Well observed, Daniel. I am a firm believer that a fiddler should play a tune exactly as fast or as slow as they feel the tune tells them to play it. However, speed for the sake of speeding has never appealed to me. No question that playing fast takes skill and ability, and some fiddlers are able to deliver the entire package; intonation, clarity, solid rhythm at any speed. But too often (not always) one sacrifices groove and nuance. Of course, it's fun to drive a fast car sometimes, but think about all the wonderful scenery you might miss. I remain a huge fan of Dick Barrett's fiddling (see videos on this channel) and he never rushed through a tune for anyone and he still delivered the tune with power and weight. And of course, we must consider the source of the tune on which you are commenting....played by the great Benny Thomasson. It can take a lifetime of devotion to an instrument to present a tune at a modest pace with both simplicity and sophistication. Benny was that kind of fiddler.

I agree 100%!! These old fiddle tunes weren't meant to be played at breakneck speed. The timing on this is just right!!

I'm no specialist either, Dustin. But I believe your descriptive prose is wholly accurate. There is something special about Benny that not everyone is able to hear. He was the real deal. I appreciate your comment and I'm glad that you found the Joy of Fiddling channel.

@marcia h, there was/is a great deal to love about Benny the man and the musician.

Very glad you found it, @Jeffrey Siegel.

Hi Sarah. Benny was indeed born and raised in Texas but in the early 1970's he moved with his wife to the state of Washington where he found himself to be quite the celebrity in the fiddling community and his influence was enormous in the Pacific Northwest. If he was jamming or warming up anywhere in Weiser, Idaho during the National Old-Time Fiddlers' Contest there was always an impenetrable crowd gathered around him. He become instructor and mentor to countless fiddlers including my mother. (i still have an old cassette recording of one of her lessons with Benny where she asked him about the contention of many that Texas style fiddling was "not danceable"....Benny disagreed.) Most notably he took a young Mark O'Connor under his wing and we all know how Mark went on to make fiddling history of his own. When Benny lived in Texas, he had offers to play in traveling bands but opted for a day job that kept him home with his family. He worked in an auto body shop...as a painter, I believe. He was performing and competing in Texas at the time of his passing in 1984. His impact on fiddling in the Pacific Northwest and elsewhere continues to reverberate to this day.

@@joyoffiddling Re: "...she asked him about the contention of many that Texas style fiddling was "not danceable"....Benny disagreed.)" Did Benny elaborate much on this? I've heard several people assert that the "Contest" style of which he is considered a founding father is not the same as the "Texas" style he played.

Well,@@BanjoR549, that is an excellent question and one that could require a lengthy response if answered thoroughly and also one that likely has more than one answer. For the record I would consider myself a lover and student of Texas style fiddling but I would never pass myself off as an expert or an authority on anything, let alone Texas style. Having said that, I may have a few things to offer you that may fill in a few blanks and I will attempt to give it in a Cliff Notes manner. As far as Benny elaborating on the subject of the danceability of Texas style fiddling, I have little actual documentation to submit beyond the old cassette recording my mother made while taking a lesson with Benny and stories about Benny shared with me from others. And I do have very specific memories from when I was a kid watching Benny dancing by himself at jam sessions whenever he really liked what another fiddler was doing. As far as “contest style” is concerned (not a term I am a fan of as it is sometimes used to be dismissive of certain kinds of fiddling) the seeds of that may have been planted when Benny was a young competitor. A story he told often about his early formative years involves him being pretty confident in his abilities as a fiddler. But when he thought he was making an impression at one contest and he didn’t even progress to the final rounds, he decided it was time to change up his game. Benny began to woodshed (in his bathroom) working out variations and expanding his arrangements and allowing improvisation into the mix in order to…in his words….”round out the tune”. Not long after Benny developed this new voice on the fiddle, he began to be a dominant figure on the contest circuit. And what happens when you win contests? People want to be where you are…they want to win…and many begin to emulate the “winning style”. As far as the evolution of Texas style fiddling, the story becomes more complex and nuanced and branches out of and into many different places and people. Benny was not the only Texas style innovator. Major Franklin, Bryant Houston, Louis Franklin, Orville Burns, Dick Barrett, the Solomon family, and others all made huge contributions. However, I think one could argue that there is a direct line from Benny to Texas style legend Terry Morris as Benny was one of Terry’s mentors. Terry took Texas style fiddling another step forward and another level up. Naturally, he dominated the fiddle contest circuit in his time. His seminal album "A Touch of Texas... Fiddlin' That Is”was a musical manifesto of what was to come and it influenced and continues to inform countless fiddlers who have a passion for Texas style fiddling. Then came musical phenom Mark O’Connor. Mark was also mentored personally by Benny, but there are many who bristle at the idea that Mark embodied a specific definition of Texas style and I am NOT about to get into that debate here. I will contend that Mark’s impact on the fiddle contest scene reverberates to this day although he stopped competing decades ago. Mark dominated most (not all) fiddle contests in his time. And again…what happens when you win? Others will emulate you, hoping to win. There are recordings of fiddlers playing exact versions of Mark’s arrangements of tunes….note for note. (a level of imitation I’ve never been a fan of) Mark was considered unbeatable for years…until one year in Weiser at the National Old-time Fiddlers Contest he wasn’t and he came in 2nd place to another fiddler in the Open Division. In Weiser, the judges are sequestered away from the stage and cannot see and do not hear the name of a contestant announced. Mark’s runner-up placement was generally considered an upset by most, not the least of which the judges themselves, who, when asked about the 1st place finisher, said later….”We thought it was Mark.” Again, the style that wins at fiddle contests tends to be the dominant style at fiddle contests. There is always an emphasis on technical excellence and pristine execution but creativity, imagination, innovation, energy, feeling, emotion, power, etc. cannot be left out of the mix. Some strict traditionalists bemoan Texas style or contest style as straying too far from the source or worse, that it somehow threatens the existence of traditional Old-time fiddling. I whole heartedly disagree. I am reminded of a conversation that I had with Daniel Carwile, a dear friend, one of my favorite fiddlers, and featured in several videos on this channel. Daniel, a musician who has been accused of being too progressive in his fiddling, said that he believed fiddling was like a shark…it needed to always keep moving forward or it would die. And I think that idea is worth contemplating. To me, fiddling is a living, breathing art form, that, like anything, will evolve over time, much like Jazz has from the 1900’s to today. Every time Jazz took a step forward or moved into a different direction, there was always someone who said, “Jazz is dead”. Which of course is simply not true. I did my best to keep it short and yet there’s still so much more that could be said in answer to your query, including how hugely Bob Wills influenced the Texas style fiddlers, and what did Bob Wills play…? Dance music. In conclusion, I’ll share a story from a few years back when I went to see a friend who played fiddle in a band, and they had a gig at the Cow Palace Saloon in Chatsworth, California. That night the band was there to provide live music for dancers and the crowd on the dance floor ebbed and flowed throughout the evening depending on what song was being played. Near the end of the show when it appeared the dancers were calling it a night, my friend launched into a blistering Texas stylish version of “Sally Goodin” and the band tore after him. In an instant that dance floor was packed and hoots, hollers, and yee-haws exploded inside that honky tonk. I was amazed. After the show I remarked to my friend about the old adage of Texas style not being danceable and he shook his head and said….”Oh, no…it’s eminently danceable.” I hope that helps.

@@joyoffiddling Well said. I agree, but I will that I believe folks are justified in complain about the progressive styles supplanting Old-Time in a contest when the term "Old-Time" is in the title of the event and/or the rules imply the music is supposed to be Old-Time.

I once heard he was a sheep herrder in Idaho. Don't know if it's true or not. If so, sure bet he kept 'em "bunched" with his fine fiddle playing.I had the good fortune of hearing him play several times, at Weiser, in Texas and the Grand Masters. Fiddle on, Benny!

im not surprised it realy is something special and Bennys fiddling makes it extra/extra ttfn&ty

Hey @aaron lowe! You've got good taste in pickers!😁

Lol

Not a real Strad for sure. But a nice sounding copy as 99.9% of Strads are. If truly Bennys would be very valuable regardless of appraised value.

Dick knew what he was talking about when he said that.

Great question, Aran. I'll answer as best as I am able. I do not believe that this footage is from a television show per se, however, it is possible that it was aired at sometime...perhaps on something like PBS?... but I have no specific information on that beyond the fact it was produced by the Seattle Folklore Society in the mid-70s. At some point it ended up for commercial sale on VHS but was never released on DVD or digitally. The video of this tune is one of a total of thirteen videos I edited down from the entire program. If you want to view the entire program from start to finish or pick and choose which tunes you'd like to view, you can find them all compiled into a single playlist on this channel. Here is the link: kzfaq.info/sun/PL-7sGqQweHSgBC-eyM-x9xK_203VWKgPs

Aaron Lowe on guitar. Musician credits are listed at the end of each video.

That would be Dick Barret. Another Texas fiddle legend. This video is one part of a series of thirteen. You can watch them all start to finish in the Playlist: kzfaq.info/sun/PL-7sGqQweHSgBC-eyM-x9xK_203VWKgPs I'll look into the Matt Glaser project. Sounds interesting.

Thanks for uploading these gems. Yes, i've gone through some of the others since i posted and will return to them again and again, trying to crack the Texas fiddling nut.

My pleasure, Fred. Glad you found them. All the many different styles of fiddling around the world have their own unique challenges, and Texas style can be formidable. It can be a lifelong endeavor and I personally know some superb, highly capable fiddlers who openly admit that they could never crack that "Texas groove" code. It can be illusive but I encourage you to hang in there. It's a journey not just a destination. If you're looking for a listening material to study, may I recommend you look up "Texas Fiddle Archive", a site that my buddy Dan Stewart started and something I contribute to from time to time. You will find a treasure trove of mostly jam session audio of the best Texas style fiddlers and pickers all downloadable for free. Also on this channel I have a series of videos of the late great Terry Morris, also compiled in the Playlist section. The audio/visual quality is not the best as it was digitized from a deteriorating old video tape, but it's still worthwhile because Terry was and always will be one of the greatest Texas style fiddlers who ever pulled bow.

Dick Barrett

True, Adam. He was. And in many ways he still is and always will be.

Musicians are credited at the end of each video. Markie Shubb is on stand up bass.

@@joyoffiddling AKA Markie Sanders, for the last many years.

@nashvillebanjo, thanks for that update. I hope Markie knows how much people appreciate these performances.

If would be pretty cool if Ricky Skaggs was making an accompanist cameo in these videos, but actually, that is Aaron Lowe. A fiddler in his own right who won the 2016 National Senior Division in Weiser, Idaho.

We do sort of of look alike don't we ...