••WORLD FIDDLE DAY RESOURCE PAGE••

What does the North Country do to celebrate World Fiddle Day?

Whether you’ve been playing fiddle music for years, or you’re brand new to old-time music, welcome! We will celebrate on May 9, 2:00-3:30 with a jam and potluck at the Potsdam Public Library, Potsdam, NY.

Here in the North Country of Northern New York, we join musicians around the world each May to celebrate the fiddle on World Fiddle Day. Bring your acoustic instruments and join us for local jam sessions, online play-alongs, and friendly workshops that introduce what to expect at an old-time jam.

Because we come together from many musical backgrounds and skill levels, we build community by featuring 15 old-time tunes each year. We play those tunes, then the jam “opens” up and musicians are welcome to call tunes freely.

Below you’ll find slow audio tracks, sheet music, chord charts, and videos to help you prepare for this joyful celebration.

What are this year’s featured tunes?

REELS: Angelina Baker, Boil ’em Cabbage ‘down, Cindy, Golden Slippers, La Bastringue JIGS: Chase Me Charlie, Kesh Jig, Off She Goes, Road to Lisdoonvarna, Swallowtail Jig WALTZES: Faded Love, Log Driver Waltz, Peek-a-boo Waltz, Tennessee Waltz

Each year I choose 15 tunes to feature. Start by listening to the audios below - listening is central to this aural tradition. Next, if you’re a reader, explore the chord charts and sheet music. (Don’t skip listening, my friends!!)

At our World Fiddle Day Community Jam (TBD) my students The Madstop Fiddlers -and YOU- will play these tunes together at a comfortable tempo. After we’ve played all 15, the jam opens into a “round-robin”: each musician chooses a tune, sets the tempo (or asks me to start), and we continue making music together.

Wanna practice with others?

Ahead of the “big day,” join us for an Intro to Jamming workshop at The TAUNY Center where musicians can learn, or brush up on, the featured tunes in a relaxed, welcoming setting. This session are free and open to all ages with basic proficiency on an acoustic instrument. You’re welcome to play by ear or use the sheet music and chord charts provided at the workshop or print your materials (below!)

Wanna practice from home?

Join us from anywhere! Visit North Country Public Radio at ncpr.org and click LISTEN to stream directly from your browser. Our on air jam will be May 7th!!

Barb Heller hosts String Fever, a weekly celebration of North American traditional acoustic music. Gretchen Koehler is the special co-host, helping broadcast a live old-time fiddle session across the rural listening area for a long-distance gathering over the airwaves. Musicians tune in, play along from kitchens and porches, and share photos of themselves playing, dancing, or humming along at home.

•••2026 FEATURED TUNES•••

AUDIOS, MUSIC & VIDEOS

Whooo hooo!! Below are audios, chord charts, sheet music and videos of our 2026 featured jam tunes. (If something is missing, check back…still under construction!)

Road to Lisdoonvarna (sheet music)

Off She Goes (sheet music)

Chase Me Charlie ~aka Cock of the North (sheet music)

Log Driver’s Waltz (sheet music)

•••MADSTOP FIDDLERS’ REPERTOIRE•••

Below is the repertoire bank of The Madstop Fiddlers • Koehler’s Fiddle School ! Looking forward to playing a tune with you.

REELS

Old Joe Clark (sheet music)

Red Wing (sheet music)

HORNPIPES

JIGS

WALTZES • SLOW TUNES

••POV VIDEO RESOURCES••

Follow The Fiddlers’s POV (Gretchen Koehler) on Instagram, TicTok, and You Tube Shorts for a view down the fingerboard of many popular fiddle tunes.

••PAST WORLD FIDDLE DAYS••

THANK YOU!!

Thank you to our local organizations for the support of World Fiddle Day!!!