Purple Lilies Polka ~ Gu-Achi Fiddlers - Tohono O'odham Fiddle Tune | Katy Adelson

Here is a fun little polka called, "Purple Lilies!" It sounds almost like a Mexican polka, but I believe it's actually a polka from the Native American Tohono O'odham people in Arizona. The "Gu-Achi Fiddlers" play a lot of music like this.

Here is a good sheet music source:
http://www.showman.org/Tunes/PurpleLi...

Because of its simple chords progression and repetitive nature, I think it's a really good tune for beginner fiddle players. It's a little tricky with the G# thrown in there, but it's a good tune to practice moving between a G# and a G! ^_^ It's also a really good tune to practice harmonizing to. I may have gone a bit overboard with the harmonies... I think traditionally these kinds of tunes usually have just the melody + 1 harmony for the fiddle parts. But I think having lots of harmonies is kind of fun. =)

Growing up in Colorado, I felt like I had already heard this song a lot the first time I tried to play it. Actually, a lot of the Tohono O'odham fiddle tunes sound incredibly familiar to me. I'm not sure if they were played on the radio a lot, or where I may have heard them, but they seem familiar for some reason -- they are a lot of fun to play!

This tune is "crooked," meaning it has an extra beat added or removed in a few places. A lot of these kinds of tunes are crooked. It takes a little getting used to if you are used to playing more standard tunes, especially if you learn tunes with sheet music -- I think it's a little easier to play through crooked tunes when learning them by ear. I think the tune makes more sense when you don't have to look at weird time signatures popping up all over the place. =)

I'm hoping this video brings some awareness of the Tohono O'odham nation, and their awesome music. The tribe is located on the border between the United States and Mexico, which creates a complication regarding the border wall idea that has been developing these past few months. I hope their perspective will be valued in the decision that is reached.

The editing behind this video ended up being kind of difficult. :o I'm also kind of nervous to post a video like this since it's so different from my other "Celtic" videos. But, it's a fun, bouncy tune, I really like to playing it, and it was a fun video to make --- so I might as well post it! :D

Thank you for watching, and I hope you have a good week! =)

~ Katy

Hashtags:
#Fiddletune #Violin #Fiddle #TraditionalMusic #OldTIme #FolkMusic #Music #Entertainment #KatyAdelson

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Software and equipment used:

Full list of all my basic violin equipment:
http://www.katyadelson.com/about/viol...

Violin gear:
Violin: 1899 Ernst Kreusler “Copy of Antonius Stradivarius” violin from Germany
Bow: CodaBow Luma
Strings: Evah Pirazzi Violin Strings (with a ball E)
Rosin: Salchow Rosin
Shoulder Rest: Bonmusica Shoulder Rest

Software used (for Macintosh):
Garageband for attempted sound mixing
Final Cut Pro for video editing
PicMonkey.com for the ending cards

Plugins for sound effects (I have A LOT to learn in this department!):
East West plugins – Goliath Virtual Instrument, Stormdrum II

Camera:
Canon 70D + 18-135 mm kit lens

I used the Sony RX100 V for some footage, as well.

Microphone for audio recording:
Blue Woodpecker