It is tempting to demand that all students in this course read music and be competent on a musical instrument. However, given that most of the fiddlers we will listen to do not read music, and many of the traditions are (at best) badly represented (or misrepresented) by Western notation, I will rather require something that is characteristic of all good fiddlers: music must be an important part of your daily life. It must be something you think about, listen to, or do everyday. If you have just an idle interest in music, this is not the course for you. While this will not be a "musical skills" course, we will need to learn musical rudiments for each tradition. An openness to new sounds and a willingness to test your ears is essential, and you must be willing to dedicate many hours of your week to listening.