The Fiddler's Fakebook - The Ultimate Sourcebook for the Traditional Fiddler | Violin Fiddle Songbook | 500 Jigs Reels Hornpipes | Folk and Americana Sheet Music for Fiddlers and Violinists

No fake book has all the traditional fiddle songs; I guess Miles Krassen's version of O'Neill's Music of Ireland comes closest with about a thousand. But this book has some advantages over that tome. There are about 500 songs, many otherwise hard to find. It has many of the old favorites. There are tunes lacking but no book is complete. These are songs of the Appalachians which means mostly British, Scots and Irish, not much you can identify as from German, Norwegian, Yiddish, Cajun nor other traditions. Also it lacks some of my all time favorites which are not usually thought of as fiddle tunes like the old English lute ballad "The Unfortunate Lad" commonly known as "The Streets of Larado", nor too many Lomax versions of anything. The more common songs have more than one version, some in different keys. Keys are, for the most part easy ones for the fiddle, which of course also means they're easy for the guitar, mandolin and piano. It is well printed, and despite the griping from some reviewers, it lies flat. If I live long enough for it to fall apart I'll take it to a copy shop and have them put a new binding on it. I have another copy with plastic comb binding was returned from a family member after the plastic began to deteriorate after many years. I really wish they'd consider going back to the old spiral wire bindings, but this one's book binding is a good second best. At the beginning there are several pages of style guides. I didn't look at these for a long time after I bought the book; I guess I've become resistant to such things over the years of self learning, but they would be helpful for anyone whose stylistic approach isn't entirely fossilized. And I finally did read them, finding that they are both reasonable and helpful. He says to choose fast slow or medium tempo but for the guitar I've found following Doug Young' advice in his book Fiddle Tunes in DADGAD: Playing and Arranging Reels, Jigs and Airs for Fingerstyle Guitar to be easier. Young recommends playing the guitar more slowly than you could on a fiddle. Beside each song is a listing of popular records containing it. A lot of the records you can refer to are guitar, hammered dulcimer, mandolin and other instruments, not just Fiddle. For instance, there are a lot of listing for Doc Watson's Vanguard recordings. Of course Doc could play fiddle, but he played mostly guitar. Readability is good and print quality is good. Fiddle tunes don't seem to have so many codas, alternate endings and the like as some other types of music. There is an index which also lists alternative names. This is a start, but it doesn't list all the alternative names. All told, this is a five star book, fun to just read when you're not playing, more fun to play. Edited to add that there are some mistakes in the songs but by the time I learned they were not right I knew how to correct them.

This is THE book to have for anybody who likes to play traditional mountain/Celtic/Bluegrass music! This book was originally recommended to me decades ago, by a fiddler who hosted a huge, community jam session, every week. This book was the only one that they used to play from, as it had the most, commonly recognized versions of a majority of traditional tunes. Also, there were enough tunes in there to keep a large group playing for weeks without ever repeating a single one! The version I bought years ago (and made the mistake of lending to someone, so I never saw it again!) had a plastic ring binding. The newer edition that I bought recently to replace that missing volume has a book binding. But, it still lies flat enough that it doesn't fall off a music stand. I had previously bought the mandolin player's version of this book, which is written in tablature. But, I only ever use this one, because it has the actual notes and chords in it. It is an incredible resource that I refer to all the time. In fact, if I could only have one music book to play from, this is the one that I would want to have. It's a definite "must have" for every "Old Time" music lover!

I have used this book for years; indeed I used it to teach myself how to play the fiddle. The introductory material is helpful as well as an extensive discography, bibliography and list of alternative titles at the end. To be clear, this book is not about the rudiments of How to play the fiddle. The book assumes that one can read the treble clef. It includes cords for those accompanying the fiddler and the melody lines for about 500 selections. Some are easy to play and others are more advanced. My old spiral bound edition can be opened flat, but after about 20 years of use, the binding became worn. The only downside I can foresee to the non spiral bound version might be its durability. Although the non spiral bound version opens sufficiently, it might be worth looking into getting it spiral bound. If you are serious about playing fiddle, it is simple. You need this book! Happy fiddling!

This book was recommended to me by my fiddle teacher shortly after I first started taking fiddle lessons. That was six years ago, and I drag this book along pretty much anytime I travel just in case I'll have time to play a fiddle tune (of course, it helps that I also bring along my violin! ;-) ). It has held up very well – no rips, no tears, no frayed edges, and no pulling away from the binding. I have been very satisfied with how well this holds up – it's well worth the investment that way. The one down side to the construction of this book is the type of binding. Yes, you can read all the music, but it doesn't lay down flat, which can be somewhat problematic, especially when new. This can be remedied by taking the book to a local office supply place, like Staples, and having them shave off the binding and put in a spiral binding so it lays flat (Note: BE THERE when they do this, our local Staples totally screwed mine up, shaved off way more than needed and ended up having the spiral go right through all the measures on the inner margin. I was NOT a happy camper, but I like the book so much I got another one). Potential buyers should be aware that each of the pieces are written down the way a particular fiddler played it, not the “vanilla” original/core of the tune. That doesn't make it wrong or right, just something you should be aware of upfront.

I play the mandolin but I am tired of publishers thinking that mandolinists are some sort of inferior type of musician who all need tablature or they can't play. There is a "Mandolinist's Fakebook" but it has tablature in addition to the actual music -- this is a much better book for both fiddlers and mandolinists who can ready music because it's printed much more clearly and is easier to play from for any musician who can read. Excellent assortment of songs and excellently printed. My only complaint is that it doesn't come comb-bound or coil-bound. But I've got a wonderful copy shop nearby so for a few dollars I had this book coil-bound and now it's an ideal book! The only thing better would be if they would release an ebook version so I could take it with me on my iPad!

Wish I had saved hundreds over the years on other folk music collections. All of the best loved pieces that are called at jam sessions can be found here. If I could do it again, would buy this book, Vol 3 of the Portland Collection (for modern works), and the Bluegrass Fakebook. This is the BEST folk music album. Each tune has detailed discography for study purposes and alternate names. Only critiques I have are, I wish the book was set in portrait form rather than landscape, and the index could use some work (background, subdivided by piece type and key signature like the Portland Collection).

This gives you a variety of tunes. Best of all Jana Jae’s music is in this book!!!!! Jana was the blue fiddler on Hee Haw!

Arrived in great condition. Could pass for new. Very pleased.

car format non conventionnel !

I've had a copy of this book for years and have just bought another copy as my old one is begininig to fall apart after lots of use. Its not just for fiddlers - I am a guitar player who plays 'tunes' and the joy of this book is that there is familiar and unfamiliar content from England, Ireland, Scotland, America, Canada and other places. There is always another tune to tackle - easy tunes for when you first get started and more complicated material for those whose reading/ playing skills are improving. I always seem to find tunes I've not noticed before. I don't read music well and this just gives the top line melody and chords to build upon and make your own. I cannot recommend it enough for anyone who likes playing 'traddy' music

Eine sehr umfangreiche Sammlung der wichtigsten Fiddle-Nummern. Und zu jedem Song gibt es eine umfangreiche Diskografie, so dass man sich gleich anhören kann, wie der Song klingen sollte. (Sofern man die entsprechende CD hat oder im Streaming-Dienst findet). Manche Songs sind ein bisschen zu sehr vereinfacht - aber es ist ja eben ein Fakebook und wer will und kann, die kann die Nummern ja dann individuell verfeinern.

Alternative versions of some tunes and comprehensive discography. Useful explanation of tune types, modes and rhythms as well as fiddle tunings and bowing styles. I've been dipping into this book for several years and keep finding new stuff so finally decided I needed my own copy.

from real easy to real hard... everyone can find something in here. great to be able to play some tunes from home.