Book excerpt: Eclectic cellist, Renata Bratt, has written the ultimate book for the fiddling cellist, this time from the perspective of an accompanist. Herein, you’ll find the theoretical and technical foundation for everything you need to creatively back up the lead players in a fiddle jam session, not to mention playing the lead yourself. This progressive method includes detailed fingerings and bowings for traditional fiddle tunes like: Salt Creek, Jenny Dang the Weaver, The Water Is Wide, The Girl I left Behind Me, The Road to California, Mason’s Apron, and Green Grows the Laurel – plus three jigs and a slip-jig. Accompaniment elements include single chord-tone backup, bluegrass bass style, 2 and 3-note chords and arpeggios in the common fiddling keys, one and two-measure rhythmic bowing patterns, the Charleston rhythm, the traveling beat, and many variations of the ever-popular chop bowing technique. With the knowledge and experience conveyed by this book, a cellist can become a valuable asset to any musical group no matter the style! Includes access to 100 online audio tracks expertly played by the author.