Thursday, December 16, 2010

Rossland News - Antique fiddle reveals 100-year-old hidden message from its creator

"Michael Gifford and a merry band of musicians recently celebrated the 100th birthday of Gifford’s American fiddle.

The fiddle was built in Grand Junction Colorado, 1910, by luthier George Hardwick. From there, the fiddle’s journey is not well known until Gifford picked it up in 1981.

“Some friends of mine in Boise, Idaho, bought a whole bunch of [these old fiddles], and they picked one out for me,” Gifford said.

And that is how Gifford, who already played the mandolin at that time, started to learn the fiddle.

“I quit and started so many times because it was always loud and strident and I didn’t like the tone quality,” he explained. “Finally, after quitting and starting so many times, I started to get a little bit better and realized that not all of it was my fault.”"

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