Fiddle Hill Jig

Photo of Ralph Page
On Thursday afternoons I drive out to Canaan to study fiddle with Elaine Malkin. It's about an hours drive each way, and the lesson is about an hour (sometimes more) so it's a pretty good investment of time as well as money, but I look forward to it every week. Some weeks I get a lot of practice in, sometimes I barely feel like I should go present myself 'cause I'm SURE it shows when I haven't put the time in at home... but I am committed to improvement, and especially to learn the old style of New England fiddling that is so important to contradance. I'm learning so much, not just about playing the music, but about the dance too.

Contradance has many aspects that work together to create an evening of fun. The musicians work together to learn tunes that are well phrased, so the dancers can hear/feel when the next moves should be executed. Well phrased music also makes it easier for the caller to be on time. The caller chooses dances that are appropriate for the crowd (beginners, mixed level, experienced). The dancers work together to carry out the callers instructions, letting the music guide them as they dance. The caller and the musicians work together to choose tunes that help tell the story of the dance (light & bouncy, or dark and driving, or smooth and flowing for example). There's usually a sound person who is mixing the musicians and the caller... and making adjustments as the hall fills with more dancers or the temperature changes, or as different instruments are brought into the mix. And there are organizers who oversee the evening, collect the money, greet newcomers and in general keep order midst the chaos. These are all the basics.

History has it that many years ago, musicians were also the callers... each musician in a band would have a few dances they liked to call, and they'd take turns. Much different than todays dances where the musicians keep their seats and the caller has charge of the evening. I'm on a journey to learn the craft of calling while playing. I take every opportunity to play at a dance and I also call when possible. When I first started calling, I thought it would be pretty cool to be able to call a dance while I was playing, this was before I really knew it had been a regular thing. I've been practicing this a bit with actual dances (in the privacy of my own home), and regularly am able to call out tune changes or key signatures while playing music with people (in real life situations)... it's like rubbing your head while you're chewing gum. Combine this with the fact that you have to make the dance calls BEFORE the moves get made, so your timing is ahead of the action... yeah, it's complicated. But it can be done, it's been done before. So, I'm learning.

My fiddle teacher is one of those amazing people who are able to play and call at the same time, and she is mentoring me in this area. She's suggested some dances, is teaching me some tunes that go along with the dances, and I'm planning to be proficient enough to present them over the next six months. It's ambitious but also fun, and I love the challenge.

Many of those old time dances had specific tunes that went along with them... some are Chorus Jig, Haste to the Wedding, Rory O'More, Petronella, Galopede, Tempest and Hull's Victory to name a few. Another is Fiddle Hill Jig, this is one of the tune & dance combos I'm working on.

Fiddle Hill Jig comes from the Fiddler's Throne, and was written by Ralph Page. I invite you to check out the link and learn more.