Peasant Dance Breughel These poems, stories, songs, quote, and art have been gathered from all over the world, partly via FIDDLE-L, an online list for fiddlers and those who love fiddle music. dhebert@crocker.com

The El Dorado of Groove by Donna Hébert It seems to me that when I focus on anything (including playing for dancers) and give it my all, there is purity in the effort and it's a prayer I make with my hands. This can be true of playing a tune, dancing a dance, painting a house or a picture, cooking a meal, gardening - the list is endless, as long I am fully present in my task. From my first time at the contradance, I have always felt the spiritual energy that a strong group rhythm invites in, and been frustrated by its absence. I suspect this is a large part of why I play music. The El Dorado of Groove is for me where the music is truly alive, and the energy it generates is awesome in its original meaning. When it's there, we become the music and step into the center of it together. My path to Spirit came almost entirely through musical experiences like groove, as did my understanding of many of life's great truths: sharing is easier than defending; it's often easier to agree than to disagree; actions speak louder than words; and it's corollary-shut up and play! Little did I know when I picked up a violin at age nine that I was engaging upon my life's work, yet my instrument has taught me more than I could ever have learned without it. Groove is a non-verbal group agreement to sit in the same place on the beat, all giving it the same slant. Even if a fiddle bounces off that beat with improv, it's still that beat it's bouncing off of, if you follow me, and the tension it creates and resolves are part of the dynamics that move the dancers. The key to maintaining the groove is LISTENING. Everyone is listening all the time. No one is worrying about what to play next. Something heard evolves into something else played with ease and grace. Everyone is in the present, so all respond to minute changes and evolutions of rhythm. All are in rhythmic agreement. No words cloud the meaning as all seek the same outcome. Think about it. When do more than two of us utterly agree about any one thing? How often? What would happen if more people experienced groove in their lives? Could future negotiations between Arabs and Israelis require them to play music and dance together? Why not? What would happen if they did? Groove happens in the eternal present of "play". The moment we become conscious and think we are "in charge" of the music, we're no longer in the present. It slips away from us until we can let go again and learn to just BE our music. I had an out-of-body experience playing for a dance about 14 years ago. At that time I was still recovering from an injury to my whole right arm, and it had been about 3 years since I been able to play without some pain. I have no idea how long I was able to play while simultaneously looking down upon myself from the ceiling of the hall where I seemed to be floating gently, but when I became consciously aware that I was playing a whole tune with no pain whatsoever, I suddenly whooshed back into my body and felt the pain again immediately, in wrist, elbow, shoulder, back. This wasn't even midnight so I didn't play the dance while asleep, either, and I was sober, so that's out, too. I think of playing fiddle now, particularly for dancers, as a form of prayer. I'm always trying to pull dancers into my groove so everyone can relax and let go and just DANCE. The preacher wants his flock to see the light. I want mine to feel the groove. If my tunes help that along, they're good. If they don't, I change tunes real quick. Want an example of how powerful groove is, and what it can do? The contradance movement in the last 30 years has grown largely in response to the community the dances create among those who love to play music and dance. And just why do they love it so much? They could join a gym and get the exercise, but they make strong connections at the dance. They come back because they like each other. Why do they like each other so much? I think it's largely because they had a group peak experience (or many of them) at the dance. And what motivated those peak experiences? After 30 years of playing dances, I have to say I think it's groove. These contra converts got the group energy experience at the dance when the dancers, the caller and the musicians all hit the beat at the same time. It's a peak, an immensely satisfying one, and once you've experienced it, you're coming back, no doubt about it. You look around you and everyone is grinning and glowing. You'll be here next week. This is an experience of being one with everything - with our mouths shut. When we're not talking, we can receive with all our senses, speak our thanks without words. I think of it as groove, and sometimes prayer, but maybe this is what peace feels like - settling our differences rhythmically instead of by other methods. . . Donna Hébert is a New England contradance and Franco-American fiddler and teacher who writes about the experience of making music. Her articles have been published in SING OUT! Magazine, Fiddler Magazine, The Old Time Herald, and Strings Magazine. She also edits "The Muse of Joy and Sorrow: why we play the fiddle."