"You know, if you really want to fiddle the old-time way, you've got to learn the dance. The contra-dances, hoedowns. It's all in the rhythm of the bow. The great North Carolina fiddle player Tommy Jarrell said, 'If a feller can't bow, he'll never make a fiddler. He might make a violin player, but he'll never make no fiddler.'"

This quote by Alison Krauss is emphasizing the value of rhythm when it concerns playing the fiddle. She referrals the North Carolina fiddle gamer Tommy Jarrell, who stated that if someone can't bow, they will never make a fiddler. This implies that the rhythm of the bow is vital to playing the fiddle in the conventional old-time way. Krauss is recommending that in order to become a fiddler, one should discover the dance and the rhythm of the bow. This is due to the fact that the rhythm of the bow is the structure of the old-time fiddle style. By learning the dance and the rhythm of the bow, one can end up being a true fiddler.