1.2 Lingering with Fingering
In the video above, I explain what you’ll be learning on the fiddle and how to navigate this page. To learn more, take the Fiddlehed Site Tour.
Here’s what you’ll do in this module
- Four new tunes
- Playing better in tune with tools like drones, electronic tuners and finger tape
- Learn to read fiddle tabs
- More precise and relaxed left-hand fingering with “Little Lift” practice
- Training your ear with the Call-and-response game
- Fun and productive practice with drones
🎻 Get ready for a fun journey 🤩 through this beginner fiddle course module! You’ll sharpen your skills by playing in tune using tools like drones, electronic tuners, and finger tape 🎵 , while also learning to 📖 read fiddle tabs and mastering the Little Lift technique. Engage in 📞 call-and-response exercises and put your 🆕 talents to the test with four entertaining tunes: Freres Jacques, Fais Do Do, When The Saints Go Marching In, and a hoedown version of Mary Had A Little Lamb. Let your fiddle skills flourish 🌸 !
Module 1.3 Progress
Core lessons started in Module 1.2:
Core Lessons
Week 1
- Technique: Drone tuning the notes on the D string
- Video Capsule Tune*: Freres Jacques
- Technique: How to Read FiddleHed Tabs
- Practice: Call-and-response Exercises 1.2
*Make a video of this tune or another core tune after you learn it. Make a second video 2-3 weeks later to see how it’s improved and what still needs work. Share your progress with the FiddleHed community by posting to the Student Video Exchange.
Week 2
- Tune: Fais Do Do
- Technique: Little Lift
- Technique: How To Play Better In Tune With An Electronic Tuner
- Tune: When the Saints Go Marching In
Week 3
- Technique: How to Place Finger Tape
- Tune: Mary Had A Little Lamb – Hoedown Variation I
- Practice: The Ultimate Beginner Pitfall
- Review Set 1.2
Practice Tips
- Play every for at least six days a week for at least twenty minutes a day.
- Make you practice fun and productive by using the D Drone. This helps you to play in tune and to play with a relaxed feeling.
- Practice “little lift”. This helps with precision. It’s also a way to be kind to your hands.
- Don’t be intimidated by all these lessons. Focus on doing one thing well. Do this for even just five minutes and you’ll see results. Each moment of quality practice is a huge success.
Bonus Lessons & Practice
Don’t feel obligated to do these bonus lessons. The tunes complement the core lessons above, so they are a good way to supplement your learning. But it’s more important to do one thing well than lots of mediocre things.
Bonus tunes
Supplemental lessons
- One Tune, One Scale, Ten Minutes
- D1 (E) tuning exercises
- D2 (F#) tuning exercises
- D3 (G) tuning exercises
- I Just Can’t To Make It Sound Good Today!
- Using Drones to Create Epic Practice Sessions
Note-Reading Lessons
Note-reading is not absolutely essential, so these lessons are optional. But if you are interested in learning to read, I will teach it to you in a step-by-step manner as you work through the main course. You can also learn this later on in the Note-Reading For Fiddlers course.
Student Story
STUDENT STORY: JAMES
One day James was walking down the street with a friend when he saw a violin in a shop window and said “I’ve always wanted to play the fiddle.” That Christmas his friend gave him a fiddle (best gift ever).
James says:
Start here: Drone tuning the notes on the D string >>