jason kleinberg

Cool!

Love the bluesy Swallowtail! Great ideas, Jason! Thanks!

Love it! and happy that my log in all sorted, thanks

Absolutely stellar advice for learning songs/tunes, especially for those that the fiddle may be their first foray into music/a musical instrument. Also a great reminder to all of us old timers who tend to forget this when learning a tune. Rome was NOT built in a day, folks!

I think the “Play Slowly” is suitable for framing, for its message and its style! 🙂👍

I needed to hear this today. Yesterday,’s practice was clear evidence that I need to slow down.
Mary

I am learning to play every tune as a ballad. Great reminder and offered structure will be very handy. Sometimes, I like fast tunes better when they are slow. It’s fun try the different tempo and slow it right down — and for beginner me, often sounds better.

Yes, my mind wanders all over. I had a teacher say that sometimes we practice with other music on or the tv on and that has something to do with the mind wanting multiple inputs. Yet to make fast progress it is best to be totally present and mindful of what we are working on. Like doing homework with the tv on takes 3 times as long to do as when you shut everything off and just get it done.

I deal with this sometimes….. The thing is, life ebbs and flows. When things are flowing with usually-but-not-always good stuff – my business, my grandkids, holidays, health issues, a new dog, travel, a personal problem popping up…. all this stuff can fill up a day so much that carving out time to read a book or practice the fiddle can just add pressure to a day blasting by too fast.

That is when I begin to feel a touch of …. guilt – trying to squeeze in the fiddle and in particular learn something new. I find I really need “play days”, where I am not trying to improve at all, just playing with the instrument, pulling back into the joy of just messing around, without the pressure of learning a skill or a specific amount of time.

For some reason my go to tune is Whiskey Before Breakfast! I only ever play it when I’m struggling! That leads to Over The Waterfall and then I’m back & into my playing. On tired days I love to play soothing tunes; Midnight on the Water, Lonesome Moonlight Waltz, Dawning of the day, Lovers Waltz.

Straight bowing is my biggest problem since I didn’t work on it from day one. So the single thing that helps me the most is to use my web cam and computer screen to watch my bowing in exercises, record it looking and not looking, watch it when playing tunes, etc. This is better than using a mirror because I can record it and play sitting down.

Jason, What is helping me the most is your encouragement to play very slow until it begins to sound good.

Daily practice is the best thing for my improvement. When I miss practice the fiddle feels foreign in my hands.

Mary Reid

I have practiced for years and had to have each song perfect or I wasn’t satisfied. It is nice to have suggestion that we practice the bit we are having trouble with to get it right. And also I like the tips we get for improving our tones and over all sound. Perhaps we should have thought of these things on our own but we didn’t.

I am super beginner at 55 yrs …. I played as a kid and then life happened …
I listen to a tune in fiddle over and over then l I can try to duplicate what I am heard. It helps me try to find the right sound.
A big help is watching YouTube Fiddlehed while sitting in the bathtub … Ha

Over all the most helpful has been practice strategy. IE-play scale, play tune, different rhythm patterns, looping, chunking and really important—- record practice!!!!
Practice difficult parts instead of parts you do well.

Practicing along with Fiddlehed’s recordings- they keep me on time/tune whether exercises or songs. Plus it’s fun to play along, so motivates me to practice!

In terms of practice techniques, not just letting myself play slowly, but actually *savoring* the sound of playing slowly. And then with that, from the standpoint of emotional engagement, letting myself smile – sometimes even laugh – at those moments where I struggle (instead of getting frustrated and quitting).

Playing slowly for sure. Also, separating out a messy measure or string crossing and ‘working it’. But above all, playing along with your Tracks! Those have helped me a lot with intonation, something I am constantly working on.

Thanks for all you do to help us in our fiddle journey.

What helped greatly were the call-and-response videos! They’ve allowed me to become more familiar with the notes through listening, rather than seeing them on a sheet of music. Because of these videos, I’m much better at being able to listen to music (or just a tune that might be going through my head) and be able to play it!
The only problem is I’ve done almost all of them and I’m going to have to go back and start again!

encouragement to practice daily and to slow down when learning.

Encouragement.

To instill courage by positive, well meaning comments; starting from the J-man, and from Jocelyn and from the Fiddlehed community and, last but not least from the “Strung Along” student group started by Jason.

What helped me most,was when I found your website,
And I signed up for your 14 day deal, the 14 day challenge help me learn discipline,
And keep pushing forward.

Call and response, making index cards as I work through the modules. I use a notice board where I can pin up up the cards relevant to my current practice, swapping them in and out. I’m amazed at the improvement in my ability to play by ear after being immersed in reading music most of my life. Now up to module 2.7, I find if I revisit an older tune and start in a different key, I can just keep going without even thinking about transposition, the intervals between the notes are embedded in my memory. Thanks Jason, your system of gradual skill building and kind encouragement really works!

That is a really tough question because there are so many possible answers! Aside from finding Fiddlehed and signing up a couple years ago I think the looping on hard parts has helped me the most. I used to play tunes over and over and kind of skim through the parts that didn’t sound that good, hoping they’d eventually get better. I’ve learned to slow down, pick out the less than stellar sections, and patiently work on them.

Lately I’ve been getting back to learning by ear instead of being dependent on sheet music and that is taking my practice/playing to a place that is harder but more satisfying.

The number one helpful thing for me is the play along small chunks exercises. Advancing from slow to fast with the audio in small chunks has given me a sense of accomplishment .

Covid! It motivated me to start playing with a friend down the road, first online and then outdoors in our community gardens and finally we still practice together and encourage each other, sharing music and ideas. One day we are going to go out busking….

A teacher that expects you are capable of learning what you need to learn to succeed. And an encouraging family.

The whole fiddlehed site–small chunks, ear training, Jason’s encouragement–csn’t imagine another way to do this.

YOU have helped me the most in my fiddle journey, Jason! Your infectious enthusiasm, which never seems to waiver, and i brilliant course modules which, you’ve devised ,make practice sessions a joy. I love it! I’ve said it before – one of the best things I ever did, was signing up to fFiddlehed.

What has helped me the most is playing with and for others. Playing with others brings it all together for me. I’ve learned more about myself both as a learner and a musician.

We do learn better together.

Practice a 1000 times!
OK maybe not exactly 1000 but repeating and especially as you say, the part I find the hardest. The playback samples on Fiddlehed are great for this, you can just play each quarter over & over until it’s in the memory & fingers!

Definitely the techniques taught on Fiddlehed. Also recording myself and listening to the playback is hard but well worth it. I’m also blessed with a great group of online friends through Fiddlehed who support and inspire me!

Finding your site has helped me the most. I love the play every day mantra. It has help me find joy and fun in the fiddle. I sincerely appreciate how every skill is broken down into small steps. Thank you so much all you have done to make this site so helpful!!

Most recently the lesson on applying rhythms to scales. I was a very hard time keeping my bow hand wrist flexible, but as I practiced this scale lesson I could feel my fingers relax which made my wrist and fingers more flexible. I practice this every time play. This is a huge deal for me because I’ve been playing way too long with a rigid wrist.

Great material Jason.
Just diggin in today!!!!!

Just what I needed. Printing out now. Thanks for being here for us every step of the way.