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…

Fiddlosophy - Fake it 'til you make it 7:17
To play old-time music, do you just need to know first position? 16:23
What are good tunes for practicing 4th finger? 19:03
How can I clean up the sound when I go from one string to another? 21:25
I'm trying to learn your version of a tune (Blackest Crow), but I hear a different version in my head. How should I proceed? 24:35
What are some good stretches and physical warmups? Fiddle yoga?! 29:36
How do you do vibrato? 34:23
Neighbors tend to nag about my practice sessions. Should I get a silent or electric violin? Will it affect my learning? 37:23
How important is the bow angle (flat or edge)? 41:20
When playing with others on a tune I don't know, how do I play the chords? 43:56
What's the best shoulder rest? 53:31
Do you have suggestions for practicing timing/counting on notes? Is a metronome helpful? 1:16:40
My bow bounces a lot. What should I do? 1:22:39
I get frustrated because there is a lot I have to remember to do at once. Do I ever get to sit back and enjoy just playing? 1:25:00
How can I keep the little finger of my left hand near the fingerboard? Are there any exercises? 1:29:50
How do you bow on just one string at a time? What are some exercises to make my bowing more precise? 1:31:22
When using finger tape, does the low second finger go between the 2nd and 3rd tapes? 1:34:21
How to practice playing with different volume levels? 1:37:52

 

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 the jam.
  • Warm up on your own before playing with others.
  • Stretch your body and relax your breath before sessions and shows.

Do you modify any of your bridges for faster lower string action and ease in double stops?

  • I haven’t modified any bridges.
  • But my electric has lower action (flatter bridge). It is easier to play.

“‹A problem I’m struggling to overcome is separating the rhythm of my bow hand with my left hand … they seem to be determined to move at the same time … is there any drill or practice to help?

  • The answer is in your question: Separate your hands.
  • Practice the bowing on open strings, then the fingering with plucking. Then integrate with small phrases and exercises.

What kind of strings do you have?

Further learning

Here are some links to lessons that relate to this month’s questions:

 

Alrighty. Play every day, have fun ? and thanks for making music ?

Now, go fiddle with it…?

❤️ Fiddlehed

Leave a Reply

11 responses to “FiddleHed Office Hours – January 28, 2020”

  1. I really enjoyed this, thanks again. In answer to your question, I read music too easily and rely on it too much. I find your beginning tuning learning a stressful challenge. I was taught from the Suzuki books as well as some fiddle tunes but struggle to overcome paper dependence.

  2. Thanks for this, It’s covered a lot of questions I had.
    I’m definitely interested in learning to read music, I understand how to read slowly, but get put off/confused a bit by the fact that what ‘finger’ each note references changes depending on the key the music is written in (I understand why this is, but it’s a bit of a roadblock to just learning all songs from the sheet music.) However sometimes I notice that the fingering/tab given for a tune doesn’t quite match how it’s played, then I revert to reading the music to figure it out.
    Also I’m really enjoying the content about chords and backup, as that’s an easy way to improv/jam without needing to learn a song in advance

  3. I missed the open hours but greatly appreciated being able to watch the posting of it along with seeing the posted questions. For future or whenever you have time……..
    I would like to know how to properly pass to other players and then resume in a jam. I’m not a great player but am blessed with a group who have been very tolerant and encouraging. They pass around on tunes so well. Maybe it’s age and maybe apprehension but I seem to botch it up royally when I try sharing pieces. Do you have any good guidelines for this?
    also– reading printed music has been vital in my progress, not only for being able to do full tunes more quickly but also for the timing. I tend to float in my own boat, even when it’s in front of me and would be impossible without printed timing which isn’t in the tab.
    I will occasionally use a mute combined with playing extremely softly at jams when I try to play along. It greatly subdues mistakes, lets me get the hang of playing along and also sometimes try to find what key they are in if it wasn’t announced. Is this OK or really not a very good idea?
    Thank you very much for your patience and dedication.

  4. That was excellent Jason.
    To answer your questions – I do read sheet music. I took piano lessons as an adult and learned, to begin with, playing tunes I already knew well. As far as classical music, I am interested in learning fun classical music. I don’t know that much about it so I would like to learn. Tapes, I don’t watch the tapes as much as I watch your fingers and listen to the tone. Thank you!

  6. Lot’s of people there and from all over the world. Music pulls us all together! I really enjoyed this. Interesting seeing other people’s questions and your answers! I look forward to seeing what you come up with in classical music.? your lessons are so enjoyable.