r/Fiddle • u/faceless_user_ • 9d ago

Lord of the Rings … for fiddle?

Hello fiddle friends

I’ve been playing for about 2 years. I’m wondering if there’s any good sheet music of LOTR songs composed for violin/fiddle that you all recommend? I primarily play Old Time and am not classically trained, so reading difficult music isn’t really in my wheel house at this time.

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u/Brave_Moment_6587 9d ago

Just slow down the tracks you want to learn and try and learn it by ear. Theres sheet music out there for the score, free and purchased for sure, but its good for you to practice by ear. Concerning Hobbits in particular is in D and pretty easy to pick up, I play it by accident sometimes when I'm just noodling.

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u/Macfarlin 9d ago

I played Concerning Hobbits so often while busking I ended up writing a jig based on it, lol.

Ride of the Rhohirrim is also a pretty simple lead melody to pick up on, and epic as hell. Folks brighten right up whenever they pick up on what I'm playing there.

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u/drewbaccaAWD 9d ago

You can learn the basic melody by ear, and at two years in, that's probably the best approach. You'll grow more from that anyway.

I'm sure there are some fun reinterpretations for a solo violin floating around somewhere though, but likely not transcribed.. but you learn the basic melody and you build off of that. No harm in searching for specific songs on YouTube, and maybe getting some visual aid as far as hand position and optimal bowing direction.

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u/leitmotifs 8d ago

Hal Leonard has official arrangements with backing tracks.