gentrixuk - Posted - 04/04/2025:  04:21:07

This week’s Tune Of The Week is a tune from Kentucky called “Sand Riffle”. I first heard this tune in February this year at the annual Friends of American Old Time Music and Dance (FAOTMAD) festival in Gainsborough, UK, when it was included in a workshop by the Downtrodden String Band, who said they learned it from the Milliner Koken collection.



The tune was first collected from fiddler Kelly Gilbert (1895-1991, Franklin County, Ky.) in a 1978 field recording by John Harrod. A second version was recorded in 1979 played by fiddler Vincent Crawford (1918-19??, Avenstoke, Anderson County, Ky), recorded by Guthrie Meade and John Harrod and released on the album “Traditional Music of Kentucky, Vol. 2: Along the Kentucky River” (Rounder 0377, 1997). This version can be heard on Slippery Hill. Kelly Gilbert said that the tune was composed by Jim Clark, a left-handed fiddler born in the 1870’s. Vincent Crawford learned the tune from Andy Palmer [Titon]. Gilbert’s recording is available here. I found it a little difficult to follow – Vincent Crawford’s version seems to be the one most people mention as the source.



The Traditional Tune Archive claims that the tune is named after a specific creek in Franklin County, Kentucky, that runs into the Kentucky River. I can’t find any written record of this, but maybe it’s a local nickname. I had a vague idea that a ‘riffle’ has something to do with water and a bit of online research shows that it describes part of a river that’s fast flowing and shallow, but with rocks and stones breaking up the flow. These are important environments for particular forms of plant and insect life such as mayflies.



There aren’t many versions of this tune online but Claire Milliner and Walt Koken have posted it twice on their YouTube Channel, firstly with two fiddles, and then with fiddle and banjo. Philip Lederer recorded a couple of fiddle versions, and here is one of them. There’s another good version here by The Old Time Wasters from 2016.



It’s a straight but very syncopated tune in G (although Kelly Gilbert played it in A). I found it easiest to use a combination of off-string pull-offs and hammer-ons to get the syncopated notes, but sliding up to the 5th fret can also work and even dropping your thumb onto the 4th string at the 7th fret – its nice to experiment. I’ve also included a cross over thumb note included in the B part of the tab, but it still sounds fine without this. In the video, Walt Koken seems to play the whole B part up around the 7th fret, but I can’t quite tell exactly what he’s playing.

Edited by - gentrixuk on 04/04/2025 04:26:28

VIDEO: Sand Riffle (Vincent Crawford) - Clawhammer Banjo
(click to view)

Sand Riffle

Bob Buckingham - Posted - 04/04/2025:  05:28:33

Nice playing. I know this tune from a neighbor who is friends with Bruce Greene. That's where he learned it.

carlb - Posted - 04/04/2025:  05:40:58

Photos of "sand riffles"

shutterstock.com/image-photo/s...165987324

en.hotellapierrebleue.fr/66-ar...land.html

Edited by - carlb on 04/04/2025 05:54:46

JanetB - Posted - 04/05/2025:  15:22:01

Thanks, Mark, for a good tune from the CD "Traditional Fiddle Music of Kentucky, Along the Kentucky River."  Your video sounds sweet.  

In the liner notes for Sand Riffle it repeats some of what you wrote, but adds more, saying: "Sand Riffle is named after a creek in Franklin County and appears to be a variant of Ed Haley's 'Indian Nation' tune (cf. 'Indian Squaw' on Volume I, Rounder 0376). Kelly Gilbert attributed the tune to Jim Clark, a left handed fiddler who lived on Sand Riffle, but Vincent learned his version from Andy Palmer."  That's interesting because I have family in Franklin County and we hiked last Thanksgiving by a creek, but it wasn't called Sand Riffle.  The photo below of Vincent Crawford with his mother is also from the liner notes.  

I listened to Milliner and Koken and arranged accordingly.  In the B part I hear a D chordal sound, so added a partial D in the hammer-on of the 9th and 13th measures.  There were three left hand positions I tried, one going to the seventh fret.  The one I ended up using is much like yours.  The B part sounds like the disturbed water flowing over the riffles.  It's almost as if the tune wants to modulate.

Sand riffles, like in Carl B's photo links, are quite pleasing to look at. 

Sand Riffle

Sand Riffle (CH) tab