Canadian Folk Fiddling

Overview

Fiddling in Canada is known by various names according to tradition, region, or cultural area. Designations include Country, Folk, Celtic or Old-Time fiddling; Scottish, Cape Breton, Ukrainian-Canadian, French-Canadian, Acadian, Newfoundland, Ottawa Valley, Down-East, Aboriginal, First Nations, Inuit, or Métis fiddling. April Verch comes from the Ottawa Valley but demonstrates a number of these styles in the video.

Fiddling has a continuous history in Canada dating back to the 17th century and remains an important instrumental folk tradition. It was the principal medium of social dance music in rural Canada until around the middle of the 20th century. Many Scottish, Irish, English, French and American pieces which first came to Canada in the 18th and 19th centuries are still widespread in various forms, often modified by local practice. Until recently they were transmitted aurally with little formal teaching or notation. Media, immigration, new compositions, and lately music notation, have augmented this repertoire. Formal teaching has also started to play a role in recent years. Changing performance contexts including dances, contests, and concert performances have affected many aspects of the music. Nevertheless, folk fiddling based on traditional practices is still very much alive.

Musicians

April Verch

April Verch is best known for her Ottawa Valley fiddling and stepdancing, but she also plays other regional Canadian styles as well as American “old-time music.” She was born in the Ottawa Valley in Northeastern Ontario and started learning stepdancing at the age of three and fiddling at the age of six. She eventually went on to study at Berklee College of Music. Along the way, she won the Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Championship and Canadian Open Old-Time Fiddlers’ Contest at the ages of 18 and 19 respectively.

As a full-time professional musician, she toured with Canadian country music legend Tommy Hunter and Celtic pop band Mad Pudding as a backing fiddler. She formed her own band in 2000 which was nominated twice for Juno awards. Since then, she has traveled to four continents, performed in fourteen countries, and played in many kinds of venues from tiny pubs and festival workshops to legendary stages such as the Kennedy Center and Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. She also participated in the Opening Ceremonies for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver.

More recently she has teamed up with American old-time music legend Joe Newberry. They have played many of the Bluegrass Festivals and Celtic music festivals in North America and Europe.

For much of her professional life she has taught. She has released two books, one of the original fiddle tunes, the other a Canadian fiddle method book.

Cody Walters

Cody Walters is originally from Kansas. He plays string bass, banjo, and rhythm guitar. He joined April’s band in 2007 as a bassist but then became her partner both musically and otherwise (they were married in 2018).

Terminology

An understanding of the following terms would be helpful before proceeding with the Video Content.

• “Crooked tune”
• Cross tuning
• Stepdancing
• Clawhammer
• Musical ornament
• “Clean”/”Raw”

Video Content

April and Cody demonstrate and discuss various Canadian and American fiddle styles and techniques using traditional repertoire, as well as originally composed pieces. April also demonstrates and discusses stepdancing in the context of fiddle music. Topics such as the role of media, the relationship of fiddling styles to social dance and stepdancing, regionalism, and the role of composers are also addressed.

Transcript: Canadian Folk Fiddling

Video Time Cues

• 0:00 Introduction to April Verch and Cody Walters
• 0:39 Outline of what they are going to do
• 0:57 Introduction to pieces they are going to play
• 1:16 “St Anne’s Reel” and “Whiskey Before Breakfast”
• 4:00 Discussion of Canadian fiddle style
• 5:25 Discussion of regional fiddle styles
• 6:07 Discussion of Ottawa Valley fiddle style
• 6:59 Role of Don Messer’s TV show on Canadian fiddling
• 10:00 “Thomas Memorial Waltz”/social dancing
• 13:45 Learning to play fiddle
• 17:50 Relation between social dancing and fiddle styles
• 20:25 French-Canadian composition/“Crooked” pieces
• 24:40 Quebecois vs. “Old Timey” Canadian style
• 28:24 Demonstration of said differences
• 29:30 Discussion of Metis fiddle style
• 30:30 Typical and Metis versions of “Arkansas Traveler”
• 32:31 Keeping time with feet in Metis tradition
• 34:00 Stepdancing and “crooked” pieces
• 37:00 “Red River Jig”
• 39:15 Musical ornaments and variation
• 46:25 Musical expression
• 49:08 American style
• 53:37 Banjo “clawhammer” style
• 54:55 Comparison of Canadian and American fiddle styles
• 55:38 “Cross tuning”
• 1:03:40 American fiddle-style techniques
• 1:05:01 “Firewood” (original) in Old Timey American style
• 1:10:06 Regionalism, individual styles, role of composers
• 1:11:45 “Clean” vs “raw” styles
• 1:15:28 Stepdancing and recent changes
• 1:20:59 Performance of stepdancing
• 1:22:47 Discussion of dance shoes
• 1:23:32 “Cauliflower” in Canadian style
• 1:26:30 Relationship of stepdancer to fiddler
• 1:29:43 Original composition in Ottawa Valley style
• 1:33:20 “Air”

Suggested Activities and Assessments

Terms

Create a limited-access wiki of the terms and their definitions listed in the Terminology section above. Students can work individually to create their own “wiki” as text files, or in teams (e.g., through a course website). Students research the meanings, and if relevant, the history of these terms.

Participation

1. Tracking musical form
   April discusses “crooked” pieces, that is, pieces characterized by asymmetrical formal units. To hear and perform this underlying organizing principle, students need to be able to track measures through the pieces demonstrated in this video.
   1. Instructors play the musical examples, tap the beat, and count the meter and the measures out loud.
   2. Students count along with the instructor while listening to one of the video performances.
   3. Students count the beats and measures without the instructor.
   4. Individual students clap and count without the instructor.
2. Quiz: Game Show
   Is this piece “crooked”?
   The instructor chooses one of the video performances and asks students to determine if it “crooked” or not.
3. Debate:
   Is there a Canadian music? Is there a Canadian fiddle style?

Research

North American fiddle styles are related to European styles. How? Did the original European styles change after they were brought to North America? Why and how?