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Trenda Slaughter, apprentice to Willie David Jones, playing oldtime fiddle music :Old Town, Florida.
Image Number
Photographer
Date
Collection
Series 1640, Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program, Willie David Jones, Fiddling, 1993-1994 ; Box 16, FF1
Geographic Term
Subject Term
Stringed instruments
Musical instruments
Fiddling
Music--Performance
Fiddle
Music (History and characteristics)
Arts (Performing)--Florida--Dixie County--Old Town
Musical traditions, European
Musical traditions, Anglo-American
Musical traditions
Teaching of folklore
Violin
Violin music
Fiddle tunes
Old-time music
Folk music--United States
Fiddlers
Violinists
Instrumentalists
Women musicians
Folk musicians--Florida--Dixie County--Old Town
Musicians--Florida--Dixie County--Old Town
Entertainers--Florida--Dixie County--Old Town
Apprentices
Mentoring in the arts
Popular music
Personal Subjects
Additional Creator
Additional Creator
Physical Description
General Note
Traditional fiddler Willie David Jones of Old Town was born in Dixie County in 1923, just a few miles from where he lives today. He comes from a long line of fiddlers that includes his brothers, father, aunt, and great-uncle. Southern old-time fiddling is a blend of Anglo-Celtic dance music traditions and early popular music styles such as ragtime, country, and blues. It is distinguished by hard-driving rhythm, sliding notes, and ringing "drone" strings. Several of the tunes Jones plays, such as "Charleston No. 1," have been handed down in his family through several generations.
His apprentice Trenda Slaughter, who lives in nearby Trenton, has been playing the fiddle for about two years. She was attracted to Jones's smooth fiddling style the first time she heard him play. Slaughter is working to learn the bowing, ornamentation, double-stops, slides, and other elements of the style as well as to build a repertoire of his tunes. By studying with Jones she will ensure the continuation of old-time fiddling in her community.
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Chicago Manual of Style
Stone, Robert L., 1944-. Trenda Slaughter, apprentice to Willie David Jones, playing oldtime fiddle music :Old Town, Florida. 1993 (circa). State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory. <https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/108265>, accessed 11 June 2026.
MLA
Stone, Robert L., 1944-. Trenda Slaughter, apprentice to Willie David Jones, playing oldtime fiddle music :Old Town, Florida. 1993 (circa). State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.<https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/108265>
AP Style Photo Citation
(State Archives of Florida/Stone)
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