Instructor: Paul Wells
Lecture
There is widespread misconception about how far back in time the repertoire of tunes that we all know and love extends. One often hears that today’s fiddlers play tunes that are four or five hundred years old, when, in reality, the very oldest tunes still in common circulation date from the mid-to-late 18th century. The internet—which can be a wonderful resource—unfortunately is rife with misinformation. In this talk I will give a short survey of some historical materials regarding the development of the “modern” fiddle tune repertoire.