Sonya Badigian grew up in New England and was introduced to old time fiddling via a small scene centered around thoughtful listening to early string band recordings. In the ensuing years she taught herself guitar and turned her ear to players who pushed themselves to experiment with more modern styles and repertoires and whose playing styles encouraged different forms of backup.
Her approach to old time is to closely investigate and work at channeling the sincere energy that permeates old recordings, and to incorporate that sense of movement into a natural sound that feels informed. In teaching she aims not just to guide students toward a playing style that is tonally and rhythmically intact, but also to teach a listening style that inspires a sense of wonder and develops their musical imaginations. We’ll work on becoming informed about the musical context of old time guitar, being comfortable while playing, developing a true sense of rhythm, and talking about ego death if there’s time.
Sonya lives in Durham, North Carolina. She can be found playing guitar and singing with Hard Drive (Tatiana Hargreaves, Aaron Tacke, Nokosee Fields), playing fiddle in a duo with CPN Hollywell, and playing bass in Twisted Teens. She has played for workshops, concerts, festivals, and square dances across the country.