Why we squeak (Cumberland Gap)

I believe this is going to be episode 99 , and that means that next week we'll have episode 100 . And for that episode I'm going to have a very special guest who has been on the podcast many times .

In fact , nearly every week my husband , Charley , and I are going to record a little podcast where we I guess we kind of interview each other as my 100th episode , and so I will see you all back next week with that and very happy to have brought the podcast all the way to episode 99 . Still love collecting these tunes .

Still love talking about fiddle getting into the weeds , still thinking about more things to do podcasts on . So feel free to send ideas or questions or topics to meganbeller at fididdlestudiocom . Okay , so we have a great topic this week what makes the fiddles squeak ? Why do we squeak ? Wouldn't it be great if fiddles didn't squeak ?

That would be great If , whatever it was that's happening between the bow hair and the steel string , that that could go wrong in many ways and that none of those ways would make a squeaking sound . Maybe if I had a magical ability I would make that happen . Let's go through the really basic stuff . We're going to assume that your fiddle is in tune .

It doesn't really affect squeaking . Let's make sure that if you're getting your fiddle out to play and you're trying to make it sound good , that you've got your fiddle in tune , that there's not too much rosin dust on your strings , okay , get a clean cloth and rub those strings down .

I apologize in advance for the sound that's going to make , but making that squeaking sound to clean your strings will mean fewer squeaks when you play . So there you go . I should have called it how to squeak on the fiddle . We're assuming you have a pretty reasonable bridge .

If your bridge is very curved or very flat , that's going to be a hindrance to getting a good , clear tone without squeaking .

I want you to make sure your bow is tightened a normal amount Mona Lisa smile , you've got some rosin on there and basically that your fingers are on the right string and they're pressing down a reasonable amount Strings going all the way down to the fingerboard .

So if all of that is all set , you've got your instrument and your bow set up right and you know you're playing the correct finger on the correct string . We will move on to the main reason why we squeak , which is what's happening with the bow on the string . So let's talk about that Now . I know that we're not really talking about crunching , but crunching .

A lot of what I'm going to suggest is going to involve putting a little more pressure or you could say getting a firmer grip on the string with your bow . But it's good to keep in mind that if you go too far in that direction it will crunch .

So crunching is the sound of the bow pressing too hard on the strings , and if you're crunching you've gone too far . You got to back up a couple steps . One main way that people squeak is actually by putting too little pressure into the string .

So you get kind of a wispy squeaking tone if you're pressing too little and the full note is not sounding out of the string . I would totally suggest that you go get your fiddle , if you're curious about some of this , and try it . Try pressing hard , getting a crunching sound . Try pressing really light and getting a wispy , squeaking sound .

So you know what that's like . If your bow is sliding around , it will be more of a scraping noise . So try playing sliding your bow on the string so it's not staying straight on the highway but it's at an angle , it's sliding as you're playing . That's another noise that you can get .

Now there's a lot of squeaks that come from either changing strings or hitting other strings other than the string that you're trying to play on . If your bow hits another string while you're playing and it gets kind of a full contact of that string , you'll hear basically a double stop . You'll hear the two strings at the same time . So two notes .

But if your bow only makes like half contact with the string , just hits it for a very little while or very little bit of pressure , then you're going to get a squeak , because that's what happens when the bow's making contact with the string but it's not grabbed the string enough to get a full note out of it , and so it can happen if you're going to a

string and you haven't fully gotten a grip on the string yet , you get a squeak as you go over there . Or it can happen if you're playing and you accidentally hit another string , but only partially , if you know what I mean . Only partially , if you know what I mean .

So when I say that most squeaks come from not having enough pressure , that's what I'm talking about the squeaks you can get from not pressing hard enough or from sliding around on the string , and the squeaks you can get from hitting or going to another string and not having full pressure on that string .

There's some noises you can get changing bows , and that's usually about having a good contact point and adjusting the amount of pressure you're putting into the string . It's going to depend a little bit on your fiddle and your bow , so you may need to press a little harder , press a little lighter when you're changing directions from where you do .

In the middle of the note , diagnosing squeaks is a little tricky . If you really can't get to the bottom of something , you can always take it to another player or a shop See if you can get some advice about it . Our tune this week is Marion Reece's Cumberland Gap .

This is from William Marion Reece went by Marion and it's another tune in G , a reel from North Carolina this time Marion Reece was a fiddler , also made fiddles and was a fife player . He lived in Zionville , N north Carolina . He played a lot of the older repertoire from that area and he played in standard tuning and in cross-tuning did a lot of drums

. So from what we've heard from his recordings and from what other fiddlers have said , a very old-time , drone-heavy style and he grew up in a musical family playing the fiddle and playing the fife . I guess his father or maybe his grandfather would have played the fife in the American Civil War .

So this is his version of Cumberland Gap , which of course is the place where Kentucky , T tennessee and Virginia all come together in one spot in Cumberland Gap , as played in North Carolina . So there you go , here we go , thank you . Thank you for listening .

You can find the music for today's tune at fiddlestudiocom , along with my books , courses and membership for learning to fiddle . I'll be back next week with another tune for you . Have a wonderful day .