Restrictions to Access

Use of audio may require production of listening copies.

Copyright Notice

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], in the Malvin Newston Artley Collection of West Virginia Fiddle Tunes #20012, Southern Folklife Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Acquisitions Information

Received from Malvin Newston Artley circa 1994 (Acc. 103681).

Sensitive Materials Statement

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

Processed by: Anne Wells, August 2019

Encoded by: Anne Wells, August 2019

Archival processing of the Malvin Newston Artley Collection of West Virginia Fiddle Tunes was made possible through a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Since August 2017, we have added ethnic and racial identities for individuals and families represented in collections. To determine identity, we rely on self-identification; other information supplied to the repository by collection creators or sources; public records, press accounts, and secondary sources; and contextual information in the collection materials. Omissions of ethnic and racial identities in finding aids created or updated after August 2017 are an indication of insufficient information to make an educated guess or an individual's preference for identity information to be excluded from description. When we have misidentified, please let us know at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu.

The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

• Appalachian dulcimer music.
• Artley, Malvin Newton.
• Bailey, Emory E.
• Fiddle tunes--West Virginia.
• Folk music--West Virginia.
• Martin, Wayne, 1956-
• Old-time music--West Virginia.
• Wilson, Arden, 1883-

• Library of Congress, American Folklife Center, Malvin Artley duplication project (AFC 1970/016).

Malvin Newston Artley (1921-2017) was a white musician and music educator born in Newark, N.J. He earned his Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from Shenandoah Conservatory and served in the South Pacific during World War II. Following honorable discharge, he used the GI Bill to earn his Master of Music in Violin Performance from Cincinnati Conservatory, as well as his Doctor of Fine Arts in Musicology from the Chicago College of Performing Arts, Roosevelt University. While at Chicago College of Performing Arts, Artley conducted his dissertation research on traditional fiddling of West Virginia, which included recording and collecting field recordings of old-time tunes played on the fiddle and Appalachian fretted dulcimer. This work culminated in his Ph.D. dissertation, "The West Virginia Country Fiddler: An Aspect of the Folk Music Tradition in the United States". After completing his Ph.D. dissertation in 1955, Artley moved to Burlington, N.C. to initiate a string program in the Burlington City Schools. He later joined the faculty of Elon College to help develop a college-community orchestra, among other programs. He also adjudicated bands and orchestras throughout the country and played violin in the Roanoke Symphony, the Greensboro, Symphony, and the Winston-Salem Symphony. He was a charter member of the American String Teachers Association, serving as N.C. state president for 5 years, and was a charter member of the National School Orchestra Association, serving as national treasurer, national vice-president, and national president. He was awarded the Elon Medallion for outstanding service to Elon University in 2001. He received the first Maxine Swalin award from the North Carolina Symphony for "instilling and inspiring love of music in North Carolina's children".

Biographical information courtesy of the Time-News, Burlington, N.C.

Field recordings, 1952-1953, and other materials related to Malvin Newston Artley's Ph.D. dissertation research on traditional fiddlers and fiddle tunes of West Virginia. Artley, a white musician and music educator, recorded and collected these field recordings of old-time tunes played on the fiddle and Appalachian fretted dulcimer while conducting his Ph.D. dissertation research at the Chicago College of Performing Arts, Roosevelt University, Chicago, Ill. Artley's recordings on 1/4" open reel and acetate disc were later duplicated by SFC staff onto 1/4" open reel and deposited into the collection in 1995. The majority of the recordings feature tunes by Emory Bailey, white fiddler from Shock, Gilmer County, W.Va.; Arden Wilson, white fiddler from Harrisville, Ritchie County, W.Va.; and unidentified dulcimer players. The collection also includes recordings, 1970, of Burl Hammons, white old-time fiddler from Pocahontas County, W.Va., originally recorded by Malcomb Owen, as well as a 1994 interview with Malvin Newston Artley on his dissertation research conducted by Wayne Martin, a white North Carolina based folklorist, fiddler, and arts administrator. Former SFC staff prepared the related documentation found in the collection, which consists of tape logs, interview transcripts, and photocopies of original open reel boxes and field notes prepared by Artley's sister-in-law. Tape logs include contextual information on the performers, as well as song titles and tunings.

• Audiotapes (FT-181-183, FT-6046-6056)