Bowing Down Home Oral History Transcripts

File: cheveriecharles-oh-donmesser_M.mp3

Speakers:

CC – Fr. Charles Cheverie

CC Then in 1939 or 1940, Don Messer came. Don Messer was a big, big name in fiddling. But Don Messer was a fiddler who came from New Bruns-wick, he had some classical training himself, was able to

File: arsenaulteddy-oh-styles_M.wav

Speaker:

EA — Eddy Arsenault

It don't make any difference where you go, you can go up west, you go to Tignish, you can go to Souris, you can go Summerside, everybody got a different style to play. You notice that? Now in New Brunswick they got a

File: cousinsjohn-oh-islandsounds_M.mp3

Speakers:

JC – John Cousins

JC: Speaking of sounds, not only music of course – The sounds of the farm, the traditional farm on PEI will probably never be heard now because they were never really recorded. The sound of a team. This farm never

File: macdonaldfrancis-oh-gettingstarted_M.mp3

Speakers:

FM – Francis MacDonald

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

KP So how old were you when you began playing?

FM Oh, I suppose around between 9 and 10 years old, somewhere in that range.

KP

File: macpheegeorge-oh-weddings_M.mp3

Speakers:

GM – George MacPhee

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

GM They had a certain tune they used to play for the old wedding dance. They used to tune the fiddle up in high bass, and Dad used to play it all the time. But it's kind of a tricky

File: hughesemmett-oh-doublestops_M.mp3

Speakers

EH – Emmett Hughes

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

KP I think I heard you use a lot of double strings in your playing, is that true? You try to hit two strings?

EH Yes, and a lot of times you

File: chaissonkevin-oh-pnoruns.mp3

Speakers:

KC — Kevin Chaisson

KC It's always in the background with the fiddle. The fiddle is — Stands out, and the piano is always in the background. But the thing that I like to do is — I don't even know what you call it. It's kinda like maybe a chord

File: stewartarchie-oh-playingforset_M.mp3

Speakers:

AS – Archie Stewart

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

AS There was a certain beat of music for each section [figure] of that set. Like when you started first, you wanted a fairly slow beat, because it was a slow back and forth.

File: quinnmerlin-oh-swingingrhythm_M.mp3

Speakers:
MQ – Merlin Quinn

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

MQ: I can teach you how to swing in about two seconds. You don't have to have a partner. And you don't have to have fast music. The thing about swingin is, music doesn't have to be fast

File: chaissonyoungpeter-oh-fourthfingerdemo_M.mp3

Speakers:

PC – "Young Peter" Chaisson

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

PC: It makes the tune. Remember what we were talking about there today?

KP: Yeah.

PC: Like there's – When it'

File: toolestephen-oh-takingsound_M.mp3

Speakers:

ST – Stephen Toole

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

ST And another thing about a fiddler is – I've heard my father sayin, I've heard a lot of people sayin that they can always tell a person that would never be a fiddler by the sound

File: dauschmidtkathryn06-oh-peerpressureupdate_M.mp3

Speakers:

KD – Kathryn Dau Schmidt

KD: I get the feeling there's not as much peer pressure because there's been enough young people playing that it's not looked at quite as weird as it was, in most places.

banksreg06-oh-changesqdances_M.mp3

Speakers:

RB – Reg Banks

KP – Ken Perlman

RB: Oh there's a lot of changes in the dances. I can hardly explain the dances today. They get up on the floor today, and they're dancin' around and they'd just be scufflin' around. Now, years ago

File: macinnisbillysenior06-oh-declinesqdances_M.mp3

Speakers:

BM – Billy MacInnis Sr.

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

BM:A lot of them dances was just a fiddle and a piano: not even vocalists, and you could in them days put 100 to 150 people in a hall just with a fiddle

File: banksreg06-oh-schooldances_piesocials.mp3

Speakers

RB – Reg Banks

KP – curator Ken Perlman

RB: Years ago they'd have the old-fashioned school houses, befoerr they's have the big high schools and all this. Every settlement had a school house. And they would have dances in