Chris Haigh

Different Techniques, Different Repertoire

Session: When I was around 15 years of age I asked my violin teacher how I could play jazz like Stephane Grappelli. He had absolutely no idea, but suggested that I listen and play along with the records. That’s what I did, but teaching myself purely by ear was a slow and painstaking process.

Nevertheless it started me out on a quest to master a host of different “alternative” styles, to become a professional fiddle player, and eventually to write eleven fiddle books, mostly for Schott Music, covering styles such as jazz, rock, country, klezmer, folk, Hungarian, and French. If only I’d had these books earlier!

In this presentation I will demonstrate some of these techniques and styles, and show how books such as mine can be a shortcut to acquiring the knowledge required to play and to teach these styles with conviction and authenticity.

Chris Haigh has played on over 100 albums, working with artists as diverse as Bob Geldof, Morcheeba, Alison Moyet, Najma Akhtar, Michael Ball, and Oumou Sangari. He has played at private parties for Paul McCartney, Sting and Elton John, has filled the Albert Hall with goth rockers All about Eve, and appeared at the Hammersmith Apollo with Riverdance
He covers a huge range of fiddle styles with ease and authority, and has written eleven books on fiddling, mostly for Schott Music.
Chris’s website, www.fiddlingaround.co.uk gets a million hits a year and is the primary source of fiddle information on the web, and he runs a rapidly growing youtube channel, “The Fiddle Channel”.