There will be relatively short readings relevant to each tradition, though our learning will be focused on listening and writing/talking about listening. Some of the writers will be actual practitioners of the traditions and some ethnomusicologists (sometimes they are one and the same). These will be assigned weekly basis. Music from the Heart--Compositions of a Folk Fiddler, by Colin Quigley, will be a source of insight into the creative process of one particularly prolific Newfoundland fiddler. We will also read from Musics of Multicultural America, by Kip Lornell and Anne Rasmussen; this is a wonderful introduction to some of the less well-known musics of America (including fiddle traditions) and "speaks to an audience that is interested in both the sound of American music and in American music as a social and cultural phenomenon." Finally, we will read two recent books of fiction--Accordian Crimes, by E. Annie Proulx, and Cold Mountain, by Charles Frazier--both of which paint fascinating portraits of musics (and fiddles) in America. The Lornell and Proulx texts examine musics that have been transplanted from elsewhere and will help us turn our perspectives on both American and foreign fiddle traditions "inside-out." These readings will serve as a basis for discussion, but should also change the way we listen to music.