Fine Times at Our House, Part 1

This lesson is part of the course Old-Time Fiddle with Bruce Molsky.

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Get deep into the roots of Southern Appalachian old-time fiddling. Bruce breaks down the melody, bowing patterns, rhythms, and embellishments of each tune he teaches so you can really learn to play like Bruce and the old masters he learned from.

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GREASY COAT

West Virginia fiddler Edden Hammons was recorded in 1947 by a collector named Louis Chappell. Hammons’s playing has a Scottish influence, with strongly detailed phrases and an old-fashioned style of intonation. You’ll learn his version of “Greasy Coat” in this lesson. “Greasy Coat” is in A E A E tuning, and Bruce starts by playing the tune through a couple of times, before breaking the melody down for you phrase by phrase. He also shows you how Hammons often played thirds and sevenths slightly flat, and trilled the third. You’ll learn the melody of both the A and B parts in this video.

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FINE TIMES AT OUR HOUSE

Fine Times at Our House, Part 1

Fine Times at Our House, Part 2: B Part Melody

Fine Times at Our House, Part 3: Bowing

Fine Times at Our House, Part 4: Embellishments

Fine Times at Our House, Part 5: Play-Along Track

Fine Times at Our House, Part 1

There are a couple different sources for this great old tune. The version Bruce plays here comes from West Virginia fiddler Edden Hammons, who was born in 1875 and recorded in 1947 by University of West Virginia folklorist Louis Chappell. “Fine Times at Our House” is in A Mixolydian, which means the scale has the major third and the dominant (or flatted) seventh, and it’s played in an altered tuning with the low G string tuned up to A: A D A E. To start you off, Bruce plays the tune all the way through a few times and then breaks down the melody of the A part, note for note.

"Fine Times at Our House" (Available to subscribers)

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Fine Times at Our House, Part 2: B Part Melody →

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Fine Times at Our House, Part 2: B Part Melody →

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