Fiddler’s Cramp (hornpipe) on The Session

Fiddler’s Cramp hornpipe

Also known as The Independence, The Independent.

There are 5 recordings of this tune.

Fiddler's Cramp has been added to 55 tunebooks.

Two settings

X: 1
T: Fiddler's Cramp
R: hornpipe

download

ABC sheet music

X: 2
T: Fiddler's Cramp
R: hornpipe

download

Four comments

Fiddler’s Cramp

This one’s well named and just good fun to play.
It should go at quite a rate tho…
Followed by The Smith’s a Gallant Fireman and AJ’s on the Wrigley Sisters Birlin Fiddles album.
Followed by The Auchterarder VIP and Violet Tulloch’s Hornpipe on Alistair MacCulloch’s Wired Up album.

Fiddler’s Cramp

Quite. Could also be called "Triplets From Hell", ‘cos you’ve got to go to hell and back before you can play the wretched things cleanly at speed with separate bows (slurred bowing is cheating, IMO). The trick is slooooow practice with a loose wrist, hand and fingers, and use only a tiny bit of bow for each note.
Trevor

Fiddler’s Cramp

I should add, when practicing these fast triplets, you should keep the bow in contact with the string all the time, and don’t let it bounce. If the bow bounces, the period during which it is out of contact with the string is unpredictable and makes it more difficult to synchronise fingers and bow.

Trevor

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