jason kleinberg

The Ultimate Beginner Pitfall

A FiddleHed named Dave wrote to me because he was struggling with the advanced version of Blackest Crow. In his email, it became clear that he hadn’t been playing very long. That version of the tune is challenging if you are new to the fiddle. It involves double stops, tricky triplets, slides and some fast … Continued

How can I clean up the bow sound on the violin?

A student named Shauna asked me this during office hours. You can clean up the sound of the bow by adding little pauses in between the notes. This is especially good for string crossing (I call the practice “stop n’ rock” when adding pauses to string crossing). Stop n’ Rock You may notice some sloppiness … Continued

Why can’t I get a good sound on the fiddle?

People often write to me saying they struggle with getting a good sound. While playing something challenging, you may notice that it is sounding worse.  If you do notice, then take heart! You’re already on the way to sounding better. Now you just need to pause, simplify what you’re doing and connect with your basic … Continued

FiddleHed Office Hours – January 28, 2020

Here is the replay of my office hours live-stream for this month. Thanks to all who took part…   Some questions I missed Are there any tips/exercises you can suggest that can help in becoming fiddle-confident while starting to join in on jam sessions? If possible, practice any tunes you know will be played at … Continued

So Long Old Pal

A few days after Christmas, I said goodbye to Kitty. What can I say? Best Cat Ever. Every pet owner thinks that and they’re all right. The days leading up to his passing were anxious because his condition was so uncertain. He stopped eating. The vet thought it might be pneumonia, but after an array … Continued

Don’t Give Up!

Did you know that everyone who has ever played the fiddle has felt doubt at one point or another? Every person who has tried to play an instrument (or to complete a challenging project) has thought, “I have so far to go. I don’t think I’m going to make it.”  Why do some people make … Continued

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town – EDM Fiddle version!

Here’s a jolly electro-fiddle dance version of this classic fiddle tune performed by Kitty The Fiddling Kat. Filmed in San Francisco at the famous Tom And Jerry House along with other locations in Noe Valley.     If you want to learn how to play it, I teach it in this video: Santa Claus Is Comin’ … Continued

Joy To The World of Transposition!

Joy to the World is an amazing melody. It’s also a great tool for practicing transposition. That’s because the melody fits exactly within a one-octave range. In this lesson, I’m going to show you how to play it in all twelve keys! So the cool thing is, once you can play this in D major, … Continued

Dealing With Frustration

Lately, we’ve had a problem with the menus crashing on the site. We’ve tried all different fixes to no avail. Once we see the menus are down, we can reset them. So I guess it could be worse. But overall it’s a pretty major problem with the website that is still haunting us. In addition … Continued

Sawmill Tuning Questions

How do you know the correct note in sawmill tuning? A FiddleHed named Lizzy wrote in asking, “How do you know when you have the correct sound/note for sawmill tuning? I usually use a guitar tuner for tuning.” Thanks for that question. You can still use your electronic tuner. All notes on the A and … Continued