Jim’s Fiddle Blog

On the subject of learning to play the fiddle faster, and at the same time keeping good tone and timing, here is a pretty good recipe. It’s a variation on a prescription that I heard Lisa Schneckenburger offer last summer at Maine Fiddle Camp:

1. Pick a tune you already play and like a lot (you’re going to need to like it a lot).   Slow the tune down to where you can play it in very good rhythm, and hit every note on time, in tune, and with good tone. All of these elements are important. Don’t sacrifice any of them. Find that speed where you are absolutely nailing the tune, except for the little matter of pace (It’s so slow that it’s killing you!).

2. Practice it at that speed every day for a week for at least 15 minutes. DO NOT allow it to pick up speed.

3. After a week, turn the metronome up a click and do the same thing at this new pace. It won’t feel faster, but it will be, just a tiny bit. Stay at this pace for at least a couple of days, again playing the tune every day for at least 15 minutes.

4. After a couple of days (or maybe 3 or 4), ratchet the metronome up another click and grind through the tune some more.

5. If at any point along the way, you start hearing timing errors or scratchy notes, back off to the pace where these go away and take it from there.

After 3 or 4 weeks, you’ll have transformed your playing of that tune (and probably your playing generally), and you’ll be at something like dance speed.

It takes patience to do this, it’s a lot like work (kinda violates the general rule that fiddling should be fun), and it’s probably not for everybody; but it can work wonders.

Tags: Fiddle Tunes, Violin/Fiddle Technique

If you are looking for a fiddle/violin teacher in your area, there are several things you should ask about before you settle on one person. One question you want to ask a teacher before you commit to regular lessons is this one: Do you use tunes to teach violin basics, or do you use exercises? I think using tunes whenever possible is the right answer.

The thing with exercises is that they can be designed to repeat a specific movement over and over without playing anything else. This is good if you are trying to attack a specific bowing or fingering problem. But, they can be incredibly boring! This is bad, no matter what you are trying to accomplish.

So, if your teacher has the ability to arrange a tune to focus on a fingering or bowing issue that is challenging you, this is terrific. This will be a lot more fun for you, and this teacher is a rare find. The ability to quickly rearrange a tune to suit a specific student’s need is one that separates a really good teacher from the rest of the pack.

Don’t get me wrong. This isn’t always possible. Even at fiddlehub.com, where I have tried to keep things as tune-oriented as possibe, I still have several finger exercises that are just that–exercises. Boring maybe, but sometimes unavoidable.

Tags: fiddle, Fiddle Lessons, violin, Violin Lessons

I have several carving and paring knives in my kitchen, and I like to keep them sharp–really sharp.  Normally this is not an issue, but last week it became a big problem.  I needed to open an English muffin, and my implement of choice (a really dull table knife) wasn’t handy.  So, I grabbed a razor sharp paring knife instead.  Big mistake.  The muffin proved to be a little less resistant to the knife than I expected and before I knew it, I had stabbed my left pinky and blood was everywhere.  It’s really hard to play the fiddle with your pinky all trussed up with a bandage, plus, it hurts!.

This little adventure cost me 3 whole days of no fiddle playing at all.  Not one note.  Not worth it for a muffin, even a really good muffin.

The lesson here:  Don’t handle sharp instruments early in the morning, before you’ve had you’re coffee.

Tags: fiddle

Click here to read a very good article on what makes a successful relationship between the violin/fiddle teacher and the student. There is a lot here, and it bears reading more than once. In the end, David Lusterman, the author of the piece, comes down to this:

“. . . the magic occurs when the teacher recognizes and understands the student’s aims in studying, and then actively participates in refining those aims, taking them to be of an equal or even greater value than the student’s need for mere technical progress. In other words, a teacher’s role is to educate the student in the art of self-analysis and self-observation, ultimately rendering the teacher superfluous.”

This is a pretty good take on what a fiddle/violin teacher should be bringing to the table. So what should the student be bringing? First, some forethought. The student should know why he or she wants lessons. There should be some defined goals that are more specific than just a desire “to play better.” Second, flexibility. To get the most from lessons, the student should be willing to try approaches that don’t seem natural at first. The best way to hold the bow or the fiddle might not be comfortable at first. Finally, patience. Playing the fiddle is not easy, and learning to do it well takes time. It’s a lot of fun, but it’s not instantaneous.

I found Mr. Lusterman’s article on a forum on fiddlehangout.com this morning. Go here to pick up the thread and learn more.

Tags: fiddle, Fiddle Lessons, fiddle teacher

Sooner or later, your fiddle strings are going to wear out. Sorry. No way around it (except to stop playing–bad idea). They fray or unravel, and old strings can sound really awful. Sometimes beginners mistakenly blame their bad tone on their “beginnerness,” when the real culprit is worn out strings. If you’ve reached the point where you can’t avoid changing strings any longer, here’s how to go about it:

Open the packet and make sure all four strings are there and that they are called G, D, A and E, bottom to top. Don’t get them mixed up (the D and A can look a lot alike; but they’re not). Now take a good look at the peg box on your fiddle. You want to make sure you have a good mental image of which string connects to which peg. Here is what you should see. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Peg_in_box.jpg I recently found this image on a forum at fiddlehangout.com (which is a website that should be on the favorites list of any aspiring fiddler, BTW). This picture does a great job of illustrating just what is going on in the peg box. Notice that each string is wound over the top of its peg, and that the A string passes over the top of the D string peg-not under it.

Now, you should change only one string at a time. DO NOT take off all the old strings before you put any new ones on. Why? Because you want to keep as much pressure on your top as you can while you are changing the strings. This is important because it is the downward pressure created by all four of your strings that keeps your soundpost in place (It’s the little stick that you can see inside your fiddle if you look through the right f-hole). If the soundpost falls down and starts rattling around inside your instrument, you have a problem that will require professional assistance. Even if it moves only a little, that’s not good; so just make sure you change only one string at a time.

After you change the first string, tune it up to pitch as close as you can before you release the tension on the next one. Use your pitch pipe or electronic tuner if you have one, or click here to get the tones you need.

Once you get all the new strings on, you’ll notice that your fiddle won’t stay in tune very well. It’ll take a couple of days before your instrument gets used to its new strings. After that, you should be back to fiddling, and with the new strings you’ll be thinking: “Wow! I sound fantastic!”

Tags: Fiddle Strings, violin

I got up at the crack of dawn this morning to drive to NH from my place in Maine.  Very cold outside–minus 21 degrees.  I kept warm on the ride over by listening to the great James Kelly, who lives in my ipod.  I first heard James play in 1993 in Elkins, West Virginia at the Augusta Irish Week thing they have there every year (or used to have, anyway).   He is one of the great masters of the Irish fiddle, along with such people as Kevin Burke, Tommy Peoples, Martin Hayes, Seamus Connolly, et al.  James never gets in a hurry.  He lets the tune find it’s own pace and his rhythmic sense is unerring.  His melodic concept is very lyrical.  Beautiful stuff.  If you want to hear what the “pure drop” sounds like, listen to James Kelly.  James is not only a magnificent player, but a renowned teacher.  You can buy his music and learn more about him at jameskellymusic.com.

Tags: fiddle

In this first post I think it’s just as well if I explain what I’m up to.  If you recognize the banner up top, you know this blog is somehow related to fiddlehub.com.   I see it as kind of a companion to the website.  I’ve got quite a bit to say on my website about learning to play the violin/fiddle, but fiddlehub.com isn’t really a good place for me to say whatever fiddle-related thing might be on my mind, when I want to say it.  Opinions, quick practice tips, reviews, penetrating insight, that sort of stuff.  Hence, this blog.

I originally started it about 3 months ago on another service provided, but that didn’t work out.   I think now I have come up with the right solution–this new blog is hosted with the same ISP as the website.   It’s easy for me to post now, and it should work pretty slick.

Tags: fiddle, fiddle blog, violin