Although classical music is my specialty, I do have experience with fiddle tunes and have even won a fiddle competition in the past. The sheet music for fiddle tunes is often just the "bare bones" of the tune, and the player is expected to embellish it to their liking. In this post, I'll share 6 different types of fiddle ornaments, listed from easiest to hardest.

Cut

You can think of a cut as similar to a grace note in classical music. A cut refers to a short grace note, starting on the note above the note that's written. For instance, if the written note was an F, you would play G-F within a slur to play a cut.

Tap

A tap is the opposite of a cut. A tap is a grace note from the note below the note that's written. If the written note was an F, you would play E-F within a slur to play a tap.

Slide

A slide is just what it sounds like-a slide up to the written note. I personally find slides easiest to do with first fingers, as you just set the first finger in the low 1 position and then slide up, but slides can be done with any finger.

5 note rolls

5 note rolls are similar to turns in classical music. For turns, you play the written note, the note above, the written note, the note below, and the written note again. You do the same thing for 5 note rolls, with one exception. If the roll starts on the first finger, you can choose to play either the 2nd finger or 3rd finger as the second note in the roll. In order for the notes in the 5 note roll to sound clear, the fingers must be lifted and dropped with a lot of energy, so some players choose to use the 3rd finger instead of the 2nd finger because it is generally stronger.

Bowed triplets

Bowed triplets are typically done on longer notes. Once you get to the tip of the bow, add in three short notes before changing bow directions.

Drone

Droning involves playing either the upper or lower string as a double stop with the main melody. This is the hardest type of ornament because the hand must be balanced between the two strings at all times and there shouldn't be too much pressure on the bow to prevent a scratchy sound.

Final thought-when it comes to ornaments, less is more! You don't need to ornament every single note of the tune. Start by adding in 1-2 ornaments per section, and then go from there.