Blues on the Fiddle

The amazing artistry of Darol Anger propels this powerful and enlightening exploration of blues fiddle. His deep knowledge of the violin, along with his relaxed good humor and encouraging manner, will help bring your fiddle playing to a whole new level. Using a "call and response" interactive teaching method, you’ll trade licks with Darol as you learn tunes, riffs and styles from the Mississippi Delta to blues-inflected bluegrass, bebop, jazz and even rock and roll.

The fiddle is a perfect vehicle for this soulful music, with its liquid slides and expressive, vocal-like intonation. As Darol says, "Once you learn to play a little blues, you can get by in pretty much any style." He starts right off with a great Sonny Rollins’ riff blues, "Sonny Moon for Two". You’ll learn the piece lick by lick, finally playing a duet in harmony with Darol. "Cool Blues" by Charlie Parker is another great riff blues. "Don’t be scared," says Darol, "it’s the easiest tune he wrote." Again, you’ll trade licks and learn how to take blues ideas and apply them to any musical situation. Blues in the Garage, an original Darol Anger piece written just for this lesson, combines shorter but more complex licks with slides, triplets and other important stylistic moves.

Darol analyzes the pentatonic (five-note) blues scale and its added "blue notes," and teaches how you can easily transpose licks and tunes from one key to another. By using the right vibrato, bowing techniques, intonation and other nuances, it won’t be long before you can get the true blues feeling and are riffing and jamming in all the blues styles.