Traditional Irish And American Fiddle Tunes For Viola

This is a must have book for viola. Great tunes.

I’ve played fiddle (violin) in square- and contra-dance bands a fair bit, and am a classical violist now, so I’m familiar with both instruments and with many or most of the tunes in this fine book, one that will enable violists to enjoy playing a portion of the vast repertoire of popular fiddle tunes. However, having read some of the other reviews, I think there are some misunderstandings about the purpose and nature of the book, which is quite understandable. Most things having to do with the viola are confusing!

One reviewer points out that if you want to play fiddle tunes regularly, you will need to have a violin, not a viola. Another points out that the tunes are generally transposed down a fifth from “original” fiddle tune. These things are basically true; the viola itself is tuned a fifth lower than a violin and it would be nigh impossible to play many fiddle tunes up to speed on a viola, way up in the 3rd or higher positions necessary to do this. It’s a question of using the “right tool for the job.” But as another reviewer comments, if all you have is a viola, your guitar or other accompianist ought to be able to switch keys and help you out. It will all sound a bit low, but the aim here is to give violists a crack at playing these tunes!

It’s important to understand how the author has set up the tunes (see photo). Each one looks like a duet, but it isn’t a duet! The top line is the viola’s staff, in the Alto Clef that violists are familiar with. All violists will want to use that top line of the staff and ignore the second line.

The second line, with the Treble Clef, is not what it appears to be at first glance. This line is intended solely for violinists who find themselves deprived of their violin but have access to a viola. If they “pretend” that the viola is a violin, and play the tune as written, they will achieve the same result as a violist will, playing on the Alto Clef line. So, imagine that you’re a violinist visiting your viola-playing friend, who happens to have two violas. You can play the tune together this way, and it will sound identical.

It’s important to realize that the Treble Clef line does not actually represent the true sound of the notes in this book. For example, the tune “Soldier’s Joy Reel” (see attached photo), in the Key of G, begins on a “B” (i.e., the second finger on the next-to-lowest string). If you’re a violinist, that fingering position would give you an F#. So the author has written the tune as if it were in the key of D, with the first note being an apparent F#. But if the violinist is actually playing a viola (pretending it to be a violin), he will find himself playing a “B” just like his viola buddy.

Think about it, you’ll figure it out. I’m just glad he didn’t write a third line for cellos…

How such a situation would ever arise — a violinist needing to play a viola to imitate fiddle tunes written for the violin to begin with — is beyond me. But having it available doesn’t hurt… and makes the book an interesting conversation piece on top of everything else.

5 Stars, Mel. Way to go!

It has been about five years since I played in an orchestra; I play my viola now just for fun and relaxation. I have been searching for a fiddling book for some time and this one is almost perfect. It isn’t very advanced, but it does have some catchy tunes that are quite fun to play. There isn’t much in the way of fiddling how-to except for a few introductory paragraphs. There is also some scale work and general viola playing notes (which I found a bit odd, because although this isn’t the most advanced viola music, it isn’t for first graders either). I think anyone who plays the viola (and who gets sick of playing second “fiddle” to the violin) would enjoy playing these little melodies.

I am definately enjoying this book. I am a sixth year Suzuki viola student, and I’m playing concertos from book four. My violin-playing brothers had made me jealous with their fun fiddle tunes, so I got this book. I can easily work up any of these songs, and they are fun to play and listen to. They are not viola-violin duets. They are screeching sixths when played together. I personally would consider this useless for a violinist. For violin I would recommend the Fiddle Farm books.
This book does not have any American fiddle songs, so don’t buy this for a Turkey in the Straw arrangement. The songs are all Irish, Welsh, and Scotch. (Hence the name)
I would recommend this book to any advanced (by Minnesota standards) student or beginnning-intermediate (non-professional) adult player who is looking for fun Celtic music to supplement the etudes…

As a violinist, it was nice to see the transposition from treble clef to alto clef explained so clearly. Seeing the pieces in both clefs allows me to “see” the difference and to play the viola while reading the treble clef, if that’s what I want to do.

I think it’s one of the best books I’ve seen for those who want to transition from violin to viola.

This is a wonderful book for people transitioning from violin to viola, who know some of these tunes and need to learn alto clef. Playing scales gets the job done, but this is so much more fun. The familiar tunes help with learning viola fingering and intonation. I will say that the treble clef version is confusing for me and I ignore it.

I bought this book for one of my viola students who enjoys playing folk and fiddle tunes. She loves the songs in it! The book came very quickly and just as described!