Here’s a lesson on how to play the first break from Wagon Wheel by Old Crow Medicine show. The song was based off a fragment that Bob Dylan (who’s credited as a co-author) performed in the movie Pat Garrett And Billy The Kid.
This is a lesson for intermediate fiddlers; you need to know raised third finger for this tune.
Learning Chunks
I’ve made some “Learning Chunks” to help you learn more easily. These focused exercises contain sheet music, tabs and mp3 snippets to guide you on your fiddle journey. The idea is to start with small musical bits, get good at those, and then put them together into bigger pieces until you have the whole tune. I call it Micro-practice.
For those of you who read (or want to read), all snippets use this key and time signature:
Preparation
Warm up with A major scale using A drone.
A part, first phrase
first phrase: D1-2-A0-1-1-2-2-3-[2-3-2]-2-1-[1-2-1]-[0-1-0]
A part, second phrase
second phrase: D1-2-2-1-2-H3-A0-0-1-2-3
Hey, to view the rest of the tabs, play-along tracks and sheet music for Wagon Wheel, just sign up for a Free Trial Membership. It only takes a minute and will allow you to access lots of other lesson pages.
A part, third phrase
third phrase: E0-A2-E0-1-0-A2-1-0-1-0-1-0-E0-A0-3-0
Learn to intuitively read sheet music with this animated video. If you’re an absolute beginner, then I suggest you don’t worry about fo it for the moment.
This is here for continuing students who want to learn about sheet music. It’s part of the Note-Reading For Fiddlers course.
Here is a quick way for you to access the essential practice tools you need. Under each tab you'll find play-along tracks, tabs and condensed teachings to help you as you practice. This is an evolving idea, so let me know in a comment below if it could be better.
Here's a newer version of the Notefinder which is based on sheet music.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.
Notefinder table
Here's he original table version of the Notefinder. Sometimes people learn in different ways...
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! Learn more about sawmill tuning in the Appalachian Fiddle course.
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
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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 fundamental technique.
Practice everything more slowly than you naturally would play it.
Also, slow down your consumption of new lessons, techniques and tunes. Stay with one thing until it really sinks in.
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.
3 responses to “Wagon Wheel – 1st break”
Have been a subscriber for a little while, and then stumbled upon yuthis r wagon heel lesson. It’s great! I have signed up but am a little puzzled on how your website works. Having some troubles (Safari?)
Have been a subscriber for a little while, and then stumbled upon yuthis r wagon heel lesson. It’s great! I have signed up but am a little puzzled on how your website works. Having some troubles (Safari?)
Suggestions?
Hey @Taffy. Sorry, you cannot view this lesson with a trial membership. I just emailed you a more in-depth response.
Love this Wagon Wheel lesson – where can I find the 2nd and 3rd breaks?
Thanks!