Fiddling Community Project has Surprising Response
My friends and I are part of a fiddling community here in Burlington and Oakville. My neighbour and fellow amateur musician, who also lives in Burlington, offered to help create a video of fiddle music that we christened our “winter lockdown project” so we could continue to create music together while being apart. Armed with cell phones, we individually managed to record audio tracks at home that were mixed into wonderful sets of fiddle tunes with lighthearted sound effects. This audio accompanied photographs of Ireland and Scotland taken by us all.
Posting the resultant video allowed us to stay connected to our family and friends. Surprisingly, it became popular as the link was forwarded onward. We were touched by the many comments we all received about the emotional impact the video had on people we had never even met. Some said they were moved to tears because it made them feel connected when they had been isolated for so many months. Others said it brought back wonderful memories of past times. One friend wrote, “What a wonderful gift for your group and for others - those who miss travelling, those missing ’live’ fiddle music, those who are feeling isolated and trapped right now... so pretty much everyone!”
Inspired, we went on to create two more in what is now our “winter lockdown trilogy.” These feature music and photos of England and the Maritimes. All three are available on our YouTube channel “Fiddlin’ Friends”: