Ask Craig: FAQ for oldtime fiddle
Here Craig Judelman gives answers to some of the most common questions oldtime fiddlers have. Of course, in oldtime there are no "right" answers, but Craig's combination of experience and technical knowledge is surely...
Blackest Crow: Fiddle lesson with Craig Judelman
In this lesson, Craig Judelman teaches the classic ballad "The Blackest Crow" also called "As Time Draws Near" or "My Dearest Dear". A slow waltz, Judelman shows bowing options for playing in three and...
Gilsaw – fiddle lesson with John P. Williams
John P. Williams is a wonderful fiddler from the "Little Dixie" region of North Missouri. This part of the country was strongly influenced by a handful of outstanding fiddlers of the older generation, and...
Shortnin’ Bread: Fiddle lesson with Craig Judelman
In this lesson Craig Judelman teaches the classic American folk song "Shortnin' Bread". In some versions of the song, shortnin' bread is fed to sick children on the plantation in an effort to provide...
Elk River Blues – fiddle lesson with Dakota Karper
In this video, West Virginia fiddle teacher Dakota Karper shows how she plays Ernie Carpenter's classic Elk River Blues. A common tune at many jam sessions, it's fun to break out something slow and...
Chinquapin Hunting – fiddle lesson with Dakota Karper
West Virginia fiddler Dakota Karper teaches the popular tune Chinquapin Hunting. This version is most closely related to that of Virginia fiddler Norman Edmonds. Chinquapin Hunting is played in the cross tuning AEAE (low...
Sourwood Mountain: oldtime fiddle lesson with Craig Judelman
Oldtime fiddler Craig Judelman teaches the classic Sourwood Mountain, similar to versions by Clark Kessinger, Ernie Carpenter and Albert Hash, but one he's made his own. It's a fun tune to jam out on...
Lonesome John – fiddle lesson with George Jackson
George Jackson is a wonderful New Zealand-born, Nashville-based oldtime fiddler and a great, methodical teacher to boot. In this video he teaches a classic modal cross tune by John Salyer: Lonesome John. If you're...
Twin Sisters: Fiddle Lesson with Craig Judelman
In this lesson Craig Judelman teaches "Twin Sisters" based on the playing of West Virginia fiddler Melvin Wine. It's a fun, up-tempo tune with lots of opportunity for variety in bowing.
Guitar chords
D / G...
Oldtime Bow Technique: lesson with Craig Judelman
Most oldtime fiddlers will tell you that the real stuff is in the bowing. It can easily take a lifetime to work through the intricacies of all that happens in oldtime fiddle bowing. But...