All-level practice journey

Hey there fiddler!

In this lesson Ruth Roland will show you how to hold the bow in a more relaxed manner.


Workshop replay


Playing With Ease Workshop Outline

Lesson Chat

00:00:32 jason kleinberg: Welcome Everyone!
00:00:51 Ruth Roland: Excited to be here!
00:01:14 Mary Reid: Hello from Georgia.
00:01:36 Beverly: Hello from snowy Toronto, Ontario.
00:01:49 williamhickey: Cold Walla Walla
00:01:49 Cindy Rossi: Greetings from the SC Lowcountry!
00:01:52 Jason Pace Car: St. Paul, MN
00:01:54 Tom Szalay: Hello from Oliver British Columbia
00:01:54 Seat #60: Icy Vancouver
00:01:54 Deborah Swanson: North Carolina
00:02:00 Darcy’s iPad (2): Kirkland, Wa
00:02:11 Debbie Hill: Debbie Suffolk VA
00:02:28 Joe Ann Sturgeon: Maple Valley Washington
00:02:38 Owen OMalley: Owen. Virginia
00:02:40 Sue Bates: HI Everyone rom Niagara on the Lake Ontario
00:03:19 Terri Marsico: State College PA 🙂🎻
00:03:53 Rahma Krambo: Having technical issues. 🙁
00:04:49 Beth: Hi from Sabinal, New Mexico
00:05:39 Dave Thomas: Hello from Dave T in Portland Oregon
00:07:08 Ann Repka: hi from Grand Junction, CO
00:15:30 Debbie Hill: 👍
00:17:23 Debbie Hill: en
00:17:36 Debbie Hill: bend wrist
00:18:00 Terri Marsico: engage pinky
00:18:02 Mary Scott: use little finger
00:18:05 Deborah Swanson: lift your elbow
00:18:16 Marg Sherringham: lighter touch
00:19:02 iPhone: My bow wants to bobble a little!
00:21:59 jason kleinberg: Let us know if you have questions…
00:22:33 Terri Marsico: When you bow towards the frog, do you go up past the metal winding???
00:23:17 David McCashion: so, don’t put any pressure on the string?
00:24:18 Terri Marsico: Ok, thank-you! 🙂
00:24:49 jason kleinberg: Try practicing simple and then more complex things at the frog.
00:25:04 David McCashion: thanks!  so, no pressure from index finger on string?
00:26:27 David Brown: Just the weight of the of the bow does it for me. No + or -.
00:27:49 Rahma Krambo: don’t know this piece
00:28:15 David McCashion: 👍
00:28:46 michael deck: Why play at the frog?
00:30:12 Debbie Hill: Is elbow height a major factor?
00:30:33 Jane’s iPad2: Do we need music?
00:31:39 jason kleinberg: Here’s sheet music https://fiddlehed.com/courses/old-time-appalachian-fiddle-lessons/jenny-lynn/
00:31:48 Beth: Thanks for sharing, Ruth!  I’m off to work….
00:32:03 jason kleinberg: You can use any tune to practice this lesson
00:36:26 Ann Repka: YES!
00:37:11 David Brown: My teacher always accused my of having a “death grip” of my fiddle. You and Jason have helped me avoid that.
00:37:23 Ann Repka: I’m just learning 4th finger
00:37:25 Rahma Krambo: 4th finger is always hard for me
00:37:28 Anne Brookhyser: The marker practice really helped me to have more 4th finger stretch.
00:37:35 Joe Ann Sturgeon: I haven’t paid attention to what I’ve been doing up until now
00:37:54 michael deck: Pulling in my elbow tenses my neck
00:38:25 Dave Thomas: how do I keep my thumb from not gripping too hard
00:39:17 Rahma Krambo: same thumb issue as dave
00:42:07 mike: very helpful
00:42:23 Dave Thomas: When I move thumb away from the neck, the neck drops into the thumb pit
00:43:31 Grace Schutt: That makes a HUGE difference in my pinkie reach— thank you!
00:43:37 Gretchen: doesn’t this all depend on how much you are holding it from the chin rest?
00:44:12 Jane’s iPad2: When I reach for g string I have to grip more
00:44:36 Brenda: Pinky reach better with knuckles over finger board, but index finger on E string is cramped.
00:44:55 Sue Bates: holding this way , I have a really hard time reaching G
00:45:04 Owen OMalley: Yes, pinky reach better with”marker hold.”
00:48:14 Pete Healy: Seems to help if I practice short ascending descending scales on each string alternating between Major and Minor (moving between the 2 and L2 positions).
00:48:59 Anne Brookhyser: Me too.  I can’t even get the fiddle on my shoulder with a grip.
00:49:06 Beverly: I have to run.  Thank you so much.
00:52:48 Gage: thank you!
00:52:49 Pete Healy: Thank you!!
00:52:51 Debbie Hill: thanks! Lots of great tips!
00:52:54 mike: thank you Ruth!!!!!
00:52:55 Terri Marsico: Thank-you very much 🙂🎻
00:53:06 Ann Repka: This has been very very helpful, thanks!
00:53:07 Brenda: Thank you. Already more relaxed!
00:53:07 Jane’s iPad2: So helpful! Thanks
00:53:08 eliaseely: Thank you!
00:53:08 C’s iPad: Thank you, and you have an amazing story.
00:53:11 Dave Thomas: Thanks, Very helpful especially with the thumb
00:53:16 Joe Ann Sturgeon: Thanks Ruth – very helpful
00:53:17 David McCashion: thank you very much!!👍🙂
00:53:20 Gage: pleasure!
00:53:30 Carl Sutherland: can you hear my dogs pounding on my office door?  and thank you
00:53:32 Darcy’s iPad (2): Thank you, very good things to work on 😊
00:53:33 Mary Scott: Thanks a lot, very interesting, I’ll need to practise those things a while!
00:53:39 jason kleinberg: https://ruthviolin.weebly.com/
00:53:39 Lisa Biehl: This was helpful.   I look forward to reviewing with the PDF. Thank you very much
00:53:40 Cindy Rossi: Thank you so much! It was helpful for improving the reach on the strings.
00:53:43 Owen OMalley: Lots of good info,  thank you, Beth.
00:53:55 jason kleinberg: Learn more about Ruth: https://ruthviolin.weebly.com/
00:54:07 Sue Bates: Thank you so much, so helpful
00:54:18 Ruth Roland: Batonrougemusiclessons.com
00:54:22 Marg Sherringham: thank you Ruth
00:54:30 jason kleinberg: https://batonrougemusiclessons.com/author/ruthviolin/
00:54:44 jason kleinberg: YouTube: fiddlegeek
00:54:44 polan: Thank you Ruth and Jason!
00:55:01 Rahma Krambo: Thanks. Lots of good information.
00:56:30 Lisa Biehl: Looking forward to more great lessons!

Feel free to continue the discussion in the comments below.

Reflection

What was challenging?

What did you learn? Try to put it into words.

How can you use this in your own practice?

Write down your thoughts below in either a comment or Your Practice Journal.

Further

More videos from Ruth:

Scale Shapes Workshop

 


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