Fiddle backup means playing behind a singer or behind another player’s break. You support the music and you do not take the lead. At a jam, most of your time with the fiddle in your hands is backup time, so this skill gets you invited back.
Three choices cover almost every moment: lay out, hold long notes, or play a short fill. Pick one for each part of the song.
What counts as backup
A bluegrass song has two kinds of parts. The singer sings a verse or chorus. An instrument plays a break, which is a solo turn on the melody. (See how to take a break in a bluegrass jam for how breaks get passed around.)
Everyone who is not singing or taking the break plays backup. That includes you.
Volume comes first
Play quieter than the singer. If you cannot hear the singer’s words over your fiddle, you are too loud.
Use a lighter bow and less pressure. Stay on the strings with a smooth bow. A fiddle cuts through a circle of guitars, so a small sound still gets heard.
Drop the volume again behind a banjo break. The banjo is loud, and the break belongs to the banjo player.
Option one: lay out
To lay out is to not play. The fiddle rests while the singer sings or another player takes a break. Good players do this often.
Lay out when you do not know the song. Lay out on the first verse while you listen for the chords. Lay out when the circle already has a mandolin chop, a banjo roll, and a guitar rhythm going. Silence from one instrument gives the singer room.
Option two: hold long notes
Long notes are the safest backup. Bow one note for the length of the chord, then move to a new note when the chord changes.
Choose notes from the chord. Every major chord has three notes: the root, the third, and the fifth. In the key of G, the three main chords break down like this:
- G chord: G, B, D
- C chord: C, E, G
- D chord: D, F-sharp, A
Start with the root or the fifth. Those two notes fit the chord in any song. Add the third once you hear the chord clearly.
You need to know when the chords change. Listen for the one, four, and five. The Nashville Number System explains those numbers. In G, the one is G, the four is C, and the five is D.
Open fifths
A double stop is two strings played at the same time. Open fifths are the easiest double stops on the fiddle. Bow two open strings together:
- Open G and D strings for a G chord.
- Open D and A strings for a D chord.
- Open A and E strings for an A chord.
An open fifth has no third in it. That means it fits the chord and does not clash with the singer or another player. Keep the bow slow and the sound soft.
Option three: short fills
A fill is a short phrase in the gap between sung lines. The singer finishes a line and holds the last word. Your fill answers the line and ends before the next line starts.
Keep fills to a beat or two. Use the notes of the key. In G, the notes G, A, B, D, and E sound right on nearly every chord. Add a slide into the third of the chord from a half step below for a bluesy sound.
Do not fill every gap. One fill every line or two is plenty. A fiddle that answers each line stops sounding like an answer.
Never play the melody under a singer. Two versions of the tune at once crowd the voice.
Backup under a fiddle tune
Fiddle tunes have no singer. A tune like Old Joe Clark in A has a melody and a rhythm section behind it. When another fiddler plays the break, the guitar, banjo, mandolin, and bass already supply the backup.
A second fiddle can lay out, or play quiet open fifths. Ask the lead fiddler before you play harmony. Many fiddlers want the melody by itself.
Watch the circle
Look at the singer or the player taking the break. Players signal with a nod or a glance. A singer who leans in wants the circle softer. A player who looks at you may be asking for the next break.
If you are lost, drop to open fifths or lay out. Then listen for the chord change and come back in.
For classical violinists
A classical player has steady tone and clean intonation. Backup asks for something different: fewer notes and a smaller sound.
Play long notes with little vibrato. Hold a chord tone, then change when the chord changes. This feels simple, and that is the point. The skill is knowing when to stay quiet.
How to practice
Pick a song in G with three chords. Play along with a recording or with a friend on guitar. Run the song three times:
- Play only the root of each chord, one long bow per chord.
- Move to the third or fifth of each chord.
- Add one short fill at the end of each verse line.
Then try the same song in another key. See what keys bluegrass jams use for the common ones. Move the same pattern to A or D, and the chord numbers stay the same.
For more on the instrument, read about bluegrass fiddle and the bluegrass jam.