hey rick....

the book mentioned by duncan is great. a ton of tunes and accompanying disc to give feel. alomg with musical notation for those who know what to do with such.
but it's really controversial. i don't think you can learn Cajun music from sheet music. maybe a classically trained gal would disagree. i'm not wired that way, but then again i only play Cajun......to me the road to learning is find a tune, hum it, fall in love with it and the rest is cake.....
roger

Haven't seen a whole lots of stuff out there will any serious value. The Dungan book looks interesting, and as Roger says, an enlcuded CD makes all the difference.
The whole idea of sheet music is always controversial. It depends on interpretation, and if someone is not familiar with the style, you can learn some notes and that's about it. I do use sheet music as a reference. Horrible at names, and sometimes all I need is to look at the first couple bars. But I put the sheet music away once the ole memory kicks in. I can easily see how a classically trained musician use it in the same way, but I've often seen quite a few people get locked into what's on the paper. All interpetaion, expression, etc. is what the conductor does, and the musicians follow his direction. That's why he gets to take a bow without ever playing a note.
Have you suggested having sitting down with other Cajun fiddlers? Nothing beats a face to face, regardless of instrument or genre. Also, if she spent some time transcribing what she hears, I'd bet because of her training, she'd be able to pick up on some things others would miss.
One other thing. Trained violinists rarely play an open sting and use the pinky instead. Gotta get over that. Has a way of making many trad styles sound sterile.
Steve

Wow, what a great source of info this forum is! I'm truly grateful for the responses, and thanks to all for that. Looks like Hal's suggestion of the Duncan book is what this excited young gal is looking for. I forwarded the link to her and she thinks it is what she needs. I've told her to listen to as much recorded music as possible -- to get those melodies in her head. What I've seen from those who've been schooled, the ability to play from the ear and soul is compromised by the crutch of the music stand. But if the printed page will give her a jump start, so be it. If she can git 'er groove on, I'd like her to cameo on a CD I'm presently recording. ;)

Bravo Braves, y'all rock!

Rick

Laurie Hart, Ithaca, New York fiddler who can hold her own in Quebecois, Irish, and Swedish traditonal music, actually visits college music departments to give a course for classically trained violinists to help them make the transition into the very different world of roots music.

Back when my band was really an open tune swap, we had a classically trained violinist sit in. She would learn the melody line in 5 seconds and then get bored because she thought she was done! One night we went to an infamous backwoods dive called the Coonrod for a jam. I had to leave at midnight, but this sixtyish lady had discovered jamming for the first time, and stayed out 'til 3:00 AM with the bluegrass gang!

I don't know where she is now...she left town and is know to be dangerous with a fiddle

I would suggest getting her the Al Berard DVD on cajun fiddling. He plays in standard tuning and explains the waltz and two step bow licks as well as double stops on seconding. He then teaches a couple of tunes which are the equivalent of Dirk Powell's tunes in the cajun accordion series. It's enough to get a violinist started on the road to play cajun fiddle. Once she gets the feel have her listen to Steve Riley's version of Oh Ma. She should be able to pick right up on that. Then stick her on stage in front of a mic.