The old-time fiddle tune “Big Sciota (or “Big Scioty”) has become a bluegrass jam favorite ever since guitarist Russ Barenberg recorded it with Jerry Douglas and Edgar Meyer for their album Skip, Hop, and Wobble in the early 1990s. The tune comes from West Virginia fiddler Burl Hammons, who plays a wonderful solo version on The Hammons Family, but it has evolved quite a bit since. Scott learned it from a great Seattle-based old-time string band, the Gypsy Gyppo String Band, who recorded it in the 1970s, and recorded it on his album No Hurry a year before Russ recorded his version. There are some similarities between the versions and a few differences, but Russ’s version has become the standard version. Scott teaches both versions here, and they’re both illustrative of how to turn an old-time fiddle tune into a guitar tune. In this video, Scott shows you the A parts, walking you through each of them phrase by phrase.
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"Big Sciota" (Available to subscribers)
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