Shaking Off the Acorns, 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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SHAKING OFF THE ACORNS

Shaking Off the Acorns, Part 1

Shaking Off the Acorns, Part 2

Shaking Off the Acorns, Part 3: Bowing and Embellishments

Shaking Off the Acorns, Part 4: Play-Along Track

Shaking Off the Acorns, Part 1

“Shaking Off the Acorns” (sometimes called “Shaking Down the Acorns”) comes from the great West Virginia fiddler Edden Hammons, who was recorded in 1947. “Shaking Off the Acorns” is in the key of A, but is in ADAE tuning, which is usually used for tunes in D. In this video, Bruce walks you through the melody of the A part of “Shaking Off the Acorns,” which consists of a four-bar phrase repeated three times.

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