Fiddling away the time together one Saturday evening a month, some area fiddle students gather to hone their craft before Bayside Travellers dances.
Meeting a few hours before the monthly country dances at Gilbert Lodge at Twin Lakes Camp in Long Lake Township, these musicians-in-training practice old-time tunes such as Flog Eared Mule, Soldiers Joy, Muddy Road, Shortnin' Bread and Sweet Georgia Brown. Guided by fiddle instructor Chris Williams, owner of the Family String Band Studio in Traverse City, last month seven fiddlers, one instructor, two guitarists and two spoon players gathered to jam.
"It's helpful because it helps a lot with the ear training,” said Nancy Peterson of Northport. "Once you get better you can do all sorts of improv.”
A beginning fiddler teaching herself, Peterson attends the sessions regularly with her three children, all of whom study the fiddle as well as other instruments. She relishes the group jams once a month as a chance to spread her musical wings, improving her technique and repertoire so that she can play at the next level.
"It's really dynamic and you never know which way it is going to go,” Peterson said. "It's so much more fun than just playing at home by yourself.”
Williams is a veteran fiddle player and teacher who founded her studio in Logan's Landing six years ago. This is the third season she and her students have gathered before the Bayside Travellers dances. She runs the loosely organized jams, which welcome other fiddler players who do not study with her, by having attendees simply suggest songs and whoever wants to or is able to joins in. Musicians playing other instruments who attend also chip in with suggestions or songs.
"It provides a chance to engage with other people musically and to see that there's a wider world out there,” noted Williams, who suggested the collaboration to the Bayside Travellers board because she did not have room to host a jam session at her small studio.
"Sometimes the band will play with us, too, so they will get something from that, too,” she added. "I'm hoping that at some point the kids will be strong enough to do a dance.”
Ruby John, 16, is a tenth grade homeschool student and aspiring professional fiddler who is one of Williams' star students. Serious about her playing and determined to master the style and nuance of the instrument, John attends the jam sessions regularly. Her mother, Cindi, who is beginning to study the instrument, also attended Saturday's event and the whole family stayed afterward for the dance.
"I like them and they are a lot of fun,” said John of the jam sessions. "Last year I got to meet a lot of fiddlers here and got to play in the band.”
"I like that you can play a lot of different songs and can play with a lot of different instruments and people,” she added. "I like the improv.”
Being invited by the band playing for the dance to sit in for some songs was a honor for John, who has been studying the instrument for six years and soaks up as much knowledge as she can from other fiddlers. She is also learning to play the piano and starting the guitar to increase her versatility as a musician.
"I hope to play the fiddle as my career but I'm also going to learn a lot more instruments,” she said.