiddlers Gathering in Battle Ground. Here’s the the tune as played by Chirps. It’s in C.


Ten Strike
[audio  http://drdosido.net/fiddleclub/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/ten-strike1.mp3]

The next Fiddle Club of the World meeting is coming up soon, on Saturday, May 10. It will feature the Cajun team of Will & Holly Whedbee.

Paul Tyler, convener

Notation for Chirps Smith tunes

All tunes transcribed by Paul Tyler. 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.

Click on thumbnail to enlarge.

Notation of Chirps Smith tunes

Written music is a sketch. Sound documents are the ultimate authority.

Go here to hear some Chirps Smith tunes, and more Chirps Smith tunes.

Chirps Smith performed at the Fiddle Club of the World’s meeting on Sunday, April 10 14 at the Leadway Bar & Gallery.

For now, the Old Town School is handling the club meetings as if they were workshops. Call 773.728.6000 to register. Cost is $12. Your name will then be entered on a list that allows entrance to the club meeting. Only those registered for the workshop will be considered members. Space is limited. Register early.

More tunes from Chirps

Ten Cents
From Jim Reed of Benton, Illinois.

slow version of Ten Cents


Bob Walter’s Hornpipe
From Bob Walter (1889-1960), who played on the radio in Shenandoah, Iowa and for many dances on the Central Plains.

slow version of Bob Walter’s Hornpipe


Leonard Finseth’s Polka in G
A Norwegian-American fiddler from Mondovi, Wisconsin.

slow version of the Polka in G


All tunes recorded by P. Tyler at Chirps’ new country home in LaGrange, Wisconsin on March 30, 2008

Go to Paul Tyler’s transcriptions of these Chirps Smiths tunes.

To hear the first batch of Chirps Smith tunes.

Chirps Smith is the featured guest for the Fiddle Club of the World’s meeting on Sunday, April 20 at the Leadway Bar & Gallery.

Some tunes from Chirps Smith

Stella’s Jig
From Stella Elam (1902-83) of Brownstown, Illinois.

slow version of Stella’s Jig


Rocky Road to Jordan
From Casey Jones (1910-87), who played on the radio in Shenandoah, Iowa.

slow version of Rocky Road to Jordan


Mississippi Palisades
An original by Lynn “Chirps” Smith. From Chirps’s home recordings. Watch this space for more.

slow version of Mississippi Palisades


Go to Paul Tyler’s transcriptions of these Chirps Smiths tunes.

To hear more Chirps Smith tunes.

Chirps Smith will be performing at the Fiddle Club of the World’s meeting on Sunday, April 20 at the Leadway Bar & Gallery.

For now, the Old Town School is handling the club meetings as if they were workshops. Call 773.728.6000 to register. Cost is $12. Your name will then be entered on a list that allows entrance to the club meeting. Only those registered for the workshop will be considered members. Space is limited. Register early.

Announcing the Fiddle Club of the World

Meetings of the Fiddle Club of the World are scheduled for the party room of

Leadway Bar and Gallery
5233 N. Damen Ave.
Chicago, IL 60625
773-728-2663

Space is limited, so register early.

March 14 (Fri) 7:30 – Paddy Jones
Paddy Jones
Paddy Jones is one of the last pure players of the traditional music of Sliabh Luchra (pronounced Shleeve Lew-cra), a mountainous region on the borderland between Counties Kerry and Cork in the southwest corner of Ireland. The distinctive style of this region makes heavy use of polkas and slides, and relies less on the reels and jigs that are more standard in the “trad” Irish repertoire. The undisputed master of the Sliabh Luchra style was the legendary Padraig O’Keefe, who was Paddy Jones’ teacher.

Go here to hear some Paddy Jones tunes.

April 20 (Sun) 6:30 – Lynn “Chirps” Smith

Chirps Smith
Traditional tunes from downstate Illinois and beyond are the forte of this fiddler long known for his work with the Volo Bogtrotters. Chirps now plays with the New Bad Habits.

Go here to hear some Chirps Smith tunes.

 
 

May 10 (Sat) 3:30 – Will & Holly Whedbee
Will & Holly Whedbee

Cajun two-steps, waltzes and more will be offered up by this fiddling duo from the Chicago Cajun Aces.or

Go here to hear some Whedbee tunes.

 

 

Sign up quick. Find workshops here.