How a Fiddle Tune Can Change the World | Jamie Laval | TEDxTryon

TEDx Talk Tryon - One simple fiddle tune can inspire and engage an entire community. Jamie Laval reveals how even a modest endeavor can make a long-lasting impact in our world as he shares his story and performs soul-stirring melodies.
Jamie Laval is an acclaimed musical performer. Jamie began his career as a classically trained symphony violinist. Over time his passion for traditional Celtic music led him to his specialty in ancient music from Scotland and Ireland. He has become one of the premier Celtic performers on the international scene today.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx

[@JordanRiehm]

Gosh, his playing sounds more like the pipes than anyone I've ever heard. Love it.

[@kristiv3487]

I have rediscovered music at 51. Started guitar about two years ago, resumed playing my flute, beginning violin. I have been doubting my sanity wondering " why the renewed interest and should I be doing this and what am I thinking?" Then I heard this. This has motivated me to want to play beautifully because this music really does move the soul. Now I am taking a whole new deep dive into beautiful Celtic music for everything I play. You reminded me of the power and beauty and healing nature of music and gave me an answer to my why. This video brought tears of joy. Applause sir...and thank you.

[@JamieLaval_official]

Hi to all the tune players out there. Here are the names of the tunes I played at TEDx: 1) The Sweetness of Mary; 2) Ben Gullion 6/8 March; 3) Rory McLeod; 4) Fleur de Mandragore; 5) Humours of Donnybrook (aka Joy of My Life); 6) Irishman's Heart To The Ladies.

[@JustFiddler]

Jamie Laval thankyou....i love celtic music

[@a.j.g5452]

Jamie Laval I love the way you make your fiddle sound like a bagpipe on Rory Mcloed. Superb. Sweetness of Mary brought tears to my eyes. Keep changing the world!

[@greenleafbeth]

I have just come across this wonderful message in music you posted.....How sweet! I play Celtic music with friends down here in south Central Florida.....I always feel so alive while doing it, and also even more charged when I notice the onlookers enjoying the tunes we play. SO true! We touch the lives and hearts of many as we go our music-filled ways. The beat goes on...... LET THE MUSIC PLAY!! Slainte..... and thank you from the deepest part of my heart!

[@squintygnatbug]

I was just at the Victoria Conservatory of Music for my BFF's daughters Graduation recital. She's 7. It was awe inspiring to see the little kids loving the violin so much. I hope she turns into a Celtic Fiddler too. :D

[@milo8425]

Your fiddle tunes changes my world bud, if that's worth anything :)

[@aaronflinner6431]

I'm of Scots-Irish heritage. My ancestors came to Pennsylvania in the later 1700s. There's something about this music that wakes up a feeling in my soul that lives there, passed down to me from long ago.

[@JordanRiehm]

The tune at 4:30 literally made me cry. Thank you Jamie.

[@jaylichty]

Such a talent and the message wrapped around Jamie's music gets you thinking. Great highlight of TEDxTryon.

[@mactcampbell]

Really good verbal presentation and excellent playing. I've found that the musicians and the audiences are really connected in the traditional pub sessions in Ireland.

[@susancurrierjohann7729]

Jamie is a real talent...loved his talk and always love to hear him play...

[@jamesongregg383]

A most talented person. Thank you, Jamie, always for the music, and now for this story.

[@djeparker99]

Now I gotta learn how to do bagpipe-type gracing on fiddle... And then to do it with a drone... What an awesome sound!

[@artzy_daydreamer2786]

I have the sudden urge to start skipping around the room. Fiddle music is infectious! 😁

[@bradmichaud4811]

I love the 6/8 march he plays. very traditional scottish

[@williamboyle5041]

Love this guy! My old-time fiddler friends will appreciate his work.

[@brendahunter9795]

Jamie never fails to inspire!

[@THEbubbleskid]

Fabulous talk, Jamie! You are so gifted, not only in your music, but in engaging people! Thanks for sharing.

[@IainFraser]

Lovely talk Jamie! Nice to hear Scottish Fiddle music featured in a TED talk and to hear about your musical journey.

[@CDA129]

I enjoyed this. Hee was interesting and brought enjoyment to my morning.

[@annaklinecreates]

The hardest part of the job comes when the audience starts clapping along...lol Really beautiful!

[@spstandley]

Thank you so much for this teaching/music of your heart/being.

[@mmnviola4623]

Hey, Jamie!! I think you have really hit your stride! Your talk and performance were fantastic!! I really loved the sweetness of your violin! Let me know when you are back in the Idaho & Washington area!! All the best, Michelle

[@ceciliaprado7875]

Beautiful!! Thank you for this post! I cannot wait to share with my orchestra students. We often discuss musical career paths, it will be refreshing for them to know that a non traditional road is possible.

[@derryldickerson6055]

It IS a traditional road. Just a different tradition!

[@sherryellis4456]

Great TEDx talk! So nice to hear you play again!

[@1001myplaylist]

I loved this! Thank you so much. 🙏🏼💐💜

[@calvinstuart431]

Awesome talk Jamie. Music is so powerful.

[@jajon05]

Bravo! Love that "fast tune" at 11 mins!!

[@rogueturkeys]

Great video. But not what I had expected. I had expected something more along the lines I have experienced wrt fiddle tunes changing the world: the excitement of discovery, the fun of researching history and versions, finding the one you want to work on; then the mind-engrossing joy of learning the tune, pattern recognition fun, finger dexterity games; then the sharing: the expanding of understanding of the universe of tunes, artists, styles, renditions, etc. based on what others give back to you when you share it with them; followed by the shear joy of hearing a tune take off on the wings of a group as you play it together, a literal feeling of communal creativity; and finally it becomes an old friend, always worth a visit, a jewel in your jewelry box of tunes, imbued with the emotions it evoked in the past... and a point of common engagement for new friends you meet along your musical path. Seems clear a good fiddle tune can change the world in many wonderful and different ways...

[@wadefite]

wonderful playing and interesting ideas. Best wishes from Scotland.

[@nigelgatherer]

An excellent talk, Jamie!

[@tessacyclone6329]

thankyou for what you said at 10.34 Jamie ,about motivation at prospect of a perfromance- I cant even get the booker of the local Bassendean Hotel to give me F***ing gig, I wish this man thought like you did. Maybe its becasue hes not a musician and doesnt understand how hard it is to get a gig.

[@corriewds]

Wonderful performance and talk!

[@Arkybark]

Wow, Jamie. Great video!

[@Woriviol]

Great!!!

[@davestambaugh7282]

I like the term that Rodney Miller coined "robustly melodic"

[@leesmarc]

A true Minstrel.

[@genesisbenavides4976]

2:06

[@laurasimms8257]

Anyone have a list of the tunes that he's playing?

[@wulfocrow5549]

In case you're still interested three years later, he lists them in the top comment.

[@genesisbenavides4976]

1:36

[@HEADSUPBERKELEY]

Fun

[@jennifertorrance8768]

What is the first tune, beginning around 0:40?

[@luv2fiddle]

+Jennifer Torrance It's called the Sweetness of Mary. The music is in one of the Jerry Holland fiddle books

[@jennifertorrance8768]

+luv2fiddle Thank you!

[@sgtcrab2569]

Jerry Holland Cape Breton tune first up. As a classical player you do a better job than most at achieving styles. David Greenberg formerly of Tafel Musik did it best in the Cape Breton milieu. . It is not easy to do. The style comes from the life and the language and that is hard to step into like a warm bath. A fisherman like the late Arthur Muise of Cheticamp has a playing which would be very hard to emulate. It is almost innate. Or the incomparable Ti Jean Carrignan on the Quebec music. Eileen Ivers on Irish and so on.

[@JordanRiehm]

oh and that guy at 13:12 most definitely works at a call center...lol

[@cafiend]

Fiddle playing is like high speed neurosurgery to a beat.

[@omarsanchez9709]

save a lot of time. Answer is :No

[@ReegusReever]

You play like a robot. Couldn't lace a teenager's boots over here.

[@derryldickerson6055]

As a Highland piper, I was compleatly blown away by the the exactitude with which he replicated the gracings and articulation of the Great Highland Bagpipes as played at a very high level.

[@Murpheys.]

Ahhh..someone else heard the drones and notes of the pipes! I too, made that comment while listening to this. Bless you my friend and your love of the reels and Calees it invokes.

[@genesisbenavides4976]

2:14

[@commontater8630]

00:40 1) The Sweetness of Mary; 04:40 2) Ben Gullion 6/8 March; 05:48 3) Rory McLeod; 10:59 4) Fleur de Mandragore; 14:33 5) Humours of Donnybrook (aka Joy of My Life); 15:03 6) Irishman's Heart To The Ladies.

[@fiddlemusik]

Thank you! Faster than having to find these through Tunepal! :D

[@owyn4126]

This guy explains my thoughts almost exactly!! The passion, the love of the haunting and ancient tones of Celtic Music, l just love it!!! 💚🤍🧡 :) 💙🤍💙

[@harpirishdance]

Love how you made the fiddle sound like the pipes during that 2nd tune!

[@vonnieestes]

jajon05. That 'fast tune' is called "Fleur de Mandragore", written by Michel Bordeleau of the Lanaudiere region of Quebec. Mr. Laval leaves out a beat the first time through and makes it a straight tune, but includes the beat the second time through, making it a crooked tune as originally composed. Too bad the audience clapping along didn't keep with the beat on "Irishman's Heart to the Ladies" aka "Sweet Biddy Daly" at the end.

[@spstandley]

+Vonnie Estes Who cares if the audience didn't clap in time….it was the audiences "time" and that's what makes it beautiful….otherwise why play in front of an audience in the first place….oh must be only for the money for some…..The audience is what puts the finishing touches on the music…because their instrument was from their heart which by the way is where all music is comes from. So enjoy their heart, their clapping!!! That's the most beautiful instrument in a concert…perspective is a gift for some……..

[@vonnieestes]

+Mustang Sally I think Mr. Laval does an outstanding job of concentrating on his own rhythm here, despite the distraction of the 'beat of the different drummer'...Kudos to him for playing HIS tune. I know how difficult that could be, especially for a solo performer.

[@CarolineViolinMusic]

I performed yesterday. I asked mé self the same question as I played an Irish tune, it was received well and so quickly (mistakes and all) why? I asked I think because it's so honest people can feel that level on sincerity perhaps.

[@adaptive1234]

What’s the name of the first tune played. I recognize it but don’t remember the name

[@jagsdomain203]

I have started playing 2 yeats ago. This is great talk.

[@genesisbenavides4976]

1:26

[@greghofftn]

I rarely post stuff on my Facebook page but this definitely was worthy (especially since it was not about me).

[@EstherCenters]

So grateful for your gifts of clarity, authenticity, and your flawless fiddling, Jamie! I shall never forget my private lesson. Great TEDx talk--especially poignant to hear you encourage others to find their unique voice. Sharing this widely!!

[@chelseasleep6769]

what a beautiful player

[@baxtercol]

How do you get your fiddle to sound like a bagpipe? I was moved by your music and your words. It was certainly no accident that they went and go together. Slán

[@wulfocrow5549]

You can drone with double stops to make the piping sounds.

[@charliesteiner2334]

Cut with the tonic a bunch.

[@commontater8630]

The ornaments he employs are more bagpipe-style than those of most fiddlers I've heard, particularly in the set of tunes that starts at 4:40.

[@jaccordi]

Just happened upon this by chance. Really nice program, Jamie. Please stay in touch.

[@talithamac]

Glad to hear that you're coming across The Pond again. Will be good to see you :)

[@daynafisher2756]

OMG Jamie I was so shocked today when I came across this. How are you. I hate to relay sad news, but don't know if you heard that Larry died 2 years ago. He would be so proud of you. Wish he could see this video. Dayna Fisher

[@deltafour1212]

I can only dream of getting a tone like that from my violin

[@cliffsandifer3877]

I love Irish Scots tunes ....playing didgeridoo fiddle (other things) together the didgeridoo resembles the " drone" and fiddle carries melody....but I don't see many others doing that