Another honour for Métis fiddle master
- EFN Staff | July 07, 2014
Working away in a cluttered but cozy workshop on Windy Acres, Johnny Arcand's nimble fingers manipulate parts and clamps as he tries to bring an old broken down fiddle back to life.
"These ones are real cheap," said Arcand as he examined the wood. "But oh well, we will fix it and send it on down the road."
As you look around the shop at the scattered tools and jumbled piles of wood, you would never think you were sitting in the workshop of a legend, but with the recent announcement that Johnny Arcand is the recipient of the 2014 Canada Council Molson Prize in the arts, one can conclusively say that Johnny Arcand is the most decorated fiddle player in Canadian history and a living legend.
Johnny Arcand has seen many a fiddle in his lifetime climbing to the pinnacle, and he knows a junk one when he sees it. After picking up an old broken down fiddle of his dads at age five, Johnny learned to play and repair fiddles on his own.
"That fiddle only had two strings," said Johnny, whose dad always had a bunch of broken down fiddles around. "I got the job to fix them. Once you know how they are supposed to work, you get the basic knowledge."
Johnny also taught himself to play by ear. He didn't receive any sort of formal training until he was 18 and he figured if he wanted to get any further with the fiddle he would have to learn how to read music. He wasn't taught music in his old school at Jackson Lake about six miles north of Debden so he went to Calvin Romph for lessons.
"He was an old man already and I spent a couple weeks with him and at the end of that I could read music better than he could," said Johnny.
After that Johnny would listen to fiddle masters and mimic the way they played. He listened intently to the radio whenever Don Messer was on to capture his songs.
"You had to really pay attention to those songs because they would only play them every other show. Doing that really helped my memory."
He thinks the hardest part of fiddle playing is to push yourself to play the hardest songs so you learn the craft and different ways to make a note.
Thus began a career that would see Johnny earn several awards including a National Aboriginal Achievement Award for Arts and Culture and a Lifetime Achievement Award for his "Outstanding Contribution to Old Time Fiddling" from the Canadian Grand Masters in 2003. In 2004, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award in the Inaugural Lieutenant Governor's Saskatchewan Arts Awards, the Order of Canada our country's highest civilian honor, and in 2012 he received the Queen's Jubilee Medal. He is also preparing for the 17th Annual Johnny Arcand Fiddlefest in August where he and his wife, Vicki, host fiddle players from across the world. Not bad for a humble Métis from Big River.
At the top of his profession for years, Arcand has been slowing down and mentoring the next generation of fiddle greats. Through his private lessons and camps he has worked at including Emma Lake Fiddle camp and of course the Johnny Arcand Fiddle Festival, Johnny recons he has taught over 3500 people. He knows that fiddle playing will continue, but he rues the times that are a changing.
"The music is changing. Kids nowadays want to go 150 miles an hour and put in half the notes that you should put in. I have some really nice young students in Ile-la-Crosse that are really into fiddle music and they are pulling out stuff that is classical and they like it. What do I know about it? Nothing," he said. "But it is interesting seeing 12-year-olds that I taught getting into it. It appeals to them. To save the old songs, not enough Métis kids are involved in it. I've been working on it all my life but it seems like I am not getting nowhere. The days of dancehalls and barn dances, those days are gone...the good part of it is that kids are playing, regardless of how. We can teach them all we want, but are they going to use it?"
And back to the fiddle. He is fighting to save a beat up ornery one that was close to the scrap yard. He prefers to make new ones, though.
"Think of the fiddle body as a speaker. Both pieces have to vibrate together and everything has to be symmetrical. The hardest part is scraping out the inside. The wood is really hard and you can't make it too thin," he said as he clamped another piece painted delicately in glue. Six hundred dollars of wood and a bunch of knowledge and patience produce some masterpieces. Arcands fiddles sell for close to $5000. He owns 50 and has built 35 of them. But none are his favourite. "They are a tool to me."
Arcand loves spending time at Windy Acres with his wife Vicki. They work the yard and tend the garden and Johnny always makes time for his horses. He will even have one racing at Marquis Downs this year or next. The gigs are slowing down, by choice, and Johnny doesn't need to impress anyone.
"When I met the queen at the Centennial, she didn't seem too impressed to be there," he recalls.
He has cemented his place in history with all of his accolades and he is the most decorated fiddle player in all of Canada, but he is also the most humble.
"My goal now is to do a concert where all of the players are using fiddles I built. And we intend to do it at the Fiddlefest this year. Fun for me is playing for the common folk."
By the numbers
How many fiddles do you own? Around 50 (none are named...I don't fall in love with fiddles, they are tools of the trade)
How many fiddles made? 35
How many students have you taught? 3,500 (tons at Emma lake fiddle camp)
How many songs have you written? 350-400 maybe...
How many songs can you play? 4,000 probably
Favourite colour? I like blue sky.
Favourite movie? No comment.
Favourite TV show? How It's Made and nature shows.
Favourite sport? Boxing and Horse racing.
Favourite artist? Dennis Webber
Best job ever? Teaching fiddle.
Worst job? Logging!