Don't you just love it when someone does your job for you?
Writing a review of Any Fool can Write Fiddle Tunes is easy because it does
exactly what it says on the tin- rather- the cover, which makes the
following claims:

-requires no previous experience of tune writing

-Full of practical, down to earth suggestions about every aspect of
composition

-Shows you how to analyse, de-construct and rebuild traditional tunes

-takes you step-by-step through the process of creating a tune.

ALL THESE CLAIMS ARE MET! Chris believes that the writing of tunes is a simple, straightforward business easily mastered by anyone who can play an instrument, can read music, and already knows lots of tunes. Don't be put off by the "reading music"; you don't have to be able to sight read instantly at two hundred paces.

Any Fool's aim is to provide a common sense approach to writing tunes without relying on subconscious inspiration. The idea is that the key to constructing anything is to understand the constituent parts and how they fit together. To this end, tunes are de-constructed, analysed and used as the starting points for new tunes.

If this sounds dry and mechanical, it isn't ; at times, it's laugh-out-loud funny and always entertaining. Chris runs workshops using this approach, reporting "People are always amazed by how easy it is to write a tune if you
have a clear goal in mind and a framework to follow." He's got more than one trick up his sleeve. As well as the above, Any Fool includes other approaches to starting a tune, including improvisation, the pentatonic scale, bar structure, modes and chord sequences. And it's not just dry theory; you learn the whys as well as the whats. Lots of books try to explain what modes are , this one explains why you might want to use them.

It's funny, accessible, educational and a good read. My only quibble is the title, which sells itself short. It's more than just a book about writing tunes, it's an exploration of traditional music structures and the tunes
aren't necessarily limited to the fiddle. And it's also great fun. Recommended!

Peter Bibby- Fiddle On Magazine March 05