Traditional Fiddle + CD

Jane Griffiths, the volume editor, studied at Chetham's School of Music before becoming interested in traditional fiddle. She works regularly as a session musician and has recorded for, among others, Maddy Prior, Simon Emmerson, Duotone, Amy Macdonald, and Stornoway. Member of dark English folk band Telling The Bees, and of Wod, a trio for French and Breton dance, Jane is also a highly experienced violin, fiddle, and piano teacher, and freelance music editor.

This book brings together the collected wisdom of some of the finest fiddlers from England (John Dipper, Nancy Kerr), Ireland (Liz Doherty, Kevin Burke), Scotland (Jenna Reid, Aidan O'Rourke, Patsy Reid) and Wales (Sian Phillips). Most fiddle books would deal with only one of these traditions, so to bring them all together is an ambitious undertaking. Jane Griffiths' main achievement with this book is to provide a logical and cohesive framework to what might otherwise have been a jumble of different approaches to folk fiddle playing . . . The accompanying CD has each track played by the writer of that chapter, and the tracks are mostly played at a tempo considerably slower than normal performance speed . . . I would recommend this book as an excellent introduction to the rich and fascinating range of fiddle styles found in Great Britain.

• NANCY KERR: NORTHUMBRIAN 3/2 HORNPIPES; JENNA REID: SHETLAND REELS; JOHN DIPPER: SOUTHERN ENGLISH PLAYFORD AND MORRIS DANCE TUNES; LIZ DOHERTY: DONEGAL REELS; LIZ DOHERTY: DONEGAL JIGS; AIDAN O'ROURKE: WEST HIGHLAND STRATHSPEYS AND A REEL; SIAN PHILLIPS: WELSH HORNPIPES; PATSY REID: NORTH-EAST SCOTTISH SLOW AIRS; KEVIN BURKE: SLIGO REELS