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 brooding once in while. This tune fits the bill perfectly. Dakota tells the story of Ernie Carpenter’s family and the origin of the tune. It’s played in G, out of standard tuning: (GDAE)

The tune is great for learning too, because it shows so clearly how a call-and-response tune is structured. Dakota also talks about the subtleties of dissonance and slide which add so much to the music.