Talk: Cross Bow Key Tuning

Collected by Mary Celestia Parler; Transcribed by Neil Byer Jimmie Morris Timbo, Ark. November 6, 1954 Reel 215, Item 2 Cross Bow Key Tuning JM: I don't know whether cross bow key started here in the land of the cross bow or not. I don't think so. Cross bow key is, if for instance you want to play in A, you tune your fiddle up to A, so that you have harmony clear across the strings. And if you want to play in D, you tune it up to D. I have this old fiddle tuned up now to A, and we'll play a little of, oh, "Sally Goodin." This may not be very well in tune, but we'll see. . . (plays fiddle). I've got to tune this fiddle. We had an old fiddler here once by the name of Wayne Morrison. He was a cousin to the famous Absie and Abbie twins. Absie lives over at Campbell, and I believe Miss Parler is going over and see him. And so while Wayne Morrison was living, he promised me that when he died I could have his old fiddle that had come down through the Revolutionary War with his people. And he taught me the way to tune up to different keys called cross bow keys. MCP: Would you explain that tuning to us, cross bow? JM: Well, once again, maybe we didn't get it awhile ago. MCP: Could you tell us a little more technically? JM: Cross bow keys. For instance, if you turn your second string on your fiddle up to A, then all you have to do to tune your fine strings is (sings) "do-re-mi." Then when you tune the third string (sings) "do-ti-la- sol." First string's (sings) "sol," low (sings) "do." "Do" "do" (sings, high and low). The second string and the fourth string's high and low "do." Old "do-re-mi-fa" language, see? Tune your first string any way you want to and then just run your first string up to "mi" from that one and your third string down to "sol" and your fourth string to "do" and that's cross bow key and you can have harmony by catching two strandsFunding for digitization provided by the Arkansas Humanities Council and the Happy Hollow Foundation