Kerfunken Fiddle Raga

Here’s a fiddle raga performance of Kerfunken Jig. If you like this track and you can download and listen to it while you walk the dog:ย 


What is a “fiddle raga”ย? It’s an improvisation based around a fiddle melody accompanied by a “drone”ย.

What is a raga? Super-simple answer: it’s an Indian musical form in which musicians improvise with a drone playing in the background. They use a set of notes which are somewhere between a scale and a melody.

What is a drone? It’s a repeating tone or series of tones that serves as a reference. Drones help you to play in tune but they also can be a nice, hypnotic form of backup when playing alone. I love this form of practice! This performance is one way of sharing the practice with you. I also have a lesson on drone tuning.

Are fiddle ragas a real thing? Sure! Now they are. I’m not a purist (though I’m glad the purists are out there preserving the music as it’s been played). I love these two styles of music. And they seem to work well together. That is, they’re not the cheesy-fusion-with-rainsticks type of music. But that’s a matter of opinion! Anyway…

The point is, I hope you enjoy this and that inspires you to make your own practice more creative and fun.

If you want to learn how to add variation to Irish fiddle tunes, check out my Irish Fiddle Variation course.



Play every day, have fun ? and thanks for taking part ? ย 

Now, go fiddle with it…?

รขยยค Fiddlehed

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4 responses to “Kerfunken Fiddle Raga

  1. Hi Ya Jason,

    Love the Fiddle Ragas, offering the opportunity for very personal creativity to take place. I think maybe meditatively moving comes to my mind. Thank you for teaching and sharing them with us all.

    There are a two tunes I like to “try” drones to. Maybe you would enjoy them also. The first one is called “Freedom/Saoirse” from Martin Haye’s band, album called The Gloaming. I think you can see them on youtube. And the other tune is called “My Mind Will Never Be Easy” also Martin Hayes (Quartet) on the album called The Blue Room. This tune not so much for droning, more hypnotic.

    Cheers,
    linda