Irish Fiddle Variation – Home page

Here are some common scales used in fiddle tunes. Each runs through a series of variations: two bows legato, two bows staccato, four bows, tucka (4 shorts, two longs), hoedown (1 long, two shorts), throwaway bow, triplets, tremolo.

D Major

G Major, starting on D3

A Major

D Dorian

A Dorian

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Practice a tune with its scale (Kerry Polka is in G major, so practice a G major scale). Practice scales before, during and after practicing tunes.

For more scale play-along tracks, go to Scale Central.

60 BPM

70 BPM

80 BPM

90 BPM

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Progressive metronome, 60 to 100 BPM

This track speeds up in 10 bpm increments.

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For more fun and inspiring beats go to Beat Central.

Rhythms

Tucka 

Short-short-short-short-long-long. Practice on D string:

Practice more: Fingering with Bowing Exercises

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Hoedown 

Long-short-short. Practice on D string:

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Triplets 

1-2-3 notes per step. Practice D0-0-0-A0-0-0 with plucking:

Practice more: String Crossing Exercises

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Swing 

Long-short.  Practice G0-0-2-2-D0-0-3-3-3-3-0-0 with the 'swing double' rhythm:

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Slur pattern

Slur two

Here we play two notes per bow. Practice D0-1-1-0 with slur two:

Practice more: Slur Two Exercises

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Slur three

Here we play three notes per bow. Practice D0-1-2-2-1-0 with slur three:

Practice more: Slur Three Exercises

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Slur four

Here we play four notes per bow. Practice with D0-1-2-3, first time downbow, then upbow:

Practice more: Slur Four Exercises

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Slur two-separate two 

This forms a hoedown pattern (long-short-short). Practice it with D0-1-1-1:

Practice more: Slur Two-Separate Two Exercises

30-minute Tune Routine

• Tone and scale warmup: 5 minutes
• Interval warm-ups: 5 minutes
• Tune: 20 minutes

Find all play-along tracks for intervals here: Interval Central

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One Tune, One Scale, Ten Minutes

• Play a scale for five minutes
• Play a tune using that scale for five minutes
• As a variation, just alternate between a tune and its scale for ten minutes

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10-minute tuning routine

• Practice individual notes with a drone: 5 minutes
  • So to practice D1, use an E drone. To practice, D2 use an F sharp drone
  • If you're unsure what note you're playing, then use the Notefinder (found in another tab with this Practice Tools section)

• Practice intervals with a drone: 5 minutes

  • Pick a focus note to use as the drone
  • So if you are practicing D3-A0, play along with a G drone (for D3); this will help you tune that note

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20-minute review routines

• Single-drone routine
  • Review tunes that share the same drone note. So tunes in D Major, D Dorian or D Klezmer can all be practiced with a D drone.
  • Use the Tunes Listed By Root Note page as your guide.
  • Play the relevant scale before each tune you review.
  • This is a fun and refreshing way to review tunes.
• Last 5-10 ten tunes
  • A simpler routine is to just review the last 5-10 tunes you've learned in a twenty-minute session.
  • Play the relevant scale before each tune you review.

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Experiment combining or alternating routines.

Click here for more practice routines

Here's a newer version of the Notefinder which is based on sheet music. If you're interested in learning to read, this will be an invaluable reference. I'll be posting lessons on this in 2020.

Note: the brackets indicate notes that are the same pitch but spelled differently. For example, AH3 (D#) sounds the same as AL4 (Eb). Without going into too much teory detail here, this will be determined by the key of the tune or piece you are playing.

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Notefinder table

Here's he original table version of the Notefinder. Sometimes people learn in different ways...

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Sawmill tuning Notefinder

This is used to find notes in Sawmill tuning (when the G string is tuned up to A and the D string is tuned up to E). If you're a beginner...best to ignore this!

G0-1-2-3-D0-1-2-3-A0-1-2-3-E0-1-2-3

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• You are a musician if you PLAY EVERY DAY
  • Find a consistent time and place to practice. Make it a habit, like brushing your teeth; that way you spend no energy in deciding to practice or not.
  • Learn more: How To Practice Consistently
• Listening is practice too.
  • Within a practice session, alternate between playing and listening.
  • Learn more: Listening is practice too
• Slow down.
  • This is cliché music teacher advice, but it’s what most students need to do.
  • Learn more: Slow Down To Speed Up
• Sing what you play.
  • Singing or humming (if you’re shy) will help you to play in tune as well as remember melodies.
  • It can also be a lot of fun to alternate between singing and playing a phrase to song.
  • Learn more: Singing and Playing Practice
• Practice audiation.
  • Audiation is hearing music in your head. Actively practice this.
  • Learn more: Audiation
• Loop it.
  • Whatever level you’re at, you can benefit from looping small bits and phrases.
  • Not only will it help your technique, but it will unlock your creativity and bring you joy.
  • Learn more: Looping Practice
• Micro-learning.
  • Learn in very small increments.
  • Single notes > bits > phrases > tunes
  • Learn more: Micro-learning
• Drone on.
  • Practicing with drones is pleasurable, and so you’ll be more likely to play every day.
  • Drones will help you play better in tune.
  • Learn more: Drone tuning the notes on the D string
• Be your own teacher.
  • Make up your own exercises.
  • Record yourself and listen back. This way you can pinpoint what’s most challenging.
  • Learn more: Be Your Own Teacher
• Remember to sound good.
  • Always return to a good sound, even if it means playing quarter notes on the D string. You can do this! You just have to remember to pause on practicing the challenging thing and just get a good sound on single notes.
  • Why do this? Because it will bring you deep joy. And it will build your confidence which will inspire further practice.
  • Learn more: Remember to Sound Good
• Practice Just To Practice
  • Don't fixate on being great or perfect. Good is better than perfect.
  • The moment you pick up the fiddle and play you have "made it".
  • Learn more: Practice Just To Practice

Here are a few technical reminders to remember as you practice.

Posture reminders

• Curve left-hand and right-hand fingers.
• Bend right thumb.
• Bend right arm and wrist.
• Use minimal energy.
• Left-hand fingers land on tips, not pads. This makes for more precise playing.

Bowing tips

• Take time to focus on bowing during each practice session.
  • Get the best possible sound on single notes using long bows, throwaway bow, rhythms. Even just a few minutes of this will drastically improve your sound.
• Use less bow.
  • This is a rule of thumb for fiddle tunes, especially for when things are difficult.
  • Continue to practice long bows. This will improve your overall sound.
• Play in the middle of the bow. This is the sweet spot.
• Use no extra energy or force for double stops.
  • It's more a matter of getting the bow perfectly balanced between the two strings.
  • Again, playing with less bow will help with this.

Left-hand fingering tips

• Keep fingers down when possible.
  • For example, if you are rapidly playing D1-2, it is easier if you keep D1 down while fingering D2.
  • Practice this on scales.
• Practice Little Lift
  • Don't lift left-hand fingers too high. Let them just hover above the string.
  • This allows you to play faster, better in tune and with more ease.
  • Take a lesson on Little Lift.
• Practice challenging intervals
  • Your fingers need a lot more time with things than your brain (which gets bored more easily).
  • Find the most challenging interval from a tune, like D3-A1 in Oh Susannah, and practice that until you can play it with ease and joy.
  • Use the exercises from Interval Central to go deeper with this.

Check in with the body

• Is it relaxed or tense? Are you breathing evenly?
• If you notice you are tense and not breathing evenly, simply pause on what you're currently practicing and play a single note. Make it sound nice. See if your body is more relaxed now.
• If you can play a single note with a relaxed body, then try more complex things: 2-note intervals, scales, simple tune phrases, whole tunes.
• Keep returning to single notes as a way to center yourself, relax and enjoy the process.

Little lift

• Don't lift your left-hand fingers too high off the fingerboard. You only need to lift them about a millimeter.
• This saves energy and will allow you to play with more ease and speed.
• Practice: two-note intervals (like D1-2), scales, tune phrases, whole tunes.
  • Keep your awareness on Little Lift as you practice more complex things.
• Take a short lesson: Little Lift

Little pauses

• If you find that sound is sloppy, try adding a little pause in between the notes. This gives your fingers time to find the next note. This is especially helpful with string crossing.
• Take a short lesson: A Little Pause
• Practice the "Stop n' Rock" exercises from String Crossing. Apply this idea to more complex string crossings.

Slow down

• Students of all levels can do this to improve their technique.

Take short breaks

• It's easy to get caught up in practicing and not notice that the body is stiff and sore.
• Take short breaks to move, stretch and breathe.