Fiddler Trenda Slaughter performing old-time fiddle tunes

General Note/Comment

• One audio cassette. Slaughter demonstrates the songs and styles she learned as an apprentice to fiddler Willie Jones. Apprentice Slaughter was funded to learn from Jones bowing, double stops, twin fiddling, and sixteen old-time tunes. For more information on Jones, see S 1644, box 11, folder 27. The Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program began in 1983 with a NEA grant of $22,000. The program provided an opportunity for master folk artists to share technical skills and cultural knowledge with apprentices in order to keep the tradition alive. Apprentices must have had some experience in the tradition and agreed to train for at least six months. The first project director was Blanton Owen, later replaced by folklorist Peter Roller. The program was continued each year through 2004.