Today’s Request: Tam Lin

A FiddleHed subscriber named Michael made this violin. We’re giving it away in a contest. Click here to enter.

I’m taking requests for tunes. Other requests coming over the next few days: “Lark In The Morning” and “Do You Realize??”

 


The tune is an Irish reel called Tam Lin. This tune was the basis for a Diego’s Umbrella song called “Never Take Us Down.”

For fellow fiddle nurdz out there: it’s in D minor (so I use a D drone). I start slow to feel out the melody. This is kind of like the free time section known as “Alap” at the beginning of Indian ragas. There’s a lot of tricky string crossing. I tend to add American style embellishments on Irish tunes (like double stops) and add Irish embellishments (like mordents) to American tunes (like Arkansas Traveller).

I have basic and variation lessons for this tune on the site.

Thanx ferr watchin’ 🤠. . . . . . .

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