Audio Highlight
Darley Fulks - Wolfe County, Kentucky
"Rooshian Rabbit," 01-05-1977.
Bruce Greene Collection, SAA 90 (BG-CT-115)
Related Berea Sound Archives Sites
- Traditional Music and Spoken Word Performances This link opens in a new windowListen to selected musical performances and storytelling from the Berea Sound Archives.
- Alan Lomax Kentucky CollectionListen to ocumentary sound recordings of rural Kentucky music and lore collected under the auspices of the Archive of American Folk Song at the Library of Congress between 1933 and 1942.
- Oral History Collections GuideBerea's online oral history collections cover a broad range of topics in the areas of Appalachian history and culture, and the history of Berea College. In many instances searchable transcripts accompany the digitized audio recordings.
- Examples of Oral Histories For Use As Primary SourcesSelected interview texts and recordings covering a wide range of topics.
- Sound Recording Analysis WorksheetA teaching / learning resource from the National Archives.
- Sound Archives Research GuidesResearch guides are the work of Archives staff and the College's Sound Archives Fellows. Using audio and video illustrations, the guides cover a wide range of topics.
- Sound Preservation ProgramThe program's focus is on Berea's collections of noncommercial recordings that document Appalachian history and culture and the history of Berea College.
- Berea Sound Archives HomepageBrowse By Topic
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Alan Jabbour
2008 Berea College Appalachian Sound Archives Fellow Alan Jabbour transcribed these selections from among the many fiddle tunes he auditioned during his research. They were chosen to feature interesting Kentucky tunes and variants, and to highlight key elements of performance style as described in Mr. Jabbour's Fellowship Activity Report.
Alan's transcriptions pay particular attention to unison notes, a culturally significant fiddling trait which appears often in Kentucky and throughout the Appalachian South. A "unison" features the playing of the same note simultaneously on two adjacent strings. Double stops and drone notes are also included where their presence seems to be an important component to the music. Some drone patterns are not fully reproduced as to avoid clutter and distraction to readers of the transcription.
In addition to the transcriptions you may play digital audio files of the original source recordings. Simply click on player below each transcription link to play the tune.
- Alan Jabbour's FInal Report"Nearly all of my research days focused on Berea College's extraordinary collection of field recordings featuring old-time fiddling from Kentucky. I am a fiddler myself and have published extensively over the years on one or another aspect of Appalachian fiddling. I sometimes imagine myself as expert on Appalachian fiddling, but every expert has lacunae in his or her expertise, and a major lacuna for me has been Kentucky fiddling. ..."
- Audio recordings of Alan JabbourFiddle tunes played by Alan Jabbour at Berea College on 5-28-08, while participating in Berea's Appalachian Music Fellowship Program
Tune Transcriptions & Audio
Andrew Jackson (PDF) - A reel or breakdown tune known in Ireland as "Over the Moor to Maggie" and as "Waynesboro" in West Virginia.
As played by Darley Fulks, Bruce Greene Collection, BG-CT-116-10.
Kentucky Winder (PDF) - A relatively close kin to the tune "Big Scioty" played by the Hammons Family in West Virginia.
As played by John Morgan Salyer, Appalachian Center Collection, AC-CT-337-003-22.
Blackberry Blossom (PDF) - Not the Arthur Smith tune of the same name. A very close kin to "Yew Piney Mountain," a distinctive tune from the repertory of central West Virginia fiddler French Carpenter.
As played by Santford Kelly, John Harrod Collection, JH-CT-039-02-A-04.
Old Churchyard (PDF) - A fine example of the fiddle tune 'air' - slow tunes where the fiddle imitates the old unaccompanied vocal style for hymns or secular songs.
As played by Santford Kelly, John Harrod Collection, JH-CT-039-01-A-04.
Rooshian Rabbit (PDF) - Another "crooked tune" from Kentucky that features the solo style of "hanging notes." It begins with a great fanfare, then hangs on a high G before chasing off again.
As played by Darley Fulks, Bruce Greene Collection, BG-CT-115.
Cattle in the Corn (PDF) - An old-time fiddle tune played by Marshall County, Kentucky fiddler David Myers.
As played by David Myers, Steve Rice Collection, SR-CT-044-14.
Bumblebee in a Jug (PDF) - Kentucky fiddlers seem to favor styles that use either separate bow strokes for each note or pairs of notes on the same bow stroke. This is in contrast to the "longbow" patterns of their WVa. and Virginia counterparts.
As played by George Hawkins, John Harrod Collection, JH-CT-032-02.
Humphrey's Jig (PDF) - Another fiddle tune featuring the single-note bowing pattern common to Kentucky.
As played by Alva Greene, John Harrod Collection, JH-CT-032-02.
