Northern Week at Ashokan, 1991: Fiddle tunes, motivation and community at a fiddle and dance camp.

Abstract

Historically, the oral/aural transmission of folk fiddling has taken place in informal, native settings. In response to changing social conditions, the practitioners of fiddling traditions have created other contexts such as summer camps in which to perpetuate their art. An ethnographic field study maintaining a phenomenological orientation was conducted of such a camp, Northern Week at Ashokan '91, one of the Fiddle and Dance summer workshops held in New York's Catskill Mountain region. The purposes of this study were to determine and describe: (1) characteristics of teaching and learning fiddle which occurred within the camp context; (2) the effect of the camp experience on selected student attendees, including the author; (3) viable characteristics which could be included in a school string program. The fiddlers valued Northern Week as a natural extension of their daily music-making experiences. Teaching and learning of repertoire was their primary focus. Implicit in the process was the acquisition of stylistic competence. Learning by ear was predominant, with a growing acceptance of printed music among fiddlers. Other teaching strategies used by camp instructors were documented. Fiddlers coming to Ashokan were highly motivated by the desire: to acquire new repertoire; for social/musical interaction; for recreational opportunities; for immersion into an aesthetically gratifying experience; to interact with highly competent teaching models; to improve as fiddlers; for continuing learning and exploratory opportunities. Northern Week provided a successful recontextualization for traditional fiddling beyond its native context through re-creation of a remarkable sense of community. This was realized through effective leadership, meaningful social/musical interaction, dancing, and shared growth, support, and achievement. Features recommended for adoption into school settings include emphasis of: a sense of community; fiddle tunes as pedagogical literature; traditional music ensembles; aural learning; fiddling styles for the appreciation of stylistic/aesthetic and cross-cultural musical differences. Northern Week provided a significant model for successful schooling by incorporating qualities essential to excellence in education: collective sense of purpose; connectedness; opportunities for lifelong learning, exploration, and collaboration; commitment to ethics; non-coercive leadership; and sense of community.