Easy, recognizable tunes are a great way to work on your tuning, timing and flow.
If it’s a melody you know already, like London Bridges, then you can pick it up more quickly. Once you’ve learned and memorized it, you can focus all your attention on making it sound good. Try to get this simple melody to sound really, really good. If you do that it will give you confidence, and will probably improve the sound of the more difficult things you are learning.
You can benefit from learning and practicing easy tunes if you use them to practice what you are currently learning. So if you’re learning fourth finger, find a way to practice that on an easier tune like London Bridges.
For example, A0-1-0-D3-2-3-A0 from London Bridges can be practiced as A0-1-0-D3-2-3-4. Or make it even more challenging by practicing D4-A1-D4-D3-2-3-4.
In addition, advanced players can take easy tunes and transpose them. A beginning transposition would be to just start the tune on another string:
D0-1-0-G3-2-3-D0
If you’re learning a more challenging scale like B flat major, then try to play London Bridges in that that scale:
EL1-L2-L1-AL4-3-L4-EL1
Or, advanced players can use easy tunes to work on playing faster. Speed up those London Bridges!
Or, if you’re learning to add variations to a tune, an easy tune may be a great way to practice that creative skill. If you’re working on double stops, try adding that to London Bridges:
D0A0-D0A1-D0-A0-D3-D2-3-D0A0
Or, just play the tune very simply and enjoy the pure sound of the music you are making. Realize that you’ve made some good progress. Then return to something more challenging.
Here are some classic melodies that are easier to learn:
When the Saints Go Marching In
See what you can do with them.
What other great simple melodies do you think would be fun learn?
You’ve probably touched on this before, and I apologize for missing it (I’m new). Regarding bowing: if a person can make a satisfactory sound with his or her own version of up/down/slur or no slur, are they harming themselves? To clarify, I’ve watched orchestras and ensembles of strings — it appears they all are moving their bows in unison. So I figure that means there’s a right way and a wrong way. Personally, I would be happy to be able to play “Orange Blossom Special” in my own way, even if it meant arthritis in later years. But I would like to know if there is some general method to bowing. Thanks.
Avoid that arthritis! Try to relax muscles and breathe. Orchestras coordinate their bowing for a particular sound, but also because it looks good. Fiddlers don’t do that.
Once again thanks for this great advice, plus my grandchildren would love these tunes. By any chance, would you have lessons for some Christmas tunes to play on the fiddle?
Mar
Hey Mar,
Check out this youtube playlist of my holiday tune lessons: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxBODKswvJcMi8QpUCK3e3EAc58epJblk
More coming soon…
Oh My Darling Clementine
Red River Valley
Kumbaya
A popular piece given for beginners in the old tutorials was Bluebells of Scotland in the scale of G.
Good ideas.
Red river valley lesson: https://wp.me/P8OLq8-Ou