Old-Time Fiddling at the Capitol

The Missouri Folk Arts program and Missouri State Parks showcased two masters of Missouri fiddling on Saturday, April 23rd on the lawn outside the historic Lohman Building at the Jefferson Landing State Historic Site. The event, which is part of the MFAP's "Folk Arts at the Capitol,"series, brought old-time musicians and dancers from around the state to enjoy the sunshine and music in Jefferson City.

The event was a convergence of two fiddling giants representing two regional styles — Little Dixie and Ozarks. A 2016 master of Old-time Ozark Fiddling, H.K. Silvey, the only fiddler left of his generation in Theodosia, Missouri (in the southwest Missouri Ozarks) played his signature Ozark style tunes which he has picked up and learned for over 70 years now. Mr. Silvey has long ties to Missouri's Traditional Art Apprenticeship Program (TAAP), as he is one of two surviving master artists who participated in the year the program was initiated in 1985.

H.K. Silvey bows an old-time tune as Jim Nelson and Travis Inman back him up on guitars.

Another fiddling giant of the Little Dixie fiddling style, Mr. Travis Inman (Sedalia), graced the event with his current apprentice Carlie Cunningham (Fulton). Mr. Inman, an eight-time TAAP fiddling master with 40+ years of fiddling experience backed up his apprentice on the guitar as she played the famous Missouria "Casey's Hornpipe" tune, although known around master Mr. Inman's family as the "Swearingin's Hornpipe."

Apprentice and fiddler Carlie Cunningham shares a tune with with her teacher Travis Inman,
guitarist Jim Nelson, and Ozark fiddler H.K. Silvey. 

Jim Nelson from Saint Louis backed up all the fiddlers as they played. One unique feature of this event was the way way fiddlers were able to trade off tunes and the splendid way Mr. Nelson supported the two different fiddling styles with harmonies. You might have thought the team had done some prior practice. The audience had a great chance to notice the contrast between the two styles, since it's typical in old-time music for one fiddler to start a tune and then hand it off to another player.

Besides bringing together these two regional styles (and three generations of fiddlers), the event also incorporated old-time music's sister tradition--dancing. As old-time musicians and dancers are apt to point out, historically, you really can't have one without the other. Those from an older generation of fiddlers, like Mr. Silvey, are used to playing for dances. Mr. Silvey intimated to us one time that his family of fiddlers always played and danced to the tunes and that his "mother was a good singer and could jig dance up a storm". Unfortunately, today younger players have fewer opportunities to play their tunes for dancers since traditional dancing is less common. Groups like the Mid-Missouri Traditional Dancers, who were represented at this event, focus on creating opportunities for learning and practicing traditional dances that were popular during Missouri fiddling's height of popularity.

Experienced dancers as well as amateurs circle up during and old-time "barn" dance. 

It was such a joy to have Mid-Missouri Traditional Dancers' Jim Thaxter as caller for Saturday's event, teaching the dances beforehand, telling the dancers what moves and formations will come next, and communicating with the musicians about what type of tune to play and when the music should stop and end. Indeed, one of our Facebook Page friends, Jim Ford, commented that they "had more fun than you can shake a stick at." The audience danced, and danced, and danced! Even though the concert officially ended at about 1 pm, the crowd still wanted to dance. Other musicians brought their instruments for a jam session with the performers. The last person left the lawn at 5 pm!

Then and Now: Apprentice Journeys with Master Fiddler John P. Williams, Jr.

On Friday, April 22nd, the MU Museum of Art and Archaeology again opened its doors as a music venue — this time for the foot-stamping rhythms of old-time Missouri fiddling. The concert was part of a new component of Missouri's Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program (TAAP) called Then and Now: Apprentice Journeys, which features apprentices who have gone on to become master artists in the program.

2014 master fiddler John P. Williams, Jr. was the featured artist of the day and was accompanied by  two of his frequent musical collaborators: his former apprentice, Bob Cathey, with whom he traded tunes and guitarist Kenny Applebee who backed them up. The event was well attended by a fully packed audience in the European and American Gallery at Mizzou North.

John P. Williams, Jr. 

Although he started fiddling at the age of 7, it was not until he was 16, that John P. Williams apprenticed under the legendary Boone County fiddler, Pete McMahan, in 1998 and 1999. Williams was Mr. McMahan's last apprentice before he passed away in 2000. Williams  went on to become one of the youngest Missourians to serve as master artist in TAAP, teaching Old-Time music's Little Dixie fiddling style in TAAP in 2014. Williams, who has over 20+ years of fiddling experience, is now more passionate and devoted to preserving this art.

As part of the Then and Now series, MFAP staff conducted an oral-history interview with the featured master artist to learn more about his perspective on what it's like to be an apprenticeship in the program. Mr. Williams' interview took place before the concert in the MFAP office. He shared what he learned about music and teaching a traditional art during his time as an apprentice.

During the concert, as Williams traded off tunes with Cathey, they also punctuated their performance with stories about the old-time musicians from whom they learned tunes. Almost every single tune that they played jogged their memory of a certain person or jam session. A good number of the tunes that Williams shared at the concert were learned from some of the finest Missouri fiddling giants to ever draw a bow like Pete McMahan, Vesta Johnson, Dwight Lamb, John White, Taylor McBaine, and Bob Holt. In the interview before the concert, Williams intimated that one of his favorite tunes is called "Gilsaw" — he learned it from one of his former teachers. You can hear Mr. Williams play this breakdown on Youtube from a few years back. Mr. Williams' playing style represents a clear lineage of Missouri fiddling, since he learned a lot of tunes from Mr. McMahan, who himself played tunes that he picked up as a young man during the Great Depression.

Bob Cathey starts a tune with Kenny Applebee, as John P. Williams listens and prepares to take up his bow. 

The concert signed off with a short reception outside the gallery. The musicians then headed to the Gazebo at Mizzou North to continue the music, jamming with audience members who brought their acoustic instruments.

Audiences in Mid-Missouri have had ample opportunity to hear live fiddle music this spring—partly because it just so happens that four out of the eight TAAP apprenticeships this year are related to old time music.

But this Friday's Then and Now event features a storyteller: Loretta Washington who will perform in St. Louis as part of the St. Louis Storytelling Festival. This event will incorporate a live oral-history interview as well as storytelling, so that audiences can get an inside scoop on her journey from apprentice to master storyteller.