Advanced Old-Time Fiddle
Let’s have some fun and take our old-time playing to the next level! In this Advanced Old-Time Fiddle class we’ll be exploring a variety of tunes from around Appalachia. We’ll dig into bowing techniques, double-stops, and rhythmic feel to deepen your groove, broaden your fiddling toolkit, and get that old-time sound we’re all chasing. We’ll learn to add personal flair to a tune while staying true to the style, getting deeply comfortable messing around in alternate tunings, and we’ll play with melodic variation, rhythmic interest, and harmony.
In this class we’ll be learning by ear, so be sure to bring a recording device for audio and/or video.
Nathan Smith
Nathan Smith is a fiddle player, composer, and singer based in Smiths Falls, Ontario. A lifelong musician, he is in demand throughout Canada as a performer, recording artist, and workshop teacher.
Nathan performs as a founding member of bluegrass and roots band The Barrel Boys; innovative fiddle quartet Vinta; old-time stringband Happy Trails, Prospector; and Hannah & Nathan, a duo with clawhammer banjo player Hannah Shira Naiman.
He has appeared with these acts on festival and concert hall stages throughout Canada, the United States, and in Europe. Between these projects he has released eight studio albums, as well as his own solo album of original songs and fiddle tunes called Let It Rest, Let It Rise.
Vinta’s debut album Beacons earned them the award for “Instrumental Composers of the Year” at the 2024 Canadian Folk Music Awards, and The Barrel Boys' most recent album Chicken in the Window has earned them nominations for "Vocal Group of the Year" and "Traditional Album of the Year" in 2026.