"Young Edward" - Appalachian Fiddle - Ben Kiser

This old solo piece comes from the playing of Hiram Stamper (1893 - 1992) of Knott County, Kentucky.
Tuning is EBEB
Hiram lived in a mountain cove outside of Hindman, in Knott County. Johnson (1953) writes that the Stampers, of English origin, came to this locale around 1800. His mother was a Stewart, of Scots-Irish descent. Hiram learned to play these more ancient pieces from Civil War veterans like Shade Slone, Si Terry, Black Hiram Bagley, and his Uncle Daniel Triplett. In his youth, he was well acquainted with the now legendary fiddlers Luther Strong and Bev Baker, and talked often of playing against them in contests. Hiram was a fiddle master and rolled his bow in the typical southeastern Kentucky old-time way that was lost to the generations that came after and played band music, but it was archived by Marynell Young, who recorded Hiram in the 1980s, which can be seen through this link.
• Hiram Stamper - Old Ti...
"A banjo picker I worked with at Berea told me about a fiddler named Hiram Stamper, who could still play the old tunes. He and his wife Martha lived back in one of these little mountain coves, and at that time the road in there was so rough I had to walk in for almost a mile, crossing a creek and a spring branch to get there. Hiram lived to be 98 years old and played the fiddle right through into his last years. He was truly the last of the old school of nineteenth century Kentucky mountain fiddlers".
Bruce Greene
Here's a link to hear Hiram Stamper play this tune
www.slippery-h...
#fiddle
#oldtimefiddle
#folkmusic
#fiddlemusic
#folklore

[@NGMountains]

Makes me feel like I'm hunting up a mountain side after a deer still trying to get away. Nice, real fine fiddle tune Ben.

[@greggkiply2763]

Beautiful

[@bearshield7138]

so very nice

[@rita1259-y5c]

My brain adds visuals to this beautiful tune that, to me, illustrates a journey❤

[@chiron14pl]

a slightly mournful tune, nice for a fall morning in the woods, thx

[@ximenadelrio]

Thank you so much for this !!!!!

[@benkiserappalachianmusic]

@@ximenadelrio your very welcome!

[@オオガキカツノリ]

👍👍👍

[@zachb8012]

Sounds like that work all day on the illinois river song

[@benkiserappalachianmusic]

@@zachb8012 interesting, never heard of that one though.

[@zachb8012]

@@benkiserappalachianmusic Because the tune I'm thinking of is called Long Hot Summer Day by a band called Turnpike Troubadours. It's a good tune. Though it's contemporary music, the fiddle derives some influence from Appalachian fiddle tradition.

[@tomsomervillemusic]

Do you know if there’s a name for this type of tunes with all the pauses? (Erynn marshall said some old fiddlers called the pauses “dwells”.) There seems to be a few in this genre eg. yew piney mountain

[@benkiserappalachianmusic]

@@tomsomervillemusic Bruce Greene said that many of the tunes that the old fiddlers played where so well filled out that they where complete in themselves without accompaniment, and some tunes (like Young Edward) were what they called “listening pieces,” meant to be played solo.

[@chiron14pl]

do you have sheet music for any of the pieces you play? There are some I would like to learn on mandolin which has same tuning as violin. I could try and pick tunes up by listening and playing along, but that takes a bit more time. thx

[@benkiserappalachianmusic]

@@chiron14pl I’m afraid I have no sheet music for these tunes as I’ve learned them all traditionally by ear. There’s a book written by Jeff Todd Titon called “Old-Time Kentucky Fiddle Tunes” where you can find many tunes like this one written in sheet music.

[@chiron14pl]

@@benkiserappalachianmusic thanks for your advice. I look forward to hearing more of your music as time moves on

[@tommybledsoe2371]

This has to be a ballad from across the water- maybe English - love that low tuning 😎🎻🎶

[@chiron14pl]

@@tommybledsoe2371 So many of the people of Appalachia came from the poor English, Scots, & Irish, so their music came over. There was some interaction with African and indigenous musical ideas, but the isolation of the mountains kept a fairly pure picture of 16th & 17th century English folk music. When Childe published his book of ballads, many of them had versions from Appalachia. It's an American heritage, taken from the old and made new

[@chiron14pl]

Thanks, I've ordered it. In an earlier chat you said you practice mostly on weekends. Are you a student or worker during the week. I assume you live in Appalachia somewhere and got to festivals in the region. You seem to have met a number of old time fiddlers