From the President
TOTFA will be hosting a Crawfish Boil and Jam in Livingston, TX on Saturday, March 27 at Buster McNutty's Restaurant and Bar. The restaurant is located on Hwy 190 West in Livingston and the phone number is (936) 967-2100. There will also be a silent auction so bring items to donate for that. Come prepared to have a great time with great food, music, and fellowship. Let us know as soon as possible if you plan to attend so we can know how many to expect. See you there!
Please support the contests on the right with your attendance!
About TOTFA
The purpose of the Texas Old Time Fiddlers Association is to promote Texas fiddling, improve Texas fiddling contests, sponsor a state contest, and publish a monthly newsletter for benefit of the members.
History
The organization had its beginnings in 1972 with a charter by the state of Texas and with a 501c(3) tax exempt status. Its purpose is to preserve and perpetuate a style of old time fiddling that is not hillbilly, country, Appalachian, Irish, bluegrass, Cajun, blues, southern style, swing, pop, square dance music, or jazz. It is a style uniquely different from all others in that it is the most colorful, sophisticatedly cluttered, and baroque, that utilizes enough improvisation without significant departure from the melody line. The style also requires use of the entire length of the bow, more than one position on the fingerboard, and coordination of wrist and arm movement. Apply all this to such tunes as Dusty Miller, Hell Among the Moonshiners,or Beaumont Rag, and the result is an astounding report of richly melodic and pleasingly complicated sounds that are free of monotony and repetition and substantially different from other styles that often employ the relatively primitive “shove and pull” bowing technique. It is referred to as the Texas style, the contest style, and the Texas long bow because of its origins in Texas by those such as A. C. “Eck” Robinson, a fiddler from Amarillo, who was the first to record (1922) a Texas fiddle tune, “Sally Goodin,” which opened the door to recorded country music. ~read more~
Stories
Through the years, stories have been written about several Texas musicians. In an effort to preserve our heritage, these stories have been made a part of our web site. We encourage you to submit stories, photographs, and videos in an effort to preserve our rich heritage. Email information you would like to see included to one of the board members. Remember, this is your association! ~read stories~
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