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This lesson is the advanced solo follow-up to the Shenandoah Valley Breakdown lesson I post a while back. I've transcribed a solo from a live performance by one of my favorite musicians of all time, Stuart Duncan. You can view the original live performance in the YouTube video at the bottom of this lesson. I've also included backup track videos, as well as audio-only tracks for those of you who want to put it on your iPod or use the Amazing Slow Downer. This is a really hard solo, so prepare to have your mind blown and to have lots of stuff to practice this week!
Stuart Duncan is a bluegrass fiddling god. His tone is is silky, his intonation is impeccable, and his phrasing is extremely unique. Stuart doesn't seem to have bowing patterns that he falls back into, as most players do. Every lick sounds unique because of his ever changing bowing choices. A Stuart Duncan solo is a great place to start exploring improvisation and phrasing because it is both technically challenging and musically mind expanding.
The Original Performance by Stuart Duncan
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Hello there, Fiddlin’ Mike-
I’m a fiddle player from Australia. I’ve just joined and your Shenandoah Valley Breakdown lesson is my intro to this site. I found it on youtube. Man, I have to say, I’ve been looking for something like this for so long – I’m a huge Stuart Duncan fan and I’m so pleased that there is finally some of his stuff written down! Keep it coming – I’ve never heard a bad Duncan solo. On their own, they are terrific exercises for any violinist!
Thanks and I’m really looking forward to the future here and exploring the rest of the lessons.
Cheers,
Pete
Thanks Pete! I’m really glad that you enjoyed the Shenendoah Breakdown Solo lesson, that was one of my favorites to work on. I’ll make sure to put up more lessons like it 🙂