Hard Times Come Again No More, 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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SINGING AND FIDDLING: “HARD TIMES COME AGAIN NO MORE”

Hard Times Come Again No More, Part 1

Hard Times Come Again No More, Part 2

Hard Times Come Again No More, Part 1

In this lesson, you’ll learn to sing and play Bruce’s arrangement of the Stephen Foster song “Hard Times Come Again No More.” Bruce starts by singing and playing the entire song through in the key of D, and then talks about and demonstrates the three different ways of accompanying a song with the fiddle: unison melody, chords, and harmony. Bruce walks you through a couple of quick fiddle and vocal exercises (in the key of G), and shows you how to sing and play the basic melody and chords of the verse and chorus of “Hard Times.”

"Hard Times Come Again No More" (Available to subscribers)