Learn to Fiddle the Orange blossom Special, the Most beloved Fiddle Tune in the World

Learning to fiddle the Orange bloom special is not easy, but it's truly worth the effort. The Orange bloom special is unequaled in popularity. To learn it you must scholar three safe bet parts. Each of these parts has its own character and style. They are: 1. Bells, whistles, chugga-chugga's, 2. The Shuffle, 3. The Hoedown.

Bells, Whistles, Chugga-chugga's

This is the initial part of the tune. It starts up right after the rhythm is put down, by guitar, and other instruments usually.

The first whistle to scholar is made by the G# on the D string and the B on the A string.This duplicate stop takes two of the chord notes from the E major chord and moves them down and up with a fall off at the end.

That's followed by the left hand plucking the E string for the bell.This can be recycled several times.

In in the middle of the bell and the whistle, play some chugga-chugga's.For that you must move the bow up and down the string instead of over the string. Do this very rapidly in time.
I change my grip on the bow a microscopic to make this easier.Make the movement very short, just a combine or more inches at the most. The sound should be 90% percussive, not tonal.
In other words a exact pitch is not what we're after. Placement of the left hand fingers can be the same as the whistle.

It is in this part of the tune that many fiddlers do musical quotes and "stretch out." I used to do that, too. Then, I heard the superior Irwin Rouse version.
The directness of his carrying out is mighty by comparison of the "loaded up" versions you hear today. My recommendation: except for a few bluesy, syncopated moves, lose the junk.

The Shuffle

The most sublime shuffle for this tune is the duplicate shuffle or hokum bow. We'll get to that.

In the original version by Irwin Rouse, he played two other shuffles. And remember, we're talking about the version that made the tune famous.

One of the shuffles is a rocking bow. You play two strokes on the lower strings and two on the next pair up, back and forth. This was in last month's tabs.

This is a good technique to scholar for other tunes as well. Often I use this move for Arkansas Traveler. (I stole this from Dale Potter.)

In this shuffle you will need to think in terms of three strings at once. Not that you play three at once, but your fingering is organized as though you were.

Mastering the fingering for this shuffle puts you in very good position to scholar the duplicate shuffle.

There are two difficult areas for the hokum bow or duplicate shuffle. One is the left hand--having to be concerned with three strings at a time. Someone else is the coordination of the string crossings with the bow.

There is an easy way to get into this rhythm, using only two strings. This practice is included with the tab charts for new Fiddle Tech Notes subscribers.

Play through this pattern thought about so that you don't add an extra note or leave on out. When you can be dependable in playing through the pattern once, play it twice with approximately no pause in between.

Then play it through and go to the next pair of strings to do it again.

The greatest carrying out of this shuffle shuffle gets the left hand fingers changing along with the bow. It's quite and advanced technique. An example of this is also in the tabs.

Irwin Rouse also does a shuffle of chugga-chugga's. As said before, the sound is in general percussive. Yet, you will use the left hand positions for the fingering just as in the rocking bow.

Rouse went through the tune 3 times, ending with the hokum bow. When I play it, ordinarily I just go through the tune twice. First with rocking bow, then with hokum. And I end after the hoedown.
The Hoedown

Finally, we get to a straight ahead part that sounds like a hoedown.
It's exactly the same distance as Cripple Creek. Or as long as the A part of Old Joe Clark.

Creating your own version of this tune is like manufacture up a dissimilarity of any well known hoedown. You want to keep it recognizable. After the hoedown, there is a transitional outline that takes you back to the key of E.

If you want to end the song, you need to add a uncomplicated approved tag to wind things up. And there it is: the Orange bloom Special.