String Orchestra
Traditional Bluegrass Melody
Arranged by Karen Kyriakou
Grade: 1.5
Keys: D, G and A Major
Duration: 1.55
Fire on the Mountain is an ideal tune for String Orchestras in the early years of playing together. All the parts are in first position, with optional shifting for the double bass. Each instrument takes turns to play the melody.
This well-known fiddle tune played in the Bluegrass and Old Time styles. Known primarily thought the Midwest and Southern Appalachian regions of the United States, its origins can be traced back as far as 1814, although no one is really sure how the tune first came to be written. As is the case with music learned and taught in the aural-tradition, variations of Fire on the Mountain can be found far and wide; throughout America, Ireland and Great Britain.
The tune is usually played as fast as possible, and this speed supports a sense of urgency!
Fire on the mountain, run boys, run,
Fire on the mountain, run boys, run.
Orchestration: Violin 1, Violin 2, Viola, Cello, Double Bass