Our dear friend Paul David Smith was an elegant fiddler, generous teacher and true country gentleman. Before his passing in 2011, Suzanne Savell recorded him playing common beginner tunes and some of the Pike County tunes he was best known for. In these short solo recordings, Paul plays the A part of a tune twice slowly on one sound file, then its B part on the next. On a third file, he plays the entire tune up to speed with all the double stops, slides and ornaments that made his fiddling special. Paul recorded these tunes for students, starting with “Bile ’em Cabbage Down”, of course. But he then moves on to square dance tunes and waltzes that will be welcome in any fiddler’s repertoire. Many thanks to Suzanne for making this learning opportunity free to everyone. We hope to be posting more recordings from the Suzanne Savell Collection in coming months so stay tuned!
To listen to any of these tunes via Sound Cloud, click on the track number.
Bile ’em Cabbage Down – Track 1 – One part tune with variations Key of A
Bring Me Back My Hodie Cake – Track 2 – A part (high part – begins on E string) Key of A
Bring Me Back My Hodie Cake – Track 3 – B part (or low part – begins on D string)
Bring Me Back My Hodie Cake – Track 4 – Complete tune at moderate speed. You can also watch Carrie Wells Carter teach this fun early intermediate tune here.
Brushy Fork of John’s Creek – This is a 3-part tune in A modal that Owen “Snake” Chapman most likely learned from Hiram Stamper of Knott County (here’s Hiram playing it in A cross-tuning). This is one of the grand tunes of the Kentucky repetoire. It is usually played in AEae tuning (highly recommended) but here Paul plays it in standard tuning. Brushy Fork is in Pike County and according to Hiram “this was the last tune of the civil war”. Note: Because this is an A modal tune (not based on the usual 7 note major scale of western music) you will want to use the G-natural note (2nd finger in low position) rather than the G# in a typical A major tune. Guitar and banjo players will only need two chords: A major and G major.
Brushy Fork of John’s Creek – Track 5 – A part (or high part – begins on the E string)
Brushy Fork of John’s Creek – Track 6 – B part (begins on the A string)
Brushy Fork of John’ Creek – Track 7 – C part (begins on the G and D strings) This part begins with a double stop (two notes played together) on the two bass strings. You can catch this by retuning to AEae and playing the A and E strings open (easy once you go to the trouble of retuning!) or in standard tuning, you can use your first finger pressed down on both G and D strings to produce the A and E notes together (takes practice but worth it).
Brushy Fork of John’s Creek – Track 8 – Complete tune in all its glory. It is usually played moderate tempo.
Rock Andy – Track 9 – A part (or high part – begins on E string). Key of A modal (same scale used for Brushy Fork of John’s Creek). Paul loved this Snake Chapman tune and it became his fiddling signature.
Rock Andy – Track 10 – B part (or low part – begins on D string).
Rock Andy – Track 11 – Complete tune. Only A and G chords needed on guitar.
Angeline the Baker – Track 12 – A part (or high part -begins on E string). Key of D
Angeline the Baker – Track 13 – B part (or low part – begins on A string).
Angeline the Baker – Track 14 – Complete tune at moderate speed.
Bonaparte’s Retreat – This is a more modern version of the ancient tune played by Magoffin County fiddler William Stepp, which Aaron Copland borrowed for Rodeo. (Fun fact: Bill Stepp’s 1937 recording was inducted into the Grammy’s Hall of Fame in 2013, learn more and listen here). Like the original, this is a 3-part tune.
Bonaparte’s Retreat – Track 15 – A part (begins on the open A string). Key of D
Bonaparte’s Retreat – Track 16 – B part (begins on the D string)
Bonaparte’s Retreat – Track 17 – C part (or bridge, begins on the A string). Note: This short bridge uses a C-natural (second finger in the low position) rather than the C# in the other two parts.
Bonaparte’s Retreat – Track 18 – Complete tune at moderate speed.
Liberty – Track 19 – A part (or high part, begins on E string) Key of D
Liberty – Track 20 – B part (or low part, begins on open A string)
Liberty – Track 21 – Complete tune at moderate speed.
Mississippi Sawyer – Track 22 – A part (high part, begins on E string) Key of D
Mississippi Sawyer – Track 23 – B part (or low part, begins on A string)
Mississippi Sawyer – Track 24 – Complete tune at moderate tempo
Old Molly Hare – Track 25 – A part (or high part, begins on E string) Key of D
Old Molly Hare – Track 26 – B part (begins on E string too)
Old Molly Hare – Track 27 – Complete tune. Try the double stops Paul uses on the second time through in the B part – they’re really not as hard as they sound.
Spotted Pony – Track 28 – A part (or low part, begins on D string) Key of D
Spotted Pony – Track 29 – B part (or high part, begins on the D string as well)
Spotted Pony – Track 30 – Complete tune at moderate tempo
Too Young to Marry (AKA Sweet Sixteen) – Track 31 – A part (or high part, begins on E string) Key of D
Too Young to Marry – Track 32 – B part (or low part, begins on open A string)
Too Young to Marry – Track 33 – Complete tune up to dance speed.
Devil Eat the Groundhog – Another favorite tune from Snake Chapman that his father made up. Devil was a dog who made a meal off a nice fat dressed-out groundhog before Snake’s dad could.
Devil Eat the Groundhog – Track 34 – Part A (or high part, begins on the open D string) Key of G
Devil Eat the Groundhog – Track 35 – Part B (or low part, begins on the open G string)
Devil Eat the Groundhog – Track 36 – Complete tune, like Paul, most fiddlers start this tune on the low part
Golden Slippers – Track 37 – Part A (or high part, begins on the D string) Key of G
Golden Slippers – Track 38 – Part B (or low part, begins on the open D string)
Golden Slippers – Track 39 – Complete tune at moderate speed.
Sally Goodin’ – Track 40 – Part A (or low part, begins on D string) Key of G
Sally Goodin’ – Track 41 – Part B (or high part, begins on D sting too)
Sally Goodin’ – Track 42 – Complete tune at moderate speed. Often played fast for dances.
Jenny’s Waltz – Track 43 – Complete tune (begins on the D string) Key of G. Paul’s friend Snake Chapman wrote this tune for his wife. There is also a lovely video of Paul playing it, with Rich Kirby on guitar, during a class visit at the 2011 Cowan Creek Mtn Music School here.
Amazing Grace – Track 44 – Complete tune. Key of G
Rose of Sharon Waltz – Track 45 – Complete tune (begins on A string) Key of G. The original tune is by the prolific Scots composer J. Scott Skinner (1843 – 1927) and was titled “Rosebud of Allenvale”. It got a mountain re-do from Hiram Stamper.