cbFidHed2020

[cbFidHed2020]

Jocelyn,

Thank you for sharing this. I love the music by Vasen and that nyckelharpa is such an interesting instrument.

I would love to hear your audio file. When I try to play it, or even download and play it, on my iPad I get no sound whatsoever and an error message accompanying the file.

Carolyn B.

[cbFidHed2020]

Joanne, you sound AMAZING! I can’t believe how far and fast you’ve gone with your fiddling. Plus you have the courage to perform in public, in a bar in Spain, no less. Congratulations!!

[cbFidHed2020]

Way to go, Deb!

Cheers,
Carolyn B.

[cbFidHed2020]

Marg, you sound wonderful!! Very smooth bowing and a lot of life to your performance. I’ve been playing this tune myself a lot lately, and I appreciate what you’ve done with it.

[cbFidHed2020]

– Warmed up with C major scales and variations, also D major and A major.
– Practiced Jason’s Smiling Bows.
– Worked on vibrato exercises with metronome for a significant time.
– Played White Christmas with vibrato.
– Will sleep in compression gloves. Really helps with muscle recovery after vibrato and bowing exercises.
– Glad I attended this practice session: Jason suggested reviewing the year’s fiddle work this month. Great idea! Will apply this to my existing December plan of enjoying playing Christmas music. Already working on vibrato with Christmas carols; will add double stops and other technique review.

[cbFidHed2020]

Joanne, you sound really good and steady, and that’s a Great first attempt as you describe it! This is certainly not an easy skill. I’ve been working on chorded double stops as well, and it’s a challenge.

I feel so bad that I missed Saturday’s student hangout session with you guys!! Would have loved to have heard the chord chat you mentioned. Been on a crazy hectic schedule lately and somehow I got it in my head that the fifth was on Sunday. After really practicing for the hangout, when I went to sign in on Sunday I couldn’t believe it had happened on Saturday. My mistake.

Anyway, your chords are great and thanks for sharing this. By the way, I’ve watched people playing together who do just what you did on this tune, alternating between the melody and the chords.

[cbFidHed2020]

Sound great, Kate. I like your instrument, your playing, and your backing track. You have a really nice voice!

[cbFidHed2020]

Congratulations, Joanne, on your old new forever fiddle! I’ve watched your dedication in the timing challenge as well as your other videos, and it’s heartwarming to see you take this big leap forward with your new instrument. You look so contented playing it, and it does have a really nice resonance. Lovely, smooth playing on the waltz. I’m so happy for you!

[cbFidHed2020]

Hey Tom, nice job. I like that mournful “droning lonesome sound” you evoke with your laments and the Raagini. It’s like a trip to the Isles. Love the photos! I’m sure it took some effort to put that together. Thanks for sharing.

Carolyn B.

[cbFidHed2020]

Really nice Jenny. Nice smooth bowing with good tone!

[cbFidHed2020]

Great. I really like those nice driving rhythms.

[cbFidHed2020]

Joanne, I really like this. Good tone and ornamentation, plus a nice driving rhythm with momentum. Those tunes blend really well, too.

[cbFidHed2020]

Tom said: “Maybe one of the more seasoned veterans on this site could comment on the whole bowing thing. The down bow is supposed to be a naturally louder sound to emphasize a beat, but to me up or down sound pretty much the same???”

Hi Tom, Jason has a great video on accenting certain beats within the hoe down rhythm that may help with this: Module 1.3, Bonus lesson, Shortnin Bread. It was this lesson, early on, that made me promise myself that I would watch every video for every lesson I take, and watch until the end. To me, Jason’s videos are like a box of Cracker Jacks; there’s always a prize to be found.

Disclaimer: I’m not calling myself a seasoned veteran. I did have an incredible violin teacher for several years as a kid, a stickler for proper bowing technique, and I’ll try to share what I learned.

Personally, I wouldn’t say that the down bow is supposed to be a naturally louder sound. Rather, I would think of it as naturally having more force, which I think has to do with the ergonomics of the muscles involved. It’s very obvious on a guitar where the downstroke on a strum or a downpick really drives the rhythm. I think it’s more subtle on a violin, but ergonomically it’s just easier to play more forcefully on a down bow. However, so much of violin playing is really about controlling the bow.

I don’t feel that just using a down bow alone is enough to to get the emphasis on the fist beat that you mention. There’s an element of impetus in the bow stroke, as well. Hopefully Jason will pop in here with words of wisdom. I’m not going to have the audacity to start talking technique here, but when I play I think that the extra emphasis comes from my wrist and fingers.

Traditional violin lessons involve very precise determinations of up bows and down bows. Some of this has to do with emphasis, rhythm, and phrasing, and I think some of it is also a bit of choreography in ensembles. The rule of thumb for guitar playing is pretty much Down Beat = Down Stroke.

I think fiddling fiddles with those guidelines. Jason says somewhere that he doesn’t belabor the up bow, down bow issues. It makes sense when he talks of the hoe down pattern and how it alternates between beginning on a down bow and then next time an up bow, simply because it is a three stroke pattern. Extra impetus in the bow stroke would have to come in play to carry the rhythm, not just bow direction alone. As we all strive to improvise runs and melodies on the fly someday, I think it would be impossible to adhere to many of the strict traditional rules of bow direction that would apply to a planned, scripted piece.

By the way, there are some bowing techniques where the goal is to make bow shifts seamless and nearly undetected, with even playing on either stroke.

I hope some of this is helpful.

[cbFidHed2020]

Hey Tom, I’ve been a FiddleHed for about 8 1/2 months. I’ve actually been in group lessons and breakouts with you, including today’s great Hector the Hero lesson and the breakout room with you and Jill! My FiddleHed name (cbFidHed2020) and Zoom name (“Patchy-Intermediate Lapsed Childhood Violinist”) were different, so you may not have realized.

I’ve changed my name though. Thanks to Jason’s amazing teaching talents, I no longer feel “patchy” and any “lapse” has become water under the bridge. I just wish I could learn to calm the nerves when playing in the breakouts.

I loved the mordents Jason covered today, and who knew that trills are the secret to life!

You and Jill both sounded great in today’s breakout.

[cbFidHed2020]

Very nice Tom. I like the variations.

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