The Yellow book is a great source, but the notation used and the division of measures, especially as in discovering where the melody starts after f.i. the lead-in notes (kick-off), can be a little confusing at times.

As with any folk music based on playing by ear the improvisational aspects of Cajun fiddling is what makes it such fun to play fiddle, even more than playing accordion maybe. You will never be able to write that aspect down, but only after knowing the core melody of a tune by heart, and then start to mess around with it. Michael Doucet done some great notation attempts of his improvisations included with the DVD; when a trained music reading violinist plays it you can hear Michael's exceptional playing skills from that.

I have quite a collection made myself with notation for our bands' fiddlers, meant as basic example of a tune and guide, meant as starting point, and always tell the ladies once they "know" it by heart a little, throw the sheet music out the window if you want to discover the soul of the tunes. If you're looking for a particular one, maybe i can help you out a little. - Nout

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