Tunes from the Fiddler
I'm Nathan Davis, and this is my space to fiddle around. All recordings are my own, but feel free to share the links!
Acoustic theme by Rolando Murillo, using the iPhone toolbar icons.
I'm Nathan Davis, and this is my space to fiddle around. All recordings are my own, but feel free to share the links!
Acoustic theme by Rolando Murillo, using the iPhone toolbar icons.
This year I had the opportunity to teach a Fiddle and Composition Camp for young violin students. We had a great time learning different styles of tunes, various Celtic ornaments, and some music theory. As a class, we composed two different tunes: a polka and a jig. I hope others have as much fun hearing these tunes as we did composing them!
Fiddling Frisbees by Nathan Davis Shadow of the Mountain by Nathan Davis
I composed these two pieces some time ago, and after they had lain dormant for several months I re-discovered them and decided to record this demo arrangement. Someday I’ll make the pro version of this arrangement, so any cellists interested in doing a little recording feel free to contact me. :-)
For those of you who asked me earlier this week, I’m playing at the West Lafayette location of the Nine Irish Brothers on Thursday night (the 4th) from 8pm-10. I’ll also be playing at the same location next Thursday, but I’m not sure of the time. I’ll post the details sometime next week.
This is a promo photo of me with the band I just joined: the Whigmaleeries. We’ll be performing at the Lafayette Nine Irish Brothers this Friday from 9pm-midnight, and at the West Lafayette location on Saturday from 9pm-midnight. You can check us out here.
I went to the 2011 Hoosier Boy’s State this year. This is a video of me with my electric violin at the talent show. You might recognize this tune as one of my original compositions “Celtic Fusion”, an older version of which is posted lower on my blog.
The world of music is truly diverse. Mark Summer, the cellist for the Turtle Island String Quartet, composed a beautiful piece “Julio”. Recently, I stumbled on a video of another cellist’s rendition of this piece. In addition to a fantastic cello skills, he beat boxes along with the tune. In my opinion it’s done very tastefully - but you’ll have to watch the video to decide for yourself.
I felt like doing a little recording tonight, so I happened upon a combination of the Blarney Pilgrim and Spoot O’Skerry. The Blarney Pilgrim is a tried and true jig that has withstood the tests of time, while Spoot O’Skerry reel was composed in the 1980’s and is a fairly young tune. This one-shot take is just me on violin, with an overdubbed me backing myself.
I had arrived at orchestra rehearsal early. I went to play my violin in a stairwell (I love playing in places that echo). I played a handful of notes. WOW! The reverb was amazing. I was so disappointed that I’d left my digital recorder at home. So the next week… I came prepared. I didn’t have much time after the rehearsal, so this tune is just a quick shot sample of me playing Natalie MacMaster’s Volcanic Jig. The reverb is 100% unedited, and yet the recording still comes short of the incredible sound of that stairwell. Next rehearsal, I’m going back for more!
I heard someone say recently, “all work and no plagiarism makes Jack a dull writer”. While this phrase may apply to the world of writing, I think that it can be accurate also in the world of music. I say that to make the point that I greatly enjoy learning and recording other musicians works. This tune is me playing one of my all-time favorites composed by Jeremy Kittel, and is my best attempt at replicating this great tune (without guitar, however). The segment in the middle is Jeremy’s own genius technique (I only wish I’d thought of it :-) and is used to transition from a 4-4 time to a 6-8 time. He does a fantastic job of it, and I highly encourage anyone who has the time to listen to my recording of this beautiful set to take the time to listen also to Jeremy’s original recording.
This past December I made a Christmas CD, and wanted to share a couple of the highlights of that CD (despite the fact that it’s now halfway through January). The first tune is a duet I composed for O Carolan’s Concerto. This lovely Irish tune hasn’t had any duet to go with it - until now. The second set is a mix of one of my Christmas favorites I Saw Three Ships combined with the Irish Last Train to Loughrea. The final product is a combination of drums, violin, mandolin, and penny whistle.
O Carolan’s Concerto duet by Nathan Davis I Saw Three Ships, Last Train to Loughrea by Nathan Davis
