We’re not letting this instrument play second fiddle anymore.
Any Southern native, or transplant for that matter, has a general idea of what a fiddle is.
“You know the fiddle licks from ‘The Devil Went Down To Georgia,’ " he says.
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“It’s such an ingrained part of music where we are.”
But what exactly is this omnipresent instrument?
Is There A Difference Between A Violin And A Fiddle?
man playing fiddle.
“I started playing violin when I was 4.
They kind of pursue different aims and needs.”
“[That] makes things like chords and double-stops easier,” says Alexander.
“The strings have a little less tension on them, so they react quicker to your fingers.”
“There’s a lot more flair involved in fiddle playing,” says Alexander.
Fiddle players are defined by their ability to draw outside the lines.
“There’s this phrase that I love: From discipline comes freedom,” he says.
History Of Fiddles In The South
So how did violins become such a cornerstone of Southern culture?
Violins gained popularity in Europe, especially in the late 1700s when the everyman could afford them.
Suddenly they were an instrument that was accessible to much more than just classical musicians.
“The fiddle has roots in two separate places.
“But country music has always had its roots and its evolution in blues.”
“Fiddle playing is such a prominent art in this genre.
These guys learned from sharecroppers and slaves,” Alexander explains.
“Theres different styles of regional fiddle.
Since the fiddle is so approachable, every hand that touches it has the ability to impact its sound.
“It [became] this melting pot of an instrument,” adds Alexander.
The Modern Fiddle
This old-school instrument still firmly has a foothold in pop culture.
The fiddle is in the background of our everyday livesand it’s here to stay.
“I would even go as far to say that it was a cultural shift,” adds Alexander.
Look at that record and the numbers it did.
It brought a whole new generation of fans to country music.”
A clear example of this is “The Giver” by Chappell Roan.
“Now, you have more people than ever experimenting with country sounds.
You have more brown people entering country, more Black people entering country.”
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So all of this to say, is a fiddle just a country violin?
But there’s so much more to it that can’t be pinned down.
A fiddle has that extra dash of flavor in every note.
