Music Lesson: Double Stops in American Fiddling

Hello! In this lesson, we're going to look at more double stops. I have to say that double stops are where a lot of the challenge of American fiddling lies.

Spotlight on Arthur Smith

We're going to examine the playing of Arthur Smith, often referred to as "Fiddling Arthur Smith." He was one of the early stars of the Grand Ole Opry, making his debut in 1927, and he was particularly skilled in double stops.

The Tune: Cheetham County Breakdown

One of the tunes we're going to play, which featured prominently in his performances, includes a whole load of second over fourth finger combinations.

• Second Finger: Goes down first
• Fourth Finger: Then placed on the string

Stretch and Positioning

You may find that your fourth finger interferes with the second finger when playing on the E string. If this happens, you'll need to adjust your hand position to ensure it's at the right angle.

Another Common Technique

We also have open over four, which is another prevalent technique in American fiddling.

• The open E string and the fourth finger play the same note simultaneously.

Again, it's crucial to have your hand positioned well so that your finger is pointing straight down, avoiding any unwanted sounds.

Playing the Tune

Let's go straight into the tune, Cheetham County Breakdown.

Cheetham County, which can be spelled in various ways, is actually named after a county just west of Tennessee.

I'm going to play this tune nice and slow, and we'll follow with some backing:

1. Count: 1, 2, 3, 4.

Important Elements

• You'll notice that not only do we have these double stops, but there is also a significant amount of syncopation in this tune, which is something we've already covered.

Practice Exercise

Now, let's try the same thing, but this time slightly faster and with backing.

For your assignment in this lesson:

• Go back over some of the tunes we've covered and play slow versions while creating some double stops.
• Focus on finding either open over fourth or second over fourth harmonies like we've practiced.

Happy fiddling!