Fiddling Is My Joy : The Fiddle in African American Culture

In Fiddling Is My Joy, Jacqueline Cogdell DjeDje examines the history of fiddling among African Americans from the seventeenth to the mid-twentieth century.Although music historians acknowledge a prominent African American fiddle tradition during the era of slavery, only recently have researchers begun to closely examine the history and social implications of these musical practices.Research on African music reveals a highly developed tradition in West Africa, which dates to the eleventh or twelfth century and continues today.From these West African roots, fiddling was prominent in many African American communities between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries, and the fiddle became an important instrument in early twentieth century blues, jazz, and jug bands.While less common in late twentieth-century African American jazz and popular music groups, the fiddle remained integral to the musicking of some Black musicians in the rural South. Featured in Fiddling Is My Joy is access to a