www.reinerfamilyband.com

Photos from previous Fiddle Hells are here!

Look below for schedule, common tunes list, and jamming guidelines. from previous Fiddle Hell on Nov. 2-4, 2007.

What: Fiddle Hell is a free, informal gathering of fiddlers to meet, jam, learn, and have fun. The invention of the late, great fiddler Dale Hopkins, Fiddle Hell occurs periodically in fun locations worldwide. Prior Fiddle Hells have occurred in the US, the UK, and Germany. The term Fiddle Hell refers to the Saturday night portion of the program when all the fiddlers play a few tunes in unison. On November 2-4, 2007, during the weekend, we had 110+ musicians, mostly fiddlers, at the third Massachusetts Fiddle Hell, including fiddlers from 10 states and 4 foreign countries!

There is no registration process -- fiddlers can just show up when they like. We have very limited space for non-fiddlers; please contact me first. We do need to pay the Inn for the space, and we have various other expenses, so we'd appreciate a donation of $20 or so when you're there, if you can afford it.

There will be lots of different styles represented at Fiddle Hell, by fiddlers with a variety of experience, which makes it all the more interesting. Last year, we played and heard New England, Irish, bluegrass, swing, Texas. Scottish, Southern and French-Canadian styles. The only "optional but encouraged" requirements are: (1) to play a tune of your choice for the group on Saturday night; and (2) to play along with the group (on the tunes you know) when we all play the same tunes together. Fiddle Hell is loosely sponsored by the Fiddle and Alternative Strings Forum. At this website, you'll find discussions, event listings, and other resources; you can join for free and read about past and future Fiddle Hell meetings.

Where & when: The Stagecoach Inn, 128 Main Street, Route 119, in Groton, Massachusetts, 01450 (877-782-4346), a beautiful old country inn about an hour west of Boston. The times are Friday from 6PM to midnight, Saturday from 9AM to midnight, and Sunday from 9AM to 5PM. Come join us for a single day or the whole weekend. If you're coming from far, come early or stay on -- there's lots to do and see in the area. News flash: We're planning some pre-Hell workshops Friday from 10AM to 5PM-- watch this space for details.

Lodging: The Stagecoach Inn has great rooms if you'd like to stay over. Single or double rooms are about $95/night plus tax. The Inn has 17 rooms - let's fill them all! For the Boston area, this price is quite reasonable. Book your room now to be sure -- ask for Vicki at 877-782-4346 and tell her you're coming to Fiddle Hell. They're having a few email issues right now, so phone is preferable.

Food: The Stagecoach Inn has a good restaurant for dinner. Lunch and dinner buffets will be available there on Saturday, and brunch and lunch on Sunday morning, or you can forage elsewhere.

Activities: The Inn has several big rooms, and we'll be headquartered in the Grandma Moses room near the restaurant. This will accommodate everybody Saturday night. During the weekend, we'll be able to split out into 3 or 4 simultaneous jams in smaller rooms around the bar and porch. We already have several very interesting workshops planned, on bowing shuffles, chords for fiddle, chunky chop bowing, improvisation, and fiddling for kids. We've also set up some loose jams in particular styles, like Irish, Scottish, Scandinavian, Western Swing. There will likely be a half-speed tune workshop early Saturday to prepare for the common tunes on Saturday night.

The Inn's bar has a nice ambiance, with a couple of adjacent rooms with tables; this is where the Boston Bluegrass Union has monthly jam sessions. So the Inn is used to dealing with musicians and jam sessions. Usually we get at least 3 jams going on simultaneously with the BBU. Under-age fiddlers may attend this event, but obviously can't drink alcohol. We will be inviting a selected local players (fiddlers and otherwise) to join in the jams.

Getting there: Here are directions if you're local. The nearest airports are Boston, MA and Manchester, NH. Cabs are available, but there are various sharing and pickup options available. Perhaps someone local will offer to help with an airport pickup, or give a ride from the Boston T (subway) stop at Alewife in Cambridge.

Questions: Email me or call me at (781)-863-0140, or post to the FH threads on Fiddle Forum with any questions.

Look below for schedule, common tunes list, and jamming guidelines.

Dave Reiner

2007 Fiddle Hell Schedule (2008 will be similar) (Workshops and times subject to change and availability)

November 2 (Friday)

6PM: FH officially starts. Look for fellow fiddlers in the dining room at the Inn.

7PM - midnight: Jamming in Grandma Moses Room and around the bar.

8 - 9PM: Slow jam on common tunes in Grandma Moses Room (Clayton March and friends) [Get ready for Saturday night!]

9PM - whenever: Beginners' jam in Sitting Room 1. [No leader, just show up and make some new friends!]

9-10PM or later: Old time Southern jam in Back Bar (Paul Madden and friends) [An informal and fun jam!]

9PM - whenever: Bluegrass, swing, Irish and whatever jams in Grandma Moses Room, Front Bar, etc.

November 3 (Saturday)

9AM - 7:30PM: Jamming all day [your choice of jamming or workshops -- we have multiple rooms available]

9AM: Early bird jam in Grandma Moses Room [Why not? Would you rather sleep - or play your fiddle?]

10AM: Amazing bowing patterns & accents workshop (Dave Reiner) [What you need to make your tunes come alive!]

11AM: Half-speed tune workshop on common tunes for tonight (Dave Reiner and friends)

11AM: Scandinavian jam/workshop in the Front Bar (Matt Fichtenbaum) [Bring your own herring!]

Noon: Lunch break [in the restaurant, elsewhere, or just keep jamming]

1PM: Essential left hand techniques workshop (Worldfiddler Jim Doran) [Techniques/tunes from a super teacher!]

1 - 2:30PM: Scottish and Cape Breton jam in the Front Bar (Eric Eid-Reiner on piano)

2:30 - 3:45PM: Hot improvisation and chop bowing workshop (Andy Reiner) [Learn from one of the best!]

4PM: Irish jam (Brendan Carey Block & Steve Brown (twice All-Ireland bones champion)) [Reels, jigs, and more! ]

5PM: Play along with fine Western Swing tunes (Paul Harty) [Not too hard, guaranteed fun!]

5PM: Beginner's questions answered workshop in Sitting Room 1. (Worldfiddler Jim Doran) [Ask! Learn!]

6 - 7:30PM: Dinner break at the Stagecoach Inn [or elsewhere, or just keep jamming]

7:30PM: The big Saturday Night Event! We'll gather in the Grandma Moses Room to listen to and appreciate each other's playing! A fiddlers' round robin, with each of us encouraged to play one tune - regardless of style, age, or experience. Backup musicians are available. Alternating with the individual slots, we'll all play some common tunes together.

10:30PM until whenever: More jamming at the bar and surrounding rooms.

November 4 (Sunday)

Try the Inn's Sunday brunch from around 8:30-11:00AM Or wander out into Groton for breakfast. Or just sleep!

10AM to 6PM: More jamming and workshops. Jam, chat, trade tunes, wander around Groton.

10AM: Essential bowing techniques workshop. (Jim Doran) [Work on your bowing with the one and only Worldfiddler]

10AM: Informal holiday tunes jam, Front Bar (no leader, just show up)

11AM: Kids' fantastic fiddle workshop (Cathy Goode) [A great teacher of tunes and techniques.]

11AM: Your fiddling questions answered workshop. (Worldfiddler Jim Doran) [Techniques, tunes, anything!]

Noon: Lunch? Or would you rather learn a new tune from someone?

1PM: Cool chords for the fiddle workshop (Dave Reiner) [an important skill, demystified by Dave!]

2PM: Beginners' jam in Sitting Room 1. No leader, just show up.

2PM: Old time Southern jam in Back Bar (Paul Madden and friends) [Some fine old tunes in an informal and fun jam]

2PM: Boston Scottish Fiddle Club Workshop on the enclosed porch (drop-ins welcome to this monthly meeting)

3PM: Fine rags for the fiddle workshop (Dave Reiner) [Learn rag techniques and an excellent rag -- Draggin' the Bow]

3PM: Boston Scottish Fiddle Club Tune Session on the enclosed porch (drop-ins welcome)

4PM: Mellow waltz jam session [Play by ear or read them - bring copies of your favorite waltzes to help us wind down]

6PM: Fiddle Hell is officially over. Go to dinner, take in a live performance, head to Boston or Cambridge.

List of Common Tunes for Fiddle Hell

On Saturday night at Fiddle Hell, alternating with individual fiddler slots, we'll play some common tunes together. Here are some suggestions to start with -- tunes that are often played by all the fiddlers together after a New England fiddle contest, plus a few more. Some of these are "overplayed," but still can be fun, especially in adding harmonies. We'll group tunes into medleys.

Reels and Hornpipes

D Soldier's Joy

D Liberty

D St. Anne's Reel

D Angeline the Baker

D Maid Behind the Bar / Judy's Reel

D Ragtime Annie

D Staten Island Hornpipe

G Redwing

G Golden Slippers

G Turkey in the Straw

G Flowers of Edinburgh

A Old Joe Clark

A Devil's Dream

A Bile Them Cabbage Down

A Red Haired Boy

Em Cooley's Reel

Em Drowsy Maggie

Em Ships Are Sailing

Am Shady Grove

Am Cluck Old Hen

Am Gravel Walk

C Billy in the Lowground

C Stone's Rag

Dm Julia Delaney's

Jigs

G Irish Washerwoman

G Kesh Jig

Am Ten Penny Bit

Am Coleraine

Am Brian Boru's March

Em Swallowtail Jig

Em Road to Lisdoonvarna

Em The Butterfly (slip jig)

D Haste to the Wedding

D Smash the Windows

Waltzes

D Ashokan Farewell

G Over the Waves

D Tennessee Waltz

D She Bhag She Mhor

A Bodine's Waltz (by Dale Hopkins, creator of Fiddle Hell)

Guidelines for Jamming at Fiddle Hell Massachusetts

Most of you are here to join in on the jam sessions.  It’s a great way to meet new friends and create spontaneous music together.  Here are some rough guidelines from experience to help you out.

1. There are two fundamentally different types of jams, usually (but not always!) depending on the style.  It’s a good idea to observe which type is happening before you jump in:

- All players play together just about every time through: Southern Oldtime, Irish, New England, Scottish styles

- Players take turns playing instrumental breaks: Bluegrass, Swing, Texas, Blues, Rock styles

2. Some jams have a leader (either appointed or de facto).  Leaders call or coordinate the selection of tunes, including medleys, and may call out arrangements on the fly. Other jams have no fixed leader, in which case the tunes are often selected and led by the players in some order, such as going clockwise around the circle. 

3. Some coherency in jam style is expected.  An Irish jam shouldn’t suddenly change into a Southern Oldtime jam, or a bluegrass jam into a Scottish jam.  On the other hand, some players play multiple styles, and their jams may wander among styles (which may be fine, or may cause problems).

4. Jams may vary in their choice of tempos, usually depending on the level of the players.  Some jams are rather speedy!  Occasionally, jams are designated as “half-speed” or “slow.”  Beginner jams are also slower.  It’s good manners to let the person calling a tune start it at his/her tempo, Sometimes a group may agree to play a tune slowly at first, and then speed it up.  If tunes are falling apart rhythmically, it’s better to slow them down.  Good taste is better than raw speed any day!  Keep the beat.

5. Sometimes you may be invited to join an ongoing jam.  If not, it’s polite to ask to join in.  But it’s generally fine to stand or sit on the periphery (“outer circle”) of a jam, playing along quietly (perhaps learning the tune!) and not getting in the way.  Be conscious of the level of a jam before jumping in at full blast.  And tune up before joining in.

6. Listen to the other players!  Watch them, too.  Support singers or soloists; don’t play over them or back them up disruptively.  For jams where many players are playing together, such as oldtime, the goal is to converge and lock in on a common version, getting tighter as the tune is repeated.

7. Tend towards choosing tunes that are common or at least easy to follow.  A large jam with multiple levels of players isn’t the time to trot out a complex, obscure tune.  That being said, advanced players like to challenge themselves, and may throw anything out.  Or a player may really want to teach everyone a new tune. Whatever the level, it’s a common practice to mention any strange chords, crooked parts, or other structural oddities before starting a tune.  Oldtime sessions with clawhammer banjo players usually stay in a chosen key for quite a while.

8. Be kind to beginners and new jammers.  It takes courage to join in and play along, and many players don’t have much jamming experience.  Ask what tunes they know, keep tempos down, and help them out where you can.

9. At jams with breaks, such as bluegrass jams, the lead singer or the person who started the tune calls the breaks by nodding at players or raising an eyebrow, or shouting out a name or instrument.  Indicate your willingness to take a break by smiling, nodding, or stepping forward.  Indicate that you’d rather pass this time by shaking your head no, or avoiding eye contact in the first place. 

10. It never hurts to play melody on a break.  Don’t throw in every lick you know! If you screw up part of a break, keep going if you can.  You may find your touch again.  If not, nod to another player to step in and finish the break. 

11. Whoever starts a tune determines when it’s over.  It’s common to raise a foot (or yell “out”) to indicate the last time through.

12. Minimize noodling around between tunes.  This isn’t the time to show your virtuosity, practice tunes you don’t know, or raise the noise level in general.  If you want to suggest the next tune, say it, don’t start noodling on it.

13. Step aside to tune or converse at length. 

14. If you don’t want to continue with a jam for any reason, split off and start your own.  Or just listen for a while.

15. Seek out jams at the right level and in a style you can play.  Your jamming skills will improve over time.