Hello
I am confused. I am trying to learn Berdichiever Khosid but I don’t understand why the recording for A part, third quarter does not seem to be the same as the music. Can you help?
Thanks
Really like this tune..watched a gal that clog dances and plays this really fast while clogging..can’t think of her name.
I can play moderately fast but no where near as fast and flawless as her and Jason..another goal.
Hey Reg, clog dancing and fiddling at the same time — that’s a lofty goal. Speed comes with time. Keep chipping away.
Hey Reg, clog dancing and fiddling at the same time — that’s a lofty goal. Speed comes with time. Keep chipping away.
This came at just the right time.las I mentioned a local group..that plays slower old time tunes and gospel..asked me if I want to come with my fiddle to their practices every two weeks..Guess what Amazing Grace and Rubber Dolly.
My wife even said I sounded decent paying along with you and from memory.
Great stuff
Hey Reg, an invite to a real group — that’s a big deal. And ‘sounded decent’ from a spouse is practically a standing ovation. Keep going!
Hey Reg, an invite to a real group — that’s a big deal. And ‘sounded decent’ from a spouse is practically a standing ovation. Keep going!
The G Major – A Dorian Alternation audio does not play on my iPad. Am I the only person with this problem?
hey Jason that is such a soul touching heart felt Beautiful song and the tune , thank you for singing the song you did a great Job ,, and I have been Practicing learning it,— know I cant sing it, but I can hear the tune, in my head, AS tho I’m singing it in my head, fun RE learning this , G pentatonic , the 6 notes,, then it just click inn I didn’t expect it was that easy, I did have to work on the d3– a1 learn to rest hold , the right time , an yes I had to play for my sister, she said that was Really great, that’s because I got a great Teacher ,,,,.IM., happy you did the REplay,, as I did that I felt I made process,,,, yah gave me that Burst of stars , So Thankful and Grateful ,
Hey Wanda, that G pentatonic click is a real milestone — and a sister seal of approval is worth a lot. Keep at it!
Hey Wanda, that G pentatonic click is a real milestone — and a sister seal of approval is worth a lot. Keep at it!
nice tune have to practice more to get the tune in my memories bank
Hey Wanda, that’s the spirit — a little more practice and it’ll feel right at home.
Hey Wanda, that’s the spirit — a little more practice and it’ll feel right at home.
great sweet tune practice up on this also I was wondering is there any variation of this tune, grateful and thankful for music and the lesson Jason
Hey Wanda, glad you’re enjoying it! There are variations scattered through the lessons — keep exploring and you’ll find them.
Hey Wanda, glad you’re enjoying it! There are variations scattered through the lessons — keep exploring and you’ll find them.
I’m got practice more on these variation ther really cool fun, grateful and thankful for music an lesson to learn
Hey Wanda, those variations are fun once they click. The more you play with them, the more musical it feels.
Hey Wanda, those variations are fun once they click. The more you play with them, the more musical it feels.
Need drone links to drones intended for practice playground Lessons. Preferable next to instruction to use drone. Thank you. I like how much faster your website responds, it will be super-powered with audio links discussed. Good Work, book looks fun.
Hey Michelle, great idea — drone links right where you need them. I’ll add those to the PP lessons. Thanks for the kind words on the site speed too!
Hey Michelle, great idea — drone links right where you need them. I’ll add those to the PP lessons. Thanks for the kind words on the site speed too!
So on the tabs for B PART first quarter, shouldn’t there be a D in front of the 4th 1?
Jason o this beautiful tune , I’m so thankful soo, grateful and to hear you play this so peaceful , tune Thankful for the lesson , I’m learning , you play it so tender , soul touching , the stars are jumping out bursting with the light with each note,
having fun with Mississippi Sawyer,, I can’t get right on the hoedown, but do I know the tune, not perfect, getting,there grateful thankful , been under the weather , but still couldn’t Resist the temptation of this tune , thanks for the lesson learned , Jsn,,
I have been enjoying the lessons and the videos. Your teaching style is just what I’ve been looking for.
I’m not sure if this is the right place, but on the beginner section, Kerry Polka, broken into chunks, the very first part is wrong. The sound doesn’t match the notes being played. Give it a listen when you get a chance please.❤️
Wow, this lesson is great! I love how you broke everything down, including the hidden melody..you really helped it make better sense! Thank you! So much fun 🎻💕
Hi, is there an F major chordal scale available? I’m learning “Little Sadie” in F Major and it would be very helpful to know it as I am unsure about my double stop choices. Thank you!!
Crazy..just discovered this tonight…I have a difficult time memorizing a tune per se, but I can play along with the jam track as tho it’s memorized.
Just stumbled onto this today after 3 1/2 months….great stuff
Was fun ; just received my new fiddle from Fiddlerman..replaces my VSO , Vevor , from Amazon….so much better sound.
Love! Really got into the swing of things. Definitely a great tune to play around with improvisation. Thanks!!
Great Lesson..
Thanks
Hi, my emai is [email protected]. No 2 in it… haven’t been able to log in. Thanks
Love the sound of these Irish tunes…must be a genetic thing.
Retired so I can put in loads of time everyday..quite often don’t journal but I ver seldom miss several practices a day.
It’s paying off..fingers are limbering up.
Much less cross stringing..starting to get into the tune tempos……listening daily to tunes play along plays really helps getting into the lilt or feel of the piece.
So much fun….wish these type of lessons would have been around 70 years ago.
I watch kids 6&8 years old competing festivals and can’t believe the amount of tunes they can play and have memorized.
Really enjoyed call and response on this tune.
Was totally lost on the first two calls
Then started ove a few times..made it right through..this won’t be the last time..lots of fun…..how come I hated music lesson# back in the 1950’s..sh3 kept whacking me on the head at lessons if I made a mistake, plus I hated that classical stuff.
A fiddle friend came over to visit last night ..showed me to slur the last three notes together..sounds more Irish…not for my yet but it does have a smoother sound.
So I bow down on the first note and V stroke the 3 remaining notes of each measure.
Different bowing..fun, doing something different.
Showed me that if I downbeat my foot on the down bow , I’ll be starting each measure with a down bow and my foot down.
Really like this tune but get totally lost at abot 3/4 of the way into the play along
Still plugging away at A 1 st , 2nd & 3red quarters ..working at getting my speed up ……very tough going.
Today was not one of my better playing days
Hi Jason, You mention in the introduction of this lesson that you’ll add a link to a picky finger technique tutorial but I haven’t been able to find it. Is it still lurking somewhere on the site? Thanks!
Typo!! *PINKY finger. But that’s pretty obvious. 😛
Really enjoying the sound of this Britches Full of Stitches…very catchy tune.
The call and response stuff really helps…..at the beginning of the course..I sloughed off on it..then..had to go backtracking …it really helps.
Now I go through everyone several times before even beginning a tune….makes everything so much easier, plus Inget the feel of the tune, not just rambling off a string of notes..cudos to the course
I’ve completed several of these lessons..checked them off..but they don’t show as completed?
i don’t mind some things being iffy here and there, this site is GREAT!
But there are a lot of things wrong with this lesson, the loop section audio in the parts doesn’t match the written music, and the final play along switches to a different variation of this melody after the first time through that i think is showing up in those same parts
Is Fire on the Mountain all single bow strokes or are there any slurs? Thanks much.
I really like this piece.
I rotate my playing Ballydesmond, Kerfunken and this tune….but in this tune although I can play right thru..I’m working at no mistakes in chunking and chaining the first six measures
i’m not sure why this lesson comes before learning the d major scale in module 1.3. I had to skip ahead to know what the d major scale is.
It would definitely be nice to have some sort of count in on this track. I cannot start playing the fiddle fast enough from when I hit play.
great lesson jsn, did chunking , looping, AUDIATION metronome, that was a long metronome, I hang in with it was fun practice more, grateful thankful ,
I have written many poems over the years and wonder what they would be like when married to music. Have you ever written words and made the notes up later? I’d be interested in learning how, even though I don’t see myself as a singer.
Actually , Black Velvet Waltz and Maple Sugar , have this staccato..so worked in well for me
I like this summary with actionable click thru content for immediate gratification
Real COOL !
I will do my best get a video of my skills. thanks Jason BowingI need help on the tone. but will work on the tone for now Or any other Suggestions u have to help
This will be a challenge. I will work on chords hoping to learn to play in jam sessions
Question. Are the chords you show in the “practice toolkit” on this page specific for playing back up to this particular song? Or are they just some common chords. If so is that the case for all the songs in your library? Do they all have their specific chords shown to play along with each individual track?
grateful and thankful for together work shop inside! I followed right along with ya great session il been practicing, I think back, when I started, have come a long ways buy coming back, re visit an taking them o ver has produce me more into the fiddle journey, create, bring into life fun feeling happy ya oo
I would love to do more like this! Really great lesson!!!
Thank you! I am getting more confident playing by ear with this! 😁
It would be nice if you’d learned to use the asset management system for the web hosting company you used so missing assets like the ones for part B were easily fixed. On going maintenance is a thing, despite what their sales literature might say.
This is the fourth or fifth module I’ve run into that’s had some issue with missing assets, most of them with complaints like mine that are over two years old.
Jason I canny not get the G-1-D -O my index finger- hits the D my index finger must b like the crooked tree, help,, fun tho
I added some slides to the 3-2-1 descending pattern for a minor pentatonic, and boy, was that fun! Feels like a bluegrass riff 😃
I found my staring point and by the end of day 1 i could play the Kerry Polka, Ive followed you for awhile now and learnt a few songs. I love your way of teaching, it makes it very doable. thank you
Really like this song..but I notice on several of the pieces that I play..I get a slight chatter on the down stroke when changing strings..I’ve tried less pressure..no pressure, more pressure, flat bow, angled hairs.slower bow, faster bow…hmmm, perplexed.
Anyone have a suggestion
Where is the link to download the book please?
I’ve given myself the task of trying the 1-2-3 ascending and 1-2-3 descending pattern on all the full pentatonic scales I’ve learned this year. I’m excited to hear how they sound!! Thanks again
🤯mind- blowing…love it! Thanks!!
Reflection of tucka was incredible help to get the, short -short -short long – long , and the plucking, ,D A G strings , grateful and thankful for the lesson was fantastic , was lots of fun love the dute with the sun glass’s,,fun fun ,, looking forward next lesson,
Jason this hoedown journal and practice has incredible helpful for me, I’m so excited ,even tho I did this before but, taking the deep dive back, has help to my memory, realize what I miss ,I must been grasping to fast on driving, threw I’m taking a deep dive into the play ground , an the new addition of your new book practice play ground, has been so incredible helpful for this fiddlehed, grateful and so thankful
Going from Ao to A3 then the switch to E1…taking so many loops…, can do it but want to clean, solid notes ..no squeaks or scratches….something so simple takes a load of work
Hey Kids! It’s Hillbilly Ševčík!
I am so happy that I stumbled upon this Website and Course structure. I’ve been struggling for years. I would take private lessons. Bring them home go to great lengths too cut them into chunks for me to practice slowly because I learned very slowly the fact that you do this for me makes my life so much easier and the tunes you’re picking are awesome once again thank you
a little suggestion, but I don’t know if it’s too hard to do it is since you ask us to rewind, and I often have to rewind to listen to the chunks. It might be nice to have the minutes and seconds in the recording that the different chunks start at, but if it’s too much trouble, I get it I can rewind it myself.
Thank you for this. I’ve been getting a bit lost lately. Im sure this will get me back on track.
Having a difficult time crosding from D2 in stanza 12 to E stanza 13 without accidentally touching A string.
Other than that Angeline was relatively easy.
Slowed it right down twice today…did many lopps trying not to touch the A string without a pause .
Will keep working a t it daily…frustrating
I’ve spent a load of time on this module three and going back over 1&2 modules. I rushed..completed but not to my satisfaction…now I feel like things are coming together.
As wise and old as I am, didn’t quite get the point of call and response..I do now…have to get it together to pick up music that you hear and copy without sheet music. Today I was having pretty fair time with D & A call and response patterns..then suddenly ..couldn’t follow anything…time to take a break..more coffee.
Bought this cheap fiddle from Amazon..I know better but I did it.
Finally broke down and took it to a luthier..basically told it s a toy ..looks like a violin,,,,but.
I knew I would get this speal…anyway..he told me only so much can be done..I was having trouble with fingering and D3 and A3…A3 was really poor sound
Anyway..new Dominant strings..he cut the nut notches and reshaped the bridge..cut it down…spread the strings out more evenly. Now fingering is quite easy and D3 sounds better A3 is improved but the resonance in the cheap fidddle has dead or almost dead spots.
Going to keep playing on it but have my eye on a fiddle built in his shop..sounds super
Wanted him to check the sound post but he said replacing and adjusting would cost more than the fiddle…oh, and bought a graphite bow with a lot more hair..much easier bow handling
So why did I write all this…hmmm, to advise newbies not to cheap out like me. I played for six years, 70 years ago…should have known better.
Not fun hitting notes , but getting almost a whisper from it and fighting trying to figure out what is wrong.
He had special case of tuning forks that he placed on sections of the brifge to show me very low to actually good resonance spots.
Great supporting content of lesson !
Video and audio were in sync for me ?
Hi Jason, I’ve been trying to work through the replay tonight but getting a lot a lagging on the video. Just wondering if anyone else is having the same problem or if it’s just my internet. Can’t seem to get past 35:36. I’ve enjoyed the process up to there though.
Hi Marg, thanks for letting us know. I experience the same. We will let you know when it is fixed 🙂
Ditto, Marci.
the hoedown its a challenge , then i tying to seperate it was hard till i gottt the hang of hearing the note, i did little better on the accents , more i practice icatch it , i noticed in this lesson ,where i didn’t catch the first Session ,on the workshop Replay , listen an played it all back over to catch the notes hoedown , offbeat accent so yeah this has really help me an the short short long , then to reverse that to long short short go between , those Little bumps, i really had fun learning this back over , Jason im so Grateful and thankful, you come up with your book Practice playground this has been so much fun of learning more,I’m excited to have this book of practice playground to go to,
So glad I discovered this. I’ve been wanting to figure out how to improve my jamming and my overall understanding of how to play with the fiddle and this is perfect. Thank you so much looking forward to much more.
Accessing D0-1-L2-3 produces an error message
AccessDenied
Access Denied
Thank you Scott, appreciate you noticing this. We will let you know once added.
Playing inteval scales..even , odd scales and Mary Had a Little Lamb…aiming for clear sounds
Smooth fingering….go up the scales but trying to avoid fingers loking up coming down.
Slowing down on practices
Thank you! I would absolutely love another lesson on adding variation to this beautiful song! 🤩
Will take note of your suggestion, thank you Kayli!
THANKS JASON FOR THIS LESSON, PRACTICE on these scales , love these scales, I get my self mix, up just getting the hang of it , the note in the scales as you said , does make a tune, , tuning in , on an the scales just by There self beautiful note, jig accent , that will take work on yet hoedown just have to practice more more ,, doing the scales helps me hear by ear, the notes just love those scales pattern Grateful an thankful for have you to teach the students
My love sent me this waltz so here we go! ❤️💃❤️
I really enjoy playing interval scales compared to straight up and down scales.
A little more complex and more concentration..but break the monotony of straight up and down scales, plus add to finding notes quicker and more accurate…neat stuff
Cannot figure what lesson that I haven’t completed. 1.2 fingering and lingering
Been through this many times, searching….beats me
Continues to show 91%…..??
Hi Reg, I understand this can be frustrating and hard to know where you are at. Please disregard that the progress tracker function is not fully functioning, and continue with the lesson focus. Jason is working on a new option for guidance and navigating lessons that will replace the current progress tracker. It is going to be worth the wait! I wish enjoyment of the course without the progress tracker in the meantime 🙂
Keep trying to figure out Metrodrone
I tap strings…but can t pick out the string plus it doesn’t drone for all four strings…what am I doing incorrectly
Hi Reg, I’m glad you asked. Please click here for instructions on using the Metrodrone.
When you click strings, that function allows you to pick 2 sound options, strings or warm pad. Below that, there is the ‘drone root’ where you click on the D, and all the note options open to choose from.
Try as I might can’t find which lesson I haven’t completed in this 1.2 module
Hi Reg, Thanks for your patience with the progress tracker function. Jason is working towards a whole new system for guiding students within the course. Please click here for the main module 2 page, to support you to navigate where you are at.
There is also a function near the bottom of each module lesson (just above the practise toolkit), where you can click on the text to go to the next lesson, or to the main module page.
Please reach out anytime 🙂
Hi Reg
I had the same issue.
I think the problem is with the core lesson on ‘how to read Fiddlehed tabs’ as there’s no box to tick to show you’ve completed the lesson.
Ordered a set of a, d & g strings Dominant 135
Ordered a Pirastra, E string
Oh and a new bridge..good one
I know I ‘m relearning a lot of stuff…I though5 this cheap ($250), Amazon fiddle isn’t the best, but they come with real crap strings , bridges.
They sell these things cheap , but then keep dunning a person for more $’s , to bring the instrument up to speed.
Had a neighbour that performs here as a metis fiddler told me , the strings and new bridge would make the fiddle sound better and give it a better feel for fingering…..fingers crossed
He showed me the difference in sound just droning on his fiddle and on mine. He said his performing fiddle isn’t expensive but the tone is really nice.
Been playing / practicing at least three times a day…working a lot on string change drones..D scale., Mary Had a little Lamb..hoedown…Sts Go Stumbling In at least my version.
Having fun..frustrating at times..but , onward and upward
thank Jsn,this is such a Beautiful tune, grateful to come across this,
I’ve been getting quite frustrated with myself..crossing from A to D string and back.
Then I thought bad bridge..I think it’s bad bowing.
I used to play 70 years ago and I think I’m living in the past thinking that I can still play wee and play faster..neither is true. Took lessons for six years..classical, which I hated as a kid.
Read Jason’s article on string crossing..slow down…break before string change..concentrate on the angle ..movement…do it over and over.
I believe that I’ve been rushing thru the excises and should have spent more time….so, reversing myself and going slower.
Now I bought a cheap $250 Amazon fiddle, because I didn’t know whether it was for me again…it is..so, down the road maybe six months to a year , I’ll probably purchase a better sounding fiddle
I set ridiculous six month goals for myself….resetting that nonsense….
Inhave a friend on the east coast of Canada that keeps sending me music and pushing..told him tonight..quit..I’m going to proceed at a slower , sane and fun speed.
He’s been playing for 25 years…I’ve had a 70 year non playing gap.
I really enjoyed this lesson. I love playing with the drones they help me tune my ear to the note sound much better..
Hi. Do you have pdfs of the chordal scales? Thank you.
Hello Nigel, thank you for asking about this. That is a good idea. I will make a request and we will follow up with you directly one this is offered. Happy playing 🙂
I’d like to have a “Complete Lesson” button on this so it will gray out on the list of lessons… pretty please 🙂
Melba, thank you for notifying us of this. I will add it to our suggestions. Jason is working on a new and exciting system to support our navigating and guidance within the Course, that will replace the progress tracker. Thanks for your patience and understanding with this malfunction in the meantime. Happy music making to you!
Hi Jason. Glad to be back. I’m accessing the videos from my phone but I’m not seeing a place where you can adjust the speed of the video?
Hi Stacey, thank you for this question. Most videos are shared through Vimeo, and should include a little settings cog button at the bottom right of the video screen, where the speed can be adjusted. On a phone, there is a little leftward arrow at the bottom right of the video screen to expand the options, in which the setting button is within.
Please let me know if I can support further with this. Best on your music journey!
I’m a beginner fiddler but long-time gigging guitarist. When I asked my local fiddle instructor about chord patterns for joining a simple G-C-D group song he pushed me to do G= D3 A2, C=G3 D2 and D=A3 E2.
I was overwhelmed and my left forearm and first finger ached within minutes. And I sounded like a rusty gate. I do see his point that these inversions lend themselves to cool runs using similar patterns. But for me the hand position was just to advanced.
Thank you, Jason. Your gentle approach is what I need right now.
Oops. Those chords shapes on my previous comment were G= D3 A1 C=G3 D1 and D=A3 E1.
Not any 2’s.
Hello! I just bumped into this workshop with 17 ways to practice the Jenny Lynn tune. Thank you and there’s even more stuff to look at. Great!
Rosalie Werback
This Is A Great Lesson Jason,,, o I love , that A part,, Double Stop is So Cool, I need more practice , repeat the replay,,,and practice more grateful and thankful, for your teaching,
Working with the metro drone…how do I get to E string 1 and drone fingering
Found lesson 21….it was the review
I was really having a difficult time cross string…had a heck of a time playing just one string…the solution was easy , although it too three weeks..sit on a taller chair..don’t slouch…
Also found I was using too much bow hand wrist bending ….thank goodness for self video , stuff.
Having fun…100x’s better doing this than the six years of classical crap back in the 1950’s.
I hated it…lol
We were forbidden to play by ear..not allowed to play anything other than scales and the stuff out teacher gave us.
We played because our parents made us.
Now at 81, I’m having fun.
I keep looking for a missed part of module 2
Progress keeps telling me 95% complete
Module 1:20/21
For the life of me can’t find 21
Lol
I’ve looked for whatever it is several times..
Any help would be great
That’s an F# right?
Yes correct! Sometimes the tabs can be confusing. E1 = F#
In the G major upper octave on the E1# is the finger positioned in right on E1 or is it a little lower or higher?
Hi Leslie, thanks for asking! E1# (F#) has the same position of 1st finger as you would for A1 (B). I hope this helps.
Still working on part B, first and second quarters. Those are tough. Time to move on and come back later and try again.
I practice the core material, but then have fun by jumping to something not really in the series…try looping, which is fun…but I go to various parts of the core material everyday.
Much more fun than when I was a kid 70 years ago doing scales and classical stuff….hated it.
My fingers are starting to remember..they still feel like sausages looking for string placement…nonaspirations to play anywhere except for myself…so no pressure…just fun , now
Hi, There is no comment section on Module 8 Low and High Second Finger Practice, so leaving one here. I cannot get any of the excercise tracks to play – no sound for any of them. Thanks.
Thank you Will. I have noted this and will follow up with you once we fix it 🙏🏽
I like what you do with your 3ed finger ?? on the C Note Get that Wang Wang sound, I have a long way to go to memorize the basic But will not forget about it for later.
Thank you so much!! I spent a hour in privet lessons today only to be more confused. Fiddlehed is much easier to understand I know next week I will go into my lessons and know what he is talking about, Just wanted to say Thank You Thank U Thank You
Jason…. Excellent exercise. Thank you. In the sheet music, can you tell me the meaning of OYO?
Never mind… I figured it out…. ON MY OWN…. hehe
Glad you enjoyed this, Don. I think it stands for On Your Own (continue pattern, loop, look away, memorize, etc), though I will double check 🙂
This lesson completed three times but not perfected….will be working on it before and after each lesson for 10 minutes , before continuing into a new lesson.
G to D…good
D to A good
A to E good, but E to A the A to D…not great…playing two strings before correcting.
Part of my daily warmup for 2026…. Which I’ve named “The year of the double stops” which have always been a challenge for me.
Had fun completing this lesson….definitely sure that I’ll have to work on this every day along with each new lesson.
My fiddle friend told me that I’m supposed to record by vid my progress and send it it to you.
How do I do this or is he wrong
thanks for the Lesson jsn I cant do the sawmill yeitt, will take time, get the hang of it and memorize it,
Hi
Just enjoyed playing with other folks with Jocelyn organizing us all so kindly
Don asked for the sheet music for one of the tunes I brought. Le Ruisseau Francais by Andre Brunet. He said there was a place we could attach it along with the tune played by Andre.
Would you point me in the right direction?
Thank you,
Lynn
Thanks Lynn, The best method for sharing amongst the community is through the Play Every Day Community Platform. If one decides to not utilize PED, email would be another option for sharing. I have messaged you on PED to discuss options further. 🙂
The practice hack is great! I like working on mixing hoedown and train rhythms. It’s definitely a challenge to go faster and this can be a new goal for me, now that I am aware. 😀
Lovin’ the MetroDrone!
Thanks Jason! Very helpful!!
Some aspects of this exercise were difficultt for reasons other than the actual music.
The gain on the recordings is all over the map- some are too quiet, while others are practically clipping.
The amount of time left for responses is equally inconsitent. On some of the longer calls, there’s literally less than a second to respond at the same tempo before the next call is offered- other calls within the same exercise have five to ten seconds.
Hi Scott, really appreciate your clear feedback. You’re right, this can be improved. I will note this for consideration when possible! If if works for you, please continue to let us know as you see things that could be improved, we are in this together 🙂
Looking forward to the workshop
me 4 so I’m Practiceing Mirror and Lopsided Scales , have fun,,,Happy New year y’all
Me three Pete!
Looking forward to this workshop!
I been enjoying learning and playing with Fiddlehed. I’ve run through all of your lesson coarses and have continued learning from you song videos. I really like how Jason teaches. I am discontinuing my annual subscription and moving on to other ways of learning music. But will continue to look to Fiddlehed videos on Youtube. Thank you again for all that you have taught me. Three years with you has taken me on the fiddle journey that I had always wanted.
Gregg
Thank you!! This lesson was so helpful.
Tuning in the beginning would be helpful. Im not getting the same sound because it’s not tuned and it is a stressful endeavor.
Thanks Shannon, I agree! Will pass this suggestion along. Happy music making 🎶
If you’re using a practice journal exclusively as a way to memorize the materials you’re studying, pencil and paper are more than adequate. The physical act of writing things down is an effective way to bake things into your brain, analogous to “looping” a set of bars for learning a music passage.
However, if you want to use journalling as a way to recall a practice or rehersal two years later, a searchable electronic journal is probably a better method.
Spending twenty minutes looking for the correct spiral notebook and page for a ten second exercise isn’t a good use of practice time, especially when you’re already sitting in front of some screen connected to a networked device.
Its been a busy couple of weeks working through this lot. I am glad I have put in the time doing each exercise, I can hear the difference from when I started to the end.
Loving this song!!! Starting week 2 🙂
Welcome to Ševčíkhed.
Great songs. Yeah, double stops are hard, and the chord dbl stop thing seems impossible, lol. Where’s the beginner lesson on double stops? I just finished Module 1.6 so I’m probably not there yet.
The tune finder is a great tool. I can see how I can implement this into my learning journey. Thanks for creating this.
I really appreciate this lesson, thank you..I need ones like this. I can listen and follow, however, my brain seems to want to count the measures out to help me remember the patterns and come in on time. For example, 1234 2234 3234 4234, recalling each number the change lands on. Otherwise, I do have to listen every time and potentially get behind/lost in the patterns. Should I follow my brain with this organization impulse or is that cheating? Lol
Great you enjoy, and share the noticing & reflecting, Kayli. It makes total sense to count. I’d say keep trying both methods (counting internally and also challenge ourselves by not), once we get more and more familiar with a tune, the chord changes will become automatic as we further memorize and sense how the song transforms between chords. Could also experiment counting in different ways such as 1 or 2 counts in a bar, 1..2..3..4.. in 4 bars or 1,2..2,2..3,2..4,2.. 🙂
Your encouragement and guidance helps! I think I got the rest of the notes almost all right with audiation!
Love this lesson, thank you!!!! 😁
Thank you for this course! I am a 41 year old complete beginner with 0 musical training prior but I am already experiencing so much joy in playing even this early in the course. Maybe I can be a musician after all if the trend keeps up!
thanks Jason for singing this song, that was
,so cool how you sang that an the tune was Awesome , hope I can learn, that right, down to earth in this side of the hills
This was an awesome session and tune, thanks for what you do! My son was just norn a few weeks ago, named morris, a fun little coincidence!
thank you Jason for the lesson, I know part of it just wasn’t sure but thankful you help to correct , me your so cool, Grateful for Songs
THANK YOU SANTA FOR TEACHING, OF THE SONG AN TUNE, I AM GRATEFUL THANKFUL
Hi Santa! Love this song so much – thank you! I think I’ve got all the parts down, but am a bit confused about how to put it all together. Sorry if I missed it in the two different lessons, but is there anywhere that you play it with all the parts altogether?
Great point Shannon, Jason has included full sheet music on the lesson page, that puts the parts together. Here’s the pdf link for reference
I will note your suggestion to create a video/audio that puts all parts together, thank you!
Loved this!
cool tune have get that tune in my head listen for a while, thankful an Grateful Merry Christmas next Month Thanks Fiddlehed Jason
hey Jason this is sooo Coool I love the double stops, lt take me a looonnggee time get this not the tune its that bowing part,
,thanks Fiddlehed Jason, your so cool,
o those double stops so cool have to learn that put in on the tune , thanks for the lesson having fun practice
Wondering if you have recommendations for double stops for all three sections in sheet music form? That would be so helpful!
Hello Tirzah, Thanks for reaching out on this.
Here are the chords:
1st Break: A E F#m D A E F#m D A E D D
2nd Break: A E F#m D A E D D
3rd Break: A E F#m D A E F#m D A E F#m D A E D D
Locate the triad notes for each chord and find the double stop that works best for you. For example, F#m triad is F# A and C#. Locate where you prefer to play a double stop with two notes from the triad, how the transition between the surrounding chords are, also how it sounds with the melody/solo.
I don’t understand the second option—practice one interval on each string pair? Is that 2 strings at once? Thanks
Sarah, thank you for mentioning this. It is confusing, therefore we removed it 🙂 Appreciate You! Please reach out anytime.
this looks so hard ,,,,, il will do one bar at a day, every day . thanks for the lesson Jason ,sorry i miss lt few days ago il have a lots of practice in this Jig, Thankful Grateful for Music,
Cool exercises, but can we talk about the awesome purring cat at the end of the video! Loved that.
Jason I did the Replay Lession I listen very Carefully. I got. Some of it. Took me awhile. . I got the Hang of it. not perfect. Hanging in there with Y’all. Thanks For The Lession Thsnkful an Grateful 🎻❤️
In the section that says “Full Tabs, Audio & Sheet Music” the sheet music is missing. I would love a copy of the sheet music if possible! (The sheet music is easier for me to practice than the tabs)
Thanks for reaching out Rachel, I somehow do see the sheet music and pdf link on this page. Here is the pdf link in case it’s helpful: https://media.fiddlehed.com/2017/01/Joy-the-World.pdf
Maybe clearing caches/cookies on web browser, updating browser and device software, or opening a private/incognito window could help. Please let us know if you experience this with more pages, and we can help get to the bottom of it 🙂
I have a 3/4 violin. A little too small for me, but otherwise it sounds pretty nice and stays in tune. I thought I’d start with this since $$ is a bit tight, and then splurge (reasonably) when I commit. Does that sound like a plan?
Good idea Angela~ it takes some adjustment to learn the different position of arms once upgrade the size. May be worth keeping an eye out for a reasonable full size, or even option to share/borrow one when possible 🙂
Great you took this step towards playing!
I just started this song and I’m struggling getting the rhythm in the first measure. I’ll just keep breaking it down and working on it.
Thanks for sharing John~ sometimes I try various metronome or beats to help learn a section. Could have a beat sounding for every 8th note to get the feel for rhythm. clapping and voice practise too 🙂
Jayson I am learning so much from your way of teaching and Just want to thank you
Hi Jason!
Can you please put a printable version of the colored finger chart for the Kentucky waltz on this site so we can print it out?
Thanks
Cher
Thanks for asking Cher, I will add your request to our list 🙂
I got a new bow as a gift about year into lessons, and I need to relearn my technique! I’m trying to figure out how much pressure to use, and everything sounds pretty scratchy, still. Any tips?
Hi Matt,
Great to hear, and thanks for asking.
Please ensure you have enough rosin on a new bow, it will need extra application if you received it without rosin. Also ensuring the strings are clean can help with sound, wearing earplugs to clean rosin off strings is advised 🙂 Here is a post about rosining the bow.
There is a great section on bowing called Bow Central under the ‘Practise’ tab.
Another section under the ‘Support’ tab called ‘Fiddle Questions’ , has a whole section on bowing with FAQ.
Also, when one types a key word into the search bar, such as ‘bowing’ , there are further lessons/posts to peruse.
Happy music making!
Who is THAT young guy?
Oops “Lean on Me”
Hi Marcos, there is a full audio under the full tabs. Thanks for asking!
These are fun – I was hoping we might complete the song “Lean in Me” after the intro :))
I posted a question below on 9/28. I have moved on to other lessons but it would be appreciated if it could be answered at some point. Much appreciated!
Thanks for following up Malcolm! You’re right, this tune is in A dorian (G major key but root note is A). That seems to be a typo. I changed the warm up to say ‘practise A dorian with A drone’. Thanks for noting this, and please consider noting anything else in the comments along the way. If you would like a more timely response on something, please email us at [email protected]
Still cannot play the jam mixes
So warm up part a second warm up notes do not match audio…and then on a part 2 nd quarter notes don’t match audio either? What’s up with that? And why do you start playing before the count in is finished? Kind of totally throws me off at the beginning.
Glad you mentioned this, Marcos. Good point that the sheet music shows the notes in opposite order that Jason starts the audio with, same notes are used though.
With the other audios, Jason is playing pickup notes to begin the audio track, which aren’t included in the sheet music snippets. I see that the 3rd and 4th quarter also contain the picckup, which is inaccurate. Thanks for mentioning this is confusing, will take note of it.
Yes, pickup notes are what Jason is playing prior to finishing the count in. It’s good to hear the pickup notes that lead into that phrase to help transition between phrases and start the song. Please let me know if this can be explained further.
HELLO… I LEARNED JINGLE BELLS ON MY FIDDLE WITH A BACK UP SOUND TRACK YOU HAD ON UTUBE… YOU STARTED SLOW AND THEN WENT FASTER… IT WAS SUCH A GREAT LEARNING TOOL BUT I CAN’T FIND IT ANYMORE… AND I AM ALSO TRYING OUT STRUM MACHINE… GREAT APP… THANK YOU JASON… DENISE
Oh boy, I can’t do the double stops right now. It works to put my fingers closer to the DG strings in doing the first three but when going to the A BC it’s very easy. Going back down and up on the D is hard. It’s hard because I worked so hard at landing correctly on the note and now I must move my fingers closer closer to the G string to do the double stop! I know, it’s a process. I’m 70 and been playing classical for 1.5 years but love the slower fiddle tunes that use double stops as accents. I guess that is my goal for now. Master the D scale with double stops. Thanks for your tips.
Why isn’t there any full audio of the song?? Only the chunks. Would be nice to have the full track somewhere so I could play the whole thing with audio.
Hi Marcos, there is a full audio underneath the full tabs. Please let me know if you still don’t see it. Thanks for asking!
I’m new to your course and enjoying very much. I think a lesson on the Mixolydian scale (and other scales) would be good. As you mentioned in your video above, reviewing the scales with the song would be a big help.
I know a little music theory but not very much so if you have any lessons on Music Theory they would be of interest to me.
Thanks,
John
Thanks for your feedback and inquiring, John.
One can use the search bar at the top of screen to type in keywords to see what similar content is available.
When searching mixolydian, a couple options show up: What is Mixolydian Scale and Fiddling with Mixolydian mode
As for Music Theory, the section called Note Reading for Fiddlers can support learning theory. It can be found under the ‘Courses” tab, then ‘Pathways’
There’s also some common questions answered in the page Fiddle Questions about note reading, found in ‘Support’ tab.
Very helpful. Thanks.
Fantastic! More more more, please. This is exactly the level that I need. Thank you!!
(My 4 chord sounds pretty screechy–especially in A)
Thanks Carol, noted this!
No “Complete Lesson” button on this page?
Thanks for noting this Sam, no not currently.
Hi
I would like to learn to play the Bandura waltz. I found you on utube but you don’t have the fingering for each part on there. I have only been with you for a year now and like your way of looping to learn. I searched for that lesson and could not find it. Can you please tell me if you could please give me the fingering for each part? Or is there a lesson that I could take with you?
Thanks
Cher
Cher, thanks for mentioning this. With the Youtube lesson, please click the ‘more’ button in the description below the video and there you will find full tabs.
Your right, this lesson is not on FiddleHed, just through Youtube here:
Will put in a request to create a full lesson for this on FiddleHed. Thank you!
For some reason I am unable to get to this lesson, the Mary’s version or the OBS pattern lesson from here or on Instagram. The links here take me to the home page for signing up for Fiddlehed…. I want to learn this tune but I need to start with the Bile them Cabbage, Mary’s and/or the basic OBS pattern. What should I do?
Thanks for inquiring Michelle, I will contact you directly to troubleshoot this.
This is interesting. Shows how much tension is in the bow hand. The challenge for me is not letting the bow bounce on the return stroke. I am trying t observe to see why that is happening. It must be a smooth transition somehow. I’ll might be letting the bow fall onto the string. Perhaps I will slow the motion down. Love learning how to self analyze! Great lesson.
Great tune Jason may thanks
May I ask a rookie question? Jason suggests that we warm up for this tune with the A Major scale (which has 3 sharps, I believe), but the sheet music for this tune appears to be written in G Major. Can you explain what I am missing? Much appreciated! Malcolm
This was a fun challenge to do cross strings with the slur.
enjoyed practice oh Susanna it helps with the jam music, sometimes I had to pause to catch up with music or I was ahead of music , it was fun for me thanks fiddlehed jsn yah
Yes!!! Breathing into the sound is where I’m able to start sounding good. I’m very physical in my playing… I love to sway and walk while fiddling. If you’ve seen Mozart in the Jungle, the woman in that show is very inspiring!
I almost feel “blind” at the beginning, trying to hear where the different chords belong, but you really helped to guide us through the struggle. I did so much better when we got to the chorus of the last song!
P.S. a lesson on the melody would be fun, too! I love how you mixed it in with playing the chords towards the end 😀
This was awesome!! I really needed this! I think if I keep doing lessons like this, I will be much more comfortable trying a jam session in person and getting away from my sheet music. Thank you Jason!
I am having difficulty with these pages, I am subscribed but each time I click on a section of the course it logs me out and tells me I need to pay for a subscription (which I have). I log in again, and the cycle continues.
Thanks for your comment, glad we dealt with this via email. Please reach out anytime.
thanks jsn , for the teaching me ,it take me while to catch um on still learning by ear , going by the small steps ,
thanks fiddlehed jsn this has help me hear the tunes ,better ,I still have a ways to go yet ,this has improved me keep going the first quarter was ok , but I accidently bumped the 2nd part, I try to listen realize I had the wrong chords but it was fun this was the first time playing this tune ,more I practice better it will come togather,
I do not see the notes being stacked in the second quarter, it looks the same as the first. How am I supposed to tell when they’re double stops if they look the same?
Great point Sara 🙂
You’re right, I draw the chords/double stops 1 over the other by hand, but digitally it isn’t always easy to do. As one can see in the section ‘Notating two notes at once’, Jason has simply omitted the dash (-) between the notes, to identify they are played at once. I think the two tabs put together in that way is what Jason means by ‘stacked’.
2nd quarter does not contain any stacked notes.
Please let me know if this can be explained further.
Love the learning steps breakdown!
Hi, Jason. I was wondering if you could make a pathway for Texas-style fiddle? Western Swing?
Thanks Charlie, will note this for consideration 🙂
Having lots of fun with these lesson Fiddlehed Jsn .I practiced the tun small chunks . Then I couldn’t sign in on some of the Others. sites . To login in but still practice. The Excerise with. Kerry Polka. Thanks Fiddlehed Jsn. Yes I was having lots of fun to day. Need more practice. On these tunes I never played them before. So ther new to me. I’m thinking about sending. Smoke Signals. Your way. If I can’t get through to my lesson so you know I need your Help. 🤣 Lol I’m just grateful. That u got me on these lesson. Has Reslly help Me. ❤️⭐️
This is very helpful, as structure and timed intervals makes learning more meaningful, yet fun! Thank you.
I did ok untill pick up speed , having a time keep up with the speed of the tune , beautiful tune I need more practice thanks Fiddlehed jason, sure was fun trying this out on the fiddle
This was great. I was surprised at how tunes I learned weeks ago came right back to me as soon as I heard them. Also great to revisit some tunes that I struggled with and recognize how far I’ve come. I was brand new to the instrument just a few short months ago, and while I still have quite a way to go before I’m ready for prime time, I have made great progress. Looking forward to whatever comes next!
Thanks for this lesson! I could feel this breaking some barriers for me!
Thank you ever so much. I did it with the tune of Ashokan farewell 2nd Quarter. I had to listen Close to catch the chord’s I love it. Thst really Help me a lot… Fiddlehed Jsn I sure R.Grateful …made me Feel like yeah fin doing something Right. I never play this tune or sing before. I will continue. Doing some more of this. Thank you. Again for your Guidance helping me. I think I made My Stars in the Atmospheric. Happy. lol 🤗🤗❤️⭐️⭐️🌟
thank you Jason
you have found your life’s mission !
I had an instructor that said always end your practice session with a tune that you like and can play well, so you feel good about your practice.
Jason Loving your site And This really is good for a self taught That did not know anything about Cords or Music
See you soon At The Office
Thank you Jocelyn! That makes sense! I’m enjoying the challenge of getting these into my fingers. I’ve been notating and memorizing them gradually. I play them with my regular scales each time I practice. 😁 They truly are beautiful…I’m hooked 💖
As long as it’s marked for “cross-tuned” or “saw-mill” before the color-coded tab system, I’m good to go. I’m mean, I’m starting to understand what’s going on. I’m glad that I waited and went through the earlier classes before I attempted this. Great fun and thanks. Ro.
Thank you Jason for the info on Miro Motions practice it has influence me help with me with My. Lessons of. Motions help me to Listening better Pay attention of what I’m hearing Relaxing more Picking up little by little Grateful thankful Of Learning to play clean an getting the right Tunes In my head ❤️🤗
I was wondering perhaps that the “Tom Bigby Waltz” is very similar to this tune? I don’t see it in your index list but maybe its called by another name?
I don’t see that tune within FiddleHed either, thanks for bringing it up, will add it as a request 🙂
Hey Jason, I’m really enjoying your product, fiddlehed. I like the way you teach and the content that you have. My main interest is the old time fiddle tunes. My question, and concern is, is it hard on a fiddle to cross tune it to AEae? I love the sound, but will it damage the fiddle? Thank you Jason. Jim G.
H Jim, thanks for your patience with our reply. Appreciate your interest in FiddleHed!
I am not familiar with answering this question. Personally, if i was to use sawmill tuning, I’d likely buy the specific string for that note, or use a cheaper string to tune it to 1 note higher than it’s intended use.
I will ask Jason this and get back to you. In the meantime, here are some other common questions answered.
How do I add to Favorites Why dont my lessons get saved in my profile
Hello friend, thanks for asking. You can add any page to favourites by clicking the button at the bottom of the page, just above ‘leave a reply’ section.
You can access your favourite list from the ‘practise toolkit’, which can be found under the ‘Practise’ tab, or close to the bottom of most lessons.
You can also access your favourites list to the right of the ‘favourite’ button, when you select the page as a favourite.
Good point about having it in your profile, I will make a suggestion for this.
How do you put things in Favorites I dont see any tabs
first time playing this tune thank jason
I 100% just picked up that bow and did it…. Before I got to the directions. But I did it. Yes I did.
New to you site and like it a lot But having issues
I need help with how to save things I am working with, Like I found somewhere and was working with tune U2 With or Without You But could not save and now I cant find it. And Im working with Nashville number system But no way to save it, There are other other course as well I have started but not in my profile. Text message are good Thank You
Geoff Lippman
Thanks Geoff, sorry we could’nt get back to you sooner.
You can add any page to favorites by clicking the button at the bottom of the page, just above ‘leave a reply’ section.
You can access your favorite list from the ‘practise toolkit’, which can be found under the ‘Practise’ tab, or close to the bottom of most lessons.
You can also access your favourites list to the right of the ‘favorite’ button, when you select the page as a favourite.
I’ve made a note of this to put an explainer into the ‘How to Use FiddleHed’ section. Thank you for the feedback!
This certainly was an interesting challenge tune to learn. I hadn’t heard of it before. The call and response was a challenge, but I did as much as I could. lol I reverted to the sheet music, but only to confirm I was on the right track. I realized that if I listened to the tune long enough and get familiar with I would eventually be able to play it. Definitely being able to sing or to hear the tune in my head helped. Great fun!
I wish you would leave the finger positions chart on all the time, while you playing a song.
Is there a short video on how taut to make the bow? I always loosen it prior to storing away, but am unsure how much to tighten it prior to playing…
Sarah, thanks for asking. There’s a post answering this question in the ‘Support’ tab, within ‘fiddle questions’. Here’s the post for easy reference
I am using a few different sections of your site. I am a self taught fiddler. Play a lot by memorization. Is there an easy way to keep track of lessons I am working on.
Hi Geoff, best way would be to favorite it, or keep the tabs open, or save them to your desktop. the progress tracker function is being worked on, so not currently a reliable function. Thanks for asking!
I just did it slow and moved on. It’s a hard one to do fast without slurs. I’d print it out and write in the slurs—but I’m coming from classical, so I’m still pretty notation dependent. Hoping this course will make me a little faster on my feet without relying on music
Hi there! I’m having some issues with “completing” the lessons. I keep getting a blank page (well, with a “-1” in the upper left corner) when I hit the “complete lesson” button. 🙂
Thanks for letting us know Erin. This function is being worked on currently. We’ll make an announcement when functioning well again. Appreciate your understanding.
I’ve finshed the module however; I cant seem to get the “Complete lesson” button to work on my progress.
Thanks John, this function hasn’t been working properly since the site upgrades, we will post an announcement when it is fixed. Thanks for your understanding.
Hi there! It is so nice to have your violin playing to play the G and C scales with. The 3 sound tracks for the G major upper Octave and the 100 bpm in C major won’t play. I’m making progress!
Thank you kindly Linda, sorry about this. We will update you once this is fixed. Happy playing 🙂
Thank you Jason, the call and response sessions are indeed fun and learning.
The words on the screen as you talk are great.
An old person losing their hearing , will find that quite helpful.
Hey folks, I think we resolved most of these issues…remixed the tracks.
New ones on the way with more space, simpler ideas…
Out of curiosity, I read through these modes. It certainly helps to understand them better with the songs listed in each mode. I have a feeling that it will be years before I will understand them. For now, I will start with the ones that are more familiar to the songs I know! My brain is full….. How would I ever be able to mark this lesson “complete”…. lol. Thanks again for all the great work that is on Fiddlehed….
I am enjoying the challenge of making these rhythms timely and sounding beautiful as the recording. Very helpful for technique, playing in tune, and flow. Please take notice that the audio of 13b is actually the audio for exercise 14a. It would be nice to correct exercise 13b to match 13a. It’s incredible that you have developed all of this structure online. Thank you..
Love your feedback Linda, thank you. We will let you know once these missing audio files have been added.
great call and response lesson
I can’t access the sheet music for this one. I have a subscription.
Hi Lori, I see you have an active subscription as well. I will email you to discuss further. Thanks for your patience.
For some reason I can’t access the sheet music for this song, Devil’s Dream. It doesn’t seem to recognize that I am a subscriber.
After several failed attempts I was able to get back in. Seems okay now
Hi Will, thanks for reaching out and letting us know what you’re experiencing. I will follow up via email. 🙂
I can’t seem to get to the lessons. I am trying to get back to Call and Response Exercises 1. It comes up with the page title but none of the exercises show up below that. Scrolling down all I see is comments
Wow! Just discovered the scale central! What an amazing thing! I love it guves me structure to play scales, which keeps me working through them longer.. and allows me to keep working on my ear as i pay attention to that in tune body feel and hum! Thanks for this.. Fiddlehed really is such a great resource!
This was extremely helpful. I actually was able to figure out the chord progressions when I did the play along track.
I love this!! Thanks so much, this lesson truly made my day. I can’t wait to fiddle around with more of this tomorrow!! Yay! You really made the video easy to follow and I appreciate how you teach. Everything is so thorough. 😀
Timing is the essence
I liked this approach. It would be great if you could add a faster version or speed up half way through. Also a version in D and in A would add interest and challenge but I do appreciate how much time it must take to make these lessons.
This was very helpful. Thanks,
I am a beginner and have been working on “loving” my sound and finding the right place for my bow. In the meanwhile, when working on this, for some reason my intonation of my left hand has gotten off. Can’t wait to get the two working back together again!!! lol. A long way to go for sure. This tune has been a challenge as far as switching over three strings. I don’t understand why my fingers of my left hand changed, but this module is so precise. It’s fascinating that I am improving each week. I also learned in this lesson the appreciation of doing sa cale and “playing” with it. It’s been very exciting. Great lesson..
Lots of information here – I’m not a beginner but I’m starting at ground zero as a refresher. No posts here for quite some time!
Love this lesson! Thanks!!
thank you Jason
I think I finally found my starting point. I’ve been jumping around a bit since I started my trial. I love how you teach and really appreciate the variety of resources you provide. Thank you.
Wow! Plucking that beginner part along with the video really made my heart sing!!! It was soooo fun!
What a great resource! Thanks heaps!
I can use these to learn new tunes, play along with old and new tunes, and practice chords. Fabulous!
Carol
Fun tune! I love this list of tunes that I can play along with and practice playing chords. My chords are awful! Especially the G (D0A1). I can’t seem to get that in tune. Also I have trouble consisting playing both strings. I know: Practice practice practice!
Carol
starting all over
I was struggling on the 3ed quarter, I am playing more advanced with the high 3, I like to look closely at the note graph on the top corner and then I write the notes to sheet music to follow, Can you include the finger chart for advance like you do in beginner notes, I keep missing when you play same note twice, Like D3 A-O D1 A1 — A1 D3 D1 It took me a bit but after watching you over n over I final caught I was missing the A1
Also Sheet music showing Double notes or a slur I think its called. But I’m getting it. And learning new tunes
I find it good to copy this and place the music on my music stand instead of looking at computer.
Thank you Fiddlehed Jsn I’m looking forward to to take the fiddle Journey . The only thing I can’t do is sing . I’m not good on talking either I have impaired speech problems but I can hear tunes an I do play them I would like to learn dawning of the day.. wild wood Flower Mary had a little lamb .thank you for the videos . been watching an practice playing ever day. God Bless 👍
I really enjoyed this lesson.
Question: In the video and image for plucking you have your thumb right on the corner… is it ok to tuck it all the way under the strings?
Thanks Amy! Great question. It is easier to pluck on different strings if your thumb is on edge of fingerboard, as Jason displays. The movability of our hand in this position supports alot of freedom to move. Experimenting with anchoring your hand in different ways makes sense. Keeping the hands from touching the strings is good so the sound can ring out/continue during and after plucking. Also, touching the violin body with our hands can wear away at the finish.
Maybe you can find a method that is preferable for you!
I often will put the violin in a guitar position, rest my fingers on the lower edge of the fingerboard and pluck with my thumb, especially if I’m not going between bowing and plucking quickly.
Love these. I’m wondering though, why do these pentatonic scales not end on the root note of the scale like I’m used to for regular scales?
Thanks for asking Kayli. Yes, good idea to play pentatonic scales in both ways: within the range of the root note at bottom and top (as you mention), as well as utilizing the full range of notes possible within 1st position (how Jason is showing it here).
Wow, unbelievable. It’s like you read my mind. This is exactly what I need at this stage. Thank you!!!
I am searching to see were to start, I played the fiddle 17 years ago Just good enough that the average person could not tell I didn’t know Jack, But then I had a very bad finger accident that took 2 years to heal and a couple more before i could start using it. That set me back, I have picked up my fiddle now and then but just a few months ago got tired of waiting time on internet and social media
and started practicing a lot, I never understood cords. Played a lot on memory. I hope between your teaching and some privet lessons I will not Run my dog or Wife out of the house.
I’m looking forward to embarking upon this journey!
Yes! This ear training for chords helped tremendously. Not hearing the name of the chords was a benefit, as my ear found the chords (and when to change them) without my thinking getting in the way.
Revisited this lesson,
Holy cow, I sound a little better !
This was a great intro to training my ear to hear chord changes. Please do more sessions like this!
Great lesson and fun to watch you have fun doing it.
You seem more relaxed singing ( la Laing) lately
Thank You , keep them coming.
Try them chunking.
I really liked this lesson and would love more like it. And or more suggestions for simple chord song.
I really like this type of practice. Foe so long i have practiced scales and learning notes and songs, so learning technique is really helpful. My husband plays guitar and someone asked him about it and he said for years he thought all his learning was his left hand, but what made the music come to life was his right hand. This is a right hand lesson!!! Brings the music to life!
Building triads is doing wonders for helping me to make the connections across the fingerboard. Two note chords are delightfully ambiguous.
Hi, I am trying to access Chord Backup Central and have tried from several different links and the website returns a 404 error.
Hello! This one was interesting. I get that its based off of mary had a little lamb, and the different bow pattern (long,short,short) changes it up, but there is also added notes that are not in original.. which mages it feel like a different song. I know in some trad music grace notes and ornamentation can drastically shape the tune.. but i was surprised to see added notes here. Is it common to add notes with a hoe down shuffle pattern?
William, thanks for your comment! Great observation. Yes, hoedown rhythm could be utilized on basic version too. This variation does add a twist that changes the tune. Please reach out anytime!
Instead of rushing to the next tune this week, I am working on my intonation this week. Everyday has been a little different. Straight scales and Rhythms. In working with the drone I beginning to hear some progress. To treat myself today, I played along with the tune loop. It’s very fun! Thank you.
Love this lesson!! Thanks!
Sorry I missed this one – will go through recording. Got the time mixed up.
Hi Jason
I think it was the May office hours that I attended during which I asked about how to make the best chord choices when playing back up. I have been following your chord course although, as you will hear, still not getting even the one finger chords perfectly in tune. But I notice that, especially when playing in A, the simple chords on the A and E strings don’t sound right with many tunes and I asked if you, when learning a new backup, would run through all the possible inversions until you found the best ones for that tune.
You kindly suggested that I send you a couple of examples of songs I am trying to play back up for and I have finally pinned my partner down and recorded a couple that are not too terrible. However I now realize that don’t know where I should upload them to!
All the very best. You have a great program here.
Anna Holdaway [email protected]
Hi Anna, thank you for your message 🙂
Please log into your Play Every Day account: https://play-every-day.circle.so
That would be the best method for sharing content for feedback. Happy to support you in logging on, posting content on there, or anything else.
If you get onto Play Every Day platform, feel free to message me directly at Jocelyn Martens, or email at [email protected]
Happy music making
Fabulous practice. Thanks! Definitely worth repeating! Yes!
At first I was confused because you didn’t play the repeats (AABB) but once I caught on, hugely useful! Thanks!
Fabulous!!! This is exactly what I need to take my fiddling to the next level. Thank you!!!!
This was a great lesson. I worked through most of it 3 times and made some progress each time. I could definitely benefit from going through it another 3 times. Thanks for all the effort you put into this.
Do you have to move into second and third position to move up the scales, because of finger placement, from what you have given us here?
Great question Grace. No, these exercises are designed for 1st position. That would be a great challenge to approach other positions with these, as you feel drawn 🙂
I like this tune !
The triplets (3/4 time) practice tracks would be great if they had a 1-2-3 count lead in instead of 4 beats, and if they didn’t have the two beat weird pauses at the end of each set. It made it hard to get into a good groove. The other tracks have been very helpful!
Melissa, I agree, thank you for sharing 🙏🏽
how can I download and print this sheet music?
Noticed the sound tracs are missing from from the G major upper octave variation exercise.
I just re upped my subscription and took this workshop, I had a blast! Thanks Jason🎻
Thank you for this work shop. I’m trying to learn Kenny Baker’s Back Up and Push. I was told to try it in second position. So I went to this work shop to help me learn to shift. But I am learning much more, not only shifting up the neck, but better hand position and how important it is to hold the violin better at the chin/shoulder. Difficult lesson for me but doable with a lot of practice. Jason, I always see how important small repetitive steps are and chaining the basics in order to move forward or “up the neck”.
This was a great lesson. At 46 I am learning how to play the fiddle. These lessons are easy to follow and I feel like I am actually learning to play! Thank you
I love these exercises!
Cool! I like this, thx
Tanx John 😍
Let us know how you use this. Do you practice with it once or multiple times?
The guided fiddle lessons are A#1
love it!
Had to come back to this after learning the first two bars of Cooleys reel. I could not longer play first A quarter of Road to Lisdoonvarna without a refresher!! Thank goodness for fiddlehed!!!
Pretty tune!
The initial fast speed also caught me by surprise. I was able to keep up about 2/3 of the way through the track. After that I started missing notes but nevertheless satisfied with my performance.
Oops. I think the tab for the 8th note in the first half of the first qtr s/b A0, not D0. Just didn’t sound right.
Thank you kindly, Tom!
That was so much fun!
this was a good practice. I still find it challenging to play those notes on the E string in tune
This will be my first real try at 4th finger.
…Great one. So simple but beautiful
This was a fun and informative lesson!
great lesson, thank you!
Thank you Jason for another excellent and highly useful guided practice! Clean string crossings are probably my no. 1 struggle so this practice session is just what I need. Please keep them coming!
Great great great!
Yiou give so much, but of course I want more, greedy cuss that I am.
Could you create links to 5 (or 10) songs that have just those 3 chords with a recording that we can play along with for each.
Great idea Carol! Have noted your point for consideration 🙂 We just added a list to this page related to songs/lessons that utilize the 3 chords. Thanks for mentioning it!
Shootin’ Creek – Beginner and Intermediate versions are exactly the same. I was having trouble with the Intermediate version so I checked tunefinder because I thought I remembered seeing an easier version–but, no such luck! Stuck with mastering the harder version. Bwa bwa…
Hi Mary, great point you make. The only difference between those lessons are the lower and upper octave focuses.
I do not see a simpler version through FiddleHed either. I will add the idea for a simpler version to consider in the future, thanks!
Great lesson, Jason!
Wow, this is so great! You have created a truly amazing learning opportunity. Thank you!
Carol
Love that chord practice. Thanks!
This is great advice! I have a friend who always want me to play songs way to difficult. When I do I sound terrible and then get discouraged. This course has been wonderful for me. Thanks Jason & Jocelyn
This is great practice. I liked learning the different patterns with chords
OK jumping into this one…a little shocked at the intial speed and feeling like I need to do some work on this one but up for the challenge! Printing out the music now and working out how / where to slur to give me a fighting chance of being able to play along 🙂
Hi Jason,
I’ve just been spending the last two or three days looking at tune books for Old Time American / Appalachian fiddle that I’ve accumulated over the years, simply so that I could play these tunes on the mando. However, I’m now going to attempt to play them properly, or as well as I can, on the fiddle in the Old Time fiddle style, as I can see how the techniques you teach apply to these tunes that I know, but have never really tried on the fiddle, because I wasn’t sure about bowing, etc. I realize that (relatively) “simple” things like double stops are not that easy (depending on the fingers involved!), which is why I probably dodged them before. I’ve decided to challenge myself to focus hard on your Old Time Intermediate Course, initially for a month, if that’s ok, just to see how I get on. The course structure suits me very well – as a former (language) teacher I fully endorse your method: take nothing for granted, and keep going over the same thing until you’ve really got it down.
Kind regards,
Doug
May I suggest adding “The Gael” (Last of the Mohicans) to the TuneFinder list?
Thanks!
Thank you for noting and suggesting this, Dwight! Here is the lesson page in the meantime: Last of the Mohicans Theme
The tabs for the last quarter of the B part don’t seem to match up with the sheet music. What am I missing? Is it just that this is a more simple version of the actual tune?
Tom, thanks for mentioning it. I have adjusted the tabs for 4th quarter of both A and B parts, they were missing a couple notes at the end. You’re right though, one could stay on the A note for the whole last bar to make it simpler.
I have also noticed there’s a slight difference leading into the last quarter between the sheet music/tabs and how Jason plays it. I will make note to work on this lesson when possible. Happy playing!
Thank you! This is helpful for my messy strings… I am going to go through the lesson again and keep these exercises in mind when I come to those challenges in songs. Also, good reminder for me to start slowly and build up speed. And congratulations to you on your new little guy Sonny! 🙂
really enjoyed this lesson
Playing along with you is so helpful for me to hear if I am in tune or not. I’ve been playing along with other beginners who are not always playing in tune so it’s hard for me to tell if I am playing in tune or not. I am sounding much better playing along with you Jason! Great little tune!
This is an absolutely beautiful song. Came to this site to learn Irish fiddle and finding I am falling in love with so much more. Thank you for bringing joy in my playing, andf for opening my eyes to the wider world of fiddle music!
Would love to see the “Heaven’s Gate Waltz”- a beautiful moment on film!
Sounds great, Van 🙂 I’ve added this to our requests.
I enjoyed this workshop. I am a low intermediate player I’d say, but these basic skills are great practice in improving sound and intonation. Will these guided practice sessions be archived somewhere on the Fiddlehed site. Thank you! And welcome to Sonny! It’s good to have some happy news!
Thanks for your message, Lisa 🙂 I agree these are so helpful.
Great question. Yes, Jason has archived these practices under ‘Practise Tools’, called Guided Practice Sessions
What a sweet easy tune. Thank you for sharing!
I did enjoy this but had difficulty hearing the difference between offbeat accent and downbeat accent. Perhaps just more subtle than I thought it would be. I liked the lesson though
Thanks so much Jason! A brilliant practice session, very enjoyable and really effective. It was easy to follow along and yet there is a lot in it with so many possibilities of adapting it. That’s not only my practice for the next while sorted but I’ll definitely be coming back to this often. Much appreciated. I’d love more of this!
I used this song to learn how to use Garage.
Played the Easiest first version an octave higher on fiddle, as well as the first variant ion.
on Mandolin, I played two finger chords, and the melody for the Duet Variation.
Like many, I am too struggling with the timing especially with the last two lines in part B.
Looks like you have moved to the attic …….
“The General, formerly a near-sighted newspaperman, had become disoriented in the close fight in the pouring rain and, in the process of reconnoitering, came upon some troops he took to be his own men. They were not. A colonel of the Union troops realized the nearsighted general’s mistake and, in plain view of Zollicoffer’s men, killed him with a point-blank pistol shot to the chest.” https://tunearch.org/wiki/Annotation:Zollie%27s_Retreat
Everything about that war is just too sad.
Might have missed it in the video but why do you call it an I-V progression?
I haven’t looked at this for a long time…and I see what you have added. This is terrific! Thank you, Jason.
Yes. I can’t follow this recording. A lot is missing
Thanks for notifying us, Lisa 🙂 There was an editing feature used that cut out some content. Jason will work on this and let folks know.
Hmmm. The transition from D2 to AO dilemma I spoke to below. So I skipped on down to the D3 to A1 interval which I have had trouble with in the song Amazing Grace that I picked out by tune. It’s a hard one to navigate without extraneous sounds between. Would be great to hold down the D notes and “toggle” between the two. I just now tried something and was able to make it work! Do you ever kinda slide the D3 leftward and play the note over a bit in order to then create space for the A string to vibrate to minimize “skew”? Is there actually a correct term for what I’m calling “skew”?
Anyone else unable to play D2 then AO with D2 held down? (AO is skewed) Wasn’t a problem like for G1 to D2 with G1 held down which was pretty cool to articulate those notes back and forth with both held down. Tried tip of finger down on D2 but still unable to hit AO. Btw: AO is the best note on my fiddle: good clear sound: anyone else relate?
Just leaving a note: knocked em out: humbling
Got em all. Thot’d these intervals would be easy. Nope! But actually doing the exercises makes you slow down and focus on trying to get (on key) notes without extraneous sounds. It’s humbling but I’m committed to tough it out!
BTW, there’s also a wonderful (and incidentally the first recorded version of it) cajun version by Steve Riley
Yes it was written by Jay with his wife Molly Mason for each other. They kept it private for a long time, but lucky for us it made it out into the world 🙂 It’s in their book Catskill Mountain Waltzes and Aires, but this version is a bit easier. Its been one of my favorites for a long time, along with Blue River Waltz which Jocelyn mentioned. Thanks so much for this lesson!
The fiddle playing part is missing a lot…
Thank you John, Appreciate you letting us know. Jason will work on this and notify you once fixed.
Playing around with backing tracks, 100bpm might be too fast for me, but practicing chords and rhythm.
It actually wasn’t written for the documentary, Jay wrote it to capture the bittersweet feeling that happens at the end of his and Molly’s music camps at the Ashokan Center in the Catskills of NY. Its always the last song played at the last dance for each camp (and that is the only time it is ever played there). The dance for it is a circle dance with specific steps so that almost everyone gets to dance with and honor everyone else (including children) who shared the week. It ends with waltzing with your original partner and is full of lots of both joys and tears. It helps both build community and say goodbye until the next time we gather. I don’t know how it was discovered by Ken Burns, but yes the film made it famous. My daughter and I have been going to Ashokan for a number of years so this beautiful song is close to my heart and is so full of emotion and memories for me. I’m grateful for this lesson and the song being shared with others, thank you
Hi, always wonder why folks call it a song, it is a tune.
Didn’t spend as much time this one, but I want to improve on the timing,
Here’s my go at it after a week practice.
This is such great practice for me. I’m trying to hear where the chords change, and when you provide those short passages with the chord names, I listen for the change. I hope I’m getting it right. I think so.
Thanks for sharing Carol, great you are enjoying this lesson!
Great lesson. I thought I could get along without reading but I am finding it to be easier than I imagined. Your teaching method is wonderfully stimulating.
The breakdown parts for the B part don’t seem to be correct. The tabs are different from the sheet music on B parts 1st & 2nd
Hi Joanne, thank you kindly for noticing and letting us know of this. Please refer to the regular sheet music for those sections for now. 🙂
Thank you for this! I’ve played fiddle tunes for a lot of years but have only recently tried to play chords as back up. This is the perfect practice recording: slow enough for me to find the chord and then gradually speeding up. This is going to help a lot!
Carol
Sorry to miss this live, this is fun/ could we do some more Dylan?
I will submit your request! Thanks for taking part Kathryn 🙂
Great lesson!
Thanks! I’m going through from the beginning to see where I should start.
Oops, I misinterpreted the rhythm for Hoe Down it’s long-short-short, still, it corresponds with the letter D
Jason, I was interested to note that the rhythms you showed in this first lesson corresponded to MORSE CODE letters.
Hoe Down – long-short-short-long corresponds to the letter X in morse code.
Triplets (if I heard correctly, 3 longs) – correspond to the letter O if they were three shorts then the letter S
and
Swing: long-short-long-short – the letter C
Tom Abrahamsen
Hi. I cannot loosen or tighten the bow easily, due to arthritis and loss of finger strength. I can use a silicone type “jar opener” product, though!
The last time I had blood work done, I asked the lab tech if I could keep my ‘used’ (disposable) tourniquit. Once home, I tied the tourniquit to my violin stand. Now, every time I start or finish playing, my handy device is right there so that I can adjust the bow accordingly!
Thanks Jason, another great workshop, just did it on replay. One of your hints that helped me was to lift the 3rd, 4th and maybe 2nd fingers slightly off the bow when adding doubles stops on the accents. I’ve always felt that I dig in heavily when attempting to play two strings together.
Lightening the pressure instead seems to work, I’ll practise paying more attention to that feel. Really enjoyed building the rhythm with off beat accents.
I’m having a hard time thinking of my fiddle goals as quantifiable. Other than the number of tunes I have memorized, what can I count? I guess the speed of my vibrato? Or the speed of a tune?
How would I measure the quality of my tone? Or the use of double stops? Or my ability to improvise? Or do I just count the amount of time I spend on these things?
This is way fun! It wasn’t too hard to learn by ear. Practicing it more frequently will help cement it in my shaky memory. Such a pretty tune!
I’m trying to figure out the bowing pattern for when you stress certain notes. Also, are the double stops you’ve added in just with D and A??
Hi Caroline, nice pursuits 🙂 It seems Jason is mainly emphasizing the 1st beat in a bar, also 1st pickup notes.
I think the double stops add open D and A as you found, as well as D1 (E),open G and G1 (A).
Learning the chords for the song can help in understanding the notes to use with double stops.
I will put in a request to consider a lesson on variation for this tune.
I’m surprised that the Goodnight, Irene hasn’t yet made it into the archives.
Thanks for the suggestion, have added it for consideration 🙂
Wow! What an experience.
Please don’t judge me, but I wound up improvising a soundtrack/song just with the different Drones
and the D and A string that honestly had me weeping. No kidding.
I played my fiddle through an amp with a lot of reverb, and along with the Drones,
the sound from such a simple combination of fiddle notes and Drones cranked up through the TV
was overwhelmingly beautiful.
This course is such an amazing value!
In our remote town, the sole fiddle teacher moved away.
I’m recommending fiddlehed right and left!
What to do with sore fingers that are slowing me down??
Thanks for asking, Cheryl. I will see your question gets addressed at the February office hours.
I would lean towards embracing what feels best, even if it means slower movements, embracing what is best for us.
Just enough challenge to make it interesting and want to learn !!!!
Thank you Jason🎻🎻🎻
Hi, I’ve been practicing Variation 1 of Old Joe Clark, and wonder if you could include the PDF file for printing? Thanks in advance!
Jody
Hi Jody, thanks for asking 🙂
The PDF file link is usually available below the sheet music photo. Here’s this one for easy reference
Happy music making!
Jason has there been any interest expressed in physical warm up exercises to do before practice? I do these every day to keep joints loose and muscles stretched. Do you have a favorite routine?
Hi Daksha, great questions to share. I will add your ideas to consider for a new post/lesson.
Be awesome to hear what different people do.
I often stretch, move limbs in circlular motions, shake, and move my body in opposite ways to what fiddling requires. I do this throughout my practises. 🙂
This was a great lesson. It was just the right amount of challenge for me. It was fun to learn a tune with such unusual timing!
thank you, Jocelyn, that’s helpful. I find it humorous that my mouth opens and closes while focusing on the roll!
Are you rolling your fingertip from side to side, or front to back along its pad?
Great question, Caroline 🙂
For me, rocking of my finger contacting the string starts at the original placement and moves a couple ways from there:
-back towards hand/larger pad of finger
-also a bit of twisting movement towards the scroll
I experience the movement to vary slightly depending what (and how the) finger is placed.
Vibrato is unique to each of us, moving naturally with what’s most comfortable.
Happy experimenting 🎶
So much fun and so useful to have these tracks to play with
My goal for this year is to reignite, recover, regain my focus and play every day!🎻🎻
Hi Jason, I didn’t realize there was a webinar today so I only viewed part of the archived version, WHICH was quite time for me as I DIDN’t know about drone tuning. The teacher I had before never taught me technical skills, so I am literally starting from scratch with you and have so far enjoyed the journey.
You asked where everyone is from: I live in Kamloops , British Columbia , Canada
Lynn Garbay
Oh yeah.adding to previous post…I did check out the common chords piece and I’m going to have to work on “tips of fingers” to keep from muffling up the sound of the double stops. Wife yelled from the other room her approval of the sound coming from the chords so I must be doing something right a little…
Not too shabby with getting oh Susannah added to my playlist. Really like the 60bpm Jam mix with chords. That is gonna take me a while but it sounds so good. Can you put the sheet music for that on here? I’ve no clue how to find them to make it come together for the tune.
Hi Sam! Nice going, thanks for sharing your ways 🙂
The Sheet music on this lesson includes the basic chord progressions where the letters are capitolized above where they happen in the song, continuing with the same chord until it shows a different letter.
Please reach out anytime! Awesome to hear your progress mentioned above as well 👍🏼
Thank you for the challenge 🥳
1. Dream goal to be able to play tunes at tempo
2. Short term : Learn all all the major and minor scales and improve finger dexterity.
3. To try and memorize pieces. I have a memory deficiency due to two brain tumour surgeries ( no chemo, just radiation after the second surgery). Learning the fiddle is good therapy.
Setting goals! Long term goal is to be able adequate enough to jam by improv and have fun. Short term goals is to maintain activity with Fiddlehed, be interactive, and be disciplined in following the lesson module, by doing so I intend to post weekly videos of my improvement weekly improvement, and what I learning.
Hi! Thanks, I’ve been in and out a few times with fiddlehed, always skip around and play tunes that are either familiar or come naturally with the fingers, then I hit a development wall and put down the instrument, sometimes months, or years. For the new years I’m giving it a disciplined go! No cheating this time around. I’m going to attempt to share on the forums a weekly post of what I’ve improved on, and what I’ve learned. Hope to build the courage to attend the group trainings. I know my long term goals are to be skilled enough improv tunes and have fun
Sorry to say, but I find this to be the least good lesson on this site this far. I’d go as far as saying it’s so much below the sites average, that it’d warrant a remake, since it does not uphold the professional standards that Fiddlehead is selling. First of all, the video is super rambly. Nothing wrong with a few tangents, but it gets a bit much if you want to watch it even a few times. But the bigger problem is that the video does not teach the tune very well. There is a practice bit for the A part but not for the B part, and there are no practice tracks for the whole parts, nor half parts, and in this particular tunes (especially B part) binding the quarters together is tricky. After watching the video a few times I decided to just learn it from the audio track instead, since I was confused about the structure of the song in the B part. In addition to this the backing track (the first one) changes tempo in the middle of a repetition despite having breaks for the counting in a new tempo, and the sheet music has wrong (and incorrectly written) repetitions. The tune itself is great, fun to play now that I’ve managed to figure it out, and again a nice choice for this level. Looking forward the more advanced vesions.
Hello Jari, Thanks for your thorough feedback on this content. It’s great to have community input to grow with. I will record your ideas to address 🙏🏼 Agreed, there’s content that could use work.
Idea that could support; the intermediate lesson for Shooting Creek is simply in the higher octave. One could play along with the audio tracks for each quarter from this lesson, while playing in the lower octave.
Thanks again 🎶
Jam Mix links don’t seem to be working, they tells me that “Anonymous caller does not have storage.objects.get access to the Google Cloud Storage”.
Hi Jari, much appreciation for you filling us in on what you notice.
I just re-added these audio files so they should work now.
Happy Fiddling to you, please reach out anytime 🙂
Test
Thanks for thinking so hard about what would make this fun. Your thinking shows in my progress. No longer stomping my foot in frustration… or at least only very rarely.
3rd tune is Scarborough fair. All these tunes have have a similar melodic intro to this carol…
Jason, I’m challenged by my strings. Recently I loosened all of them so that I could slip a fingerboard lines sheet under them. When I tightened them back up and checked the tuning with my clip on tuner aid they all registered as accurate. But when I played, the A string sounded flat and dead. Does loosening up formerly in tune strings cause metal fatigue or something? Is it bad practice to ever fully loosen strings because you’ll never get them to work? Also, the last time I put on new A and E strings it seemed to take forever for them to settle and sound good. Do you have any suggestions? Changing any of my strings feels like going to the dentist; it must be done but I’m a bit scared.
I’d love to hear from others how they approach string changing.
Thanks, Daksha
Same problem as folks below. There is no “Complete Lesson” button on the “tuning the Fiddle” page, so we’re stuck. Thanks
Hi Michael, Thanks for mentioning this. Great point with this page not having a started/completed lesson button. I will note this.
A good method for continuing from this page is to utilize the links at the bottom of the lesson (above the ‘favourite’ button), to help you navigate to the next section, such as, ‘Return to module 1.1’ or ‘Return to questions about fiddling’.
Also, please note there’s currently is a slight glitch in practice tracking.
Jason is looking into a different Learning Management setup.
Thanks for your patience. And please reach out anytime 🙂
what a great lesson, thanks so much! I just caught up on the replay. My favourite carol sounds great in this E Aeolian scale so cool & this will integrate so well with O’Keefe’s & Lisdoonvarna. What’s the 3rd tune? Happy Christmas & holidays all!
So pretty. Never tried playing chords like that before.
Would love to have the sheet music for the song. And is there a backing track?
Hi Yolanda, I agree! Will consider adding these when we can and will let you know. Happy fiddling to you 🎶
Hi Jason, I’ve just been listening to the Simple Gifts lesson and I’d like to suggest you set the background drone at a lower volume. It’s real hard to hear you speak, with the drone, and me playing. Maybe setting the drone at a lower volume would help???
Daksha
Yes, Daksha, thank you for sharing this suggestion. We will continue working on this for future sessions. Great point 🙏🏿
Hey Jason. It shows I’m 95% on module 1, I’ve gone back over and can’t seem to find what’s left. Can you share what I’m missing so I can’t finish it up? Thanks!
Hi Sam, we connected via email as well. Just re-iterating the info Jason shared for anyone wondering:
Sorry about that. There is a slight glitch in practice tracking.
Jason is looking into a different Learning Management setup.
Thanks for your patience.
I really love these call and response exercises, they’re probably what I need the most. Maybe I’m slower than most, but it seems like the ones in Exercise 1.7 don’t leave enough time for response between each call. Thanks for these lessons!
-Travis
Great Feedback, Travis. We appreciate hearing from you, and take this into consideration for the future.
I agree, the recordings in this lesson leave little room for the response. I find I need to stick to the same speed as the call and start my response in the immediate beat after the call finishes. Trickiness!
We will note this and consider adjusting this and/or future lessons. Thanks again 🙏🏽
This has been a very helpful lesson. I can definitely use the techniques I have learned here.
Jason–In Part A of Flop Ear Mule – Basic, there’s this:
Third quarter: (D3-A0)-1-D3-A1-0-D3″”A0-D3-1-0-1-0-G3-2-1-0
There seems to be a glitch that has dropped a note or two in the center of this quarter.
I’m fine. I read sheet music but I like using your system to write
down music on my index cards, i.e., Marg’s method, as you suggested.
All the best,
Rosalie W.
Hello Rosalie, Thanks for mentioning what you’re experiencing. When I evaluate the tabs, audio, and sheet music, I see the tabs have a funny inclusion in there (“”), which I will omit. Otherwise I am not seeing any missing notes within the write up. If you still notice an error, please let us know. We really appreciate your feedback 🙂
But… where’s Jason?
I think tremolo has been the hardest for me so far. I am getting better at it.
Thanks for breaking this down into chunkable components! Love the play along track to try to match the tempo. Shows me where I need to slow down and work on looping.
Hey love the 50 songs suggestion, is there a site that has all this sheet music?
Great you enjoy this, Kathryn.
Sorry we can’t suggest the sheet music for those 50 songs, though Jason does suggest Ultimate Guitar for helping navigate chords for these songs.
Also, a great opportunity to pull the songs up on YouTube or somewhere similar and navigate the 3 basic chords within the songs.
I’ll add this suggestion regarding sheet music for these songs. Thank you!
I appreciate the music theory references– it’s sort of like noticing the birds flying overhead– a whole different element of music than I have ever known. It surprises me that I could have taken piano lessons in grade school and sung chorus in high school without anyone ever really referring to this huge body of knowledge.
The lyrics helped me remember the melody to this–
The crow that is so black my love
Will surely turn to white
If ever I am false to you
Bright day be turned to night
Bright day be turned to night, my love
The elements will mourn
If ever I be false to you
The seas will rage and burn
May I suggest adding a few more Cajun tunes? “Fais Pas Ça,” “Ville Platte Waltz,” “Te Petite, Te Meon,” “Ma Negresse,” or anything else recorded by Hackberry Ramblers would be great!
“Jolie Blon,” “Allons à Lafayette,” or “Opelousas Waltz” by Harry Choates, the “Fiddle King of Cajun Swing,” would also be appreciated.
Above all else, though, I’d love a lesson on “‘Tits Yeux Noirs.” Please do a lesson on “‘Tits Yeux Noirs.”
Hi Clayton, thanks for sharing these ideas 🙂 I’ll add all this to our request list for consideration! Happy fiddling 🎶
I love these!!! I’d like to request 2 octave ones for future learning. Thanks 🙏
Agreed, Kayli! Thanks for mentioning this, will consider 👍🏾
OK. Got the notes. Got the rhythm. But… the transition from any one note to another is noticeably chop/stop-n-go rather than smooth or gliding. Bow pressure, bow too flat on string? Suggestions?
Thx, Benno
Hi Benno! Thanks for reaching out.
I like your approach and inquiry.
I would isolate the bowing on its own and eliminate the fingering hand. Some examples of this would be to try on each string; open bows with triplets, open bows with long, short, long, short, notes, then also long, short, followed by triplets… all associated with what rhythms are included in the song. Isolating the bow focus by eliminating the left hand work can help us hone in on that flow we are wanting to achieve.
Also, work at this and other specific bowing focused at a wide variety of speeds in which you are comfortable with. When eliminating the left hand work, other focuses can come into play, like what you mention, experiment with bow pressure, starting with long slow bows, then shorter bows, various speeds, various rhythms, etc.
the bow hair contacting the string can be another neat thing to experiment with, and this relates closely with bow pressure. Full contact of bow hair is for more/stronger sound, less contact of bow hairs (angling stick slightly away from you) creates lighter/smaller sound. All this and more are great to look at with open string bowing.
Another thing I did with more bow focus was go through Kerfunken Jig with the bowing and not using the left hand fingering (open strings in place of fingered notes), which helped me understand the rhythm and string changes. I enjoy this practise.
Jason has a variety of bowing practises in the Practise Tools called Bowing Central
Glad your working on it, thanks for taking part in FiddleHed!
Thx. Good info. Especially the drill of going through a piece with the bowing but not using the left hand fingering . Benno.
A question about bowing: On the demonstration video Jason is slurring some notes, but this is not mentioned in the video and thus far there has not been anything about bow directions when playing tunes. Should we try to follow the bow directions from the video? Or would it be beneficial to try to keep to a single bow direction pattern on every repeat? Or should we just wing it at this point?
Hi Jari, great points you raise on bowing patterns. As we experience Jason’s bowing for this song, when he initially plays it through, he is creating natural slurring patterns as he goes, likely what feels best while he plays.
For folks learning a new song and in a beginner situation, it can be helpful to start with separate bows. This can help with getting rhythm solid and support focusing on doing the basics well. That being said, it can also be beneficial to simply let the slurring of notes occur naturally as we play. Following a specific bowing pattern (such as what we see Jason doing), can be a fun challenge, and can also take a lot of specific focus to make happen. I usually work with what slurring I feel good in doing, and this can change over time with various speeds in playing, styles of playing, state’s we’re in, etc.
Some further ideas with practising related to this: play with separate bows, play with separate bows while starting with opposite bow direction (so our up and down bows are switched), and also let oneself slur where it feels good to, and more! Try a variety of ways 🙂 Happy fiddling.
would love to see a lesson on Neil Gow’s Lament!
I will add this for consideration, thanks Kathryn!
Hello! Is there a pdf version of your Variation so I can print it?
Hi Carrie, thanks for asking and noticing the PDFs were not included. I have included them in the lesson now, and here’s the variation for easy reference: /wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ashokan-farewell-variation.pdf
Happy fiddling 🙂
Good grief! This is Rosalie, again. I went into Vimeo to try and see if I could use that but now I see my YouTube video has popped up in my earlier comment. I’m confused but if I can figure out how I did it then I can start participating more. All the best, ro.
[youtube]
I don’t know what I just did. I’m trying to post a video that I put into my YouTube and I can’t get it to work. It’s a recording of me doing my first attempt at a bad “Butterfly.” I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.
Thanks, ro.
Jason, I was looking for a spot to ask you a general question and to make a recommendation for an upcoming post. This may not be it but here goes. Recently I’ve been dealing with arm pain on the surface of my skin. After internet search I believe that it is a result of neuropathy and with further research I think it stems from playing the violin. I’ve come up with a solution. I use both a capsacin cream and have found some helpful exercises that I will start doing each day before practice. I was thinking that other violin players might be dealing with something similar and might benefit from a class on taking care of the body when playing the violin.
Thanks so much for sharing this, Daksha 🙏🏿
A great way to share information is through making a post on the Play Every Day Platform: https://play-every-day.circle.so/home
I appreciate hearing what you’ve found out and solutions created from it.
I’ll add your suggestion to our request list for considering with future content.
It’s good you added it to the Office Hours page here, as the Office Hours sessions are a great means for addressing this topic as well.
Hmmm…apparently the Google universe considers “What is a pentatonic scale?” a philosophical question, which leads into definitions of tonal and modal and absence of hierarchical chords vs. predominance of same…and on and on…aaargh: headache! Ha ha–now I see what Pete said. Well, this discussion does open up a BIG can of worms. I guess one just has to develop a taste for cans of worms.
Thanks for the boost–I did this workshop. I’ll go in now for a review. ro.
Just worked through the replay, thanks for another great workshop Jason. I particularly liked how you gradually expanded on the beginner level ideas through to intermediate level. I really hope you write that book and get it out there, you have so many good solid exercises to offer fiddlers in a way that feels achievable and fun.
I was here. Thanks, ro.
I was here. Thanks, ro.
I can’t find the printable sheet music for Spanish Ladies?
Kathryn, thanks for reaching out 🙂
I am seeing under the ‘full content’ tab, there are two links for sheet music documents.
learning version:
/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Farewell-and-Adieu-To-You-Spanish-Ladies_learning.pdf
performance version:
/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Farewell-and-Adieu-To-You-Spanish-Ladies_performance-.pdf
Hope this helps you.
It just occurred to me after I learned this piece today that this is one of the tunes that inspired me to finally pick up the fiddle! I really loved Celtic Woman’s rendition of this piece. It was a little bit of a full-circle moment for me. Thank you 🙂
Having a great time with this. I made a list of the tunes from module 1.1 to here and I don’t remember even learning “I’ll Fly Away” in a previous lesson. Egads! There’re 40 tunes counting this module. All the best, ro.
Just tried to download the pdf of Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy.
Instead was taken to site about cross over strings — wrong link.
Can anyone possibly help.
Many thanks.
Hi Margaret, thank you for mentioning this error. I just fixed it on the lesson page.
Here’s the PDF for quick reference: /wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Dance-Of-The-Sugar-Plum-Fairy.pdf
One of the first tunes I learned on the hammered dulcimer and probably why I like playing old-time tunes more than anything. Your version is a little different than what I have in my pile of sheet music, which is good–tunes belong to anybody that finds them. I like this one. Module 1.9 is a short one but a lot for me to learn. I’m trying to memorize some of the chords too along with the triads they belong to (am I’m saying that right?). Thanks, r.
P.S. I have a full-sized violin, but I just rented a 7/8th a couple of weeks ago just to do it and the 7/8th is sweet mostly because it is a better-constructed instrument. So, I’m not sure why I’m telling you this. I think it’s because of that lady during your office hours last Monday talking about buying a 7/8th instrument and I was curious about what she decided to do. r.
Hi Rosalie, thanks for sharing 🙂
Yes, triads and chords are directly linked, so working with both are great. I often do that when warming up, playing the triads for a key I am focusing on, and also looking at various chords that could be played with those notes.
I looked at the last Office Hours and found out the person you are wondering about regarding 7/8 violin. Here is their profile, in which you can directly message them to inquire: https://fiddlehed.com/members/margotita/
J, thanks for sending me the contact information for Margotita. I’m curious how she’s going about this. What I do or have been doing is go through parts of Module 1.9 with my 4/4 fiddle and then going through it again with the 7/8 fiddle. If anything, I’m getting a double dose of the module. I got this bum right shoulder and small hands. Trying to keep my left thumb close to my middle fingers and forcing my right shoulder to raise up where I think a normal shoulder should be. It’s all good but wears me out. Looking forward to the next group happening. ro.
J,
P.S. By the way, your, “triads and chords are directly linked, so working with both are great. I often do that when warming up, playing the triads for a key I am focusing on, and also looking at various chords that could be played with those notes. …” is a great direction, which I will heed. Being an old Bach violist sitting in the back I never would wander too far from the sheet music. See you soon, ro.
Any chance we could get a “Will the Circle…” variation lesson? pretty please 🙂
Hello, Thanks for reaching out about this. I will add your request for consideration 🙂 Happy music making!
Oh he taught me to love him and promised to love
And to cherish me over all others above
How my heart is now wond’ring no mis’ry can tell
He’s left me no warning, no words of farewell.
Oh, he taught me to love him and called me his (*flow’r)
That was blooming to cheer him through life’s dreary hour
Oh, I long to see him and regret the dark hour
He’s gone and neglected this pale wildwood flow’r. NICE AND CHEERY 🙂
Good evening,
“Exercise 9: Call-and-response with D major triad”
it won’t play when I “click” on it.
Thank you,
Rosalie Werback
Appreciate you reaching out on this, Rosalie 🙂 This exercise should work now.
Sorry for late reply.
Thanks for fixing.
ro.
Good evening–finally got into 1.9. anyway:
“G major triad, two octaves up and down
Note: EL2 in the exercise below is another G. It’s the beginning of the next octave of triads.
G0-2-D0-3-A1-3-EL2-A3-1-D3-0-G2”–
the notes demonstrating this triad doesn’t match what is written.
Thanks, Rosalie Werback
P.S. Enjoyed the video a lot.
r.
Whoops! My recent comment was referring to Exercise 4.
All the best,
ro.
Hi Rosalie, I am seeing the sheet music for this exercise does not include the high G note, and is noted instead. Is there anywhere else you are noticing that doesn’t match? Thanks and great your enjoying this lesson 🎶
Good morning, Jocelyn, Exercise 9 is working and I’m good to go. Going through the lesson again (probably a few times). Thank you, Rosalie
Well I just loved how that unfolded over time with your ability to enfold and follow musical phrases to go simple then complex. I was totally engaged.
OMG I have watched a few YouTube videos on how to do vibrato but have struggled getting it right. I am sooo glad that you do wrist vibrato. I’ve learn’t a lot already in your introductory video, your explanation is the best if seen and look forward to finally learning the technique.
I’m glad you are my teacher !
GREAT Recap..and more
Thank You Jason
BTW :on the slur 6 exercise ,
How do you finger the 2 – D2’s in a row ?
Agreed!
One method is to play the two D2 8th notes as a quarter note. So, holding D2 double the length when slurring all those notes together. I would also attempt to sing it in my head or out loud as I play, as it’s written, to practise.
One could also make a little pause/emphasis between the two D2s while doing the 6 slur to somewhat keep each note individually heard.
Great question, John
Rainy day in Va, great time for fiddle practice🎶🎶🎻🎻🎻
When I first tried to pick up the fiddle 20 years ago, my instructor first had me learn pentatonic blues scales with no open strings, these finger stretches remind me of those days. I was told by a fiddler that the guy from OCMS often plays in an AEAE tuning
A part 2nd quarter needs help-, plays 1st quarter
John~ Thank you for this 🙏🏾
I made a rough, self paced recording to fill the gap for Part A, 2nd Q.
hmmm…I got lost here! Didn’t know where to go next! Somehow have finished more of 1.2 than 1.1 and I’m stuck in a 1.1 Purgatory…aaarrgh!
Mary, thanks for sharing your experience.
Do you have access to a desktop device (laptop/computer)? If so, this is a good way to check out the content and course progress.
On my laptop, I hover (do not click) the mouse over ‘Courses’, then ‘Beginner Fiddle Lessons’, and from there I can see which Modules I’ve completed. From there, I click on a module like ‘1.1 Start Fiddling Now!’, and scroll half way down the lesson page until I see ‘Core Lessons’ and click on that. Within that it lists what I have completed ( therefore, if I have clicked the buttons on each lesson page to ‘Start Lesson’ and ‘Complete Lesson’).
If one has not utilized the tracking of course progress, within the ‘Support’ tab, there’s the ‘How to Use FiddleHed’ page: https://fiddlehed.com/contact-help-new/how-to-use-fiddlehed/
This is where you’ll find ‘How do I track my progress through the course?’.
The Support tab has many great resources to consider checking out.
Please email us at [email protected] to help you further. Happy music making 🙂
Hello, I’m trying to get through the “Bird’s Eye” part of 1.6 module and I notice in Kerfunken that the Jam Mixes, multi-tempo and 60 bpm, aren’t working. No big deal. I thought you would like to know. I’m trying to learn to memorize the tunes listed and hopefully figure out how to record them and put them somewhere. I jumped around too much back in the day and never really memorized anything–I’m too sheet music dependent. All the best, ro.
Hi Rosalie, really appreciate your noticing and sharing. I have updated those tracks. Neat to hear of your process and plans to implement the change of approach! 🙂
J,
Thanks.
All the best,
R.
Thanks for the email sending me this link. My approach to how I practice gets a little off because I never know where I left off or remember where to commence. I’ll heed your instructions and re-start my practice journal, which is already a mess—the extra help in learning how to live with my fiddle is invaluable and you can send me as many emails as your want.
Fais dodo, mo l’aime mo ti chère,
Fais dodo, dodo sans douleur.
Hi there – is there a play-a-long track for this tune? I do not see it here.
This is such a cool tune, thank you!
There seems to be an extra part on the play along track – a C part?
Yes, what a great tune. Neat find in the full audio track with Jason adding a section. I haven’t seen this in other versions. Thanks for mentioning the addition. Some of the pick ups seem to be a bit different in the track too, than the writing. Sometimes that can be a refreshing change/challenge to work with 🙂
The timing on this one in part B was super challenging for me. One month later and I am so happy I finally feel ready to move on!
Yes! What a refreshing approach to something simple, Thanks for recreating this 🙏🏿
J,
Thank you–I never could get “up to speed” but I’m going to follow your approach, and I appreciate it your suggestions. I got to start using my metronome. I also got to start writing my progress down.
Rosalie (werbose)
Loving these group sessions – doing them in my own time as am in uk and struggle with times -just played chord backup to kerfunken jig and it was beautiful, my main problem at moment why does my shoulder rest keep falling off
Hello Alilow, Thanks for sharing your enjoyment and experience with these recorded workshops 🙂
Some ideas regarding shoulder rests fitting on violin:
-Depending on the type, often, they can be adjusted in length with screws. There’s various sizes of shoulder rests to match the violin size. I use a Bon Musica and can adjust the screws for length variety, and can also adjust the length by bending the main metal body piece to fit snuggly on the violin body
-Also, the rubber/silicone parts that fit over the ‘fingers’ on shoulder rest that contact the violin body directly, can wear out/dry up, so that is a good thing to check on periodically (and replace as necessary) for grip on the violin body.
-Another thing I have experimented with is where I position the shoulder rest on the violin body, Currently, I position the end of shoulder rest that is closest to my shoulder further up on the violin body, towards the chin rest. And alternately, the other end of shoulder rest, which is near my chest, I have positioned further towards F holes/centre of violin body.
-If you have access to a violin luthier or instructor in your area, it can be very helpful to meet them in person with your instrument setup and have them provide suggestions for fitting your shoulder rest.
Happy Fiddling, please reach out anytime, on here or at [email protected]
Loved this eerie sounding tune. I do feel the play along track need some sort of count in, by the time I grabbed my bow the track was into part A.
Glad your enjoying this, Karen 🙂 Thanks for the feedback, great suggestion to give time between pressing play and being ready to play along with the tracks, we’ll note this.
I have struggled learnin songs on the fiddle and almost thought of giving up. I know most of the basic like how to hold the bow and the fiddle. Startin all the way over learnin how to make a good sound. learning these beginner songs like peri diddle along with the others. is very enjoyable. I also like that he teaches how to play by ear which is something that ive been wanting to learn.
This has been a great skill building exercise. I had put my metronome in a box but now it’s on my music stand and we are becoming friends again🎻🎻🎻
Thank you Jason
Gave it a try. New tune I’ve been working on. D 60 but probably more like 100. Part A right up to the eighth notes at the end.
is strum machine an annual subscription? How much does it cost? Are there any viable alternatives?
Hi Steve, great questions. I believe Strum Machine is about $50 US for 1 year. I’m not sure about similar alternatives.
Other tools I regularly utilize:
Free version of Garageband for recording, and one could create backing tracks with that program.
I’ve also more recently been working with online drum machine through the musicca website: https://www.musicca.com/drum-machine?data=90-n-44-a–5acegikmo6em7ai-
I had to laugh – Cabbage was the first song I learned on the mountain dulcimer, and I still use it as part of my warm up.
Day 5, WOW. Working on technique and skill more than song and tunes. Less than a week away from International Play Music on the Porch day. In all fairness, whenever I get to the mountain cabin, it’s play music on the porch, at the fire, or down by the river…
short but still on the ball. Never though foot tapping could be in my bag of tricks. Wil lkeep working on this method until it’s second nature.
Strum Machine is brilliant. Thanks for suggesting that rhythm tool!
Working from day one, and two and now three. I don’t want to work on a skill and just plow ahead. 1/4dot 1/8, 1/4, 1/4 is my chunk if that makes sense.
I’m trying to follow the separate 1 and slur 3 bowing pattern and want to make sure I have it. Is it up bow on the separate 1 (open d) and down bow for the slurred 3 (a open, d open, a open)? Thanks!
Day 2 (for me) chunking it out was a little tougher than I thought. Revisited Kolmarden in Bb Major. Changing the fingering pattern is getting easier. Thanks to today’s open practice I learned a new trick for getting the timing down. Using the metronome on more familiar tunes I have recently learned.
I find that I have a habit of speeding up on my downtown, had to really concentrate on that beat. Also, it made me realize that I was lifting my fingers too late on the scale as I came back down. This was so enlightening.
Good observation!
When you focus on timing other technical problems come to light which you may have missed before.
Ok, so I’m starting the timing challenge two days late. But at least I’m here. Prepping up for international play on the porch day. Now I have two venues to attend and 120 miles apart. Uggh.
Glad you made it, Steve. Working these challenges at our own page and timeline is vital.
Goodness, that sounds lively and spread out! Looking forward to hearing about it.
https://playmusicontheporchday.com I have “participated” with this since year one, maybe two. My porch in Stratton VT and my cousin’s jam in Worcester Ma. Let’s get us all on the map
Hi Jason, Jocelyn: I am looking for Day 2 recording of the Timing Challenge and can’t seem to find it – can you send me a link?
Hi Garth, great question. It appears Jason has an audio and short video recording for Day 2 posted within the 2nd tab, titled ‘Timing Meditation with Tune Chunks’. I’ll let you know if there’s more that I haven’t seen either. Happy timing challenge to you ⏱ 🎶
Can‘t find replay of day 2.
Hi Dot, glad you reached out. There are 7 drop down tabs for each day in the above lesson titled ‘Timing Prompts & Lessons’.
One trick to viewing the videos, make sure you REFRESH this page (if you had it open from other days), as Jason makes a new video available each day.
I hope this works for you, please let me know if I can support further.
Have an awesome practise 🎶 🙂 💕
Is the challenge comming here on this site? Greetings Jytte from Denmark
Hi Jytte, thanks for asking. There are emails sent out each day related to the challenge. If you haven’t signed up yet from the newsletter, you can sign up here: https://fiddlehed.ck.page/8b3c94619a
Happy Fiddling 🙂 🎻 🎶
Does C major have an F# in as you have included it in this module?
Really looking forward to this one. Kind of a restart for me. I’ve been totally immersed in house fix up for couple months and finally finished. Time to Fiddle!!!🎶🎶🎶🎻🎻🎻
After watching Michael Doucet with his impeccable sense of timing live last night (Beau Soleil), I figure it can’t hurt to focus on this challenge.
Thanks again Jason for all your inspiring “challenges!” Working on “Over the Waterfall.” Timing and bowing! This will be good incentive!🎻🙏
Looking forward to the 2024 timing challenge!
I’m working on a waltz called Medicine Bow which is quite a new tune for me & I’ve got the usual problem of slowing down on the trickier parts of the tune so I’ll be using the metronome to smooth it all to a steady pace ….hopefully 😆
Joann, I love that tune! Back in 2021 I emailed Peter and asked for the sheet music for Medicine Bow because I couldn’t find it. He graciously sent it to me and asked if I would send him a video or audio once I learned it. I worked hard on that piece and eventually sent him the video. It was received by his daughter, who responded and informed me that he passed away just weeks prior. I love Peter Ostroushko’s music and would love to hear you play it !
Hi there:
I see an error in fingering notation:
First quarter: (EL2-1)-0-A3-1-D3-A0-1-0-3-1. should be …AO-1-O-D3-1 (at the end, missing the “D”)
and
Third quarter: (EL2-1)-0-A3-1-D3-A0-1-0-3-1-3, should be …AO-1-O-D3-1-3 (at the end, missing the “D”)
Garth
Hi Garth,
Greatly appreciate your thorough sharing of these corrections. 🙏🏼
I also noted the pickup notes for start of part B that weren’t included in tabs.
Happy playing, your awesome!
Definitely looking forward to this one!
I can’t say enough how much I love and needed this lesson! It is an essential chord guide! I had a goal of learning backup chords so I can one day play in a bluegrass circle..now it feels reachable! I am really enjoying recording song chords on a looper now and then playing the melody along with it..hours of fun! I recommend the Fiddler’s Fakebook for this to other students here. Thank you 🙏
I dig it! Thank you
boy do I need work synching with others.. Gotta keep working this. 🙂
I should be more specific..would you do a hoedown rhythm for the chords or something else?
Hi Kayli, great topic you raise.
At first glance with the tune, when singing the melody and chording with fiddle, I naturally want to ‘chuck’ the off beat (I look at a bar/measure in 8 counts-instead of 4, chucking beats 2,4,6,8). For the A chords and AD chords (as you mention), I’d lean towards chording 8th notes, breaking the off beat for those.
Another fun thing to try is playing chords with the same rhythm of the song, that can be a great practise.
I’d imagine the hoe down method is great as well, and a good challenge!
Fun thing with chording is how open ended it is with what rhythm you feel like doing throughout. I usually like to switch it up throughout.
Thank you Jocelyn! Your ideas are really helpful and something good to think about as I develop how I use chords more. I appreciate it!
Chord backup for this seems like it would sound a little different than usual considering the fourth and eighth measure chords/rhythm. Please consider sharing how you would approach this. Thanks!
Good afternoon, this is tricky. I’m counting the beats (like I do) and kept messing it up I guess in the second and fourth stanzas. So, your approach made the most sense–nuts–when I started singing (badly or “la, la, la”) I finally got it. I thought I would be through this lesson quickly but I’m going back until I get it. I was hoping to record this one. It’s more than just a simple “familiar” tune, isn’t it? All the best, Rosalie (werbose)
Thanks for sharing this, Rosalie. Singing and rhythm tapping with body, in any fashion, helps so much! Great your experiencing deeper dimension to the tune too 🙂
Loved learning this tune. Incorporating the howdown pattern gave it a really nice aspect.
* hoedown
Hi Jason: I’ve made it this far and am really liking the courses. Today I am holding a marathon practice session, playing all of these songs five or six times from slow to faster, and all of the songs since 1.1 as well, so about three hours. Question: how well should I play each song before moving on? Thus far I have learned each song and am able to play up to the third speed – 1st, 2nd and 3rd speed on play-along tracks – and then I move to the next lesson.
Garth
Hi Garth, thanks for reaching out and sharing your Fiddle journey with the program. Nice going, sounds like your putting in some great discipline and focus.
Jason shares his suggestions for how to move through the course on the ‘How to Use FiddleHed’ page, within the support tab.
Within this page, there are some great resources to support your question, such as ‘How long should I stay with each lesson?’ and ‘How fast should I move through the course? Is it self-paced?’. Here’s a link directly to this page: https://fiddlehed.com/contact-help-new/how-to-use-fiddlehed/
I also suggest folks check out the support tab in general, there’s some great content to support our journey on there.
Happy Fiddling 🎻
Boy. This is a tough one to learn!!
Yes! Perfect lesson for continuous simplifying.
I find the more acquainted I can get with the keys in the song and the twists in notes among that, can support foundations for familiarity with the tune. Enjoy 🙂
Still working on this. I went back and just listened to the song a lot. That helped. I hear Jason’s voice – “listening is practice too!” Will continue listening and looping
I’m seriously considering taking up my fiddle journey that I abandoned 2 years ago. I totally get the practice method you laid out. My question is how does everyone deal with your practice when you go on vacation? I’ve tried takin my instrument(s) with me but find it hard to make the wanted/needed practice time away from home. Any thoughts?
Jim, glad you shared and inquired. This is a great question.
I find when I bring my instrument while travelling, I often play less often – though the times I do play, I feel really glad I brought it. When bringing the instrument with me to a different environment and lifestyle, my playing experience is fresh and rich in a different way… my perspective and approach to playing can really transform in a new space and state. I especially like this somewhere in nature, with no service or resources on hand and see what comes up.
Be great to hear how this works for folks.
Good morning–I just started to take fiddle lessons from y’all; for what it’s worth, I’m going to have to travel to visit family and friends in September. I’m a recent widow and I have been neglectful and must go and do this–but enough about me. I do plan to bring my violin. I was actually thinking about this. I plan to “pluck.” It’s not the same, but it’s better than stopping the momentum that I have right now. I haven’t done this yet, but I’ll report back. When I was playing (well, I still do) the tin whistle–it was next to impossible to keep people from jumping out of their skin when I started up. All the best, Rosalie (werbose)
One thing I forgot to mention was that you could probably use a mute if you are going to take your instrument on “vacation” with you. It will significantly reduce the volume.
Ah, that’s right. I am renting a fiddle right now and will be buying one next week and a mute is on my list of stuff I want to go with it. The “practice” mute is a big plastic or rubber thing–impressive! I do live in an apartment building, and I have asked around if I’m driving people nuts, but they seem to have been okay so far (well, I don’t play in the middle of the night…). Best, Rosalie W.
Good afternoon, I just got finished with “Bile ’em Cabbage Down” and decided to behave myself and do this section for bowing and low and behold I was playing sharp with the Cabbage tune. I don’t know why, but I could hear how sharp I was with this exercise. ## I want to get through the tunes so I can find what “level” (ha!) I’m on but these exercises are surprisingly more helpful than I had thought. Now I’m annoyed and trying to back track what I’ve glossed over. I noticed that you marked off your bow–I’m assuming it’s in thirds. Do I measure just the horsehair part or am I’m being too specific? All the best, Rosalie (werbose)
P.S. My bowing has improved. I do play without a shoulder rest (but I do have one and will use it when I get worn out) and I do the Russian bow hold (sort of) and I do choke the bow–not sure why I want you to know this. r.
Thank you for sharing, Rosalie 🙂
Yes, the tape on bow stick is the bow hair approximately in 3rds. If wanting to get real specific, could measure the portion of bow hair that is used to play (eliminating about a half an inch on each end of bow hair).
Really neat to hear how you are making it work, it helps to hear one another’s ways.
The link for double stops is wrong, page Not found
Jason,
You are the BEST.
My sound is really starting to improve.
Thank You,
John
Great! I’ve been learning tunes by playing them over and over again trying to build up “speed” and wondering why I’m getting worn out and frustrated—I will take heed with what you stated here. Thanks, r.
Always good to come back to basics. It helps to clear some of the fog accumulated along the fiddle journey and get a fresh start.
Great lesson to return to, I’m going to try to revisit this once a month!
Sure!
Spend a little time each day focused on sound.
Hello, I got a couple of tuners on my iPhone and I put them at 440Hz. I think I’m going sharp. Are your recordings on 440? More than happy to adjust what I have since I would like my open strings to match. I mean, what I’m playing is close enough. I’m trying to fast review your earlier lessons because who knows what I don’t know–even though I can stumble through many tunes–maybe I’m a rusty intermediate or something like that. All the best,
Rosalie Werback
(“werbose”)
P.S. I’m renting a violin but going to purchase a modest decent one from my local violin shop, and I’ll be signing up for your full course as soon as I find my credit card–I wanted to make sure that I’ll actually go and buy that instrument and get on with this. The call and response modules are meditative. I’m not even stressed that I’m pretty bad at it because the repetition is peaceful. ro.
Hello Rosalie 🙂
Great sharings, thanks for this. Yes, I can confirm Jason’s recordings are using the 440Hz frequency.
Great noticing with how you’re experiencing it. Happy playing and do reach out anytime!
Really good lesson, Jason! Good coaching; while practicing, drop back to bowing basics! Will do! Thanks!
In the first line the d0 after the red section is that not an A0?
Yes, thanks for mentioning this. 🙏🏾 We’ll get it edited soon. Happy playing, Marshal 🎶
This is perfect. I am just learning where to add ornamentation: slides, taps, triplets, double rounds, etc. I am used to having my father {back in the day} add all the doo-dads (LOL). He was so amazing- listening to Al Caiola and Chet Atkins and Les Paul records and then playing the songs exactly on his guitar. Wow. So, Thank you Jason!
You can now channel your dad’s voice though your own music. You’re going to have fun with this…
Jason, it’s good to know that the frustration and sometimes setbacks are part of the continued process. It has beaten me in the past but then there are those breakthrough moments. Your reminders if it’s supposed to be fun definitely help as one of the incentives to not give in to the frustration.
Cheers!
Henry
Learning SO MUCH from the chord backup workshops Jason thank you… My biggest takeaway is the “equal pressure for double-stops as for a single string”. My biggest struggle is hitting the two strings consistently. I know THAT is a matter of practice. Right now I find myself concentrating on “staring” at the bow contact point, then memorizing my arm posture. Not an easy task.
Looks like the first and third line need the A on 0 for that string change
Hi Marshal, love how you caught that and shared. Thank you kindly 👍🏿 Happy playing 🙂
Oh and by the way, that map/art behind you on the wall is pretty awesome.
Jason I love the chord lessons… I strive to play with my praise team at church and I am doing pretty well playing single notes along with them, but being able to play chords with them will make me feel more a part of the band, and I am getting there!
Thanks for sharing this. Made me smile. I really enjoy your lessons and glad that you are out there teaching fiddle in such a fun and effective way!
Very cool, Jason! Everybody has a journey. To come round circle back to WBB is perfect. Glad your here, you’ve given me a lot at teaching.
OMG.. I have so much to practice, based on these simple skill building exercises. And the possibilities are endless.. different rhythms, bows crossing, doublestops… and then all the different scales. It could be different everyday… yes still practicing and developing the same skills.
Very much agree with you! I love your perspective. Enjoy the creativity in practise 👍🏽
I LOVED this. so much fun… the separate on, slur 3 took a bit to get my brain in gear… but once it clicked, it was so gratifying. And the Doublestop slur at the end was a sweet reward!
Beautiful sharings, Tracy, thanks for this!
Okay.. I’m in my second week of working with your fiddle lessons. What have I learned? That my ears are quicker than my fingers. Thank goodness your lessons remind me to be mindful and take it slower than I think I may want to. I am excited that I’m already beginning to play in tune. Can’t wait for week three.
Awesome insights and eagerness, Linda. Thanks for sharing 🙏
Hi Jason
the Old Crow Medicine Show ends the song with a few notes on the fiddle – could you post those notes? I am jamming with a small band and would love to finish off the song the way Old Crow did. I think it’s only 5 notes or so. Thank you
Best Viktoria
Hello Viktoria, Thanks for reaching out, asking, and sharing your experiences with this.
I will add your request to consider including teaching the ending to this lesson.
In the meantime, here are the tabs for the fiddle ending notes:
E3-1-0-A3-2-0-1-L2-H2 (A-F#-E-D-C#-A-B-C-C#)
I slowed down the playback speed on youtube to .75 and initially sang the ending part a few times to get familiar with the notes, then I found the notes on violin from singing a note or two at a time, like call and response.
Happy music making 🎶
I enjoy your you tube video’s so much. I am 68 years old. I started playing when I was 25 years old. I had a time finding a teacher because they wanted you to start under 6 years old. My teacher used the Suzuki Method. I would play for a few years and sometimes family illness would have to take it’s place. Anyway I started playing again. Having so much fun. I’m not that good but it gives me joy. Thanks so much for your great lessons.
It’s great to hear your experience with Fiddling 🙏🏿 Thanks for coming along with the FiddleHed experience 🙂
EXCELLANT !
YES 🎵 Thanks for sharing the love, John!
This is probably, for me, the best and hardest advice to follow. I am not a very patient person. I always want to move along and see what’s next, but, I am learning that playing slowly does have many benefits.
Thank you for shedding new light on this, Bill. It’s amazing what can come from slowing our endeavours, and takes continuous gentle efforts to come back to this focus. 🙂
Fyi, the backup tracks for 2nd, 4th quarters and the whole tune. Those three backing tracks don’t match the tabs, or am I missing something? Just checking. Thanks!
Hi David, thanks kindly for mentioning this. Yes, I notice similarly, the audios are moreso working on the transitions between quarters (last bar of one into first bar of the other). Sorry for the mismatch there. We’ll get this sorted and let you know. 🎻 Happy musicking to you!
The Files of the Exercises, Eleven and twelve are swapped
Thank you kindly for mentioning this 🙏
Enjoy 🎵
Where the track with embellishments for this tune?
Hi Louisi, thanks for asking. I am also not seeing information regarding embellishments for this tune within the website. I do see a video lesson on Youtube for adding variation to Ashokan Farewell:
We’ll take note of this for adding to the website and will let you know.
Happy music making to you!
When changing between the respective quarters, my challenge was to end with the upstroke of the bow so that I could start with the downstroke for each quarter. Otherwise, I had a restlessness in the bow because I had started sometimes upwards and sometimes downwards. And when I had found the finger/bow combination, it became difficult with the increasing tempo because I played more uncleanly or played the fingers per bow stroke differently as it got faster. But now it feels good on the violin with the bow, even at a faster tempo.
Hi Gabi, nice to hear your process, struggle, and growing through it. It’s a great point, bowing patterns change in various instances, especially when changing tempo.
Good to get familiar with various bowing directions throughout the practising process, to support freedom of what arises in the moment. Thank you for mentioning this 👍🏿
Oh, I’m thrilled. I’ve been practising for more than half a year now, I do the call and response exercise from time to time. Today I felt like I could really hear the notes.
Great breakthrough, Gabi! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Preparing for tunes with interval exercises is so valuable. It moves attention away from the song and to the segments, which can be repeatedly practiced and improved.
Great insights, Lulu 🙏🏾
I’m having trouble navigating through the Irish fiddle course as well as the note reading course. There doesn’t seem an order to take the lessons.
I’m I doing something wrong or do you just jump around according to your own level of interest.
Hi Thomas, glad you reached out and mentioned this.
Within this Irish Fiddle Lessons page has specific modules for a recommended order within the ‘Irish Fiddle Course Outline’.
And with the Note-Reading page, there is a suggested order of lessons within the ‘Course Outline’ Tab.
I will forward your inquiry to Jason directly to provide further guidance.
Great your checking out these programs 🙂 Thanks for the feedback.
Hello. I’m just starting. How do you know when to move to the next tune?
Welcome Linda, Thanks for reaching out 🙂 Good to hear your getting going. Here is some guidance from within the ‘Support’ tab ‘How to use FiddleHed’. I encourage you to skim through the Support pages to have a good sense of what’s offered there.
How long should I stay with each lesson?
As a general principle, strive to make everything good, not perfect.
Time lengths will vary for each student. For a brand new tune or exercise, I recommend 1-2 weeks.
You want to be able to reliably make it through each tune and exercise with flow. Can you play it three times in a row without stopping? Can you you reliably play something which you couldn’t do before?
Keep in mind that (ideally) you’ll return things and make them better later on. You’re never totally done with anything, but at a certain point, it’s best to move on.
Wow. Thank you. The options are endless.
This is a favorite for sure!
Great to hear, Annie 👍🏽 Agreed!
I can just hear your mother: Jaaaa-sonnn, is it supposed to sound like that? 😂😂😂
Yep! I truly wasn’t trying to annoy her 🤪
Thanks for breaking this one down to a simple version!! My last fiddle teacher tried to teach me this song but I couldn’t get it the way she was showing me.
Love this method is working well with you. So many ways to learn a tune! 🙂 Thanks for sharing.
I do feel my brain growing! So fun, thanks!
Yes 🙂 🧠 🎶 💗
That was so fun! Great way to practice cords!
That was so fun! Great way to practice chords!
🙂 🎶 Awesome you feel great about this! Thanks for sharing, Ellen.
I want to learn the fiddle breaks for wagon wheel. I got to the part of the website that teaches this song in chunks. Part way through the first fiddle break the page changed, I could never get back to the page that teaches by chunking and repeating. I found the wagon wheel workshop by somehow cannot get to an area that teaches by chunking and looping. Thank you for sending me a link to that part of the site
Hi Louisi, Thanks for reaching out 🙂
To find something specific, I use the search bar at the top right of the screen and try to search the most simple form of what I’m looking for (ex: ‘wagon’ or ‘wagon wheel’)
Here is the page link from my search, which includes 3 separate lessons for each break and a duet lesson: https://fiddlehed.com/?s=wagon+wheel
There is also the grey ‘favourite’ button, just above the ‘practice toolkit’ (lower down) on each lesson page. You can access your favourite list within the practise toolkit drop down.
This was really interesting and helpful. Once I identify what note to start on, things fall together much more easily, especially on known songs. Could you comment sometime on clues to identifying what key a song is when sheet music is not available – in other words, just from listening to the song? Thanks
Hi Lisa, yes, what great depth shared with transposing in various ways. 🙂 Thanks for sharing how this sits with you.
That is a great point leading from this subject. We’ll take note of this for a future post/lesson.
For now, I’ll share my process for identifying the key of a song from listening to it.
-I’ll utilize my instrument, and work on identifying what notes are in the song (even just in the first section or so), and I write down all the different notes I locate (ex: Let’s stay together by Al Green: A, B flat, C, E, F, D, G).
-Once I have a decent range of notes written, I go to my ‘Circle of Fifths’ chart and see what key, in relation to those notes (specifically the sharp/flat notes within those notes I wrote) and narrow down the potential key signatures (ex: F major or D minor).
-From there, I would try to guess the feeling of the song, whether major or minor (also recognizing the key could change throughout song) (Ex: mostly major).
-One thing to note when identifying the notes in a song, there could be some notes added which are not related to the key that the song is in, so I’d also try to keep that in mind and if i think that has happened, I will write that note down outside of the main range of notes I am writing from the song (ex: D flat)
-I’ll also try playing the associated scale with what I have narrowed down and see if the scale ‘matches’ the sound of the tune.
This is a great topic to go further into. Thanks for mentioning it.
even though i kept my sub up all this past year, this may be the first time I’ve logged on all year due to needing to caretake a family member. after a few scales I came here to hectors hero. i hope i can come on a regular basis just as I about to sub for another year. lol. thank you from the bottom of my heart Jason.
Misha, thanks for mentioning this and staying involved with FiddleHed. Welcome back, and what a great place to land 🙂 🎶 Please reach out anytime via [email protected] for help with your subscription or anything else. Thanks for sharing the love!
Hi, the variations you made to the second part have so much style! Would you consider breaking these details down? I’d love to try them, thank you.
Hi Kayli, yes, what dimension and creativity in Jason’s variation. Great suggestion! We’ve taken note of this for consideration. Glad your resonating with this!
Thank you! I should have mentioned that I meant the second part in his performance video, but it looks like you understood that. Everything is very clear in the lesson 😁
This is the first time I encountered the “double stop”, namely in the call-and-responses, so I had to google it. It means to play two strings at once.
Hi Adam, great point on that term. Thanks for sharing your experience and the definition you found.
Also, here are a variety of lessons and posts related to double stops on FiddleHed: https://fiddlehed.com/?s=double+stop
Just learnt this tune and loved how the audio loop transformed it into a gypsy jazz feel. Improvising flowed pretty freely, not always the right notes, but some ideas to work on for sure. Started out adding fill ins then some melodic phrases that by good fortune harmonised with Jason’s melody. Felt like a happy jam.😊
This is beautiful! thanks for sharing Marg
Fun
Yes 🙂
I love that. Indian and Irish fiddle.
G
Oh yes, so well mixed 🎶
Jason, thanks again for the great and thoughtful lessons – making progress and fingers getting smarter. I have researched the origin of each of the songs above and would be happy to post links to all of them.
Hi Garth, thanks for your sharing your thanks giving 🙂
If you would like to share the origin of the songs, that would be lovely. Please either comment on here or email [email protected]. Great idea.
Definitely a wicked twist; heart attack on Christmas Eve with bypass operation April 26. But, about 10 days later, I was able to play my fiddle while I recoup. I have been working on playing pentatonic scales as backup to Angeline, changing the key as the chord changes. A little “clanking” but I’m getting there. Also, working on “Rolling Waves Variation.” Can we still post student videos?
The new format will leave me a bit disadvantaged, as there is no solid high speed in my neighborhood. However, I will use archived lessons, jams and Strum to keep me going!
So glad you are able to keep playing. Please post videos when you can!
Thank you for sharing this Owen. Yes, please still use the student video page for posting! And if/when you have a setup for the new platform, please do check it out. Agree with Debbie, great you can play fiddle moving forward 🙂 Happy music making to you all!
when you did hoedown and triplets were you playing across the 2 notes or all 3 bows on each one please. im still trying to understand different bowing patterns and how they work in songs
Hi…
The Call and Response exercises are really hard for me. I just can’t remember the longer strings. My attitude is rapidly going down the drain on these. Hints on simplifying? Or…what are some other practices that might help? Other practicing is going well – scales, intervals, working on metronome and tunes.So enjoy the tunes. Also appreciate all you do to advise on how to structure practice, breaking things down and the value of going slow. Your humor and joy at playing is wonderful. I’m having a great time…just need to get a handle on these C&Rs. Thank you!
Hi Claudia, Great insights you give and sharing on your experience. Thank you.
Your not alone in the Call and Response exercises being hard to accomplish and can create adverse feelings!
I’ve compiled a number of responses from other folks’ similar inquiries to this:
Jason:
Keep trying.
Here’s a practice-flow to help you:
– Listen
– Pause
– Play it back as best you can
– Rewind and repeat until you get it
Mary Scott:
For myself, I find just repeating the little bits I’m forgetting a few times helps it to turn out right in the end. Never Give Up! (That’s a great South African -I think… song : Bambalela!)
Further ideas I’ve posted:
One idea is to break the call down. Listen to the call and try to play the first bit, listen to it again and try to play the middle part, then same with the last part. Could even go into smaller chunks than that. Then slowly put two chunks together, then 3, and so on.
For easability with this, I click on the download button to right of audio track to open in another page. Then I can easily use my back/forward arrow keys, as well as pause and play button, on keyboard to loop/focus one call of the track.
writing it down could be a good way to learn something that’s continuing to be challenging. How about tapping the rhythm to the pattern first, then try singing it, then trying to play on fiddle. Working one’s way towards the goal by learning the various skills separately first. 🙂
as the caller is creating sounds (as they make each individual sound and immediately after each note – during the calling process), sound them with my voice, in my head, visualize the notes in my head, strum the notes with the caller in guitar position, etc – this may be considered cheating to some, though I often find myself utilizing various techniques such as these as I’m experiencing the caller make the strings
and also simply going back and repeating the same string of notes it until I get it. 🙂
Here are some Practise Variation tips included in another call and response page that may be useful:
Respond with plucking instead of bowing
Respond with singing instead of fiddling
Respond with Audiation (“hearing it in your head”) instead of fiddling
On your own, alternate between singing and fiddling small tune phrases
On your own, alternate between playing something in the low and high octave
Record your own call-and-response exercises
It’d be interesting to hear how this process unfolds for you 👍🏾
Oh and have fun with it, move on, and come back to it later. These exercises are great for returning to. 🙂
Wait a minute! I was not expecting practicing with my eyes closed to be as helpful as it was. I combined that with the Little Lift exercises and am excited to add that to my warm-up routine.
I didn’t catch how to play B minor using G and D strings
Hi Lisa, great point about Bm chord
B minor has a triad of B-D-F# (GH2-D0-DH2) – so any combination of those notes could do well for G and D strings.
G2-D0
G2-D2
Happy fiddling 🎵
I thought I had this song in the bag before trying to keep up with the fast tempos. I’m sure muscle memory (or carpal tunnel) will be formed by the time I can play it through lol
😀 Thanks for sharing the fun and surprise in this for you. Many levels to getting to know something well. Happy fiddling, Heather!
This w/e practicing for private jam I go to on Mondays. An older guy there has introduced Maple Sugar, Snow Deer, Down Yonder and Under the Double Eagle. I’m pretty strong on learning tunes, but I still need to work on faster tempos…And I learn melodies, but I feel I need to better learn the tune chords. 🤓🎻
That was great yesterday with the Wellerman. Playing in a different key made it hard for play and respond. But that’s on me. I’m still working on cleaning up Josefins, dopval, Halsa dem Darhemma and Ganglat fran Appelbo and will be adding Visa Vid Vindens Angar and Dansen Ungdom once I can get them transcribed to Alto.
Cheers
Nice, sounds like Scandinavian fiddle. I learned a bunch of that last year.
Did you learn how to transpose to alto with a notation program like Muse?
I do use Muse, but also just try to keep it note for note. Playing with a group I’m trying to keep it in the same key and I don’t know how otherwise. Muse can bounce the key around. The group leader has been tossing me a few scores that she arranged for the viola which I love.
I’ve been practicing some jazz tunes like “Fly Me To the Moon,” and “All of Me.” I’ve also been working on playing back up on some contemporary Christian songs. I play the keyboard in a Praise band, so I’m trying to include the violin. I got a mandolin for Christmas so that’s another project (moving a little slower with that; not enough hours in the day)!
Nice! I know a few older country gospel songs, but that’s pretty unexplored.
That praise band sounds awesome.
Do you have fiddle music for Don’t Think Twice? My partner sings this and plays guitar, I would love to be able to join in…
Hey Lindsey,
I don’t but I recommend Musescore for this. You can transpose things there. I pay for the app…
Yes, it did, and I subscribed to MuseScore. Thank you!
I went to my first jam session a few weeks ago. Now I’m reviewing tunes to see if there are any I might be brave enough to lead and practicing backup and chords.
Nice! You’re making such good progress with playing out.
Continuing to work on technique based on “Soldier’s Joy”. Went back to working on “Wagon Wheel” fiddle breaks and vocals. Plan to start on “”Move It On Over”. Basic and then hopefully get more advanced giving it a blue sound similar to George Thorogood’s influence.
Very cool. I’m also working on wagon wheel singing + backup.
Hi there: I am trying to find an explanation of L1 and L2 (low notes like GL2) and cannot find it. Can you point me in the right direction? Garth
Great Lesson! I’ve practiced the Cooley’s/Wise Maid/Bird in the Bush set over and over, and somehow it’s a lot more fun than just practicing the tunes on their own, so I’ve started compiling other sets, such as Out on the Ocean/Rolling Waves and Swallowtail Jig/Kerfunten Jig, using Strum Machine. Great warm-up sets, and there’s lots of scope for more out there!
I can’t seem to find a way of indicating that I’ve finished this lesson, so I guess I’m just going to have to keep on keeping on!
Hi Nigel, thanks for sharing, sounds like some great tune medleys you’ve worked with. I agree, mixing sets is a great way to engage with the music experience. I’ve done a little bit of this with the Hootenanny sessions and am inspired again to pursue this more. I like your perspective on the matter.
Good point about the lesson start and complete button being missed from this page. Will update you when we add it. Thank you for mentioning it. 🎶
I’m confused by the “arranged for fiddle students” sheet music, did I miss an explainer? I don’t need it, though. Almost every “D” label, and every “A” label, is over a note that is either “F” or “E”…
Great points, Adam. The sheet music was compiled in a manner specifically for this program, that’s why it’s dedicated to students/members of FiddleHed. And great point about the letter labels – those indicate chord progressions.
The ‘Support’ tab has great info, including more on this topic – under ‘Fiddle Questions’ there is a drop down tab titled ‘Note Reading’, which has some sections to support you further. Thanks for mentioning it.
Reach out anytime 🙂
I like the chaining idea, especially as it relates to parts of a song. I tend to want to play the whole song without really paying attention to the parts. I find it easier to do with a song I am trying to learn rather than with plain scales.
Thanks for sharing these insights, Bill. Yea, a neat tool to utilize for deeper practise and gives a good alternate perspective to something in whole.
Steve @ripton shared a cool project he was involved with relating to this song – one of many projects like this he’s been involved with~
Review set 1.6, some fun tunes and the oh so important intervals, rhythmic scales, petal pattern, transposing and call & response. Great things to practice to get that better sound and ability to improvise more, imo.
Yes, David! Thanks for reiterating the value in these practises 🙂
I have Strum Machine.
However, I don’t know what guitar chords to plug in and where.
Thanks so much!
Hi Jason,
Trying to figure out the guitar chords for Sheebeg and Sheemore.
Any suggestions on how to do that.
Thanks.
Mark
Hi Mark, good to hear your navigating this, and utilizing Strum Machine 🙂
I found these chords for this song, (which seem to work with FiddleHed’s verion on first glance): https://folkguitar.us/chords/Sheebeg-Sheemore.htm
Good idea though to get chords added to this lesson page, I’ll note that for future consideration.
If you do make a Strum Machine track for this song, could you share the link in the comments here or via email [email protected] ?
Thanks for your ideas and consideration!
I just noticed that improved my intonation drastically! I realized that when I lift my fingers to cross strings they stick up almost straight; by keeping them as close to the strings as possible I am able to keep them in position to play in tune again when pressing the string back down.
Beauty, Courtney! Sounds like a great breakthrough 👍🏽
This is fun! I like the build up to a faster rythm.
Great to hear your enjoying, Christine 🙂
Can you teach us Arlington by Trace Adkins
I’ll take note of this for future consideration. Thanks Thomas, Happy Fiddling to You 🎶
Oh and is there a way to ‘Complete’ the lesson? It stays on my “Started Lessons” list.
Yes, Don. Thanks for reaching out. You can complete the lesson near the top of the page (using the same button clicked to start the lesson), there should be a ‘complete lesson’ option.
Here is more info (within the ‘support’ tab, and ‘How to use FiddleHed’) under the ‘How do I track my progress?’ tab https://fiddlehed.com/contact-help-new/how-to-use-fiddlehed/
Please let me know if we can help further. Happy fiddling to you 🙂
with plucking, should you always use your index finger ( closest to thumb) or can you use the middle finger too?
Great question, Patrick. Plucking with the other fingers makes sense as well, and good variation to get familiar with, as it feels good for you.
I often pluck with my thumb, having the violin in ‘guitar position’, using my middle and ring fingers to anchor on the bottom of fingerboard.
There are more lessons on this topic to come within upcoming modules, and I also encourage folks to use the search engine at the top right of the page and search keywords to look into more posts/lessons on specific topics such as this one.
Have fun with the various plucking methods 🎶
I like the videos and lessons.
only thing. navigation and progress aren’t totally intuitive.
Example. On the “how-to-hold-the-violin/” page, the last video (with the title above it. “Another Video Holding the Violin”
does nothing to describe the plucking (1000x) and the patterns that are being learned.
Also.. at the end of a page.. it would be nice to have a “completed” but at the bottom, for that page/lesson.
Not sure how you’d remind the student to continue practicing 1000x unless there”s reminders.. on following pages.
Thanks. Pat
Patrick, really great feedback and examples where improvement can be made. I’ll pass this along to Jason for consideration. When we share how it’s going for us and what we notice, it gives new opportunity to grow and enhance the current situation, so thanks again for taking the time to do this.
The ‘completed’ lesson button is at the top, which is the same button one clicks to ‘start’ the lesson. It’s a good idea to separate these buttons and add the ‘completed’ one at the bottom of the page, if possible.
Happy fiddling to you 🙂, please reach out anytime through comments and/or [email protected].
question on the tremolos… are those *real*? I mean in the last half or last third. it sounds like a robot, or a digital speed-up.
loool… I came back after a few weeks off, and had the same exact question to post haha
Adam, great question! Thanks for commenting and coming back to it. 🙂 It seems digitally sped up, I’ll confirm with Jason, Be neat to have a real life challenge on tremolo speed 🎻 Happy fiddling to You
How would you play the B minor chord with the left hand for backup?
Hi Kayli, great question. For B minor, our chord notes are B D and F#.
If playing the G and D string, B (GH2) and D (D0) work good. Also, DH2 and GH2 (F# and B) is another option.
If playing A and D strings here are some options: B (A1) and D (D0), B (A1) and F# (DH2), D (A3) and F# (DH2).
Be great to hear how the chord backup works for you with this lovely tune.
I’ll take note of adding this chord to the dedicated chord lessons. Thanks 🎶
Hi: I cannot get 1.2 to show completed – I have completed 100% but still shows not completed. Garth
Hello, Thanks for mentioning this.
When I go to the top of this page, there is a button under the ‘Review Set 1.2’, which either says ‘start lesson’, or once clicking that, there should be a ‘complete lesson’ button to press once completed. There should be this option on most pages.
There is further guidance on this topic under the ‘Support’ tab, within the ‘How to use FiddleHed’ page, and under the ‘How do I track my progress through the course?’ option: https://fiddlehed.com/contact-help-new/how-to-use-fiddlehed/
Please reach out anytime 🙂
I notice that my fingers “stick” or are not totally in synch with my bowing. Any practice or tip to make playing cleaner? It’s not when string crossing.
Hi Lulu, great point that you bring up to support us all. I suggest you check out the ‘Fiddle Questions’ page in the ‘Support’ tab, specifically the ‘left-hand fingering’ section. https://fiddlehed.com/fiddle-questions/
Some thoughts that arise are to continue a good amount of focus on scales associated with the tune being focused on, to simplify and refine the focus on specific notes and rhythms.
I also like to separate my left and right arm skills – I will take time to simply use my left hand fingering without the bow, then also use bow without the fingering, bowing the rhythm on the open string that the tune suggests.
Be great to hear how you do with this. Some further ways to engage on this topic are to bring it up at a monthly Office Hours session, at a weekly Open Practise session, at a monthly Beginner Group session, and one can also submit a Feedback Video for further support. https://fiddlehed.com/community/group-lesson-home-page/ https://fiddlehed.com/support/video-feedback-lessons/
Jason: love these courses and your teaching style. I see how much goes into it. Thanks for doing it – you bring a lot of joy to a lot of people.
Garth
Great feedback, Garth! 👍🏿 Agreed
My fiddle has plastic pegs. They tune just fine but I wonder if it affects the sound at all? Would wooden pegs be better?
Great point and question, Charles.
I am not familiar with plastic pegs but you could be onto something. If you have the opportunity to chat with a luthier about this, and consider upgrading your pegs, it could support a better sound.
Another thought is that if the pegs you have are functioning well for you and not creating additional sounds/rattling, then you may be good to work with how it is.
Maybe contacting the company who made the violin could provide you with more insights on this.
Can be handy to go into a shop and test out a variety of instruments to experience what differences in sound and easability of use you notice. Someone else on FiddleHed may see this and have experience, be interesting to hear more about it. Thanks for bringing it up 🎻
I love it! I look forward to being able to do that in the future. 😉
Glad you dig it, Deborah 🙂
I think I would probably be considered an intermediate beginner but I have struggled with string crossings, intonation and straight bowing, as well as learning new music. Your beginner exercises have helped with bowing because the bow strokes are shorter, making it easier to control. This was the greatest string crossing exercise (for me) that I’ve ever done and I have seen great progress in that area in just the 24 hours since I signed up for your two week free trial! I think I will make these open string exercises part of my everyday practice to continue improving my string crossings.I also underestimated the importance of playing pizzacato (until I did all of your plucking exercises) and I will be using it on every new song I learn from now on. (AND you were correct, I did have fun doing it.) I will definately be upgrading when my free trial is up! I love the little count-down clock you have on that. And thank you for offering the free trial; I don’t know if I would have tried your course otherwise and I’m VERY glad I did! I have been a little discouraged with the lack of progress in the area of string crossings in particular and all of the “tips and tricks” I had previously been given, while somewhat effective, were not producing the results I was hoping for. My six year old grandson noticed the improvement I made just since yesterday and mentioned it! I was beginning to think that as a very, very, VERY “mature” adult I was too old to ever be any good at all on the violin, but I have hope that your “fiddlospohy” of “Small Steps, Small Wins” might make me a fiddle player after all! ;D
Such a beautiful sharing and insights, Deborah. Thank you for sharing your journey 🎶
OMG
I don’t read music, but think I uncovered something for myself – the sharps f and c in Oh Susanna – mark the key the song is in. Is that true?
I have heard that songs often begin and/or end with the first note of the key they are in. 🙃
Hi Lulu, great intuitive noticing 🙂 yes, the first section on the sheet music (where the sharps/flats/or none are listed) helps refer to what key the song is in, in this case D major. And yes indeed, in this song, the start and end note includes that D note, which can, at times, relate well to the key of the tune.
You may find these sections on FiddleHed interesting to dabble into:
Great to slowly integrate realizations and theory components as we’re drawn to it 🎶
There is no active link to the sheet music?
Hi Timothy, thanks for reaching out on this. We’ll follow up with you when we get this content posted. 🙏🏽 🎶 🙂
Really enjoyed the workshop Jocelyn, thank you!
It was great to see a different perspective on engaging with a tune. I don’t think learning a tune back-to-front will ever be my go-to method, but it’ll be perfect for those tunes — or even chunks — where I hit a ‘road block’ and just can’t make any progress with my standard approach.
Looking forward to more workshops by you!
Thanks for sharing your experience with this, Caren! So good to hear how you may navigate that alternative method. Appreciate your support 🙏🏼
It’s great to learn together through sharing various ways we experience playing 🎶
Excellent article. Thank you!
Glad you resonate on this, Lisa!
It’s really frustrating that you don’t show how to tune the fiddle before you ask the player to make notes and sounds. Yikes. I had to skip around the videos to find the tuning one.
Hi Daniel, really appreciate your feedback on this. That makes sense. We will work on improving this, thank You!
I’m loving this lesson. Will I ever move on? I feel such pleasure being in the drone space and improving my call-response ability.
Great your into it, Annie. It’s a powerful practise 🙂
I feel like I’m clenching my hand, right below my first finger. Any tips to relax my hand?
Hi Ryan, thanks for mentioning this 🙂 There’s some great support on this matter within Fiddle Questions, under ‘Left Hand Fingering’. https://fiddlehed.com/fiddle-questions/
This and other answers/help can be found under the support tab.
Be good to hear how you navigate this challenge.
Also, please consider submitting a video of you holding and playing your violin on the video Feedback Page https://fiddlehed.com/support/video-feedback-lessons/
We can offer you some personalized suggestions on this matter.
Sorry I messed up with the time difference. Looking forward to more…lovely tune!
the speed of that tremolo, near the end, in those exercises.. is something else
This is my favorite exercise thus far – grueling but so satisfying. So simple, training the ear – I will return to this often.
I would love to see the slur patterns people use for this song. I know it’s personal preference but as a beginner it really helps me to see it. I am a note reader by the way. I tried some slur patterns but I think it could be improved. I also like to have bowing marked as it helps me learn the tune too.
Hi Kathi, great suggestions, Thank you 👍🏿 I’ll take note of this to consider adding into the content, and will let you know if we do.
As I look at this song, I tend to slur two notes together (quarter and 8th note), I give the dotted quarter notes their own bow, and I slur the triplets into one bow. Summing it up, mainly using 1 up bow and 1 down bow in each bar/measure. I notice I like to slur the triplets together with a down bow (starting tune with up bow to facilitate this). Once I learnt this song well and started speeding it up, these bowing and slurring patterns happened fairly naturally, to help the ease of playing.
I’d love to hear what you and others try/prefer, always good to experiment various bowing ways once we have the song dialed.
This is a great topic to go into more detail with together. 🙂
I have played this tune so many times now I have it memorized. Now that I have it memorized, I find that I’m having trouble playing it to a metronome beat. Tried it fast and slow, and really find this tune challenging to stay with the beat, and I’m not sure why.
Thanks for sharing your experience, David. What a great challenge to embrace 🙂
When I check the tune out with a metronome, I work with 2 metronome beats per bar. I emphasize the notes played on beat 1 and 4 (within 6 beats per bar), and match those with the metronome beats. I’ve found 60bpm is a good pace when using 2 beats in a bar, could start slower and work up to that.
Another fun thing to work with is setting the metronome at a higher speed, around 160bpm and having metronome tick for each of the 6 beats in a bar.
I also like to try both these methods without a metronome, tapping my foot to 2 beats in a bar, then tapping all 6 beats.
Be great to hear how your experience goes.
Seems as though the beats are mismatched on a few of the exercises, ie 1 and 6.
Thanks Lia, we’ll let you know when we get this dealt with. Appreciate you mentioning it 🙂 Happy Fiddling
gratitude for the basics!
Love your perspective, Annie!
Hi Jocelyn:
I solved the “big fingertip problem” by buying a new violin at fiddlershop as suggested. I am really liking the course and just finished 1.1. I will now go back through 1.1 for one week to get better at each thing. I like the teaching style – accessible, fun, well put together and illustrated – and very much appreciate the work that goes into such an endeavor. I am considering private lessons with you, but want to get further along.
Great to hear you found a solution, Garth. Way to go more in depth with the program, that will serve you well. And reach out anytime. We offer a ‘Feedback Video’ service, which supports folks to receive further insights into their playing: https://fiddlehed.com/support/video-feedback-lessons/
I’m pretty slow in my violin playing and my instructor and I were talking about the best approach to speed up. And your timely email arrived today and now I have more instruction on speeding up. Yay!
I am an older fiddler somewhere between beginner and intermediate. There is a man who lives not far from me who rebuilds older (antique) violins. I already have an ok violin but I am wanting to upgrade sometime in the near future. I plan on spending $1,000 to $1,500 on a new violin. I was thinking of going to the man I mentioned and see what he has to offer. He has over 200 violins and bows to choose from. Would you recommend potentially buying from this man? Thanks!
Craigslist doesn’t come up.
Is there another way to contact him?
Hi Charlie, thanks for sharing your story and pursuits. I agree with Margaret, the link you shared is no longer an active post on craigslist. Can you share other information about this seller? Looking forward to checking it out and chatting more about it.
Thank you!
Happy to support, Garth. Please also consider connecting with Jason directly on this matter within the following group sessions – Office Hours and Open Practise.
Group Lesson Central page is under the ‘Community’ tab, where the upcoming schedule for these sessions can be found. https://fiddlehed.com/community/group-lesson-home-page/
Jason: I find the tips of my fingers are too big and hit the other strings (A on D1 for example), and my solution has been to bend the string up toward G (away from A), or bend down toward A, when playing D1, D2, D3. Is this going to be a problem in the future and what do you suggest?
Garth, great point. Are the tips of your fingers being placed vertically down on the strings? Is it the true tip of your fingers you are utilizing (rather than the pad of fingers)? I can show you this in a short video if that could help. Extra bending of our finger knuckles can support us to come directly down onto the string with our fingers, rather than at an angle.
One could also experiment with gently pressing the finger down on the string more-so on an edge of the tip of the finger in any of the 4 directions (though directly straight down from above is the most ergonomic).
I’d say keep trying with this. Be great to hear how this challenge is going for you. May also be worth trying an instrument like a viola to see if the wider string spacing is something you prefer/works better for you.
Email us at [email protected] anytime.
A good tool for recording yourself is ForScore. It’s the tool our little group uses for storing sheet music, creating setlists, etc. But it also has other useful practice tools. For instance, you can make recordings that stay attached to the particular piece of sheet music. You can make several sequential recordings if you like. I also use it to record the melody and then play it back to practice the harmony. ForScore also has another useful feature; the Dashboard, which keeps track of everything you view (and for how long) during a practice session. In addition, there are tools such as a metronome and tuner (and probably more I haven’t used yet).
I audio record only my playing on my desk top computer but much more infrequently than every day, more like once a month. But what I do every day is video record my playing using my web cam and 22″ computer monitor.This is extremely useful in showing straight bowing or lack of it and general posture. Far better than a mirror. Then I switch over to the Intonia.com program stored on the computer, which automatically records the audio of any video recording and watch the visual representation of the audio. This shows the intonation as well as note values and metronome, if used. I am a visual learner so this is by far the best practice system I’ve found.
Yes! I didn’t realize until recently that you can record a video using QuickTime Player, which is free on a Mac. Just choose New Movie Recording from the File menu.
I have made it through the beginner module… I love that I can jump back if I run into something that I need to brush up. Thank you for that Jason. It has been so much fun. Unlike Gregg I think I’ve been working at the beginner modules for over a year. Sometimes I get stuck on a lesson or song and don’t want to give up. Not always quick on the uptake. On to the next level!
Awesome method, Don 👍🏾
Wrong link in recommended gear: the “floor stand” link goes to an Amazon search for “violin practice mute full size” (instead of an Amazon search for floor-stand, or something). I couldn’t find any other way to contact you so I hope this reaches you!
Hi Adam, thanks for reaching out. Great find. We really appreciate your support. I’ve mentioned this to Jason. Commenting on any of the FiddleHed pages are a good way to be in contact, if the matter is not urgent. For more urgent matters, please email [email protected]
Happy music making 🙂
Hi Adam, we updated associated links with the floor stand and instrument hangers. The specific stand associated with the picture on the gear page is a little ways down the amazon page. All the best in pursuing tools to help you with playing 🙂 https://fiddlehed.com/contact-help-new/recommended-gear-books-and-music/
These are great; i really love the multi-tempo ones. Thanks, Jason!
Soooo useful
So great to hear, Lulu!
Jamm session prepping for tomorrows zoom lesson
Awesome, Steve!
I really like the idea of having jam tracks that alternate playing the melody and the chords. I found that I could play the alternating jam track for Swallowtail while having the sheet music page open so that I could see the chords listed fun and helpful. I wasn’t able to do this with Rubber Dolly. As a beginner with chord changes, it is helpful to be able to see the sheet music so that I know what chords to play. I have difficulty knowing what chords to play, just listening to the tune
This is great Jason. I love having everything under one umbrella, simplifies
everything to have all together in one place for me!!
Perfecto:)
Ooh yes love this! Thank you very much Jason this is such fun! Can’t wait to hear & play the rest when loaded!
This is fine,, way fine!!! I don’t have to ask anyone to play a song they don’t know so I can practice fiddle tunes
Thank you Jason
I am trying to go through The Fiddle Book by Marion Thede and also trying to learn to read the music. The first song in Hanings Farewell. Do you have any instruction on this tune?
Thanks!
Hi and thanks for reaching out & sharing some methods you’re learning with. I don’t specifically see any posts related to this song, though I will pass this along to Jason to consider bringing up for the next Office Hours. Please don’t hesitate to remind him at the next live session if you can attend. Happy Fiddling to you 🎻
Any advice/tricks for remembering the longer strings? I’m pretty good up to about 12+ notes but struggle after that. Thanks!
Hi Claudia, great topic you raise.
Here are some Practise Variation tips included in another call and response page that may be useful:
Respond with plucking instead of bowing
Respond with singing instead of fiddling
Respond with Audiation (“hearing it in your head”) instead of fiddling
On your own, alternate between singing and fiddling small tune phrases
On your own, alternate between playing something in the low and high octave
Record your own call-and-response exercises
Some thoughts I have:
as the caller is creating sounds (as they make each individual sound and immediately after each note – during the calling process), sound them with my voice, in my head, visualize the notes in my head, strum the notes with the caller in guitar position, etc – this may be considered cheating to some, though I often find myself utilizing various techniques such as these as I’m experiencing the caller make the strings
and also simply going back and repeating the same string of notes it until I get it. 🙂
It’d be interesting to hear any specific methods you have for remembering longer strings of Call and Response.
Happy playing 🎶
Thanks for this workshop Jason, as with all your workshops, it was really well paced with clear instructions. I think the jam tracks are a real winner! I’m looking forward to coming along for the ride as you develop your ideas on teaching improvisation.
Would you consider a lesson on Gershwin’s Summertime at some stage?
Thanks for sharing this reflection, Marg. Improv is a big draw for expansion and creative growth 👍🏼
I will include your lesson suggestion to our list for consideration, and please stay tuned for upcoming opportunities to be supported in one another sharing song lessons with the community. 🙂
Also love the drone behind the music – keeps it grounded in the note.
Yes indeed. Utilizing drones regularly is amazing! Drone central is a great resource on FiddleHed for this.
Hi there: I really like Jason’s teaching style / methodology and am very much enjoying this. Great course and will continue. I like that you add some complexity to each course and practice session so that I have to figure out what is going on by listening. Thanks for creating such a great experience. Garth
Great you’re feeling good with the program and understanding the methods for learning well, Garth. Thanks for being with us 🙂
Whoah! This is a hard tune to learn! But it’s “Desirable Difficulty” – and (for me anyway) is a great example of how repeating each tricky phrase over and over and over again before stitching them together REALLY works.
The next challenge is to try and remember it . . .
Yes, Nigel! Thanks for bringing us into your method and perspective 👍🏾
Good lesson!!!! I’ve struggled with improvisation for the longest time. This blows away a lot of the fog !!!🎶🎶
Very good to hear, Mike! Such relevant, useful and fun content 🙂 Be great to experience you playing and working on this. Enjoy 🎶
I left this song for a while and started playing the basic version, and many variations from this video just came out of me! I’m so excited that I have some memory that is beginning to show in my playing…possibly from the repetition and muscle memory..it feels like magic!!! Thank you!
Wow Kayli, special insights your sharing. You’re onto something great! Importance to recognize what our capabilities are and how we’ve grown, and noticing/creating this from simplifying. Thank you
I just caught up on the replay of this lesson, loved it! Thank you it’s a really cool lesson. I didn’t use the sheet music links just listened and played along which worked well for me, really liked the little improv session at the end too.
Thanks for this feedback, Joanne. Great your enjoying and utilizing these replays. Agreed, such helpful and enjoyable sessions. Great point in working together without music references when possible, helps with presence and what can arise from that 🙂
Here’s FiddleHed Debbie H:
Thanks for putting this up here. Awesome playing Debbie 😀 You really know this tune and have taken it to great heights, integrating your own creative style of playing.
Woo hoo! Done with 1.1. Took a long time, but my practice has been inconsistent. Loving every lesson! And SO happy for noticable progress. Didn’t know Twinkle Twinkle could be so much fun! Thank you!
Awesome reflection and sharing, Claudia. Your onto something special, taking your time and going into great depth with it. Have fun!
Sorry I missed this live, but awesome job everyone!!
Glad you enjoyed this, Henry. There will be more of these to come! Happy Fiddling 🎶
This is an interesting tune with a rather mournful sound to it. Presumably it commemorates some sad event that happened on January 28th in the USA? In all the recordings I can find (e.g. The Fuzzy Mountain String Band) it’s played quite fast as a reel, but I think it sounds good at around 100 beats per minute, which is about as fast as I can play it anyway.
Looking forward to trying the Variations now.
Thanks, Nigel. It’s fun to imagine meaning into songs from what we hear, how we play it, the title, and more. I like this speed you mention as well. Enjoy 👍🏿
I just realized I should have recorded this in the kitchen instead of the living room. 😆
Well done, Anne! 👏🏼 It turned out great as Living Room Gal
How play this at anything approaching jam speed? Usually played at least 120 bpm. Will you show us slurs to make it a possibility in the future? This lesson seems to be too labourious for a jam
Hi Kim, great inquiries you mention. I’ll add your request for future lesson creations.
Here are FiddleHed links to support you in the meantime:
As for slurring this specific melody, I would lean towards slurring two notes together at a time, and keep the quarter notes and same notes that repeat (D0-D0) separate bows.
I’d also challenge myself, as I gradually increase speed with this song, to learn it with separate bows as well as slurring. I’d also work the song gradually slower to balance the practise out.
I can’t seem to attach my video. It’s not great but I tried. I’m impressed by everyone’s videos.
These duet lessons are really useful and fun. Doing the accompaniment is a great way for me to practice longer bowing plus those G-string notes (which I find harder). Plus it is fun playing along with the accompaniment for both parts. 🙂
The series of reps at the end are so helpful! Excellent 🙂 Thank you.
This is awesome! Not sure how I missed it
Thanks for sharing the interest. Be great to have you join in on the next session. We’re always looking to improve so any feedback in making it more accessible for folks is welcomed 🎶
Hi…Enjoying this step by step approach. Thanks for making it easier! Wondering two things…My bow is making more scratchy-squeaky sounds than it did on open strings. What’s that about? Also sometimes the bow just bounces. It will go away a bit if I put more pressure on, but I’m wondering if that’s the thing to do. Thanks!
Hi Claudia, thanks for reaching out. Wondering how this is going for you now?
Please consider submitting a feedback video so we can more easily see what’s going and provide some ideas to support you. Here’s the page for more details on this: https://fiddlehed.com/support/video-feedback-lessons/
Please also check out the ‘Support’ tab, and ‘Fiddle Questions’ page. Within there, the ‘bowing’ drop down section can support both of these questions you have further. Here’s the page link for easy reference: https://fiddlehed.com/fiddle-questions/
Also, can be handy to tune into the interactive group sessions to address these items together live. The ‘Community’ tab and ‘Group Lesson Central’ page gives further details on these sessions. The Office Hours, Open Practise, and Beginner Group sessions are all good ones for interacting on these topics.
Be great to hear how this is going for you some months later. Thanks for Fiddling with us!
I really liked it. It was just fun listening to the fiddling (and your singing).
This is absolutely gorgeous, Jason. Good on you for persevering!
Wow, glad to see I could still login to make a comment. This is definitely resubscribe material. The comments that came in ahead of mine really say it all (especially about the fish) this is the level I feel I need to focus on. Total teaching to it’s best at waking the mind up. I want more for sure.
The simplicity of chords used for singing was a light bulb on hi voltage.
Thank you.
Dan….
Love it! Well worth all your effort!
I really enjoyed listening to this. Great job with the fiddle arrangement. I would be interested in learning an “untraditional song” perhaps a new fiddle journey. Thank you for keeping the new ideas flowing!
Wow, Jason, you have tremendous talent! It sounds awesome to me! And yes, it is ALL about not giving up! Isn’t that what we should all do in life…. Great job! I’d love to hear the piano part…
As I couldn’t make the live lesson I made a recording of where I’m at learning by ear.i played along to Jason & Deb’s recording until my WiFi signal dropped!
I hope I can catch the replay of the lesson soon
Great sharing, Joanne, thanks. That worked out great how the last leg of the song was your solo fiddling. Workshop replay is posted 🙂
Kitchen Girl
Thanks, Vera. I love your sharing 👍🏾
A large part of what makes Fiddlehed lessons so much fun is being introduced to beautiful tunes I’ve never heard before. A lovely tune such as Lucy Farr’s makes me fall in love with fiddling all over again. I have also been learning Patsy Geary’s Jig by Mr. Hayes, another great one. Thank you for including Martin Hayes and his beautiful music in the lessons. This is definitely one of my new favorites.
OK ladies and gents, here is my first attempt
Why do I look so ANGRY!
Great playing, Don. You look relaxed and focused 🙂
I thought this might make you laugh! This is me trying to learn this tune from the backing track with some very intermittent WiFi in our campervan in southern Spain
On another note, this dropping out of the tune actually benefitted me on learning the melody as I had to learn it in small sections at a time & then, once I had it, it became almost like a call and response session, filling in the gaps.
I love this playful, organic practise 🙂 And yes, great method to utilize!
Joanne, your video of your learning the tune with the audio was fun to listen to! Thanks for posting!
Awesome lesson! Thank y ou!
Thanks for enjoying, Susieq 🙂
Hi Jason, this is Joe Ann Sturgeon. I was watching the office hours for this week and Terri made a suggestion of speeding up some of the tunes on the audio runs and you spoke about alternating on tunes loops with gaps. I thought that would be really really helpful and a great idea as well.
You did a demo on chord loops. Love it!
Tunes that would be great would be Whiskey Before Breakfast and Wildwood Flower. Thanks – still loving the site although I don’t get to watch in real time. Thanks!
2nd from last is not a hoedown. 🙂
Hi Jessica, great point you make 🙂 Often, a hoe down rhythm is with separate bows. Here, Jason is slurring (1 bow stroke for 2 notes) the short notes so it sounds different. This is still a long-short-short pattern though. Maybe there’s a different name we could give it when slurred like that?! I’m glad you brought this up. Happy Fiddle journeying to you 🎵
What a great, all encompassing guide, and available to all. Great work on this folks.
I have found some folks could use a bit of info on cleaning their bow hair.
Lots of youtube resources on this, here are a couple I’ve benefited from:
How to DEEP Clean Violin Bow HAIRS:
Bow Hair Cleaning:
Just listened to the group playing Saint Anne’s Reel. Wow, wow wow! This was definitely one of my mum’s favourite tunes, and although she didn’t play the fiddle, she often chorded along with my uncles and grandfather! Brings back the sweetest of memories. And look at those happy faces! Fiddling is Joy!
Hi everyone, I listened to the song, and i think i did have an “aha” moment! The melody is exactly the same, just that the second one is played in A minor. I don’t read music well, and i also struggle to hear the highest notes in this song, but I do feel it is the same tune, just a different key! Hope this makes sense!
Great insights and noticing, Susieq. Yes, key change makes sense forsure. I’d be curious what brought you to the second part in A minor? 🙂 Nice to see folks investigating and going on a journey with this song challenge 🎶
Hmmm….I think because when you think of the keys (or the notes you are playing) you have an A a C and an E, and those make up the A minor chord if you were chording on a piano. Does this make sense at all? Have a great day!
Yes! Thank you. Learning the 3 chordal/triad/arpeggio notes for a key can help with so much, including this.
I often look at the note placements, For part A – notes that line up with D major.. and Part B, notes lining up with C major or A minor – and narrowing down from there, the tone of chords and melody for part B makes it sound more minor.
Beauty tune 🙂
Oh my, wouldn’t it be so pretty if both parts were played at the same time? I’m going to try to play the “other” half of the song while the first part is playing to see if it works!
Oh my, wouldn’t it be so pretty if both parts were played at the same time?
A little trick I just discovered… sometimes I’m a little slow on the uptake… I downloaded the audio and then dragged it into Audacity. I find it very helpful because it makes it easier to go to a specific spot in the tune that you are working on.
Nice pointer, Don. I’d like to try this. Thanks for sharing
Hey Don,
If possible, make a screen recording the next time you do that. Explain what you’re doing as you do it.
Hey Don, are you getting more familiar with A mixolydian? Same key/notes as D major, just starting on A note (which can take practise to adjust ourselves from wanting to play in A major). 🙂
Thanks for taking part, with some good fun energy!
This particular video has helped tremendously! 🙏 Thanks!!
I’m sorry for posting late..I had some computer issues earlier today. I’ve been working on memorizing chords and getting comfortable with the train beat or hoedown, which has lead me to decide on learning the backup for “Squirrel Hunter”. It is a lot of fun to play along to the melody and I think it’s helped me rhythmically.
Hey, you come up with an idea!
Fun to play it like that and it sounds really nice too! 🤩
Thanks Ann!
That’s really nice! Thanks…
Kayli that was awesome and I love watching you as you play too. You really get into it.
Thanks for sharing, Kayli. I resonate well with this. This is vital work in rhythm practise and following along with others playing. Your bowing patterns, rhythm feeling and creating, as well as transitioning between double stops and single notes, are so lovely to experience. I really enjoy the violin utilized as a support instrument. Wondering who is playing in the melody track, is it you? Well done!
Here’s a call-and-response track I just found…
I’ve decided not to perform but I’m definitely going to be listening in today to the other performances
Thanks for sharing Kathleen, and for joining in a way that worked best for you. It is great to have folks involved in various ways, everyone contributes. I hope you had fun for this challenge. Happy Fiddling 🙂
Hey,
Here is my Welsh song Gorsaf y Gof.
Many greetings from Ghent ( Belgium )!
Good luck to those who will be performing soon!
🎻✨ I don’t think I’ve heard that one..I dig it! Nice work. I enjoy the pedal notes/rocking bits in there too
Thx Kayli
Heartfelt applause for you, Ann 👏🏼 I love this Welsh tune, thanks for sharing it with us. The string crossing is thorough in this one, you did really well! Your tone shone through beautifully, and it was really nice to see you play for that length of time. 🎶
PS – Hopefully someone can give me a tip about why when I record it sounds tinny and kind of squawky, both musically technical terms I’m sure. Strings? Bow? iPhone mic? Or maybe it’s ME?
Hi Don, I also really enjoyed this video of you playing. Such a great tune and you have learnt it thoroughly! I love the range of notes this song holds, you carried the tune great 🎶
Great points other folks made with relating to your sound experience. If you are only hearing that sound through the recording, then yea it’s likely related to how the sound is coming through the electronics. If you have the opportunity to try moving your mic onto a ledge or stand where the mic can be closer to the level of where your violin sound is directly coming out of instrument, that may help? Be interesting to hear what you try. I like what Kayli mentioned about getting advice from someone who has that experience, and somehow showing them your setup as well as trying out a different setup to see if that changes the outcome.
Sometimes I get different sounds produced through my instrument when something attached to violin is a bit loose (chin rest tighteners, fine tuning peg loose, loose screws on shoulder rest, etc).
Here’s a good example of someone who has their mic positioned nicely from their fiddle:
Definitely had planned to participate, but an appointment got changed and I will be on the road. Here is a YouTube link… I hope that is the right way to do that. I’ve never done a video on YouTube before.
Beautiful!! I love that song, and you played so well!
My videos always sound scratchy and squeaky… I think part of it is the speakers? Anyway, your video was lovely!
Thank you! I appreciate that.
Lovely! I’ve had that sound happen in recordings before too..it seems to me like sometimes I’m too close to the phone mic and repositioning in the room has helped before. Learning how to record audio can be a challenge on its own! It’s helped me to reach out to someone who understands music equipment much better than me. Thanks for your song, I enjoyed it very much.
It looks like a few of us have fallen for this song! Nice job 👏
I love Squirrel Hunter, Anne. Thank you for doing it so well.
Anne, very nice playing 🙂 I love how solid your fiddling is! Thanks so much for sharing what you’ve been working on. I’d be curious to hear what type of mic you are using.
Just my iPhone
👍🏾 Nice
Tennessee Waltz
Here’s my video; Ashokan Farewell.
Very nice!!! Love your timing…great selection:)
Dawna this is my favorite Jay Ungar waltz! He has been kind of my “fiddle hero” since I started playing. You did a fabulous job at it. Thank you.
Lovely musical sharing, Dawna 🎶 I really enjoyed your relaxed approach, it shines through into the sound you create. Thank You! Be great to hear you play for longer in the future. Well done 🙂
My video. Wish I had a backtrack. Getting to love this tune, but time to move to the next one.
What beautiful tone and timing! Thank you for sharing this!
Steve, I enjoyed your sharing a lot. Your sounds are very soothing, way to be 👍🏽 Yes, getting some live backup from family/friends for a recording is also something I’d like to facilitate!
I like the lesson and the song very much, what I found difficult at first were the first notes at the beginning, the song starts so dynamically, it took a while until I could play along with the melodies here, but now it’s slowly getting better. The sheet music video helped me at the beginning because it was slower than the melodies. Thanks for that lesson. 🙂
Hey Gabi, I agree! Yes, great sharing on experience with the pick up notes at beginning and how the tune starts out with pretty good jumps in notes. Neat to hear your progression too. Thanks for expressing how you resonate with the lesson presenation. Happy Fiddling to you 🎵
New student here, just finished my first module! I enjoyed it. I also appreciate this review element because it nicely presents the tunes that were in the earlier modules! I’ll take the next few practice sessions to learn them before moving on to the next module. I appreciate how thoughtfully this course is designed.
Hi Jessica, welcome to Fiddlehed 🙂 That’s awesome to hear. Glad you’re taking your time with it and appreciate how the program is setup. Have fun fiddling and reach out anytime 🎶
Neat…you sort of do that with piano, too, don’t you? Great stuff!
Hi Susieq, yes good point. Other instruments can work great with these types of exercises, like piano 🎹 Glad to hear you enjoy!
I will upload a recording on Saturday. Sunday I am heading north into the mountains for the week. Cell service is spotty, but will join in and play along if able. I was hoping to have my wife back me up on guitar but she hasn’t had the time to work that out. ( a novice player who hasn’t really played much for many years)
I’m going to play a very simple tune…Nail the Catfish to a Tree. Just a fun little tune for this first challenge!
Here is the video of Squirrel Hunter I just learned.
Yes! Thanks for sharing…
Really enjoyed your Squirrel Hunters…. it was haunting! great timing, which I envy!!! 🙂
Nice! 🎻🌟
Lots of “Squirrel Hunters” in the audience! 🙂 Playing it with a drone was a great choice. Thanks!
Hi @lbiehl, Thank you for this share. Wow you’ve done really well with this! I agree, the drone and speed you chose lined up beautifully. It brings new perspective to a song. Loving your sounds 🧡
very good practice,
Thank you for sharing, Gabi 👍🏼
I’m learning Hector the Hero. I started it a long time ago and got side tracked.
I won’t be able to make the meeting tonight (Spanish time!) So here’s my progress so far on Crazy Creek! Still some mistakes, & I have some trouble with the transitions on the B part so I’m using chaining to practice
I can’t wait to hear you play this again….I never heard of this tune before, but its a keeper!! Love your playing!
Joanne what fun tune! I love it!
Thanks for sharing a video of your progress and sharing this great tune! Enjoyed you live as well, great playing Joanne! 👏🏼
Just did the group session: Drunken Sailor
I enjoyed it and it was very helpful. I am doing this song for January 10 day challenge
Do you know yet what time the zoom meeting will be on the 29th?
Hi Kathleen, Great question. The times have been included in this page, maybe added since you read it last. Please refer above and reach out anytime. Be great if it works out for you to join 🙂 🎶
This is great lesson, Jason! Your fiddle lessons are giving me much joy! I am just beginning me fiddle journey, and it is starting to become a smoother ride already! Practising is the key, and your videos are EXCELLENT! Kudos for being such a wonderful, patient teacher!
Love your experience with this, Susieq 💕
I’m not much good with Internet stuff! Also, I’m a bit shy. I love playing and have recently found a couple of ladies to play with. One of them has requested that we play the above tune. Maybe I’ll post something a bit further down the line!
Hey Julia, thanks for sharing~ your openness to expressing your experiences is awesome. What song are you speaking of? That’s great you have some folks to share playing music with in person. Be lovely to hear you play someday! 🎶 Happy fiddling to you
Jason, I just started a few days ago….thank you for making the fiddle make sense to me! I absolutely love this Jig, and yes, it is beautiful when played slowly. A am totally loving this course so far!
Wow, thanks for sharing, Susie. Your experience is enlightening 👍🏼 🎶
I’m going to play Lazy John, or maybe Too Ra Loo Ral Loo Ra, a lullaby my mom used to sing to me, then I sang to my son.
Would you expect me to know all of the tunes by heart or is it ok to use the music too?
Hi Barbara, great question. Here’s a good post about this topic: https://fiddlehed.com/blog/memorization/
Memorizing scales and tunes is a really helpful practise and is highly suggested to pursue 🙂
You have a good point about using music too. Great to balance out some of each element in engaging with the music. Listening, reading, singing, playing, watching, moving, meditating, clapping/tapping etc
Thanks for your engagement 🎶
Okay! I got the whole tune, mostly; here I am playing it against Serena’s playalong. I didn’t notice that the camera had slipped until I had played this over and over about 20 times, and then I was too tired–well, lazy, really–to reshoot it. But you can see the important thing, which is the bowing, and you can hear the important thing, which is the intonation, so okay.
I sort of feel obligated to do it the way Serena is doing it, but if I ever performed this, I wouldn’t do it quite this way. I’d do it with the double stop at the end of the A2 and I wouldn’t do that (to me) goofy quad-stop thing at the beginning of B1 and B2. Maybe it sounds better at speed, but it just grates on me when I hear it, hmm….
Good job already!
On the 3rd from the last exercise I don’t think the sheet music matches the tab and audio track.
Beautiful catch, Jessica. Thank you kindly for mentioning this. I’ve removed the sheet music for now and will replace it when possible!
Hope your having a great time with Fiddlehed 🎵
This is Great lesson to come back to Refresh. My memory. Bank 🎻❤️
In the “ Fingering with Plucking – Exercises” all of the “tucka” rhythms are single note exercises, not transitional exercises as stated.
@lavonjohn, Hi and thank you for catching this error and taking the time to mention it 🙏🏽 I will change the text for now and take note to consider adding new audios with note changing, as the other audios provide. Hope your having fun fiddling 🎶
I’m going to learn Wayfaring Stranger, but I’m going to play it in A dorian instead of E dorian of the FH lesson. I guess I’ll really learn it in D, then just play it one string higher to be in A!
Fourth day and here’s a segment of my work on Part B. Yep.
There’s so many! Songs I want to learn that is. I think I’ve settled on “ The Blue River Waltz.”
Annnnnndd here’s the third day for me for ‘Wheel Hoss.’ I’m moving on to the B part, which is quite a bit harder than the A part.
This is only the first half of B. Serena starts it off with a quadruple stop–I’m doing it the way she’s doing it because she knows the tune and I don’t, BUT I would never play a quadruple stop in front of, you know, actual people. It sounds awful to my ear, and since it is a melody note, the listener needs to hear it as a NOTE, not as…whatever it is.
Anyway, most of what I’m doing here in this short segment is to match her bowing, but it does occur to me to wonder why it’s okay to lumberjack it here and it wasn’t okay to lumberjack it in the A part, but…whatever. It does sound good at speed when Serena plays it (even the quad stop is a little less awful-sounding), so as I say, I’ll do it the way she does it, at least for now.
Mmm-hmm.
Hey Wayne, love your videos and funny comments there. I had never heard the word lumberjack before.
So I am learning some English too. I like your song and I already tried a bit. But for now I have to focus on mine.
Keep on going!
Thanks!…W.
Lumberjacking–that’s what we call it when all you do is just saw back and forth on the strings, heh 🙂
Thanks! I can totally imagine it now 😆
I don’t think we have such a nice word for this in Dutch.
In some of your tabs you refer to L as E can I ask why and I understand the pickups for Irish washer woman what do you refer to when you have EL2 AL2 just a little confused
Hi @shanni, thanks for asking 🙂
EL2 refers to E string, Low finger position, and the second finger.
If a tab does not show the string name, it meants it is the same string as the last tab that does identify what string it is (ex: D1-L2-3-4, These are all on the D string)
Here’s a good post explaining how to read tabs: https://fiddlehed.com/courses/beginner-fiddle-lessons/1-2-getting-plucky/how-to-read-tabs/
Have a great time with it and reach out anytime 🎶
Cool! I will try a Welsh tune, Gorsaf y Gof ( The Blacksmith’s Forge )
Lovely idea! I think I’ll go with Kerfunken Jig.
Hi Jason and Jocelyn, same issues that Gregg and Brian noted.
‘Wheel Hoss,’ Part A only for bowing. Here’s a short segment of the 20ish minutes I spent doing this tonight in order to get a feel for the Georgia Shuffle bowing. I’m working here against a small portion of Serena Eades’ most excellent tutorial for this tune; the only thing I much care about here is that my bowing is aligned with hers. Yep.
I’ll try Galway Bay Hornpipe, and this is going to take a lot of practice‼️
I’m going to try Breaking up Christmas in regular tuning first, then maybe sawmill
Nice bouncy little dance tune, and a good “warm-up” tune for G major. The extra bowing tutorial is great, too.
Unfortunately the “Full Mix” play-along track doesn’t work at the moment. But as Jason kindly provides the chords in the .pdf sheet music it’s easy to set up in Strum Machine.
Hi Nigel, thank you for sharing. I’m glad your feeling it and enjoying this lesson. Thanks for your feedback as well, it greatly helps to be informed when something isn’t functioning. I added an audio version of the full song, which is kept at a decent tempo throughout. We’ll consider adding another full play along track to this with more tempo variances in the future.
Glad to hear your utilizing strum machine, an efficient means for getting play along tracks happening. Their enhancements to the program lately have been great. Cheers to music making 🎶
Thanks for adding my request Faded Love – wish I had been in the able to be in the liove group.
Hi Lynda, your involvement in supporting bringing this lesson to fruition is appreciated. Yes, live sessions sure are lovely. Hope you can tune into future live sessions. The main group lesson page can support us in pursuing upcoming and previous sessions: https://fiddlehed.com/community/group-lesson-home-page/
Thanks for fiddling with us 🎶
yes she is fantastic,i been watching her on youtube.gets my toe tapping every time
hi there,a great site.ive played bluegrass banjo for near 15 yrs,just 2 eeeks ago i pick a violin up and im addicted to it.i only read tab so its a great site for me.2 weeks and just got swollowtail jig down at 75bpm. Fiddle is so much fun….. do you think The road to lisdoorvarna, better or Kesh jig to go with Swollowtail jig….? 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
Hi @artie! Thanks for sharing your enjoyment and experience with how your fiddle journey’s going.
I’d say any combination of those 3 songs can go nicely together. I’ve experienced all 3 of those tunes played together at a contra dance.
As for skill level, it seems Road to Lis may could an easier tune to learn than Kesh. Happy Fiddling to you 🎻
Sounds like fun! I’ll have a try at Crazy Creek!
Hi I’m wondering how I can get finger notes or placements for fiddle tunes I listen to on YouTube
Hello, folks! I’ll be using this time to deal with that good old tune by the great Bill Monroe, ‘Wheel Hoss.’
Some of you know me, I’m the banjo player who is learning some tunes on the fiddle so I can take a fiddle with me on my upcoming northbound hike of the Appalachian Trail starting March 15 of this year.
I’m taking a Magic Fluke ‘Cricket’ travel fiddle, which uses a 3/4th-length bow and fits comfortably in a 5-inch document tube. I’ve had it about a year now, I’ve played it a lot, and I’ve clunked it up and down trails on my backpack and it seems to tolerate that pretty well.
I’ve been working on fiddle for a year or so now, I can play a few tunes: ‘Red-Haired Boy,’ ‘Kitchen Girl,’ ‘The Cuckoo’s Nest,’ ‘The Sailor’s Hornpipe,’ that sort of thing. I found myself being interested in Irish-slash-Cape Breton-type tunes lately, so I’ve been working on things like ‘Gaspe Reel,’ ‘King of the Fairies,’ and ‘Road of Lisdoonvarna.’ None of these are especially hard, but like so much of this stuff, I do find it hard to do well.
You can see a bunch of clips of me working on tunes–and about 10,000 photographs of my recently departed and much missed dog–on my Insta, @tophatbanjo, or on my YT channel, ‘tophatbanjo.’ Yep.
Annnnnndd here’s a segment of my first practice for ‘Wheel Hoss.’ Yep.
Probably Cape Breton Waltz
I might try Waiting for Nancy or Swinging on a Gate
Kathleen I love Cape Breton Waltz. I once heard Natalie MacMaster play it in concert and I was mesmerized.
Hi Jason, I just started practicing Call and Response Exercised 2.2 and noticed some of the same issues Brain was commenting on. Is that how the recordings are supposed to be?
Thanks,
Gregg
Hello, folks! I appear to be the first poster for the 2024 Learn-a-New-Song Practice Challenge. I’ll be doing 20 minutes a day starting today on Bill Monroe’s ‘Wheel Hoss,’ not a very hard tune, but like so much of this fiddle stuff, it’s hard to do well. I’ll be posting practice clips somewhere or other–probably on my Instagram, @tophatbanjo–so stay tuned for that. Mmm-hmm.
Please, a lesson for solo (fill) break for I’m so lonesome I could cry.
Thanks for re-iterating this here, Bill. I’ve put in your request. Thanks for letting us know what you’d like 🙏🏽
I remember being so impressed with Kate’s video the 1st time I saw it. Tried to learn the 1st break but wasn’t really ready for it then. Tonight I reached it again having worked my way up to module 2.8. It was so much easier, I can feel that I’m listening better now and could feel the syncopated rhythms. It takes time and committed practice but I think it’s well worth it to work through every stage of the course.
Beautiful, Marg. Such important sharings of your way and experience 🙏🏿
Love this! Thank you. This is so well done. As someone relatively new to double stops the variety of ways to practice here are so helpful. I can confirm the notes to play by looking at the chart as chords change and then watch Jason’s bowing (long bows, hoe down pattern) and (do my best!) to play along. Eventually I will move to audio only.
Thanks for sharing this feedback on how it’s going for you 🙂 and putting your intentions out there, all around inspiring manifestations 👍🏽
Learning to use treble and playing viola. Learning new methods to improve and make my practice time more productive, less waste playing the same tunes over and over. Thanks
Great reflection, Steve. Neat to hear your aspirations and what’s formulating in your playing, supports all!
Hello, yes, here are my litte story and the goal for this year 2024: Last year the violin found me 🙂 Due to a prolonged cold, I was unable to attend singing lessons, so I took a few trial violin lessons. So fare I play the piano in our family home music, and with the violin, one of my husband’s wishes came true, a Blue Grass home music. Said and done ! The first song should be “wagon wheel”. I found a Youtube video of Jason and then this platform. So I started playing the violin only on this song since Easter 2023. What can I say, with every day of practicing, a lot of fun with every success and a happy husband, we mastered our first audition in the family celebration with a simplified version of wagon wheel. Banjo my husband, guitar – my son und Fiddle -me.
What is the goal of this year 2024? I am now starting the violin course from beginner level – to learn something structured. And so far I’m having a lot of fun with it, I especially like the duets and my feeling for the bow is improving. Happy new Year and all the best.
Jason, I would like to learn your fiddle solo for, I’m so Lonesome I Could Cry. Would like music notes along with video.
Hi Bill, thanks for reaching out and making this inquiry 🙂 I’ll add this to our request list for future consideration.
To clarify your request, you are referring to this solo break video from youtube?
And that you’d like to see it as a full lesson on the Fiddlehed site?
Happy music making to you 🎶
Can this lesson be improved? Can we add anything? Happy fiddling 🎻
glad to find this lesson. I played this tune years ago and now find myself struggling. Found my old sheet music. Will work on this lesson and see if I can get back into shape. 🙂
Great Steve~ nice to re-approach in a new way, a new state and in new times! Enjoy the process, with some great background experience to support you.
I’m going to consider this for the Hootenanny tune list, thanks for bringing it up 🙂
it was very funny, I like the duets. But, only the first one, the Kerry Polka Duet I didn’t catch.
Thanks for this feedback, Gabi. Yes the first duet, Kerry Polka is unique. It has a long introduction and then starts with duet at 39 seconds. Also trickier one with the background music, the duet notes, and melody going at once! Glad you enjoy this lesson. Happy Fiddling 🎶
Hey,
First I am going to start with a little story. I’ll try to do it in my best English 😉.
A few months ago my classical violin teacher gave me a quite difficult piece of music to learn.
After some weeks of struggling with it, I wanted to throw it in the trash. Really!
I was also thinking of quitting the classical violin and to go on with the fiddle. A lot of thinking…a lot of doubts
Until the day I attended the general rehearsal of Petrousjka, an opera ballet in the opera of Ghent
I was blown away by the music. These musicians play every day more then 6-8 hours! They also need to practice a lot, even they are professionals.
Back home I took the piece out of the trash and started again, very slowly with
small chunks and looping, everything what I learned here for the last 5 months.
After a week I had a much better result and I was happy to move on.
So I told this story to set my goal of building a strong bridge between the Fiddle and the classical violin.
Because choosing is not an option. And I think they can reinforce each other.
I also want to be satisfyed with my playing, to be patient and to keep smiling 🤩 every day!
Happy New Year! 🎻❤️🎻
Thank-you for reminding me, time to reflect and look towards next year! Since I started Feb. 7, ’22, I’ve only missed 2 days of practice, so I will also _aim to Play Every Day in 2024_ 🙂 My _2nd goal is to Practice Wisely_. In 2023, I tried to incorporate some Brainjo Principles into my practice, mainly that of “work” for ~ 30 min and then allow your brain to catch-up for ~4 hrs (so 3 mini sessions per day). I like to practice 1 – 2 hrs per day total, but for me, this seems to work better in 2 sessions of an hour-ish, so I’m going to work along those lines. For me, practice is some combo of Scales, Scales, Scales, Bowing, Bowing, Bowing (right hand rhythm development), finger independence exercises, playing 2 notes at the same time exercise, learning new techniques, reviewing songs that I know (this is fun time to me, especially with waltzes). I’m continuing to work towards playing at faster tempos (using an Atomic Habits approach). In 2024, I really need to work at learning by ear (I’m able to do this in your workshops because your pace suits me, but I need to do it quicker during jams). I will improve this area by committing to learning 1 song per week by ear. Happy New Year to you and your family Jason (thank-you for all that you do for us), and Happy New Year to all of you FiddleHeds 🙂🎻
I started at the beginning of 1.1 in early October 2023 and just this evening got to here. Lots of exercises working on notes and scales has really allowed me to get more fiddling time and I think has improved my overall sound! It’s actually fun!
Wow, that’s awesome David. Thoroughly embracing 😀 Thanks so much for this insight sharing.
Good goals & incentives. Makes me feel like I can do this
Thanks for this feedback Christie, helps to hear your perspective! 🙂
Hi Jason, hope you had a great Christmas, I have had two cataracts removed from my eyes and as a result haven’t played any Fiddle for last few months, I have been depressed but I wil get back into it,as I always enjoy it once I start
I never had trouble reading Music,but my bloody mood got in my way, sorry for boring you with this but any tips for getting back to playing,
Thanks Hannah
Hi Hannah, this is great you reached out for support in returning to playing. And sharing your personal experience helps us related and connect, so thank you for this.
Also, I put the keyword ‘mind’ in the search engine at top of page and came across some great posts to support one’s motivation: https://fiddlehed.com/?s=mind
Also encourage you to check out the ‘community’ tab and the various pages within, as we grow and learn best together.
Looking forward to hearing how you’re doing along the journey 🙂 🎵
challenging and fun, had to work up to third position to get into the F# and E. I love thgis sone, never thought I could play it. Now for practice, practice, practice. will try a video clip soon.cheers
Awesome to hear your process and motivation, Steve. Way to pursue it in supportive ways 🎶
Please add me to the advanced group lesson list and schedule recipients. Thanks, catherine
Hi Catherine, great idea. We will keep you posted on opportunities of this nature. There’s a Student Group Page under the Community tab, intended for this purpose between subscribers, though I just noticed the main page link is not functioning. Will work on that issue.
Thanks for mentioning your interest in this, I’ll follow up with you directly as opportunities formulate. Happy fiddling 🎻
cant see your attachment, 🙁
Shucks, wonder if it’s not visible for anyone else. I’ll email it to you Steve 🙂
Sheet Music Please
Thanks for this, @lavonjohn. I added this suggestion to our request list.
I can relate that having the sheet music available, especially when we include the tune in a group lesson, is important. I made a rough hand written version of this song I will share with you for now.
Thanks Jason, looking forward to Hootenanny tonight. Will be racing home from work. Any chance
You can transcribe the sheet music into Alto in the same key? Or can you recommend an app I can use. I have used Muscore but find it tedious. Thanks
Hi Steve, great to hear you plan to join the group today. I like your suggestion, will add it to our request list.
Often, I will write it out by hand, either right on the same sheet music (where it looks like double stops), and/or I’ll write it out on a new blank sheet music page. One can write up rough sheet music in these ways, to get the basics down. I’ll show some examples of how I do this at today’s Hootenanny and can share photos of this on Hootenanny page later on.
I’ve used musescore and also find it can be tedious, though from utilizing the shortcuts they recommend, and continuing to practise, it can speed up 🎵 😀
Jason uses sibelius. There’s also soundslice which offers great play-along track options.
thanks
Hi
In the sheet for “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” you have applied some “L’s” ?
E.g In bar 3: L2 -3-l2
And it would be nice to have the chords.
I have followed Fiddlehed for 5-6 months now, and I enjoy it very much. I am 62 and completely new on the violin, but I have played guitar and piano since I was 12, and I read notes.
Sounds good about chords, I’ll put in a request to get some added to this sheet music. In the meantime, I did a search on strum machine and someone had created a track, which in B flat major key, their version comes out like this:
Bflat – Bflat – C – F
Bflat – Bflat – C F – Bflat
D – G – C – F
Bflat – Bflat – C F – Bflat
Happy solstice week ☽
jocelyn, Thanks for asking that. I was going to ask the same thing.
I have a question about a fingering question. When you play, D1-A1-D2-A2-D3-A3, as an example, what’s the best and most efficient way to finger that? Do you just put one finger down on both strings and alternate bowing? It seems a little challenging to keep both notes in tune when I do that. Thanks!
Great question, Andy.
I find the 1st finger can be fairly effectively placed on both strings, and the other fingers being harder to do, like you mentioned.
I like to use a roll method where the lower string fingering uses more of the tip of my finger, and the higher string note, I will roll my finger more onto/towards the flat/pad of my finger.
I also tend to use a sliding technique, where the transition between a finger on 1 string to the same finger on another, I slide the finger over, often including a slight lift of the finger to get it positioned on the next string. A little slide with little lift.
I play around with using all 3 of these methods and see what fits best for that specific note transition, and eventually it becomes a natural decision on how to go about the note transition.
The speed in which one is playing is a big factor in which method to utilize a swell. Experimenting with various speeds on the note transition is helpful.
I notice sometimes the audio exercises will work better if I click the download button to the right of audio track, taking me to another page, where it’ll play. Sorry for this difficulty in the system, we will work to upgrade this when possible.
Not going to lie…least favorite lesson so far. Very difficult for me to remember extended sequences. I also really don’t understand what value the drone adds. It just sounds creepy. What am I not getting? I could be on this lesson for days….sigh.(BTW no problem accessing the audios)
Great points and sharing, Claudia. I’m glad you shared your experience with this.
Yes, it can be difficult and may be something to come back to later on.
The drones definitely take some getting use to, and can be nice to have them on sometimes, then not on. Drones can help a lot with training our ear and also playing in tune. When I identify a note I’m playing that’s difficult to get in tune/reach, I’ll put on a drone for that note while I’m playing and it helps me get to the note and get real familiar with what that note sounds like. I also like to practise tuning my strings to drones for ear training, prior to looking at tuner, when I have time.
There are also many different types of drones available. Jason has a good variety of them on the drone central page: https://fiddlehed.com/practice-tools/drone-central/
Youtube and various apps can also be a good source for different sounding drones. I encourage you to try it out 🙂
…. this is fun.
Great you enjoy this, Alvin. Thanks for fiddling with us 🎻
I am having so much darn fun with this. Honestly surprised. I really appreciate how simple you keep things, how much repetation there is…and also you explain what we’re getting out of all the repeats. Very motivating and helpful. I am humming these tunes in the grocery store:)
Question – One time you said in a video that you always start D with a down bow. Is that true or did I misunderstand?
Thank you!
What a great perspective you have with this, Claudia 👍🏿
That point may have been said in a certain context, though it can be helpful to experiment playing in both ways, start with an up bow, then start with down bow. Trying different slur patterns which leads to various bow direction patterns can be a great practise for getting to know a scale or tune deeper. And inevitably, when we play, there will be circumstances where we get into different bowing directions and patterns, so it helps to be familiar with doing/practising this. Thanks for inquiring, it’s and interesting topic.
OMG! If you put a flat bridge on a violin you’ve basically converted it to ukelele! HAHA sacrilege!
😁 that goes far!
I know this will come in time, but one of my biggest problems is remembering how a given tune starts. I pull up the sheet music and look at the first 2 notes and “OH YEAH” and off I go.
Love this tune but the speed of the playalong track(lol!) I would need to play it every day for 10 years to get close to that! Sounds great though!
Great point, Joanne 🙂 We’ll consider adding another track at a slower pace to support the learning process and let you know. Thanks for mentioning it. Yea fun tune for sure. Glad your checking it out.
Now this makes since to me gonna try it out I am working on silent night and other holiday songs this year then find a small audience to play for and see what they think maybe lol Jeff
Hahah, great to hear, Jeff! Thanks for your interest and feedback on how you’re going to apply this. Nice goal- be lovely to hear/see you play sometime 🎶
Thank you!!!!!
Excited to get my new violin delivered from Fiddleshop.
Gonna. Be. Epic.
Sue
Awesome Sue!! Your excitement is contagious 🥳 Thanks for fiddling with us
I didn’t expect holding the bow to feel so weird. Your multiple views and repetition are really helpful. I feel like my wrist is not very flexible; in fact sometimes I feel like I’ve locked it. Concentrating on just trying to move the bow in a way that is relaxed and doesn’t hurt. Not hurting seems like a good goal:) Will be returning to this page.
Overall I’m still really glad I’m doing this. Still smiling with each lesson. Thank you!
Thanks for sharing your reflections, Claudia. Yeah, continuing to relax the body, focusing on 1 aspect at a time, can help so much. Tapping into the freedom our bodies can have while playing so important. The bow wrist being easeful and having flexible movement is a big one. You’re on a good path!
Glad to hear you plan to revisit this lesson. Favoriting it can be a helpful tool for coming back to. 🙂
I like this a lot – a LOT! My fiddle’s with a local luthier getting a new bridge, but I should get it back tomorrow (knock on wood), and I can’t wait to start using this approach!
That’s awesome your practising and engaging in the program, even while not having the fiddle on hand. It’s sure nice to make enhancements on our instruments. Your feedback on these sessions is greatly appreciated, Pete.
Love it! and happy that my log in all sorted, thanks
Great to hear, Mary. Thanks for being with us 🎶
Why am I unauthorized to go on to continue on to plucked up?
Hi Jerry, thanks for asking. I will email you shortly to continue this discussion 🙂
Great, Looking forward to Them
Thanks for your interest, Andrew.
There are multiple ways to be reminded of these sessions, if you so choose. One can link the group session calendar to their own digital calendar, signing up for group session email reminders (sent out the day of), and the weekly email newsletter often includes past and future sessions.
We welcome feedback on any of these sessions, and ideas for new sessions. We also like to facilitate Fiddlehed folks to form practise/meet up sessions together. Reach out anytime to [email protected]
As an intermediate beginner with 15 years of self-taught fiddling, I am working through your beginner’s series and starting to rekindle the fire. New methods of practice. I can play all these tunes if not by ear but find myself struggling with some of the adaptation (Hoe down eek). This is helping. Started a journal (a tip from your office hours yesterday). hope to keep this up. Thanks, Jason
Thank you for sharing, Steve. It’s great to hear one another’s methods 🙂 Glad the program is working well for you.
Putting goals out there helps solidify them, way to be!
I am really enjoying this course. I like having it broken into smaller parts and not going forward until this parts are learned. Constant review is certainly a necessary component of moving forward!
What great feedback and takeaways, Rick. Thank you 🙏
well..that was a little tricky for me:) I decided to take 2 practice times on these tunes. I really enjoyed them and will return to them. I feel like the audio sometimes plays notes faster than I expect. Like there’s a sequence of D0-0-0-0 G0-0-0-0 where the last 0 in the D sequence is faster so it sort of “leaps” into G. It sounds nice, but is a little confusing to me as the writing seems like the sounds should last the same length of time.
Of course…i could just be taking this all too literally….
I am surprised at how many times I catch myself smiling while I’m doing this. Nice.
Beautiful, Claudia!
Thanks for this feedback. Yes, some of those rhythms have tricky transitions between strings, with shorter notes.
Glad you took extra time and had a fun experience.
Jocelyn, I attended Hootenany with you on 11/27 and enjoyed it immensely. You are an awesome and fun teacher, Thank you.
Don~ thanks for this feedback. So glad your jiving with my offering! I learn so much from that sharing process. Glad you tuned in.
HI Jas’n, so happy to see your lovely family and glad that your sweet Veda is doing so well. Your kindness and sharing of the fiddle has always been appreciated, you are the best, bar none, teacher of this music. I signed up last May, and summer was a rush, so I wanted to practice but put it aside for just a “bit”. I am so grateful that you are helping all of us learn to understand and play the fiddle. And I am grateful for the joy that I feel when I practice. Also I am forever grateful for my loving and supportive hubby, for our darling SpoilerKat, for enjoying this most wonderful life .. sunshine, greenhouse, growing plants, walking in the sun, Plus, grateful that I am going to plant more garlic in the greenhouse before the frost arrives.
Jason, you ARE a nerd, but I loved the explanations of the frequencies of the lower vs the upper. And one thing you mentioned in the overview just previously… the expression “angry at a section” of music. I loved that! I do it all the time but I’m glad you made me aware of it. I will pay and play closer attention to it now!
I can’t believe I’m doing my first lesson after waiting to start for soooooo long. A-mazing. Really appreciate how slow and deliberate your lessons are. After plucking and trying different holds, I am not terrified of holding the violin. Less afraid is good! The sandwhich was a hoot. Thanks for your encouragement and clear explanations. Excited to be making nice sounds!
Way to be, Claudia, thanks for this reflection. So great you resonate well with the program! 🥳 🎶
Hello,
I’m just getting back into playing. I get the plucking but I don’t know these songs by heart. Am I missing something?
Thanks
MaryZ
Hi MaryZ, Thanks for sharing and inquiring. This lesson is intended to be worked through, focusing on the open string duet parts, even if we are not familiar with the melody of songs. The open string rhythm plucking, that plays along with the melody, turns into bowing while using the same open string rhythms, which are shared in the tabs of each exercise. The recordings Fais Do Do and Soldier’s Joy start with the open string duet part, which I think is helpful for folks to get acquainted with that part intended to be played, before adding the melody in to play with.
Be nice to know how you navigate this lesson further, if you continue pursuing it. It can be quite the practise challenge in listening and following/learning the open string part, then maintaining that part while the melody plays with you.
Enjoy the journey 🎶
I am working through the recorded workshop. I find that hitting the A/E combination consistently is more difficult than the G/D or D/A combo’s. Does anyone else run into that? And wow this is two+ years old so I probably won’t get a response 🙂
Hey Don,
Thanks for mentioning this. Yes, I can see that difficulty aswell. The A and E strings having smaller surface area seems to require a more precise angling of bow and precision. Also the position of the bow arm for this feels trickier. Great to recognize something that requires extra attention! All the best on your practise endeavours 🙂
Yea, some of these lessons can go back a ways! Nice to have the living comment section to share on anytime we want.
Hi Jason, doing the lesson from recorded session. Just taking the time to relax and breath reminds me that I’m here for the enjoyment of playing without pressuring myself to learn x amount or x number of tunes in x time. I like viewing group lessons after they are recorded so I can take my time, repeat parts, take a break, etc. If I had been there live, I might have asked you to turn the drone sound down a notch so I could hear you better. Thanks, Susan
Great, Susan. I agree, recordings are very supportive to approach in our own way.
Thanks for your sharing and suggestion with drone 😀
This was a great lesson!!! Special thanks for the double stop sheet above. Double stops are my nemesis!
Great you enjoy! Yes, helpful support for integrating double stops, and awesome you are approaching what feels tricky! 👍🏽
Wellerman is another great Sea Shanty.
Yes, Don! Great sharing 😀 I’ll add this to the request list.
You may have mentioned this at some point but I missed it. Why are they called “pedal patterns”?
Hey Jason. I am thankful for this great season in my life. My home, marriage, kids, and finally having time for my music. This includes how much I am learning from Fiddlehed!!! I am an intermediate player but have been going through the beginner lessons to pick up things I missed before. So amazingly helpful!
I have joined some jam sessions with my mandolin and working up to bringing my fiddle. Just about ready for that.
Thankful!
Right up there on a list too long to share are my strung along fiddle friends and the fiddlehed community!
Counting our blessings every day, it is even important as playing every day.
I am grateful that I have the chance to help people in my job as a pharmacist
But even more when I can recharge by playing music
and that I can enjoy the fun lessons of Fiddlehed.
And there are still many small and big things that I am grateful for
Sometimes we just forget how lucky we are
Grateful to take some time to think about it again
So big thanks!!
( also to google translate 😉 )
I’m grateful for my husband of 14 1/2 years and that he’s willing to be get involved with my music. I’m grateful for my church and church family. I’m grateful for where I live in the beautiful PNW and my warm cozy home. I’m also grateful for Fiddlehed and how I’ve improved since getting involved. 😌
Everyday there is so much to be thankful for, I love your “categories”–
Family, all the love even with the challenges
Health–my fingers mostly still work! Grateful for my Jeanne doctor
Music–my medicine for living
Teachers–yes, Thich Naht Hahn taught me how to breathe
Mr. Graubard taught me how to learn
My children taught me about myself
My bees taught me how to move slow
My students have brought me joy
Friends–where would I be without them?
Water, Sun, Clean air
Thank you, Jason!
Hi Jason!
I am grateful for Fiddlehed, and all babies, including your beautiful daughter and my 1 year old granddaughter Johanna, who brings such joy into her every day! I am grateful for my dog, who gets me out in nature every day, and shares his playfulness and joy with me. I live near the ocean, so I am grateful for the two beaches near me, and also for meditation, family, and musical friends, and of course – so grateful for music!
Re: your back – my physio told me to set my alarm for every hour to get up and move – stretch, touch your toes (knees bent), do some yoga. And thanks, Vicki – I will be checking out those “Jen Hilman lower back” videos too!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
This is suddenly a really hard tune out of the blue! Good thing I can read sharps and naturals – otherwise it would be a total loss without even a sound bite as a guide. I will keep at it though. Your lessons are really awesome and I am learning a lot.
Thanks for sharing, Catherine. Your motivation in the challenge is great to experience. Thanks for your interest in the program!
Simplifying more than I originally think or plan to always helps me with trickiness.
Jason – I have 4 words for you “Jen Hilman lower back”. I was told I have 4th degree disk degeneration and would need a chiropractor for the rest of my life. Instead, I do Jen Hilman yoga videos. Some of her videos are 100% seated and I attribute my ability to walk painless to mostly ONE pose….💖 Supine Spinal 💖.
I am so incredibly grateful for all members of Fiddlehed. I’ve practiced every single day since the FPC last month and it’s been my favorite outlet since becoming caretaker of my mom which has really broke me down to ground zero.
I am grateful for my daughter Kelsey who lights up every room and makes everyone feel seen. And my partner Bryan who makes me want to be a better person every day so that I may return to him a fraction of the joy he has brought to my life.
To my bestie Jill who empowered to turn down a round I hadn’t had the courage to do before meeting her. If you don’t have a witch in your life, go find one today.
And finally to my pupper Oliver. This little guy has spent 11 years loving me unconditionally and I love sniffing his neck each morning 💖
Love to all my fellow Musicians 💕💕💕
Grateful for my health today and that despite many joint issues, I can still play fiddle and participate in Fiddlehed, Strung Alongs and with some friend musicians. Grateful for my kids and grandkids and that I can travel to visit them. I love the State and National parks here in Virginia, where I love to wander and I’m grateful for that. Grateful that a puppy may soon be in my future.
Owen- I just said this morning we have to go back to Galax Rails to Trails 💖💖💖 we are in Pisgah Forest NC
I am so grateful to live in such a beautiful place – the Pacific Northwest. Grateful to have raised two healthy children with a loving partner. Grateful to have found the Fiddlehed community and to be having such fun learning music. Thank you everyone for sharing!
PNW is so magical – we got to spend a year of Vanlife in Oregon 2019 🪄✨🌟✨🌟✨🌟
My first fiddle teacher, Del Bassett, recently passed at the golden age of 90. I am so grateful to have had him as a teacher and a friend. He taught me much about “Faith, Family, and Fiddle” in that order.
Grateful for my wife Ann, two fabulous stepdaughters, Caitlin and Kyah, and two “fabulouser” granddaughters, Amelia, and Eleanor.
Just turned 70 myself, and besides the aches and pains of arthritis in my hips, fingers, and shoulders, I am in good health.
Grateful for the knowledge of Jason. Learning so much more!
The sheet music above is missing the letters for the TABS printed above and it makes a really brilliant exercise for learning to read the sheet music for me to work out which string the notes are on! It stops me being lazy reading tabs & actually means I have to look at the notes as I play whilst using the video and backing track too!
Perfect challenge, Joanne 🎶
I like how you recognized this and put it out there, so relatable.
Opens up fresh approaches to learning 🥳
Hey Jason, Do you teach Mandolin too?
Ive stopped with piano and would like to learn how to play the mandolin.
Thanks Robin [email protected]
All lessons in this course can be used to practice mandolin.
Fiddlehed Tom showed me how he utilizes the number system for this tune to help him learn a melody, similar to guitar number system.
First half of Verse (D major): 1 3 5 5 6 5 3 2 1 H1 1 2 1 7 6 5 5 6 5 3 2 1 2 2 3 2
Here’s a neat live instrumental version (moves from D major to A major right away)
🙂
Love the bluesy Swallowtail! Great ideas, Jason! Thanks!
Thank you for this feedback, Cindy. Agreed 😀 💡🎶
Fun Lesson. Thanks. 🙂
Jay Ungar is one of my violin heroes. Right up there with Jason Kleinberg and the late Del Bassett. I know, I know. Nobody knows the last one. He was my first violin teacher, music teacher in Michigan, and past president of the West Michigan Fiddlers Association. Anyway one of the first waltzes he gave me to learn was Mountain House. Still one of my favorites.
Yes, Don! Thanks for this share. I was shown Blue River Waltz by a Fiddlehedder recently… really wholesome music all around 🙂
Not only did you make a sandwich, you also made a salad too!
Too funny
I just ordered a shoulder rest. 😉
So good 🙂 Awesome Cathleen, enjoy!
Cool!
Indeed! What a fresh creation 🎵
The blues lessons have opened up a whole new dimension to fiddling. I really appreciate the availability of the replays.
Yes! Really resonating 🙂
Hi Jason: If I can check in with you in the breakout room today that would be great – just to check how I hold the fiddle because I sometimes have pain. thanks!
Jo
Hey Jo, thanks for reaching out on this. Were you able to connect with Jason during the session regarding this? Feel free to email us for further support. [email protected] 🙂
I really enjoyed this experience and just wanted to thank everyone for the chance to receive positive feedback and share. I hope to revisit this page and listen to some of the videos posted that I missed..if I had more time I would have listened to and commented on each one. I’ve really enjoyed what I’ve heard/read and hope you all keep up the fiddle love!! 👏🎻
It was a great FPC this year. It got me where I wanted to go! Jason’s Chaining technique ended up being the magic elixir! I’m participating in Fiddlerman’s group Christmas project again this year: “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” Violin 1 (may contribute more parts if I get to it). The “hardest parts” for me were several consecutive measures of triplets, all played at a brisk pace. For weeks I worked on them, “chunked’ them, slowed them down, looped them, but there was always this little hiccup at one spot, sometimes audible and sometimes just internally in my fingers or heart. Finally, I resorted to chaining one note at a time. Eureka! It wasn’t a “finger” issue, my brain was fighting itself!! The first three sets of triplets followed a repetitive pattern; the fourth set altered the pattern by just one finger. Half my brain wanted to continue the pattern and the other half wanted to play it properly. A couple sessions of chaining practice and it all came out smooth as silk. I can now play the piece well at click track tempo and feel well on my way towards a satisfactory video presentation. Thanks Jason!
👏🎉that’s awesome!
Final day of FPC. I tried to hard to play it “perfectly” (as good as I think is possible) and I started to get frustrated because I couldn’t get there, but then I remembered this is the end of the FPC, but not the end for learning this song.
I can hear improvement on the song, but mostly I feel way more confident playing it after sharing it here several times and receiving kind comments on my videos. Thank you all!!!
Wow, really well done! Good intonation too! 👌
Rachel, you sound great!
Well done, Rachel!!
Love it! Great execution. Can’t help but notice your awesome fiddle shirt, too! 🙂🎻
This is the final recording of my project song for Fall Practice Challenge 23. It will be interesting to see if I’ve improved it any since the first video I posted on 10-17-23. The FPC was great. Throughout the Challenge, I practiced key areas where I was having trouble and hopefully made some progress! Thanks to Jason!
Keith, I could tell you made great strides before I even went back to your first video. Timing was better and notes sounded crisper. A little daily progress really adds up! Nice job!
Thank you Rachel! It’s good to hear that!
Agreed, way to go Keith! 🎻✨
I started the challenge two days late, but I did practice those days..so I want to catch up by adding two videos. I unfortunately can’t recall the name of the first song, but I’ve had a lot of fun thumbing through the big Irish sheet music collection it comes from and picking ones at random to play. The second one is an intro from Lannigan’s Ball by Charles Harrison. I tried testing my ear to figure out the notes for this on his play along track.
Oops it’s not Lannigan’s it’s Tenpenny Bit, lol, I’m mixing up my Irish song titles
Love your sharing, Kayli. Your creativity and movement is inspiring!
💕✨
I did it! Practiced the fiddle everyday for 14 days. My FPC project was a medley of 3 Irish tune. I wanted to be able to play each one twice thru, cleanly transitioning from one to the other. When I started I barely knew Laniigan’s Ball and I hadn’t played them all together. I can now play all 3 together with strum machine at 90bpm. 😁 I even got my husband involved learning the chords and playing back up for me. Also I’ve been inspired to do a practice challenge of my own with my Dulcimer starting tomorrow. This challenge has helped me be more consistent with my practice and more comfortable making recordings.
You sound really nice with the guitar and your timing is spot on! I love your song choices, too.
I didn’t record anything. I have a group of friends that play bluegrass. I usually play my guitar but I’m trying to switch to fiddle. So I created a list of all the songs that we called in our last jam and the key. Over the last several weeks I’m trying to play each one of those pieces on the fiddle by ear without sheet music (when possible) so that I could do it during the jam. I started with the easier pieces and trying to learn the harder ones. I played along with fiddlehed whenever possible or Youtube or strummachine (slowed down of course -ha ha). It’s gone really well but I still need more practice of course! The Fall Challenge did help keep me on course. Thanks everyone!!
Today was our last day working at a campsite in Woolacombe, North Devon & we head home tomorrow so this tune seemed appropriate! It’s written by Rupert Kirby called Farewell to North Devon & as you can hear, I’m accompanied by the rain hammering on the roof of our motorhome!
Hey,
I am Flemish and also very new here, since August, so there is still a lot to discover!
Playing every day is rather a reward for me than an assigment.
However it remains a challenge to continnally push your boundaries
and that is what I really like about this program.
To play something nice in front of the camera is not as easy as it seemed
but I had a good time with it.
It was wonderful to play in nature during a morningwalk today with our grandson.
The tune is called The Skye Boat Tune. It is a Scottish song.
I tried also the variations but not yet in front of the camera 😅
That will be for the next challenge as well as the interplay with a flute.
Hope you like it!
Ann 🎻
Absolutely beautiful Ann!! 💖💖💖 and great videography too 💜
Thank you 😀
Lovely!! And I think that’s the cutest audience I’ve ever seen! How sweet! 💕🎻✨
Thanks, Kayli! Nice to read!
I am quite impressed by your technique and concentration during your playing.
It inspired me a lot! 🤩
Awe, thanks Anne, that is so sweet..I’m so glad ! 😊 💕
You played that beautifully! This is a favorite tune of mine, too.
Thank you Rachel!
I chose it because of my fond memories of the isle of Sky.
The Arran Boat Song is also very beautiful.
Love this song, thanks for posting
Thank you! for encouraging us to do this!
Pardon my sweat- 80 today and 25 on Wednesday (poor birdies)
Here is Day 14 of Cripple Creek and I kind of added the blues in. Very cool to see our progress!! Thanks to all 💖
No video for me today but tonight, I did go to a Halloween party/Old Time jam! I had a great picture but couldn’t figure out how to post it here, so you’ll just have to take my word for it! There were some great costumes and some great tunes played.
Video taken in May of this year:
I revisited “Road to Lisdoonvarna” tonight for practice. I was so into the recording of this by Jason when I first heard it this year, that I no lie tried to obsessively dissect the song to figure out the different things (techniques/patterns/embellishments/notes) I was hearing. I replayed it and replayed it, trying piece by piece and note-taking my ideas on my “Fiddler’s Fakebook” sheet music for it. I even asked a friend who is much better at understanding music by ear than me to help and he was able to break down a whole section. I actually was surprised that my friend agreed with my guesswork on the intro..which shows me my ear is actually getting better. When I started out with fiddle, I felt discouraged at times because I thought this ability was so poor, but I’ll tell you, don’t let it stop you! Music is for everyone.
I actually thought about asking Jason to help me continue this song, but wasn’t sure if he’d want to share his secrets from his artwork and felt too shy to ask I guess. So I’ll use this FPC to reach out and request a supplemental video for this song or for extra education on it, as I’d love to understand more about it and try it. I haven’t gotten to the end yet and it’s so packed full of different things like double stops, backwards slides, interesting bowing, and composition, that I don’t believe is all written in the original.
Someday, I hope I can develop my own voice and express songs my own way without mimicking others too much. But for now, it’s helping me to learn and I find it exciting!
Wowsers!! 💖🍁💖🍁💖
Gee, thanks!!! 💕🎻✨
Today, I just wanted to play. To continue with doing videos I decided to play a tune that I learned from my uncle. He learned it from my Great Grandpa and we don’t know the name of this tune. We always called it Grandpa’s Waltz. If anyone had heard this tune before and knows its name let me know. 😊
How sweet that you all have carried that song through your family, keeping the spirit of your great grandfather with you. That’s so special ❤️ It sounds lovely
It’s been many generations since anyone in my family played fiddle, but just knowing some did gave me the confidence to start. I love this special story.
Thank you for the replay. I missed the original lesson but Im catching up. i agree its better to learn by ear. Sheet music is good if you hit a snag but eartraining helps to keep the tune in your head
Glad you enjoy, thanks for sharing takeaways and connection points 👂🏽🎶
Busy day today, but I still managed to fit in some practice 😁. I even got my husband involved, he’s learning to play back up guitar. We played thru the Irish medley I’ve been working on. It was fun. 12 days done!
It makes it doubly fun to be able to play together, doesn’t it?
I would love some more instructions on how to do the bowing on this!
Kris, great suggestion. I will add this to our request list.
Something I find helpful to dial a bowing pattern is to initially eliminate the fingerboard hand and simply bow open strings (example for bar 1: E0 – long long short short short short, example for bar 3: E0-A0-E0-0-0-0-0-0)
And slowing the rhythms way down and slowly working up speed as we are ready.
Today’s video is King of the Fairies, or as I prefer, King O’ the Faeries. I only went through it one time for each part. Less chance to make mistakes that way! 😀
Nice Keith! One of my favorite Irish tunes.
Thank you!
Practicing the train beat today and trying the chords found in “Pretty Little Dog”. I enjoyed playing the melody along with the backing track first.
Funny enough, all the neighbor dogs can be heard barking in the video as I work on this “Pretty Little Dog” stuff 😅
Nice bowing!
Thanks!
Cool exercise! With all the dogs barking sounds like my neighborhood.
Thanks!
Day 12 – I far prefer standing and letting go with my chin a bit to move with the notes and I can breath better.
I prefer standing too but in the Old Time world, everyone sits! When I sit, I sometimes hit my leg with the frog end of the bow!
One of my goals for FPC is to get to a point where I can video myself and play as well as I do when the camera is not on me. As soon as I turn that camera on, I stiffen up and my bowing and intonation go out the window. I’ve made a lot of videos since FPC started and I don’t think I have made much headway in relaxing before the camera. Stage fright. I am actually less nervous at the jams than with the camera, because at the jams, my mistakes are often drowned out by all the other instruments. And even when recording a video, I might feel like I’m doing pretty well, but as soon as I watch/listen, I see the truth of the matter. That is, I am nowhere close to where I thought I was and where I want to go ultimately. I might have even gotten worse, because now I become filled with dread at the thought of turning on the video camera (my iPhone). But I guess I’m being hard on myself. I haven’t been playing very long so maybe I’m being impatient. The FPC has been good for me though, as it has really put a spotlight on my weak areas. I plan to keep on working on it, through the 29th and ever after! Thanks to everyone who has encouraged me and thanks for all the videos everyone else has posted!
Hi Keith, I know what you mean! I found myself being less nervous onstage playing with a band & at jam sessions than playing on a video or even a zoom group of fiddlers! I guess you know on a video that you are Isolated in sound and technique & going to be heard & seen by people who know what they’re doing!! Just remember on Fiddlehed we’re a nice bunch & all going through the same learning process so you’ll always get the support and encouragement. As with most things, the more you do it, the easier it gets. 😊
Thanks Joanne!
Hi Keith, You are doing great! When I first started this challenge the last thing I wanted to do was video myself, let alone post it for others to see. The more I did it, however, the more comfortable I got with it. It’s a great learning tool. It’s more forgiving than playing for a live audience, if you mess up real bad, you can stop and delete and try again 😁
Thanks Darcy!
Last night was a late practice because I had company arrive. No one minded me working on my lesson, so I continued with my current course progress (Interval Exercise 4) to keep my tone improving. Sometimes it’s helpful for me to just follow the course when I’ve had a busy day.
Oops I meant to post a reply to this and my daily post went in the wrong place.
I also get nervous taping myself, but I need to do it b/c I don’t get much other feedback (not really playing in jams yet and no live teacher) so I need to critique.
I tape most of my practices. I turn the video on and let it run, then I crop down to the best version and save it with the song name on my phone. I find leaving the video running, eventually I’ll get in the groove again and play normally, without fear.
I’ve found I play much better by standing and not holding with my chin. It just feels right to move with the notes. I also focused on not holding my breath today. Happy Day 12!
Thanks for sharing your experience and preference with playing, along with this lovely musical video. Nice work adding it to this tune page, Vicki 👍🏾 🍁💗
Happy fall practise challenge~
Roped my hubby into playing the guitar with me tonight to work on that “live” element. It wasn’t so bad. I never got the ending right, so this is the best we did.
Yayyyyy!!!! putting that down as my next challenge, although that sounds really hard to learn.
It’s so fun! Jason did a lesson on it not long ago. I would love to see your rendition when you get it ready.
Great job, Rachel!
It really helps to have that backup, doesn’t it?
It sure sounds better!
Pretty sure you’ll be ready for the jam. You two sounded good
Aww thank you!
I love the expression “greasy slide”. Is that a musical term or did you make it up? It’s awesome
My pal Les Raw from the Pine Box Boys used it once and it stuck in my head…
Continuing practice with the fingering for the A major pentatonic scale found in the Hesitation Blues lesson and trying it on the lower strings. Decided to “fiddle” around and make some things up after that for fun 😊
Today, to fulfill my FPC commitment, I participated in Jason’s Zoom practice meeting, and tonight I made a (rough!) video of Soldier’s Joy. Getting comfortable being recorded is one of my FPC goals. Not sure how I am proceeding. Normally I wouldn’t post this, but it’s for practice, so it’s ok. 🙂
It’s a fun sounding tune! You look confident up there and you’re so good for using your metronome!
Thanks Kayli!
Nice job Keith 😊 One of my favorite old time tunes.
Thanks Darcy!
Well here’s the full medley. I decided to up the speed a bit, so it got a little rough in spots. This is practice after all. Also I had run thru the medley a number of times before the I made the video and my arm was getting tired. How those Irish fiddlers play and play I don’t know 😅
Wow, Darcy, that is awesome! Well done!
Thank you Keith 😁🎶🎻
Love the medley! They mesh with other well. Well played I really enjoyed it.
My 4th FPC and I’ve been slacking. Have enjoyed everyone’s videos and nice to see how everyone is progressing! Love all the different songs and variations.
For this years FPC I’m trying to keep it simple with working on “Cripple Creek”, “King of the Fairies”, and a set “Smash the Windows and Captain White”.
Slow and steady progress. I either have to make the fancy parts better or drop them out when I go to the jam so I can stay in time. I’m fighting for them!
Very nice Rachel! Love Bob Wills and “Faded Love”.
That’s really great, Rachel! I wish I could get my intonation that good and that consistent! Good job!
For my practice today I played through all 3 tunes with strum machine each tune twice thru at 75bpm. I got a bit tangled up and lost my place a few times but eventually got thru the whole thing. If I like how it sounds tomorrow I will post a video. This challenge has been great so far and has helped me be more consistent with my other instruments as well. 😁
I’ve been revisiting “Lilting Banshee” variation today and I think I missed the supplemental variation video the first time around! It was really insightful and I can feel myself gaining a deeper understanding of rhythmical variations and composition. I really love to bite into this kind of knowledge and look forward to learning more!
I am a “fiddle scientist” and I get to “choose my own adventure” (pulling from the Fiddlehed video) 😁!
I took lots of notes on my sheet music, but I’m not sure how to attach a picture. Anyhow, I think they’ll help my retention of the information. I feel like one my strengths is sight-reading and a weakness is playing by ear/recalling songs from memory. I think the latter is improving some, but it will take time and more focused attention/patience. If I’ve learned anything, it’s that music is about the closest thing to magic you can find in life..Tom Petty said this and I’m a believer too!
Part A
Part B
The variations are great! You have the trills down very good! They sound very nice.
Thank you!! Not all my fingers trill as well as others, but it’s a work in progress 😃
Well, your playing is simply fantastic! What more can I say? Wow.
Gee, thanks for your support Keith, you’re very kind. I was very lucky to find a teacher in my area around 10 years ago to help me and Fiddlehed too.. I can’t thank them enough because it truly is hard to learn on your own. I tried it and can compare it to stumbling in the dark with my fingers. I could only understand so much from a book. Thanks again and best to you
Yes, Kayli, you are so right about having a good teacher. I had one locally for a couple months, but he moved away, so I’ve been depending on Jason for 2 years now, and I have only been playing for 2-1/2 years. I would really like to find a local teacher that I can afford. $60 for one lesson a week is too hard on my budget!
Wow Keith, that would be very steep for me too. Around 25 a lesson hour is much more palatable. I didn’t know about Jason back then, and I’m so glad you found him early on and he’s more affordable!
Also, good luck on finding someone locally to help you, too 🍀 You’re doing great and going to jams must be helping you tremendously with harmonizing with others..very fun opportunity
Love it Kayli! You need to go and play this in an Irish pub!
Thank you!! I’ve totally dreamed of doing that. Irish music makes me so happy when I play it. So far I’ve performed at a restaurant with my teacher/friend years ago and one senior living facility this last St. Patrick’s Day. I was most comfortable playing for the seniors, more than I’ve ever been, so I’m hoping I can continue to settle my performance nerves! They sure were a bear at first!
My practice this evening will be a two person jam session with a friend who backs me up on guitar. We do this every 2 or 3 weeks and it’s a lot of fun! We usually play for 4 hours or so, so it is very good practice indeed!
Sounds awesome!
It was very cool, hammered out some good tunes. I described it in my note below (above?)… Thanks!
What are your go-to songs for the jam? And what’s your main instrument you usually play most in the jam?
Castanu92, last night we played these old time songs, Benton’s Dream, Gunboat, Lost Girl, Grey Eagle, and Whiteface. I always play fiddle, but my background is acoustic guitar flatpick. Last night it was just myself and a friend on guitar, but my regular Thursday night jam has anywhere from 8-15 people and is all old time with some great fiddlers who know all the old time standards. I learn a lot there…like just how far I have to go, ha ha!
Sounds like it was a fun time. Playing with others is so rewarding 😊
Day 10 Donzoes!!!
I’ve fiddled more in the past 10 days than anytime when I first took the plunge in 2019!
I’m actually starting to feel like a fiddler!
I have not been able to set consistent time and have just been making it a priority at some point in the day but I know I need a set time!
Thank you Jason and everyone for the platform and support!! Yay! Happy Happy Fall 🎻🍁🎻🍁🎻🍁🎻🍁🎻🎻🎻💖
Yay!! 🎻 😊 Playing every day really does make a difference.
I didn’t have a lot of time to practice today, so I just played through some of my favorite tunes. This on is so fun to play because I don’t have to struggle with my ring finger and pinky. Also I’m finding it much easier to record and watch myself play. I really am having fun playing this tune even though I look like I’m frowning. I call this look my fiddle face 😂.
I seem to have a particular “fiddle face” as well, ha ha! And mine is not very pleasing to watch. 🙁
This one is fun for me too. I have tried to practice my smile while playing—it’s just as hard as breathing while playing. 😆 I even recorded myself and my “smile” was undetectable. 🧐
You really hung in there for a very long and beautiful song! Way to go!!
I want to say that, while most of the videos I’ve posted here were not tunes I learned from Jason, he is certainly the one most responsible for getting me to this point! Many, many thanks to you, Jason.
So, this tune is Yew Piney Mtn., a very old modal tune from W. Virginia. I like it because it is sort of spooky, perfect for the season.
Yew Piney Mtn has such a haunting sound—mountain music! I like that Benton’s dream too. Sounds like you’ve almost got it down.
Love all the old timey tunes especially the names. Very fun to hear them!
Actually reminds me of an Appalachian tune “Lonesome John”.
Wow, this one’s super cool. Where did you find the sheet music for it? I’d love to try it some day. Love your double stops in there! Great job 👏
Getting a little frustrated with my project songs, I seem to be getting worse! So, I decided to play something fun and forget about my obsession with those other songs, (Indian Ate the Damn Woodchuck and Jaybird died of the Damn Whooping Cough) 🙂 I started playing a pretty easy song I recently learned, Benton’s Dream. Surprised myself by playing it fairly well! Decided, what the heck, let’s video it (one of my FPC goals) and see how it goes. It went well enough that, confidence regained somewhat, I played Yew Piney Mtn. Then shot a video of it also. So I will make two posts since I’m not sure if you can attach two at the same time. Thus, my practice for today’s FPC.
That’s what happened to me too Keith so I went back and played the few I know well. Tomorrow I’m going to loop where I got stuck.
I love practicing this song..it has a really neat feel to it. I noticed I accidentally made a bow sound I didn’t want at one point in the video, but it’s just a reminder to work on smoothness this year and decrease this sort of thing.
(I started this challenge a few days late, so I’m trying to catch up with extra posts or I would have spread them out.)
Love this version with your variations!
Yay, thank you! I can’t claim the variations though, I got them from Jason 🙂 I hope to be embellishing raw music more on my own someday. I’m happy about this part of the process though, too 🍀🎻
“The Butterfly” is a beautiful tune. Once again your trills are very well done.
Thanks again! I love butterflies and wonder about the history of this tune..it seems to capture the spirit of a butterfly to me.
I’m really trying to
have clarity with the variations as I play faster..make sure they don’t sound muddy. I also want to make sure things are tight rhythmically. These are some of things I think about as I try and edit my videos and improve my playing. I watched Jason’s supplemental video for “Rolling Waves Variation” and repeatedly played along, which was very helpful.
I worked on “Rolling Waves” variation today. I will post a video tomorrow as I need a little more time.
Today I put all 3 tunes together. It was a challenge to not mix one tune up with another. It’s a little rough in the video but I expect it to smooth eventually, with practice.
Really excellent job, Darcy! Nice clear notes with good intonation, something I could use more of for sure!
Thanks Keith, your comment is encouraging. 😊
Very nice! This song is definitely on my to-do list!
This is a song I learned from Jason last year. I’ve been concentrating on Old Time stuff lately but this is a great song that’s kind of Old Time and Irish too. I used it to get my daily dose of video fear today. I don’t even get this nervous at my old time jam, probably because there are lots of other fiddles and banjos to hide my mistakes! 🙂
And I also practiced my project songs, Indian Ate the Woodchuck and Jaybird Died of the WC.
30min. Mimosa fiddling sounds like fun. Gonna have to give it a shot. Sounding good nice clear notes.
OK so I took up the challenge of trying a tune I find difficult! The solo part from Fishermans Blues! I’ve been trying this for at least 18months now & the 4th quarter B part still destroys me! I’d love some help with it please Jason on Thursday! 🙏
My offering today is an awful rendition of Jaybird Died of the Whooping Cough. Yes, that’s the real name. 🙂 It is certainly one of my most difficult tunes currently, along with Indian Ate the Woodchuck, my FPC project song. Gotta love the names, right? In old time jams, it’s not considered particularly difficult, but for me it is, ha ha! I am painfully aware of all the mistakes of technique and performance that I make in this rendition. See if you can count them all! (just don’t tell me, ha ha!)
I’m posting these videos to help with one of my FPC goals, becoming more comfortable with being recorded. It’s amazing how you can have a song that you play pretty well, but when you turn the camera on, everything runs off the rails! I swear, it took me 20 takes to get this horrible rendition. And of course, after I quit filming, I could magically play it through with no hiccups. Stage fright. Didn’t Jason have an article about this?
Cool tune! Sounds great Keith!!
My humble offering for today is an abso
Oops
Six days straight now! Since today is Sunday I thought I would play a medley of old hymns 😊
I miss counted, it’s actually seven practice days straight 😁
Working on intonation today so I chose Dawning of the Day. It’s a fairly simple tune but can change so much on getting the intonation right. I use some audio recordings then sing it in my head to get it sounding how I I want it
Very pretty!!!
Hi Jason,
I’ve been taking your lessons for 10 months now and have made it through your beginner module. I am so happy that I decided to sign up for a membership with Fiddlehed! You are a excellent instructor and make learning on of the hardest instruments fun. I noticed months ago that you push the importance of daily practice of scales, bowing exercises, looping, chaining and many other great learning techniques. I use to feel like maybe you were moving your students a little slow and so much repetition of songs like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star or Mary Had a Little Lamb. But what I realized was you’re lessons have a deep rooted sneaky design. After learning and practicing all of these modules I realize how these lessons have taught me to play by ear, fingers are trained subconsciously to land on notes in tune, body and mind relaxed and breathing and most of all having fun practicing. When a new student follows your lessons all of a sudden the student will realize the purpose…. and hear the music.
Thanks again,
Gregg
Thank You for sharing, Greg 🙂
Practice tonight was two steps forward and one step back all night. I slowed down some source tunes and listened to what the fiddle was doing. Then I tried my own version, but adding more variation messed up my bowing pattern and I had to back up and play SLOW. Once I got that down, I sped up and then I couldn’t keep it all in tempo, so back to SLOW. I recorded the whole thing but there was nothing worth sharing tonight. 🤪 It feels like I’m almost getting it, but not there yet.
I was tired after work today, but it felt good to get my instrument in my hands. I revisited “Shady Grove”. I’m posting a short clip of me practicing it in F major tonight.
I realized that I’ve unfortunately not retained the chords I learned for this, so I plan to practice those more.
I’m posting the chord backup video I made in January, because it was a big accomplishment for me that Fiddlehed made possible. I have a friend who plays bluegrass and he urged me to learn chords in case I can ever get to one of his Jacksonville, FL jams. Some day I hope!
F Major clip-
Chord backup-
Beautiful tone!
Wow, thanks Rachel!! It’s taken many years to get this far and a lot of research/saving to get this fiddle ☺️. My first, and much more affordable one for a single mother at the time, didn’t sound nearly the same. I guess I just wanted to share a little about my journey 💕✨
I am starting again, and again I am getting pain in my neck and shoulder. What am I doing wrong?
Thank you!
Jo
Hi Jo, Thanks for mentioning this and inquiring. It can help greatly to have a professional violinist/luthier/teacher help, in person, fit your instrument to your natural posture. They can see from a different angle what kind of shoulder rest is needed and how to position it.
I use a shoulder rest that is recommended on the Fiddle gear page, called Bon Musica. I’ve found it to be very versatile in fitting the violin to my posture/body and helping secure the violin while playing. https://fiddlehed.com/contact-help-new/recommended-gear-books-and-music/
Be interesting to hear how that journey evolves for you. Pain and uncomfortability doesn’t need to be a regular part of playing fiddle. Reach out anytime 🙂
Yesterday worked on Hesitation,slow double stops and vibrato before meeting with the online group. Today was a travel day. Had I known there would be a two hour traffic tie up I would have pulled over somewhere and practiced 😄. Instead I listened to some tunes I had recorded and of course there’s always audiation and singing! The music is there even if you can’t pick up your instrument.
It does work! Even my 7-year-old knows my songs from listening in the car and when he hears me try to play them, he says, “You need to practice that some more.” 😆 🎶
Tonight I practiced my project song, Indian Ate the Woodchuck. I’m slowing it down and trying to play clean with good intonation and timing. It is a challenge on any song, particularly this one!
Someone told me to “make every note heard”count and that’s what I’m working on too…playing clean.
Sounding good! Your ta-da dance at the end was the best!
Nice! I’m working on “Cripple Creek” this FPC as well. Fun song to shuffle to.
Wow, I have been practicing frozen in space, never moving. I didn’t realize it was ok to move a little bit to work with the strings. This has been very helpful (and my back thanks you!).
Thank you so much. This is going to be very helpful in both this course and my private lessons. Learning a rather tricky piece right now, but applied chaining and it’s actually coming together.
That’s awesome. Denise. Thanks for giving insights on your experience with this. Simple practise tools that we can get familiar with and utilize wherever 🙂 🎶
Hello Jason,
Playing the different speeds is very helpful, especially with the whole song, you learn to match the rhythm correctly when playing along. One question, is it possible to set the whole melody for some more faster speed? Currently the highest speed is 90BPM (which corresponds to Strummachine 45bpm), the ordinal is around 140 (Strummachine 70). It would help me to master speed and rhythm better. Thank you 🙏😊
Ohh, I’m sorry, I found the solution in the audio settings
That’s great 😀 Be interesting to hear how you navigated this solution if possible. Thanks for considering.
I’ll add this suggestion to our request list also. Thanks for sharing, Gabi.
Thanks, that is very helpful
Yesterday I took a break from Faded Love to spend my hour working on intervals across strings. Tonight I didn’t really have time to practice, but I still worked in 20 minutes for Faded Love, scales, and playing D well on the G, D, and A strings.
I love the Irish variation songs within this course and have revisited one of my favorites today, “Wild Mountain Thyme”. The lyrics to this are just gorgeous, too.
I feel very drawn to Irish music and the first time I was introduced to “rolls”, I became addicted. Lol. I’ve been working on adding embellishments to songs this year and have grown a lot from the variation songs offered by Jason. Many thanks!!!
Thanks Kayli. I have directed some community theatre and one of my favourite plays of all time was John Patrick Shanley’s “Outside Mullingar”, which featured repeated renditions of that song and it became one of my favourite Celtic tunes. (I’ll let the Scots and Irish argue out the origin!).
So when I started on fiddle a few years ago I had to start with that tune, though my embellishments are not as refined as yours are. Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome Tom! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I would have loved to watch/listen to that play, too. Thanks for sharing the experience. I think that working with the theatre as a musician is a neat avenue. I got the chance to help a friend of a friend in theatre with a few violin bits for a community play in Maine. I wasn’t able to see how it turned out, but I hope he was able to use a good amount of our recordings. I was so nervous because I never did anything like that before. The music was also classical and I had to learn a new position to be able to play some of it. I knew it could be improved, but I’m glad I tried my best. I could stick to playing Celtic music most of the time 🍀
P.S. just keep at the embellishments..the more you do them, the more natural they feel. Promise. I just happen to enjoy them so much that I’ve obsessively practiced them, lol. I love the ones Jason does, for example, for his Road to Lisdoonvarna. I try and model them and those of other players from listening. I think you would like “King of the Fairies” by Dave Swarbrick. His are also incredible like Jason’s.
Working on Road to Lisdoonvarna today. It’s the 3rd song I’m playing in my medley. I struggle with my ring finger dexterity sometimes. Still playing slow and precise and listening closely to my pitch.
It’s sounding great! I really love this one too!
Great intonation! I think you’re already up to speed on this one.
Today, I continued working on my project song, Indian Ate the Woodchuck. It’s coming along. Then I decided to record a tune I’ve recently learned (at our old time jam!) the tune Tipping Back the Corn. This song was written by Jordan Wankoff, of Chicago, Il. It’s a fairly recent song (less than 50 years old) as far as old time music goes, but has become a classic! Plus it’s fun to play. Of course there’s lot’s of improvement to be made here!
Looks like I got hijacked by commercials somehow!? If you click on the title, the video will come up.
Sounds great. Excellent rhythm. Is that you stomping out the beat or do you have a drum-sounding metronome app?
….
At the end I noticed it’s not your feet. What’s it called? It adds a good back-up sound.
Nice groove!
FPC2023 day 5… I’ve been working on Battle of New Orleans the past couple days and though still a bit rough in places, I decided to put it out there. The droning double stops in the main chorus (starting second time through) were surprisingly achievable and are my favourite part.
Great job, Tom! Heck of a performance! You got it!
Great song! I love what you’re doing with the double stops!
Sounded great!
I’m trying to learn this tune from some recordings especially Kenny Baker’s version! I’ve simplified it and added in some of the blues techniques we’ve been practicing recently so here goes:
Today, I happily fulfilled my Fall Challenge obligation by going to my weekly old time jam! It’s a great group with some really excellent fiddle and banjo players from whom I have learned a ton. Definitely helps to play with folks a lot better than you are yourself!
Yesterday I practiced for a short time. I had worked in my yard and my arms were so tired I my fiddle felt heavy. 😂 Today was better and I worked on Lannigan’s Ball, playing slowly and precisely. It’s the second tune in the Irish medley I’m working on.
My card today is deliberate practice. I started working on the variation of Hesitation and realized I need to work on double stops. I checked that my bow was straight but I still have wavering and inconsistencies especially on an up bow. I will add slow double stop scales to my scale warm ups now. I think it might be a wrist issue.
I have found my sound. Thank you so much. I have only been playing for three months and are throughly enjoying your lessons
Thanks for sharing, Le. That’s awesome!
Looping ➰ to try to get the first part of the chorus down. I tried a bunch of different versions at first and then decided to loop this chunk
Hey! How do you do the drone/double stops? Many thanks!
I really enjoyed learning this one. Kind of a bouncy, happy song. And Pete was right, the repetition of it is easy AND fun to learn. Working on the tempo though.
Working through ‘week one’ exercises:
The notation for Exercise 2 is incorrect. It appears to belong to the beginning of Exercise 3. The notation is exercise 3 is missing the first 2 notes of the hoedown pattern.
Really enjoyed playing with the Hesitation Blues preparation scales today!
I believe in the power of looping!
Sweeeet!!!
🤗
No video for me today. Earlier today I re-read a piece by Jason that talked about the importance of slowing down so that in the end, you’ll play better once the speed picks up. I guess I’ve always known that helps, but today I really focused on this technique with four of my hardest songs, Indian Ate the Woodchuck (video I posted yesterday), Jaybird Died of the Whooping Cough, Forked Deer, and Lost Girl. I set the metronome to 70, 80, then 100 (jam speed more or less). I played several times through on each song at each speed, and wow, it really helped when I got back up to speed! I’m not sure why I was hesitant to slow down my practice before, but I think life in general would be better slowed down a bit!
Thanks Keith. I have no trouble posting to student videos using these steps but it doesn’t seem to work here.
I pasted the video link into the comment and it worked for me. Feel free to reach out via email if it still doesn’t work for you, Debbie. [email protected]. Thank you for reminding folks of the video posting support page, Keith.
Happy playing and sharing folks 🙂
Having trouble getting my videos to post. Day one I shared vibrato practice. I’ve been working on that for about a month and I feel pretty comfortable with third finger but not first and second. Day two I played Fisher’s Hornpipe. I’ve been working on speed and accuracy on that one.
Hi Debbie, please see my note above. I thought I was replying to you instead of starting a new thread, but oh well. Hope you have success uploading.
Hi folks, thanks for your interactions and support with this matter.
I went to your youtube channel, Debbie, and thought I’d try attaching your vibrato video link
Thanks!
Yay Jocelyn!!!!!
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!
Yes, great insights, Jim 🎶
Day 2 trying playing it slowly. I used Amazing Slow Downer. The original is 100 bpm so I cut it in half and played 50 bpm ten times through. Noticed some extra diddly-dos I could try (and they were pretty easy at that speed). I can’t use my metronome and record simultaneously.
Day 2 fall practice challenge
Chromatic scale
I started this challenge yesterday and I aim to practice at least 20 minutes a day. I posting a video for the first time today. O’Keefe’s Slide. I plan to work on a medley of Irish tunes in ‘Em during this challenge
Well done! I love this tune!
I woke up with a tune in my head and couldn’t remember what it was so looked it up & found it was one I haven’t played in a long time! When I tried to play it I couldn’t get the first part right then Jason’s post came through about slowing down so here it is!
Nice bowing there, Joanne!
Today, I am posting the hardest song I know, Indian Ate the Woodchuck. It’s in the key of D using standard tuning. I will be practicing this song throughout the Fall Challenge and will re-record it at the end to see if I made any progress! I know the notes, it’s just getting the timing and intonation right now! Of course there are bowing issues, stiff wrist issues, oh well, it needs a lot of work! 😉
When I first joined Fiddlehed about 2 years ago, Jason suggested practicing every day and keeping a journal. I took his advice and now I normally practice two hours a day and keep a detailed journal of everything I do during that time. It makes a big difference!
Wow that is a notey song! I can’t wait to see the final result. Maybe post once a week so we can follow along and be encouraged? 😊
Yes, it’s not an easy one, but I love a “Challenge”, ha ha!
We also have a big Black Lab. Her name is River.
He was 1/2 Golden Retriever and half unknown mutt. One of the best pups!
Practice Challenge with the goal of being able to play this at a local beginner jam 11/11.
Excellent job, Rachel! Great all the way around!
Thanks! I’ve always hesitated to post a video, but I was encouraged by the ones y’all posted yesterday. I love Bob Wills songs.
You gotta love Bob Wills!!
Yes, it’s intimidating to put yourself out there…!
I’m playing primarily old time stuff these days.
Sounds wonderful! I liked how you added the double stops in, too. Nice touch. The jam will be happy to have you, I’m sure!
Beautiful!!!!!!
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.
I’m a day late. Going to plan on at least 30 minutes a day. Working on intonation, getting more solid on tunes I know , and I’d like to start practicing playing backup chords with old time tunes. I think the journal is a good idea. I might try to video Green Willis—I can tell that by breaking it down into chenks and playing the hard parts slowly that it will help with both my intonation and bowing. Now I’ll go try to figure out how to make a video
Day 1 and 2 in the books! 🙂
You just made me want to practice that song too. It’s been a while since I’ve touched it. Such a fun tune!
Hello Jason,
Great workshop yesterday. I did try several times to pick up the tab without success.
Please send, meanwhile, I’m having fun fiddling!
Thanks,
Catherine
I needed to hear this today. Yesterday,’s practice was clear evidence that I need to slow down.
Mary
I think the “Play Slowly” is suitable for framing, for its message and its style! 🙂👍
On the road up in Canada for the week. Started just about a day late but will keep consistent here on out. Even with the mute on the fiddle I want to be considerate of the late night playing at the hotel LOL… Always appreciate the fall challenge. Enjoy y’all!
Very cool!!!
Nice! Calvin Vollrath is playing up there somewhere.
After falling off the fiddle wagon, so to speak, I am hoping this will get me back into the daily practice routine. Still working out specific goals beyond improving tone that sounds like skis on gravel — but daily practice will help me get back on track. 👍 Happy to take part.
First day in the books! My goal is 20 minutes per day, focusing on a few specific tunes and doing “Violin Aerobics.”
The fall practice challenge always seems to come at just the right time for me, helping me to re-commit to my practice time as we go into the darker months. Thanks fiddlehed!
Jason, when the Practice Journal is submitted, does it also go to you so you can read comments?
I am able to see what’s written in the practice journals, but I don’t typically check them. It’s really something for you to track your progress…
Just finished 40 minutes of practice.
Tried recording but the phone battery died.
Will try again tomorrow with a recording
Today’s tune. I can see a lot of possibilities with this one.
Beautiful already!!
Ok, first day of FPC! I just recorded this video to start my first day. Since improving my performance on video is a goal, I might be posting more. I hope that’s ok.
Wow! Fun tune! Which is it?
Oh, sorry! The tune is Liza Jane, using crosstuning AEAE.
I’m so glad you inspired me to do this! I put down the fiddle a few years ago when life took a turn, I was just a beginner. I’ve just moved across the country, finally feel like this house is a home and I’m ready to take it back up again! My intention for this fall practice challenge is to just get back into the joy I once had in learning the fiddle! I think I can do 25 minutes a day before my neck starts hurting 😀
Me too!! I started in Portland Oregon 2019 as a reward to myself for completing a degree and am now settled in Pisgah Forest NC 💖
Hi Vicki, I’m not far from you, Maggie Valley, NC!
We went to see the elk in your backyard last night! We did not hear any bugling but got to see about a dozen feeding at dusk 🥰
I went from the SF Bay area to Vermont!
We spent our first Vanlife season in Vermont and talk about it all the time!!! 🥰🥰🥰
It may be Fall Practice Challenge, but for me It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas. I’ve been working on this song, and I intend to have it “performance ready” by the end of the challenge. This means I’ll be ready to record my video for Fiddlerman’s annual group Christmas project. Each year, these projects are a musical milestone for me as I inventory which aspects of my playing have improved over the year and which aspects of playing need focus in the upcoming year. These projects become all-consuming as I try to do my best and truly work through the challenging parts. With an early start this year, hopefully I can complete the video and then re-focus on other fiddling pursuits and the upcoming holidays.
You go girl!
Had a great day of practice sessions. Fiddle is kept out and I keep returning to it multiple times throughout the day. Took Jason’s “Lifting the Bow” lesson again, followed by practice. This technique plays an important part in these Christmas projects that are arranged by a classical musician. Bowing matters. There are multiple instances of a bow lift after playing B on the A string followed by a landing playing 4th finger D on the G string. Brushed up on that technique and it went well. Worked on sets of triplet runs. They are really starting to blossom. Thanks for the support, Deb.😊
Alternated playing the piece at 96 BPM and 48 BPM following Jason’s slow playing suggestion. Gave additional attention to triplet runs. Good results.
Love the annual Christmas projects! So inspiring 🙂
Great idea!
I will work on my bowing technique, and repertoire for a minimum of 15 minutes a day.
Practice at least 15 minutes a day
Continue working on Aerobics for Fiddlers exercises dexterity on D and G strings
Chromatic scales -D and G
Double stops on A and E strings in G
What a goof Idea. I will start with double stops for song wagon wheel.
I’d love to get to the point of trying Wagon wheel!!
Ooooft I need this right now!
I’ll be focusing on vibrato, bowing and fiddle yoga!!
Looking forward to it!
Since I practice every day and keep a detailed daily journal anyhow, why not make it part of the Challenge and share with others! I will be working on my old time repertoire, with focus on improving my performance with video. I find that with songs I normally play well, I get very nervous and often choke when the camera is turned on! Of course, working on playing cleanly and with good intonation is always a challenge!
You sound just like me – the daily practice, the daily journal, the choking before a camera playing familiar songs … here’s to playing cleanly and with good intonation. To get there, I will exercise patience and slow down, way down. Here’s to slow FUN!
Right on, Nena! It’s hard to slow down once you learn the tune, but I’m really having to force myself to slow down the one I posted today!
Hi Keith, haha, yes, slowing down is a (the?) real challenge!
Practice journal is unusable bc post button is not reachable.
Hello Jason,
I’m very happy with that lesson.
A suggestion for the repetitions for each part. For me as beginner it is difficult from the end to immediately switch back to the start of the repetition. A little pause between repetitions would help me get the bow and myself in order.
Thank you for this suggestion, Gabi. Happy fiddling to You. Glad you enjoyed.
I’m going to be working on blues and country tunes and scales. I also want to incorporate vibrato (still working on this) and some shuffle patterns.
The last post was July 7th, I have just tried and exactly the same exercises will not play i.e.
5,6,8,9 and 10
Thanks for revisiting this, Peter. I will personally update you once those exercises are added. Sorry for the inconvenience. Happy fiddling 🎶
Peter, these exercises should be working now. Can you try them and let me know how they work on your end? Thank You 🎶 🙏🏾
I got pretty lost in the minor Blues scale. Tried replaying the lesson, but still don’t understand how you get from the major to the minor scale. I should probably look at the minor pentatonic scale lesson? Still enjoyed the lesson. I like the sound of the E minor blues scale
Hello, thanks for sharing this experience.
Upon my observation, Jason has given split the workshop into 2 sections, one using major blues scale associated with Cripple Creek, and then moves to working with minor blues scale with Cooley’s Reel.
Yes indeed the minor pentatonic scale lesson is a good one to look into. The practise tabs below the video such as ‘prepare for the journey’ and ‘outline’ have some great breakdowns of each topic. It appears to me that the major blues scale stays associated with the major key of the tune, and likewise with minor blues scale linked with a minor key tune.
Please reach out anytime 🙂
I love the sound of all these blues tunes & scales, I’m going to be working on these!
Shifted my focus a week or two ago from learning variations of old-time tunes with double-stops to closed-position chord shapes. Will continue my work on those while also getting back to more tune variations.
I really need to get back into fiddling everyday. Let’s do this!
What a perfect time of year to start this challenge!!! 🍁🍁🍁🍁💖💜💖
Love the FPC! Really gets me back into working harder to practice every day! Bonus a few new tunes! Thanks!
I’ll be working on vibrato, double stops and bowing patterns mostly on tunes I review.
I’ve been negligent too long. I’m ready to go. Start slowly; start slowly; start slowly…
Hello, I actually started yesterday, practiced technique and sound. I’m still playing a few of the basics; You Are My Sunshine and Old Joe Ckark. My goal is to have the Holly and the Ivy underway by Christmas.
Going to practice a bit again this evening.
Almost too much for me at one time. I need to get the a & d parts down first.
The song after that.
Great feedback, Linda. Thank you for this 🙏🏼
Another great workshop Jason! You’ve unlocked mysteries and opened up a Pandora’s box of scales and new ideas for us to play with. Just what I’ve been looking for, thanks so much for not only teaching the scales, but also how to apply them to tunes.
Thanks for sharing your experience with this 🙂
i missed the workshop but this follow up is too good to pass up. great blues licks!!!!! i really like the slide effect!!
Agreed, what thorough and fun content! Stay tuned for the workshop replay 🙂
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.
I renewed my subscription after a couple of year, once I learned you had new content. I was wanting to take a deeper dive in to Old time, Appalachian and blue grass. This is a great place to start.
Sawmill tuning is fascinating. Love this.
Thanks for this feedback, great you’re back on the program 🎻
Yes, handy to have that and other items in the toolkit with us as we navigate different pages. Thanks for mentioning this 👍🏽
These exercises are so helpful. I will definitely make them part of my practice repertoire. They force me to slow down and really focus on practicing string crossing.
Thank you for sharing this, Theresa. What a great regular focus 🎻
I have to add one more comment because I was surprised this morning when I played double stops. Going through these exercises at different tempos has helped me improve my double stops also. Great lesson, Jason! Thank you!
This session resulted in a major break through for me! I have been playing for several years but have never had a relaxed bow hand. Couldn’t figure out how to move my fingers with a nice, even flow. But as I practiced these scales with rhythms, I could feel my hand loosen up without ever realizing it. I told myself I had to remember how this felt. I showed my in-person instructor the next time I attend my private class and she could tell the difference. She was so happy for me because she knew how hard I worked to figure this out. She gave me more practice tips to continue, mainly work on slow, long flowing bows on open strings and then progress from there. I also plan on doing these scales with rhythms before every practice sessions as a warm up.
What a great breakthrough, Jody. Thank you for sharing this, helpful for all 🙂
I really enjoyed this lesson, especially Soldier’s Joy. Another way to think of the hoedown pattern is “I’m happy, you’re happy.” Like others have mentioned, I find my tone deteriorates after a few minutes of looping when bowing. I discovered that doing a round or two of the loop using the lift off bow exercise is really helpful to help get good sounding notes back and alleviate the scratchiness, although it can be tricky to get the bow from bouncing when doing this. After plucking the songs I bowed them followed by playing the chords- Jason do you have any tips for catching both strings in a cord evenly or does this get covered later? Thanks!
Hi there, thanks for reaching out and sharing your insights.
There are some simple techniques for catching both strings evenly when chording. One main point would be to practise specific exercises on playing the notes separately and then together, and really noticing the bow angle change on each. Getting familiar with the bow angle is 1 big point.
There are multiple lessons/posts on this site with chording, simply search the keyword(s) in the search engine. Here is a chord lesson that explains the exercise and more
😁
I couldn’t make the live session so just caught up with this. Great discussion on the playing fills & solos. I really like the suggestion of playing a musical conversation with the Call & Response exercises. I’m going to try that!
nice steady way of learning, loving it
Thanks for sharing your experience, Peter 💗
Looooove this!! I would also love to see an insanely simple deck. Like… Do 1, 2, 3 done. But I’ll likely get the hang of it!
Love this feedback. We’ll talk more soon.
Have you tried the Journey cards?
🧡
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!!
I’m doing this every day but still can’t get to my Practice Journal to record it.
I have committed to play every day! The cards keep me focused and organized. This course is a steady flow of new ideas.
As always, great work Jason!!!!
Thank you for also posting the A major modulation!
Glad you enjoy this, Brian 🎶
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!
Learning tunes by ear is the best way to keep a tune in your head!!
Call and response is the best for learning a tune from scratch!!!
Truth be told!! 👌🏼
Would love a lesson on songs from “The Last of the Mohicans” movie, “The Kiss,” and also “The Gael,” just beautiful songs on the violin.
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.
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.
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.
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!
Such a sweet song.
I am actually an advanced beginner, but I didn’t see the recommendation for intermediate players, so I joined in. And, I really had fun. I was able to get the notes, and play the song through by the end.
Thank you for the great explanations and for breaking it down. That really helps.
Thank you for sharing this Tracy. 👍🏾
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.
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.
The whole fiddlehed site–small chunks, ear training, Jason’s encouragement–csn’t imagine another way to do this.
A teacher that expects you are capable of learning what you need to learn to succeed. And an encouraging family.
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….
Love Cajun music, this is gonna be fun! MEOW 😸
Thanks for sharing your joy, Susan!
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 .
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.
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!
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.
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.
encouragement to practice daily and to slow down when learning.
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!
Good to hear this! Were any of them too challenging?
I feel like I sometimes play too long or complex of a call (at least on the earlier videos).
No, they weren’t too challenging! I enjoyed doing them. Once in a while, I’d have to listen again, which was fine. It was just really good ear training.
As an aside, I find Call and Response easier when using a song rather than random notes. Mind/hand coordination is better
That was a great workshop, perfectly timed for where I am in my fiddle journey, trying to infuse more musicality into my playing. Though I was very familiar with the 3+3+2 pattern from my days as a Music major, actually *executing* it consistently through one’s fingers can be tricky, so I slightly modified the scale fragment we used in the workshop to fit its shape to the 3+3+2 accents more closely (at least to my ears). I play that modified segment with and without a double-stop drone, and also alternate it with the 3+3+2 pattern on open strings and on double-stop octaves. The sound is mesmerizing and fun, and is helping me really sink the rhythm into my fingers (even if my playing is still ragged at times).
That is neat how you worked with it, Pete. Be cool to hear/see how you did this. So glad your moving with these offerings so well.
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.
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).
I’ve been exploring this too. Trying to just enjoy the sound of a few notes played in different ways.
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!
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.
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
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.
Thanks for sharing. Something I’ve been pondering recently: Nothing is obvious until it’s obvious. The foundational practice strategies are relevant forever: Chunking, Daily practice, Playing Slowly, Focus on sound.
Daily practice is the best thing for my improvement. When I miss practice the fiddle feels foreign in my hands.
Mary Reid
This is another simple/obvious thing that can fall by the wayside. Thanks for sharing…
Jason, What is helping me the most is your encouragement to play very slow until it begins to sound good.
Great to hear you’re taking that to heart. It’s truly one of the most amazing practice strategies. It seems simple and obvious…maybe that’s why everyone forgets this (including me).
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.
Amazing idea for getting feedback on your playing. It’s a “twofer”. You get immediate feedback and then can also watch it after you play.
Totally! Awesome for any age too 🙂🎶
I love this song, thank you for the content. One minor comment, the sheet music does not match what you are playing. In your video, the quarter notes at the end of bars 3 and 6 are played as half notes. It took me a minute to figure out why what I was playing didn’t flow like it does in your video 😛
Correction: bars 2 and 6
Thanks for enjoying and sharing Travis. We appreciate yal mentioning these little incongruencies. We will get this corrected asap. Glad you figured it out in the meantime. 🙏🏽
The most epic way to figure out rhythms!! Love this!!
Loving your teaching
Great to hear this, Joe
Thank you for sharing Joanne. I really enjoy shetlan tunes… I have some Scottish heritage in my family. You play this song beautifully, nice effects too. Really appreciate the background information aswell 🙂🎶🌈
Jason, Thank you for this ‘Song-Scale-Skill framework. It will be very helpful for me. It comes at a good time for me. My biggest challenge is to get a good sound. Thanks for all you do to keep us motivated.
Robert Goode
Just what I needed. Printing out now. Thanks for being here for us every step of the way.
Good! Let me know if you use this…
Great material Jason.
Just diggin in today!!!!!
I couldn’t make it to this session but I watched later and it was very helpful. Your notes are as well. Thank you
thanks for letting me know 🙏
I’m working on this beautiful tune called Da Slockit Light. It was written by a Shetland Island fiddler Tom Anderson around the time of the death of his wife he visited his old home town on the Shetlands and was struck by the number of houses now in darkenss due to depopulation caused by death and younger folk moving to the mainland. Its a lament about the extinguished light and I thought it sounded nice with a bit of reverb & echo effects….
Very helpful lesson after learning the Blackest Crow variation in A. Now I understand the chord progression, which really pulls it together. That Red Tail Ring version tingles my spine!
Thanks for sharing this experience!
Just starting this one and, oooh, those slides make it *juicy*! Just no other word for it! 😀 I can tell I’m gonna have fun on this one!
Awesome to hear you’re loving and feeling good about the program, Pete. Enjoy 🎶
My dad held it like a cello. Not what he was taught, but did it to annoy his 3 violin playing sisters. Thanks for the videos including the sandwich making one. 😉
Thanks for sharing this! Indeed the humour carries with us well 🙂
This is great. I have put all group lessons in my calendar and plan on doing them regularly which should help me practice!
What a great intention, Gayle. Yes, they can help support consistent practising.
Optimism exists in some from birth born from either nurturing environments or necessity to. Even in challenging situations amidst setbacks and hardships, those with this trait survive. However, optimism is generally learned but you have to feel safe and secure – with yourself and the world around you to embrace it.
I was recently in Ballina, Ireland. They had a regional music competition for school kids. The music spilled into the streets, pubs & school hall. Is this tune as the Kerry Polka?
❤️☘️Patrick
Hey Tammy,
Great minds think alike. I’m just trying to learn this tune. The playing by these little tikes put me to shame, but I’ll keep at it.
Cheers – Pat
Lovely Patrick, thanks for sharing. Neat to experience a bit of it with you.
Sounds like they are playing it in D major, starting on F (E1), which is easy to transpose, just go up 1 string. 🙂
Thanks for the insight Jocelyn.
Thank you
Thanks for being here Stan
Thanks for another great lesson Jason, I just caught up on the replay. Your call and response method is so successful, having worked through your course (up to module 2.7 now), I found this lovely tune super easy to pick up by ear. I think that because that part was easy, I was able to focus more on listening to your intonation and tone and it was very helpful for me to work on that. By the end of the workshop I found myself improvising along with the tune. I liked your suggestions at the end and will probably have a go at writing a harmony. I’d be interested in a follow up lesson too. So far I’ve been working through the modules and all the bonus tunes, but I wonder if I should sometimes dip into the Irish or Appalachian collections to learn more about embellishments and style?
I noticed a few issues with the recordings that made it difficult to complete this section:
Exercise 3: Sounds like 2 different play-along tracks are playing simulatenously so it’s hard to understand what phrases are being played. You can tell by the gaps between phrases being played.
Exercise 4: Similar issues to exercise 3. It sounds like 2 different play-along tracks were combined.
Exercise 5: This recording is much smaller in length when played at normal speed compare dto the other tracks. There’s a note that’s cut-off in the beginning of the recording which leads me to believe this track wasn’t fully uploaded.
Exercise 6: This recording has some phrases from Bill Cheatham. I’m not sure if that was the intention as the exercise is labeled “Fourth Finger on A String”. It sounds like 2 tracks were combined here (example: 8:21)
Really appreciate this Brian. We’ll look into it and let you know once adjusted. Happy fiddling 🎶🙂
I love this “short video summary” idea! Great to have a little review w examples
Thanks for your feedback Caroline. Helps alot 🙂
What a fun polka! Played it in D too. Fun!
Have been practicing this for a few days and making slow progress. It feels like I have opened the door to an unfamiliar room that is at once confusing and intriguing, I’ll confess to skipping the basic “Bile ’em Cabbage Down” last year because I thought it was trite. Seeing it played by Mark O’Connor gave me a different understanding and I was able to revisit the lesson with a better attitude.
Great experience sharing, Wayne. Important life lesson sharing here 🙂
Wow! This is an incredible piece of work. Wish I had seen it 5 years ago, although maybe I wouldn’t have understood it then. Still struggle with a clear tone so I need to slow down (again). Fantastic article!
Hi Ginger, Thanks for sharing your appreciation of this and what you’re honing in on improving. Coming back to slowing down is always useful 🙂
All great tips, I can see where my tone is improving already. Just a side note – the cat wail at the end of the saw bow video was the confidence boost I needed. 😉
I just did a 4 day music camp where it was expected to play by ear and the instructor was very reluctant to hand out the sheet music. I practically had to beg her for it before getting an ulcer. I am 60 years old and have never played by ear. I can do one quarter then get overwhelmed when we move on. If I get the next quarter, I’ve forgotten the first. I feel like it’s a lost cause ☹️ Should I continue to stress over it? Keep trying? Or just enjoy playing with my music?
Hi Kathy, thanks for sharing this. Sounds like a great challenge you had at camp with learning by ear. It was nice they ended up supporting you with sheet music. Makes sense to keep trying to learn by ear, at your own pace, and respect that it’s good to try it (to any degree) in a higher pressure environment like you did, and that the pace was too quick for you to learn fully by ear at that time. Keep working on it though, as slow as the process may be, it’s so beneficial to develop that skill.
I have also relied on sheet music for alot of my playing years and find it quite difficult to go the route of learning by ear when I know I could learn it much faster by seeing the music. (Similar to going for the processed snack food that is already made when I could otherwise go into the garden or fridge and take some time to make something from scratch.) I continue to remind myself that the skill of learning by ear is what I need to develop and it is it’s own path, much different than the one I am more comfortable with/impulsively drawn to. 🙂
Jana Jea from Hee Haw has a fiddle camp at Grand Lake here in Oklahoma Sept 1, 2, and 3rd. I won’t be able to go this year. Hopefully I can go next year.
Hi Jason, I got about half way through it. Got tired so I took a break. Love the song. I know why you’re not supposed to look at the sheet music. Doing that actually slowed me down. I was doing pretty good until I started looking at the music. Lesson learnt. I’ll try it again in a couple hours. Thanks again. Holly
I just completed this archived group lesson. Really enjoyed the tune. It was fairly easy for me to pick up by ear, but would enjoy a follow up lesson on adding variation or improve to the tune. I will try to do some of this on my own. Also transposing to A major. Thank you
Thank you!!!!!♥️
I think optimism is somewhat of an inborn trait. Can it be learned? Perhaps. To me there are 2 kinds of optimism – 1. Always having a viewpoint that everything will turn out to the positive before even beginning something, and 2. Optimism created by seeing progress in something you are doing that, although you may have doubted what you could accomplish at first when you see you are making progress, it in turns fuels optimism which in turn fuels the desire to work more/harder toward what you want to accomplish.
For me, optimism is an attitude and a choice. I’ve always been optimistic about most things in my life. Optimism has carried me through some difficult times in my life. And I’m a problem solver; I tend to believe that, no matter what, I can figure something out and find some sort of solution or pathway. Like most of us Fiddlehed students, I came to the fiddle later in life. I do like to set goals, but I really enjoy just being present with the fiddle sounds and the music. Makes me smile when I put that bow to the strings and just listen to the tones.
Deliberate practice for me is the affirmation of all that’s optimistic. Just knowing I can follow those steps and find myself in the zone is optimistic. And I like what Debbie wrote — We have to be optimistic to have picked up the fiddle at whatever point in our lives we did so.
I don’t think you can DECIDE to be an optimist any more than you can decide the sun will shine tomorrow. I believe it is possible to BECOME an optimist after experiencing life. You will never escape the bad stuff that happens in your life, but you CAN choose how you react to the bad stuff. That takes a lot of practice, believe me.
If hope is a virtue, then optimism is surely a choice. I’ll even go so far as to suggest optimism is a kind of practice, an essential discipline. Optimism sees that some thing or situation can be made better, & then works on that improvement. Like many others here, I picked up my fiddle late. I’m not aiming for Carnegie Hall or the Grand Ole Opry. I want to make music and find happiness while I play. Everything about that is optimistic. And optimism’s sister is gratitude. So thank you all for being part of my community of music!
Practicing the A Part of this variation and am really enjoying it, so I hope the B Part is all there! (Looking at the last comment from 2019.)
Thanks for sharing Pete, and following up from the last comment.
From what I can see, Jason didn’t put audio tracks for the last 2 quarters of part B (tracks broken down into quarters), because they are very similar/the same to other parts of the tune.
Please let us know if you notice anything that could use attention. Enjoy 🎶
I think optimism changes. When things are going good you are optimistic and when they aren’t you are not so much. However, that is where a good teacher comes in (Like you Jason). Some of the approaches you suggest work very well imo. For instance when you were talking about the death grip or whatever on the strings it tends to make the bow screech. However, I noticed that when you suggested you touch the strings lightly with your left hand it simultaneously causes at least my grip to lessen on the bow and then I got the sound that I like which made me more satisfied and could be optimistic. I guess what I need is suggestions on how to address the little things that come up frequently that tend to make me sound less than I want. When I have a suggestion that works it makes me feel like moving onto the sound I want.
Very thankful for the great comments so far.
I have more ideas on this, but want to let the conversation roll and see what you all are thinking…
I guess if we weren’t optimistic we never would have picked up a fiddle!😄
I think this is an appropriate response. 🙂 Also the same reason we don’t quit.
I believe optimism can be turned on.I think it is a decision one makes inside their own spirit, mindset or what ever you choose to call it. It may only last an hour or few but it can be restarted. After enough restarts it becomes a pattern or habit.
I have been in some dark places and determined to get out, I climbed an imaginary rope ladder made of fiddle strings and guitar frets. You can be optimistic if you choose to be.
I’m 76 and I still get a feeling of accomplishment when I play a scale on my fiddle in proper intonation.
I think optimism and a positive outlook on life is not really a choice, but closer to a personality trait. Inherent personality traits can be affected by life—especially early life events and how we are raised. All that being said I do think that we all have some choice about how we view the world and can make successful efforts at being more optimistic and positive—whether it’s about playing fiddle or anything else. Also, it depends on what we mean by successful. What that means is different for everyone. For me I hope to —at some point—be able to play on local jams and be as comfortable and have as much fun as I do playing guitar or banjo. My version of success is being good enough to have fun. I’m not shooting for being a virtuoso. Looking forward to Jason’s thoughts on this.
It’s similar to a something I tell myself, “You’re fortunate if you know you’re fortunate.”
A lot of people have better lives than they realize. The get upset by minor things. Me too, me three…
I feel that optimism is a choice, but you’re fortunate if you come to a place where you have the mind, income level, time, etc. to make this choice.
Maybe anybody can chose optimism. But it seems easier for some people…
Also, I think it helps to know that you do have a choice. This is the core idea of a “Growth Mindset.”
As a late bloomer, picked up a fiddle at 62, is to first be honest with yourself, brutally if needed. It is just a fact that I will not live long enough to be great. So I had to ask myself what was I hoping to achieve. I’ve arthritis, 2 kinds, my knuckles & fingers appear mutilated. I find optimism remembering the awe I feel when I start to play, knowing last time, I couldn’t get a particular thing correct. Next day or “a few more” depending on frustration, I find that somehow between then and now, my brain figured it out. Our brains are awe inspiring creations. My optimism comes from knowing that everytime I play, EVERYTIME, there is something I couldn’t do before that, unbeknownst to me, my brain figured out and even choreographed with my hands. Sometimes it’s a big thing, sometimes it’s very small but, everytime I start, something is possible that wasn’t before. It’s miraculous to me.
I will never be really good but I love the feeling of the sounds I’m making. I like tuning. I tune down to the Hz, E-659.3, A-440.0 etc., then I check my fingering on 4th of previous string. I love feeling the vibration. I find optimism in knowing that every time I pick up my fiddle, I actually have a fiddle🤗, there will be something new. There will be something new about me.
Beautiful last comment, “every time I pick up my fiddle…There will be something new about me.”
Ok. I want to make this work. Iam an intermediate fiddler. I play with Alasdair Fraser’s San Francisco Fiddlers at concerts and farmers markets. But I have trouble memorizing tunes. Learning by ear. I read music . Wish me luck!🍀
I agree with the theorem that you must choose to be optimistic and this choice becomes the path that leads you forward to greater and greater success.
Although, sometimes we have to take this optimism in the face of a bad practice season, but we will persevere. 🎶
I think it’s worth celebrating the fact that you did the practice. Period. Even if it didn’t feel that great.
Steven Pressfield (The War of Art) says something along the lines of…The pros just show up and do the work.
When I feel bad about how something is going,for example, the recording I made sounds terrible, I think of something that did go well- I have that tune memorized and now I can work on making it sound better.
Optimism is a choice. A little inspiration can help with choosing optimism. Here is my story of how I was/ am able to chose to be optimistic.
I knew a person who was in their 60s when I was in my 20s. This person took up ukulele as a hobby. This person said something to the effect of, “I might not live long enough to become a master ukulele player, but if I can stick with it for the next 10 years, then in 10 years I’ll be able say, “I’ve been playing for 10 years”, and in 15 years, I can say I’ve been playing for 15 years, and so on.”
When I decided to start violin in my late 30s, I lot of people snickered and expressed their doubts regarding success starting “so late”, especially when hearing me play.
I remembered that persons words from before and it helped push me to continue through the “screechy and out of tune times.” When things feel frustrating, I think about the bigger picture: “In 10 years, I’ll have been playing for 10 years. In 15 years, I’ll have been playing for 15.” Then I take a breath and keep trying.
That’s super helpful tip Debbie.
Do you use that strategy with other aspects of life?
Have you always done this? If not, when and how did you start?
It’s helpful to have a strategy when you’re feeling unoptimistic.
Realizing that it’s a choice is key. It’s ok to be disappointed but why linger with negative thoughts?
I think we choose to be optimistic. It’s easy to be discouraged after hearing someone who’s more advanced knock a piece out of the park. I am encouraged when I can break a song into smaller parts as in Jason’s lessons. Or practice one technique in slow mo. Take heart in improving one thing. Remember, even the slowest train eventually reaches the station..Deb S.
“It’s easy to be discouraged after hearing someone who’s more advanced knock a piece out of the park.”
I feel this when I see a five year old playing Foggy Mountain breakdown at 200 bpm 🤯
I turn it around by thinking of all the creative work and bands and experiences I’ve been privileged to do over the years.
It also helps me to feel simple gratitude for being able to create and appreciate music…something I’m also feeling from the other comments.
Hiya. The D-major D-dorian alternation file is incorrect. It has the d-major double stop instead.
Thank you very much for letting us know, jbrahney. We’ll work on this. 🙏🏼
Hey folks…I re-mixed the audio and republished the video today. Give it a try now…
Great points to remember – thank you!
Great to hear your interest 🙂
Good lesson !!! Interesting scale, challenging at first, gets better with practice
I am so excited to find this sight. I am an ‘’older’’ student. Have played for quite a few years but still feel such a beginner. You have helped me already.
Came back to finish this lesson and this time also watched the video of Dianna’s lesson. I love it! Very clear improvement over the course of it, and I smiled more than once at the tough spots she encountered that also trip me up! Practice may not make perfect, but it sure makes us better! 🙂👍
Can’t get past the code to the replay of moving up the neck. — very frustrating. What I saw before I had to take a break was excellent and that’s compared to MANY Utubes I’ve watched trying to master it.
Hello, thanks for letting us know this.
Can I confirm what you are referring to is the full workshop video replay (under outline section) that you are having trouble accessing? I will email you also.
Wow, another great lesson on this technique! Good choice of tunes, especially with the hoedown patterns of Whiskey Before Breakfast thrown in there. (That also happens to be one of my favorite tunes.) Your reminders to work in increments – Small Steps! – helps me really get this technique into my hands.
Awesome that it’s working so well for you, Pete. Your attitude and attention to the basics is great!
Yes!!!!!!
:):):)
Great exercises, and I’m enjoying the full Georgia Shuffle lesson series.
Great to hear, Pete. Thanks
fun
yes 🙂
Hi Jason! I think you inadvertantly filmed this (wonderful) lesson summary with a mirrored setting, thus seeming to hold the bow in your left hand!
Thanks for observing this illusion, Rachel. I think that video is done on the video platform Loom.
Back up track was too loud to hear the call very well.
I had the same experience (also too fast for me.) I gave up on call-and-response and made up my own patterns following Jason’s rhythm patterns. Ended up a fun way to practice notes in the scale.
Thanks Susan, the feedback on your experience helps us improve and provide what folks want. Neat to hear how you worked with it in a creative way.
Jason updated the video
Great point, Tom. We’ll consider this moving forward. Thanks!
I love this exercise but I had the same experience the backup track being too loud!
Hi Joe Ann, thank you for sharing. The more suggestions on a similar matter can help decide to make adjustments to this. I’ll pass it along and let you know if/when it gets updated.
Jason updated the video
Jason updated the video
Great lesson, thanks!
Great to hear, Kayli!
Love the bonus kitty at the end!🥰
Glad your loving it, Debbie! Simple things can do alot for us 🙂
Some of the practice play along links appear to be broken or incorrect…
just fyi
Thank you for mentioning this, jbrahney. If possible could you share an example of one that isn’t working for you? Appreciate it 🙂
Love the call and response style of teaching in the second video! Thanks, Jason!
Thanks for this feedback, Katrina!
By the way, you really should *categorize* this page so it’s easier to find and return to! (For now I’ve saved it as a Favorite, but that doesn’t help others who may never stumble across it!)
Thanks for this suggestion, Pete. I’ll pass it along to consider.
Fantastic article and examples! Thanks for a powerful Music History course in miniature!
Great to hear how you experience this, Pete.
Thank you for this lesson Jason! I have not paid nearly enough attention to this and this lesson is forcing me to. I will be spending a bit of time on it.
That’s awesome, Don! Yea, our focus of what’s important to us comes at the right time. Glad your noticing this. Thanks for sharing.
My biggest problem is getting my brain to remember 15-17 notes in a call.
Yes that is a big challenge, Don.
One idea is to break the call down. Listen to the call and try to play the first bit, listen to it again and try to play the middle part, then same with the last part. Could even go into smaller chunks than that. Then slowly put two chunks together, then 3, and so on.
For easability with this, I click on the download button to right of audio track to open in another page. Then I can easily use my back/forward arrow keys, as well as pause and play button, on keyboard to loop/focus one call of the track.
Hey Jason, thanks for the motivation in this post. I’m a beginner fiddler who over the years keeps losing my way. I’m on a 3-month hiatus from fiddling now and I don’t want it to go any longer. Traveling and life stuff got in the way but I had my fiddle with me so it’s totally all my fault!
As I exercised on the treadmill this morning I listened to you and I’m ready to hit the strings again! Thank you for being the awesome teacher that you are and for being so supportive and motivating! You ROCK!
Mary, thanks so much for sharing this with everyone. It’s great to hear you’re reinvigorated to Fiddle!
Maybe I’m just totally confused but why is this tune in D major, but the sheet music only has one sharp? Isn’t that G major? I see all the flats written in, is that why?
Ellen, thanks for mentioning this. The label of ‘tune in D’, may refer to the ‘klezmer D scale’ that Jason mentions in the video.
The sheet music made for this lesson is definitely unique, and it is a good representation of how one can alter the way something is written. I think Jason approached it in this way for simplicity sake and to try and help people learn it more easily. When I look online, some versions will have the key signature with 2 flats (B and E), making it in G minor.
Please let us know if we can provide further explanation. 🙂
You’re right! It’s in D Major. I just added this to the Fix list.
Thx Jason!
I have a question. These chords are not what I play on my mandolin. My question I guess is could they be if I wanted to play them. And second part of question is could I play the chords I play on the mandolin here instead of learning new chords.
Hey Lin, Thanks for reaching out, great questions.
I’d imagine you could utilize the chords you know on the mandolin and integrate them onto the violin, picking 2 strings/notes (often folks will play violin chords with G and D strings, or D and A strings)
These chords could be used on mandolin (though one may at times want to have all 4 strings (or 3) integrated for strumming rather than 2 strings?).
When looking online at basic madolin chords, the D G and A chords seem to line up notes with the D and A string chords listed on this lesson above. These chords can be considered a portion of the full mandolin chords.
I find it fun to strum the violin and one could play the 4 string mandolin chords on violin in that way. Another method would be in a ‘double stop’ method where you play the G and D notes together, then immediately go to play the A and E notes together (with bow).
Enjoy connecting the two instruments together 🙂
Woo-Hoo! I’m beginning to see a future in this. 🙂
Awesome, Benno! Thanks for sharing your motivation 🙂
Great advice!
Agreed!
Great teaching method have been wanting to play for 40 years and here I am.Excited for this journey.
Thanks for sharing your joy, Chris 🙂 great to hear it’s happening for you
Exercises 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10 didn’t load. When I tried to download #5 (pressed red button with white arrow) got this error message: AccessDeniedAccess denied.Anonymous caller does not have storage.objects.get access to the Google Cloud Storage object. Permission ‘storage.objects.get’ denied on resource (or it may not exist).
I am using an iPad, OS 16.5.1.
Thank you, N Coyne for this clear explanation of your experience. I see this on my end aswell. We will work on getting this fixed and let you know.
Hello Nicole, these exercises should be working now. Can you try them and let me know how they work on your end? Thank You 🎶 🙏🏾
I started this journey thinking, “Meh, I’ve been playing for at least a year. I can skip module 1 altogether and jump right into module 2.” But then I thought what the heck, I’m paying for the WHOLE course, let’s just breeze through module 1. Jason, I have learned SO MUCH from module 1 it blows my mind. The call and response are a lot of fun. Playing the key scale of a song before you play the song has helped me a lot.
Great Don! Thanks for the feedback, it means alot to hear you are enjoying and getting more from the program than anticipated. It reinforces the goals of Fiddlehed hearing this 🙂
In practicing this repeatedly, a sixteenth note duplet just came out of me for the first measure a part, like you did for the first measure of the b part..I’m so happy that variations are coming more naturally to me with this course!
Ah yes, progression towards natural familiarity to what we want more of is a great thing 🙂
And always coming back to the simplest form is so helpful for making space for new experiences to arise.
Star of the County Down?
Yes, great idea Debbie, I’ll put in the request.
This is so helpful and I love this tune! Thank you! I can feel my understanding expanding 😁
Thanks for your feedback Kayli, great to hear how it’s going for you.
Thanks!
I’ve really, really enjoyed working through the FH online course over the last 15 months. I’ve learned a ton, and I know my skills are much greater. But there’s NO WAY I’m now an “advanced” fiddler (lol!), and that’s fine. I’m going right back to the beginning, and will focus on greater accuracy, speed, technical skills such as double-stops, and expressiveness. I’ll also explore tunes in the different traditions, and I know I’ll have a lot of fun doing that. There’s plenty more to learn and love on FiddleHed!
What a great reflection, Pete. You express the way that feels right! Another great thing to consider is sharing a video or audio of oneself playing to the student video section in the community tab. 🙂
Great tune!
Thanks 🙏
Agreed, Mark 🙂
Howdy,
How about a lesson posted on the good old eighth of January?
Thanks,
LR Swadley
Hey LR Swadley,
Great tune to inquire on 🙂 I’ll add it to our request list. Thanks!
I would really like some feedback on my playing. I’ve only been playing for about two months and this is probably the second or third time I ever played this song.
Holly, Thanks for sharing this video. I created a feedback video for you and posted it in the Student Videos page (under the Community tab)
This is great thank you. Got all the wee bits I was missing. Plus you’ve explained some terms I had no idea about.
Linnie
We really appreciate the feedback, Lynn. Great to hear your takeaways 🙂
Often experiencing slight bow “bounce” at finish of down and up bow. Also at the finish of a down or up bow the sound is rather abrupt. Corrective action?
Jason, I have been taking in-person lessons from a very good fiddler for nearly 2 years. I recently started with Fiddlehed because my teacher has had a stroke and is no longer able to teach me. I started this and thought “Meh, I am beyond module 1.1”. HA! Even as much as I have learned from my teacher, I have learned a lot from these lessons. I will continue through the beginner lessons because obviously I have a lot to learn. Besides, I’m paying for it 😉
Thanks for sharing your journey, DonStine. Great idea to go through each session, help fine tune and add to your experience.
Do to technical difficulties last week, I couldn’t login. Today I logged in for the first time in a week and was able to practice with you again. I completed 1.7 call and response. It was so good to be back with my lessons and it reminded me how much I missed learning from your practice sessions. This call and response was really fun. I probably enjoy your call and response the most. What a great way to learn to play by ear. And your right, it’s fun and puts me in a tone trance.
Thanks again Jason for your lessons.
Gregg
Awesome feedback, Greg. What a great reflection on what’s important 🙂
I’m not as fast as the drone so I guess I need more practice. I’m loving fiddlehed. I’ve got another core song memorized and I’m even playing it with double stops. This is so much fun. People keep telling me that violin is hard. It’s not hard for me. Keep up the good work.
Hey Holly, I’d be interested to hear more about the drone and speed you’re playing at.
Thanks for sharing your experience with Fiddlehed, your motivation and perspective is inspiring 🙂
I’m not using a drone. I’m just playing it by ear and with the sheet music. I know how to read music so all I had to to is play the music as I saw it.
All the tunes so far are wonderful to listen to and fun to play. Yes, even the scales. Play one, keep playing, play another, don’t wanna stop … alas, time to put down the fiddle and start work. Best of all, I’m feeling more confidence with my fiddling.
What beautiful sharing, Nena. Thank you for gracing your experience with us 🙂
What a brilliant, simple, no nonsense way of knowing if a violin is a good fit. There’s a huge resistance in the violin world against adults playing anything but a full size instrument. I spent the better part of three years learning that I needed a 1/2 size violin (The scroll lands right on the wrist pad). I started with a full size and did ok until the fourth finger was introduced. I went down to a 3/4, which helped, but was told I could stretch my little finger out to be able to play a full size by my then adult orchestra director. After several more months and lots of online searching for how to choose the right size violin for a small adult (I’m a tad over 5 feet tall with arms that are two inches shorter than all the long sleeve shirts and coats at the store.) I decided to go down to a 1/2 size. The folks at the violin store were very resistant and tried to talk me out of it. My adult daughter was with me and let them know that I was just playing for myself in my living room so I didn’t really need a violin for performances. They finally relented and let us peruse their 1/2 violin rental collection. I can now reach the fourth finger position with relative ease (I still tense up from all the years of using violins that were too big.). I highly recommend getting a violin that is the right size. It’s so much more fun to play one that fits!
Thanks for this inspiring sharing, Melba. Great to persist in finding what’s right for us, regardless of surrounding opinions. 🙂
Love it thanks
Great to hear, Morgan
Hello, Jason,
It looks like I accidentally unsubscribed to the Wednesday Practice Tip email. When I try to click on the ‘click here’ link nothing happens. I would like to resubscribe. If you can help me through my hiccup it would be greatly appreciated!
Sincerely, Malcolm
I had never heard this song before, but I love it! Fourth finger has always been a challenge for me because I am double jointed, but I am determined to master it!
I agree, Brooke, I love learning this song through Fiddlehed too! So great your motivated through this lesson with 4th finger mastering 🙂
Thank you for adding repeating sections so that we can get another shot at listening and responding. The longer gaps are great as well for helping to figure out notes when I’m unsure of where to start!
So good to hear this is working well for you, Brian 🙂
Agree with the others, this is a really easy, fun, forgiving and, most importantly, beautiful piece. I wonder if you would be able to record a video on an advanced version like you did for Whiskey for Breakfast. I saw the video on singing and playing, but would something with more technical difficulty in the playing. Thanks for the great content!
Great idea Travis. I will add this suggestion to our request list. Thanks for sharing 🙂
I finished module one. I can even play all the songs by memory.
Way to be, Holly! Playing for memory is so good
A couple of the “D” Major Syncopated Scale exercises are actually A Major scales. (And I wish I didn’t always have to go through 5-6 ” Error Captcha” cycles to post comments from my android phone!)
Thanks for this information, Pete. We’ll get those exercises sorted on this lesson page, your help is greatly appreciated. 🙂
And we will also see what we can do about the error captcha prompts you experience when trying to post comments.
I have successfully learned Bile’em Cabbage Down. With fingering and bowing. Can’t wait for more.
Awesome, Holly!
I love this piece. I just need to practice a little bit more the passage between high D and F# without sounding squeeky. It is nice to have a slow tune.
Agreed, Estela. Great points!
ahhh thank you. I will check on his other post on speed and thanks for the tip on the metronome. I think it will be smoother transition!
This was so much fun. Can’t wait for tomorrow.
It’s great to hear your experience, Holly 🙂
I love this piece. I have been trying for a few days now but I don’t seem to be able to get to the last part of the recording where it gets super fast. I am not stressed about this. I know at some point it will be easy. For now, I am happy finishing at almost full speed 🙂
Hey Estela, thanks for sharing. That’s great you’re enjoying it.
I noticed the speed increase is 20 bpm. Can be helpful to also play our own metronome and practise increasing the speed incrementally (2-10 bpm each time), that can bring us up in speed in a manageable way.
I don’t get the Kerry Polka Duet. Maybe they’ll give more instruction on how to play that one. The rest of them were easy.
Hey Holly, thanks for sharing your experience.
I noticed this Kerry Polka duet audio starts out quite slow (half the time of 1,2,3,4 count in) and it also does not utilize the repeats (A part once, then into B part, ABABAB etc). Let us know how it goes for you if you try it again.
Great idea for adding more instructions for playing along.
Enjoy 🙂
This is so much fun. I saw your lessons on YouTube and had to do the 2 week trial. Thanks
Play-along track for B Part, Q1 is actually for Q2, and doesn’t match what’s notated (and taught in the video). Otherwise, an excellent exercise that I’ll use going forward, along with the partner String-crossing 4 exercise on the D major scale.
Awesome Pete, good to hear.
Thanks for sharing this error, we’ll get it sorted. 🙂
Hello Fiddlehed! Jason! I have been watching your videos for many years on YouTube and just now going through your classes. I love your teaching style. I am on the page to practice my call and response and I can’t get the audio files to play. Am I doing something wrong? 💚 thank you!
Hi Tricia, thanks kindly for sharing your experiences with Fiddlehed and Jason’s work.
You’re right about some not functioning. We will get the 8,9,10 exercises fixed soon. Are you able to play the other ones?
Happy fiddling 🙂
unable to access exercises 8, 9 & 10/ got an error message
all other exercises ok
Thank you for sharing this, Tammy. We’ll get them fixed. 🙂
I have done this documentation with Piano over the years but I like the idea of creating a folder with a specific name. My videos of piano are everywhere.
You asked if if was hard to transpose songs to another key. It is for me just because I do not know the entire song by heart that we play. However, I have no trouble doing that on songs I sing and play on my own. . Isnt that accomplishing what we are trying to accomplish. I can play songs in keys except B and E which are ones we havent worked with yet I believe.
Whiskey Before Breakfast
Midnight on the Water
Angelina Baker
Circle be unbroken
Playing “Britches Full of Stitches” in E (starting on D1) is a great way to practice H3 fingerings!
Hey there! I know you’re probably incredibly busy, but one day, could we get a klezmer fiddle journey? I love this!
Yes Katie! It’s on my list. Do you have any questions or things you want to learn?
Sorry for so long in responding, but I wanted to think about what specifically would be cool for a klezmer journey. My initial response is I’d really just want to learn skills and songs that make for dancing music…which I know is kinda nonspecific. But, in the same way Irish music has a certain swing, klezmer music has a swing and a sound (I know, very non-specific, sorry!) to it that’s unique. Whatever skills it takes to capture that would be cool to learn. I know there are a lot of klezmer songs use time signatures and key signatures that aren’t super common in other genres of fiddle music, so learning about tuning and rhythms would be cool. I think you’ve already covered shifting up into second position in other spots, but it’d be cool to learn that in the context of klezmer songs.
Katie, these are great suggestions for a Klezmer practise journey and content in general for Klezmer style. I’ll ensure Jason see’s your ideas and will also add to our request list for future consideration. Thanks for your help in content suggestions for Fiddlehed, so valuable 🙏🏼
Jason, I’m blown away again by how your Fiddlosophy posts ring so true – and help so much! For the past week or two I felt like I was stuck on a plateau, even though I know these “phases” come and go. It was a bit demotivating, so I switched up my daily practice routine and let myself spend more time simply on enjoying the sound of improvising short melodies on scales (major, minor, and pentatonic) and triads. A few days of that refreshed my sense of fun and “remotivated” me as I move into Module 2.8. Your insights and encouragement are “da bomb” in every best way!
This is great to hear Pete. I talk a lot about Deliberate Practice, but there’s a lot of value in balancing DropBox with exploration and fun 💃🏻
Happy to see permission or encouragement to mess around a bit while practicing. Often, I will veer “off track” and then back on track (though the track is a bit bumpy…) I like this idea of mixing deliberate, consistent practice to master tunes with play and exploring — or goofing off. There are different kinds of joy found in these different kinds of playing. Thanks – great observations and suggestions.
Glad to hear this resonated with you. It’s something I’ve also been working on. Finding a good balance between focus and wandering.
Chord backup is the best ever!!!!
Love your enthusiasm!
Identify as a musician…..priceless! Never thought I would be able to say that!
Yes! “You’re a musician if you play every day.” I say it a lot…but it’s useful.
Whew! Ngl, after fairly little time on bowing patterns up until now, these bowing variations are pretty hard. Even with daily practice, I think I’ll be on this lesson for another week before I get any flow (beyond two-note slurs).
Thanks for letting me know. Do you think this lesson is too advanced for this stage in the course?
I look everywhere but I can not find classes in fingers positions in strings
I believe there needs to be an ‘E’ in front of the first L2 in the third quarter ‘WILDWOOD FLOWER IN G MAJOR UPPER OCTAVE’.
Great catch Brian, thanks for mentioning this 🙂
Enjoy the fun and expansion with transposing.
Thank you for the quick fix! Another minor thing, but ‘Scarborough Fair’ doesn’t appear in module 1.4 when you navigate to the main course menu. As a result, I didn’t learn this tune when I went through module 1.4 the first time (not that I mind learning this transposed version of ‘Scarborough Fair’).
I tried this before and It was hard to do. But when I heard the notes like a part of a song it was much easier to repeat.
Is there another video for Carry Me Back that talks more about the double stops and the bowing with more pressure to give it a “fiddley” sound? Thank you.
Hi Stephanie,
Thanks for reaching out. That’s a great idea, I don’t see another lesson available yet on Fiddlehed for this tune with variations and style additions, I will be sure to add it to our request list for future consideration.
For the meantime, there’s a good amount of lessons/posts on double stops in general as well as for some other tunes that could support getting you on your way to integrating this into songs like this one.
Here’s a link to most of the posts on double stops: https://fiddlehed.com/?s=double+stops
Your idea about a lesson on fiddle style bow pressure is great as well, I haven’t seen something on this specifically on the site but will check with Jason and also request it.
We really appreciate the feedback 🙂
God idea Stephanie. I’m going to do this soon…
I am having a hard time to play the First Quarter. The repetition means that by the time I repeat a second time, I ran out of bow. Yes, I can lift it and start from the tip of the bow again but I am not fast enough to lift and play open D on time to be a tempo. So I am not sure there is much that can be done 🙁
Great point Estela. This is common and a great tune for practising bowing skills. Try to focus on slower/smaller/slighter movements of bow, while keeping beat and sound. This takes getting use to. I find it can be easier (and habitualized) to move our bow faster and further, when in many circumstances (like for this tune) we need to be able to play with less bow. It can take time working on it in simple ways before integrating it into a tune. You can do it. And great idea for a lesson, I will request something of this nature for the future.
Be great to hear your experiences with this going forward. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Estela, just practice the lifting motion with a single movement. Focus on the motion, getting the lift right. Do little circles to practice lifting the bow.
This post came at just the right time, funny how that happens. I’ve been struggling with Fingering and String Crossing 4, Fiddler’s Playground #1, B part, D2 to A3 and D1 to A2. very difficult internals for my fingers. Thanks for reassurance that working on these micro motions will eventually result in my fingers knowing what to do.
This lesson was long overdue for FiddleHed. Simply learning to focus on individual motions can 10x your playing quickly. It also can be fun and physically enjoyable.
Bonjour,
Thank you for a great class. I used to play Baritone for three years when I was in middle school. I noticed the notes are similar, they are just called different names. What I don’t understand is where do I locate my fingers in the strings. How do I go about doing that to make the different notes?
merci
Vilma Mendez Colombani
I play piano so at first, when I saw the call and response exercises I thought they were too simple but in reality, violin is a different beast and not as intuitive as a piano (you go left and you get lower in pitch, etc). With strings, you need to learn that as you press more fingers on one string, you get higher. That concept seems simple but it is not when you have never played a string instrument so I am no longer thinking call and response exercises are simple. They are just perfect to train you with all those little things that end up adding to tons of good stuff.
Beautiful! I’m using this right now to revisit “Little Liza Jane,” just playing the first measure (nine notes total!) to strengthen my flow and speed. I’ve loved this little tune from the start and have been playing it lately with double-stops I worked out as I move through Module 2.7. But this post gives me reason to break it down to basics in a new, deep, and fun way. Thanks, Jason!
Yayyy, I just finished Module 1.1. I am so happy!!!!!
Estela, thanks for celebrating with the community, happy fiddling 🙂
I’m enjoying learning these techniques, but I have to say that the links jump around too much among the songs in this module and really disrupt tracking progress. Would be good to review and simplify the user path in this module.
I’m the exact same! I’ve spent several months on the first couple of modules, and am doing my best to work through the material slowly so I know I’ve got it down before moving on (which is the complete opposite of how my brain likes to work, haha). Some days I feel like I’m not making any progress, and other days I feel like it’s almost too easy, but when I take a step back and think about how I sounded the month before, I realize I am actually getting better. I would definitely recommend recording yourself every once in a while so you have an actual record of how you’re progressing 🙂
Thank-you Jason! EXCELLENT lesson, this resonated w/me and is helping a lot!
I am enjoying this lesson. I am back for a third time. 😊
Denise, that’s a good sign! Quality content that one can revisit. Thanks for sharing with us 🙂
Did it!!!
That’s lovely, Briony!
Well! Just realised! I just picked up the violin after thirty years!!! I learnt Suzuki, to work with my four year old daughter. She was 34 today! Now I’m 73 myself, and I thought I had too much arthritis and pain in my hands and fingers. But a new friend has recently started Fiddle Hed, and wanted me to join her. And I can do it, (and it’s not excruciating!).
I think it’s lesson 2.7 she’s on, though, so I have a long way to go to catch her up – but I got to Book Four, so there I have a head start on her. (My daughter did her Grade 8 when she was in her last year at school!!!!! She left me way behind! (And now she doesn’t speak to me. How sad life is.)
But I did the first lesson in just a few days, so if I stick with it, I could (maybe!) catch her (my friend, that is!), up, (though I doubt it, she does practice a lot!
But it’s starting to take off now, just like you’ve just said. Really excited about lesson 1.2!!!
This is great! I’m practicing the “advanced” version of the fingerings (in the video) by looping a fairly slow D pentatonic scale in various rhythms until I achieve flow and speed. Fun!
I’m starting the course projecting to my smart TV. And it’s difficult to use the TV remote to type anything or move through the screen very much. It’s a great way to view the videos and practice in a room that’s set up away from others in the family so they aren’t disturbed. I’ll see if I’m able to make notes and put things in using my phone or laptop at a later time.
Thanks for sharing how it’s working for you, Ronnie. I have used a wireless/bluetooth keyboard before with a TV and has worked good. Yea, any way to put down notes whether on paper or on a device, can be really supportive of our practising. Enjoy!
Greetings All! I’m really struggling with the speed of this tune but it makes me feel better to see I’m not alone. I’m going to slow it down and keep working on it. It feels like total defeat at the moment! 🙁
Hey Melinda, thanks for sharing your experiences. Your motivation to continue learning is inspiring and great to hear, amongst the difficulties. We’ll keep this lesson at the forefront for updating with slower play along content. Your sharings help us prioritize the improvements.
Thanks for the slower track. This made it possible to play along while learning.
Good to hear, Rachel. Enjoy the learning process 🙂
This 3-speed audio track was exactly what I needed to get a good feel for this variation. I don’t have it quite yet, but it’s coming along nicely. Reading all the previous comments here is also a help to me. Thanks for all you do!
Thanks for sharing what has helped, Dee, and that you’re on a path that’s working for you 🙏🏼
I love this tune and most of all I love the tone of the notes that is coming out of my fiddle.Thank you very much for making that happen!
Thank you for always posting this group lessons! I typically miss it because of work. I had a lot of fun learning how to apply the Improve Playground concepts!
Looks like a great lesson and I’m anxious to work with it!
Finally getting to bow again after January shoulder replacement! I’ve kept up with ear training by humming and recently, with a piano keyboard. I love the way your modules are organized (on 1.4 now) and use them to guide my practice. I really like the way you have organized the modules and I use them to “interweave” –Warm up with scales and intervals, and a favorite familiar tune, then work on new tunes and call and response, often alternating these.
The hardest part of playing for me is developing an ear and remembering tunes. The best parts of this lesson for me were the mental triggers and the concept of the tortoise and the hare. I have been working on my own cards with notes: Starts on, Ends on; Lowest note, Highest note, and Dominant note (most frequent.) I’m going to add the first two or three notes of the A and B parts. I am printing out the written music for the back side of the card for when I’m really stuck.
I can easily get overwhelmed with two many things at one time or too many options. I’m not sure if using cards for practice tip reminders will help me. I do love getting the lessons though because I then apply those techniques to my practice as I go through the module– i.e., play intervals slow and fast and play sections of tunes slow and fast.
As always, thanks for your amazing lessons and energy. PS love hearing you sing to baby Veda. So happy for you all.
Went to use videos. But they are not working
Hi Denise, thanks for mentioning this. Can you try the videos again and see if they work for you now? I am not seeing the issue on my end. If it’s still an issue, we’ll help get it sorted.
These tunes and rhythms stuck in my head all Found I was humming them. 😊😊😊
Amazing, yet again .. wonderful tips on learning and remembering. The index cards look increibly helpful, so I will start that today. Really appreciate the incredible helpful tips.
Great explanation. I put a tuning app on my iPad.
I received an electronic violin for Christmas. I got a shoulder rest for it.
Just completed the first lesson. I have gone through a 14 day lesson book. I am glad I found your site on utube. I like doing the rhythms today.
My note reading skills are basic and I’ve struggled with reading and understanding various types of scales, sharps, L2 etc. So now I am going to focus on the Note Reading. I’ve also learned music by trying to memorize whole tunes, without really understanding the learning process. These extremely concise explanations are incredibly helpful to me and I am feeling much better about learning how to relax, breathe and take my time in the learning process. I find the note practice (read the music section, play the music section, play without reading) very helpful.
I’ve always struggled with the sharps, etc., this helps tremendously .. the fog is clearing up!!
I love this tune and am enjoying practising along with the play along track. Besides enjoying the challenge of keeping up the speed, which I am achieving with great enjoyment, I really enjoy the additional musical sounds that add to the richness of the practice. Interesting to start with the DO string, which adds another element to the learning of this music … playing the change adds to my learning “outside” the strict learning that I had previously employed. Having lots of fun now.
Wow, that is an *awesome* melody! Somehow the phrasing and bowing seem to fall together naturally, too. I see now that the klezmer mode, at least in this song, is essentially a harmonic minor scale ending on the V. Beautiful!
l love this tune.Its one i can play!!!!
Great to hear, Karen!
Jason, just saw the TikTok singing video- so happy for you guys! My absolute best to ya’ll, and to Veda.
Would you mind telling how to pronounce ‘Veda’- is it ‘vay-da’??
I have never loved scales more. The pentatonic scales and the drone and call and response have all helped me improve. I look forward to advancing!
Yes, Margo. So good to hear you are loving these aspects of playing 🙂
Jason, thanks for the encouragement. I’m learning ‘Whiskey Before Breakfast’.
The idea of learning chunks is good. I’m learning to slow down, taking one chunk at a time, repeating and repeating
(looping). Makes a big difference. I tend to want to move on. But you are right, looping a difficult part teaches me quicker.
I’m going to try to be consistent with ‘Play Every Day’.
Really enjoy your course.
Robert
Watched this replay. Take away: alternate scale with sections of the tune. Love messing with the
Pentatonic scale.
Thanks for everyone’s feedback on their experience with this lesson and how fast it is being taught. I completely agree that makes it really tough to participate. We will look into getting the audio tracks posted in a slower manner to support learning. Stay tuned 🙂
I found this difficult because even though I was following the notes, the notes were not slurred, but the play-along was. My brain and fingers were confused as I tried to slur in the places I was hearing, but not seeing the slurred notes confused my fingers. Very frustrating.
I’ve been loving this course! I started off my fiddle journey learning from books but having your videos to be able to see and hear what I should be doing has really accelerated my learning! I appreciate all the breakdowns of songs to practice them in parts and other tools like the drone tracks. I also really enjoy your style of teaching! Thank you!
Thank you so much!!
I’m loving your teaching style and tools. I really needed to go back to the fundamentals.
It’s making so much more sense (and better sound too).
Grateful to be part of this ride.
Juli (in CO)
Ps-congrats on your lil one
Well, made it this far, and it’s been fun (99.4% of the time)!
So beautiful Joanne, thanks for going back and sharing this piece you did. It sounds like a roaring fiddle orchestra 🙂
It feels so good to be able to play what I could not play before!
Love the video! From The Beatles to REM – awesome! 😅
I did it!!!! I learned Wheels on the Bus by ear!! So excited and encouraged. I have to say it took me listening to it repeatedly many, many times. I’m embarrassed to remember how long I spent on it, but it paid off and I’m happy!!
thanks, Jason!!
Ah I finally figured out that on the third ‘note’, the A2-D1 double stop, that you have your first finger on both strings. I was having a terrible time quickly moving that first finger from the E to B. But now I see you have that first finger on both strings, like you do for the first two notes, and you just lift your second finger when you move the bow to the A string. It’s still very difficult for me though.
Great point, NewCheri!
Yes I agree that is a difficult transition. Glad your going deep into it and growing with it. Thanks for sharing with us. It could be fun to try creating alternate variations and see what arises 🙂
This is a recording i did last year of Swallowtail Jig. I played the main part, a harmony variation and bass fiddle part as detailed on Jason’s Duets Lessons plus I then added another 2 tracks of back up chords so there’s 5 of me in total!
This was tough for me..too fast . ill work on the slower version.
This was wonderful. I could not play Kerfunken Jig with the right timing. But I played along with someone in their video and in just a few minutes I could play it.
That’s awesome lin k! Ultimate community collaboration 🙂
Could you please pop some tabs up for this tune as well as the sheet music?
Thanks for reaching out Joanne. I am seeing there is sheet music available for this session now, and I will put your tab suggestion on our request list to add here in the future. Cheers~
Hi Jason,
I think the video replay here is from the lesson on Auld Lang Syne rather than Bill Cheatham?
Thanks for speaking up about this, Joanne. We will get it swapped and let you know.
I think I would use these to scan for ideas when writing down what to practice the next day. I often forget about improvisation. I think the best way to advance is to become your own teacher like you say. The resources listed in this area would be very helpful. Don’t know where it would fit in but I also try to figure the key and chords when practicing a tune.
It was surprising that I could actually hear the sound of the different strings. And at the end when it was so long I decided it was easier to play them with yoiu so I know which direction I was going rather than try to remember the whole thing. I noticed others had hard time recalling them too.
Hi Linda, Yes it’s not an easy process when getting to the longer phrase schemes. That’s a neat way you altered the challenge to make it work better in the moment. We will keep this lesson on our radar to adjust and help make more user friendly for everyone asap. Thanks for sharing how you did with it. Ciao for now~
Hi! I’m planning to attend the office hours today. I’ve got a question to submit but I don’t see the tab that you reference above?
Great point Kate, we will get this fixed. Thanks so much for notifying us.
Thank you for the chords.
I’m learning very slowly, but I don’t seem to be getting any worse. Have “looped” “call& response” exercises many times. Am finding the whole learning process enjoyable. A great program that I would recommend.
I’m the exact same! I’ve spent several months on the first couple of modules, and am doing my best to work through the material slowly so I know I’ve got it down before moving on (which is the complete opposite of how my brain likes to work, haha). Some days I feel like I’m not making any progress, and other days I feel like it’s almost too easy, but when I take a step back and think about how I sounded the month before, I realize I am actually getting better. I would definitely recommend recording yourself every once in a while so you have an actual record of how you’re progressing 🙂
I wish I had found your site a long time ago! I would be so much farther along as a fiddle player. Thank you!!!
Cool tune. It kind of sounds like the nautical cousin of Kerfunken Jig.
I played the violin as a child. I enjoyed it but it was a chore. No longer. Now grown up and picking up the violin again, I want to thank you Jason for putting the play back into play. Violin is a joy and no longer a chore. Great rhythms!
The Ab scale is a nice challenge, since it requires a good, strong stretch of the fingers on the G string in particular for decent intonation.
I’m excited to see how these cards develop, and I’m already enjoying using them.
How are you using the cards? I’m curious about the process….
Like Grace, playing every day is not a problem for me as I would miss my fiddle fix otherwise! I actually missed a day this last week as we were travelling back to the UK from our winter retreat in Southern Spain & after 10 hours at the wheel, my arms needed some rest. I made a silly mistake of leaving my fiddle in a cold vehicle overnight & the strings slackened causing the bridge to move, fortunately the sound peg stayed put! Took me 30 minutes or so to get it back in tune whilst playing in our cabin on the ferry! I’m now catching up on all the group lessons I’ve missed. I learn by ear & my ongoing challenge is to read music, which I can only slowly work out at the moment.
Was struggling quite a bit with the D-Eb-F-D figure – intonation all over the place! – until I realized I can basically bar Bb and F with my index finger on L1 and almost keep it there. I still have to build up speed, but that really stabilized my intonation.
Great technique/trick Pete, so true, one can anchor with low 1st throughout the tune. Thanks for sharing this wit us 🙂
Playing every day has never been a problem for me. It’s almost an obsession. I watch VERY LITTLE TV, and truly enjoy playing the violin. I’m currently trying to analyze my study and learning patterns to help me memorize music more easily. I’m a well educated person and have hit a real stumbling block with being able to learn by ear.. I have no intention to give up so I’m pondering how I studied years ago and am trying to figure out how to swing from how I learned facts to how to grasp tone and tunes without the notes written in front of me. Back to the call and response——-
Grace, I always enjoy your comments!
Like you, I’m working on how to reassess my learning skills so that I can learn a little faster. I’m not looking to be a speed demon, but the tedium of constant repetition is sometimes discouraging. I do a lot of reading in brain resilience and learning music (mostly to understand learning), and I have concluded that at our age, we may need to look for different kinds of learning strategies. I’m hoping this new project of Jason’s will help me along this journey. It’s exciting to be searching for novel ways to learn!
I had never heard of that before. Thank you.
Really liked the call and response,
That was fun!
Way to be, Lin!
Wow, kinda surprised and excited to realize that Exercises 9-11 take us into the keys of Ab and Db!! 😀
Having fun with this already, improvising melodies in Bb and Eb pentatonic scales over the drones!
The tiktok video isn’t as controllable as other tracks, I can’t go back, only listen through and pause.
Good point Taryn, thanks for mentioning this, we’ll keep it in mind when posting videos for learning purposes. Happy Fiddling 🙂
This is good!
I always love these CNR videos and exercises, and this one seemed especially good in it’s fiddleosphy and the selection of “bits” to try. Nice!
This was fun! I love the play along.
Great lesson,fine old tune. Learned it from my grandmother.
I wonder about the purpose of the first two videos in the learning chunks section. The sound track is not working.
Thanks for mentioning this Margaret. It seems those videos in the learning chunks are to help explain what it looks like as well as tips on what to do before trying the exercise using the bow. And the use of them right in with the exercises is so that one can focus on these methods while playing the audio track.
I am curious what sound track is not working on your end, is it the audio for the first 2 exercises? Sometimes if the sound isn’t working for me, I’ll click the red circle with downward arrow, that takes me to another page with the audio track, and that usually always works. Could also try reloading this page.
Well I really enjoyed the challenge of playing the complete Jig along to the music. I did freeze up and got some off key sounds as I tried to keep up. So I think this means that I will need to slow down and work in the chunks so that I am more at ease. Although, I must say that, even though my sound isn’t that great, I am having fun. I hadn’t played for about 3 years, so I am also happy that the music is still there for me and I am having so much enjoyment in the learning. My fiddle (I have 3 and always play with my favourite one) now stays in the kitchen, not in another room. That, to me, is progress!!
Fun to play! Easy to play along.
Perhaps “is helpful” would be the better choice of words since I’ll be working on these exercises for a while.
This was helpful. Thank you.
Wow … didn’t me take long to get the first part. Thank you Jason.
Great lesson. Love this tune. Thanks Jason
This is so good, I feel like I should read a small version of it every time I practice. Thank you, Jason, for reminding me it’s a process.
Starting small is best.
I love this lesson. I know I did it before but I’m glad to be back here. Funny how returning sometimes makes for a great opportunity to improve … all part of the here and now I guess.
Great sharing and reflection, Margaret. Returning in the now can bring a new and fresh experience 🙂
Congratulations, Jason, to you both and the little one!
Love the meditation. Very calming and helpful to get focused. Definitely provide more as you can.
Thanks for the journey, Cindy
I am enjoying this so much! love they way you break it down. Thank you!!
A fiddle lesson from a hospital waiting room. A life lesson. I’m so deeply happy to be part of this community. 🙂
What lovely news. You are certainly embarking on a wonderful adventure. Wishing you both and the baby great happiness and fulfillment. Thank you so much for your personal touch in Fiddlehed. I value your work and guidance immensely and you have made such a difference to my fiddle journey, thank you Jason. 😊
These bowing exercises are new to me and greatly enhance my understanding of better bowing, extremely helpful.
Congratulations! Thank you for sharing!
Some tricky exercises there. Good practice! Did wish the volume level was higher on the exercises.
Hey Pete, thanks for sharing your experiences.
What I do when playing with tracks is hook my device (phone, tablet, laptop) up to a speaker (whether via a wire or bluetooth) and it greatly improves my ability to hear while I am playing along with the tracks. Another method would be to use headphones/earbuds and have one ear listening through the headphones and one ear out to hear myself.
Such a wonderful time… many congratulations to you and Melissa. And thank you for the inspiration. Rick Rubin seems like such an interesting guy… and what a career! I would imagine he’d have so many insights about the creative process. My thoughts are with you as you embark on this wonderful journey.
The best teachers may be those with a love of learning. Thoughts with you today, Jason.
Playing with the drone and focusing on playing the d created a strong sense of calm. One with the music….
Wow, what an inspiring post. Such great messages for us as we are on this journey to play beautiful music. This is definitely one to bookmark or print to read again whenever we are feeling frustrated and impatient with our progress. I love the first tree best 😀
Jason, very inspiring post today! So many messages in it, I think I’m going to print it out to reread when I need a reminder.
Also, the artwork is absolutely mesmerizing, I can’t decide which tree I like the best! Who is the artist?
Finally, CONGRATS!!! I’ve been keeping you and Melissa in my thoughts for this wonderful event to happen and now it is!!
Thank you for the encouragement. Blessings on your new baby
Wow .. I’ve been working through the plucking the peri-diddle, the bowing and think I have been playing for about 2 plus hours! Found myself stepping to the bowing practises, unconsciously! I think that this shows how effective your instructions are!
Previously I tried way too hard in learning the fiddle. Today I started the free 14 day course as a beginner, finished the plucking and peri-diddle and found myself actually having fun in playing the fiddle and not mired in rules. Actually enjoying the practise …. Jas’n you are the most incredible teacher!!!!
Hmm, another lesson that doesn’t register as Complete no matter what I do. That’s disappointing after doing all the exercises and the Supplemental Video. 🙁
Good to know this Pete. We’ll see what we can do to fix this. Thanks for your help in improving how this site works.
The volume level on these exercises is too low. I had to max out the volume on my good quality smartphone and they were still almost impossible to hear when I started playing along. 🙁
love this tune and how it is broken up!! I enjoy my practice sessions so much!!
Love this lesson, saving my money for an annual subscription before I’m 60. Dang, my hands are tired in a great way. Thank you Jason for the free FiddleHed
Hey Jason, I tried this today and it really helped me rediscover why I love the fiddle. I work a lot on skills and techniques so I will use this to keep my love of fiddling alive when I get too deep into all that skill building stuff. Thank you!
So refreshing to hear, Josie. Thanks for sharing~
So much truth. I wish I had been told this stuff a long time ago. I was always told, practice 30 minutes every day, if you want be good. But no direction or focus, other to work on a specific song. Thank you for this!
Great question! I agree w/Jason’s and Rick’s responses. I started on the fiddle Feb. 7, 2022 and started w/FiddleHed on May 2, 2022. In Sept. 2022, I was invited to attend a local bluegrass jam (they’ve been doing this weekly jam for their 21st year now). But they don’t have many fiddle players, so they’ve been especially welcoming and supportive to me. For my first song, I picked “I’ll Fly Away” (in G), and I practiced w/the FiddleHed lesson and full playback and also Strum Machine. Pick a simple song you can learn to play solidly. In the jam, it will be received better if you play it at a slower tempo that you can play solidly rather than trying to play it faster, but you can’t hold the tempo and play the song solidly. They’ve all been there with starting so they understand! Then, when you’re not playing the melody, start by playing just the root note of the chord of the measure (you could use this time to “practice” quiet long bows). Or you can “chop” on the off beats (any mandolins there would be doing this). If you don’t know the song, try to listen to anyone there playing bass, the bass person is holding the chord, listen especially for what the bass is playing on the 1 and 3 beats of a 4 beat measure. I hope this helps! Don’t give up, keep trying w/it!!!
Great technique for jams that are maybe just a bit above our skill level. I think listening and playing backup chords really help and just sitting in on the sessions trains your mind to move a little faster. Although you may need to sit in a few sessions before you feel comfortable doing it, when it is your turn to lead a tune, don’t defer! Then set the tempo at your comfort level. It won’t hurt all those speed demons to play one correctly at a slower tempo!
Great lesson! One of my favorite uses of the pentatonic scale is George Harrison’s intro to Octopus’s Garden. I’m fiddlin’around with it in D instead of the original E. 🙂
Fun exercises, but on the longer ones I can’t remember all the notes. I know what notes are being played when I hear them, but the string is too long to repeat. Also, some of the pauses between are too short for us to play the return unless we speed it up. That’s fine on the shorter ones, but I tend to play the longer ones slower because I’m trying to remember the pattern. Loving the lessons overall though!
Thanks for sharing Cheri, we will work on adding more time for the responses when we can. Please refer to my reply to Steve further below this for suggestions to learn the longer patterns. Have fun and keep trying 🙂 Another idea would be to learn the pattern in chunks – try to get the first part of it, then work on the last part on its own, then try again to put it all together.
Should the bow be tilted for tremelo?
It looks/sounds like you’re using trills vs. vibrato in different spots in the tune. Am I hearing that correctly? Would vibrato work just as well, or do you use trills because of the need for speed? Thanks.
Usually, I am not a fan of looping, but I have enjoyed using your different practice sessions. Indeed once I get into a groove, I feel like I am just making music and fiddling away. Thank you for this breakdown @Jason!
That’s a neat idea!
I don’t see audio for the second quarter!
Hello Josué,
Thanks for mentioning this. We’ll get this added when we can.
In the meantime, hopefully you can make use of the full play along track to help learn that section as well as the sheet music and tabs.
The 2nd quarter mimics the 1st quarter other than the last 4 notes: D1-1-0–0– (instead of D1-0-1–1-01)
Wow, this tune’s fun, and really perfect for practicing moving between Low and Regular finger positions!
I think it would be very helpful to include a link to the play along tutorial page!
Thanks for everyone’s feedback and help with linking to the video for this post.
We will get the content edited above.
Together we make this all happen 🙂
What a great lesson! If I would have looked at the sheet music first, I would have been intimidated that the song was above my ability, but I was surprised with Jason, Pete, and others’ guidance how much of the main melody I could pick up from listening to the video.
OK now I’m hooked!😆🎻
Hi! Just a heads up – “Frosty Morning variation” is missing the section with the full play-along tracks/sheet music! The full play shows up in the TuneFinder but it’s not on the song page under “Full Content” 🙂
Greetings Megan, thank you. It looks like it may be there now. Here’s a link for the audio aswell:
/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Frosty_Morning_Variation_fullmix.mp3?_=58
Thanks for helping make Fiddlehed more user friendly 🙂
Thanks! I still don’t see anything, it just says:
Full content
Below you will find full play-along tracks with fiddle at high and low volume (so you hear yourself more), full tabs, and full sheet music.
I will try a different browser?
I must be missing something. Unfortunately, I can’t find the “Here’s a short tutorial to explain further.” link.
I love irish fiddle!! I had so much fun familiarizing myself again with Britches Full of Stitches and O’Keefe’s Slide. Great tunes!
Hi Jason,
I participated in the Student Hangout on Sunday, 1/15 and met some nice folks to practice with. How can I find them on this site so that I can message them and set up goals for the next hangout?
Thank you! Barb Heskett
Thanks for mentioning this Barb.
There’s some options for this; one great method is to go to the Student Groups page under the Community tab at the top of Fiddlehed site and join a group that is of interest/related to your skill level and post an inquiry on there to make connections with the people you met as well as more Fiddlehed members that could have similar interests as you for organizing yourselves in whatever way works for you. We can also add your post to an email newsletter to help guide people to your post/inquiry (please remind us through [email protected] for newsletter additions).
Here’s a link to the page: https://fiddlehed.com/groups/
Also, at the next student hang out we could try to link your same/similar group together and during those sessions it’d be good to exchange contact information with folks who want to do that.
We’re still getting acquainted with how to help folks get connected in the best ways possible so feel free to reach out with recommendations anytime. Thanks for your involvement 🙂
Another solid, systematic lesson, but with quite a few discrepancies between the sheet music and the audio clips in the Exercises. Might confuse some students.
Hey Pete, thanks for pointing this out, I can see that too. We’ll work on this asap. Glad your enjoying it anyways! Happy fiddling 🙂
I like the drone practice. Since I don’t read music, it’s important for me to hear the tone and sing along.
I’m wondering if you could have a complete back-up track for Boil?
Thanks for inquiring Christi, good point that hasn’t been added here. We’ll look into getting this added when possible. 🙂
Thanks
There is a full tune audio available above. Is this similar to the track you were inquiring to receive?
Just listening and watching everyone else in the playback makes me feel so much better!! Until finding fiddlehed, I struggled immensely with feeling dumb and really slow. Now I have learned, it’s just part of the process. Thank you!!
OK, here I am, leaving a comment! 😉 Now back to remembering and “re-practicing” these tunes!
Tremolo is the most challenging so far…it’s so fast!
i appreciate all the practice tips.
jan
Thanks for sharing, Jan. Simple tips make practising more approachable 🙂
Wow, I really like the drone practicing. It works great to get your playing and ear in tune. Good idea!
I had never heard this song before, and I absolutely love it! Such a beautiful, haunting melody! I love the way you break it down into chunks for us to learn. It makes it so much easier!
These exercises are fine, but for me I find it more effective to practice double-stops by playing a D-G-(D)-A-D chord progression, so I then have to move across strings. If I want to add fingering practice to it, I use 0-1-L2 on the upper string in each double-stop to give it a Blues feel. 🙂
Pete, that’s great, thanks for sharing. It’s so beneficial to hear the ways it works for us.
I won’t be able to attend office hours today. Have been working on learning chords for Blackest Crow in A major but am having some difficulty coordinating the chords with the melody. Could you post the sheet music with the chords written above it by any chance. Thank you
Hello, thanks for sharing your experience and request. I will add this (blackest crow sheet music in A major with chords) to our request list to consider for Fiddlehed in the future. Another method to obtain this is to book a customized service with me and I can create this content for you. Feel free to email [email protected] to discuss further.
And if you can figure it out, it’d be great to hear how it went 🙂
Does the length of time for a quarter note change with the tempo?
Hey Pat! I’m a beginner fiddler but know some basic music theory so I thought I’d reply 🙂
The answer is yes! The faster the tempo, the shorter the length of your quarter note.
If you’re played quarter notes over and over at a tempo of 60 beats per minute (BPM) you would have to play 60 quarter notes every minute ( one quarter note per second). If you were playing the same thing at 120 BPM you’d play 120 quarter in a minute so your quarter notes would have to be played twice as fast – two per second. So at 60 BPM your quarter note would last a second and at 120 BPM your quarter note would last 1/2 a second etc.
Hope I understood your question right and that helps. 🙂
Thanks for asking Pat & appreciate you answering this so well Mark! 🙂
Thanks Mark! Sorry I’m a little slow getting back to you. I really appreciate your detailed answer. It makes sense to me now.
Hi Jocelyn,
My lesson is tomorrow and I’m just now reading through this technical stuff. I have used Zoom many times for work meetings so I’m comfortable with that but I probably won’t have any other special gear. My husband may have something I can use so I’ll check with him first, but wanted to let you know that. Also, I have tinnitus mainly in my right ear and am sensitive to loud sounds so I’m a little hesitant to use head phones or ear buds anyway. I always play with musicians’ ear plugs in.
Thanks very much. See you tomorrow.
It was great working with you Josie, and the sound worked out fine without the additional mic/headphones. A simple microphone can make a good difference in the quality of sound being transmitted. And using headphones or not, they can be configured in zoom settings quite easily.
This has been a great year in the fiddling journey. Thank you Jason and fiddlehed! Looking forward to 2023!
Great lesson. Couldn’t get dialed in go the original posting.
Hope you all have a happy twenty Fiddling three!!!!!!
Love this!❤️Thank you Jason ! Happy New Year !
How do you know when it’s time to upgrade your violin?
Hi Vera, thanks for inquiring.
I’d trust my senses in seeking out an upgrade like this. And it’s always worth going into the stores/visiting luthiers to try out other instruments/bows so you can have a sense of the difference.
My experience has been, upgraded instrument between 4-5 years of steady playing, then upgraded again at about 10 years. These decisions were supported/recommended through the teachers I was with at those times.
Happy fiddling 🙂
Thrilled to have become a FiddleHed early this year, just a few months after I started learning fiddle! What a fantastic community, guided by an amazing teacher in Jason! Really looking forward to going and growing as a FiddleHed in 2023. Happy New Year!
I really like playing with the drone and like that your play along track has a guitar in it. I’m a guitar playing dad, who’s keeping up with his young daughters learning classical violin, but personally like fiddle music better, so ultimate goal is to play my guitar with my kids on fiddle around the camp fire. So I’m learning the fiddle songs first, then teaching the kids, then back to guitar, lol. Need more time in life…Your lessons are fantastic. This is a fun easy song to start the family band on. thanks.
reviewing chords 1. v helpful. chris I
This is a great tune. I liked playing starting on the A string and then playing it starting it own the G string.
Wow!! I wish I had read your blog a year ago. I was paying for lessons and seeing very little improvement. I was frustrated, loosing interest, disappointed and no confidence at all. Thank you so much for all you share! Love your content and how you teach!
The hardest part of bowing is when you first start moving the bow on a note. Most of the time I notice a tinny sound on the E or A string. I don’t notice it when the bow is already moving before I put it to the string.
Way too fast is what I think. Also, I find it sounds peculiar and I’ve not the experience or knowledge to determine why I feel this way. In any case, It’s not a recording that encourages me to ‘play along’ with, which is my primary reason for being here, especially during the beginning stages. I also get the same experience with other tracks of other tunes. Challenge is great at some point but why so soon?
I’m afraid I’ll just end up trying to struggle along on my own again. Not fun.
Why did you change the key in the hornpipe version? Is it because of the style or because a part is easier to do in that key?
Thanks for the fun call-and-response lesson!
(I’m referring to the hornpipe sheet music on this page, because I think you played it in the same key on your Twitter video.)
K, I promise this’ll be my last comment, but I just love this lesson! So, with apologies to Kool & The Gang, let’s do it!…”Au-di-a-tion time, come on!…” 😃👍
More seriously after my last comment, even though audiation comes pretty naturally to me because of rigorous ear-training as a Music student in college, I’ve found in the one year since I started learning fiddle that, to my surprise, I’m now able to pick up my fiddle, bow a fingered note, and generally know if I’m in tune before I even play an open string. I sure don’t have perfect pitch, so it seems like the open string pitches have become implanted in my head, which I think is a fascinating form of audiation that I never imagined.
Time to channel my Dean Martin! “When…you…walk down the street, and you hum something sweet, that’s…audiation!” 😅
Wow! thanks for this ted talk by Eveleyn Glennie… I’d heard the name but had no idea…. what an amazing woman!
I’m barely one year in to fiddling and am thrilled at how this has reignited musical skills I learned nearly 50 years ago as a Music major, but never used in my career. (I’m recently retired.) So this lesson hits me deeply, and gives me yet another reason to be very thankful that I came across FiddleHed.
I also did the 50 year hiatus thing! Played violin from age six to twelve, and then not again until age 62. Just a short break. LOL.
I’m going to start this program again. This time with more commitment.
Good! We are doing some updates to the course organization now. Mainly improving the tracking.
Hello Jason! Are all the bow hairs supposed to be flat on string? Or is it only part of the width of hairs hitting the string? I never know what to do or practice. New to Fiddlehed!
Hi Jason
I’d be grateful to know the other reels to complete the set
Best Simon
I _love_ the full play along tracks, VERY helpful 🙂🎻
Is there a way to open the Fiddlehed site, sign-in, and then go directly to the lesson I was on the day before, instead of trying to maneuver the site and go through a bunch of pages first?
Thanks,
Steve
Sheet music please!!
Just so I understand correctly, this (2.2) is the next lesson after the 2.1 Fourth Finger lesson?
It is so different from 2.1, I wanted to be sure.
Thanks,
Steve
Good lesson, but here’s a mundane question: How can I mark this lesson as Complete so the donut graphic for Mod 2.2 will show as 100%?
Oh how I love this tune
This is really helpful – thank you! 🙂
wow this is a challenge what a beautiful tune! This is definitely my mission this Christmas! Thank you for another great lesson!
Love working with call and response! Huge challenge!
Yay! This was so fun. What a sense of accomplishment being able to play along. This is such as well-designed course. Thanks, Jason!
Is there a way to turn the drone down or off? I can hardly hear what you are playing? Thanks
I am puzzled by the idea of warming up with G scale when a tune is in A, as happens with the Ballydesmond Polka. Can anyone explain this, please?
I played the fiddle upside down but I was standing on my head so I think it defeated the purpose!
Thank for this article. I especially appreciate the introduction to Evelyn Glennie. I wonder about her several references to deafness. I wonder whether this conference had something to do with people who are deaf.
This is a great warm up. Every day, my ear and my playing improve. So happy. Thanks Jason
Bro I wish this was earlier in the course! I’ve always struggled with putting the individual quarters together and with being too dependent on playing through from the very beginning (i.e., if I mess up I have to start all over). I will definitely use this technique!
Is it just me or is something wrong with the sound of the full content play-along track. I’m doing a review of past lessons and recall that I was disappointed with the sound when I first heard it. I still find it sounds a bit strange.It’s not how I’d like to sound.
Thank you so much for this wonderfully informative article. I am really enjoying rhe article, links, recordings and pictures.
Kudos to you, Jim and Jayson !
This is a fun one! Especially loved the sound of “Britches Full of Stitches” played spiccaaaaaaato! 🙂
My first office hours session. I listened to the recorded version. Very Helpful.
I also like the start button, however, I’m having a hard time marking them as completed. I’ve completed some lessons at least 3 times but there’s still no check mark when I try to track my progress. Any suggestions on how to show as completed?
Thanks!
Love this article. I moved out of an area in Florida that only played old time and landing in the middle of bluegrass in East Tennessee. Jam sessions have been an challenge. I never had to play “breaks” or sing before. All new. This article puts is all in perspective. Thanks.
This is great! Thanks for sharing.
This was terrific – thanks so much for all the info!
Thank you for all these lessons. Never associated vibrato with sliding. Makes much sense.
Jason, definitely helpful to add the fingering as well as the color to repeated parts! Thanks for all the learning tips!
Cindy
Outstanding article and very informative. Thank you !!!!
What a wonderful article. Thank you.
This is a comment / question I have a really old fiddle that was given to me it has geared tuners on it is fully intact but fragile wood not play it but was played alot during its younger years finger board has dips on it from being played so much for a very long time anyway was just wandering if you’ve ever seen or heard of one set up with geared tuners
Hi
I don’t know why you are asking me about this. Did you hit the wrong reply button? in any case, what I do know is that my Best Buddy installed a set of geared tuners on a cheap violin about ten years ago. He purchased the product from George Hienyl ( or Heinyl – I’m not sure of the correct spelling). Apparently there were several types of tuner available but not all would be suitable for a valuable instrument since alteration to the instrument would be required, not something to do on a fine old violin I’d guess.
The Heinyl company has been around a long time and might be a source of information for you. They are located in Toronto, Canada and known for high quality, at least they were ten years ago. Times are changing so it’s hard to be sure these days I guess.
challenging Tune but I learned a lot and improved intonation with 4th finger
I think A1-2-3-1 sounds like A1-3-2-1. Is part of the exercise to notice typos? Just wondering.
Good find Margaret, thanks for helping out by mentioning the error, we’ll get that adjusted. 🙂
I found these exercises especially helpful, the drone not so much. Am I alone in not finding drone exercises relaxing? I find myself becoming quite tense, especially when the drone sound is stronger than the violin.
I found these expertises especially helpful, the drone not so much. Am I alone in not finding drone exercises relaxing? I find myself becoming quite tense, especially when the drone sound is stronger than the violin.
This was originally a Ukrainian folk chant, ‘Shchedryk’ (The Little Swallow), sung for the new year.
Wonderful Irish variations!! I also enjoyed mixing these with the chords you taught ✨👏🤩
No matter what speed you play this in it still sounds beautiful!
Very Helpful!
Too advanced for me. Will seek another level, easier tune.
Good idea. Remember: You can’t do it YET…but soon you will…
Oh I so love everything about this this lesson that I might just start my day with it. I have no doubt that the tune will soon be in my memory. Thank you for the beautiful sound.
Margaret Sharon
Was the chat scheduled In
advance? Newbie here
Hi Brenda, I think you may be referring to the chat that is discussed during the practise journey? When the session is live on zoom, they have a chat function during it for communicating. The chat from the live session isn’t posted afterwards. Feel free to put any input into this comment area to continue any discussions that were had during that session, or whatever else arises for you to share. Hope you can make it to some live sessions where you’ll experience the interacting that you see happening on these replays. Thanks 🙂
Just finished Call and Response 1.2- Love this ear training! I click the little down arrow so I get the screen where I can move the slider so I can repeat difficult patterns over and over until I get them. Sometimes helps to take a break and come back.
I’m loving this too!
I love this too.😊
Would you encourage learning Kerfunken Jig with 4th finger? I’ve never thought about it until I saw a video above and now clocking it more mentally.
Hello Karin,
Practising the 4th finger can be helpful and practising with it in any tune can be a great way to work on that skill.
This tune doesn’t seem to be of more benefit for using the 4th finger instead of open strings so one could go either way with it. Have fun!
I love this lesson! Thank you!!
I definitely have a lot less control on A-E strings.
Double Down means playing two strings at once I explain to my granddaughter.. So she asks me “does that mean that you can play two different songs”? Way too funny.
I usually practice every morning just after breakfast, it’s my favourite time of day 😃I enjoy all these challenges, Jason however I am a little behind schedule due to being sick with Covid for a couple of weeks, so I am extending my practice challenge into November if that’s ok 🙂 Thanks for your inspiration 😃
I love all the Call-and-Response videos because they’re letting me dust off eartraining skills I learned decades ago but then never used in my career unrelated to music. But *this* video is the best so far. The vibe, the message, and the change-up in keys are all great!
I’ve played drums for over 20 years, so these rhythm sections are feeling natural to me. But it’s super cool to be able to transfer that over to a new instrument.
These are so helpful. I also use them to hum responses or say the notes to myself just for ear training and memory. Using ear phones for my phone, I can do this anywhere–waiting for the dentist, having tea, in the morning before I get out of bed.
I was successful in the challenge in that I played everyday and I really improved. The main change I made is that I prioritized my music practice to be first thing in the day instead of waiting till the end of the day. Often at the end of the day I have a hard time sitting down and getting to my instruments. By playing first thing I actually got it done every day and played much much longer. Starting is the hard part. Also the music was in my head all day so I was likely to play later in the day as well.
I focused on memorizing several tunes that I can play in the bluegrass group I belong to. Currently I play backup guitar but would prefer to play my fiddle. In addition to memorizing them I’m at the beginning stages of chords so that I can play backup and not just the melody on those tunes.
Note – I noticed during the Oct Hootenanny that Blackberry Blossom is a really good tune to practice chords on because there are a lot of chord changes. Thanks Jason and Jocelyn – great workshops, Hootenanny and practices.
Thanks for mentioning this Chris and Michael, we’ll work on getting those video loops functioning.
Just finished Module 1.1 and I am down on my knees jump up and shout with gratefulness and joy. I tried the fiddle a number of years back and stuck with it for about two years before letting it go. I am good to go with rhythm and bowing, but to say my ear lacks training is an understatement. I tried learning everything by sight and in the end, this only limited my progress and discouraged me. Using your call and response, short chunks, and repeated practice with drones has already improved my ear so much. I use a snark tuner, but try turning if off now and again to make myself rely on careful listening. I also love that the core lessons are laid out for me so each day, I know exactly what I’m going to practice and don’t have to figure this out for myself. That’s my fan letter. Thank you again Jason for your incredible approach and your warm encouragement. You are a cool dude to have “in my house.” Susan
I just finished module 1.1 as well and had the exact same reaction! I was playing on and off for over a year, just teaching myself by playing around and learning from random scraps on the internet, and didn’t have much luck making progress or sticking with a regular routine. I thought I would get bored going back to basics like plucking on open strings, but this course has already taught me so much in such a short time 😀 It’s really nice having a guided plan for practice rather than just figuring things out on your own, and Jason’s been a great teacher!
Glad to hear from a fellow newbie, Susan! I hope your fiddle journey is still going well 🙂
I’ve just finished my 2022 FPC, and I’m feeling very satisfied with the noticeable accomplishments. (Added on two additional days to compensate for a funeral.) The most notable lesson from this FPC is the effectiveness of Jason’s Deliberate Practice approach. I set my timer to 5 minute focused segments with great success.
I really enjoy and benefit from sticking close to Jason’s outlined lesson plan. In the past, this has been my conflicted season: feeling tugged by FPC, ongoing FiddleHed lessons, annual group Christmas project preparation, my approaching December desire to play nothing but Christmas pieces, and the sense of urgency to learn and improve jam group tunes. This year’s FPC unified these forces. I intended to work on and memorize an already-familiar fiddle tune a day, plus practice Christmas music on hammered dulcimer, playing for at least 1/2 hour per instrument per day. By incorporating 9 FiddleHed tunes (which also happen to be jam group tunes), the Christmas project song, and 3 jam tunes, I finally gathered all of my eggs into one neat basket. Very calming!
Two of the non-FiddleHed tunes still need significant work, that’s ok. I unexpectedly learned and memorized two additional tunes! So 14 tunes finally memorized in 14 days, that’s better than I expected! Can’t wait for summer…they’re ready for a festival camp jam right now! I will continue to work up the pace of these tunes with my metronome using the deliberate 5 minute approach to attain the deranged 200 beats per minute that my winter jam friends blaze with! And the Christmas violin piece is fine.
The biggest surprise was my hammered dulcimer work. I fully memorized and learned to play smoothly a complicated level 5 Christmas piece with a real sense of effortless dynamics and expression. I had just taken a class on this piece two days before the practice challenge began. In my dreams, I hoped I’d learn this by Christmas maybe, but here it is!!! Five minute segments did the trick. I also realized that just 30 minutes a day on hammered dulcimer with take me where I want to go with this. A year ago, I would have said that I’m trying to learn the dulcimer; now I solidly feel that I play the hammered dulcimer. A dream come true!
That you, Jason, for all you do!
FPC 2022 I look forward to these every year. I didn’t hit all my goals but I did learn “Whiskey Before Breakfast” by ear that I’m happy with and also “Midnight on the Water” by ear. Didn’t make a video of my starting points but will try to make a video of each of those tunes this week and post them. Wanted to work on beginnings and endings of songs but that fell by the wayside. I was nice to read about everyone’s journey through the challenge.
I thought I would check back in as I successfully completed my October practice challenge and feel I did definitely notice some improvement in my playing. Especially the songs I was working on. I just got started with some of these FiddleHed lessons and Jason ‘s tips I have tried to keep in mind with all of my practicing. Listening to drones seems to have made me appreciate each tone a lot more. I like to play the scale for each song I start to practice now. I have always done loop type practice on difficult song sections,
This is the second time I’ve participated and it’s great!! It gets me back on track after I drift away. Life can be complicated, especially summers, and this has served a much needed reset.
I used the practice period to nail down six tunes I had learned. These were tunes I could play it if I heard the tune, but nothing would come to mind when I set out to play it. I focused on memorizing the beginning of a tune, and every day I just worked on simply strengthening my recall and performance. So now I am thrilled to have six new tunes “in the can,” that I can bring to a jam.
Loved the FPC! I’ve been doing these for the past few years and always enjoyed them. I met my goals in unexpected and rewarding ways.
1. Some California fiddler friends came to town and we got together and jammed every evening for 2 to 3 hours. I played my mandolin, but practiced the pentatonic scales in the common keys we played in: G, D, A, C, and Bb. Yep, even Bb. So my time on instrument goals were definitely met.
2. I played with another jam group that was asked to play at a YMCA Senior Expo….again, I played my mandolin. Too many fiddlers already there! Again, had an opportunity to play the pentatonic scales in those keys and work on songs and scales. Loads of fun and lots of music.
3. After the guests left for California, I got back on my fiddle and worked through Jason’s rhythm workshop, which was challenging but very interesting.
4. Before we went our separate ways, three of us fiddlers created a challenge for ourselves. We each picked a song we want to learn by ear, one that will challenge us. Each of us will learn all three songs. Fiddler #1 picked Bees Wings in Bb; Fiddler #2 picked Booth (Sawmill tuning); and I picked Tam Lin (Dm to learn the string crossings). We will check in monthly via a Zoom meet to check our progress. We’ll meet in person next April to spend a week jamming once again. I plan to use deliberate practice, chaining, scales, and other learning strategies to learn these three songs. Jason’s video on bowing rhythms will also come in handy here.
A successful FPC overall, with some unexpected musical fun and challenges along the way — and some directions to go forward. I must say it was more fun playing with others than sitting here at home and playing by myself.
Cindy
Mostly I’ve kept my promises to myself during this practice-fest. I even went far beyond the twenty minutes a day. What I gave up on were the three practice tunes I chose. While I did manage to lighten up on the fingering I couldn’t seem to improve the sound. I might have improved string crossing by slowing down. As well, I discovered it was much more fun to play along with the videos and audio tracks supplied with the course-supplied tunes. I hadn’t realized how much easier it would be to learn the old favourites I’ve been hearing over time.
All in all I’ve done some pretty happy fiddling during this period.
Im not able to get the video to play, i tried to click on it but it keeps adding and taking away time but not playing. What am i doing wrong?
Ok, i think I’ve got it figured out. (Sorry, just didn’t want to miss anything)
Yay! I made it through the Practice Challenge and I played every day! Most days was 60 minutes or more, a couple days was only 30 minutes. I met my goal of knowing 3 songs from memory and then I moved on to learn Whiskey Before Breakfast. I have the A part down pretty well, didn’t try the B part yet. I also worked with a metronome and it was a frustrating experience. I couldn’t hear it very well and I wasn’t sure if I was in time or not. That needs a lot more practice. Thank you Jason for having the FPC and for all of your emails and nudges!
Okay. Time for some honesty here.
I bit off more than I could chew with my FPC goals:
making double stops sound better
incorporating dips, double stops, slides
and keeping a steady speed.
I ended up just focusing on the steady speed goal. Lots and lots of practice with metronome with D scale and one tune – Arkansas Traveler (which I now officially hate). I had many issues – not being able to hear the metronome over the fiddle sound. So I muted the fiddle. But that sounded odd. None of my many exterior speaker devices wanted to pair with my phone or my computer. More frustration.
The more I practiced the worst it got – my fingers could not “remember” where the notes of the tune are. This afternoon, the worse time, I was nearly at the point of tears. The first time in my fiddle journey!
I said, “Forget this. I like playing the fiddle. I’m playing something for myself.” So I played by ear all the songs we sang at church this morning. The first time through none of them were perfect but after a couple passes I could play them. That’s an accomplishment in my book.
So, for now, I’m going to forget Arkansas Traveler and the metronome. I MAY come back to it later when my artist heart is feeling more secure.
I did play every day more than the 30 minutes. These Challenges are just that – a challenge.
Mary
Well, this challenge went by fast!! I was able to play at least 45 minutes a day, which usually ended up to be over an hour and a half. My goal was partially met… I spent most of my time working on memory and lightening up my fingering,
The best thing about this challenge for me was getting back on track after a scattered summer… I am more focused and ready to continue on my daily playing. Thank you for this, Jason… it has been a good two weeks!
These practice challenges are truly motivating. I try for one hour a day starting with bow strokes, scales, triads and string crossing exercise. Then back to whisky before breakfast. Slowly, slowly Slowly!!!
I’m reading a book called” the practice of practice”. One of the quotes says” if someone can tell what your playing, you’re going too fast”.
I became a FiddleHed early this year, so this was only my second Practice Challenge – and I loved it! I’m coming up on my first year of learning fiddle, so while I’m a uber-newbie, it’s given me a chance to actually use the ear-training skills I learned as a Music major (literally 50yrs ago!), but then didn’t use once in my marketing career (for some reason, lol!). Anyway, the 2022 FPC has helped me strengthen my ear-training even further, along with a solid comfort level using 4th finger. I didn’t spend as much time as I had planned on increasing my speed on some pieces, but I’ll keep that high up in my goals and my practice. Thanks, Jason and fellow FiddleHeds!
Ugh! Angeline is kicking my Fanny! But I have discovered areas of difficulty that are also showing up in other tunes mostly having to do with moving from the A string to D notes. Elementary, eh Watson? So here in is my Desirable Difficulty!
Same for me!
I think this review set is a great idea. With all the previous tunes in one spot they are easier to access.
Appreciate this constructive feedback, Margaret. Happy Fiddling 🎶
This mostly works for me except for the missing last bits in B part. But maybe that’s the way it is supposed to be played, skipping that list bit every second run through? Not a great problem I guess.
Hi Margaret, the last half of part B is meant be included in the tune, thanks for mentioning this again, it’s been a lingering issue and we intent to get it fixed soon in the full play along track. 🙂
I’ve always wanted to do vibrato, but I never thought I could master it. You have given me hope! I practice it everyday, and I’m finally beginning to get it. Thanks
I remember trying to learn this tune MANY years ago when I wasn’t too serious about my fiddle and gave up. Now I am really looking forward to being able to play this lovely song. Thanks Jason. The way you teach the itty bits at a time really helps.
I have been loving your course so much and really can feel my progress now! I can’t wait to keep going, so thank you for all of the content you put on here- keeps it lively and interesting and I’m having lots of fun practicing the tunes!
Emily
This was the best review session yet. I really liked having the list of tunes all together. It would be great if the play along tracks were right there as well – kind of like in the tune index. I’ve been trying to play more by ear, so I tried not to look at the music. I was amazed at how much I actually remembered and at what I had forgotten. Thank you Jason. I have learned so much.
Flying fiddle sticks everyday! Sticking with it is what I’m working on…ear training, listening, bowing, and trying to remember…it will be a forever process for me, part of bringing joy into everyday!
I have made practicing a daily part of my life for about a year now. I used to play fiddle back in my 20s and 30s and kept developing tennis elbow. I’d heal up and then it would come back again. I think in retrospect it was my mind’s way of creating an excuse not to practice — I mean, who can argue with an injury, right? So I put my fiddle away and played very sporadically for the next few decades. Last year I read a book called Stop Doing That Shit by Gary John Bishop and it really changed my life. I learned all about the ways I sabotage my life and began to recognize that even though I really wanted to play the fiddle, I wasn’t, and only I could change that. So, I picked it up and started and haven’t looked back, despite the hard days and the days I sound so bad to myself and the days I was really tired. I’ve missed some, of course, due to illness or being out of town or what have you. But mostly I have played every day. The habit gets easier, although the challenges keep coming, and I definitely still have to talk myself into practicing on many days. Then I’ll play something that brings tears to my eyes, and I’m so glad I didn’t give up. Anyway, to the challenge…I really want to 1) improve my bowing and string crossing 2) continue to work on vibrato, and 3) get over my fear of recording myself. I hate recording myself! I’m always so afraid to listen for fear that it will sound really horrible and then I’ll feel like I’m not making any progress. Does anyone else out there have this fear? If so, do you have any suggestions? Many thanks!
I try to think of the horrible parts as prompts to show me where I need work. It will show you things that need work way better than just listening while you play.
Thanks for that, I often need a bit of inspiration to move my practise on a notch!
Thanks Jason these emails really help me and I look forward to them. Your teacher for this old woman
Hi All, a bit late signing up, but I’ve decided to practice for half an hour before breakfast. Main focus on playing in tune…working my little finger in all strings…fluency and lightening up.
I’m playing Florida Blues and a Welsh tune called Machynlleth at the moment.
The idea of playing before breakfast is part of me starting lengthening the time between last meal of the day and first meal of next day, supposed to be a good thing to do! I’ll let you know at the end of October 🤗🎻💃Mary
This is my first practice recording of Carol of the Bells for Fall Practice challenge
I think you have the spirit of the song.
Awesome, I am having trouble, apparently,grasping the concept of time differences!! Lol! I’m in Memphis ,TN. I thought it was a hour earlier here. But I had already missed the live practice along at 12:30 pmET . The other day on the gram.When I joined at 11:30pm?
Hey, Thanks for bringing this up 🙂
It’s looking like your current time matches the ET current time, when I did a time search.
Be aware though that some of the scheduled times (like the hootenanny in PT) are in a different timezone, sorry if this can be confusing.
All the best in tuning in live and if it doesn’t line up, replays are usually available.
Thank you. That whole section was amazing but I especially enjoyed the response exercises. Much appreciation also for saying,
“You are a fiddler.” For the first time I fee that’s true.
I feel that’s true … I see that’s true.
I had to remove the video loop links. This feature is still unstable and being tested. Sorry about that…
I found three little birds on YouTube but I’m having trouble finding it on fiddlehed in the lessons . Tune finder says no matching record for three little birds. I know it’s in here somewhere , it’s on youtube . I know it’s probably operator error (not the most tech savvy one n the bunch haha). And thanks again for all the work you do.
Hi Tracy, great point. I also see Jason’s lessons on youtube but can’t see anything on the Fiddlehed site. We’ll make note of this and try to get it put up on the site soon. Thanks for your feedback, it helps alot 🙂
I think this might be the case with Spootiskerry as well! I can search for it but its not on the tune finder 😉
Fun open practice session today! This is Day 5 of the Fall Practice Challenge. I worked on single note rhythms with a metronome and round peak tunes.
Some things other people worked on:
Jennifer: bowing
Tom: Intonation and timing
Dan: Liberty
Pete: Hobart Kitchen Equipment’s Transformation
David: whiskey before breakfast, chaining try with metronome
Deborah: memorizing…and everything!
Joanne: Drops of Brandy, Trying to get it on time with a metronome – struggling with the B part!
mtroxell: something Scottish-double stops hammer ons – beginner to intermediate
Mary: Working on starting some songs, also my 3 practice songs, TN Waltz, snow deer and red wing
Jan: Sounding good, Seamus obrien
Margaret: memory
Rita: getting my skills back after shoulder surgery 3 months ago
Terri: Westering Home and TN Waltz w/metronome
Alice: blarney pilgrim
Diane: Arkansas Traveler
This challenge, 1 hour a day, I’m working on the tune Rights of Man. Adding variations to the tune.
Working on adding triplets, and rolls. Main focus is on part B of the tune so I can it
play well in tune. Warming up with a repeat of a couple of older tunes each evening too.
I’m commenting late, but so far I’ve played every day! My goal is 30 minutes a day including warmup.
I’m playing Galax Waltz and Road to Lisdoonvarna. I will:
1. Play my tunes, practice scales without open strings, and practice looser freer bowing.
2. Intentionally play a medium tempo and really get every note right where I want it, including double stops.
3. Get a smoother tone from the bow, less squeaking and accidental string touching.
4. Use consistent memorized bowing patterns for each tune.
5. Improvise melodies in Dmaj and Cmaj.
I’ve had a rough couple of years and my fiddle playing suffered because of it. (I had sick family members to care for)
My main goal for this practice challenge is to get back into the habit of playing every day. I’ll review old tunes and work on my intonation. My bow hand keeps getting stiff and starts to cramp…I’ll work on being conscious of that and try to relax.
I like these rhythms for scale practice! Sitting in front of the video screen, trying to mimmic Jason’s smooth relaxed bowing arm, seemed like it made me smoother right off.
Thank you Jason. I am going to practice at least 20 minutes per day.
I am going to work on trying to improve the speed of my playing and my sight reading speed.
Jason – Thank you for doing this!
Here’s my practice plan for the next two weeks:
– Stretch, tense/relax, and shoulder relaxation (2 min)
– Evenness in bowing: speed, pressure, soundpoint, parallel. Whole bows, slow speed (4 min)
– Shifting: 1st-2nd pos (4 min)
– Cmaj scale in 2nd pos (4 min)
– Cmaj scale in 3rd pos (4 min)
– Hand frame drill Cmaj 2nd pos (3 min)
– Sevcik shifting drill #1, meas. 1-5 (4 min)
– Octave scale, G and D string, Cmaj lower tetrachord (4 min)
– Moonlight Waltz (3 min)
– Gardenia Waltz (4 min)
– Glen Road to Carrick (5 min)
– Ave Maria (Bach-Gounod) – 10 min
I’m a couple days late to the party, but I will:
– spend 20 minutes per day on Bile ’em Cabbage Down
– work to increase my speed to 75bpm while maintaining written tune and rhythm
– practice it in fun ways by transposing, flattening, using different rhythms
I only missed one day of practice and most were for an hour or more. I gave up on “Cabbages”. I realized I didn’t like the tune well enough to spend that much time on it. I’ve since realized that I don’t have to like every tune in the lessons. I figure if I just keep on with techniques, speed will come. My new motto is “better, but slower”!
I challenge myself to
1. practice at least 30 minutes a day and focus on some part of a tune that challenges me
2. work on 1 song until I can play it with no mistakes or assistance and up to speed
3. review several songs each day
3. sing the tune and play the tune (not something I am good at)
3. work on bowing technique and variation
We’ll see how this goes. 😏
So glad I decided to hitch my fiddle wagon to your horses !
This is a new tune for me!Thanks for the introduction to the Butterfly. It’s definitely going on my faves list! methinks! And I’m looking forward to putting that pinky to work! 🙂
Correction to above post. * Many thanks!!
Hello all! Looking forward to setting forth new inspired practice routines! And continued enjoyment along my fiddler’s journey! Focusing on small gains. Slowing down. And non judgement of my skills and abilities as a musician. 🙂
This is my third FPC!
We play almost daily but I enjoy knowing I’m doing it with intention along with so many others.
Working on: Fairytale of New York and La Danse De Mardi Gras. Which has some fingerings I’m not familiar with. So I’m getting to know the fiddle neck better along the way as well as new notes.
I plan to practice 30 minutes each day. Work on intonation, fingering, bow crossing.
Tunes : King of the Fairies, Lament for Limerick, lament of the first generation, Paddy Fahey’s etc. 😊. 🎻
Yesterdays group lesson on this tune was excellent.The variations added a new dimension to this piece.
I am playing 30 mins each day. I plan to review past lessons and work on my timing.
Hi all – I am new to Fiddlehed and happy to take part in the Fiddle Challenge! Just getting going on Module 1.2 after a year squawking out too many tunes… my plan is:
– Play 30-40 min per day
– Improve tone, finger placement and bow-crossing; practice-repeat parts that are harder
-memorize correct starting note for first 6 songs and improve these songs
-Focus on tone-placement-crossing skills for a couple of easy-ish songs or song parts learned last year (prob. Barbara Allen and one other)
-Learn and memorize next song (extra goal…we shall see)
-Practice patience…this is perhaps the hardest goal…lol.
Have told my husband and warned the cats.
Thanks 🙂
I will practice 45 minutes a day. Right now I am concentrating on improving tone and intonation. I am recording myself to listen to where I need to improve. I am also very interested in getting the feel of the music alternating between scale and tune. I have been slow to sign up for the challenge as I know I will be out of town for about 5 days during the month. I do travel quite a bit. So far, I haven’t brought my fiddle on the plane. Any thoughts/suggestions on traveling with an instrument. I have looked a bit at travel fiddles, but there doesn’t seem to be any good options.
I am going to practice 30 minutes a day and work on:
making double stops sound better
incorporating dips, double stops, slides
and keeping a steady speed
into tunes I already know.
Yay! FPC 2022! Have fun everyone!
1. 20min a day practice.
2. I plan to work on kick-offs and endings on tunes.
3. Learn “Whiskey Before Breakfast” by ear by just listening to song on recording without a visual.
I printed off the practice sheets and will utilize them this FPC.
Hi Jason,
Thank you for the practice challenge.
I plan to practice at least 30 minutes a day,
reviewing tunes and focusing on tone
and memorization.
This is a great challenge again! I’m practicing some tunes to play with my husband on his guitar & mandocello ahead of our winter playing sessions. Plus trying to slow things down for now & play with more accuracy & intonation. In the 2 weeks I’m going to learn full pentatonic scales in D, F, G , C, & A chords to help with playing along to tunes & making solos. I’m practicing a minimum 1hr per day.
Hi Everyone,
I plan to practice at least 20 minutes every day. Maybe 30 minutes if possible.
I want to:
retrieve and refresh some tunes that I used to play along time ago,
work on my tone and sound
Practice vibrato😬
Spend time playing simple melodies while concentrating on relaxing shoulders, hands etc.
I am happy to join this group and the Challenge. I hope to get better on all the beginner tunes. I have a tendency to rush ahead. So My goal will be to not try a new tune for two weeks so I can get better with the old ones. I am at Little Liza Jane in the beginner Module 1.3.
I have no trouble practicing as my fiddling has become an obsession. I get in about an hour a day. I sneak to it instead of doing my housecleaning chores! It is my reward. It has replaced reading mystery novels and watching TV after dinner.
I hope to improve the sound of my notes, improve my bowing with less scratching and better fingering, improve the rhythm of my tunes. It is bringing new joy to an old lady!
I’ve gotten away from playing unfortunately, even tho once I pick up the fiddle I have fun and find it a great escape. So this is good for me. 30 minutes a day and hopefully I’ll just keep on going. Thanks for this Jason.
Hi Jason and fellow fiddlers,
I started my fiddle journey just a few weeks ago and I’m so glad I did. I know I have come to the right place and found my people! I commit to practicing at least 30 minutes a day duirng this challenge. I am just finishing up Module 1.2, and will continue to work on hitting the right notes using the drones, overall quality of sound, and string crossing while playing the beginner tunes. I look forward to better sound quality soon and so does my dog who dutifully hangs in there through my practices.
This is always a great challenge. Practicing 30 minutes a day sounds reasonable while working on:
Learning two new Irish fiddle tunes focusing on difficult measures. Try to loop difficult measures three times in a row without error.
Review list of past recorded tunes and try to play from memory one or two each day.
Try to increase tempo of best known fiddle tunes.
Sharing with my Wednesday practice group.
Ready for the FPC!
My general goals are to become better with intonation, timing, and speed. I plan to apply my fiddle learning to my mandolin along the way. Here’s what I’m thinking:
1. Play 30 minutes a day on songs I’ve learned for review, improvement, and fun. Just trying to make them sound better with more flow and listening for possible variations.
2. Play 30 minutes a day learning triads and pentatonic scales for keys of G, D, A, C, [F, E]. (Lessons are on the site.)
3. Start learning chords and work on double stops (from the site). Incorporate in songs where I can.
4. Keep a practice journal of daily accomplishments and reflections.
5. I’m telling my Strung Along group and everyone here.
I do practice fiddle for several hours every day, so that’s not an issue here. I’ll set a low bar of 1/2 hour per day on fiddle and 1/2 hour per day on hammered dulcimer.
My 2022 Fall Practice Challenge is about What I will practice. On fiddle I intend to:
– Memorize
– Smooth out
– Tweak the tempo
on tunes I’ve already worked on significantly. I plan to visit a tune a day. My tune list consists of 9 FiddleHed tunes, 3 jam tunes, 1 Christmas project piece, and 1 song for a friend. Whiskey Before Breakfast, St. Anne’s Reel, Danny Boy, Flop Eared Mule, Out on the Ocean, Harvest Home, Kesh Jig, Bill Cheatham, Over the Waterfall, Butchers Row, Fig for a Kiss, High Road to Linton, Wexford Carol, Seminole Wind.
On hammered dulcimer, I intend to work on Christmas Carols.
I’m telling my husband, my fiddle friend, and of course, you FiddleHed folks.
I’m committing to 15 minutes each day. I want to learn the time Squirrel Hunters Reel, brush up a couple others. I’ve told my daughter and I’m excited to start!
Hi everyone! I have so enjoyed all the wonderful Fiddlehed content but am a little shy about engaging online. This is a perfect opportunity for me to devote more time to fiddling and meet all of you. I happily accept this challenge. I plan to work on intonation, timing and memorizing more tunes. My ultimate goal is to jam with the local Old Time fiddle group. Practice time will be at least 20 a day. I shared this with my husband. We are wrapping up a road trip this week. I do have my fiddle to start today but may need to postpone some if needed. Thank Jason for putting this together for us.
Hello fellow fiddle-friends 🌝 I‘m quite new to this, just joined last week. Here‘s my plan for the challenge:
40 mins – 1 h practice per day
I‘m going continue working on module 1.5 and besides this I really need to fix my A-string-game 😄 Don‘t know why, l never had the slightest struggle with my E-string sounding bad, but the A-string is horrible. (Tips are welcome!)
Thank you Jason! And happy fiddleling to all of you!
By „tips“ I meant suggestions, not money 😀 Sorry, I‘m from Germany.
So glad for the fall challenge! I’ve practiced an hour today. I know I can improve my playing if I practice.
I’ll miss Friday-Saturday because I’m at Spirit of Suwannee Roots festival. Hope to be inspired by some great fiddlers. I plan to take a workshop on Friday while there.
I’ll double up on practice before and after going.
My practice routine doesn’t change a lot, though the tunes do as I learn new ones. I practice bowing, then scales in different keys, then some drills I borrowed from piano lesson decades ago that include arpeggios so I must work back and forth across strings and get the intervals right. I then move to tunes and try to do songs in different keys, tempos and styles. I break out the hard bits and try your micro-practice and looping with them. I try to play every day but must confess to missing once in a while. The sessions are 1/2 to one hour. Progress is slow, yes, but steady and so gratifying. Your insights about adult learning and focused listening have made it easier to acquire new tunes, so thanks!
I need this challenge sooo much! Thank you Jason! I’ve been a beginner for almost 10 years because I keep quitting and not touching my fiddle for (sometimes) a year at a time! If I have someone to play with, I keep with it but for the last 3 years have had nobody around to play with so it’s hard to motivate myself.
I printed Jason’s calendar and I’ll use it. I told my husband and a friend (neither are musicians). My goals are to pick 3 tunes which I kinda know and really learn them so that I can hear them in my head and I know just how to start them. Getting a tune started is hard for me.
I wanted so much to join the Student session last night but I couldn’t get my computer to behave and couldn’t get any sound to work! Hoping I can get into a beginner group???
Mary-TN
Practice 30 minutes a day.
Review my beginner lessons.
Work on bowing using drones.
I need to slow down and be more consistent.
It’s been quite a few years since I bought my fiddle/violin. I’ve had a few teachers and many lapses along the way. For about five years now I’ve worked mostly on my own. I don’t have a problem committing to regular practice. The thing is … I want to sound good. I know I need help with this. I believe that help is to be found here at fiddlehed.com.
Learning to play tunes without sheet music has been a real challenge. So far I can do only three from memory: Un Canadien Errant, Molly Malone and The Black Rogue.
So … I will commit to:
Improving the three tunes I already know.
Practicing at least one chunk of 20 minutes per day between 4 and 5 pm.
Slowing down and paying close attention to string crossings.
I’ve told my husband (an awesome guitar player who is so patient and encouraging that he doesn’t mind if I practice even if it’s 4 am.)
Thank you Jason for this great opportunity.
Thanks for doing this Jason! Hello to all the other Fiddleheds out there!
I’m going to practice for at least 15 mins per day. Going to continue to work with metronome/ getting a more consistent, steady beat, playing at different speeds.
Going to work on memorizing two new songs and go over some hard parts of other songs.
Thanks, Jason for the opportunity to participate in the FPC 2022!
I aim to practice for at least 30 minutes each day and focus on relearning some old time tunes in the key of C that I haven’t really got under my belt – Texas Gals, Little Rose and Lonesome Blues. I will also review some other tunes and work on improving flow in what I play.
I have told my wife that I am doing this, and am looking forward to starting a good practise habit.
Best wishes to all others participating.
I will practice at least 25 minutes per day. (If I was a therapist that would be a half hour.)
I plan to do deliberate practice on clean string crossing and the hard bits of tunes I’m working on. The tunes include core tunes from lessons and some Cajun tunes I am working on.
I told my wife and son I will be doing this. If I wanted everybody to know I guess I could call my former secretary and tell her.
Happy to join in on this – I will practice at least 20 minutes per day. I will learn the Lonesome Moonlight Waltz, and review at least 2 tunes I already know well, and 1 that I learned recently, focusing on good intonation, and practicing the appropriate scale first.. I will finish Module 1.3.
Fun!
Oh, and I am telling my Facebook Fiddlng group!
I have been sick with covid for what feels like forever, but finally well enough to start playing again, so want to re-establish my daily routine. 20 minutes a day sounds about right. I want to review my memorized irish tunes (about 5 of them) and mess around with bowings to see what sounds good as I play them differently. I also want to practice vibrato every day, and pick one of my slow tunes to practice including it. I also have two easy classical pieces I love to play to mix up the sound. And relax the left hand! New to the challenge but love all things fiddlehead so far!
Well, here I go again, trying to be disciplined for 15 minutes a day for two weeks with a focus on reviewing Cajun tunes and memorizing them. Thanks for the challenge! I’m telling my husband (who has no problem playing music every day) and my grandson (who is a high school senior teaching himself piano and he’s starting out very well, so I hope to inspire him to keep going a little every day). 🙂
It’s 8:04 pm on October 9 in Indiana and there doesn’t seem to be a meeting. We are on Eastern Daylight. Did the meeting mean Eastern NOT daylight?
Thanks for tuning in last night through the temporary link Nadine, we’ll host another student hangouts again soon to make up for the trickiness that happened with this last one 🙂
Hey Guys, I am having an issue logging in as the host.
Here’s an alternative link we can gather from for tonight:
Time: Two different blocks of 10 minutes each day (total 20 minutes)
Goal: By the end of 14 days, I will have reviewed scales and learned a new tune.
Breakdown: 5 min (scale or theory) & 5 min (new tune), repeat 2x every day
Hello! This seems like fun and will be my first-ever FPC so I’m excited! What will I try to improve on? Here is my list:
1. Slowing down on songs for quality rather than quantity
2. Being consistent in my practice
3. Will try to practice at minimum, 15 minutes a day
Fiddlehed and Friends:
I will practice at least 20 min a day in the afternoon.
I will work on my community orchestra pieces using listening and playing along.
I will continue to work on my 3 sets of fiddle contest tunes.
I will tell my husband about the challenge
I will track my practice by using an old school paper calendar and Fiddlehed weekly practice planner.
Bonus: I’d like to get a time together with my jam buddy’s for at least one jam. Finding a convenient time for everyone has been challenging.
Hoping to attend today .Oct 9, 2o22. I have intermittent net so we will see. I am in California. Just started about 2 months ago…
Hey Cherry, sorry it didn’t work out for you last night. Our apologies the main link wasn’t accessible for me to open. Looking forward to seeing you at the next session if it lines up!
Hi everyone!
I’m going to practice at least 15 minutes each day and I want to focus on recording myself playing tunes and practicing in front of a mirror to better self monitor. I also want to record tunes all the way through to post for video feedback, because I definitely find myself going on to a different song at times before the one I’m working on sounds any good. I’ve been subscribed to Fiddlehed for a few months now, but I’m a special education teacher and just started a new job, so I didn’t have much time to really participate in this awesome community! Looking forward to learning with y’all! 🙂
Good morning, Musicians!
1. I will work on sounding good.
2. I will learn one new old time fiddle tune, which I will choose this morning.
3. I have told my husband, which is going to have a ripple effect for his practicing guitar.
4. I will practice 20 minutes each morning at 10 am.
I’m very glad for this challenge. 🎻
That must have been a fun workshop. Thank you for share in the video.
‘Thank you for sharing the video. I learned much from it.’
Hello All,
My goals for the 2022 challenge are:
1. Improve intonation – in particular A1-A4 and E1-E4.
2. Improve timing and speed – “Flowers of Michigan” and “The Pilgrim” both have long runs and I plan to use a metronome to play slow then gradually speed up.
3. Practice for at least 5 minutes each day – I know it doesn’t sound like much but if I tell myself that I need to practice for only 5 minutes there is a better chance that I’ll pick up the instrument and play than if I think I have to practice for 20 minutes. Besides, once I start I usually get into it and end up playing 30+ minutes anyway.
Hello Fellow Fall FiddIers! I participated in the spring practice challenge and loved it. Certainly improved my violin playing tremendously, so of course I’m all in for the fall challenge.
Here’s my plan-
– practice 30 minutes per day (at least)
– improve tone
– improve string crossing
– learn double stops
I also want to learn a duet with my husband who plays banjo. We’ve picked Girl I Left Behind Me. My husband knows about the challenge since he’s participating in one of my goals.
FPC great! I need this a huuuge Thank you again Jason! Plan is to practice 10 -20 each day! And work on my bowing which is all over the place, tune will be Rueben’s Train. Also older tunes I learned and get more confident to play at jams. Loved the group song last time which was the sea shanty, Farewell and Adieu to you dear Spanish Ladies.
Great thanks again for the sessions! Fell out of practice over the weekend, but the FPChallenge was great! Awaiting the next one. Thanks Jason, good luck in your new home, enjoy winter, and applesauce!
Looking forward to learning some new tunes.
I’m glad you asked for goals. I will focus on lightening my left hand touch, better double stops and chords and reviewing tunes. I usually practice for 1hour every day but since I will be at someone else’s house I hope I can get at least 30 minutes. If I can’t play I can go through my cards and hum the tune to help with memory. I’m telling the Strung Along group and everyone here! Thanks Jason!
I didn’t play for a few months this summer because we were transient while waiting to move into our new home. I’ve been practicing pretty regularly since then. I’m committing to practice for 20 minutes a day for the next 2 weeks. I will be reviewing tunes I’ve already learned, specifically working on intervals for Little Liza Jane and Wildwood Flower in order to improve those tunes, and working on playing Mary Had a Little Lamb (Hoedown var. 1) faster. Longer term goal– I’d love to complete modules 1.3 (I’m halfway through it) and 1.4 before this year is over!
These exercises are wonderful. Thank you Jason for this opportunity to orient myself and find my level before signing up to a longer term.
I am excited to join this challenge. I ahve been playing Cello so playing Violin is a challenge in itself. But I plan to dedicate at least 15 min a day. Id like to learn scales, and some jigs. I am still trying to figure out where to start. I am checking out the fiddlehed site right now.
I am looking for some pdf fiddle tunes to print out and some scales. Oh and I told my daughter. She plays violin and she will keep me accountable 🙂
I found 15 short beginner fiddle tunes and I will learn a tune a day. They are all like 4 lines each. This will be fun !!! By the end I will have a small packet of learned beginner fiddle tunes !!!
I will not be close to my fiddle until Thursday, so I can’t join your group. However, when I get back Thursday, I will be practicing at least 30 minutes a day. Trying to perfect Tam Lin using double stops (a weak spot) and triplets. Also a tune called “The Morning Dew”. Thanks for the lessons.🎻🍀
I started playing just one year ago with my grandkids in a small homeschool group violin lesson. I had to practice pretty hard to improve at all and stay up with this group. I am motivated to keep moving on past just being a beginner and on into intermediate playing. I have been averaging about 2 hours a day I believe. and I am going to commit to practicing at least 2 hours a day for this challenge. I have a lot of goals. I wrote an ambitious list for this month of October. I have about 10 fiddle tunes I am working on speeding up, playing with tracts, and other family, and working on back up chords for those as well. I am starting to learn Westphalia waltz, and would like to get into Arkansas traveler too. I also have three pieces for a classical Christmas concert I need to polish. and I am looking forward to doing your FiddleHed lessons. Well I better get going!
Well, I’ve not been playing much recently and so this challenge has come along just when I need it.
Goals: I plan to play for 30 mins every morning,
I’m planning to focus on memorising a tune, playing it in tune and constant tempo.
Told my kids, 🙂
Hi fiddle friends :)…I’m joining to work on developing more structured and hopefully progressive practice habits! My 3 areas to work on are 1) bow techniques to improve tone, 2) string crossings, and 3) using these to improve the opening set of tunes that are always played at our local Irish sessions (Southwind/Planxty Irwin/Planxty Fanny Power). I have told my hubby and all of you! I plan to practice 20 mins after work/before dinner. Thanks for this challenge, Jason!
Whoo-Hoo!!! I’m so ready to take on this challenge!!!
My goal is to practice no less than 30 minutes a day – which hopefully turns into an hour or more….
I have told my husband and the Strung Along group so I KNOW I’ll have to be accountable!!
I will work on being light-fingered (in the musical sense only!!!) memorizing better tunes I know, double stops and adding triads as an embellishment in tunes.
This will be fun!!
I am committing to 5 minutes everyday, I will memorize Twinkle Twinkle and learn how to read tab and basic music when not playing.
I have established a daily practice schedule with two other friends on zoom for 2 hours. I work on a different scaled every day from A to G. Friday is my Fiddle Friday when I spend most of my time on Fiddlehed.
I am using the drones to help with my scales every day.
I’ve been waylaid with other commitments so this is the PERFECT challenge at the right time to get my practice rolling again. I commit to a minimum of 10 minutes each morning, to revisit and memorize at least two tunes on my list of “Old Time tunes to know by heart” and to find a bowing module to work on.
Thank you, Jason… and that Michigan tree is gorgeous. Just returned from visiting family in Columbia, TN and the colors were just starting to turn.
Hi Jason and everyone at FH . Glad to be part of the FPC once again . My goals for 2022 challenge are:
-30 minutes minimum daily
-working on my rhythm and building speed
( just a little at a time)
-trying to get my list of new tunes a little bit smaller and still sound good, maybe learn 3 new tunes well.
-work on my bow hold and wrist, try to relax more and maybe it will help my speed on tunes
And I have just told my husband, my daughter and all of you.
Good luck everyone and have fun 🎻
Here’s my plan for the FPC:
Practice for at least 20m in the afternoon.
* I want to establish this as a habit.
* I still have the option to practice later that night.
What I’ll work on:
* Reviewing old-time tunes
* being able to recall the melodies from seeing the title
* Deliberate practice on 1-2 hard parts from each tune
Rhythm rabbit hole
* working on rhythms on single notes, building speed
Playing songs just for fun, as a way to break up more focused practice.
Glad to be taking part with you all!!!!
Yay to Jason & The Famous Fall Fiddlers of FiddleHed! Perfect timing to step up our daily practice — Love the Danse de Mardi Gras tune— Thanks for keeping things lively in the FiddleHed Universe…from PacNorth West: Sandra & Forrest
Nice! What will you work on? How much time will you spend practicing each day?
I usually practice every day because I enjoy it so much. I did some videos yesterday and boy did I sound terrible. I’m just beginning. Completed module1.1 .2 and .3. But have gone too fast I think.
Good that you’ve noticed you’re going fast. Slow down and see if you can make each simple thing sound good.
What will you work on during the FPC? How much time will you spend practicing each day?
So this is the last day of the challenge. I have practiced minimum of 45 minutes per day. I told my husband. I have been working on making my beginner tunes better. Angiline the Baker I thought was going to be my brick wall but after I battled my way across the first quarter of Part A and realized the rest was similar I have just about managed it. I have been videoing some tunes and comparing… I can see a difference. (yay) and I am trying to SLOW DOWN! Today I plan on doing call and response exercise for Angiline. Hope you all had as much fun as I did these past two weeks.
Cherry
Hi all – this looks fun! I’ve been trying to practice every day, but somehow it often turns out to be piano practice! I think I can commit to practicing fiddle every day too. I get so much joy from trying to memorize tunes, so that is my goal. Memorize two new tunes in two weeks.🎻✨
Memorizing 2 tunes is a great goal. You can also choose to practice piano during the challenge too.
Very excited about this, especially since I just “graduated” from Beginner to Intermediate on the FiddleHed lessons track! (Though I’ll always be a Beginner in spirit and intent, and I’m glad of that!) 🙂
Great! What will you work on? How much time will you spend practicing each day?
Yep, two immediate things I want to focus on: (1) building accuracy and strength in my fourth finger; and (2) increasing speed by at least 10% consistently in at least five tunes (such as O’Keefe’s Slide, Wildwood Flower, and Kerry Polka). I aim to spend at least 30min average each day practicing.
Hi Jason and crew…. The links don’t work for me either. Nothing happens when I click on them. Mike was having this problem too.
Sandra
Thanks for mentioning this folks, we will let you know once it’s functioning.
I bought my first violin about 6 0r 7years ago and watched a few of your lessons on my phone. I was still working full time then and didn’t continue. I”m now semi-retired. I only work 4 1/2 days per week so I now have time for my fiddle!. This letter has really encouraged me. “Assume you will get better” was the best thing I’ve read. But I am still struggling to organize my practice. I have become addicted to my fiddle and can get very grumpy if I don’t get me fiddle time. Thanks for all you work making learning this beautiful instrument fun; difficult but fun!
Cherry
I love these Fingering and String Crossing ll exercises. I began working on about four a day, consecutively. Now, as I finish up working on this module’s tunes, I mix them up, playing exercises: 1, 11, 2, 10, 3, 9, 4, 8, 5, 7, 6. I do the full set during my practice and this mix takes the repetitive motion strain off of my not-quite-so-young muscles and joints. I feel myself gaining strength and endurance, and I focus now on relaxing the tense muscles and maintaining my intonation and tone as the tempo of each loop increases.
Thank you for these, Jason!
Fun, fun, fun! I really enjoy this tune. It’s so fun to play. I have repetitive strain issues in my left hand that makes it difficult to use my ring finger and I don’t have to in this song which makes it even more enjoyable. I am really enjoying fiddlehead, thanks for all you do 😁
Having a start button is a great idea. It would certainly help to keep wanderers like myself on track. Admittedly I tend to get what I feel is the meat out of the lessons and I’m off in another direction. I totally agree with Owen about the time and effort you put into these lessons and entire site. Thank you.
Jason, I like the idea of a Start button also….it seems to make more sense to me. Thanks for all you do!!!
Patty
Hey Jason,
I like marking a lesson started. Still like to see they are completed, but would like for us to mark it “ needs” review, as that sometimes occurs as we go through years of practice.
Thanks for working so hard to constantly improve the site and all of us who learn from it‼️
Owen O
Great lesson, than’ you so much! Very useful
Excellent lesson because small loops (or micro-practices) let me focus on better intonation and more efficient fingerings. Btw, I was going to bookmark and start using Tuning Exercises, but the link above just took me to what seems to be an unmaintained page.
Reminds me of the old, old way one person singing a line of a hymn, then the whole congregation repeating it. Can’t remember what style that is called. When they did not have enough hymnals or maybe folks couldn’t read.
On the A major triad, the upper octave and two octave (starts with G1)
the drone is the same. The A0 first note of the upper octave sounds the same as what would be G1 of the two octave drone. Am I not hearing it correctly or am I missing something about the scale?
Hi Amy, thanks for sharing this. You found an audio error on the two octave audio. We’ll get this fixed soon. Your help in noticing this is appreciated 👍🏾
Great job! Can you post the full song? The link above does not go to it. Thanks!
Hi Terri, which link are you referring to? I’m seeing the full song play along track as well as the full sheet music.
Thanks
Hi Jocelyn, Sorry I just now noticed your reply! Actually, there’s no link or pdf of the full song. Thanks!
I have learned so much from you in just a couple of days! Thank you!
Jerusalem Ridge 3… is that anywhere? I’ve played through 1and 2…. Would like to venture over in the higher octave on the D part. TIA
Hi Lisa, Thanks for mentioning this. When searching part 3 in the general search engine at the top right of screen, I found it. We will get it added to this list aswell. Thanks for noticing this. Here’s the link to part 3 for now: https://fiddlehed.com/level2/2-9-chromatic-scale/jerusalem-ridge-part-3/
Do each tiny bow stroke in tremolo count towards the thousand times? Hee Hee
; )
I can’t download the track for this song like I normally do. Can you check to see if the link is missing? My internet isn’t fast enough to keep the song playing off the website. Thanks!
When I change pressure on the bow, I can get the scratchy sound. Also, keeping the correct angle on the bow is hard to maintain.
I am intimidated when I need to turn the pegs. My fine tuners were getting too low. After watching your video, I dove in, with you kind of “by my side”. I’m enjoying your instruction very much. Thank you.
I am quite enjoying learning Fairytale of New York but am having difficulty with this bit:
B Part: Chorus
First half: (A0-0)-1-1-1-1-2-3-3-2-1-0-D2-0-1-2-2
Is this played with the same timing and rhythm as the a part?
Hey Dean, yes that is a tricky rhythm section you pointed out. The timing is the same throughout the tune but the rhythm of those notes takes some time to get familiar with. I suggest slowing it way down and start by clapping/tapping/singing those last 3 bars while following along with sheet music for rhythm support, counting all 6 beats in each bar. Thanks for mentioning this and have fun with it 🙂
Fun to learn this classic, and I like the exercise of transposing and practicing fragments of the melody across the strings.
great lesson- thanks for the quick posting.
With this lesson and the previous one, I am not getting sound on some of the videos. The first one usually sounds fine, but the extras sometimes play but without sound. What am I doing wrong.
This was absolutely wonderful! YES! Do more like this! I heard this song in a totally different way that captured my imagination and helped me think about ways to reframe many of the songs I know into something special. Norwegian Wood fit perfectly in there. I loved the Bb chords and key! What a wonderful lesson! Thank you, Jason, for taking the music to another level. ~Cindy
Absolutely LOVED this lesson! Opened up so many ideas… and yes, Norwegian Wood was an inspiration in this tune! Thanks, Jason!
Follow up: I was thinking of a “Drone machine”.. that IS another device to purchase, yes? Not a website? A time and place for everything… when might we utilize a drone machine?
I LOVED the “train sound”demonstration. I agree with Carolyn; that put the pieces together. I can do double stops. I can play straight chords..I can “chunk” for backup… but to put it all together… just wasn’t sure.
For that train sound, I’m thinking it’d be a good back up sound to play on the song, “Life’s a Mountain Railway”… as well as I’m thinking that’s part of the Orange Blossom Special….hmmm… gets my wheels a turning….
Dollar store pencil grips for the bow comfort. Very cool!
Way to go Ms. Nancy! Persevering until you find something that works so you don’t have to give up the violin because of arthritis Kudos!
Tremolos are fun to play; although I’ve not found a chance to incorporate that technique into playing. When might one use a tremolo?
Strum machine? I thought that was a real hold in your hand apparatus. I didn’t realize until watching this that it was a website (strummachine.com) I’m not sure how much the subscription is, but it looks worth it! (Provided it’s utilized on a frequent basis)
I’ll definitely be looking into the strum machine. I’ve heard it mentioned tons of times in Fiddlehed, but I just thought it’d be another machine/instrument I’d have to buy and I already have limited room. Good to know! I really need to look into this!
I appreciate this being posted for those of us who aren’t able to make it. I’m making more of an effort to learn to navigate around the website. Keep fiddlin’ folks! 😀
Thanks
This was really helpful. I play guitar and uke as well as the violin and thought that I would have to give up the singing part when I took up the violin. It is good to see that it is still possible. It is so encouraging. Thanks so much.
Diane
Good exercises! The melodic fragment from “Shortcake” was especially worth practicing in both octaves of A.
Very helpful. THANKS!
Just read your email, “How To Sing And Play Backup” and couldn’t believe that the original “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” was in F#! Checked the official YT video on my keyboard and found it was true. Seems like such an UNidiomatic key for any of the instruments involved. I wonder if it was really done in F or G, then slid with the recording equipment of the mid-80s. Or maybe F# really fit Lauper’s vocal range better! Anyway, it was an intriguing bit of trivia. Thanks, Jason, for all your great lessons!
Hey, back again because there’s some great call-and-response with a fiddle on Cyndi Lauper’s recording of the Country song, “Begging To You.” Fits perfectly with the “how to play on songs” theme!
Can I suggest one of the most popular Canadian tunes to add: Maple Sugar by Ward Allen. It is complex enough to deserve a lesson on it and most people recognize it. It was a radio hit in Northern Saskatchewan in the ’50s but it is still well known.
There is a whole genre of French Canadian Reels that would be fun to see on the site if you ever have a chance.
Thanks for all the work you do to find interesting fiddle music!
Great ideas Diane, I will add your suggestions to our request list. Thanks for mentioning this 🙂
I have to ask. With all of the runs of eighth notes, is it OK to slur them or do they all have to be played individually? I don’t want to cheat, but I have a hard time playing them fast without slurring.
This sounds great Jason, amazing what you can do with one voice, one fiddle and one drone. Thanks for the clear explanations and break down on how you work on each aspect of the song, backing and riffs. Please keep posting these videos, we’re learning so much from you.
How fun! I love how you break down theory when teaching! It’s like you’re gifting us with knowledge to apply to other songs! Thank you for teaching us how to *fish instead of just giving us a *fish!
Yeah! Really liked the lesson with a sneak peak into a creative mind. I used to be quite creative with a baseball or soccer ball. This is a learning process for me and I am enjoying it. Thanks for the video‼️
Very cool! Yes, the mix of simple rhythms, chords and arpeggios, and short riffs really works well. And the “Norwegian Wood” interlude is frosting on the cake!
THIS is my favorite lesson (in regards to how the page is laid out). I really like the different speeds for the full tune, repeated, and with solo time included.
lisab-1964 just said about exactly what I was thinking. Thank you for the replay. This is so much what I’ve wanted to learn since I started fiddling.
This was SOOO much fun and SOOO informative! Although I won’t join live for awhile due to work schedule, I am thankful for the archives (and for fellow fiddleheds pointing me in the right direction!) During Jams, I always wonder if I’m playing “too much” or over bearing, or too little.. or…or…y’all understand.
At any rate, this gave me some pointers to carry over to other songs.. especially when someone is already singing lead.. no since in fiddle playing lead unless it’s during a break/solo/etc.
Cheatin’ Heart is a rather slow song. I’m guessing that for faster songs, we can just do some rhythm to the I, IV and V chords of the given song. I’m learning to do a few “walk ups” (or downs) from one chord to the next. Such a fun journey! Thanks, Jason for your hard work, and thanks fellow fiddlers for the encouragement! 😀
Oh my gosh- I’ve been wanting to sing with my fiddle- the mandolin would be a great
solution…I lent one out from for restoration and it never came back- egads- but with your
help I feel I could acquire one and tackle this….because… I love to sing! hope to learn more!
That was fun!
Great job Joanne!
Every practice isn’t going to be great or even good. However, you are actually learning. It comes as little surprises for me. Holding the bow; I struggled just trying to hold it properly to rosin. The struggle to hold it properly and also be able to move it sort of to my will lasted about 4 days. Then, half way dreading the struggle, I started to practice bowing when I realized I had tightened the hair and started to practice with no struggle. WOW. How tight is just right? Sweatsweat. Then I started making small adjustments. Start at “my little finger”, start at same width as the bow. I finally just tightened it, then adjusted it til it sounded good and didn’t bounce. I AM THE MASTER OF MY BOW. Well we’re still in negotiations but I feel relaxed adjusting it. Same with shoulder rest and position. When it comes, it just feels natural and I become so very impressed with myself.
Great start! You’re Terrific, Jason!
Howdy,
How about posting a lesson for San Antonio Rose?
Appreciate ya, learning a lot, been playing for not quite a year. Your diagrams have helped me a lot with each part.
Thanks,
LR Swadley
Wow 🤩
Playing on songs is a high water mark in the Fiddlehed program. This is the best explanation of playing along with a song ever!!!
This was so interesting Jason, I learnt a lot from you explaining your creative process. The listening, finding the triads for the intro, chord back up rhythms, descending bass line, slides. All the building blocks we can play with to make a song backing. Thanks for another great lesson!
HI Jason, Above, when clicking on the video, it doesn’t open. I found it on YT:
Terri, thanks for the link!
Pete, glad it helped! 🙂🎻
That was a great lesson yesterday. Today the old song Wayfarin’ Stranger came to my mind. It’s another great one to work on using these strategies from yesterday. The phases give time for a echo of the melody. It’s under Bonus lessons module 1.7. The play-along track starts slow and then speedsup.
Thanks, Mary Reid
Sorry this is probably in the wrong place but Jason, I wanted to tell you about something I stumbled across. At WWW. folkways.si.edu there are two albums put out by Dewey Half a. The first is on basic fiddle playing like how to tune from A, the rest by ear. In bowing he says “ok, push, pull, push , pull.”
The second is about technique like slurs, triplets etc. It fascinated me because he is teaching in the style from way back, my great uncles taught by their father around 1910. You can buy the vinyl or CD, download separate parts or just listen. I don’t think anyone could learn to play from these but it’s a fabulous, fascinating look at the history of how fiddle has been passed down.
Mostly, for me it was THE DEWEY BALFA! Again, sorry for putting this here but I don’t know how to just send straight.
Dewey Balfa! He even teaches how to correctly tap your feet. Historical info.
I love this piece; also love how there are three speed available to practice the entire piece. Never heard this one before, but I like the wide variety of tunes Jason teaches.
Ive been fooling around with this song for quite some time, but now with this play along track.. it launched me forward and re-focused reading music instead playing by ear/ memory. Thank you ! Awesome !!
If I had to do these exercises out of a book or off a sheet of paper, I wouldn’t last five minutes. These, however, are very rewarding to practice. Hearing the notes as I play makes all the difference. I feel like these are a ‘game changer’ for my pinkie. Thank you Jason!
mind blown
Wow this was awesome!
Thank you, James. Glad you enjoyed it.
Great lesson! I’ve been including this with my practice all week and it feels very effective.
That was a fun lesson!!!!!!
Jim! Hello – happy to be in touch with you again!
I was making some updates to my fiddle blog recently – thinking about you due to the comments and encouragement you left all those years back, and hoping you were still fiddling!
It makes me so happy to read this post and know you’re still at it – and a fascinating post it is, too! Thanks for all the research and work that went into it! Hope all is well!
Hey Aywren. I think I replied to you privately, but I am not sure it went through, so I will post my response here again.
So good to hear from you! Jason asked me about writing for Fiddlehed again, and I accepted his offer. My fiddling has been almost non-existent for the past year because of severe shoulder problems. I practice when I can, but I have fallen way behind. I am on the mend, but it has been a very slow process. I thought if I wrote for Jason, that might help me get back into the swing again. I told Jason I would write 6 articles over the next 12 months. I still love fiddle music,but playing it has been a real ordeal. I hope you are making good progress. If you should want to contact me directly, you (or anyone else) can use [email protected] So GOOD to hear from you, my friend!
Love playing along with the backing track. So much fun! Really enjoy Soldiers Joy and Fairy Dance.
This is a wonderful study. Thank you, Jim Guinn, for writing this and to you Jason for getting this out to us FiddleHeds.
My pleasure, Patty. I enjoy writing about the fiddle.
My cousin was allowed to photograph the Amati 1649 and the Strad 1716 in person as part of a project to republish the book about Amati, in 1984. That was picked up by the car company that released an ‘Amati’, around 1991. Just some added trivia. Thanks for your work.
That sounds exciting!
Like lisab_1964, I love these Call-and-Response lessons, too! They’ve given me the chance to resurrect the ear-training skills I learned as a Music major in college, but then never used in my career as a marketer. I’m soooo happy to be back into music and using those skills in my retirement! Thank you, FiddleHed!
Exciting stuff Jason!!! Got mandolin tuned up ready to get into the lesson.
Jason — Thanks so much! This is what I’ve been looking for, and it’s working!! I WANT to enjoy each practice and I also WANT to sound better NOW. These workable ideas are already helping me improve. A gazillion bazillion thanks!
Thanks for the Mystery Tune! I missed it when you were live but just enjoyed the recording this morning. I am getting better at following you but I can’t seem to remember all the parts again at the end to play the whole tune! Do you have any hints for memorizing as you go? I confess to cheating a bit and looking at the music score
Btw, as quick follow-up, the lowered 6th degree in “God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen” puts it in Aeolian mode, if I recall my modes correctly.
I was just about to start this lesson, but read the past comments first. MaryReid’s comment from Nov 2020 struck me, so I picked up my fiddle, and picked out “God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen” without much trouble, thanks to the rigorous ear-training I got as a Music major 50 years ago. But I’d never have thought of trying it with her comment, so thank you, Mary Reid! 🙂
I love all the emphasis on rhythm in the beginning lessons. I am picking up fiddling many decades later after a few year of classical violin as a kid. The fingering is coming back pretty well, but my bowing and rhythm is a hot mess. It is great to start over with good habits.
It’s fun to do tremolo and finish off with a throw away bow!! Love it!
This is a great exercise! I’ve heard this before but now it’s something I hope to include daily until it becomes a habit–a good habit!
I find it helps to close my eyes and get the feel of it. One cool thing I noticed is when I lighten the pressure on the string, I feel the string’s vibrations in my fingertips.
Thank you Jason!
Can you do more or do have something on double stops and scales having problems with the fingering to make the chords not sure what to do to improve one thing I have other is how to get over muting the other strings while fingering to make the double stops can you help email if you can
I tried to do double stops on this as it sounds perfect for it but it came out sounding…off. Can this be done in double stops? If so, what strings?
Absolutely love these exercises! Is there a way to save lessons so I can come back to them? Like a bookmark? I feel these exercises are great for learning how to improvise by listening before playing.
There is no place to mark “completed” on this lesson.
Thanks for sharing this here, Sharlyn. And great footage of a fun music session Joanne. So nice to see what folks are getting up to with their fiddles in the community.
This is wonderful! I could not get the timing down but someone was playing Kerfunken Jig. I played with them and now I can play it. In just a few minutes.
FiddleHed Joanne made a video of this tune!
That ‘whoah Nellie’ cartoon made me smile, thank you, and the Star Wars excerpt — thank you so much!
FiddleHed just keeps getting better. The collaboration with Ruth and the scale shape lesson was excellent! I do a lot of scale practice with different rhythms and this is an addition to my routine.
Thank you Jason!
great practice lessons. learning great techniques
Thank you, that was just wonderful. Such fun! I loved exercise 7 particularly as I just love those strings so much. The resonance the violin gives my voice when I sing too was a happy surprise. Such an interesting lesson, very much appreciated.
Second day of doing these exercises, with another comment. I really like these, and will continue to do them. At the same time, some of them accelerate *very* quickly – unreasonably so, I’d say. Also, there’s a maraca-type sound in some of them that just doesn’t synch up with anything, and it’s distracting and confusing: Exercise 12 is a good example, but not the only one. These should be fixed or re-recorded. (And I say that with the benefit of past musical training; it must be even harder for someone who’s new to this.)
Uggh, you’re right. I put it on my work list. Thanks for pointing it out…
So interesting – thank you so much! Feel I am learning as much about listening as about the violin. That Soldier’s Joy really got me smiling, thank you again Jason – what an excellent course.
Listening is underrated for sure. Pause during your practice to listen…
Wow, yeah, these exercises throw some big curves. I had to stop the play-along track to focus on #3. Then #4 and #5 were pretty easy, but #6 was “track off!” again. Kind of surprised by that, but it’ll all help in the end. I actually enjoy practicing pedal patterns: they always remind me of certain Bach pieces.
That’s interesting that it reminds you of Bach. Now I want to see if I can hear this in his music…
I appreciate all the work that goes into these. I wonder if you have tabs written where there is a bowing patter for these songs? From what I understand, having the correct bowing pattern makes all the difference in the phrasing of the song.
Some of the sheet music has bowing markings. Click through to lesson pages…
Here’s a practice-flow to help you:
-Listen
-Pause
-Play it back as best you can
-Rewind and repeat until you get it
My bow vibrates/bounces when I’m in the middle third. How do I prevent that?
I’m listening to the Call and Response exercises several times while “air-playing” with my left hand before picking up my fiddle. Then I am better able to complete the exercises. I also like a previous poster’s suggestion to close my eyes while listening and playing.
Great idea. Get the body involved whenever you play.
I really like the pentatonic scale!
I use the Wittner geared tuning pegs for the tuning pegs. Have a violin luthier install them. They make tuning a breeze.
Good idear! I’m going to look into this.
I know this is an old response, but I played a fiddle with Wittner machines not that long ago. It seemed like it made it heavy… might have been my imagination.
Found 2.8 quite difficult; will need to try again. Particularly hard to hear the chords Fm, Bflat, Cm, Am,Aminor.
Yes, keep trying.
Here’s a practice-flow to help you:
– Listen
– Pause
– Play it back as best you can
– Rewind and repeat until you get it
Good lesson! All the exercises help solidify the L2 finger position in my head as I study the neck while playing; but I think the L2-3 exercises on each string are the most useful, since that stretch is kind of hard to do consistently without getting hand cramps (at least for me)!
Hey Jason! This was great 🙂 I’d love a PDF of the Melodic Variation D Pentatonic sheet — got one?
I’ll have this soon. I’m going to make a lesson this.
I’ve found this helps with intonation, timing and string crossing. Still experimenting with different patterns with a metronome!!!
Great lesson
Awesome!!!
Yowza! Just finished this Review Set 1.6 and I am STOKED! I remembered I have a second bow, so I went through all the tunes, alternating one bow and then the other, and playing each time across all the strings (ie, transposing as much as the range of the strings would allow, which varies by tune of course). Felt very relaxed and even “in the groove” more than ever before. (Hope I don’t jinx myself saying that!) It was, in a word, FUN!
Awesome. Love your enthusiasm.
Happy to be here! And the timing is good, because I still have trouble sometimes remembering the names of some of the tunes we’ve learned. This review will help, I’m sure!
That cross and rock drill is so very helpful – thank you so much!
You’re welcome!
This one was a quick learn because of its repetition and overall structure, though I need to keep practicing to play it at more than a moderate speed. I’m laughing now as I practice it because it reminds me of “The Song That Never Ends.” I can’t wait to inflict it on my family! Lol
Sorry I missed this episode. Got the replay-very good session! Thanks for posting
How much fun is that tremolo!!? Couldn’t stop smiling, thank you.
The hardest part for me is not picking up the note’s neighbour as well. 😀
Excellent 4th finger question and exercises. Thank you for always recording these
After doing Exercise 1 on the D/G strings, I just played along again with the track, but using my G/D and A/E strings to repeat the same M6 interval. Hilarious parallel 5ths against the play-along track, just as I’d hoped! (Well, maybe you had to be there! Lol)
I savored this great lesson! Used it to really focus on improving my intonation while practicing the rhythmic variations. Videos were frosting on the cake!
Wonderful program, thank you! So much to love here – must say the cartoons delight me, and make me smile, even laugh! So much fun with your lessons, thank you!
A joy to start with these rhythms, thank you so much Jason!
Thank you so much! I broke a string tuning the instrument, but am undeterred thanks to your excellent tuition. Great starting lesson, many thanks.
Is there a way to memorize the call and response? I’m good for about 4-5 notes, but if it gets any longer, by the time I listen to the last note, I’ve already forgotten what the first few were. The exception is, if it’s a tune I already know, and I figure out that’s what you’re doing lol. But if it’s a tune I’m not familiar with, my memory loses it about the 5 note on. Suggestions?
For myself, I find just repeating the little bits I’m forgetting a few times helps it to turn out right in the end. Never Give Up! (That’s a great South African -I think… song : Bambalela!)
Great ideas and tips for learning!!!
I could stay busy on this one post for a long time .
Thanks Jason
Have only played along with the video so far, but I already love this lesson. Start with “Cripple Creek” and end up playing “Chariots of Fire” instead: yes, a great example of the pleasures of discovery when just “fiddling around”! OK, back to the exercises!
Such great suggestions, all leading to creative and inspiring practice sessions. Thanks for all the motivation to keep actively learning!
I have thoroughly enjoyed this course so far. I feel like I have learned so much in just a couple of months! I do need to work on memorizing more tunes & relying less on sheet music. Also, I apologize for not submitting any videos. The truth is, I haven’t recorded myself yet…I know I was supposed to do that a while ago but I really don’t like to watch myself and the camera makes me nervous so I’m worried that I will mess up or forget what I’m playing. Anyway, I promise I will work on that aspect of my fiddle journey!
Thank you, Jason for everything that I’ve learned so far & for making the course fun & rewarding! Looking forward to more adventures in the next modu!e!
Gail 🙂
Hey Gail, no need to apologize for not submitting video. If you do end up filming yourself, you don’t have to share. If you prefer, just make an audio recording. It’s just a way of getting feedback. At first you won’t like it, but eventually, you’ll see the value in recording…
Great stuff, Jason; thanks for the work!
In the southern U.S.A. it is HOT during the months I travel. On a recent trip (for a fiddle workshop where I met 2 other Fiddlehed students), I found myself leaving the fiddle at hotels I had checked out of, making extra trips back for it, calling around to amusement parks to see if they had indoor lockers I could rent. Is there a “travel fiddle” you could recommend? How did people keep these instruments together on their covered wagon migration with no A/C? I am tent-camping next week and even though there will be music there, I can’t figure out how to bring my fiddle.
Great lesson! Love being able to catch these on the replays if they were live in the middle of the night the other side of the Atlantic! Thanks Jason!
Had a lesson in tuning and music shops.
After a disagreement with a heifer, my husband had to have his rotator cuff repaired. I didn’t get to even pick up my fiddle for a bit over a month. It was waaay out of tune. No biggie, l thought. Got ADG almost smack on perfect. E wouldn’t budge. I did everything I knew or looked up and nothing. I must’ve given it a real cussing because when I finally put it up everything else was out and all but G refused. My grandson plays guitar and he tried, nope. I live on a ranch in the big boonies. I called a music shop in the small town we shop in. I figured as many fiddle players in this part of Texas, surely they could help. My grandson took it. I told him it should take about 3 minutes, 5 tops because I’m doing something wrong.
They made him leave it and at the end of the day they called me and said it was ready. Diagnosis “With fiddles that get played alot, like this one, the pegs get worn and need to be shaved a bit. I fixed it, plays just fine”. I didn’t argue, didn’t tell him it was a brand new Fiddlerman Concert and hadn’t been “played alot”. When my grandson got it home and I looked at it, it hadn’t been touched. $20.00 for nothing.
Had grandson take it home with him, 50+ miles away. Called a store there that I should’ve done to begin with but 100 miles is long for a tuning problem. The next day he called me and said it took about 4 minutes, charge -0-. Diagnosis- brand new strings can be squirrelly and until they finish stretching and spend time in the shape they will need to be they may cause cussing but this shall pass.
The lessons I learned are;
1. If, for whatever reason, you can’t get your fiddle in tune it doesn’t matter how far you have to go to get help.
2. Whatever you call a good fiddle fixer, they are like a good doctor, treat them right and hang on to them.
3. Don’t be afraid to look stupid. My desire to play was greater than my pride. Surprised me. I think it surprised my grandson more.
4. Grandsons and fiddle strings are alot alike. Brand new they are a pain but after a while they turn out to be good things to have.
Do experienced players ever have a strong urge to fling their fiddle across the room?
Fun tune (even if “Cripple Creek” makes me think first of The Band from back in the day)! Seems easy to play, even with some swing in there. Maybe I’m actually getting better little by little! 😅
Jason, I love the violin chord back up on the song, I tried to copy it but it sounds that you’re doing a C chord instead of a G chord when you’re doing the accompaniment chords in Part A. Can you do that because the G note is part of the C chord? Did you choose C because it sounds better? Just wondered how you came up with the chord progression that you did.
Wow, yeah, the more I play this tune the more I love it! This is a SAVORY lesson! 😅 Taking the challenge to play it on the D string wasn’t very hard, but still good practice, and I fiddled around with variations and a few simple double-stops over a D drone. Super energizing!
These are really nice additions to your site. You never cease to amaze me with your creativity.
just caught up with this lesson on the replay. I found that singing / chanting the lyrics really nailed getting the rhythm, that’s a great learning tool. I guess you can use that in other tunes even if they don’t have lyrics you can make up a rhyme to fit!
Hi Jason,
Do you have a triplet metronome?
Thanks, Deb
use 6/8 time if your MM can’t do it….
So much fun! I love using these scale lessons to really focus on my intonation and clean bowing; also to be more conscious of playing with less tension (since I tend in particular to clench my jaw!). Playing with scale variations over the drone can be exciting, too – enough to really use throwaway bowing! 😀
Your advice to either sing or hum the tune helped me with this tune. After a practice session, I returned to the tune a few days and couldn’t get the timing by reading the sheet music. Then I hummed the song and quickly figured it out. Thanks for great tips!
Wow! Like a few others, I wasn’t sure I cared much for this tune at first, but it’s definitely growing on me. I hear it as moving between A major and the relative F# minor, which seems especially clear in the course of Part A. It’s masked a bit in Part B, when it ends on the 5th degree of the relative minor (or the 3rd of the A major base key), but I ascribe that to the pentatonic character of the melody. Listening to Hillary Haas’s haunting YouTube version was icing on this cake!
Fun lesson! Alternating between singing and playing definitely helped get the tune in my head. Looking forward to more like this
Jason, I just caught up on the replay of this Mystery tune, great fun, my ear playing has improved so much over the past year of fiddlehed lessons in lockdown. Love the tune and yoga stretches just when we needed them. 🙂
In getting the sequence of skee daddle I had to do just as he suggests, take it bit by bit. Once I seem to get the overall tune of it, it seems much easier to reproduce- it truely is quite the exercise in string crossover. I am really enjoying this.
Thanks Jason, the call and response is exactly what I needed? I can read music but I’m trying to play with my bluegrass friends and I need to be able to play without the music and take a break that fits the song. These are the perfect exercises for that. Joe Ann
Hi Jason,
This was really interesting for me to watch the replay ( till it dropped out), I’m hoping to be able to join in when our clocks adjust for daylight savings later in the year.
It was so valuable to be reminded about returning to the basics when we’re dissatisfied with our sound or how our bow won’t glide the way we want it to. I thought Tom did a great job of transcribing and it was interesting to hear the background story too. This month’s focus on call and response will be very helpful for us to develop these skills further.
Last month, I skipped the lessons on reading as I can do that, but Fiddlehed has given me so much in the areas of ear training and memorisation. I used the extra time to write a harmony for Galway Bay Hornpipe and also wrote an original tune with chords and harmony. Would it be OK to send those to you? I’d really appreciate some feedback and any suggestions you have as writing is something I’d like to get into.
Cheers,
Marg.
Hi J, does any practice or piece you play start on a down bow please? V
This was an excellent lesson and makes total sense to me. If you can see a way to simplify the piece until you get the hang of it, it is much better than abandoning it because it seems too overwhelming.
I agree that knowing the core of the song can be helpful when playing with others. As long as you know the core tune it is still compatible with someone playing the fancy embellishments.
This is very helpful! Thank you Jason – I’m a little slow in my progress, even though I have learned to play lots of tunes , I won’t click ‘finished module ‘until I have successfully completed each one- Still ‘ fiddling around ‘ aka practicing -thanks again for your patience!:)
Is Exercise 2 third bar written correctly?. It does not seem to match what is played.
FiddleHed Seth made a video of this. It’s re-posted from the Student Videos page.
FiddleHed Seth made a video of this. It’s re-posted from the Student Videos page.
I think tremolo was hardest, but I think I did pretty well for a first time.
FiddleHed Joanne made a video of this. It’s re-posted from the Student Videos page. Here’s what they said:
I love this tune! I haven’t tried re-tuning the G down to D as Jason does in his lesson for this but instead used the D Drone to get the effect & then just did some drone double stops with A & D open strings.
I really appreciate how many times I hear you say that you can “train your ear” and these call and response practices are a “skill” you can LEARN. I most often have only heard that someone’s ear is an innate ability – sure, great, probably. But I really appreciate your voice to balance that out – It’s also something that can be learned and improved. There’s hope!
Danielle, ear-training is very much a learnable skill! I had to learn it pretty rigorously in college as a Music major, but then my career had nothing to do with music. Now that I’m retired and learning fiddle through FiddleHed, I’m delighted to be dusting off and using an old skill! I’m sure you’ll keep getting better at it the more you practice!
This is fun and challenging!! But—- If it was easy, anybody could do it!! Oh…. Anybody can do it with practice and dedication—and proper instruction.
Thank you Jason
I love this lesson! When I got to the “Whiskey Before Breakfast” phrase, my first thought was, “Wait, I haven’t even learned this song yet!” But the score’s right there and I read music, so no excuse! The fingering was a little tricky at first, but I’m getting it. Cool!
Loved learning these little tunes; makes me feel like a real fiddler! I can’t wait to learn more! Thanks for your amazing teaching techniques, Jason! 💃😀
I can’t find ‘You Are My Sunshine” or “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” among others that I found on the FiddleHed YouTube Channel.
Help
Larry Reese
Ha a little intimidating at first – but oh man that was fun! I caught the thrill of being in a band making music. Gosh I love this! I want to keep coming back to these lessons! Wooo who!
Jason, What are your tips for keeping the bow straight? Is there a lesson I can watch?
I’m still working on this myself. For what it’s worth, I started by fiddling in front of a mirror… but, that just isn’t feasible for me with every practice. Eventually, I tried the “Bow Right” which Jason lists in his Recommended Fiddle Gear section. I’m treating the bow right like training wheels. I use it some to get the feel, then I take it off and bow without it. Truth be told, I was feeling a little demoralized by my struggle with keeping the bow straight. This little device has been helpful for me.
I have a bow guide as well and it does help. I do have to practice without it so I don’t become dependent.
Hi Kate, thanks for asking and thanks for other folks’ tips also! Here’s some posts I found on Fiddlehed referring to keeping the bow parallel: https://fiddlehed.com/?s=bow+parallel
Micro practises while watching ourselves in the mirror or on a video recording on screen can support ourselves to keep the bow parallel and feel and see what position and muscles are used to make that happen. I find as I get closer to the tip of bow when playing that I can feel a definite stretch in my outside forearm, which helps indicate to me I’m pushing my arm far enough out to get it close to parallel. Have a great time with it 🙂
Ahhhhh I can see where the metronome is becoming one with my mind and fingers.
Hi Jason, I joined you last night and already you’ve given me confidence with your frequent affirmations that if you want to do it you will succeed. I’m just learning to find where I finished last night and continue?
Great way to begin – I love the wit and humor!
I really like the tune “Chilly Winds”. However, I am having trouble learning it from the sheet music provided. Might we do a lesson going into more detail on this one or perhaps a practice journey? I found a simpler version in D minor that I like, but would love to learn your version
So I thought I had completed Module 1.5 but it shows 83% completed. How can I find out what I missed? 🤔
Like others, I’m enjoying this very much! Call & Response exercises are a pleasure because they’ve revived and strengthened my ear-training skills while helping me get more “nimble” in fingering. Wildwood Flower is a beautiful tune that I can’t stop playing, and I like the challenge of improving my jump up to the E string at the top of the melodic arc.
Thanks for sharing your reflection, Pete. Your experience of goodness is a joy to hear 🙂
Great lesson! Thanks to my past ear-training, responding wasn’t very hard per se, but these exercises are still excellent for strengthening those skills. I especially liked Exercise 4 for focusing on better intonation, and Exercise 7 for the melodic fragments and overall vibe!
The most difficult part of producing soft/;old was in maintaining a good sound. I had to be sure it wasn’t scratchy.
I agree. Changing pressure whit getting scratchy.
Still plugging along and enjoying the practice. Using practice as a way to relax with the added benefit that I might be able to play a fiddle well and maybe with other people. I am not pressuring myself for getting to be an accomplished fiddler. If that happens it’ll be in the fullness of time.
As I look through the “Tunes to review”, I recognize all of the names… a few I can hum in my head, and after a few false starts, I can play them. The further we progress through the course, the more there are to review. I just can’t seem to learn (from memory) any “new” tunes. I need sheet music. Plain and simple. I have to learn to be okay with that.
I’m equating audiation with perfect pitch and playing by ear. I hope perfect pitch–or even memorizing a few pitches (to have a reference point) soon.
I’m uncertain if there’s enough time for me to learn tunes for memory. There doesn’t seem to be enough memory in my mind for the “have to remember” and “want to remember”. It’s good if we CAN memorize… but responsibilities of home/job doesn’t lend itself to a lot of free time.
However, I am enjoying what I’m learning. 🙂 Keep up the good work, Jason 😀
I noticed this when seeing tab above the sheet music, maybe it will help those trying to go from tab to notes by giving them a little hint.
If you look at the lines the notes are written on and then think of the finger numbers in tab, when a note sits between two lines then that note is played with 0-2-4 finger. I think of it as even, not mathmatical but who cares. If the note sits with a line running through it, one line right smack across it, it is played with finger 1 or 3. It’s odd, just like me. Amazing.
Just think, all those notes, so many it’s daunting. But if a line goes through them it’s only gonna be f1 or f3. For me, it tamed the visual freeze from seeing sooooo much I don’t know. If, in just trying to familiarize yourself, you look at a piece more advanced, circle the “odd” notes. In all that confusing squiggle, hahahahaha! Only finger 1 or 3. Out of 10 fingers, only two possibles.
I’m sure there are exceptions somewhere but I’m not advanced enough, YET, to find them. Once I saw this little oddity, it pulled out of overload and reinforced this- right now, one finger at a time.
I know it’s simplistic but it helped me click.
Also, the trees I planted 10 years ago are doing pretty well, I’m more critical of my fiddle playing , since I look at video recordings of myself I find myself distracted by how grey my hair is getting, so I’m switching to audio recordings on my handheld sony digital recorder that I record lessons and tunes I want to learn on…eliminating the vanity distraction..
I’ve recorded myself playing with the webcam on my photobooth thingy on my imac. It is helpful-the video showed I’m making huge movements with my left hand instead of keeping my fingers as close to the strings as possible. Part of why I do that is that I started out playing 12 string guitar and when I play from sheet music I’m looking at the notes instead of my fingering. Watching myself on video is quite instructive… my motto this week is : The best time to take up learning a musical instrument, like the best time to plant a tree is 10 years ago…the second best time is right now.
Omg — this is ME! I love music so much that I always want to play tunes that are way beyond my ability!!! Thank you for the reminder and the encouragement. PS – It was a challenge for me play Oh Susanna that fast… but I finally got it 🙂
Having taught myself knitting, crochet & tatting, I learned that the more you look for repeats of stitch, note or rhythm, the faster it becomes a subconscious habit. They just start to jump out.
I have a question about this. In needlework, you read a graph and it feels
very much like reading music. I have a habit of, while browsing graphs, seeing a new combination of stitches and even if I have no intention of making what the graph is, I will pick out these new combinations and start doodling with my needles. Most of them are 17th & 18th century and relevant to not much else I’ll use and so I’m just playing with it. I’ll call it what it is. I’m just fartin’ around with it.
Is this a habit I should break and concentrate on learning one thing at a time? Is it ok to have some bizarrely difficult couple measures that, if I ever played at all, would be years down the line? You will probably be glad when my two weeks is up and hope I forget about this. I just find that for my particular mind, it dims frustration by reminding me “Amy, that is crazy difficult. But this is something you can do if you want to.”
Roll your eyes if you must, but I have a harder time unlearning than learning, so breaking bad habits kills me.
Thank you so, so much,
Amy
Useful lesson, Jason. I used to think that I would never be able to read music, but I’m working on it now with your guidance. Little steps!
I’ve been making index cards for the Irish tunes,as you suggested in a previous lesson. Just being able to work out the notes in the first couple of bars of a tune is enough to recognise the tune. That is so useful for when I just want to pick up the fiddle and play something.
I really want to thank you for everything you have on you tube and you allowing a free time on your site. I wish I could afford to stay but alas I am too poor.
In Scotland this tune is known as Mrs McLeod of Raasay. And as the island of Raasay was, for centuries, owned by the McLeods, the tune was almost certainly Scottish in origin and crossed the Irish sea. But of course, Gaelic fiddle tunes seem to make that journey both ways – a lot.
As a teacher myself, I’m really impressed with this whole course. It really is excellent.
This one took me by surprise; I was breezing through the previous lessons but this one was definitely a challenge! Still trying to keep up the pace….I will keep practicing though! 😅
great tune!!!! just got my main computer on line so now I can see full screen. im still playing slowly but picking up a little speed.
thanks Jason
Thanks for the fun exercises. As someone else remarked, I wish previous teachers had incorporated these drills into their pedagogy.
I”ll tell you something Jason. You really are an excellent, excellent, teacher!
Jason, I am so happy that I stuck with you! In reading all the above… there is so many valuable practice and technique tips that I needed reminding of! Also, it is good to read and I realize that I am not alone in my struggles 🙂
This is a great resource page to return to over and over again! Thank you!
Cheers,
Trish
I love the progression of notes, to bits, to quarters! This feels doable!
I just discovered the same problem in the “Full Content” play-along track that others have mentioned going back to peggydobro’s comment in Aug 2020(!): the last two bars of the B part are missing at least on some of the repetitions. This makes it hard to play along, especially as the song accelerates. Frustrating!
Hi Pete, thanks for re-mentioning this, we’ll get this working asap.
I am ready to start paying the $39 per month to get access to FiddleHed lessons. I’d like to select the ones I think I need, and go at my own pace. i am 93 years old and used to play the violin. I can’t see how to do that form the information presented as my trial subscription runs out. It wants me to set up goals, records of accomplishments, and “I-don’t-know-what-else.”
Please let me know how I can do it in this way, if that is possible. I like your method of breaking the elements of violin playing into small pieces that can be practiced separately.
Norman Crook
Hope you received a reply and are giving this a go Mr Crook! My understanding is you can indeed roam across the site and take your own approach with the direction if that suits you better. Wish you every good luck in returning to the violin, hope this endeavour brings you much pleasure.
A recurring challenge I have is to stop the D string from “ringing” when I lift my finger to shift from D2 to A0 in the first bar. I had the same problem with “Oh, Susanna” but solved it in that case by keeping my finger on D2 momentarily as I shifted to the A string. Here the rhythm and shift is a little tighter, so harder to manage – but it’s great practice for improving my fingering technique!
I’m really enjoying this course. Just as a suggestion, an excellent further practice aid both for bowing and fingering in tune is the Tabledit programme. Here’s the drill.
1) Dowload the free demo full version of Tabledit (not the player version)
2. Go to the website Banjohangout.org
3. Go to the tabs section
4. Download a few Tabledit formatted tunes (in different keys if possible)
5. Open a tune and
a) on the ‘view’ tab click on the guitar part.
b) On the ‘midi’ tab go to >midi options > mute the banjo part
6) Still in the Midi tab > open ‘relative speed’
7) Look at the guitar part and find a couple of bars where the guitar is playing a chord in g,d,a, whatever
8) Loop those bars. (you can set the speed at whatever tempo you want or increase it incrementally as well if you like)
Now you have a solid bass and guitar backup to practice bowing and fingering exercises over. I find that having the guitar playing rhythm helps me to stay both in time and in tune. Hope this is of help to someone.
Cheers,
G
Thanks for this
yes
Yes!
Jason, you have ‘hit the nail on the head’ for me here. I say ‘this is too hard’ far too many times. I am going to start talking to Doubting Delilah when she appears. Thank you for this very helpful post and good luck with your renovations and I do hope you find joy in them.
I am so happy to be learning the fiddle! I am starting to read the sheet music, enjoy the sound, and document my practice. The call and response exercises are most helpful for me. Thank you for all the effort it took to build this!
Rachel, your insights on experiencing the program is so well rounded. Really helpful to hear this 🙏🏾 Thanks for fiddling with us 🎶
The call and response practice is so fun!
Just returning to my lessons after a bit of an absence, and what a knockout, pretty
song this is to get me back into playing again. Learning this one will keep me coming
back for sure, and then playing with that whole tune version at the end… Motivating!
The timing of this post is perfect for me since my fixed mindset about learning tunes is exactly what I have been grappling for a while now.
Finding it almost impossible to submit Practice Journal entries off my Galaxy S20 smartphone. Can’t scroll down to Submit button and can’t shrink screen to get to it.
Good review! For some reason, I can’t find the button to mark it as complete.
Ah, just found it!
I finally found a bluegrass jam in my area!
I grew up going to Scottish sessions, where folk don’t take breaks… everyone plays sets of tunes together, I’m struggling to get the hang of playing accompaniment then blasting into the tune just for one round, when it takes me a couple to get into it! Any tips!?
I’d love to see a tutorial for Big Sciota (y)!!
Pretty please! Thanks Fiddlehed, I love your classes, I’m finally going to bite the bullet and join in the action!
Just caught up with this lesson and really enjoyed it, the pace was just perfect thank you! Reading up on the tune’s history as its name was adopted in rugby too! I wonder if that ties in with the tune or a player of the same name!
Very wise advice, even if easier said than done. Also very valuable for me, since I started my own fiddle journey late last year with another online fiddle course that was helpful at first, but then got too advanced too quickly, with little help on basic techniques. I’m so thankful I discovered the FiddleHed YouTube channel and then recently became a FiddleHed student. It’s lifted me out of the growing discouragement I was feeling, and has made me excited again to be learning the fiddle!
Am enjoying how Module 1.2 is helping me revive my ear-training skills from long ago! Three technical glitches I’ve encountered repeatedly that you might want to check:
1) When using the site in Night Mode, it’s almost impossible to type entries in the Practice Journal because what I type shows up as white on a very pale yellow background (both on my standard Dell PC and on my Samsung Galaxy S20 cell). In Daylight Mode, what I type shows as black on the same pale yellow or white background, so no problem in that Mode.
2) Practice Toolkit seems convenient, but sometimes I can’t get to the “Submit” button after making an entry in my Practice Journal on my laptop (ie, the screen won’t scroll down to bring the Submit button into view).
3) When I leave a comment like this one, the reCaptcha function makes me try three times (ie, I have to “backpage”) before it accepts the comment as “valid” and lets it post. Seems to happen whether I post from my laptop or my cell.
Awesome sharings Pete, your feedback helps us out alot. We will check into these situations you clearly explain.. and good to know you tried it on a couple devices. Thanks for your support and attention.
Spring practice challenge really helped! Now have a friend playing guitar on Adieu Spanish ladies with me! Thanks for the kick to keep me going!
Thanks for the replay, I couldn’t get my WiFi working during the live one! Great lesson, I really like the jigify embellishments!
Really good tool to master using it a lot.
Fantastic lesson. I love the drones more and more. I used this one to play Freres Jacques very, very slowly – almost like organum in European Medieval music – to really focus on my intonation and bowing. I can’t imagine a more enjoyable and effective way to do that.
I didn’t realize how integral drones are to practicing until taking this course 🙂 Especially when I’m learning a new tune or playing something really basic, it just doesn’t sound that great on its own, and can be a bit disheartening. Add a drone and all of a sudden I feel like I’m playing a real song with a fellow musician! And it’s been great for practicing bowing for me as well, especially slow bowing, which has always been a challenge.
Hope you’re having fun on your fiddling journey!
Great piece Jason, I see some serious practice in my future!!!!!
“Awesome” is an overused word, but that’s truly what this lesson is! Tremendously helpful for improving my intonation, and I’m delighted to finally use my ear-training again from my college Music Major days *decades* ago!
Looking forward to diving into this session! I’m a pretty strong sight-reader, and it’s been both a blessing and a curse. It affords me the opportunity to learn new tunes, but on the flip side, I’ve become to use it as a crutch. If I can’t figure out a tune by ear, I fall back to the sheet music to help me out. It may be my Achilles heel to memorizing tunes. Thanks!
Play-along tracks are really great for working on my intonation, especially at slower speeds.
home from vacation, just getting back into the “swing” of things. love this tune. I have missed my Fiddlehed community
Same issue. Last measures are omitted some of the time on the Full Play Along Track.
Hey Rachel and everyone who kindly mentioned this glitch – I see where your talking about and we will get this corrected soon. Thanks for filling us in everyone 🙂
Hi all, I usually am unable to log into the Zoom meetings due to the fact that I’m at work when they take place. I was elated that today I’d have time to do that! 12 noon EST. However, all I get is “wait for host to start this meeting” and its almost an hour later–still no meeting. How do y’all usually do the zoom practice sessions? Is it practice an hour and THEN he starts the meeting for conversation? I’m confused…
Help me out, please? thanks!
Hey Lisa, Thanks for mentioning your experience, sorry we couldn’t help you that day. May be good to email Jason for potentially a quicker response in situations like these. I checked the calendar and noticed the 9AM PT open practise was scheduled for April 18 so you may have missed it by a day. There are instances where sometimes the wrong zoom link goes out, so if it’s not automatically opening the session shortly after the scheduled time, check your email for an updated link.
To my knowledge, these practise sessions will start right around the scheduled time on Zoom with a welcome intro, then practising together where you are muted, Jason is not muted so you can either mute your own sound to fully focus on your own practise, or choose to listen/watch whats going on for him/others, and then closer to the end of the session there is a discussion together.
I hope it lines up for you to join another day.
I wish there were a way to save this as a favorite lesson. It’s so good!
Hey Rachel, good idea! I’ll put it in the suggestions 🙂
I can read music but I’m not very fast at it so tabs help me a lot. To help me, I print out the sheet music and write the tabs over each note. By viewing the notes, I can tell if I should be playing eighth notes, quarter, or half notes. After I write the tabs, I study each measure and clap out the notes to get a better sense of the timing. I like your idea of saying the notes out loud as I play.
I’m sold on this — already started my MPL! Thanks 🙂
Just what I need to help me with my string crossings! This is the most fun I’ve had playing since I’ve learned the violin 🙂
I learned a Round Peak version of this tune in a GDGD cross tuning, but it was a “crooked” tune and I never could get the rhythm down right. I like this arrangement better -it makes more sense as a waltz and playing with the backing track and sheet music helped so much.
I’m trying to leave a comment.
oops nevermind -it’s working
Good to hear Nancy, sometimes I notice it can take a little bit to post and I also sometimes accidentally hit the ‘cancel comment’ button above my reply instead of the button below it.
Due to my limited data and slow internet speed, I won’t be able to participate in zoom lessons or do much in the way of downloading and uploading but there are so many cool and useful things here that I’ll be able to benefit from. I wish I subscribed a long time ago, but hey, better late than never.
I found Fiddlehed a couple of years ago on YouTube and learned a couple of tunes from those lessons but the Jerusalem Ridge lesson is the reason I finally subscribed.
Ok. I’m in. I HAVE been playing MOST daily… am keeping a journal, and my goal is to not have any blank boxes of no music. Even if it’s a 2 minute run of scales and arpeggios of said scales. We’ll see.
Good exercises! Suggestion on the Triplets: the 4-count in for all three (D/A, G/D, and A/E string pairs) might work better as a 3-count. I also noticed two beats of rest after the second measure on the D/A and A/E pairs (but not on the G/D pair), which makes it sound like a 3/4 measure followed by a 5/4 measure. Might help us students audiate if these were re-recorded in straight 3/4 time with a 3-beat count in.
Yes Pete, thanks for sharing and working together to help make this site awesome! This makes total sense. Small changes like this is important and beneficial for all. We’ll make this adjustment soon.
This sounds amazing, I’m in! I’m a fiddler, but I really want make a point to practice guitar more. With school, orchestra, practicing violin and fiddle, and a bit too much procrastination packed into my schedule, guitar has recently fallen to the wayside. I also got a 12-string for Christmas, and have so far been too discouraged to play it enough to actually improve. For this challenge, I aim to practice for at least 25 minutes a day- some on 6-string, some on the 12. I want to strengthen my fingers enough to play the 12-string guitar a little more efficiently (using chords and scales) and maybe learn a song or two more fluently (Blackbird, or maybe something Pink Floyd). Also, I’ve heard that playing the guitar can make your finger calluses too thick to play the violin- I’ve been playing guitar for about 2 years and so far this hasn’t happened to me, but I don’t practice it nearly as much as the fiddle. Does anyone think playing the 12-string so much will interfere with my fiddling?
Haha – I love the Sruggs book tribute – repeat 1000 times!! This is a great course BTW.
Hi Jason, just to let you know that exercise 13 is missing-unlucky for some!
I think I looped (A0 A3 E1) 100 times during my practice today – only 900 more to go before I get it down with no squeaks or slides 😉
Glad to try this again! I’m in the midst of a 100-day ukulele challenge too, but I usually have time to play through a few tunes each day on the fiddle. I can’t quite figure out why my bow still squeaks after 7 or so years of learning the violin (mostly self-taught). So, for the challenge, I will focus on my bowing technique and trying to get through one or two tunes with minimal or no squeaks. I will also aim to record and post a few times as well.
I’m in! thanks, Jason. Travel threw off the first day jussstttt a bit. Trying to discretely practice in the hotel 🙂
These exercises were super helpful. I noticed when Jason plays them he does a very slight pause between each note whereas I tend to run them together. Is doing it with the pause important? I don’t know, maybe that’s a dumb question but it’s something I noticed so I wondered. Thanks!
Thanks, Jason, for the practice hour today. I made my Master List on Saturday and started reviewing and playing songs for memory. Thanks for the practice session. I loved to watch what you did, especially with the Bb scale. And I loved hearing the minor tunes. Really inspired and motivated me to learn more of those songs.
I’m in. Shooting for 40 minutes a day broken into two sessions. Working on E flat scale and an arrangement of Fairest Lord Jesus to do as a piano duet. Working on getting some old turns up to a jam speed.
Hardest of these exercises for me: Soft-Loud-Soft, particularly in executing both smooth and consistent crescendi and accelerandi at the same time. The dramatic decelerando near the end of each track was challenging while maintaining the soft-loud shift. As with the tremolo exercises, practicing soft-loud-soft on a string adjacent to the one in each track, and practicing it in double-stops, actually helped my focus and overall execution.
Love practicing tremolos. I find it’s also a great way to improve the balance of my double-stops if I do long tremolos across strings.
I’m in, thanks for setting this up
This couldn’t have come at a more perfect time! I’ve been sick as a dog and haven’t played much the last couple of weeks, so this is a great motivator to get back into the swing of things 😀
Really enjoy the Throw-away bowing practice to improve sound. I found it especially fun and effective (I think) if I play the same note as on the play-along track, but then to do it again, this time on an adjacent string, so that I’m playing a Perfect 5th apart (say, playing on the D string when the track is on the A string). It helps me actually hear myself better, while creating that nice drone effect.
Another chance for me to recommit to the fiddle! Thanks for having this challenge. : )
Glad to be a Practicipant!
This is a game changer!
Whew, that was good practice, but it almost put me in a trance by the end! 🙂 The Star Wars riff near the end of the Swing on A helped pull me back! 😀
Love this tune, thank you!
At this point I can hear that the FiddleHed musical tag is in G! 😀
Thank you Jason! Perfect timing, I have been struggling with my practices, feeling like I just jump around and get nothing accomplished. This will help me focus and make my practice time more fun! Something I’ll look forward to!
You are the greatest!
Rita Smith
Started playing about 4 months ago, but just joined FiddleHed and figured I should start at Mod 1.1. I’m sure glad I did: besides putting me in a mellow frame of mind, I learned that I’ve been placing my shoulder rest on backwards! Lol My fiddle now feels much more comfortable! 🙂
This one is a fun and simple duet. I plan to transpose the second fiddle part to bass clef because the person I play duets with plays cello. I am just learning how to find my way around on this site and keep finding little treasures, for instance: on drone central I found Swallowtail Jig transformed into Swallowtail Raga-so cool ! I love Indian music, I have a book of Ragas for violin by Candida Connolly but it is way above my level. One day I’ll take another crack at it.
So, I’ve been struggling with memorization/learning the tune. I want to be able to play without sheet music, or a guitarist leading the way lol. I realize during practice I’m so afraid that I won’t be able to get back to it because of life’s demands, so I play as much as I can, and focusing very little on keeping what I’ve played/practice.
One strategy that I’m trying is to take all the songs you use, download a version from Apple Tunes, and listen while I’m driving. If I listen to it a million times, maybe the tune will stick with me, and I’d have a better chance of playing it without sheet music. We’ll see! 😀
I didn’t know this tune and wasn’t sure if I liked it, but after many, many times playing it over, it grew on me.
I really like having the play along after doing the repeats over and over. I is a sure fire way to get it to sink in.
Thanks so much!
The tune Soldiers Joy is actually Norweigan folk dance tune – Seksmanril. You can see it in action on YouTube – It varies in that it has a 3rd part.
this tune is utter delight and just exactly ctly what i needed to practice right now. I cant thank you enough Jason!
Jason,
Really enjoyed this lesson. Thank you.
Very challenging, fun and a beautiful tune.
I’m also a fan of Kevin Burke.
Thank you, for being so helpful and supportive of what is obviously fiddlers at large,but I especially thank you for being even more helpful than I could have imagined to this was wannabe soon will be fiddler. And I am on a free trial. You are great and I appreciate the hard work you have done to help. Really get a lot out of your taking the time to email helpful advice I did not find a website with lessons I found a teacher.
Great advice!
Love this.
Love these
Still getting a 404 error on the PDF for sheet music. Thanks.
Hi Jason
Thank you for this lesson. These are really helping me to play by ear. I am surprising myself at how much I am remembering.
I think because we keep playing the sections over a few times it starts to really establish the tune in my fingers.
thanks again
I really enjoyed this and got a lot out of each part. You explain things really well. I found when I did the drone on the E I could hear the E but I could also hear a higher note which turned out to be a B. Is there something wrong with my hearing or am I supposed to hear the higher note for some reason? I only hear it with the drone.
“Part A, first half” play along track is tagged onto the end of “Play Along Track – Full Tune” around minute 8.
Hi Jason, thanks for this great tune and well paced workshop, I’m noticing how much my playing by ear has improved since I’ve been practising the Fiddlehed method. It feels good to work through sections with your guidance and knowing that there’s all those other students doing exactly the same thing.
Sorry I came in late last week, I guess the clock has gone to daylight saving in your part of the world. It’s a bit early for me now in Australia, so I’ll work from the replays for a while. I can manage the Hootenany time though, so looking forward to that next week.
Cheers,
Marg.
Any tips on how to make the 2nd quarter of the B Part sound so effortless? I can tell in your video that it’s all in the bowing…
I love the backing tracks. They really make me feel like I am playing in a jam and I like the way you speed up so slowly. It really helps.
Lovely tune. ❤️
Hello, there is a small mistake in this training For the B part first Quarter, it is not possible to train with the sound because you have put the sound of the A First quarter
Ok great Maryline, thanks for noticing this, we’ll get that switched.
This has not been corrected yet.
Hi Chris,
Thanks for following up on this. I was able to find the correct audio file for this. Please reach out anytime. Happy fiddling 🎶
I made it through the entire First part of the lessons! Things I have learned:
1) Tremolo is NOT vibrato, but it DOES add “flavor” to a tune
2) Call and response exercises are a great way to train my ear.
3) It bugs me that I can’t memorize tunes. I’ve created a playlist on Apple Music, and listen on my way to work. I can hum while it’s playing, but as soon as it’s over, I’ve forgotten from whence I’ve hummed.
4) Playing every day IS important–even just whipping through a few triads/scales. Something. Anything. Just PLAY, even on “those days” when you wonder if the whole world is against you.
Thanks Jason. This is a fun course. Thanks for making it so 🙂
Ouch! You got me. I was guilty of playing in order to “check the box”. Except for call-and-response exercise… I LOVE those, and REALLY think they help. I’ve played “I’ll Fly Away” thousands of times in different settings, so I didn’t need it for “this” tune. HOWEVER! I realize I need it for all the other gazillion tunes I’d love to have ingrained in my memory. I realize that having sheet music has always been my ‘crutch’, and having you play as I follow along in the music REALLY helps me play it correctly. However, if I don’t have the sheet music, I can’t play it. Gotta work on that.
OMG the Pentatonic scale is exactly the note in a little tune in the movie Babe. The old man sings to the pig a lovely little tune.
I would love to see “Faded Love” on your web site. [email protected]
Faded Love is a great tune, Thanks for the idea, Lynda. I’ll add it to our recommendations 🙂
Thanks Robin for this bit of history.
My pleasure, you’re welcome!
Cool(ey)! Thanks for the info.
Absolutely!
I can’t make sense of Bow Bouncing ex. 3. Doesn’t sound as written to me.
Hello Chrissie, awesome noticing! They are different, and both good exercises to do – starting by going up and down on the D string (with 2 8th notes), then trying the whole D scale up and down. We’ll get this mix matched up. Thanks for mentioning 🙂
This was hard. Very hard. It’s like trying to rub your head and pat your belly at the same time, or vice versa. I’ll probably be visiting this many, many times.
I love, love, LOVE these call and response exercises! Two reasons: One–It really trains my ears and two–it zero’s my focusing in, making me ignore the noise (household chores and responsibilities) around me. Every once in a while, I just need to get away from “that” world and be alone in my “Music” world. Does that make sense?
Hey Lisa, totally makes sense! Glad to hear this is a great outlet for you to tune in deeply to the music 🙂
Sometimes I like to make my own up on an audio recording device for fun and to play both roles of an exercise like this one.
Thank you Jason, I am learning my way round this amazing site – blackest crow stopped me in my tracks -looked at so many other versions online- deeply moving love song.
Rosin is flammable even when dry and hard. Even more so when heated to a liquid. I would not recommend it.
Thank you Crowbar- I’ll keep it as is! 😁
Really helpful! Thanks Jason!
This was a wonderful interview/chit chat with Michael about all things fiddles. I have some broken rosin and managing to use it ok – but if it breaks further is there a way of heating it to restore form?
Thanks, I loved having the drone on and fiddling about, it helped me to just forget about trying to play and stay in the moment of just bowing.
love this Cool reel-but the PDF link isnt working
Hey Caroline, glad you enjoy and thanks for mentioning this. Can you open it now?
Thank you Jason! I’m still in practice mode !:)
Great, I think I’ll give this a try.
This drone practice gave me a huge confidence boost today. I was doubting my ear this week…but it turns out I CAN actually hear these notes. Yay!
Love the exercises. Repetition is helpful and as I pluck along I say the names of the strings in my head. The repetition also makes it easier to find where to pick up with the correct notes when I make an error. Finally, playing second fiddle to your first fiddle is good practice to hear the melody while playing my part in sync. Lots of good stuff happening here!
Great lesson thanks Jason!
How wonderful to spend the month focusing on bowing! Thank you, Jason.
Definitely appreciated this lesson. I’m still working on keeping the bowing straight too. I find I’m still go off bowing on angles
Thanks Jason! Your “Don’t Give Up!” Newsletter arrived at JUST the right time. I was beginning to despair of ever getting my string crossings to sound better, and “6 Ways of getting a Better Sound with the Bow” took me right back to basics and calmed me down. I followed that up with “How can I clean up the bow sound on the violin” and 30 minutes of nice simple exercises.
After that I felt MUCH more optimistic about getting these simple things right. I’m already looking forward to tomorrow’s practice session . . .
hi Jason, did you ever make a video with the bowing for this tune?
Hey Tammylee~ are you looking for a video that teaches bowing/slurring patterns for this tune? Thanks for inquiring.
Thanks for posting the replay!
Thank you Jason I really enjoyed that workshop, helpful and fun. There’s plenty there to keep applying to my bow practice.
this was an outstanding lesson!!!!!
Good! Let me know if you end up practicing that stuff…
Its a great way to learn the basics.
What a beautiful tune and variation. Thankyou.
There doesn’t appear to be a button to mark this section as complete
Thanks for letting us know Mary, we’ll get this added.
Hey Mary,
Module 2.2 Progress is at the bottom of the accordion tabs on that page. But I’ve been thinking of making this more obvious….thanks…
I’m afraid I can’t find the “Mark as done” either lol. I can see “Module 2.2 progress” but can’t find the “mark as done” option?
Really like Wildwood Flower and really enjoying the lessons.
Awesome Joanie!
Hello I am currently testing FiddleHed because I like your courses a lot and if after the test period I like it I would like to continue paying but I see that already after 6 days some things no longer work No way to open the journal and update it. it is Broken.
The journal is working again, i am happy now thank you.
Great to hear your checking out FiddleHed and enjoying Jason’s lessons 🙂
And awesome that the journal system is working again. Please let us know as you notice anything that could use improving, we really appreciate hearing about it.
Today I Subscribe to FiddleHed. I live in Switzerland.
I made a lot of progress in 7 days that I had never made in 1 year with the violin and I really have a lot of fun.
Yes! Fun is the goal. If you have fun, then you keep going…
I like this a lot. From an Alexander Technique teacher point of view it removes the “end-gaining” element and allows me to enjoy the “journey itself” Thank you!
I’ve been playing for about 10 years, and I play in jams with my friends. I went back and reviewed all the lessons in the beginner modules, and I’m starting in module 2 now. I took some lessons early on to learn how to hold the bow and make music come out of the instrument. I taught myself to read music with the help of my church hymnal and you tube. I’m trying to correct some of my bad habits. My main goal is improvisation and back up. I appreciate your site. It’s keeping me focused on learning and practicing new techniques.
Good to hear this Liz. I’ve been threatening to do improv lessons for some time, but it’s happening this year!!
Great workshop. The techniques were very helpful in improving tone. I will keep practicing. Thank you
Good to hear this Lisa. Approaching bowing as an exploration makes it fun…
Hi Jason. I hope this is the right place to ask for advice. I’m thinking about upgrading my bow. Do you have any suggestions on the best bows for fiddlers or does it really depend on what sounds best with my instrument? Thanks!
Hi Leanna,
I recommend going to a violin store and trying a few out. Sometimes you can take them home. If that’s not an option, Fiddlershop lets you try out instruments and has a good return policy.
Let me know if you have more questions or problems along the way: [email protected]
Thank you Jason, for continuing to grow your website and lessons. I began fiddling in 2014 at age 49. Being left handed, I turned my fiddle upside down and played backwards. Your free lessons, at the time, taught me so very much. I am so happy and to be subscribed for your lessons. You are THE BEST!
Hey Kayla,
Thanks for saying that! Messages like this keep me going…
Thanks for that, yesterday was the first day for ages that I couldn’t practise (very sick!) so this seems like a great place to pick up my fiddle again.
Some very good stuff in this lesson for timing and bowing and beat. Will be fun to incorporate into practice!
love this but can you put repeat marks in the music? It catches me every time.
Hi Mary, I will put this suggestion in, good idea!
Hey Mary, I put this on the fix list…
I feel to be making progress. Loving the course.😊👍
Good to hear this Julia!
I’m wondering if there is a general bowing pattern with slurs that makes this one easier to play faster? Thanks!
Great question Heidi~
I’d tend to slur every two 8th notes together (d2,d3 slurred, then d2,d1 slurred, then d0,d0 I’d separate) – generally playing the double open notes separately.
I’ll put this suggestion aside to possibly be written out on this/a lesson.
Another fun exercise is to see how many 8th notes you can put into one slur, keeping rhythm/speed working well for you 🙂
Thanks!
Thanks for this lesson on playing backup chords!
You’re welcome. More to come later this year on backup…
Another great idea Jason. It makes perfect sense!:)
Tunefinder not working. Page is taking ages to load and none of the hyperlink are active for me. Pl advice
Thanks Mu So. We’re working on this…
That was brilliant! I finished with a huge grin on my face. Thank you
Glad! You have to train the ear, might as well have fun doing it…
I LOVE the call and response activities! The A Pentatonic scale was a bit difficult for me, because I couldn’t decide if I was hearing the melody I was supposed to repeat, or part of the droning note. I do aim to practice more so that I CAN get it. Loving it!
I absolutely love, love, LOVE these call and response exercises! Sometimes I get anxious, because I’m used to having the security blanket called, “sheet music” lol. This is good ear training. Keep up the good work!
I love the tool kit .Thanks Mr. K
I’m still working on Module 2.1. I played all sorts of drowning to an old cd I found under the couch today. I know well and thought it would help with what was learned so far. I can do Improve and am comfortable in fun Jam sessions with other pickers when I can find them. The guys often get drug off by their ear……..girl friends or wives……very sad and without good cause, sorry girls! I know what it is to play 3 to6 hrs or more a day . Had a 74 Tele Deluxe from my Gram in !974 and a few more.I never went Pro and can still hear.LOL Had fun and went through this album 3X Took about an hour. Thanks Mr. K
I worked on module 2.1 for almost an hour. Spent time on different drone chords on the A and E string, aligning with the B drone. I finally got a place to start. Also played Yankee doodle. This lesson is very helpful. Had a great time,
Hi everyone, this is a great lesson, will be practicing along. Thank you FH
I agree with Sandra above!!
I learned two of my favorite tunes in this module! Hooray!! 🙂
Thank you for the suggestion of using Strum Machine. I’ve started using it and it both helps my timing and adds some fun to my practice. However, I have run into a problem in that not all of the fiddle music that I have has chords. Is there any “rule of thumb” that I could apply to determine what chord should be used for any given measure?
Hey tjwill, thanks for this great question. This question could go into depth as a lesson someday. Here’s a couple suggestions for now, searching the tune online with the phrase ‘sheet music’, utilizing images as search preference, could help you find a version of the tune that is similar to yours and has chords already made up for it.
Here’s an article that explains some methods for finding chords for a tune in a clear and simple way: https://www.secretsofsongwriting.com/2012/10/05/choosing-chords-to-fit-your-song-melody/
All the best in your journey and I’ll take note of this for a future lesson/post on FiddleHed.
I can tell I am going to love your program
Another good one! I’ve never been able to play back up chords–maybe just wasn’t disciplined enough. I always immediately go to the harmony of the melody. Your backing tracks, videos, and suggestions REALLY help me to become more discipline and make my playing “stick” with me, instead of just dancing all over the place.
Thanks so much for this reflection and feedback, Lisa. Great the program is helping you in these ways.
I am really excited about participating in one of these hootenanny! Still relatively new to the subscription areas of the website. Looking forward to learning more. Jason–I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again… you are a rockstar!
Thanks for the terrific lesson, very helpful!
Great for combating stage fright!
Great suggestion!
Jason: In your video on practice journal, you said you couldn’t get the video link link in your entries to open in a new tab. The solution is to type the words “new window” (but without the quotations marks) into the field marked Target when you are creating the link. Then Submit.
Usually the target field has a couple of drop down choices, which aren’t here, so just type it in.
Love these tone building tunes – am learning and grinning as earlier this morning listening to some beautiful Celtic tunes – I could hear the sawing…
Relax and start with the bow on the string.
Loving the lessons.
Enjoying everything so far. So much to learn!
I just watched the recorded session of this workshop. I have always struggled with timing and learned a lot in this session. Extracting small portions of the song was very helpful. I’d like to see more sessions related to this topic
Thanks for your constructive feedback Ibiehl. 🙂
I’ve made note of this request for future session topics like this one. Glad this helped you out!
Exercises 1 and 2: OK I got this
Exercise 3: That escalated quickly
Hey @kellymhanson, Try to practice it without the play-along track at first.
Completed 🙂
I love, love, LOVE these call and responses–ESPECIALLY with the drones! It took a bit for me to be able to “tune in” to the audio, and I was afraid I couldn’t get it, as I’ve been hearing impaired since birth. However, closing my eyes and focusing on the sounds is very soothing and really REALLY helps me focus! I wonder if these exercises done consistently will help me focus in general? I have to be careful though–so relaxed these made me I almost fell off the stool!
Thank you for introducing me to the drones and call and response!
Hey Lisa,
For sharing that this helps you to focus. I had never really thought of that before, but now that you say this it totally rings true.
Add this to the list of why drones are useful…
What platform do you use to store your recordings? I’ve recorded a few tunes here and there on the iphone to share with FB groups, but they’re far and few in between. I get flustered because I’m all over the place with storage, and then forget where I put them.
Can anyone advise on the best format to keep all of the “fiddle stuff” together?
Thanks!
Ok, I re-read the blog…lol I see Jason uses voice memos on the app. That makes sense. I always pictured a VIDEO recording, but I guess it could be just an audio. That’s easier to do, since it could be done in my pj’s lol.
I’d still like some ideas of keeping them all consolidated.
Hi Lisab~
Great question, maybe others will chime in on this.
I use voice memos quite a bit as well and ensure I title it ASAP if I’m keeping the recording so I can find what I’m looking for later.
Google Drive can be a good platform for storing/organizing recordings.
If you use your iphone to video record, I’d suggest right clicking on the video your going to keep and adding it to an album to access more easily later.
Calling Apple support can be a great help for getting this all familiar and easy to do 🙂
Looking forward to hearing how you make out with this, a challenge we can all relate to in these times!
I practice when i get time, since i renewed for this year, i am starting as a beginner through all songs and lessons to learn as much as i can.
I do not understand how to mark lessons as completed when i finish one. thank you for your concern.Mel Fowler.
Hi Mel, Thanks for this question. When your on one of the module lessons, close to the bottom of the page are some drop down options highlighted in grey. Click on “Your Course Progress”. Within that, (3 titles down) you’ll see in bold: “Total Course Progress” and under that title you can click on the highlighted area that says “Mark as Complete”.
Let us know how that goes for you if you’d like!
I’m also noticing in the tune lessons, find the “lesson tracking” drop down tab below the play along tracks to mark the lesson complete.
I REALLY Like the “Call and Response” thing. It’s a great way to tune the old ear….
Call and response is like being there. It’s challenging but a lot of fun. The first time thru the exercise I can get about 3/4 of the way thru before it becomes too complex to follow it all the way thru. I’ll be doing it all over again tomorrow and I’m sure I’ll get it. Fun stuff!
I learned something!!! I always thought “tremolo” was to do with the left hand (or whichever hand one “notes” with) I thought the term tremolo was interchangeable with vibrato. It just dawned on me, while working through these exercises, that it has to do with the BOW hand, instead of the NOTE hand.
Knock me over with a feather!!
Good stuff, Jason.
I have previously attempted to play along with a metronome and after a short time became frustrated and stopped.
Your explanation and plan make much sense to me, and I will be incorporating your ideas and exercises into my practice routine.
Many thanks.
Thomas H.
This is a fantastic tune however some of the practice sound recordings don’t match the notes in the sample. So I’m not sure when practicing in parts whether to follow the music or the sounds. If I follow the music it doesn’t really work.
I am having the same problem. In the full tune recordings, there seems to be an interlude played between the repeated parts and I can’t figure out where they are or when I should come in. Anyone else get this figured out? I love the song so much!!
Hey Kathy, great point aswell. I notice the full track recording seems to skip the first bar when repeating the whole tune again. We will get this sorted. Thanks!
Thanks for noticing and bringing this up Mary, we’ll get this sorted out 🙂
This is fixed. Thanks for pointing it out.
Jason for your droning practice: are you using some kind of drawing generator that is available somewhere?
Hi there. I love your course.
One issue I’m having though is that my “last course completed” is not accurate. Every time I log in I need to find my way back to the most recent lesson and some lessons I’ve completed are still marked incomplete.
Thanks. Phoebe
thanks for saying this. we’re working on this currently. hope to have the bug fixed within a week…
I’m loving my practice❤️🎻
I love that you’re loving your practice 🤓
Thoroughly enjoying the process so far. Tomorrow I’ll be reviewing all the songs to the end of 1.3 and looking at keeping Wildwood Flower.
OK! Good. Review is one of the best things you can practice in music and life…
I like this one a lot : good fiddle playing involves playing notes in a fast speed for many tunes… Notes and fingering are easy on this one. All you need to do is to play it at your own speed at first, increase it slowly, by then you’ll know all the notes by heart: this will help in the speeding process 😉
You have the right attitude with this Jocelyne. Play it super-slow then speed up gradually.
Do you have the notation (pdf) for the 2nd and 3rd solo’s. I have the notation for the first part? (Wagon Wheel)
Hi Marcia,
Sheet music is now visible for the second and third breaks.
Thanks for pointing that out…
Ì much enjoyed this tune! But why no lesson credit????
Hey Christie, I don’t understand what you’re asking…
These are interesting exercises. I’ve been playing the fiddle for about 3 years, but I wanted to start at the beginning of this website/blog thing to see if I could pick up any tidbits I’ve missed with my F2F instructors. I never thought about practicing by plucking. It makes me slow down and think about what I’m playing. Timing has always been my downfall.
Hey Lisa,
Plucking is a great way to improve timing. It’s less forgiving than bowing.
Next month the learning theme will be timing. Stay tuned!
I’m loving this lesson. I’ve got to note that the “good shoulder rest” link routes to a Bon Musica product on Amazon–FYI, I found that Fiddlershop stocks the very same product for much less $.
Thanks fiddlefoot. I just updated the Recommended gear page with Fiddlershop links.
The sheet music video sounds like Jenny Lind.
Thanks Sandra, I removed it…
Is there an electronic tuner you recommend? There are a lot out there!
This is so pretty, I wish there was a play along track. Any chance you can add one? 🙂
See the audio loops at the bottom…
I really like this arrangement! Thanx!
Just finishing up my first week of playing. Love the step by step lessons that also mix in a little music making and fun.
If it’s fun then you’ll keep practicing. I need to re-learn this from time to time myself…
It’s interesting over in The States you guys have a different tune for a number of these Christmas Carols than we have in the UK 😊🌲 I wonder what tune the other European & antipodean countries have…..
I didn’t know that. Maybe you can make a video of the UK version 🎥
So far so good and enjoying it. Really enjoying the play along tracks especially ‘Oh Susannah’, Jason’s singing really lifts my spirits! Thank you Jason.
You’re welcome Christine. Sing along with me!
Also, are you doing the review?
I love this! I was away from my fiddle for a few days over Thanksgiving, and came back to this beautiful tune. Thank you!!!
Yay. Let me know what it’s like to do this lesson as a replay. Trying to make these practice journeys “evergreen” lessons.
Thanks for creating this valuable piece of cyberspace! I’m grateful that your space exists to help me on my fiddle journey! Happy Holidays!
Thanks Katrina. It’s been a fun journey…
You’re welcome Katrina 🤓
I enjoyed this presentation. The transposition practice and plucking practice were fun and challenging!
The transposition practice and plucking also help you to learn the tune more deeply…
Nice. Were you able to learn the tune by ear?
Thank you Jason for all you do!!!
You’re welcome
Today and everyday I’m thankful for my fiddle and the people (including Jason at Fiddlehed) that have helped me learn to play it! Thanks for sharing your gift with us Jason! Fiddling brings joy! 🎻☮️
Thank YOU 🙏
Thank you to you too Jason
Great lesson Jason, love aeolian mode and 9/8! Also your expression “mistakes become new creations ” …..that’s going on my wall.
I watched this one on replay, I don’t seem to be getting notifications any more, maybe a Gmail problem on my end. Have changed the way I practice since the workshops in the fall practice challenge. Always start with drones now and listening to improve my tone in scales and arpeggios. Have made and continuing to make index cards, memory is improving. Made a couple of videos but haven’t shared them yet, that’s a scary step to take and files are big. Practising every day has never been a problem, I’m addicted to it, but practising better now. Also signed up to Strum Machine, so easy to use and enjoyable when there’s no-one around to play with. Helps me push my tempo too. Thanks for all that you do for us, it feels very supportive to see so many others on the same journey.
Cheers,
Marg.
Good to hear this Marg! I like what you’re doing with composing your own backup tracks. You’re definitely ready to share a video or three!
I sent an email to you about the email problem.
Awesome list of tunes! Would love to have Salt Creek added too:)
OK! I’ll be slowly making more old-time/Round peak versions.
Thank you, Jason! I love that the sheet music for this tune includes the “down bow / up bow” symbols. This is super helpful. Bravo!
Glad it’s helpful. I’d like to do this for all tunes on the site but it’s a daunting task to remake all the sheet music 🤯
Yes, Jason, it sure does! My song list is getting longer and I’m still practicing them all (almost)! My technique is improving and screeching is almost gone now (most of the time ;-). I’m really enjoying your course and each day I can’t wait for fiddle and music (I play guitar too) time late in the afternoon. I have to say that lately, the fiddle time is winning out over guitar time!
Thanks, man!!!
Keith
So cool to hear this Keith. Thanks for sharing. It takes time to get to the point where your tone is good, but it’s pretty satisfying when it happens. Best to you…
I can’t seem to get to theShare your Practice page. Can you tell me how to find it? Jane
I have a question about the sheet music. The notes are correct, but the letters above them do not correspond with the notes being played or the strings, what are the letters supposed to indicate? I feel like I’m missing something really obvious …
Excellent question! Those are chords, not note names. I need to re-make this sheet music without chords so that it’s not confusing…
Wow this is really awesome you guys! I’d love to see/support more FiddleHed folks get involved in lessons.
Really digging “round peak” right now…it’s completely new to me. So thanks for this version of Old Joe Clark!
That was such a great lesson on the Butterfly last Thursday-it was the first time Id played “in front of” other people. I was so happy I was muted on zoom haha
I’ve been doing something similar with an online open mic. When you know they can’t hear you you can practice playing along, even if, like me, you’re not very experienced, without worrying you’re going to put everyone else off. 🙂
This is a great lesson. Just enjoyed it on replay. Good flow, the way scales are integrated, improv at the end, and how to add a bit of embellishment. Thanks, Jason!
Very Cool!
Thanks! A more systematic progression of lessons will be very helpful
Love this tune!!!!
love this tune, played it for years on guitar. my chord work on the fiddle is weak but getting better.
Thank you Jason
Start by making a single chord sound good. Keep on fiddling, and have fun along the way…🎻
wheres the music played through the guitar part , the back up on fiddle
Great lesson, Jason! Since you’ve encouraged us to play around with this, I’m finding that if I play G1D0 (D major), G0D0 (G major), and G1D1 (A major) it’s much easier for my alto voice to sing along with.
Good idea Leanna!
Exercise 1 is not just D0, D2, and A0! I think it has D0, D2, A0, A1, A2, and A3. This is an advantage to the video Call & Responses, because I can peek at the fingering instead of thinking I’m going crazy if something is mislabeled.
Hi again, after working on more of these and encountering more exercises that are centered around the stated notes but occasionally include others, I understand now that this is intentional to train our ears. Definitely keeps me on my toes!
Hey Kelly, Thanks for the feedback, and for catching that.
I just corrected it.
Yep … liking that one very much. Lot’s to play with and have fun with.
Good lesson Jason
I was doing pretty well so far, going along with the lesson plan. Until now, I felt this was a good way for me to learn as Jason presents the songs in manageable chunks at a slow pace that gradually speeds up. However, this version of Cabbages is way too fast for me to play along with. I learned the song (without the help of the quarterly bits as they are also way too fast) and can play it at a decent pace, but not this fast! After playing the song dozens of times a day for a week or two, If I can’t play this song at the pace presented, should I move forward? Or give up on these lessons altogether as I will not be able to keep up? I am discouraged.
Hey Sandy.
Short answer: Don’t give up
– Just find another way. Play it slow if you need to play it slow.
– Play a smaller piece. Speed that up.
– Switch gears to something else, then return the the challenging thing on a different day
Try to make it fun. And hang in there!
Indeed, sheet music would be mighty helpful- Christmas around a corner
This is such a good tune!!!!! Just love all the mixing you did with the fiddle, chords, voice, band. Would be nice to do the same thing with a set a tunes, like you suggested in your workshop: Drunken Sailor + Shady Grove & Cluck Old Hen and with YOU arranging all the backing tracks and all. My violon and I are smiling when we have other instruments/voice with us :0
This was a very useful and fun lesson. I will practice these a bunch!!! Thanks Jason your awesome.
good to hear that Rob.
Hi, working through 1.2, when I try to go from “How to place finger tape” to “Mary had a little lamb”, it actually takes me back to “Little Lift”. A broken link I reckon. Thanks!
Keith
I just fixed this. Thanks!
This isn’t fixed for me.
I am having same problem.
Thanks. I fixed it…for realz.
Love the tune! Excellent instruction, as always!!
And I agree, your voice in the practice bits is very encouraging and always makes me smile!
Thanks!
Keith
Hi Jason, If I can already read music notation, should I bother with tabs?
Hey Bill, you probably don’t need to go deep into tabs. Having a rough understanding will be helpful at times though.
I am looking forward to this session it is a really nice way to round up the fiddle challenge.
What are the songs for 12/6? Thank you!
Third year with “FPC”. I look forward to it every year. Was great watching everyones videos. unfortunately could not make any “ZOOM” classes.
Worked on:
-“Smash the Window”
-“Tam Lin”
-“Flowers of Edinburg” G, “Red Haired Boy” A, and “St. Annes Reel” D as a medley.
-“Happy Birthday” some different variations of it.
-Technique trying to clarify notes so not so muddy. Strengthening pinky finger
Just listened to the replay because I missed the session…. love this! Love the tune, love the way you taught it… love that it was a tune I didn’t know! Thanks, Jason!
This was a cool lesson. I plucked the entire lesson since I’m still on bowing restrictions. Loved the sound of the tune. Attempted a quick scoring of it as we went along and was fairly close.
This morning I remembered the tune and was able to add some double stops almost naturally.
Thanks for your unique style of teaching and your great patience with beginners.
Mary
I really enjoyed this session. I feel I made progress. Im not just playing open strings now. Still working on my tone.
Thanks for another great lesson Jason! I just went through it using the replay, enjoyed the methodical process and then transposition. Nice to hear the different tonal sound of new keys. Actually I think that’s a bonus of learning a tune by ear. When we listen more deeply, we can appreciate and develop the sound of our fiddle. Interleaving was also interesting, I didn’t think I would remember the new tune when I returned to it but was pleasantly surprised to find it was still there.😌
I notice when you hold your arm outstretched, the fiddle comes to the middle of your forearm. When I do it, the fiddle comes to the middle of my palm. Does this mean my fiddle is too big for me?
Ooh yes, I love this lesson😊thank you!
theres no play along in the first half of this tune you pactice down to the play along in the first half and no tune
My bowing needs a lot of work,
But I’m thinking it will come.
I played bile’em cabbage down for my wife, she was amazed.
Well I played and recorded my first time, I’m proud,
Thanks fiddlehead.
You’re Welcome!
Thanks for keeping it fun!
Hello. Are there lessons/classes on this Friday (today), Saturday, and Sunday during the Fall Practice Challenge? I don’t see any located on the calendar above. Thanks for the help. I’m loving the challenge; however, I’m not sure I’m at a beginner level that this addresses. (I need to listen and watch everything and replays as I could be wrong!) I feel like a beginning beginner. 🙂
Ginger (Virginia)
Hi! I’ve learned so much from your videos! I’m a very happy student! Now that I am trying to wake up my lazy pinkies, I have the following observations:
1. As a new beginner, roughly about 5 years ago, my pinky would lock up and so I’ve never really used them. Now, it is very apparent, that if I want to advance my fiddle playing to the next level, my pinkies need to play an important part on the finger board, and the bow as well. So, I’ve been exercising them, and trying to have the left pinky stay in position beside the ring finger instead of curling under my other fingers. It means my other fingers aren’t flying off the fretboard so much, and I’m hitting the notes better. I think this might be an important beginner lesson.
I feel like I’m getting it, my sounds are getting clearer. I hope I’m not trying to move to fast, because I really want to learn this. Thanks for making it easier to learn..
This is interesting and very useful for me. I have always used a tuner before. I guess I didn’t know where to find a drone sound.
Hmmm . . . I am into day 4 of the fall practice challenge 2021, but the website tells me I have “been unsubscribed from fall practice challenge 2021 emails”. I do not know why? I obviously need the practice! How do I get re-subscribed???
Mary Ann
Hi, I’m Molly. I live near Nelson BC. (not the only one! hey jocelyn!) I picked up fiddling this summer. I have 2 toddlers and am separating from their dad, so it seemed like a good idea. I mean, for the first time in 4 years I have occasional time to myself, and I’ve always wanted to play the fiddle. I’m having so much fun. When the kids go to sleep I play outside, it’s getting very cold. When they are at their Dads I play much more. Sometimes the kids will dance if the tune is good. They like Arkansas traveler. I love the drone tracks and my Practice Challenge goal is to play more in tune. I am playing along with the scale tracks and then playing my tunes which are all in D. I hope I can make it to a couple of the zoom classes this week. I love the student videos.
Happy to be participating and learning with all of you!
Alright!
the breakouts are a good thing; a bit of one-on-one for specific questions is extremely helpful. i figured out my drunken sailor issue: i been playing in two different keys, one for the whistle playing beside me. nonetheless, your g3-d3 suggestions were very helpful, as were the index card suggestions, if only to fingerprint the many tunes that are floating randomly throughout my brains.
I use Avery Business Card Sheets printed out in MS Word. I print on One Side and Use the blank side to enter in dates that I covered/ practiced that lesson/review card. Going to create some “manuscript” cards for FH Core and Bonus Tunes 🙂
I’m Monica from New Zealand. I’ve been learning fiddle for just on 3 years now and first signed up for Fiddlehed when the woman teaching me left to go to the US. I’ve been really enjoying learning from the videos, and do normally practice every day but for this challenge I want to focus on the scales I don’t use very often and therefore find more difficult. Bb, B, F and C. These are keys that seem to be common when I’m playing along with others, so it will help me for jam sessions. My goal is to be able to be accurate and even consistently.
This sounds like a very interesting system! I wasn’t able to attend the Zoom this evening, and look forward to watching the recording in a few days.
Hello, everyone, day 1 and 2 have already been challenging with many distractions but I have met my goal of 30 minutes practice. Working on 3 things for the practice challenge1. Use/exercise fifth finger everyday 2. Play with metronome 3. Memorize tune called Big Bear Reel by Metis fiddler John Arcand. Fiddling in Victoria, Canada
Mary in Georgia. Coming back to the fiddle after being away for about a month for some surgery.
Working on a set I call Heritage Tunes – tunes my mother remembers her grandfather, Charlie Baker, playing. I’ve been working on them for some time now and hope to polish a three or four for a mini concert for my mother’s birthday later this month.
Staying in tune, keeping consistent speed and working arpeggios.
Since I am new at this fiddle thing is it normal to have some pain in your elbow for the firs time while fingering?
Hi Everyone,
I’m Lori and this is my second year with Jason, tho you wouldn’t know it, I haven’t followed the course really so I’m committing to actually doing each week and learning whatever Jason has set up.
This challenge is perfect timing because I haven’t practiced in a few months, so I’m back at it.
If I can figure out how to post a video I’ll post something soon. (that will make people feel pretty good, coz they will be like….”at least I’m better than her!” LOL
Love these challenges! Hi Im David from NB Canada. Ill be working on improving my tone and on Tam Lin and adding variation to Turkey In The Straw.
Thank you for doing this!
Awesome that we are connecting through our daily practise. This feels like a great coming together 🙂
I’m Jocelyn, Nelson BC Canada, and I’m looking forward to working on:
Pentatonic scales
Review various practise focuses from private lesson sessions to support future lessons
Look at a poem my friend sent me and start creating accompaniment for it
Pick a tune I want to master and start simple
Thanks Jason for your efforts to help us to connect and get into healthy practise habits.
Have fun with this challenge folks~
Hey! I am also in nelson, didn’t really expect to see that in internet-land, but i guess it is a small world everywhere!
Hi Everyone,
I am so excited to do this challenge. I have been on Fiddlehed for a while, but have been lacking in my practice and have not joined any of the live events out of fear. My goal is to try that and see what happens. I’ve also set an intention to really use all of the aspects of the site to increase my skills. I struggle with reading notes on a page and placing them on the fiddle. I learned the finger positions as 1,2, 3, 4 rather than the actual note names and I really want to get that to be automatic. So, the note reading course is on my “to do” list. I have an in person teacher who is an excellent fiddle player, but I also like to have the videos and help when I am home by myself. (Swallowtail Jig and Ashoken Farewell have recently helped me a lot) I have been playing for 4 years, 3 with a teacher, but most of that is standard playing with Suzuki books, etc. My teacher likes the bluegrass fiddle stuff and I am starting to love it as well. It is a totally different style and I like how it gives me confidence when I play classical. I am really working on building confidence and I love your videos, Jason. Thank you so much!
-Carol
Hi all,
I am looking forward to the challenge and the journey! Have my Practice log filled out with my focus points, fiddle on my shoulder and bow in hand. I’m a beginning fiddler and absolutely love Jason’s teaching.
I really like the teaching methods
I’m thinking I’m gonna get this thang.
Greetings from Alaska,
Very beginner with many years of desire to discipline myself to practice. Excited to be three months into this journey. Three tidbits I strive to work on: double stop sounds, slurs in the key of G, my attitude/approach to daily practice! A bit apprehensive to attend live group lessons, but going to give it a try anyways. Thanks for the compassionate delivery of your teachings, Jason.
Cheers,
Anna
Hi Jason
Thanks for this great opportunity to practice with yourself and other aspiring fiddlers….I am a beginner and anything I have learned is from you !!!
Fell behind with my practice for several months but picked up the fiddle again last week….so encouraging to see others on their learning journeys too.
Wishing everyone on here the best of luck and lots of FUN from London.
Cecilia
based in London.UK.
Hi all,
I couldn’t do last year’s challenge, so I’m glad it’s happening again. I’m suing this two week challenge to improve my tone and bow control, improve my time-keeping (rhythm) when using slurring and develop a decent vibrato
ok I’m not suing anyone … I’m USING this challenge. Failed at the first hurdle … and now, time to tighten up the bow hairs
Hi Suzanne here, this is my first challenge and I am picking up my fiddle after a long break. Hoping I can synchronize with the time zone difference. Good to have a place to start with others
I know I have a long way to go, but I’m sure you can guide me in the right direction,
Thanks
Thanks for putting the lyrics in with the lesson of Drunken Sailor !!!!!
Hi everyone. This challenge is exactly what I need. I lost momentum in the summer after reaching over 100 days of practice in a row. Now I want to get back on track. Here are my goals:
1) Practice at least 15 minutes/day
2) Practice improvising with chords on at least one tune
3) Enjoy myself
Susan
My Goals:
(1) Dbl-Stops
(2) Scales – Pentatonics & Arpeggios over Drones
(3) Sawmill Tuning A-E-A-E
(4) Sitewide Review of Core/Bonus Tunes
Hi everyone! This is my first challenge as well. I’m going to work on a tune or two, some techniques, and recording a video. Looking forward to the challenge and getting started!
Cindy
Can’t wait to get started on these rhythms ..So glad that i found your site..
Looking forward to taking part & seeing everyone else too
Looking forward to seeing everyone’s progress. -Deb
I’m in. Will I tackle ‘Orange Blossom’, master switching from one bowing pattern to another or solidify old tunes in memory permanently? We shall see.
Try to do all of these things. “Interleaving.”
Let’s gooo I’m ready 🙂
Yes!
Hi Robert here, this will be my first challenge since i have pick up the fiddle, so looking forward to meeting others and getting a good practice routine down, so excited!!
Welcome Robert!
Agreed its a fun set of exercises
Very cool. Thanks for the lesson!
I have loved this course up until now and looking forward to tomorrow for further learning. Its been a battle this week to get in front of the computer I have too put my fiddle in my chair before the cat claims the chair! My music loving cat loves the fiddle sound and sits animated when Jason is on the screen on the videos.
I found that my hold on the bow loosend on the tremolo is this normal? Skedaddle is a challenge to be repeated tomorrow.
What is a pirate’s favourite letter??
You might think it’s an “ARRR”, but actually it be the “SEA”
I like a “modern” (by Stan Rogers in the 1970s) sea shanty called Barrett’s Privateers, that is also easy to learn.
😀 Nice Tom! I’ll put this one on request list. Thanks for the great suggestion
I’ve been learning this song, and we are going to do it as a band. Rather than play the melody, as the singer will be doing, how can I play ALONG with this song? Or should I just play the same melody as the singer?
At the end of the video I talk about how to add cords to this song. Give that a try, let me know if it helps…
I’m just so grateful for this lesson; it’s exactly what i needed. Cheers man.
Since you said you’re always looking for new stuff/feedback, are you at all familiar with the neuroscientist Andrew Huberman?? The stuff his lab has found regarding learning and neuroplasticity is fascinating, and mirrors much of what you advocate.
Thanks Jeff!
Dang, this was intense. I started off thinking I’d skip most of the exercises, but got addicted. Started naming the notes as I played. Very useful, I’ll come back to this one often.
Good for you. Have you tried 4th finger plucking? It’s a way to build strength and coordination.
Enjoyed and thanks for including chords !
Think you will like shanty “Hog Eyed Man” Martin McCarthy and Family version is very cool 😜
OK! Thanks for the suggestion 🙏
Thank you for recording and posting the lessons and workshops. A couple of the questions/answers that came up in the September 10 workshop have helped. One of these days I’m hoping my schedule allows me to participate back in the live sessions.
–Henry
Hey Henry, would be great to see you again soon. Hope you’re well, getting in some fiddle time.
Fiddlehed Marge wrote to me about an a-ha moment she had with the Mixolydian scale:
Marge: So to play D mixolydian scale, I just flatten the 7th degree of D Major (C sharp to C natural), right? Could I also think of a D Dorian scale as just flatten the 3rd (F sharp to F natural) and 7th degrees, C sharp to C natural?
My reply: Yes! That’s a way to think about Dorian scales. All the modes can be created by making similar alterations to the Major scale.
Marge: Another ‘aha’ moment I had in this lesson was when you talked about finding the parent scale. My initial response was to visualise the staff, go down 2 lines or 2 spaces to find a fifth below the Mixolydian starting note. Then the beauty of the fiddle being tuned in 5ths dawned on me! Wow you just go down to the same finger position or open string to the left!
Yes again. That’s a great alternative way to think about it. Sometimes it’s good to just notice patterns. 👍
This course is a such a blessing! I am really enjoying it.
Wow! Thanks Sandra 🙏
I’m confused.
When I look at the A scale I see the third finger on the D string is G# But is seems that you are playing a G.
How can I figure this stuff out when I’m just looking a sheet music?
Thanks!
Actually, G# on the D string is RAISED third finger.
The lower octave of A Major is G1-2-H3-D0-1-2-H3-A0.
LET ME KNOW if you still have questions…
Great lesson, I really like to use these exercises/little tunes in my warm up! Thank you Jason.
Good!
This was really helpful. I’d be eager to see a lesson on some of the other modes as well.
You got it @clifflat. I’ll be releasing a lesson on dorian mode soon.
Hey Folks, If you loaded this page before 9:25, reload it so you can see the video loops.
Pinky finger finally helped me nail the 4th quarter of Dargason. Even after getting through several modules, my E0-A3-2-1-0 was herky-jerky til I figured out 4th finger. Thanks, Fiddlehed. Always a pleasure–
Good for you, there are lots of tunes that use E0 that might actually be easier with 4th finger. Thanks for pointing this out.
In general, it saves you the trip up to the E string (if you only have to hit that E note and not other notes on E string).
Thanks, Jason! You routinely knock it out of the park with each lesson! I was just thinking that I need to work on using the fourth finger more for that warmer sound and… Voila! You give me a learning path to do just that. Hoping to share my progress soon!
Good!
I have just been listening to your version of Drowsy Maggie in the lesson, and I really like the slides and slurs you add.
this is awesome
Great Lesson Jason Just what I need to play along with others ‘Thankyou
How do you download the tunes?
Pam
click the red, down arrow to the right of the audio player
Great practice buddy👌👍
wow this is such a great practice lesson, I love the video loops that you can practice over an over with. Thanks so much!
You’re welcome Misha
I love this new feature! Could you also create a track that goes from slower to faster? This is great! I can download and listen to these tunes anytime. Listening is practice, too.
good idea. I think some folks like the short and sweet version. I might include on this page the “full mixes” that slowly speed up.
Thank you for the fantastic lesson. I’m wondering if you could elaborate a bit about the “chordal scale” idea you mentioned?
Hey really enjoyed yesterday’s hootenanny!
I thoroughly enjoy these sessions. I learn a lot, and feel very connected to everyone. I am thankful.
Loved the backup chord play along!
This is the order I’ve been learning Part 1 of Wagon Wheel (and when learning a tune I will be applying this same order to other songs on your platform)…
Or would you recommend practicing in a different order? Or, should anything go together? For example…
1 (notes and intonation) and 3 (bowing patterns) happen at the same time?
I’m just trying to find the most efficient way to practice and learn tunes.
Thanks! I love your videos, sheet music, and practice tracks!
I just LOVE this tune! And all of the lessons I’ve taken so far. Thanks for making learning the fiddle accessible and FUN!
PS During a group lesson last week, I met a neighbor who lives two streets away from me in Pittsburgh! Maybe duets are in our future….
I’ma D G and A all over these tunes 🙂
I’m 67 years old. This one ran off and left me behind. Do you think I can do it????
Yes you can do it. Age has nothing to do with it. However, you may not be ready to play the whole tune.
Start with the basic version. Memorize and master it. Transpose it to other strings. Then try the first bar of this version. Then the second. If you take this to heart, you can learn anything.
Jason,
I noticed that as you played the jig, rather than up – down bowing, you slurred some notes. How do you know when to slur or use the up-down bowing?
Thanks.
Larry
You’re puttin down some cool stuff Jason, I love it. I find myself practicing more technique and fundamentals than songs. However, when I work on a song the bowing comes easier.
Thank you for breaking it down, chunk by chunk and slowly.
Thank, that was useful and good.
This was a good workshop!!!! Slur practice helps with string crossing and bow controll too,
Thanks Jason
When you do D, E, F#, G, A, F# Do you leave D1,D2 and D3 pressed down when you play the A or you lift all fingers? I am asking because I would much rather leave the fingers pressing on the D string notes but if I do that, my fingers do touch the A string and it sounds ugly. So it is safer to lift them but it is also risky as you may not bring them down in the same place.
Good question. It’s situational.
It’s good to be able to hold down 1st, 2nd and 3rd finger on the D string while playing open A (A0). But when actually playing a tune, it may make sense to lift the fingers in certain situations.
When in doubt, try it both ways. See if you can do it either way. Even if one way wins out, you become a more flexible fiddler by trying.
Jason,
In this lesson you give the D major Chordal Scale and name each chord. Could you name the chords for the G Major and A Major?
Owen O
Good question @Owen. I just updated each step in the lesson text. I probably owe more explanation on why some chords can be major or minor…
I like how this video has the different parts marked on the timelineso it is easy to go back and review the part on the video over and over.
Glad you found this useful. Right now we’re going through a phase of updating the site and hope to add this throughout the site.
Thank you for the figure 8 bowing. The exercises are so helpful. I love how you start slow
and then speed up with all the exercises. Your “slow down” mantra has already improved
my playing!
Glad you’re taking that to heart Judy. I need to remember it too. It’s funny how there’s a natural tendency to speed things up.
I’ll do it after I make a coffee with my la pavoni machine in the morning
whats hardest for me? Two slurs turns into three, three turns into four. HaaHaa
Jason,
Thank you very much! I feel like I am finally making progress!
Larry
Ah brilliant! Thank you Jason, I’ll look forward to this 😊
can we get some words to the songs that don t have Jason so we can print them. thankyou
Thanks for this suggestion, Kathy. It’s a great idea. 🙂
Just found this woooo whooooo!!!!
This helps with intonation plus beat patterns.
This is just what I’m looking for to help improve my reading skills. The combination of 8th and 16th really helps!
Jason, thank you for offering this group practice session, however I live in the central time zoon and it conflicts with my work schedule. My plan is to review the material and learn it slowly so that i can incorporate it into my playing.
Take Care, be well!
Rich, This lesson has 2 times that it is live. I hope both don’t fall within your workday. Live lessons add a bit more but the replay will be there too. Good travels on your fiddle journey
fun stuff
what i took away…was the pizzacato over the neck rather than the belly…sounds better and good to be clear…about that
Jason,
I’m not sure about focusing my practice, but you do present ideas for ways to practice a song to learn it and some variations. I especially loved the chordal and bluesy variations.
Thanks, Cindy
Took me a minute to understand that when you say “tuning” or “in tune” you’re not talking about the instrument being in tune string to string; you’re talking about intonation in the placement of fingers on the strings and fingerboard. Great lesson!
This was fun and I think does help with both technique and remembering tunes. I really enjoy your style of teaching
Love the drones, thanks
I love this tune, love your rendition. thanks
Thanks Jason, I had started to practice with changing the key, changing between scale and piece and other piece, something easy some thing difficult. It has made practice more interesting, can’t wait to play whenever I can. I will incorporate all of these ways into my practices from tomorrow, attempt some of the more difficult things, will start to keep a practice journal also and see what happens. Excellent tools! Thank you!
So excited for you! 🕺🏾
Just keep playing every day…
Yes! Does it feel good to be able to play a few tunes now?
I happy you made it this far! It’s no small feat 🏔
Nice lessons! Great info! Thanks!
Thanks Russ. Let me know how it goes with your practice journey…
Great material, my practice time has become more focused.
Good to hear that. I sometimes worry that these “15 ways to play a tune” lessons make people less focused…
Great video! I still need to make a few adjustments to the shoulder rest.
I understand using double stops in the key of D, can I use the same principal when playing in A?
Short answer: yes if playing the upper octave of the A major scale: A0-1-2-3-E0-1-2-3.
The lower octave requires two-fingered double stops.
I guess it’s a mark of how much fiddling really goes on in the heart of the mother that the cows hung around instead of running off at the first note. In my experience cows can be skittish about sudden noise like that. 😂😂
🐮
Music is in the air and water…
This is great stuff !!!! You should write a book!!!!
Thanks @crowbar47. I probably have enough material. But I still have a lot to learn about teaching…
I didn’t know that you were doing different timing for the lessons.That’s great,,, now for the Hootenays on different time zones too!
I’m hoping to do group lessons at two different times: 12 and 6 PM PST. That way people all around the world can tune in at a convenient time. Now training a fiddle tutor to help with this. 🤓
I believe you are correct cmck
Hey all, if you see this… that C# and the F# are both notes you shift up to play. Especially that F#! If you strain to reach notes like that you can injure your tendons. Move your forearm, wrist and first finger altogether up to the A note on the E string, placing that first finger on the note. Now you are in third position and the C# will be easy to play with your 3rd finger. Yes you can stretch for it if you want, but you can’t stretch for that next one, so shifting up most of the way already is a big help. That F# next is actually meant to be played while in 5th position. You can just move your hand up higher and it will be accessible. Technically, your first finger would be anchored on where that C# is. Learning a bit about shifting and doing it smoothly will help a lot. At least get familiar with shifting to third… you can use that position often enough in fiddle music if you want to. 🙂 Cheers!
Good practice strategy. Helps with string arising too!!!
BTW—- love the wallpaper
Hi, I’ve been practicing nearly everyday since the beginning of the year. I progressed from Britches with Stitches to the Ashokan Farewell mainly because I like the tune. I have no background in music. I’m 67. I’ve wanted to play the fiddle for years. This year is when I really knuckled down to it. But progress is slow. Even so I want to keep going.
My main issue is my bowing technique. I focus so much on my fingers on the notes that I ignore the bow.
Hey Willie, It’s good that you realize where you can improve. Continue to improve your sound on single open strings, then single fingered notes, then two-note intervals, like D1-2. Fundamentals are never mastered!
This is starting to be so much fun! The singing part is excellent! Thank you!
Hey Deb, glad you’re trying that out!
Excellent lesson. Thank you. …Bumbed my schedule has been too crazy for lessons and office hours.
Hey Henry…just keep practicing. I’m hoping to do group lessons at two different times: 12 and 6 PM PST. That way people all around the world can tune in at a convenient time. Now training a fiddle tutor to help with this. 🤓
This is great practice track! However, the omission of the second half of the b part during alternate repetitions is a bit frustrating. This glitch has been pointed out by other students several times over the past year, and it would be great to have it fixed.
Thanks so much!
I just added audio for B part second half ✅
Hi Jason! I’m so excited that you replied to my request. However, I was referring to the audio of the Full Content Full Play Along Track. It still seems glitchy. Every second time through the tune, the audio for measures 7 & 8 are missing: the repeat begins after measure 6. It’s actually fun to improvise and make a round out of it…or something.
All the best,
Rachael
Exciting territory— lots of ground to over .
Do u hav a traditional height bridge.
Yes, I haven’t modified my fiddle…
Tried this today. It does help !!!!!!
Thanks, Jason, It’s like you got into my head! I get impatient and zoom ahead to tunes that are too advanced for me. And then I get discouraged that I sound so bad and feel like I’ll “never be any good.” It’s tricky talking myself into continuing to practice, but these strategies will help a lot!
Thanks, Jason, It’s like you got into my head! I get impatient and zoom ahead to tunes that are too advanced for me. And then I get discouraged that I sound so bad and feel like I’ll “never be any good.” It’s tricky talking myself into continuing to practice, but these strategies will help a lot! 🙂
Thanks again for a great video! I would like to know where the print/painting of the boy playing fiddle that is on your wall comes from.
It looks like an illustration from a child’s book, I love it!
Would love a beginners lesson on this with play along tracks and sheet music 🙂
Fun to connect for these lessons folks! My power went out part way through first lesson so it was great to have the second opportunity 🙂 Great to see a good show of us at both.
I learned a simpler version this afternoon (when looking at how other folks are teaching) that may be helpful:
A 1st Q: D0-0-0-1-3-A0-1
A 3rd Q: D0-0-0-1-3-A0-1 (holding last note for 2 counts… instead of adding A2-1)
B 3rd Q: D3-3-3-E0-D3-L2-1 (holding last note for 2 counts… instead of adding A2-1)
It’s nice with the accents we learned. Above being an option to take out accents.. temporarily 🙂
Thanks for the lesson, Jason! Loved it!!
Thanks for doing the early session for us. I liked the strumming app too!
Thank you Jason,
That was a great lesson. I enjoy learning from call and response. I especially wanted to thank you for posting the audio on the lesson preparation page. I did my listening homework before the lesson and it really helped. I also liked playing along with that new app you used, it was very helpful to keep the rhythm when you stopped playing. Great fun, thanks again
Enjoy your visit! Michigan is wonderful in the summer. We live southeast of Ludington
Looking forward to the 12 noon class. Thanks for having 2 classes. See you then!
Thanks for posting the replay. I always seem to miss something and the relay makes it possible to catch up.
You’re a good student!
Jason’s best advice is “Do it 1000 times.” He’s not kidding. Create muscle memory.
When is the lesson?
Have fun – see you tomorrow (p.s. – it’s threw 😉 )
Where is the video of Mairi’s Wedding?
Thanks Jason for doing this extra lesson, I really enjoyed it and found the extra repeats and transpositions helped me remember the whole tune this time.
I like your way better than mine. I always forget about my posture and I usually start by looking at sheet music. I’m making a post-it of your 1-3 tips and placing it on my music stand until I remember each time. Thanks!
The video is 51 seconds long and has distorted, low volume.
I did re-boot my computer and other audio sources work.
audio is now working better. ???
Jason, Thank you for the tips you send out. They are so helpful. I love how easy they are to apply to my fiddling!
Great video Jason. When I’m playing the Dmajor scale, I have no problem putting my fingers on the strings in the right position.
BUT when I try to play the scale with double-stops, the fingers on the D string want to touch the A string so it is impossible to maintain A0.
Hmmm…..
You have to place your finger so it doesn’t touch the A0. So a cheat is to place it in between the D and G strings. That way there’s plenty of clearance. Give it a try and let me know in a comment how it goes.
Thanks for your question. I’m sure lots of other folks have the same problem…
Great lesson—- I have struggled with this for a very long time
Haha love it. Great and easy tune to learn.
Thanks everyone for feedback. We WILL do an additional session at noon. It will be on the calendar later today.
Hi Jason
I would also like to attend the 12pm lesson for Mairi’s Wedding.. Thanks !
Wow! I love how these sound! They are so much more clear and melodic than regular scales.
I love the beginning improv, also! Looking forward to more!
All these things are true, and I’ve broken every rule. I bought a violin about 5 years ago with the intent of being the musician I’ve always wanted to be. After 5 years of hit & miss practice, excuses & procrastinating I’ve probably accumulated a total of 6 months practice time. I never thought of myself as a musician, always the wannabe.
Many years ago a physician friend gave me this advise when I was thinking about going to the University for a degree in Nursing. (paraphrasing) Five years will go by regardless of what you do. In five years you’ll either be still thinking about and probably regretting it or you will have completed it and be a RN. I went to school and finished my nursing degree. It was a critical turning point in my life and everything I am today is directly related to that decision.
Today I’m committing to this fiddle journey. I have the tools & the time, no more excuses.
I’m on board for another attempt. I tried before and fell by the wayside in a puddle of self pity and feelings of the most putrid form of failure. I blamed it on being too busy but that was a cop out. This time I will find a partner to establish accountability. Thanks for this lesson Jason
Yes, me too. Accountability .I ha e a hard time practicing alone since my husband died.
Hi Jason, I’d love to attend a 12pm version of this lesson please if you get enough interest!
Love these scales and this lesson. I’m looking forward to more! so much here to learn!
I would attend the 12pm class if offered. Thanks!
Thanks for the Tutorial. I appreciate it. I wasn’t sure at where I needed to start and your tutorial helps. I started with the Suzuki lesson book 1 with my instructor back in November 2020. Since then, I have purchased several fiddle books and play daily. My instructor suggested the FiddleHed site to further advance my learning.
Thanks again!
TheresaB
Thanks for today’s hootenanny Jason. This was my first, having only joined a couple of weeks ago. I really liked the gentle pace and progression of both tunes and tempo, plus intermittent pauses to refocus on tone. The perfect balance.
I missed a little of the dialogue in the beginning while I was switching from inbuilt computer speaker to plugging in an external one. I think you were asking if the time suited people. For me, today’s time was perfect as I’m in Australia which made it 11am Tuesday, but if your workshops are at other times and recorded, I can always catch up that way.
Cheers,
Marg.
Thank you, Jason, for the best directions for the bow hold I have found. I have watched other teaching videos but I knew my hold was too tight because it made my fingers ache. Your explanation really helped. I also feel like I learned a lot playing with the different tones and rhythms.
Fun scale warm ups!
Where can we find the sheet music?
Love it!
Love it,
Hi Jason,
I would attend a 12 p.m. lesson on Mairi’s Wedding on July 14. The 6 p.m. lesson is a little too late for me (and my neighbors!).
Thanks!
Hi Jason, I can’t seem to find the tune list for the June 28 Hootenanny.
That’s a bouncy little tune … fun to learn I think. Fantastic thing to do, giving away that very pretty fiddle. Good job Michael 👏👏
Loving me some Wabbit … definitely one for the list. Great setting too 😁🎻
I love the experimenting! Gives me ideas of my own for future playing.
Need a good lesson on big eyed rabbit my little buddies would be hoppin on this one lol
Can you do a lesson on big eyed rabbit a basic and variation to learn the song so I can play it to the little guys in the barn lol
I can’t wait for the lesson
I would love to feel confident enough to play outside- where others might hear me🥺
Love that tune——- lesson please!!!!!
I want to play this !
Aw, what a sweet tune! Its always a joy to listen to you play.
You are absolutely glowing! Love the tune.
This was so fun. I love the play along track. Forces you to use your ear and get it. My family likes hearing me play it. I recorded it and its not half bad!! I wish I could play it as fast as you, Jason!
Music always sounds better out in nature. Thanks for posting.
Pretty cool to just take the ole fiddle to the park and make some music … hopefully be me one day. Bravo
Really looking forward to this one!
The bird call imitation….amazing! and beautiful fun rhythms, uplifting, thankyou!
Wow!
David
Wow! This is all the stuff that would have been really helpful when I started out playing!
Excellent!
Hi Jason,
I missed the workshop I’m afraid, but the links on here don’t work for me. Each one I click just refreshes the page
Mike
I’m having fun playing this tune and am proud that it kind of sounds like music! I start out sounding good but by the end of the tune my bow is wandering back to the bridge. I’m sure it’s like patting your head and rubbing your tummy, I just need to concentrate on bow, strings and sound all at the same time. Thanks for making the lessons fun and easy to understand for a “senior” beginner like me!
What a beautiful, haunting tune! Jason I’m loving your teaching style, and it’s really working for me to develop my playing by ear.
I only subscribed about a week ago, and decided to work through from the beginning. When I pick up my fiddle and log in to fiddlehed each day, it’s like a gift to myself. It’s fun too, playing along with the drones and backing tracks.
Just wondering if Leave Her Johnny will be available as a pdf? I’ve been collecting the pdf’s from the lessons as I work through as a back up reference.
Thanks for all your work,
Cheers,
Marg.
I loved this lesson! And I love learning by ear and especially adding in the vocals! Really wonderful! The only problems I experienced had to do with my technology…..I was coming to the lessons for the first time with an iPad and the volume was not loud enough to overcome my own fiddle in my ear. The drone was too loud for me, likely because of the iPad volume problem. Because of this, the transpositions came too fast for me. I was always playing catch up. But the call and response to learning a tune by ear is wonderful. And this is such a wonderful tune!
I look forward to more sea shanties. And the link you provided to the choir singing this song??? It was wonderful!
Thanks again for a creative session. ~~Cindy
Cindy, I use ear buds with only a bud in my right ear. Much easier to hear the iPad and myself.
I just got to this archived group lesson. I learned so much and it was FUN!!! I’ve never thought of myself as “musical”, but this made me feel like a musician. Thanks for the great lesson!
It was a GREAT lesson learning by ear. I’m so glad I subscribed. The lessons work better for me then me learning completely on my own. I jam w/bluegrassers and am quick at playing by ear even for songs I don’t know, but those chop chords. UGH. Is it possible to add chords to your music sheets too? We did call & response games on instruments for fun when we were kids. It really helps develop you “ear.”
Good idea. We have chords for lots of other lessons. This one was thrown together a bit hastily though. just so you know, chords are G, C, D. I’m off for the weekend, but will try to add this next week…
I tried to access the video for this tune but it says “Video is unavailable. This video is private.”
Hmmm….
I’m logged in and as far as I know, I’m paid up.
Any suggestions?
Should work now…
The YouTube versions were great! Both really interesting and so different.
Loved the lesson Jason. I learned some great tricks to spice up this tune 🙂
the klezmer way is totally cool
Amazing!
Some day. Just as fun trying.
I really enjoyed this lesson thanks Jason! I hadn’t realised how much I rewind the video though when learning a new tune. I think I have one part, move onto the next & then immediately forget the previous! Needless to say when I woke this morning I can’t remember any of it!! I’ll print the sheet music & write out the tabs & it’ll hopefully stick!
I had fun with this lesson because it’s ‘live’ , the call and respnse is challenging and seems that playing is “off the cuff” – not knowing the tune at all. Was great to be a part of the making of a lesson ! Thanks, Jason
That was a lot of fun! More sea shanties!
Love all these suggestions! Have done a lot of them, but I need to practice playing things way over there in the minor key more.
I’m sure you talk about this somewhere else, but I also love to swing the beat when I’m trying to wrap my head around a new tune… sometimes I just like them better that way anyway.
Way cool !!!
Terrific
Holding the bow is the hardest for me, especially since I’m double jointed and the knuckle joint of my pinky finger keeps collapsing.
sounds lovely! love that fiddle and Tam Lin. Good luck everybody
Beautiful. Love the speed variation and the ornaments. I’ve been working on this tune. It’s kicking my a**, but getting better incrementally.
Thanks so much!! Some of these things I’ve done, but not all! I love your lessons!!
Very nice !!!! , really enjoyed hearing this .
Great lesson makes thing fun and makes the mind wonder into new music and growth…
Well I couldn’t get up at 4.30am for this hootenanny but I really enjoyed replaying the zoom – it was almost as good as being there!
I’d like to ask about the chords you played in the last part of the zoom – Do you play in the hoe down bow style and just change chords where it has the A or D above the notes on the Soldier’s Joy Level Two tune?
cheers
Maggie
Awesomeness
Jason, You are awesome, and you make learning fiddle fun, and this video made me smile. Timing is my biggest challenge, so I will try the metronome…. Thank you! 🙂
Great tone from that beautiful fiddle.
Next lesson d interval is a broken link on 6-10-2021
Chandler, thanks very much for this, should be fixed now.
Something folks may already know… can type the title in search engine on Fiddlehed (Introduction to Intervals), and access the lesson, if another method isn’t working.
Thanks for helping Fiddlehed be as user friendly as possible~
I love this approach to developing audiation. I found practising with the drones almost meditative and it allows me to really get ‘inside’ the sound of the fiddle.
Thanks for putting so much into these lessons Jason.
thankyou!
your music link doesn’t go to the dance of the sugar plum fairy, cheers
Play along track for 6.1,6.2 and 6.3 is not matching
Sorry I had to miss this one ☹️
I heard there’s a special birthday present in the works for you 🥰
Striking!
6pm PT
Fun to listen to. Looking forward to learning a bit of improv
Is there a link somewhere for this? I assume it’s via zoom?
D you lift your fingers when doing staccato, or just stop the bow?
The only time I lift my finger during staccato is if I’m transitioning to a different note. Stopping the bow with the finger on the string helps dampen vibration of the note, which helps create the moment of silence between the staccato notes. Lifting the finger will create string movement, which can result in some very quiet sounds. If this doesn’t make sense, let me know!
Farrrrrr our!!!!!!! Great job,,,, I guess I just dated myself😎
What time? 12 PT? (3 pm EST)
I just watched the replay as live workshop times are a bit tricky in Australia. I thought it was great. Really loved the scaffolding of using the pentatonic to build up to improv. I have learned a lot from you in recent months and look forward to learning more.
I get a 404 file not found when trying to download the pdf for this song. Thanks!
Sounds like fun—- gotta get in on this one!!!!
did you ever get a response as to what time?
Is there a link for the replay of this if we missed it? TIA
Nice job Jason. I really liked your performance and the Martin Hayes version also. I liked the harmonics at the end.
These are great ways to practice. I have fallen off the horse a few times but I seem to get back up and try again. Always trying, always learning!!!
It’s not how many times you fall off the wagon, it’s how fast you can get back on! 🙂
This was absolutely awesome. Thank you Jason, for yet another well-planned, interesting and useful lesson. I learned quite a bit from the part where we played the tune, improvised and then returned to the tune. The repetition helped me to fit the improv into the tune and know when I was supposed to be done. . . had I been playing with a group and doing a solo.
I have a ‘design game’ which is useful for developing woven textile designs and I may try with my practice. By selecting, randomly, two or more cards – say a tune and a technique or two. Then using only those in the practice session. It is a fun spontaneous way of getting the brain juices re organised and energised for the task…maybe.
Let me know how it works for you!!!! That’s a great idea. I sounds sort of like how I meal plan my dinners 😂. I have receipe cards…but I also have cards that have an ingredient on them and then a list of recipes. Sort of a “20 ways to use ground beef” sort of thing. I was so inspired by this session that I have on my list to sit down with my fiddle cards and make them better, and maybe even add in a few technique cards like you are describing.
Really like the index card idea for tunes and techniques as it would be more grounding for me than the current one note system on my laptop and seems more immediate and tactile. My problem is very like Mary’s! I’m attracted to every tune in the universe.
I think the tactile thing is what works for me with the cards too. I’m a very tech loving person….but there are certain things that I still need the pencil and paper tactile thing for my brain to be happy. Tunes, cookbooks, and my bullet journal planner seem to be the things that my brain is unwilling to digitalize.
I really want to do a whole office hours session devoted to organization of note card systems now. But that’s probably my obsessive squirrel brain giving me bad ideas. I should do a blog post instead of how I organize my cards! And then we can all discuss in the comments and the forums and swap ideas.
where is the version with embellishments////i saw it on youtube
Hi
I noticed the interval scale F major exercise plays the D major recording…would be great to get the F major recording (esp since that key gives me grief). Also if you can double check the recordings for the B parts of Bonaparte Crossing the Rockies. Thanks!
Wow! What a gorgeous tune and performance! Awesome! ~~Cindy
Damn, I missed it! And I’d been looking forward to it. I guess I’ll have to make do with the recording. I hope you’ll do more improv stuff soon.
We’ll do it again for sure! Stay tuned for the replay.
Thanks. Very cool. The question I wanted to ask (had I been there) was what you do in a song like O Susannah that changes key. Would you go into the G pentatonic?
I’m limbering my fingers for a great improvisation workshop. Who’s ready?
Mary Reid from sunny, hot Georgia.
Very helpful- although in uk we call the note values by very unhelpful names. I find it hard to count to keep time.
Audio still cuts out at one stage that’s a shame.
Very helpful- although in uk we call the note values by very unhelpful names. I find it hard to count to keep time.
These sound really cool.
I think that there’s an error in the tab on A Part 2nd Quarter–shouldn’t it be D3-3-A1-3-1-E0-A1-A3-1-0-1-D3? With A1 rather than E1 after the E0? I’m trying to figure out how I’m going wrong here and picking my way through the written music vs tabs. Please tell me if I’m nuts.
Greetings Darcy~
Your right, good find. It’s exactly how you said. Thanks very much for noticing and speaking up. Together we can help enhance and balance it all out 🙂
Aw, this course has brought me so much pleasure and joy! I just bought a second year and am starting the Irish Journey.
The hardest part of bowing so far for me is keeping the bow straight and I have trouble crossing the A & E strings. I feel pretty relaxed with the bow hold so either I’m getting it or doing it wrong! Lol
Keeping the bow straight is a very tough thing to do! My advice is to focus on it for a few minutes every practice session, and then spot check yourself periodically during the rest of your session without being obsessive about it. In my experience, a bow traveling crooked over the strings (ie not parallel to the bridge) has a LOT to do with what my ELBOW (and my wrist) is doing (or not doing). Playing in front of a mirror to see if you are holding either of those joints stiff and using your shoulder to move the bow may help you trouble shoot this. 🙂
Just finished watching the video. Excellent suggestions! Even though I’ve been playing flute, piano for decades (teach and perform both), practicing does seem like ‘work’ sometimes, especially now when we can’t play with live people -although we’re starting to see a light at the end… Yay! Now I’m going to try them out.🎶😊
You can apply this creative practice approach to any instrument. Have fun 🕺🏾
I definitely would like a lesson on variations. I do a different version but would really enjoy going farther. Thanks 😊
Good lesson. Interesting how my ear can kind of hear which notes belong though I lose count
FiddleHed Group 1 Intermediate ( 3 members created during the first breakout group session) are practicing this tune, some suggested variants, and / eventually the variations with double stops, etc. It is quite fun and quite challenging! We are going to continue next week.
Thanks, Jason and team!!!!!
Check out the Whiskey Deaf Facebook page. Annie and
John play every Thursday. You don’t need to have a Facebook
account to watch the older shows.
My new all time favorite to play!
Thank you for posting this and others. It’s great support and a huge blessing to be able to see the things we missed. I am one who needs all the information I can get.
In the UK we call the notes by different names that do not help at all in working out rhythms.a whole note is a semibreve , a half note is a minim, a quarter note is a crotchet, an eight note is a quaver and a sixteenth note is a semi quaver.
The USA system at least tells you the value of the note. I wonder what the names are in other countries. Very useful. I can understand why you use “tucka” as a word to show the timing but do not know why you use hoe-down- Is that the rhythm if a hoe down dance?
Getting there!
Good exercise!!! Good for intonation practice too.
This song is sooo cool. The variation video is awesome. Makes me want to frolic 😉
I’ve started using these techniques in my practice. Please consider doing a lesson on transposing to a minor key. I need some help with that one!
Here’s a quickie lesson on how to do it.
-Play a major key tune.
-Play its major scale.
-Play the minor (Aeolian) scale (lower the third, sixth, seventh steps)
-Sub out those notes as they fall in the tune.
Have fun…
Thanks for the help with the minor key transposition.
Mary
Thanks for your help!
Loving the new sheet music, breaking out the quarters and halfs… and the bowing. Very helpful!
Good tune. I was listening to Bill when I was maybe five yrs old.
Help! There’s no sound on the first video! It’s not my system; I checked and the next video plays just fine.
The hardest part is that sometimes the bow starts to bounce. It seems to happen more on the E and A strings. Other times it doesn’t happen at all. I have not yet figured out what I’m doing differently when it bounces and when it doesn’t.
Hey @dalevancleef,
Try shortening your both trucks on the E and A strings. Also try to use throwaway bars on each string both down bow and up bow.
Probably the most important thing is to just keep practicing this. Give extra Luv to the E and A strings. Eventually your body will figure this out.
That is awesome.
Tanks 🤓
THANK YOU SO MUCH for putting the bowing in there!!!!
Are you going to put Melinda’s office hours in the archives so we can catch whatever we weren’t able to get live? Thanks
Hi @grannyfiddler, I just added this under “Archived Office Hours.”
Cheers…
Thanks 😊
I have never heard this tune before and wasn’t sure that I liked it at all. Then I listened to lots of versions on YouTube and it got into my head- yes! I love it now that I am in the groove! Many of the tunes on this site are not at all familiar to me so I have to work hard to get them into my mind so that I can learn them. Very pleased to have achieved this.
I find Saying (This Is Not A Per i diddle) instead of Skedaddle a bit more helpfull
Whatever works! I love that you took this a little pattern and found a way to make sense of it on your own.
Hi Jason, what a lovely relaxed vibe. It’s unmistakably you; light fiddle and drone/indian music drone box thingy. It’s a hit!
They make an E string that doesn’t squeak. It almost looks like a spring which becomes straight when tightened/tuned. It does work!! But the string requires much tension which can warp the bridge if you don’t keep up with watching it and straightening it.
Very, very pretty song ” To You (and everyone else wandering in the world.)”
thanks Owen 🙂
The clip of your song is quite nice. Thank goodness you moved through or around the roadblocks to its creation and completion.
Jason, I love the sound of the new tune “To You….” very hypnotic it reminds me a bit of Sigur Ros.
Great tune to develop skill in low/high finger positions.
That is beautiful, exotic….love it! I want to learn to play it :).
Does one naturally assign one bow stroke to each note or is that up to the fiddler?
14 speed challenge day 1: Give the Fiddler a Dram. Played at 80 bpm which felt fine for tempo but it sounded pitchy as I missed the L2 positions, need to work on getting the switches to AL2 and also DL2 before I speed it up just yet.
Day 2: no metronome practice, played each section very s..l..o..w..l..y.. I identified my trouble is crossing EO to AL2 so worked on that a lot. Practised some more string crossing exercises (module 2.5), played other tunes then came back to it & played to the play along track, sounding better!
Day 3: I played my difficult sections 1st & 3rd quarter of the B part and then tried them with my metronome which increases by 4bpm not 5 for some reason😁 managed to keep a good sound up to 88bpm & played the whole tune through a few times.
Day 4: managed to play the whole tune today at 92bpm using the G drone to keep me in tune. I keep playing with the different rhythm patterns on beat central & have a few tunes I like to play to the waltz, bodhran & mpc beats. Funny how some ancient reels sound funky with that MPC beat!
Day 5: speeded up again to 96bpm & managed the tune with no issues. It’s interesting just playing around with it I found my limit is now the string crossing on the A- part the earlier issues I had with the low 2nd position are now fine as I have the sound of the tune in my head.
Day 6: Broke the 100bpm barrier! I played just the string crossings in the A part first with the metronome until I could stay with the beat. It’s that little fiddly bit A0-A1-D3-A0 which takes some training for my fingers! Once I got that the rest felt comfortable at that speed & the tune sounds better overall.
Day 7: I’ve reached my current limit with the A part so have followed the wax on approach and slowed it way down. Played it almost just one note at a time then with a little more flow. Keep practicing A0-A1-D3-A0 in amongst playing different tunes & some scales with variations.
Day 8: and wax off….increased back up to 108bpm and felt I could probably notch up the metronome a bit more now. The more I play, the more interesting I find these different techniques especially slowing stuff down to play it faster really works. I have some issues with my fiddle we’ve got some big temperature swings in the UK right now overnight and 2 strings had gone sharp and 2 flat plus my micro tuner on the E string has broke & is spinning freely so a bit of maintenance required today!
Day 9: after sorting out & re-tuning my fiddle again, I managed to increase the bpm up to 116 & played through a few times. Still feels quite comfortable at hat speed now so I think I’ll be up to 120bpm+ in the next days. That’s 40bpm faster than when I started, can’t believe that improvement so quickly what a great challenge to do. Travelling to a non wifi location for the next 3 days so will post one update for days 10 to 13 when I can!
Days 10 to 13: travelling in our motorhome but still managed to keep up the playing and increased to 120 no trouble then up to 126bpm-I’ve stayed at it for the last 2 days as I struggled a bit at first but again slowed down then brought it all back up to speed. Still struggling more with the tempo on the A part rather than the B part which flows OK now
Day 14: increased up to 138bpm! I was struggling at 132 and next stop on the metronome was 6beats higher so thought I’d give it a go thinking that when I dropped back to 132 it would feel easier. As it turned out after a couple of attempts I could play it at the faster speed! I’ll post the start & finish videos to the forum! What a great challenge thank you Jason!
Nice Joanne…The speed challenge is quite satisfying when you do it on a regular basis.
It certainly is, I’ll try it on other tunes and incorporate it in my daily playing & practice.
love this jason! i liked the conversations about it being too weird for fiddlers and too normal for the experimental lovers. I guess a better way to look at it is its the best of both worlds, and hopefully for everyone. it sounds like a shuti box! have you ever heard or used one? I’ve been really wanting one for a long time. i love drone music which is why i first got interested in violin. anyway i wanted to share this video with you if i can. its my favorite shuti box performance I’ve ever seen. beautiful, and maybe an inspiration in there somewhere for fiddlers? i don’t know.
wow! That was beautiful! is this song in the library? I’m going to look 🙂
Jason, you’ve touched so many lives through FiddleHed. You’re doing the right thing.
Hi from British Columbia! See you soon.
Hi from south England, looking forward to the lesson!
Tuning up for this one!
Hi, thanks for another motivator to practice. I hope to be there for the beats and practice later.
what pitch should I set my tuner to please? it has a setting marked as A4.
A4 is the fourth octave A on the standard piano and the A string on a violin/viola. It’s frequency is 440 Hertz. The current standard pitch for tuning is a 440 A. Some tuners allow adjustment from 440. The old baroque pitch was 432 Hz.
Was wondering when you’ll add new songs to the playlist.
You read my shortcomings when you put this together. My friends will love you if it actually penetrates. Thank you.
Yay! Boy howdy, do I need this!!! See ya’ll tomorrow!
wish this was a little later for the downunder crew!
if the examples playing E Dorian scale is done by starting on second note in the D scale thus D1 etc.
and if hen if the C scale is G3 DO D1 D2 D3 A0 A1 A2
and if D dorian starts on second note of this C scale which is D0
does this makes it seem like D Dorian is same as D major?? I must be missing something.
Also in 1.7 (the lesson I’m currently on)the D Dorian is taught as starting on D and G Dorian as starting on G? Is that just a simplified introduction version maybe?
Michael, I think what you’re missing is the key signature, and that makes all the difference. By the way, Jason did a fantastic Practice Journey on this topic in December 2020, called Road to Lisdoonvarna, found under the Community, Group Lessons links.
My own little framework for deciphering modes is to think of a parent-child relationship, and the child will always possess the parent’s characteristics. Dorian is the second note, and the parent is the first. E Dorian’s parent is D, and has the characteristics (key signature) of the D major scale: two sharps, F and C. When you play an E Dorian scale, you will begin playing on the note E and play all the way up to the E an octave higher, BUT you will play this scale with the characteristics, the key signature, of parent D major, i.e. the two sharps.
When you play the D Dorian scale, first look at the parent’s characteristic key signature. Parent C major has no sharps and no flats. When you play the D Dorian scale, you would play D to D, but this time with no sharps.
Thank you for this fantastic lesson! So many possibilities with this technique!
Wow! I can actually play this song! I am learning so much. Thank you – the drone practice is so darn magical.
Good lesson. This should help eliminate some of the scratchys when starting a bow stroke.
Thank you
Love this! Thank you so much for this!
Love the raga blend!
Just ordered this book. Looking forward to a good read.
E dorian was hard(impossible) without knowing what notes are in E dorian (hasnt been talked about in any lessons before this.) Or what triads are( though that one was easy to figure out)
Hey Michael, thanks for pointing that out. Here’s tabs for E dorian.
D1-2-3-A0-1-2-3-E0
The E Dorian scale is built from the D major scale. To make an E Dorian scale, start on the second step of the D major scale.
Also added this to the call-and-response exercise.
thanks Jason, and i just moved up to 1.7 which was all about the Dorian scale so i see now this was kind of a preview 🙂
Cool. I like hearing about your evolution 🙂
Okay, Let’s do this, Angeline the baker.
Mary
I plan to be there. Just scratching my way through the variations!
This is the best practice system I’ve seen!!! I’m still on the first couple of legs of the trip but it gets better as you go
Yes! Thanks for sharing your journey with this 😁
I not only hear the notes but I can really feel them when it sounds in tune, great little exercises thanks.
Peace, Cory
Here’s hoping work cooperates tomorrow. I’ve been missing the sessions.
Just below the link to the upcoming lesson is another link to “Archived Practice Journeys.” You can find the recordings there.
Hey Jason do you record these somewhere I am always at work for these workshops and missing out on some good stuff
Just below the link to the upcoming lesson is another link to “Archived Practice Journeys.” You can find the recordings there.
I’ve playing another version , not Jason’s, for awhile but am now practicing putting in his slurs……cool !
He’s playing the banjo 2 finger style which really surprised me when I saw him playing it in person years ago in CA.
Looking forward to this as always…. love the variation on this old standby!!
The hardest part is making sure my bow is perpendicular to the strings and not slipping toward the bridge with the down stroke. 🙂
I am wondering if you might offer a bit more expansion on this tune with more chords to make it sound a bit richer. The Round Peak variation seems a bit intimidating. Perhaps something in between. An idea for a Group lesson???
Thanks. I did enjoy the tune
Tabs in 2nd quarter A part do not match the tabs in the full song.
I noticed this also.
Great catch, Brandon and Iona. Thanks for helping out. 🙂
hi , was just part of Jason’s Student Hangout and Jason asked me to share my notes from our group meet. I keep notes to remind me of tunes, tips and when we will meet again. The following is a sample of my notes. It was another fun hangout,( Thanks Jason) I have met so many nice fiddlers!
Student Hangout
Saturday Apr. 3 @ 12 PT
Spoke as a large group with Jason before breaking off into smaller groups
-Jason will be having Student Hangout about once a month to share ideas and for anyone new to meet other fiddlers.
Group two: Mary, Karen, Charlie, Sue
– Introduced ourselves
– We each played a tune:
• Britches Full of Stitches
• Shortnin’ Bread
• Ashokan Farewell
• Sheguiandah Bay
-Jason popped in- we asked how to play sets or medleys- he sent a link to his lesson- How to make sets
Shared as a group:
-Karen helped with B Flat Scale- easier to play in 2nd position
-Jerusalem Ridge – a tune that uses 2nd position
– duets work well with zoom groups
-Mary suggested to get Jason’s Cheat Sheet – to help remember tunes
– Scale formula: whole- whole- ½- whole- whole- whole -½
-learn to read sheet music- practice writing what the notes are over and over/ say the note out loud while playing and reading music
-Each going to play a 2nd tune when the zoom Ended.
Didn’t get a chance to say good bye… it was nice to meet you Karen and Charlie
See you soon Mary
Thanks. Great to have the notes.
Sunny Georgia here on April 3, 2021.
I am confused. The breakdown notation for the first quarter ends on a D1, but the sheet music and watching your fingering and listening to it seems to end on a D3.
Nice tune and song!
You’re correct. I noticed the same thing.
Just a mistake in graphics.
Good ear!
This looks like a challenging bit of fun tune ! Thanks. Will begin and see how it goes….
Play along track needs a count in or something. When I hit play it is already into song. Don’t have any time to grab the bow and fiddle lol
I just got an old style metronome— with the little post that swings to and fro. For me it’s easier to use than the electronic kind since I can see the movement. Timing has always been my nemesis so I’m really looking forward to this practice journey!!!
Looking for to some time with the timing. Yeup, went with that bad joke there! See y’all tomorrow
HI! Sweet tune! You mention on this one and several other video lessons that you will be following up with how to add variation and expression. I am looking forward to those videos…..ready to go beyond the basic versions. When will those new videos be available?
Great old time tune. Looking forward to the practice session.
That’s way cool!! My biggest goal in fiddling us to play along with a picker/singer enviornment.
How do I find your videos that come after the initial one?
Love you easy method – hoping to see more and new songs added for me to continue with my membership.
Thanks
Lynda [email protected]
Jason, how do we hear what you did? I don’t have access to anything except your lessons.
Cindy
Wait…. never mind, I found it.
i think i need two bows then! one for back up while replacing? I have never done this!
I think this is what I am understanding I struggled with most with taking Suzuki as an adult. I felt very rushed by my instructor into learning the next tune, and my sound was awful!! I feel now that I am starting to get a very good sound. My F# still needs some more practice though 🙂
Hey Megan: It’s unfortunate that so many people had a similar negative experience with music. Consider yourself lucky that you were able to find it again. A lot of other folks might have just written off music forever. And for the record, I think the Suzuki books are actually pretty good…
I’m havin Fun!! Thanks to You
You’re welcome Scott!
The mothers on the Youtube video are the best! Polyvalent mothers: Playing and baby sitting at the same time ! Woh, what an immersive experience for the kids ! I love it…
Love this tune Thank You! There’s also a version without fiddle but great vocals on YouTube by Norma Waterson & Eliza Carthy from their album Gift that’s well worth a listen.
Not to take away from Fiddlehed, but, Matt Cranitch’s book covers this nicely, too! Cranitch uses the tune Kildare Fancy. I use this pattern in the second half of Planxty Drury.
Nice job, Jason!
Thanks much @Paul. Are you talking about The Irish Fiddle Book?
I don’t think I’m getting the newsletters. I am getting the emails.
I can’t imagine the tremendous amount of work u put into this practice journey but I find it overwhelming…any suggestions. I was looking for a tune just now but could not find the page with the learning chunks…tks.
Pity I didn’t know you’d changed time in Ca … ah well
I go to most of these, but was very happy to miss this one today. I was able to get a Jab rather than play a Jig! Catch ya on the reruns.
just want to say thank you Jason for all the great lessons so far. I’m doing the year subscription and its honestly the best thing I’ve ever bought 🙂
I’m not sure at what point I can say, “I know how to play”. after a song? or a number of songs? or a number of notes learned? who knows. but no matter what status I am at, my current 1.6, I’m looking forward to keep moving forward. And luckily for me, your lessons are making that possible. Thanks again!
Great lesson! The first time I’ve been able to join. Learned some things, and had a great time. Thanks!
Deb Swanson
This was a great lesson thanks, I wasn’t sure where to fit in the rolls & mordant in a tune and you answered it
Tom here in British Columbia.
Hi All,
Joanne here in southern England!
Let’s do this Irish thing!
Mary
Hi Jason,
Im still at the beginner stage but would like to watch and enjoy the music and be part of St Patricks Day celebrations!!
I may be watching mostly, too.
See you there- thanks!
I will be there with the wearin O the Green
I’ll be there !
Jason, are you barring across the strings when it goes from E1 to A1? That seems to be the only way to avoid it sounding choppy there.
Excelent!
Really wish I wasn’t missing this one. Happy St Patrick’s day !
Working on the lesson prep. Planning on being there!
Looking forward to it
See you there!
Yay, thanks for this lesson. Felt like I was there with you all, even though on the other side of the world and a week later. Now I’m going to check out the other lessons.
I’ll be there!!
Count me in- thanks
Rank beginner. Thought I should do this to improve. Get raked over coals. Family has been brutal 🤣😹.
Not sure where to post? 1st time.
I dig your practice space Chuck 👍
Jason is it possible to learn “Follow me up to Carlow”? I’m learning quite a lot from this coarse. Thanks
I would have stopped playing the fiddle at the start if I had to struggle only with the sheet music version of the note I guess. The tab is the tool that “hooked” me first.
Hey @julien, thanks much! I’ll continue to produce separate tabs for tunes.
I think part of the added value of your blog comes also from the tab approach? It is less ‘beginner repellent’ for a beginner with no musical culture / background.
Jason I don’t know about suppressing the snippets with the tab, I found them useful before to learn more quickly. It is cool to have:
– the fingering
– the slurs
– the tabs on the video when you play the part
– the looping tool and slowing tool
– the tab including the musical snippets (the one you suppressed) : as I have more difficulties to get the basic rythm from only the video.
With this option you give the learner the opportunity to chose when he knoes enough with the tab to jump to the note reading version and stop using the tab.
I understand it’s more work for you but that would be my favourite option.
Cool work you are doing there on the blog Jason much appreciated.
I don’t know if there is a need to redo all the slurring for the past sheet music, may be for the future only will do great 😉
In addition to the note above……I just used the picture in picture feature and LOVE IT!!!! Just what I was hoping for.
Now I can see and hear Jason, but also scroll through the whole lesson, sheet music, etc. at the same time.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, JASON !!!!
I have just started the basic and advanced versions of this lesson and appreciate the subtleties in each.
BUT, what I really like is the humor dispersed through each lesson. Thanks, Jason.
Hi, not feeling too well today, so just popping in to watch and see what these are about.
Looking forward to today’s student hangout and lessons! See you there….. Cindy
Looking forward to today’s gathering!
I noticed that during the last practice journey (Ballydesmond) there were quite of few people from my state. Is it possible that that could be the case in numerous states, or even small countries? It wouldn’t work in many cases, but Fiddleheds in a particular state or region might decide to have a fiddle “get together”, now that it’s getting close, weather-wise to make that feasible.I don’t know if there is a list of fiddleheds, showing location but……..just an idea.
I’ll be there. Looking forward to it!
The fingering is a great addition. It supplants the ‘tab’ and since I always try to learn a tune from the sheet music as quickly as possible after looking at the tab, because of the note timings, this will help to not refer to the tab early on.
Thanks for letting me know @nick. What if there was no tab, only detailed fingerings above the sheet music?
It is not a bad idea to let some notes without the fingering as it will train me to trust my reading. It might well be the winning combination to enhance gradually our note reading skills !
Great change keep it for the future Jason !
Adding the slurs is a cool thing you did too !
Hi Jason,
Thank you so much for adding the fingering, this will save me some time really! MUCH APPRECIATED
Cool, thanks for letting me know @julien. I’ll be adding slurs to all future lessons to. Somewhat intimidated about updating all sheet music though 😳
Planning on being there!
Sorry to miss it. Traveling. I’m looking forward to viewing the lesson later.
I would love to see this sheet music stationary. I need to learn it slowly before I jog along with the tempo. 🤪
@grannyfiddler Hello, thanks for providing this valuable feedback. Sorry for delay in reply. Could you explain what you mean by stationary sheet music for this tune? Has the sheet music been added since you made this comment? Thank you kindly. Happy fiddling 🎻
Thanks for this tune, it is really beautiful!
Our intermediate group will be practicing these tunes/duet tomorrow. Can’t wait!
The fiddle patterns of legends, these are the very foundations to practice until automatic.
That moment when your bow knows where the string is versus bowing at the string area, hahaha. Eureka!
I agree with Julia
I really enjoyed this practice journey. I just learned this tune for this lesson so didnt know it very well. I was really surprised how much this practice helped me. I was playing it so much better by the end of the lesson. Thanks Jason, looking forward to Saturday’s town hall.
Great lesson. I enjoyed adding the Dorian scales and transposing.
I am feeling more encouraged. Looking FORWARD to tomorrow’s practice! (UNBELIEVABLE!)
See you then
hi everyone! Checking in from the Lowcountry of SC!
Cindy
hello all!
Hello from Idaho. I am Amy. See ya soon!
Happy March 10th everyone!
Hey from Georgia. Beautiful spring day here. Lots of sunshine and blue skies.
Ready to hit it on Ballydesmond Polka. Been practicing three polks together – Ballydesmond, Kerry and Britches Full of Stitches. Trying to play each a 1000 times. In two weeks.
Mary
Hello! Beautiful day here. Tuning up!
David McClain ,In Loveland,Colorado big storm coming in Friday evening The forcast now is in feet not inches,I will have plenty of time to practice over the weekend.Ballydesmond Polka will be my Focus
Sunny noon in beautiful New Westminster, British Columbia
I’m from NE Oregon early level intermediate. Hi everybody see you soon
Looking forward to playing later, the plan to take part in the upcoming lesson has given me the motivation I’m lacking to just start playing…Thank you!
Hi from beautiful Florida on a lovely day! Happy that Jason’s holding this Group Lesson today. I’m posting this early greeting so that the Zoom sign in will go a little smoother.
Hello. I’m Patrice, and looking forward to being there at 12noon pacific time ( 8pm here in Lancaster, England )
Here’s hoping work stays clear. Been missing these classes. –Henry
Hello can’t wait
Hello
Hi there. See you tomorrow at 12:00 Pacific Time (correct?).
See you then
See you then
Fun but. Sheesh. Can’t figure out how to hit that high e4 when staying in first position. Not happening yet I think my fingers are too short.
I have really small hands and short fingers too so I feel your pain. It will get there. Your hand flexibility will improve over time. I do find that most of the time I cheat. I can’t keep my first and second fingers down and still hit the fourth finger accurately most of the time…..so I pick up fingers 1 and 2, anchor with the 3, and then play the fourth fine. Because of some arthritis pain in my first finger on my left hand I find I pick up that finger a lot unless it’s actually needed to finger a note.
One thing that helps in this song is that the fourth finger on the E plays B flat (low fourth) instead of having to reach all the way to play the full B!
Ready to practice with my peeps. Been working on two Irish jigs and Tn. Waltz – tried some double stops!
The clouds have cleared and it’s sunny.
Mary
Fun duets, enjoyed the sounds and your singing along. This lesson left me feeling very upbeat that fiddle can be made simple enough to learn small steps that later will be solid to build upon.
All tuned up, ready to go!
Just starting, very happy to have found your lessons. I love bagpipes with fiddle. There is a bagpipe app and I thought it was so cool. What’s even more exciting is that you offer DRONES!! I am giddy that the drones play as I tune up and practice. Such an incentive and the Two Minute Rule goes along with so many tasks adults have to drudge thru daily. Two Minute Dishwasher unload, lol.
I’m in. See you then.
Thank you for getting us through this first module of lessons. You are an excellent teacher and encourager.
I’ll be there March 6
I’ll be there with the other Strung Alongs!!! 🙂 (Our “band” name courtesy of Owen) 🙂
Can’t wait for this lesson!!!
Very disappointed that I missed last week but am really looking forward to joining with whoever will take me.
I’m in.
Hi Jason. I’m trying to learn the duet. The tabs and sheet music don’t match, I usually play by ear and I couldn’t use the play along track and tabs together. the 4th quarter in both A and B are different from what you are playing.
This is what I hear:
A part 4th quarter: D0 -0-G1-D1-D0-0-G1-1
B part 4th quarter: D0-0-G1-D1-0
I’m starting to read sheet music but not very good at it. Which one is correct?
This song is too much fun! Trying to speed learn a few before vaccines in case all I get to do for a bit is listen practice!
I have succeeded in making a sandwich while holding my fiddle. …. my kids worry about my sanity, …. but what’s new about that… 😉
Wow I thought my fingertips were pretty hardened from daily playing but these exercises really make them sting! I wonder if I’m pressing too hard, I guess you don’t need to apply any more pressure than normal?
The hardest part for me so far is getting my pinky to be relaxed on my bow. I’ve had this issue even when I took lessons. It is very difficult! Today was also my first time learning tremolo! I thought this was difficult as well, but also you made it enjoyable at the same time.
Wasn’t expecting 4th finger 🙂 Nice surprise 🙂 Will take a bit to get used to it!
Hello Jason, Thank you for this lesson:
– two questions:
a) What can be done to avoid moving the violin while trying the vibrato?
b) My second finger when trying the vibrato is sometimes moving closer to the bridge… when I guess it should not. Any idea to counter that?
Best,
Julien
I’m pretty good at calling up tunes and their names, but I’m struggling with some of the Irish ones. I’m sure it’s because so many of them are new to me and they aren’t in the proper parts of my brain yet. I’ve been thinking of a good way to get the tunes in the courses in one place so I can play them in the background, check on their names, maybe play along, like on an mp3 so it can be on my device. I’ve thought of going out and buying them one by one, though right now I’d prefer them to match up closer to what I’m learning than say, at breakneck speed, or in medleys. Is there a plan perhaps to put learning mp3s on the site? Or are they there and I haven’t found them yet?
I heard Mike talk about his difficulty with vibrato whereby he can manage the hand movement in guitar position but not in fiddle position. I have exactly the same issue. I can’t fix it (yet) but It seems that when I move to fiddle position my left index finger creeps in and touches the neck of the fiddle. For me at least, I think this is the difference which makes it so hard. It seems as though I need to reposition my left hand so that I’m not touching the neck other than on the thumb. Definitely a work in progress but I’d be interested in Mike’s take on this idea.
Signing in for a practice session from overcast, foggy Georgia.
Mary
Three of us gals formed a group. We’ve had 2 sessions already! It is really good to see, hear and play with others. We’re on Zoom for 40 minutes each Friday. I know I’m encouraged to learn and play better.
checkin in!!!
Looking forward to this. It has helped to play for others.
Oops
I am so glad that you posted the video in archives so I can review often. It helped me see positioning my left hand better and not supporting violin with the left hand as much. Also, kudos to you all brave enough to speak out! You actually asked several of the questions that I had on my mind.
I am so glad that you posted the video in archives so I can review often. It helped me see positioning my left hand better and not supporting violin with the left hand as much. Also, kudos to you all brave enough to speak out! You actually asked several of the questions that I had on my mind,;
I learned a lot from the session. It will take practice for me, as the motion takes some getting used to. Getting first finger off of fingerboard is also a great tip. Also, thanks for posting each session you, (errr… we ) do in the archives so that we can review as often as we want !
Hi Jason and WyoBob. I wear a hearing aid too and find that I play better without it.
Something is drastically wrong with the D Dorian scale. It seems like D major but even then the intonation is off.
will you post a video of this lesson?
Fairy Dance was a lot of fun to pluck along to! Really enjoying this 😊
Thanks for extending the lesson 15 minutes. For me the obstacle is getting my left hand free enough to move. I partially support the neck of the violin between my thumb and pointer finger.
Glad I caught you for a few minutes, even for the oopsie typo noon time. It was the perfect fiddle 5 minute lunch break.
thanks
bernie
Great lesson,!
I’m listening. May be too advanced for me but I’m gonna listen. I’m at 2.2
Mary
hello, mike here. getting ready to learn some vibrato
Hello there! I’m going to listen to this workshop while I’m at work.
Having fun with Fiddlehed!!!
Hi, Carolyn here in Florida. Happy to be in this session!
Hello! This is Jane from SC. Looking forward to learning how to learn this technique!
Looking forward to the lesson! Patty
Hi, I’m Joanne in England, UK. Looking forward to the lesson
Howdy from Wyoming! I’m just getting into the vibrato lessons… so excited to finally be working on this! Looking forward to the session today,
Patty
Hello looking forward to this. I am defeated by the vibrato 🙁
Debbie in Virginia. I’ve been working on this for a while.
As pointed out by peggydobro and PBattler above, there is a problem with the second half of the B part having been chopped off on every other run through the song on the full playalong track. Would be great if that could be rectified.
Hello! Tom here from British Columbia. Looking forward to tomorrow’s session!
Hi Tom. I’m originally from B.C. – born and raised in New West. Whereabouts are you?
Jason, will you be doing a vibrato lesson for beginners?
Hello all!
New Fiddlehead member here. I started playing the violin when I was in elementary school all the way up until 8th grade! Still don’t think I was all that great. I played on my great, great uncle’s 70+ year old violin my mother got refurbished.
15 years later I decided to pick up the violin again as my husband plays a musical instrument and I want to be able to jam with him and his friends. I started taking lessons with an instructor, but sadly 2 months in covid struck. I stopped playing until about a week ago the spark finally came back 😊
Excited to start this journey!
enjoying learning this tune, open to joint practice if anyone wants to
This is useful, I have the same problem with the 2nd quarter of Kesh Jig in the A part. I’ll try the exercises given here & also the tip on the bow angle, thank you for sharing!
Something by Ole Bull
Jason, thank you for this wonderful series!
looove this!!
I like the recommendation to sing, are the words to the songs somewhere on your site?
Great idea, Amy. We’ll work on adding lyrics
Thought the sandwich video was hilarious!! I use an app on my phone called Cleartune to help tune my fiddle, another good one is n-Track Tuner 😊
Jason, could you change it so that the latest posts are at the top please? Or does everyone like it this way?
Good idea @babsnicolson. I just asked our developer to change this.
Thank you Bernadette and Jason for the town hall meeting today and for helping us connect in groups.
I apologize for any distraction, as I was on a double fiddle mission this afternoon. I had already planned to attend the local county fair in Florida to see an inspiring fiddler, and when the Town Hall came up I figured I’d multi-task and Zoom into that from the fairgrounds on my iPad.
It was halfway through the meeting before I realized that the camera on the back of the iPad is not in the same location as the camera on the front of the iPad. So I thought I had my finger over the camera but there were probably a lot of weird scenes instead… the ground, the pigs, the ducks, the stage. My apologies!
At least now I understand those strange news stories about people who accidentally broadcast inappropriate content during Zoom meetings and classes.
I’m Grace, 85 and forgetful. I missed the town hall and am very upset with myself. I hope it gets rerun like the other sessions. I’m going to start putting these FH dates in my reminders with high alerts so I don’t miss any more. I’m in central NY and very much want to join a group. Our jam group hasn’t met for almost a full year and I miss it terribly. I’ve had my violin for a little over 3 years and would have lost my mind during this isolation without it. I sew but not nearly as much as I used to and love gardening and birding. I’m set up to see the feeder from my fiddle corner. Best of both worlds.
I’m Terry from New Mexico . I’m signed in as Nick, for reasons too boring to explain, but I do show up as Terry, with a blank screen , on Jason’s Zoom lessons and can receive audio and video okay but am still working on getting my old desk top computer to be capable of showing my own audio/video. Until then I can’t participate in any type of Zoom but always watch the lessons. I’m considering buying a new lap top to solve the problem.
I signed up with Jason’s lessons last June when I first picked up the fiddle. Have been playing 5 string banjo longer than most of you have been alive, lol, and mandolin much later. The fiddle inspired me to learn to read music, irrelevant for the banjo, not too necessary for the mandolin. I listen mostly to old time music but the fiddle has inspired me to delve into Irish and presently working on Road to Lisdoonvarna and Swalow Tail Jig. I find intonation to be one of the two things most necessary for me to practice, the other being able to hold the bow straight while still observing the ‘relaxed right hand ‘ dictate.
For intonation practice I find the Intonia app to be very helpful. Intonia.com. Free for the phone, Google store, $25 one-time fee for the computer version with record/playback capabilities and other advanced features. I see online that several Classical teachers also recommend it.
Hi – Cindy here from outside of Charleston SC.
I’ve been playing under 2 years, but it feels like the first year twice. I’ve been working on Hector and Ashokan Farewell, as well as reviewing playing the songs I learned over the first year. I also play mandolin, guitar, and dulcimer and am learning banjo now as well as Native American flute. Not much else going on during this pandemic time. I used to jam with my guitar and mandolin, but haven’t been to a jam in a year. I’m looking forward to finding people to practice and play with.
Hi Cindy!
My son and his wife live in Charleston, I’m in Columbia. Glad to see you on FiddleHed. Maybe we can meet at a music festival around Charleston when this pandemic retreats. Sounds like you are very fluent in a variety of instruments.
Later- Jane
Thank you for doing this!!!!!
I’m Nigel from Wales, UK. I’ve been playing for about 12 months after coming across an old fiddle by accident and getting it working again. I learned to read music many years ago but stopped doing anything musical other than listen for 50 years. I thought it was time to get back to it and it’s quite surprising what you can remember learning as a child. The Irish/Celtic tunes from Jason I find really enjoyable but I’m happy to learn to play just about anything.
I started playing in third grade. I’m 36 now, so somewhere around 27 or 28 years now. I play a lot of different instruments but fiddle was always my first love and the one I play most as an adult. Grew up at bluegrass festivals, played old time with my mom (who is also on fiddlehed now. Lol). Mostly self taught after a year in third grade of the Suzuki method. In college I scraped together enough money for a couple years of occasional private lessons with a well known bluegrass fiddler that corrected enough of my habits that I made it through my first fiddle contest. That was about fifteen years ago. Now I mostly play by myself and occasionally in small jams. I have a lot of doubt in myself and my playing and feel stuck most of the time, mostly because other than learning tune after tune, I don’t feel like I’ve actually improved my playing in over a decade. I’ve been using fiddlehed resources (the free ones) for years and years….and decided to go all in and support Jason’s work, which I believe in, and try to push through some walls this year and learn some techniques I’ve failed at and avoided over the years like vibrato. I’m hoping to support less experienced fiddlers, stay inspired, and learn some new things.
Apparently Jason said we are supposed to put some other things we are in to. I’m an ultra runner and love the outdoors. I’m a writer and regularly try to pack way too much into my day. Fiddling is my meditation.
Tom here in British Columbia, Canada. I made my first fiddle note (sound – likely not a note) in 2018 at age 60, after I retired from a career in civil engineering and local government administration. My previous musical instrument was clarinet in school band MANY years ago. Though there is really nothing in common with the two instruments, I have retained a basic knowledge of music theory and can read sheet music. After flailing around for a few months on the fiddle, I joined FiddleHeds about 2 years ago in early 2019. I am not doing lessons in a linear approach, so I am currently dabbling in several modules ranging from 1.10 to 2.9 and have touched on a few lessons in the Irish Fiddle Journeys module.
On past trips to Ireland, Scotland and Nova Scotia, I fell in love with Celtic and maritime fiddle music, which launched my personal fiddle journey. Other than fiddle and travel (hopefully again soon) I am usually active in community theatre (directing, acting and set construction)
which is also on hold with Covid 🙁
Hi! Nancy here. Live in KY and I started playing last spring. I have worked through the course and I am just starting module 2.1. I can read music but never had touched a violin before. Really enjoy playing! FiddleHed is a great course and resource.
Hi, Debbie in Virginia. I’ve been playing for about 3 years. For 2 years I had an in person teacher once a month. I’ve since done online and settled on fiddlehed a few months ago. It’s been great!
Hi Debbie…where are you in VA…its a big state! Im in SW VA…Va Tech.
Hi, Mike here. I’ve been building /making violins for about six years. I’ve been learning to play for four or five years. Been a fiddlehed for a long time. I live in southwestern Va. A little shy on motivation due to not being able to get together with others to play some music.
Oh Hi Mike…where in SW VA are you? I am a Fiddlehed member for 1. 5 years and live in Blacksburg. Very shy to play with others…
Hi Karen here in Iowa. Played since 4th grade. 50 years I guess. Just into fiddling. Had some fiddle lessons 40 years ago. Looking for motivation to keep at it and willing to share support to newer players.
My mom and grandparents are from Iowa, little town of Alta near Storm Lake. Fond memories of Iowa.
That’s little!!!
LOL… yes it is
My name is Jack Ryan, I’ve always wanted to play the fiddle but with career, family and all, kept putting it off. I inherited my grandfathers violin several years ago and spent much effort and capital restoring it to its original grandeur. All of a sudden it seemed that maybe I could learn to play on some level. My only regret is not taking the first step sooner. I’ve traveled the road of various online instruction as well as private teachers. Thankfully I found Jason and his FiddleHed site. I knew I had found a home. Jason is an awesome teacher with exceptional talent. I have no illusions of ever being exceptional but the progress FiddleHed has provided me is beyond satisfying.
Hi, my name is Christie. I took lessons for 10 years, then got kind of burned out, but never quit playing. Now I am trying to improve again & get inspired like I used to be
My name is Penny Lormand and I have a little knowledge of the fiddle. I’m78 years old and started learning to play a fiddle at the age of 68 when I retired. I played for a little while then haven’t picked up my fiddle in years. So I want to get back into learning. I’m also learning to play the mandolin. I’m from Lafayette, Louisiana.
Practice while walking the dog.
There were no office hours for Jan. and Feb. of 2012?
There were no office hours for Jan. and Feb. of 2012?
Correction — 2021
Hi. Please note that the in Miss McCleod’s – Basic Lesson, Full TABS, Part B, 3rd quarter is incorrect. Looks like it was copied from Part B, 2nd quarter. Got thrown off playing with the play along track and noticed it. Really enjoy the Irish lessons!
What a great article. Just what I needed to not sell all my violins! I will just enjoy playing fiddle tunes to my best ability, probably much slower that how others play, but at 71 (and playing for only 6 years) I am going to just enjoy the music I can make. I so enjoy fiddlehed, Jason. You make the songs fun to play.
It was nice to have an evening practice option. I’m still working during the Covid pandemic (thankfully), but wanted to say I appreciate this site immensely! I have somewhere to go and learn as little, or as much as I want. Now that I say it “out loud”, a little doesn’t seem like the best choice. I practiced for an hour today before the lesson. It felt great to enjoy my instrument again and to cherish the sounds we make together (before the old strings misbehaved). I have improved leaps and bounds-taking back what I lost for the years not playing. 1000 Thank you’s for all the hard work that goes into this gentle place of learning to play again!
Loved the improv part of the lesson jason thanks for doing the lesson with us
Hey lost my signal sorry breakout room
Hello, from wintry NM! I just started learning to play in November- and this tune today- so I did not feel prepared for part b, yet. Learning one of the polkas on module 1…and I don’t have time for other hobbies right now but when it’s not a pandemic I love to contra dance. Part of the reason for learning to play the fiddle now!
Rebecca signing in from MO
Hi Just found put about this!
Hi. I’m Lisa
I’ve only made it one group practice, and I’m excited to get to join another!
I live in Tacoma, have many hobbies – I spin yarn, knit, and do lots of other fun “old time hobbies”. I’m currently learning to turn wood, and am looking forward to having creating a woodworking space.
My fiddle keeps coming out of tune (I think it’s the big temperature changes or I need new strings)….so I’m hoping for the best.
Signing in for lesson. Judy
Where are you from?
New Westminster, BC Canada
What are you currently learning?
Hector the Hero, Ashoka Farewell, Blackest Crow variations, Big Scioty, Angeline the Baker
What hobbies or other fun stuff are you into right now?
Clawhammer banjo, paying for a renovation on my condo
love this tune, long walks, naps, books on rainy days and finding folks to fiddle with. see ya there
Signing on as Karen
In Iowa, freezing. Sewing in free time
Played violin forever. Just starting to fiddle
Good to see some folks signing in already!
Sitting in tonight,first session learning to Navigate the system. ,I am from Loveland ,Colorado and yes it is cold here tonite.I am working on the Kerry Polka. I guess I am into my Irish roots learning Irish language .Fiddelhed has changed my Motivation to learn and practice .
Learning Kerry Polka also!
Hi! This lesson will be a stretch for me. I just started playing fiddle at the beginning of January but I do read music because I played piano and clarinet as a kid and young adult. I’m about to move on to beginner module 1.3 but last night I checked it out and I can play some of it so we’ll see. At least I’ll get to connect with some other fiddlers. I live in Ohio but I’m from Massachusetts. We’re getting a killer ice and snow storm tonight so hopefully I won’t lose power. I’m a hospice chaplain. Along with music I enjoy hiking and camping and my dogs. Looking forward to meeting everyone.
Looking forward to this!
looking forward to it. Thanks for the reminder to do the time conversion- I will be joining at 9 pm local time, and presumably in the middle of a nice big snowstorm. Local is mid-NH, right on the VT border. We have a lively traditional music scene in these parts.
I have been fiddling about ten years (doesn’t feel like it!- or seem like it results wise). Currently working on Shandon Bells- for my local group class, although lately I’ve been really loving playing Indian point, and learning the Fiddlehed Wagon Wheel breaks. Wagon Wheel one of the main reasons I started, but never really made any headway learning it until now.
Tune request for future: OCMS’s James’ River Blues, or any other more “modern” music.
I am going to make this lesson tonight. I’ve always wanted to join in, but the timing never seemed to work out. I am so excited to try this format, I hope I can figure out the tech part of it. I’m from Missouri. 😁
I hope to make the lesson tonight!
Finally memorized (mostly) the Blackest Crow. Undecided whether I will continue memorizing tunes. I am sure it is good for me(nearly 70). We’ll see…..
Just listened really closely to the recording and realized what is written isn’t exactly as played. What is played is just like the the first ending with the last eighth note of the shuffle pattern becoming part of the up bow pick up into the B part.
I would like to see more tunes with advanced variations. Ideas breed new ideas. Learning different variations often kick start self creativity. I find myself searching other sites for tunes with fiddlin flair. Maybe some tunes with specific hoedown variations that I can apply elsewhere in my music. Just my thoughts.
Can’t believe I picked up a fiddle for the first time 5 days ago and today I played a tune. Loving it!
I really enjoyed the lesson on Wednesday. It was my first group lesson. I plan to repeat the lesson on Monday evening. I hope we can do some more work on variations! From Columbia, SC!
I’m really looking forward to these group lessons, but would it be possible to record them so that we can go back to them later? Or are they already available to members and I just don’t know where to find them?
Did you find it, Heidi? They are posted as ‘archived practice journeys’ at the lower part of ‘Let’s learn together’. It took me a while to realize they’re there. It takes a bit of time for Jason to process the latest lesson and get it posted but he’s doing a great job on them. I hope you’re ahead of me on this but if not, I also hope this helps.
LOL. I knew that would make you happy, Jason.
Thanks for this! Now, my son on guitar and I can play a duet he will enjoy!
Hi Betty, I just saw this. It’s been sitting here unanswered for a while and you probably already figured it out, but if not:
If you’re playing in the Key of D Major (2 sharps, F# and C#), yes the song would be built generally using the notes of the D major scale.
Does it mean every note you play in that song will be found in the D major scale? Often, but not always. That’s a guideline that can be broken with an “accidental”, and accidentals often bring a striking and beautiful twist to a melody. A good example comes about 3/4 of the way through Ashokan Farewell played in D major. There is a dramatic C natural held for for a long duration, and it feels like the climax of the song. The C natural is an accidental here, and of course the D major scale contains a C sharp, not a C natural.
Well, it’s been a long time, but this morning I finally started working on the 2nd article in this series. It will cover Old Time Fiddle history. Stay tuned!
Yay 😀
I only started learning this tune yesterday & thought it sounded familiar from somewhere/sometime. My husband looked it up here & it’s only the music I walked down the aisle to!! Oops! 🤣🤣
Amazing!
That is SO cool that this is the first lesson you posted to YouTube!! I saw it the other day and then found this lesson here. I did think the look of the video and your teaching were quite different, but I didn’t know it was the first lesson ever. Way cool.
I missed it this morning! Will I be able to watch it later?
What a wonderful tune with so much to learn here! I didn’t stay because I hadn’t learned the tune yet, but will work on it now that I have seen the lesson. Thanks for introducing Hector!! Now I have to find out the origins of this lovely tune!
Hi from Oliver BC
Hi, Sarah B…… excited about lesson!
Hello from Snowy Cold Wyoming!
Good afternoon from sunny Georgia today. Feels like spring here.
Mary
Steeeretch little pinky!! You can do it!
Sorry I will miss this. I’ll be driving then. Looking forward to vibrato!
Completed!4
Did you notice the video starts with suggesting play the D major scale but the tune is actually in G major. Any particular reason for this?
I made a mistake in the video. It’s G major. Sorry for the confusion…
Completed!
The link to the PDF version is broken.
Yes! I enjoyed the drone module, will try some more!
I love this! I can’t play it without laughing, it may become my signature tune I think! Thank you 😊
Super goofy question, but I feel like I missed this when I started, and months later I don’t know what the various color codes mean in the tabs. ??
When a line is the same colour as another line it means the notes are the same. Therefore in Part A the 1st and 3rd quarters are red because they are the same pattern, exactly the same notes. The 2nd quarter is a different colour, and the 4th should be a different colour (though in my light they look the same!)
The Part B shows 1st and 3rd quarters the same colour green – therefore the same notes. In the 2nd and 4th quarters the first parts are blue are the same notes but change colour to show there is a variation to the pattern at the end. Hope that helps!
I find it helpful because I can see at a glance the pattern, which makes it quicker to learn when you realise the parts that are repeated and it helps ‘fingerprint’ or memorise the song.
I do struggle with long slow notes so I’m thinking the OMB exercise should help with this but it sounds terrible 🤣🤣🤣
the d dorian scale seems like a d major scale when you listen to it- something is very wrong there, of course- perhaps with me?
yes-in the B flat scale, somewhere halfway through, the F’s get a bit sharp- not like an F#, just a bit sharp- and some of the notes right after.
Check what appears when you Google ‘string violin chart’. There is a diagram recapitulating the qualities of different strings. When the strings do not resonate after you have been playing them, you can start thinking about changing them (dead sound tone referred to by Jason).
It would be helpful, if the lessons and the library included the words. I don’t know the words by heart, and have to look them up. To have them printed with the music would be a big help. Thanks. Angela
I was on the road and completely missed this, but maybe next time. Sounds like fun! Thanks for your dedication Jason!
I always wanted to play the fiddle but with family and career always put it off. When I retired I picked up a fiddle and never looked back. Actually I surprise myself with my progress. I play everyday and love the way Jason teaches.
The Battle of the Somme is another Scottish Lament that goes quit well with Hector the Hero. You can find it on the website:https://thesession.org/tunes/2923
Here is a Youtube
The midi file on The Session plays it way too fast. It should be a slow lament, the way it is performed on the YouTube video
I have a copy of the music with bowings in pdf if anyone wants it
I missed the session also. Sounds like fun. I don’t have audio/video output capability from my old computer but can watch the zoom sessions. I may be one of the oldest players here, retired from the Air Force, aircraft mechanic, then retired from the computer industry, electrical engineer, and now vow to stay retired ! Play clawhammer banjo, off and on, for 57 years !, mandolin for about 10 years and now am in my ‘fiddle journey’ for 8 months, so of course still sound pretty bad, but Jason’s lessons and tunes are a real help. Currently working on Road to Lisdoonvarna, and Swallowtail Jig. I’ll Fly Away and Angeline the Baker , among others that I have ‘brought over’ from the mandolin. After I’ve been playing for a year or so I’ll tackle vibrato, most teaches say to wait at least that long before attempting it. As an aside, the best tool I’ve found for practicing intonation is a phone app called Intonia. Free to download from Google store. There is also a computer version with more features but the phone version is really all you need and is THE best intonation tool I’ve found.
So decided to review Hector. Haven’t done it in a long while. Then decided I would attempt to play some harmonies along with the play-along track. REALLY enjoyed that. I don’t know much about theory but hear harmony and know chords. So it was crazy fun. Will try that again on an older tune that I already know well.
Hi Jason, just a heads up, the play along track on 6.1 and a few of the others aren’t matching up with the music it says it should be. The lessons are so awesome though.
So far, the hardest part of bowing is that I tense up my right elbow when the speed picks up–I just keep checking in with myself to relax my arms and shoulders. I definitely hold my breath too (in all aspects of life—not just fiddling haha!), so I need to be conscious of that as well.
I’m Grace in a small village in central New York and I missed today’s session! I somehow didn’t know this was happening or had a senior moment and am really disappointed with myself for not being part of it. I hope this has some sort of recording so I can at least watch after the fact. I tripped onto it two hours too late. I hope it’s a running thing that I can do another time. The group sessions I’ve been able to join have been a tremendous lift from Covid lockdown. A huge thank you Jason. You are putting a tremendous amount of time and effort into your teaching. I’m working very hard on Hector the Hero adding variation and the first couple OBS lessons along with steady review of many of the pieces in the lessons I’ve worked my way through and my Bluegrass Gospel book. I also sew, and garden when it’s warm enough.
Hi, I’m Ed from Aptos, Ca. I’m replying after the session. Really enjoyed today’s hangout. Will do more. From today’s session inspired to learn more tunes(I’ll Fly Away, Flop Eared Mule, Kerfunkin(spelling?) Gig) Currently working on Lover’s Waltz. I also have simple versions of the following in my very limited repertoire: Red Haired Boy, Wind that Shakes the Barley, Drowsy Maggie, Solder’s Joy, Ashokan Farewell, June Apple, Boatsman, Tennessee Waltz, and Amazing Grace. I need to play with other folks, work on my timing, note reading, vibrato for sure, in short…everything:>).
Look forward to the next session.
I am Barbara from North Devon in SW England. I love anything to do with the sea and art. It was good to meet you all. It’s certainly a journey playing violin. It helps to take my mind off of the crazy world at the moment. Who can think about Covid when you have to get your fingers, bow, strings and arm in the right place to be able to make a half decent sound?
I was late to the group hangout today but really enjoyed it. Thanks to Group 3 .. the best group ever 🙂
Hi,I’m Sarah from Pittsburgh….I’m starting my second year with FiddleHed. Playing with all of you has helped me to feel more comfortable playing for others, and a nudge to keep practices going so that I really know the tunes I’m playing. I wanted to say that the call-and-response exercises really help me to learn where the notes are (on the fiddle), so if then listening to new tunes, I can play along. Thanks again to my group and to you, Jason.
really enjoyed this thank you and nice to meet my group too
Thanks to my group folks! It was great hearing you all!
Mary, been playing about a year and half. Working on Module 2.2. fourth finger, separate 1 slur. working on Flop Eared Mule and Kesh Jig. I write when I’m not fiddling.
Hi, I’m Jeannette, from Nottingham, England. I’ve just been playing for 4 months now so am a real beginner. Working on Hector the Hero and trying to use my 4th finger … in tune!! As well as the fiddle, I play the Saxophone … also badly! I love to crochet, ride motorbikes and would normally be in the Alps at this time of year, skiing. I’m quite good at all of those. My aim is to be as good on the fiddle!
Hi my name is Maggie. Im learning Irish tunes. My other interest is using leaves and flowers to naturally dye material and paper. I live in a rural area 2and a half hours from Melbourne Victoria Australia
Hi!, I’m Carolyn, from Redding California. I’m working on Kerfunken, Off to Ca, Banshee.
I play Old Time Clawhammer Banjo, and I’m a home brewer.
Hi I’m Joanne from the new forest in england. i’ve been playing about 18months currently working on 4th finger & crossing. current tunes are tam lin and harvest home, swallowtail. i sold my triathlon business a couple of years ago so trying out retirement. i still love cycling and running
It was good to meet you
And you too Barbara! It’s funny we are so close we spend a lot of time in North Devon around Woolacombe!
Maybe we could practise together sometime? Do you cold water swim?
Hi, I’m Carol. I’m working on I’ll Fly Away.
I’m studying to be a melitologist, which is learning about bees and so I volunteer with the Oregon Bee Atlas tracking wild bee populations. I live outside Portland Oregon.
Hi, I’m Debbie. I am currently working on Rights of Man. I’m a retired art teacher/gallery employee. I have been playing for 3 years. For 2 years I saw a teacher once a month. I have been doing online and FH for a couple of months. I live in Suffolk VA.
Love that!!
Hi my name is Eimear, and I hope to join the student hangout this Jan 31st.
I am working on Orange Blossom, finding it very challenging. It’s a work in progress as is everything. Recently learned Flop Eared Mule and House of the Rising Sun. Trying to be relaxed when I play and experiment with double-stopping and improvisation.
Living in the west of Ireland. Work in admin. My hobbies include drawing/ making things (recently made half an igloo with my 4 year old with the bit of snow that fell last weekend). Musically, I would love to reach a ‘stage’ where I feel comfortable playing with groups:-)
Hi everyone, I’m Kenni Hamp. I’m fairly new at fiddling, so please forgive my squeaks. I’m currently working on Kerry Polka and Bile em Cabbage Down with variations. I have also learned Rocky Top and Swallowtail Jig even though they are a bit hard for me. I just love the tunes. I am still learning the basics. I am decent at slurs and just doing my best to practice as much as possible!
I have always loved the fiddle because I grew up as an Irish dancer. Now, I do taekwondo and I am a junior high teacher. I live in Edmonton, AB… Only a few short hours from the Rockies where I love to spend weekends. Edmonton has an old time fiddle group that meets once a week for a jam (during non covid times) and my goal is to get comfortable enough to play with them by my one year fiddle-iversary in December 2021.
My name is Tom Szalay. Looking forward to the hangout session!
I recently been working on variations to Hector the Hero, but I’ll save that for the online group lesson scheduled on Feb 10. Otherwise, today I dusted off an old waltz from 1918, “Til We Meet again”, by Richard Whiting, which also goes by the title “Smile the While”. It tells the story of a young soldier saying goodbye to his sweetheart as he heeds out to fight in The Great War. The music has some accidentals and some sweet slides built into the basic version. It is written in D major, played mostly on the A and E strings, which is how I learned it. Now I am mellowing it out by transposing down to G major.
I live in Oliver, BC, Canada, about 400 km drive inland from Vancouver and about 25 km north of the USA border, at Oroville, WA. Besides fiddle, my hobbies include community theatre (acting, directing and set construction), photography, poster design and cycling.
it was good to meet you.
You too.. Take care and keep fiddling!
this is a really good exercise- except the audio files are titled with the name of the tune- spoiler alert!
Hi, I’m Sharlene, I hope I can join the student hangout session Jan 31. One of my goals this year was to play with people so thanks for being here guys. I am relatively new to FiddleHed, I have been roaming around the site and am currently working on double stops and the tune St. Anne’s Reel.
I also am learning acoustic guitar with Tony Polecastro online in case there are any TAC members out there, hey!
I live in Boulder City, NV which is in the Las Vegas area. If anyone else is around here, I would love to figure out how to jam together, safely of course 😉
Completely agree with Melissa Rice above. My hoedown sounds a bit boring, yours has a great groove to it. I suspect the magic is in loosening up my wrist more, but no amount of practice seems to be getting me there (I’m not a beginner). Any pointers as to how to unlock one’s wrist would be greatly appreciated.
My other concern is ,My volume on video is not loud enough .I hear very well, other lessons come in ,sometimes to loud . Volume is set at 100%.,What can i do to increase volume?
It will be interesting to see how this evolves as you and other FiddleHeds offer feedback…
Like the new setup, Jason!
So now I’m part of a genuine Fiddle community … how cool is that?
Thanks Jason and the team … great job!
Mike
Can’t wait to check these out!
28 Jan 2021- Previous Lesson > D Major Scale Variations is a broken link
Thanks Maggie, it’s helpful to know these things for us to fix. Enjoy the fiddle journey~
I like the speed change for practice . When you put chart in right corner , should be able to see this more than once when trying to follow
Would also like to be able to loop certain sections of lesson without stopping and starting video i’m trying to learn by playing by ear cannot read music. some one told me once that if I could read music, I’d be dangerous ha ha !
I’m liking the changes!
Last month I was messing around with ways to turn to Silent Night into a fiddle tune..
Just a note:: In the first quarter of the B Part (Bars 10 and 11 on the sheet music) there is a discrepancy in Bar 10:
– The sheet music and the tabs for bar 10 go E4-L2-4-4-L2-4 (B-G-B-B-G-B)
– In the video lesson you play this as E4-L2-4-4-3-L2 (B-G-B-B-A-G)
– Then in the “Play Along Track- Full Tune” audio snippet, it is played as E4-L2-4-4-L2-4 (B-G-B-B-G-B) again.
I guess this just proves your point that there is no “correct” way to play these traditional jigs. I prefer the video lesson version. Sounds better to me, and as a bonus, there is one less stretch up to E4 🙂
Reference to Bar 10… should be Bar 11
second exercise shows G- A instead of A- G
Literally (in a totally literal sense) in awe of how easy you just made this. I’ve been working at getting vibrato for a few months and now I’m get it. Like REALLY get it. (Aha moment, little kensho, shazam!)
So happy right now.
Hey @jameseke, glad to hear this. I never know how useful a lesson or course is until it’s released.
Keep me posted on your progress with vibrato.
Six years ago I bought a Becker 1000 violin at a thrift store for $150. I absolutely love this instrument. I added a new bridge – Paititi – and added Dominant 135B medium strings. The sound was significantly improved. What a joy to play!
The first fiddle I bought cost $15 new on Ebay, including shipping. I bought a Mel Bay book, ” You Too Can Play The Fiddle!” .For over a year I played with the strings tuned in reverse. Sounded OK at the time – even played at open mike nights. Thankfully, a lot of alcohol was flowing…..
Ray White
Spring Hill , Florida
FYI. Looks like the sound loops for 1.4, 1.5 and 1.6 don’t match the score and are more advanced. Maybe the next lesson?
I don’t think 1.1, 1.2. 1.2 match the sound loops. Any chance they could be fixed?
Absolutely love this tune, thank you!
Hi Jason!
Just wanted to tell you that you are a shining light in these pandemic times. When I am feeling low you are always there with your silly sense of humor while teaching something I LOVE partaking in. And you are really good at it! Thank you so so much!!!
With fiddle love,
Gail
Yay! Love this. Perfect level of challenge and beautiful tune.
Why is there not an (A2-3) at the beginning of first quarter A part but I hear it in the play along track?
Gwych. Diolch.
Thanks, I have sung this song in a choir for years, but never tried it on the fiddle. Now I am learning to play by ear it is great to play it as well as sing it.
Thank you, thank you, thank you —— I’ve been waiting for this. This is soooo fine !!!!!!!
I looked at Fiddlershop, and while they ship free to USA, their shipping cost to Canada would have been crazy expensive. I bought my electric fiddle from Kennedy Violins in Vancouver WA and was happy with the product and the personal, on the phone service answering all my questions before I bought. Same idea as Fiddlershop: made overseas and set up in their Vancouver shop. They also offer free in-home trials for the cost of shipping.
For acoustics, I purchased from http://www.fiddleheads.ca/. Rihannon was very helpful. She ships worldwide from Canada (Kamloops, BC). My purchase was craft made in china and set up by a local Luthier.
I think you should have played the first ending slower on the b part.
Ok Jason, I’m ready to get started. I choose you because you answered all my questions. I need to learn bluegrass songs. I know how to tune my violin/fiddle. I know amazing grace, how great tho art, I’ll fly away etc….where should I begin, beginners or intermediate? Just not sure! I need to chose the right lesson for my money! Thanks!
Ps: I also know how to play guitar, some banjo and piano.
Caught this lesson on the replay. I really feel like I could better “feel the music”. Thank you! You are a wonderful teacher!! FUN!!!
My main acoustics are a Modified 1999 Franz Werner S800 Violin and a Yamaha V3
My electrics are a Fender FV1 (White) & FV3 (Sunburst)
is there a way to get past 89% ? I finished reflections and fiddle fiddle little star, but stays at 89
I am not able to do most of the “classes” but really appreciate that you post them and I can still work through them on my own. It is so much fun, and that is what we need right now!
Dear Jason,
This video is really cool. Thank you for sharing this beautiful atmosphere and revisiting this tune with such creativity. By watching it I got the feeling that the characteristic “Indian vibes/sound” is creating by sliding to go from one note to another on a more systematic basis and by using the different positions on the same string instead of playing the same notes on different strings without sliding? Is that correct?
I will try it on my fiddle and see what comes out of it… Lets’ try and fear not…
I guess that my question also relates to the characteristics of Indian violin playing, and maybe further to a certain form of philosophy / ways of thinking music/ the world behind?
To get from a note to another one does not erase/skip the physical travel that leads to the second note (=sliding process) and reveals it to the listener? The transition from one state/note to another suddenly becomes audible and acquires an existence and value of its own?
I would love to have some kind of post from you on your experience with indian music or what you have learned on some of its characteristics? What makes it different/special for you and what you think is “underneath” (a specific “weltanschauung” to use big words). Hope it makes sense…
No drug taking here involved 😉
Thanks for posting lessons for those of us who weren’t able to see it live. I’m sure there are others who appreciate it as much as I do. I really get a lot out of your diversity in things to try, too.
Yes, could probably benefit from a tutorial on the member list, and searching for particular members, such as those in the same zoom lesson. The search seems to demand correct spelling and there so many members. Maybe after the lesson, a list of names of those who participated might be good.
How long do breakout groups last? I’m pretty tired after the lesson but would like to participate.
I’ve participated in a few breakouts, which turn out to be 3 or 4 people/group. We usually take a turn playing what we’re currently working on and then just chat… sometimes about fiddling and sometimes just about stuff. When random group members come from different states/provinces, countries and continents, there are a lot of topic options…. travel, local interests, music in general, etc, etc.
The breakout groups I have been part of seem to last about 30 to 45 minutes, depending on the participants and how chatty they are. If you have to go, you don’t have to stay until the end.
That’s really lovely.
“PICK UP” !!
Mark, how about this. At the end of the A part, last measure turn the c# quarter note into 2 eighths. So you have 3 c# eighths in a row and the bow is ready to go into b part the way it is comfortable for you.
Transition from A to B part, following the notation I always get to the prick up on an up bow, slur c to b and then have my ‘down’ start to the shuffle one note ahead of as written … mine doesn’t quite have the same feel?? Any ideas on how to conquer this please?
Really enjoyed the lesson and your varied techniques for giving us new ideas for playing. I’ve been searching the site for where/how to link with others interested in connecting and I’m having no success in locating the information. How do we do that? Thanks
Really fun lesson. Bailed on the practice session because arm getting numb lol.
OK, this is really wild… two unlikely worlds collide: has anybody else ever noticed that Flop Eared Mule, B part, First Quarter, and a couple bars of Pachabel’s Canon in D are for the most part identical with the slight difference that the run in Mule is descending and the run in Pachabel is ascending.
Yes, Pacabel’s Canon in D is the perfect warm up for Flop Eared Mule! 😂
I learn something new from you everyday, Jason. Never would have gained this perspective if I hadn’t been playing your practice loops.
I think you might appreciate this
The Pachelbel Rant
That’s hysterical, thanks for sharing! But it may have ruined the Canon for me; I don’t think it can ever sound the same after that. 🙂
So my pet peeve is misinformation on the internet, thus I must correct. Yes, the correct spelling is “Pachelbel” and at some point I knew that. But, but, I checked my spelling before I posted! Yes, couldn’t remember if there was an “e” or an “a” in the middle, and I grabbed my Classics for hammered dulcimer book off the music stand to check. Right there on the sheet music page is “Pachabel”! However, I now notice that the book’s index does list “Pachelbel” correctly. Being a dulcimer book, perhaps Pachabel is Pachelbel’s folksy alter ego, and is indeed a great warm up for Flop Eared Mule. 😉
These call and respond exercises, 1-9, helped me alot. Thanks Jason, this was a great help for a weak area in my journey.
Carl S
Beautiful just beautiful 🙂
Really enjoyed this useful lesson! I’m ok on the fiddle but useless at zoom & couldn’t access the chat feed on my pad so couldn’t say thank you at the time!
I loved the group lesson today! Would someone be so kind as to direct me to where I can find the sheet music for Wildwood Flower? Thank you so much! 💖
On the Fiddlehed site main menu, go to LIBRARY | TUNES | ALL TUNES. it is listed there in alphabetical order.
Please cancel my subscription of $25.00 per month. I had a stroke 2 years ago and are unable to continue this course. Thank you. Bruce Petersen [email protected]
The first measure of “Whiskey Before Breakfast” is tucka. Right? I now realize that songs are made up of these bowing patterns and hence the importance of learning them now.
you didn’t mention about tightness of bow or rosen…how tight should it be?
There should always be a bow in your bow and that curve should just be a lesser curve than when the bow is not tightened. After that it is personal preference. Rosen when things slip and slide. If things are really dusty and you sound super scratchy, it’s probably too much rosen.
Great lesson, love this tune.
Thanks Jason
Love this song!!!
Just noticed your drone section…I am checking it out now, Tks.
I’m enjoying practice with this wonderful song. I’m not sure about the play along drone tracks. Is there a lesson about how to use thes properly? I can’t really hear when/ if it changes. You did give us the info for the drones so I do have these and am trying to put some in. All good. I enjoyed your recent lengthy email. It has so much great info I will do my best with it! ( no worries , I realize you have a wide range of students).
At the end of a spectacularly crazy year. This was the best fun I have had in a very long time 😁
Love the play along track! It’s a lot of fun and a great way to practice chords while you sing!
Me too! I love the play along track. This practice was so fun!
The hardest part is knowing how much pressure to exert on the string from the hand holding the bow. I had heard from an expert that the pressure should be the weight from the bow resting on the string and no more.
I enjoyed this so much! I hope you will add the sheet music to this lesson, as well as the “D” part, War Is Over…………and I think the cords could be included!
Happy New Year!!!!!
Sarah B
What a catchy little tune. So fun to play with the play along track. At first when I heard it, I didnt even want to bother learning it, but forced myself because I’m trying to do all core songs from the lessons. It only took about 30 minutes to nail it because it is so repetitive, and so fun to play, plus it’s giving me the practice I need on e string. I’m always catching my bow on side of violin trying to switch from E string to A string quickly.
loving it already had it for ten minutes. its awesome!!.
What shoulder rest do you recommend? Thank you!
Hey can you add your double stops to the sheet music?
Mary, I have the same thoughts. Often my playing does not sound like music, but just a string of notes. I was inspired by your playing of Wildwood Flower to start learning it myself!
Jason, to build upon Mary’s segment, I also got a lot out of the segment about what goes on in your head when learning a new tune. At the times when I do “let go” and stop thinking about notes, finger positions, etc. and just “feel” a tune, even if just for a brief moment, is when I am most pleased and my playing sounds like music.
Is anyone having a problem being in tune with Jason’s violin? I’m tuned to 440Hz, which seems a bit sharp in comparison. I’m assuming that he is tuned to 445, maybe?
I love this song!!
Thanks, Jason, for the explanation. It was as helpful to see how you think about your practice as finding a way to use Evernote. I think I would like the recording feature of it. Seems that with Evernote, you can combine all the different ways to document what you do.
I’m a fan of paper journals, but being able to make the journal multi-media appeals to me.
~Cindy
Muchas Gracias! It was fun trying to play along. Thank you again for making learning enjoyable.
Good lesson , interesting how that E scale plays into the melody.
Thanks Jason
No choice here, I live in a condo and I hear every step and shuffle my upstairs neighbors take (and who knew cats were SO loud?!). Since I put up with them I don’t feel *too* bad about playing, but I figure it’s definitely nicer to use the mute! I do think my sound without it is a bit harsh though, so I’m looking forward to moving in the spring to a place where I can play without it. I do find it useful when I’m trying to listen and play along, as it’s much easier to hear the track when using the mute.
thanks for sharing this Jason. What fun!
Good question Tara – I just bought a mute and was wondering the same thing 🙂
This is amazing!
When I saw Mary had a little lamb as a core tune, I’ll be honest, I skipped it. But then I saw the 5 different ways you played it and heard it morph into the different styles, I went back and practised it and now this version has taken it to another level! Thanks for the inspiration, Jason. I’m really enjoying being one of your FiddleHed students. Kat 🙂
You have so many videos posted it’s hard to choose what ones to learn from as a beginner/intermediate player could you organize them in a way that wouldn’ t be as confusing bowing techniques,scales to learn vibrato and all the fiddle technique
If you’re playing a song in the D major scale, does that mean you’re playing in the Key of D? And does it mean every note you play in that song will be found in the D major scale?
Do you not have the sheet music for this song? I do best reading music.
Ps love your lessons!!
Unfortunately I can’t even open the first lesson! 😞
On the quarter note bowing exercises at the beginning are you down bowing only?
I subscribed but now seem locked in a repeating cycle asking me to subscribe.
What do I do?
Thank you
Jim Hogan
Wow, just discovered these. So fun and I think helpful!
The last couple of weeks I’ve been pretty sad so though I’m practicing it seems pretty lackluster and doesn’t sound lovely. So one of the things I’m doing is just free practicing with drones. Sometimes tunes or parts of tunes or scales or just making up phrases that sound nice. I think just freeing myself for now from the expectation of correctly playing of a tune is right for this period of time and still exercises fingers, bowing and playing by ear. Thanks Jason for encouraging us👍🏽
This takes some practice !!!! It’ll be worth it
Hi there,on the music sheet, is the line over the 2 notes a slur?
I would like to know this as well.
Yes those are slurs, always optional. Thanks for asking, Yolanda. And bringing this back to our attention, Iona. 🙂
Love it. Going to try this!
Thank you Jason, the fingering and rhythm exercises helped a lot. It gave me some good tools for cleaning up another tune I’ve been working on that has some string crossing rhythms that have been fuzzy at times. Sonny’s Mazurka, fun tune with a chance to try the crossing going up and down the scale. Thanks for all your great lessons.
Bernie
I’m wont to return my fiddle. (I know people who want to have a fiddle tuned to a different scale own multiple instruments.)
My fiddle really likes being tuned to G-D-A-E and has asked me never to change it.
I picked up the basic tune of Oh Christmas Tree very quickly but double-stops continue to elude me.
Still, this is an excellent lesson to follow when learning to play double-stops.
Thanks Jason!
re-tune! Where’s the Edit button?
Such a fun tune ..will work on this with my banjo playing partner for our virtual Christmas! Thank you 🤗🤗🤗
Do you know the Appalachian tradition of breakin’ up Christmas? My Kentucky cousins tell me that on Christmas night musicians would travel around the countryside playing music and having house dances. Everyone would dance all night, eat some food and probably drink some moonshine. Then sleep it off in the barn. Only to do it again the next night. It lasted 12 nights until Old Christmas celebrated on Jan. 6. The party traveled from house to house each night.
Wouldn’t that be something today?
It’ll be a while before I will attempt Breakin’ Up Christmas but looking forward to it.
I am the person who developed the looper. Was wondering … in your comment on 3 Dec. are you looking for a feature, like a button that starts a loop from where it’s playing? Then it loops is forward or backward a certain interval. Thanks for the great feedback!
Hi Stephen
what i was thinking was when you play the fiddlehead video the slider would follow the time code then when you get to a part you want to loop the video and looper would stop in the same place
Damian
So that the left slider moves with the progress of the video?
Nam-myo-ho-renge-kyo!
I’m a 66-year-old beginner fiddler, and of course I often ‘don’t have time’. So I really like the idea of leaving my fiddle on a stand rather than in its case, and I’ve noted the point above about humidity. My question is about temperature though – my house is old and the temperature goes up and down quite a bit – will that harm my fiddle?
Thanks in advance for any answers – I really *want* to keep it out of my case [I’ll pick it up far more], but just need to be sure that’s ok!
Well, I will definitely try this. My data plan is both very expensive and low on data capacity. I live in a rural area where there is neither cable or sufficient cell coverage, but it may work. Either that, or may just a group of us who can just do a “group audiate session;” only KIDDING! Yup, I’m game.
Going through this for a second, third and fourth time its sinking in. Playing by ear is easier than doing the math when it goes above or below two steps. Great lesson.
Carl S
And my dogs have stopped hiding in the bathroom and will sit near me. Now that’s improvement!
Hi ,this is Dave McPherson. [email protected]. I tried to renew my account on 11-23-2020 and my Visa was billed $228 but I don’t seem to have access.I get the message to sign up to a paid account. Would you ask someone to lo look into my account to see what happened?
Thanks,
Dave
Thanks, Jason! I’m going to add this to the Christmas songs I am working on.
i been using it mostly for learning one piece at at time but the beauty for me is TUNING for me its so much easier the keep the fiddle in tune with you and know when you are slipping out of tune Also i love trying to play along with you when you first play the tune at normal tempo i loop that and try get the feel and tempo of the tune if you could slow down the video that would be good as i find when your learning the pieces of the tune slowly you you tend to get very robotic in your playing
Love your lessons and style of teaching and your attention to your students
You can do this in conjunction with the practice master looper to optimize your practice sessions.
Let me know how it goes…
It would be great if the slider paused in line with the video so it would mark your first loop point
Example is [A Part, First Quarter]…from 1:14 to 1:45 on the video
Find the starting and end point times on the video for any section you want to practice in the video.
For this example, Stop the video and Set-up the start/stop times or “loop points” on the slider app dots.
(When the mouse hovers over a dot it gives you the time signature)
When both dots are set up…the left dot to 1:14 and right dot to 1:45 then turn on the slider.
You are now in the Looping Mode!
Hope this helps 🙂
Or,
Once you set the right most dot it starts the loop
The Looping tool is excellent I find it great for playing in tune and remembering to tune
Awesome @dayolaw. Could you tell me more about how you used it?
I like both-learning is easier for me with the different tempos and then when I know the song sort of, I like the single tempo
Good lesson. Good tune. I’ll be practicing
Single tempo is best for learning. Or being able to loop on slower tempo.
True! Once you’ve learned something, playing it faster will help you remember it.
Thank you, Jason, for being such a proficient and friendly teacher!
Hi, this is Melvin, I’m going to be 70 years old December 1, I had an old fiddle I bought back in the late sixties from a person that was selling an accordion, fiddle was 15 dollars extra. I ended up selling accordion when I was in the Marine corp,came out of service did nothing with violin until 2013 , started going to square dance for recreation , heard people saying they are going to need fiddle player so I listened to the music and started to learn to play some square dance songs. don’t have any idea how to read music subscribed to fiddle head because of the song orange blossom special. I’m starting to get the bowing, would like to know the finger positions for the chords, Also, would like you to teach the hi- low Schottish, a dance song quite often done at the square dance facility. ( not good with computers)
Thank you Mel Fowler
I don’t think it loaded? cannot seem to play!
Great Wedsite for beginners! Thanks for helping me with my dreams of fiddling…..
We loved the fiddle ragga. It tells me that I have the right to try new things, to dare, to be. That it is worth exploring, for exploration’s own sake.
Thank you for sharing this moment !
A3-3-3-E0-1-A1-1-1-1-0-1 This is copied directly from “Full Tabs, B Part, First Quarter” of the Kerfunken Jig. Maybe this is a note test as that is where I concluded the correction (as well as listening to you playing it), but there are four “B” notes (A1) instead of three. Do I win a prize for that score. (pun intended) 🙂
Such a haunting tune… still one of my favorites!
One funny thing….I was hearing odd ‘squalling’ behind my playing. It was my cat. She ranges from about G to B most of the time, FWIW>
Very relevant tips right now for me because I’m trying to optimize my practicing in all necessary areas, and related to that I have just discovered this app, amazing and useful for practicing intonation.
Intonia.com
Free download from the Google app store for Android and iphone.
Jason thank you for FiddleHed! Keep all the fiddling goodness coming 🙂 Many blessings to you and yours.
I’m interested in the group lessons. How do i go about doing them? Is there any schedule per se? Thank you.
I like the backing track for this one with the guitar + fiddle alternating with just guitar.
I see there is a difference in how you play this in the lesson, and how the music is notated. In the first measure you play the third note as a dotted quarter note, and then4 th as an eight. However, the sheet music shows all 4 notes as quarter notes.the second measure (sheet music) is how you play the first measur. Am I correct? ( I am really trying to learn how to read music!)
This is a fun lesson! The gaps are tight but if you make a mistake just go with it then repeat the whole thing to get it right and then they are plenty long enough. It’s a good challenge to just listen and try not to look! Thank you! Looking forward to the follow-up.
I’m a FiddleHed subscriber but I can’t access OBS2 and on? Is that an error or do I have to take out some higher level of subscription?
I had the same problem accessing OBS2. I had to up my subscription to All Access.
Well this is one to work on – follows on very nicely from my question in the last office hours 🙂 …. Looking forward to this
I love this tune. Thank you for playing it so beautifully
great idea!!!
This lesson came just at the right time for me. Although I’m enjoying the enhancements mostly I’m playing the basic version with drone. I’m at this point of playing tunes with tolerable accuracy but I feel as though I really need to work on “feel” and the tempo and mood of this tune is perfect for that. Until I have feel I’m not willing to share my music with others because frankly, sounds terrible to me even if in tune. Thanks for bringing this one to our attention.
Can’t wait to get started on orange blossom special on the new fiddle I have coming fiddlerman concert series hope it is what the reviews say it is keep the good lessons coming enjoy them very much. Thanks Jeff
Love these scales exercises! Makes the process so enjoyable!
Thank-you
Not clear about how I am to share a video; where to put it, so I am going to try posting it here on the Fall Challenge page.
Great job on a great tune. Love the variations
That short melody was beautiful. Thank you
Really wonderful office lesson and kudos to all who demonstrated your issues because I learn from it too. I think one of the most difficult things to learn online is bow position And how we are holding the fiddle! It’s hard to gauge it looking in the mirror for sure!
I love this tune. I finally got the hang of the rhythm & after a week & lots of practice, played along with the backing track…woohoo! Having a celebratory beer! Cheers Jason!
…just trying to understand, it says this is in d major but the preparation section is in a major. Which key is it actually in? To me it seems to be a major..sorry if this is a stupid question.
I noticed that, too. I think the “D” in the title is an error.
I love this lesson, really therapeutic! Helps on those pitchy 2nd & 3rd finger positions, thank you!
I think in the final audio example, walking up to the fourth finger, it should be a low 2, but I could be mishearing it?!
There’s a great description of the tune and its history on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_Blossom_Special_(song). Love the quote, “For a long time no fiddle player would be hired for a bluegrass band unless he could play it.” Challenge accepted! 🙂
Hi Jason….I was really hoping I could learn to fiddle with tabs but I’m going to give learning note reading a chance. It does seem a bit over whelming though.
One thing I learned maybe a million years ago is you can use a regular olde #2 yellow hexagonal pencil as a spacer gauge to set the hair tension. Tighten the bow hair some, then try to slide the pencil in between the stick and the hair so the pencil is perpendicular to the bow. Hold the pencil kinda loosely and if the pencil is loose in there between stick and hair, i.e. tries to slide/fall out, the hair is too tight. If the hair drags the pencil, it’s too loose. For me, I set the hair tension so the pencil juuuust baaaareeeely kinda drags the hair when you try to move the pencil along the hair and stick, i.e. if you hold the bow at maybe 45 degree angle, then almost let go of the pencil, it will maybe just try to start sliding. This way the hair tension is set exactly the same way, every time you play, and there’s no guessing. This method gives you enough tension as a really good starting point. Then you can go up and down from there as needed. One pencil width’s worth of tension works well for waltzes and airs. If you need more “mustard”, tighten the hair a little more. The pencil will now fall out because the hair is tighter. Note that your bow and hair may have a different shape than mine so it might a little different, but I was taught this along with nine gazillion other students 🙂 so it must be OK. This way you are always starting from the same place, every time. We call that ‘repeatability’. A Good Thing in fiddle playing. 🙂 Hope this helps!
To relax and concentrate again : try some soufi music or japanese traditional music or gregorian songs. Soulful music. And then go back to work…
Heya,
Playing fiddle during the day as a break from work is a great thing if you can. It helps me releasing stress at work and getting back to work while being happy. It is a better habit than eating a snack as I see it. And some powerful energy comes out of it (transforming stress into an energetic version of a tune?).
The only book I have read about the violin is a mind-blowing book called “Le violon intérieur” (in French, by Dominique Hoppenot). It analyses what helps a violinist to sound good, how to concentrate and find natural body positioning, where stress comes from, and how to release the fear of playing in public. I have not found any English version yet. I will keep reading it as every time I read it I understand new parts of the book as I am learning to fiddle.
I agree that the book atomic habits helped me in anchoring my habit of playing the fiddle every day: defining a preexisting habit and anchor your fiddle playing routine to this old habit. And as Jason says it: PLAY EVERY DAY !
I think Wyobobs suggestion was excellent.
Really had a great time in the November 11 lesson. So much fun. Best for my playing was that during the playing with you live I seemed to have found my feel. Which is absolutely fantastic and well needed and I think something I was not getting on the pre recorded lessons. THANK YOU
Jason, there’s no way to mark the “Saints” lesson as being “completed”.
Does anyone know how to change that weird angry-faced emoji that comes up next to my name? Thanks.
Was sorry to miss this online lesson today. Will you post a video link for those of us who couldn’t make it?
Please and Thank you! ☮️
Second this–a posting for those of us who sadly had to miss it would be fantastic. Thanks!
Here’s the link to the youtube video:
Thanks for the lesson today, Jason. I enjoyed learning more about the modes, in this case to G Major. I can see you trying to “free us up,” with a bit of improv. Just as we were wrapping up, I suddenly lost Zoom, so never got to say goodbye to anyone. Well onwards and upwards!
Owen O.
Did anyone have audio problems? Hopefully, it was just a problem for me.
The volume level fluctuated a bit off and on through the whole hour but the main problem for me was during the drone tracks. I had sounds similar to “sqeeching” rubber balloons. You know, like when you used to make balloon animals for your kids?
WyoBob
Thanks for saying this Bob. One solution might be for everyone to use their own drone tracks instead of listening to mine. Maybe next time I’ll ask you all in advance to open up the lesson page, and then to play your own drones. I think it will be a good experiment for finding out the best way to do these group lessons.
I will be posting a replay with better quality audio.
Hi Jason, Just finished the intermediate group lesson. An idea to help with the time issue – shorten the warm up. In the email that precedes the lesson, let people know ahead of time how you want us to warm up specifically, and then once the lesson begins you can run us through a few scales but then segue more quickly into what you want us to learn. Thanks for the lesson, it was a different way to look at modes for me, and coming at them from a new angle was helpful in giving me a stronger grasp.
Kathleen
This is a good idea Kathleen. I will cut to the chase more quickly next time. Cheers!
What a great class!! I was wondering how those modes work in playing the blues?
Good question. A great first step for playing with blues scales, is to master the pentatonic scales. Then you learn to add flatted notes.
Good idea for a future class!
Jason,
Is it possible to get a schedule? I would love to attend but need to book it in between consulting gigs so I need a little more advanced notice.
Thanks,
Bob C
Sorry to miss you all today. These sessions have been a highlight of the month! I’ll watch the recording, and look forward to seeing you all next time. Thank you Jason for your efforts. It’s hugely appreciated
My pleasure! See you next time.
I think the hardest part of bowing for me is fatigue in my shoulder from just holding my arm out. I’m not tense just not a position I’m used to. I feel like 1,000 tremolos will do as good as hitting the gym from the way I feel after a minute of it. I should say I’m currently in physical therapy for back problems so I know that it’s all connected. I figure give it time and things will work themselves out. Thanks for the lessons I’m really enjoying them.
Hello, I am currently subscribed annually which expires in January, I DO NOT WANT to renew !! I followed the instructions about Canceling but can find NO link to do this. Please let me know specifically how I can cancel my subscription. I am not able to use this subscription any more.
Thanks you in advance,
Best Regards,
John Nourse
Heya Jason,
I have music playing truly *all* the time at home–except when I practice 😊 (I have no TV)– and also at work where I’m away from civilization for 3 weeks–( a remote area of Alaska but I can stream music). My job is stressful and, I tell ya, music is everything to me! I will work up to 18 hours a day and I will just at least pick up the fiddle and play open strings in the mirror to get my bow placement correct.
I also listen to music working out in the morning–cardio and weights (I’ve been listening to Natalie MacMaster’s fiddling again, to allow me to hear rhythms).
When I decide to work on a tune (like Swallowtail Jig), I download it and will listen to it throughout the day to “get it in my bones.”
A book I find helpful for developing habits to cultivate is THE POWER OF HABITS and ATOMIC HABITS which can be applied to anything including practicing my fiddle.
I would be honored to be part of your experiment! 😊
Thanks again, for all you do!
-Dina
Yes! I would like to take part in this experiment! 🙂
I’m really struggling with understanding the Kerry Polka Duet. Is there a video walkthrough? There is a lot of extra sounds in this track and its really hard for me to hear the plucking.
I agree with Alan here.. I didn’t get that one at all but got all the others. They were great!
Thanks for mentioning this Alan and Janna, yes it’s definitely a complex range of sounds in that audio.
I will put it in a suggestion to dive further into the details of this duet to help folks learn it. 🙂
If I understood it correctly, the G0 and D0 in the third measure are half notes (held for two counts- hold for a count of “one and two and” for the G and “three and four and” for the D) and all the others are quarter notes (hold for a count of “1 and”, “2 and”, “3 and”, “4 and”). Hope that helps!
Holy Koto! Mind blowing, so cool
Great Lesson…little gains here and there! Ive always tried to stay to a fixed practice schedule. Sometimes dedicated…other times not so. This idea is great…fits right into any schedule! 🙂
I love this idea! Actually I do this too. I have always used music–both listening to it and playing it–as a way to relax, so if I get too stressed out, reaching for my guitar or fiddle is way way way better than going online when I’m feeling the need to procrastinate. I need to do more of this!
Surely excited to try!! In this rural area, I’m 50/50 when it comes to success in zoom sessions. But, I will be there trying! Thanks for the opportunity!
I am enjoying this and for that I thank you Jason. I struggle with some issues from the military and it has been years since I have had any joy in doing anything. This plucking and the way you teach is giving me joy in doing something. It is nice to be only a few days into my journey and making music. It is definitely a huge motivator to keep going and pushing, which brings me to my biggest struggle which is trying to move along too quickly in the lessons. Trying to remind myself I have to do each thing 1000 times before I master it. Thanks again for what you’ve done here.
this is a great little tune I love working on this and all the information about the D scale and the E dorian is great, love learning these things… you are a good teacher Jason your love for music is catching!
So following Jason’s advice about improvising on a scale I played around with the E dorian scale. Just making up a tune as I went alone. Then I realized it was very close to the tune God rest ye Merry gentlemen, The Christmas Carol. So then I was able to pick out the whole tune for God rest you Merry gentlemen. I’ve been trying to train my ear more and I think this is a result of that. I’m so super excited.
Mary
Modes give it the Moods
Hello Fiddlehed!
Jason — I am excited to be an official subscriber – I’ve enjoyed your online lessons for awhile now.
Curious to know if you have the tablature for Wagon Wheel available for download.
Thank you,
J.D. Spinner
Sorry to have missed the group lessons this week. Work related Zoom meeting. Since I was hosting it, I figured I shouldn’t skip out for another Zoom 🙂 Looking forward to the next round of group lessons.
Thanks for these group lessons, Jason. Please keep them coming!
Got my days mixed up and missed the zoom lesson. Hopefully I can make the next one.
So much fun to practice this knowing what will be coming next!
Looking forward to this session
Zoom session was excellent. Sorry I had to leave early, I’ll plan better next time
Mike
Yeah this is darned cool. Thanks!
Any advice on crossings between strings that are 2 or 3 strings apart? E.g., G to A, D to E, G to E? I can’t seem to accomplish this without the bow slightly grazing the middle string(s). Is the idea to completely lift the bow to cross from one string to the other?
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Great job!
I think you have a typo in the description of
Ionian. It’s built on the first degree of the scale, isn’t it?
Yes. You don’t hear the term “Ionian” much because it just refers to the basic major scale.
I just corrected the typo. Thanks Vera. 🙏
Hi Jason,
I look forward to taking part in this group lesson. Thank you so much for doing this.
See you in November
linda
Jason has a way of making you fall in love with EVERY song for which he creates tutorials! So, this is my new favorite….whether played “haunting” or “jolly.” 😂
Hi Jason,
I am excited about joining a group lesson and wanted to ask if you could do one at a later time than 11 a.m. PT. That is 2:00 ET, and I will be at work. If you could schedule a lesson at 2:00 or 3:00 PT on a weekday, then I could make it! I will try to do the Veterans’ Day lesson, since it’s a holiday. But in general I cannot make a weekday lesson before 4:00 ET.
Thanks!
Oh so love!
I feel like I just had a private concert! Very privileged. Thanks!
I’m curious about something that applies to a lot of songs, this one included. So, Kerry Polka is in the key of G, but since it consists only of notes that G major shares with D major (specifically no C or C#) it’s kind of also in D major isn’t it? Is there something about the sound that makes it more Gish? I noticed when I played it with a G drone it sounded well, but not as much when I played with a D drone, but I can’t pinpoint why and maybe I’m just thinking that because I know it’s meant to be in G.
It happens not to have any C notes, so the C# does not come into play, but that does not matter.
The song ends on G note and is a “happy” tune without any suspense or tension. Two clues: (1) ends on G, so it is written in key of G (this is almost always the case in that the final, closing note of the song is usually its tonic or key note); and (2) happy, so it is a major key — therefore, G Major.
Hot diggity dog….this was so helpful. Glad Emily asked this questions. I actually was “naturally’ slurring a few times on a beginner song to play it faster, not knowing what I was doing.
Hey Jason, loving your style and humor thus far, just wanted to drop a line that all of the demonstration videos on this particular lesson page appear to be broken!
and suddenly they aren’t. disregard plz
Is Norwegian Wood in here?
I have always liked bile em cabbage down and love the variation.Was very tough to do but at least it gives me something to work at and help build up speed slowly. I think I will add this variation every time I practice.
Tuning exercises and drones bring me buckets of joy! 🤗 🌸 ☀️ 🤗 It’s magical how I can now differentiate notes–well, no, not magic, but it’s super cool 😎
Where do I find the follow on “more advanced ” version you referred to?
You probably found this by now, but I found it in Tune Finder
Great song, great lesson ——I’ll be busy for awhile on this 👍😁😁
Jason you have a lot of videos on how to learn the fiddle that being said my question is after going thru all of the material for beginners the modules that is ok now in what order of the rest of the videos that you have posted would a person want to start learning my Problem is I need something in front of me to go by and follow a road map so to speak can you help me have been playing for around a year now Starting feel at a loss please help thanks Jeff
First, congrats on the new wondrous journey with your daughter.
Here’s some fun feedback. I barely got started on the fiddle when I had a shoulder replacement in January. I can’t play my fiddle yet, so taking the opportunity to ear train by humming, tapping and audiation. Your program is a gift because my untrained ear has been a pitfall in past attempts.
Now I got a piano keyboard and it is so fun and usefull for doing the exercises and memorizing tunes. I know this will pay off big time when I can pick up fiddle again.
Right now, when I’m repeating patterns and learning to distinguish between notes, it’s actually helpful not to also be paying attention to finger placement and bowing. It’s kind of like a pre-program to the program. When I can fiddle next month, I’m going to start at beginning again.
Anyone out there who was told to “mouth the words” as a child (there are hundreds, if not thousands of us) take heart. You can learn to hear and play, even sing, in tune.
Thank you Jason for this incredible program and your constant encouragement. Your spiritual path shines through and resonates.
As above, keeping the bow straight is difficult. I THINK it’s straight, then I look in the mirror and it’s sliding a bit. Any suggestions as to how to keep this from happening?
Hey fiddle folks!
I live in Los Angeles and want to find people to play with. But when I type in “looking for someone to fiddle with” in to the Craigslist I get something very different…..
Where do I find folks?
Talk soon!
Chase
Really good ideas, Jason. I find that I get especially frustrated and down on myself when I go away from the fiddle tunes and try to jam with others on folk/rock/Americana type tunes. It seems like all of the years of practice kind of go out the window when I try to improvise or do fills and I end up with chopping a simple melody at best, with a poor sound. Your suggestions – and those of others – should be helpful for being more casual and positive about my playing.
How fun this will be. By the way as soon as you said rhythm of the train it came much easier. Yes! Thank you
what does the mark before the first note mean?
Hi, Joey B, that little arc means slide onto the note. It’s not much of a slide, you can barely hear it in the lesson video.
Keep tuned, keep well.
Oops… you can barely hear it in the practice track…
Keeping the bow straight at faster speeds.
All good ideas…. I do a couple of things; 1. Deciding if the tune is ‘over my head’ at the moment, and putting it aside for awhile.
2. Noting if the problem lies in just a small part of the tune, maybe only a measure or two. If so, then practice that portion until the ‘cows come home’. That can help, but if not a ‘cure all, then on to ….
3. Look around on the ‘net to see if there are other versions, videos, tutorials, simpler sheet versions, etc. Try those…I’m in the process of doing that with Sandy River Belle, and just found a tutorial for the theme for Outlander which looks doable.
Yes I needed this today. Sometimes I get really tense when my housemate tells me my bowing wasn’t that good that day or I played the wrong notes so I get tense trying not to make mistakes and of course play quietly. Thank you!
I suffer from should/back pain as well, but it is getting better. I have to watch 3 things…
1. Like Jason said…BREATHE
2. I have to make sure I am not holding my fiddle too high…with the scroll pointed up too high. This creates a lot of tension for me. Not only because it makes me lift my shoulder too high, but it tends to make me “press” down more on my chin rest. I try to hold my fiddle parallel to the floor or even lower. It helps.
3. I have to remember to not hold my fiddle out right in front of me, but more closely to a 45 degree angle from the front of my body. I have a tendency to want to look at my fingering on the strings. I think this may be because I kept finger tapes on too long, and still want to look at where I am placing my fingers rather than trusting my ear more.
Note: I did try the Bonmusica shoulder rest, but I could not get used to it no matter how many adjustments I made. I think the Bonmusica is better suited to folks who have longer necks. My neck is short. I finally found a shoulder rest that I am very pleased with…the Mach One. It comes in a number of models. I am using the MO7 model. If you have a shorter neck, you might want to check it out. It is not real expensive at about $24 depending on where you buy it, so it is worth the experimentation if you have a shorter neck..
I did buy a Bonmusic shoulder rest and it has improved my ability to hold the violin in a standard position, whereas before it was always slipping off my shoulder. I tend to round my shoulders forward when I’m concentrating hard on practicing, and this is what causes the pain. I’m working on a shoulder rehabilitation program, and that is now helping a lot – precisionmovement.coach – basically I’m retraining my spine and shoulder girdle into a better habit.
found lesson 1
Definitely didn’t know what I was doing. How do I find lesson 1?
Signed up again and got in. Don’t know why it didn’t work the first time. I’ll have to practice the above and hope I’m caught up. I find this exciting.
I finished! And I really enjoyed it too. Although I’ve been able to practise reasonably well before, this gave me a bit more discipline to practise what I was actually trying to improve rather than what I like to play. Anyway, I did improve what I set out so that’s great.
I was seriously distracted by some of you other fiddlers though as I heard so many great new tunes. I really enjoyed JuliaG’s King of the Fairies and I added it to more practise list, sorry Jason, I know I’m not supposed to do that! I’ve managed to learn the A part so far so maybe next year I’ll use it for the challenge. JuliaG’s progress was really good and i was really impressed by the Irish ‘twiddles’!
Another wonderful tune was Abee’s Peacock Rag and again this showed excellent progress over the challenge.
Overall, it was really inspiring both learning about myself and the other fiddlers trials and tribulations. I
I hope we can all do it again next year.
Many thanks to Jason for getting it all together.
A really cool way to check if your D1 and D3 are in tune:
Do they ring?
You see, D1 is E and you have an E string. Play a D1 with with a throw away (fly away?) bow. You should hear a ring. That’s from the E string!
If you aren’t playing D1 in tune, you won’t hear E ring.
The same concept works for D3. If you are in tune, you’ll hear your G string ring.
This works for every note you have an open string for.
Even after 22 years of playing (mostly classical…hence why I’m here…I’m never to accomplished to learn from the basics) I still use this trick.
Hope you can use this trick to centre yourself.
I just finished the Challenge, averaged 2 1/4 hours a day of practice. Practiced all my usual, long bow with metronome, scales, string crossing. Started learning double stops. Practiced my ‘old’ tunes, I’ll Fly Away, This Land is your Land, Keep On The Sunny Side. Learning two new ones, Waltzing Matilda and Arkansas Traveler. Made progress on everything…..’progress’ on double stops is yet to happen, lol.
Next up, after usual practice, is learning Sandy River Belle. It’s not on Jason’s tune list but I found a version online as well as the ones in The Fiddlers Fake Book. Picked it because I like it ( the main requirement for any tune) and can play it in two different tunings on the banjo.
I practised every day for two weeks, and here’s the same tune I played on Day 1, which I have been practising a LOT. And yet I could continue practising it for months more, probably, before it comes out slick and beautiful. But it is definitely better than Day 1. Better rhythm, better fingering, possibly slightly better tone. Now I’m thinking of getting a proper old-fashioned wooden clockwork metronome.
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It’s very nice! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Very Nice Julia!! Love this tune.
Wasn’t that pretty!! Thanks, Julia; your work has paid off..Congratulations.
Owen
Very nice Julia! What is the name of this tune?
Julia, I listened to your day one practice of “King of the Fairies” and your latest version and can say that you are right. I thought your performance on Day One went really well, but your timing, clarity, and Irish embellishment was excellent on your latest recording. I practiced every day for the challenge and saw big improvements as well. Thanks so much for your videos. You are becoming an excellent musician!
Thank you Jason!
It’s Karen here. I asked the question about the 4th finger reach. I couldn’t attend the live office hours session, but have reviewed the live stream and all written notes. Sooooo helpful! It’s great that you ask for other related questions too..more for me to work on building that pinky!
So much fun. Finally recorded “Hector the Hero”, a lovely waltz that was fun to learn. Look forward to the zoom practice tomorrow
Nice work with the triplets! I have such a hard time with them.
Thank you, triplets are not a challenge to get to sound good, so it did take some practice. It’s a fun tune to learn.
Rita, very nice job! You have improved a lot since day one. Love your song Hector the Hero.🙂
Rita, I liked that Waltz very much. Thank you.
Owen
Fun stuff, enjoyed that one! Fun slurring that many votes at once.
While doing my practice for the fall practice challenge, I started doing this cool scale variation. Basically you can take a simple major scale, play at 13 notes up and then go backwards for a total of 24 notes in a cycle. What this allows you to do is practice slurring 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 24, and…gulp…48 notes per bow. The 48-note version was inspired by an office hours question about the one-minute bow.
Give ‘er a try.
And have fun with the last few day’s of the FPC 🐸
Thanks Jason,
I’ll have to give this excercise a try. Should help me with a slur series I’ve been working on with “Blackberry Blossom”. Which is played in key of G major.
I can see that this would be a great exercise for improving my fingering speed too. Completed the 14- day challenge today and have seen a lot of improvement.
Thanks Jason! 😁
Thats pretty fun even at slooowww speed. Thanks Jason!
More inspirational writing .
Thanks for your help and sound advice Jason.
OK, so I must admit to only practicing about every other day, but I have been learning to be more disciplined, really practicing the basics so I improve technique and quality instead of just running quickly through a tune. I was on the Renew with Review page, and discovered the tune Hava Negilah which I am now excited to learn.
Today:
Did you delete it Agnese? I got ‘not found’ message.
Found it! I just realised you posted both links joined together.
Lovely tone!
some problems when loading the comments! Thanks :-*
Hi! here two video from my last days of practice: Yesterday:
You are playing so well. Very inspiring for what is possible with data ly practice. Enjoyed your videos so much. Thank you.
Susan, you are very nice and encouraging! Thank you!
What song is that? Your notes are nice and clear. I always end up with a squeak somewhere
It’s O’Keefe’s Slide 🙂
I taped myself playing Eliza Jane with double stops and I sounded GODAWFUL BAD. Made me realize that I can’t rush ahead of myself and try for fancy stuff. Also I’m playing a borrowed lousy violin which may account for a teensy bit of why I sounded bad, or at least that is what I am telling myself.
Note to self…..slow down.
Practicing here on Day 13 (I think it’s Day 13, right?) I can’t believe I have played every day of the Challenge after not playing for so long. In addition to brushing up on tunes I’ve already learned, I am having fun with “Prairie Spring”. I can get through the entire tune now with few mistakes. I feel like I have accomplished something during this Challenge. Thanks, Jason and everyone else! It’s so nice to see, and hear, from so many others during the Challenge. It doesn’t make me feel as “alone” as I try to move forward with my fiddling. It would be nice if we all could continue posting regularly in the forum even after the Challenge. I think we all could benefit from it.
Am I the only person who gets ridiculous joy from the fact that the funds slowly speed up?
Funds= tunes
Makes me smile each time!
Ohhhh, I’m having so much fun! Your tips and variations are great. This will definitely get me through a rainy, dark Portland winter.
I didn’t record because half the time my dog starts barking because he gets happy with fiddle practice. He stops but no one needs to hear that. So I’m working on only one tune at this point which is cool because usually I move on after a week. I still don’t play it with flow but I’m improving. Certain things I’m learning. Play the micro practice slower. I didn’t have a good bow grip. Learning. Cross strings are improving and triplets come easier as time goes on. (I’m playing harvest home) Given that I have arthritis I’ve learned to stop and do exercises. Day practice is 25 to 30 minutes. Night practice is for noodling and I’m trying to compose a tune. Night practice is sometimes cancelled out by calls from folk who need grief counseling but if I can I’ll just play open strings. Also noticing I rush so have started using metronome. Lastly I found that my shoulder rest was too high ha. So in conclusion the fall practice has taught me not to rush, spend more time on scales and to pick a challenging tune and stick with it even though I’d rather play something new. This has been a great journey and Love everyone’s comments! Thank you
Check this out
Very cool, thanks for sharing. Interesting the position of holding the fiddle – it actually looks a lot more comfortable!
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tremolo! I get really tense!
I played in youth orchestra as a teen and we used it, but it’s different when I’m not in a group of 20 violinists. I can’t just blend into the crowd….I actually have to sound good!
I’m finding the fiddle bow hold easier now, but my elbow really wants to go sky high as I tense up.
Does everyone keep all their fingers on the bow when they get faster? I find I’m turning my palm away from my body and lifting all but the thumb and index finger off the bow.
Would love to he at what ‘s working for you. (Other than playing it 1000 times)
It’s Bow Boot Camp!
I started strong, fell off the wagon. The first group practice got me back on. Did great, then I had a chance to tear off and replace a Small roof. So I am too stiff to play today, but shall be back at it tomorrow.
My goal was to toughen up my finger pads. Strengthen my Fingers too. Got pretty into “Rights of Man”. Worked on Orange Blossom double stops. Getting the stretch in tune consistently has always been a challenge.
Congrats to all who met or exceeded their goals. Off to a new challenge!
Hey folks,
I made a short tutorial on how to upload and EMBED video directly to a comment:
Here’s the main gist. You’ve all been copying and pasting normal links that look this:
But you need to copy and paste an “embed” link. This cannot be done easily from mobile devices. If you made the film on a mobile device, upload to Youtube and then go to a desktop computer to paste the embed link in a comment.
Sorry that this is not easier…
For the next videos you post, please give this a try. If it’s too much hassle, then don’t worry about it. Cheers!
Sorry Jason but I can’t see how you are right. I have repeatedly copied and pasted the ’embed’ link from YouTube and it doesn’t embed. There is no other way, except maybe as the moderator you have a different kind of access to your page.
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Hi Julia,
Thanks for trying to embed your videos (and for making them), and thanks for your message. I logged into your account and pasted the embed video. You are right. It does not work for users at this time.
I will ask our developer to fix this.
Cheers,
Jason
Great job Toby!
Hokey dinah! I’m a classically trained violinist. I studied seriously for ten years but dear goooooooodness did that swing track throw me for a loop. With this new bow hold. My elbow just wants to creep up!
It tells you that you are never too accomplished to learn the basics!
Any advice on how to make the G string swing rhythm sound like the recording? I know my strings are old, but my up stroke squeaks as I try to catch up so I don’t run off the tip. I don’t have this issue with the other strings.
I did find it worked better if I played closer to the frog, but I’m not sure that’s proper.
Thanks y’all!
Just want to say that I have done my half hour every day, although it’s getting harder to make myself. This morning we took the dog out for a long walk, and then it was lunch, and then it was other stuff, and then… finally I did my practice last thing before bed. It’s much better to do it in the morning. I wonder if on the final day of the fortnight I will heave a sigh of relief and stop… or will I carry on? You wouldn’t think half an hour was so difficult to achieve. I remember hearing an interview with Sting, who was talking about having just taken up the mandolin, I think it was. When asked how much he was having to practise, he said ‘Oh not much, only three hours a day’!
I get it. I’ve been in those funks too.
You got to keep picking up that fiddle. Instead of dreading a half-hour practice, try Jason’s “1 Tune, 1 Scale, 10 Minutes.”
10 minutes is easy to commit to if you’re worried about breathing a sigh of relief when this challenge is over.
On the days when I just don’t want to, I try to use that approach. I can do one scale and I can do one song and I can play for ten minutes. I often find myself playing much longer.
I find if I don’t pick up my fiddle early in the morning, there’s a good chance I won’t pick it up at all…life seems to take over.
Following the two-minute philosophy has helped me. I even picked up it up and just tucked it under my chin while answering email to practice the hold. Usually leads to another 15 minutes of bowing or such.
Hey Julia,
I hope you can find inspiration to carry on. I have enjoyed watching your videos. I found Jason’s video on how to use the metronome after you mentioned giving it a go. I am going to work on using the metronome much more now. Thank you for inspiring me to do that. Keep your fiddle easily accessible. If you see it you’ll want to play it.
Also try using metronome when running through scales. I’ve found it much more enjoyable and not so boring. One beat per note. It has really opened my eyes to the benefits of using a metronome. I tried playing a song with it but to difficult right now. So I had to back off and keep it simple until I can get more used to it. I plan on finding a song that has just quarter notes and half notes eventually. Hope this helps.
Metronome for scales – that’s a great idea. Not that I am attracted by the idea of doing lots of scales, but then, when I see Jason doing a scale for about ten minutes, I think, if he can do it, then I should too!
I also have a harder time if I don’t play during the day. It’s a lesson I’m slow to learn. But that’s what’s good about doing the Challenge. You learn about your habits.
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“Tennessee Wagoner” Just started on double shuffle which is towards the end but i had to slow down double shuffle or i get extra bow strokes thrown into it.
Hey Folks, Great job with all the videos!
DON’T DELETE THEM AFTER THE CHALLENGE!!!!
When you do the challenge next year, you can make another video of the same tune and compare. This will give you a perspective on your progress: what’s improved, what still needs work. Chances are, you’ll feel encouraged.
Also: it’s super-nice to see all the kind responses.
Alrighty…Day 10!
Copying a question on this page……
One response to “Call-and-response Exercises 1.7” [email protected] says:
January 16, 2020 at 7:18 am
I am learning more and more every day, and am motivated to practice every day by the amazing lessons in this course.
It bothers me that I can’t “mark complete” each section that I complete. Some have “mark complete” at the bottom, and some don’t, or maybe I don’t understand how it all works. Sometimes it takes me days of practice to complete a task (i.e. call and response has taken me a week to complete off and on, and today, as I finally complete it, there isn’t a “mark complete” at the bottom). Any advice or explanation to help me out on this?
I am forever grateful for having stumbled across Fiddlehed on the internet! It is an amazing course, and well worth the price of the lessons!
Happy down in Sweet Home Alabama!
Vic
From Sarah-You did respond to a question like this by me, but my next question is this: are all of the percents of each lesson section in the “core lesson”, or do you have to go to other sections like note reading, bonus lessons, etc. to get the 100% in each section ( 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, etc.) or is there no 100%? Thanks, Sarah
Oh, also, my hat’s off to all of you taking the challenge, and I have really enjoyed watching the videos you have shared!
Well, I’ve practiced every day so far during the challenge, and it feels real good to get back to my fiddle after the past few sporadic months. I am “brushing up” on tunes I already know like “Annie Laurie”, “Hard Times Come Again No More”, “Jessica’s Waltz” and a few others, and have been working on Jay Ungar’s “Prairie Spring”.
That was me. I was on a two-week funk when Jason emailed about the challenge. I didn’t really enter it with an agenda except to pick up that fiddle and practice. It worked! I just love Jay Ungar…I must look up this Prairie Spring. I haven’t heard it!
It’s a beautiful waltz. It starts off slowly and then picks up.
Another real nice version is here:
Wow, thanks for sharing that video on U tube. It was out of this world beautiful and really touched my soul. I’ve been working on Ashokan Farewell. I’m 66 and just started playing a little over a year ago. My mom was from Harlan, Kentucky so I think my love for Appalachian music is genetic plus my genetic heritage is 90 percent English and Irish. Love both styles. Getting ready to listen to other video you posted. 😊
That song is amazing! Yes, thank you for sharing it.
I wonder if I’ll ever be able to make my fiddle just sing like that. Right now, I feel like a toddler belting out B I N G O after hearing that….LMAO.
It’s a heck of a journey we are on isn’t it? 🙂
If either of you use Tabs, I have it tabbed out. If you want a copy, send me an email to: jim (at) moonshadowsfarm (dot) com
Beautiful! Thanks for sharing! Would live the tabs. You can send to [email protected]
I would love to have the tabs as well. Please send to [email protected]. THANKS AGAIN.
Thanks Owneee61! It’s a lot of fun to play. Yep. I live in Lakeside. If you ever come out to visit, maybe we can play together!
I’ve been working so hard on the Chromatic scale and sliding. I could slide into a note almost from day 1. This is different though. This is more controlled, more poised, more deliberate, and it’s a lot more difficult than I realized it is. (For me anyways…)
There are so many half-steps in this tune. Trying to get them in the right place and which goes where. Then there is that one note, that says in the tab is a L2, but I swear I am hearing a 2….and my fingers have decided to play it in the middle which is absolutely not what I want them to do. (Gosh fingers and ears. Pick a note already and stick with it.)
So. With that in a nutshell, I am having a ball learning this tune, hahahaha…and I am delighted with my progress.
I discovered Fiddlehed because I was really struggling to learn Whiskey Before Breakfast. With Jason’s learning techniques and my practice, a song that eluded me for months has now turned into a simple warm-up tune for me to help get loosened up. Do I dare to dream, that one day, this might be a warm-up tune? 😀
I really like that song, Abee, and how you play it. I’m finding that a lot of people are posting themselves playing tunes I’d love to play as well.
Would be great if the practice pieces to follow started slower and built up like so many of your others do. This one is very fast to follow when first learning!
Well done Abee. Lots of difficult fingering there. I could tell when you got in the groove, and it all got easier. Never played a rag before. Been busy all day here in Virginia.Need to go practice now. You are in San Diego? That’s where my son, daughter-in-law and two grandkids are!
Day 9. New Video.
The Beagle has learned when I pick up my fiddle, she gets to go into the big back yard. (She’s not allowed unsupervised, she has her own play area.) She is very excited! It’s cool to have somebody excited when I pick up my fiddle. 😀
I have a much better sense of this little tune now. I see improvement in some areas, but after watching both videos, I see I need to slow down and get better control .. Yay!!! Five more days to really apply some work and do that! When I started this, I thought this tune was well out of my reach. It had a lot of techniques I have really been working hard on though and I wanted to see if I could apply any of it.
I can. Wow!
I’ve been pretty busy. I haven’t been on here much, and I’ve actually forgotten to mark a couple of X’s. I danged sure have picked up my fiddle and put my time in though. 🙂
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Well done Abee. Lots of difficult fingering there. I could tell when you got in the groove, and it all got easier. Never played a rag before. Been busy all day here in Virginia.Need to go practice now. You are in San Diego? That’s where my son, daughter-in-law and two grandkids are!
Hey ABEE you’re coming along nicely with “Peacock Rag”! I like the Ragtime sound.
Nice. And nice schoolhouse rock shirt 🙂
Would like to learn theme music from Lord of The Rings (request)
Me too!
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You are sounding great. I enjoyed watching your video. I am much too shy to do that but feel very encouraged by your performance. Thank you.
Nice playing Owen…
I am 80 and continue to learn everyday. I started classical violin when I was 66 and switched to fiddle four years ago. I love it! Thank you everyone for your welcoming words. And thank you, Jason, for your wisdom, patience and humor. You do make it fun!
Looking forward to it. Question posted. See you tomorrow!
I think I am proud of being able to post this video, more so than of how well it came out. Live in a rural area and high speed is by satellite only, so this video may be pretty poor quality. So many posts on this page; the FH community is surely growing. Hope Jason has gotten good at speed reading! Owen. [youtube]
That was great! Thanks for posting video. I agree this thread is getting really long.
Oh my gosh I love this video. Don’t knock the bad quality, with the deep undertones of the song you are playing, it almost looks and sounds like you are playing inside of a dream and it’s a right cool effect.
You sound great! I like the tune! Can’t wait to hear more!
Funny you mention this, because i just learned the concept of making a new habit “20 seconds easier” and making mini goals.
I started by leaving my violin in its case on my bed. Then i made the mini goal of practicing 5 minutes a day.
I found I liked out even better to get my violin (excuse me, fiddle) ready to play and leave it on the bed. No matter how tired i am, I can pick it up and play for five minutes….which usually becomes 20 minutes or two hours.
What a difference!
Jason is now my guru. Dude, I hope you like me, because I’m going to be around for a LLOOOOOONNNNNNNNNGGGGGGG time.
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This is “Lonesome John”. Another Appalachian tune with even more slides and drones.
Great stuff, man! I love that Appalachian sound….
Loved your videos. I also like your wall display of instruments and noticed your piano. Do you play those as well? You seem to be a natural on that fiddle!
Mostly the guitar. too focused on fiddle right now so not much time to to play mandolin or the guitar. My kids love to play on the piano.
Thanks! I like this tune and the way you play it.
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Appalachian tune “Home with the Girls in the Morning”. Lots of slides and drones. The hardest part is getting the first slide to sound right going from G# to A.
I’ve really enjoyed watching everyones videos and reading posts. It has really inspired me to make a couple videos and keep practicing.
Like the smooth double stops!
Jason
Do we sign up just before or is there a link I should follow to sign up. Thanks for all you do and the joy it brings! We need it now more than ever
Bob C
Did you get an answer?
I am in the process of choosing a new violin. I am so excited. The shop that I am working with is sending me several violins and bows to explore via FedEx ( due to Covid). I live on the East coast. I have been playing for a little over 5 years (almost 3 years with Fiddlehed combined with in person lessons)and now I can appreciate a more expensive instrument. WHAT A DIFFERENCE. I grew attached to my student violin, and felt sad trading it in, but now I know!!! It is worth it for the wonderful resonance. Haven’t picked yet, but I am leaning towards a Franz Pecha, 1933, it is sooooo mellow. ( and,yup, it is used) Thank you for all your wonderful encouragement- you kept me going
Day 7 – Learned the Tennessee Waltz this week. Today I’m working on putting ornamental and grace notes to pretty it up.
I’m trying to get back up to speed on Smash The Windows, Devil’s Dream and Ste-Anne’s.
Thank you so much for organizing the group practice session. It helped me focus while someone else was playing and I, Canadian, met an Irish fiddler. It was awesome!
Thank you Jason. Happy fiddling this week!
Kim
Thanks so much for the kind words. I appreciate it! -Dylan
Sorry, here is ‘Mallai Chroch Shli,” actually following Jason’s instructions:
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Love that song Dylan! It’s soothing and haunting at the same time. That drone in the background really brings it alive.
I don’t know enough to give you any tips, but I do want you to know, I coulda listened to that all day. I hope you put up more videos.
Nice tone and timing. Well done!
Wow. Loved it. I have been playing for about the same amount of time. You definitely have talent and I loved your song selection.
Oh! Here it is!! Wow! Good job! I can’t believe you’ve only been playing less than a year! Keep on fiddling!
That’s nice Dylan!
Hello everybody. I started playing fiddle in November 2019. Here is a video from earlier today of me playing ‘Mallai Chroch Shli.” I believe it is an Irish tune, but I am trying to play it with Scottish ornamentations. I am certainly open to comments on how I can make it better! -Dylan
Hi Dylan, for some reason your video won’t come up. Just FYI – you might need to post again!
Greetings all. Coincidentally, my friends challenged me to learn DWDTG during this challenge. Friends play in several different bands and we had an out door fest where they played. I present my day 6 challenge video. Much I can learn from playing this and watching the video. –Had a blast. …first time doing anything with a band other than watching. lol Starts about 45 seconds in. Cheers to Jason and the Fiddlehed crew.
That’s awesome to start with DWDTG with a band! I’ve only played with a banjo player and a buddy of mine who plays guitar and mandolin. Looked like everyone was having a good time and well done remembering the lyrics. Keep up the good work.
thank you much. Was a great time. much help and support from a good crew of friends too. cheers to picking up and jamming with your buddy.
Day 6 I worked on a couple of double stop, boil ’em cabbage down versions. Also, went over a number of songs that I’ve memorized, but haven’t played in a while(black velvet band, smile a while and rubber dolly). Ill have to write them down, bc sometimes I forget about how many songs I’ve memorized. When I record myself, it’s obvious that the songs I’ve memorized sound much better than the ones I need to play off a finger chart or sheet music.
Hope to make it to today’s zoom, but it falls on Thanksgiving dinner. Today, I’m very thankful for this fiddle challenge because it’s gotten me back into the habit of playing every day. Happy Thanksgiving!
Ok guys. I’m throwing up my first video….just so’s I can cringe when I see it again. Ugh!
I’m working on the Peacock Rag. It’s so hard.. I am barely beginning to get to where I can almost hear a song for a little while, then I lose it again. I am hoping I will be able to look back and see improvement. It can’t get much worse…
(Oh it can.. I can make sounds that can split atoms. I have that special ability.)
I almost always play with a mute. I pulled it off to record a video. It always startles me when I realize how loud my instrument is…and it always throws me off a bit. I can see it definitely did here. I wish I had given it a few moments to get used to the sound again. (Note to self for next time.)
Still. At the beginning of this challenge, I couldn’t play three notes of this song. Maybe. One day. 🙂
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Hi Abee,
You will be playing the song through in no time, and you’ll be so pleased. Keep up the good work!
linda
Hey Hey! Gotta Slow myself down to play accurately…my habit is to try playing at tempo from the beginning….and losing bow position on the prime string playing spot.
See you Sunday on the Zoom practice!
Likewise, I am beginning to practice counting note values with the metronome and tapping my foot, which I do on the banjo for many years and it becomes second nature to keep correct time. But on the fiddle I must work with an entirely different ‘feel’ since the bowing and fitting the note/time values within a given length of bow stroke is quite different than the right hand motion on the banjo……if I’m making sense….lol.
Good living is all about knowing yourself. Such an inspiring story, thank you Jason! You artfully weave good living into learning to play the fiddle, this is key to playing from the heart and enjoying the journey.
I love hearing about your group lessons and hope to sign up for one in November!
Today I practised playing to the metronome. Previously I always found it too difficult, but now I’m getting into it. have to stop being in so much of a hurry! My video for today:
Good for you practicing with the metronome, Julia.
Love the tunes you’re playing. Kudos to trying to use the metronome. I need to try the metronome to help with timing. I love your explanations of your thought process while playing
Julia, I think if you had a, (what do they call it?) a Blog…..I would tune in everyday. Good determination with the “kinky” pinky, and nice playing as well.
Love kinky pinky, Julia, and hearing how and what you are working on.
I’m loving these videos. I need to make one tomorrow. I need to make lots. I started this challenge with nothing really more in mind than getting into a better practice habit and out of the rut I had found myself in for a couple of weeks. I had just found the Chromatic Scale and fell in love with it, so I wanted to work on that some more and make it sound like I know how to play it….lol.
I listened to that song Peacock Rag which compliments that scale…and I chuckled.
“Intermediate he said…” Hahaha. Yeah, sure Jason.
I would no more be able to play that song than I was going to rise and fly to the moon tomorrow. Chuckle again… “Intermediate.” I can play intermediate, but there is no way I was going to be able to play that song.
Here we are.
I have some semblance to a song and it actually almost sounds like the Peacock Rag. I am astounded that I am moving my fingers and they are giving me back something I would have never believed possible.
I still can’t play it.. but I know I am going to be able to by the end of this challenge. I so wish I had videoed my first attempt at playing the
3d line to Peacock Rag, because, well, wow. I’ve come a long way in a short time.
Exercise 7 is titled “G string”, but is actually G and D strings
Got this changed, thanks for your help Steve. Enjoy
Day 5 Kudos to everyone for their videos. I still haven’t worked up to that yet. I’m sure you will inspire me. 2hrs. practice I am trying to play Gavotte-Mignon with piano accompaniment. But I am not quite there yet so continued with micro practice on Measures 7;35;37-38; 39-40. trying something new by breaking up with G Maj. scale. It is so hard to get from the micro practice to playing along and this piece is especially challenging with piano accompaniment. Is that last stage always going to be so hard? I always struggle with the first week of a new piece and then getting it to the play through . Any suggestions. Still working on Wagon Wheel. Played through Wildwood Flower and Greensleeves for fun and easier sight reading. I haven’t missed a day. You all are making this so much fun. I got in some Tennis with my husband too. I think the fiddling is improving my tennis!
Day 5 has been great. I have been playing today and having so much fun. Doing videos and watching is a good teaching tool. It’s just important to have fun, retired and mature and starting to play the violin as a mature adult should just be fun! Today’s recording is a lovely waltz, “The Skye Boat Song” I am working on “Hector The Hero”, it is not ready to share yet. Hope this works!
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Lovely, thank you Rita!
I’m trying to work on my play list. And speed up abit, as long as I can keep good sound. Also working on double stops. Having a bit of a time with them, but I just keep trying.
Keeping to my daily practice…..30 minutes a day. My grand baby is my most appreciative audience. I tell him what I am playing, and he most especially loves Oh Susannah, with slides in there. He doesn’t talk yet, but he says “Hmm”, when I ask him if he wants more. He’s not crying, so I figure that means yes. He isn’t walking yet either, but bounces on his feet to the music. I’m onto something, I think.
That’s lovely – and it’s important to give babies an appreciation of music while they are young.
I am working on making sure I am practicing 20 minutes each day…double stops with fingering…intonation…swallowtail jig. Need to get accustomed to using the metronome…my biggest challenge is accuracy and a clean clear sound…my husband and daughter know about the challenge. I am thankful for fiddlehed…Jason.. You are very informative and encouraging!!!!
Hello Jason, Happy October to you and yours, I just signed on for the Fall Fiddle Challenge and hope to be able to work on a tune without the sheet music that I am learning along with my fiddle group. And then transposing it one note up, and then possibly the next note up.
As always, thank you so much for all you do!
Cheers,
Linda
Trying to post my recording…., how do I do that
Hello. Not sure if you had an answer on this. If you have a sign-in for youtube you, “create /upload the video ” there then copy/paste the link here. I leave my videos as shareable but unpublished in youtube
Been working on some Klezmer tunes (only been playing since January). Really like this Berdichiever Khosid. Well maybe not mine but the song.
I love Klezmer tunes 🙂
Me too
Very nice. Didn’t notice any strange facial expressions. I appreciate everyone who has posted their practices. You are doing very well with your playing and timing.
Thank you!
Love that song. I tried it but am not skilled enough yet. Keep posting your practices. Very inspiring.
You are nicely in tune with that, and it is a lovely tune too.
First off “Baby Yoda”! Can hardly wait for next season of “Mandolorian”. I’m not too familiar with Klezmer. Nice tone!
Hello all. A bit late with joining in on the progress, but think this is great and did join in on the challenge. I look forward to spending some time checking back over the progress of all. This hit at a great time. My friends know I picked up the fiddle, and even knowing my beginner status, put it out to learn DWDTG to play along with a jam band for 10/10. Using the “breaking it down” philosophy along with Jason’s earlier videos on DWDTG it’s giving me a good point along with a focus for practicing the main skills I want to focus on: Clean and better tone playing and 4th finger work. Will continue through the challenge with this song but breaking it down even more. Have video but still need to post for viewing. I say cheers to all with a thank you out to Jason for organizing this. I’ve been having a blast. — Henry
Never posted on the internet before. Working on Angelina the Baker. One tune I’ve learned (sort of) that my jam group does occasionally.
Mary
Well posted – the internet is such a great resource. Nice to have a jam group, how did you start with that?
Local concert venue has jam session outside every Friday. Never know who or how many. Very welcoming group. I mostly sit in back and play backup chords. Last night I attempted angelina the baker. Very different playing with people. I’m in west georgia area usa.
Good for you, Mary. I had been playing with a jam group also, until the Pandemic, and it is fun, and scary (a little.)
Lovely,
Mary
Today I practiced for 30 minutes, just working on string crossings and testing my pitch against the electronic tuner. Isolated problem spots in Ashokan Farewell and broke them down into tiny exercises, repeating over and over again and testing intonation against the tuner.
I have been playing for a little over a month and I usually play anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours each day. Lately I have had a bursitis-like pain in my shoulder and neck that goes all the way down my elbow to my wrist. Has anyone else experienced this? Is it to do with the way I am holding the fiddle in my left hand? Just wondering if I need to correct posture and/or do any physical therapy for this.
Figured out that the right chair makes all the difference! Today I practiced scales, intonation and long notes sitting in an upright chair rather than the sort of slouchy armchair I’d been using and focusing on not letting the fiddle sort of drop down in my left hand and it’s made all the difference; no back pain! Like everything else, it just takes practice. 🙂
Maybe try standing up to practice. As soon as you feel a pain STOP. Wait for it to go away. Take fiddle off your shoulder. Maybe walk around. Wiggle a bit. Shouldn’t be very long. Maybe a minute and then go back to playing. Repeat if pain comes back.
If your shoulder rest is digging into your shoulder that can be a problem. Or if it is sitting funny on your collar bone.
If you are tensing at the shoulder And pulling the shoulder forward liking trying to grip the fiddle, it may also cause that pain.
Working on Cantina Band Theme again today(it’s a fast one), trying to memorize it and Jingle Bells. It’s cold enough here today to start thinking of Christmas…2C this morning in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. This is our Thanksgiving weekend.
Someone posted a video of playing while singing. That would be a great idea for a new lesson. 🙂
Btw, I’m don’t know how to log onto the forum either.
Started learning a new waltz today called “Hector The Hero.” It is a lovely Celtic waltz and fun to play adding grace notes and trills. Even playing it without ornaments is lovely.
Hey everyone i am working on ‘when a child is born ‘ It’s a simple tune but i need to learn the correct timing its my moms favourite Christmas song so hoping these two weeks will make me focus. Congrats to all.
PS i am trying to get into the forum says i am logged in but i cannot find anybody hints?
Ok, I caved and made a video 😖 AND posted it to YouTube 😳 AND instagram!! 😱 I’m learning lavenders blue out of the Mel bay beginner violin book by Craig Duncan. Every day before I play a song I practice playing blind on all my first position notes.
Bare with me, I shake really bad as soon as that video button is pushed. I REALLY REALLY HATE being recorded. 😣
Day 4 was the hardest for me so I appreciated the email encouragement. I worked on module 2.8. Also did some call and response Exercises. Completed 1 hr. 15 min. By timing 15 min. Increments.
Well done Yvonne, keep posting, you’re doing good!
My video for Friday. Keeping going, so far so good!
Is there an Orange Blossom Special lesson coming out?
Yes!
I just practiced for an hour and twenty minutes. Better late than never.
-Scales in G and A; 2-4-3-1 melodic variation in different ways, working on speed.
-Reviewed “Have you ever seen the rain.”
-Started a new song called “Do You Realize??” by the Flaming Lips.
So fun!
Love the Flaming Lips! Do a video
Yea! Flaming Lips! Cool
I really enjoyed the group lesson today. The improvisation was challenging and fun. Meeting other FiddleHed-ers in the classrooms was the icing on the cake! Thank you Jason.
Can’t wait for the next lesson !
I’m being mindful to NOT sound like I’m “sawing a log” ~ the pressure on the strings, the weight of the bow. I guess I need to go over the lessons on musicality. You are all awesome! Thank you so much for making this FUN.
On the D string, the first exercise, I’m having trouble remembering the pattern played in a couple of the calls. For example, the one that starts at 2:07, and another that starts about 2:43. I start to play my response, but I just can’t seem to remember the rhythm that got played. I’ve tried it several times (not 1000 yet).
I’ve tried counting, but it hasn’t helped me. Is there a secret? I’d write it down, but that seems to defeat the purpose of the exercise.
Hey Steve, writing it down could be a good way to learn something that’s continuing to be challenging. How about tapping the rhythm to the pattern first, then try singing it, then trying to play on fiddle. Working one’s way towards the goal by learning the various skills separately first. 🙂
omg, this week! I was so happy to have a challenge presenting to me at the beginning of what I hoped was the beginning of a 2-week+ vacation (during which I will go nowhere, because…obvious). Had a very relaxing day 1, discovered practice challenge and decided Yes! this is for me (even though Day 1 was a bit taken over by Trump leaving hospital)!
Day 2…tuned my fiddle, which has been neglected for months, made sounds that weren’t horrible with my fiddle. End of day 2, housemate comes home with sore throat and fatigue.
Day 3, housemate stays home from work due to symptoms, household in kinda chaos, figure out how to create a “clean space” that includes kitchen and quarantine housemate in north sector of house, housemate goes for Coronavirus test. Forget about fiddling entirely.
Day 4, I’m now cooking and delivering meals to housemate 3 times a day waiting for coronavirus test result which, according to Kaiser, will come in anything from 3 to 7 days. This is the third time we’ve had to go through this since July. Hello vacation! CBD gummies and wine are my friends. I take some “me time” and decide that darn it, I’m doing this practice challenge! Actually get 30+ minutes in. I’m reminded how much I need to practice 😉
And here I am, a beginner fiddle player in the age of coronoavirus doing the best I can. Y’all are inspiring, thank you for being out there and keeping me going this week!
Great post!
Hope all is well for you!
Arkansas Traveler, Focusing on tunes in key of D this week. Practicing the key to play more accurately in tune. Using a tuner app that I installed on my phone.
Well played. I enjoyed that!!
Lovely! It’s really nice to hear a tune played at a pace where one can follow it. Your tone is beautiful.
Beautiful!
It’s cool to see so many posts and so many people practicing. I don’t know anyone personally that plays so it’s nice to know I’m not alone. So it’s day 4, tho only day 3 for me and I am REALLY struggling with this song I’m focusing on. Out on the Ocean. I’m too much a beginner for it, but I’m determined to at least memorize it in hopes then I can play a little more in tune. I’ll keep at it. In the end I hope to share a video but there are way too many blunders at this point.
I already practice 60-90 minutes per day. In fact, since the pandemic erupted, I pretty much gave up the guitar and singing. Each day, it’s the fiddle… Such satisfaction! I have been working on cajun music – thank you, Jason….Fais Do Do. But recently I’ve been working on the Cajun standard, ” Lovebridge Waltz” Each practice session I practice the A and D scale using the drones….What a help!
I started out on a cheap Ebay fiddle (complete setup $15 including shipping). For over a year I tuned it in reverse: E D A G. I even played ” Danny Boy” at my mothers’s memorial wake – nobody knew the difference. The fiddle I have now is a Becker from a thrift store – such a sweet girl. Good luck to everyone….I loves Fiddlehed!
Hey Jason, Thanks for the Fall Practice Challenge. I didn’t realize how serious I was taking myself until I video taped myself playing a tune (first time to video tape myself playing). After watching the video, I’ve decided to lighten up and just have fun. So what if I don’t sound great or good, I’m having fun now. It is also great to see all the great responses on the Fall Practice Challenge page. I’m practicing every day for about an hour and having a blast.
Thanks again and Fiddle On!
Hi Jason! I’m on board!
I’m from Argentina. So far, I’m practicing every day.
I decided to practice 1 hour each day. I’ll be focusing on improving my vibrato and interpretation on “El día que me quieras”, a tango by Carlos Gardel. And I’m trying to get better at Allemande, a violin transcription from Cello Suite 1 by Bach!
I do the same thing with terrible expressions, not even aware that I do it until I watch the video. But I did not notice any terrible expressions when you played, and you play very well! I also copied the embedded link and did not work as expected.
Trying once again. “Hobart’s Transformation” (not Transgressions.)
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Day 4: I learned the other part and improved the rest. but I don’t understand why when I’m concentrated on playing I make those terrible expressions, I can’t look at myself 😮 does that happen to you too?
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P.S. I copy the embedded link but it doesn’t work as expected, what should I do?
I loved that performance! Your expressions are quite normal compared to what I do when I’m trying too hard… Also, I don’t think it’s possible for us to embed videos, I think Jason has to do it, because I am having the same problem no matter what I do, the code isn’t interpreted right.
Thanks Julia <3
I love the sound of your fiddle! You play so smoothly! Very nice!
Thanks! 🙂
I think you look fantastic and sound great
Thank you 🙂
I think you look like you are having fun
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Trying to post my video playing Hobart’s Transgressions.
Trying to post my video playing Hobart’s Transgressions.
Nice! The first few bars of that remind me of a tune I think I know but just can’t remember. It wasn’t called Hobart’s Transgressions though. Isn’t it annoying when that happens! I think it might have been one from Aly Bain.
Thank you, Julia.
Very nice. Didn’t notice any strange facial expressions. I appreciate everyone who has posted their practices. You are doing very well with your playing and timing.
I can’t join the meeting because I live in Lafayette LA and we’re preparing for hurricane right down our throats. Pray it’s not too bad. Will view when I can. Love the lessons and videos. Great job!!!!
having hard time! had lots of mini strokes .can’t seem yo get brain to work. been practicing
I’ve had a lot of mini strokes and it seems hard to figure this out ! what is free and what cost a fee?
Please let me know if you have more questions or problems.
Jason
Hey guys and Jason, looks great and thanks. Here’s my plan for the 14 days:
– Long whole bows, open strings, speed = 77. Focusing HARD on maintaining sound point and drawing parallel bows. 5 minutes
– 4th finger tone quality. 3 min.
– Cmaj scale, 2 octaves, 1st and 3rd pos, separate bows, whole, half quarter, 8th notes, speed = 77. 7 minutes.
– 1st finger to 4th finger descending string crossing lower half of bow esp. at frog. Example: A1 to D4. 5 minutes.
– Spiccato. Trying to get rid of the clicky-clicky sound. Using Kreutzer 2 and Mozart Rondo for this. 10 minutes. Long, uphill battle.
– Tune: The Glen Road to Carrick. Trying to learn the Irish triplets. 10 minutes
– Double stop scale, 3rds, in Cmaj. This is a very challenging drill for shifting. 10 min. Another long uphill battle.
– Sevcik Op. 2 #29. 5 min
– Tunes: Whiskey Before Breakfast, St. Anne’s Reel, Cold Frosty Morning, Kitchen Girl, Lonesome Moonlight Waltz. 5 min.
Thanks guys! Pete in Bikersfield
This is just the motivation I needed. Recording myself (😏) but also reviewing old favorites and picking out new tunes (Snowden’s Jig). Great to see all the inspiration on this site.
Jeff here doing well on practice not getting bogged down enjoying it working on scales,rythms and bowing technique to make tunes sound better I put my mute on the strings and jam away. And Jason thanks for encouragement and lessons.
Still working on Blackberry Blossom, the 4th finger isn’t a problem but I realized that I didn’t have the tune in my ‘audio memory’ as firmly as I thought which causes me problems in the B part so will listen to more recordings/videos to get it ‘fixed’ better. Jason’s lesson is invaluable too. Still have plenty of time to practice, 3 hours yesterday which included Jason’s beginner Zoom session. I don’t have video recording capability on my desk top, yet, so will work on getting a camera.
Hello fellow Fiddlehed’s, I’ll be practicing 1 hour each day, from 10-11am which works out well for me. My focus will be on playing in tune and hitting the notes the first time, can’t get enough of that. My 3rd finger is usually sharp on the A string and flat on the D string so I’m working on consistently finding that sweet spot. It’s a struggle. I’ve audio recorded a few of my practices but the video/YouTube part is more of a challenge. Seem to spend more valuable time trying to figure out how to do that when I’d rather play. I hope to accomplish that task soon.
I’ve been a student of Jason’s on Fiddlehed since May of 2020 and really enjoy his style of teaching. He is a godsend and a real motivator! I’ve recently started lesson 1.8, The High Road and the Low Road and am enjoying the section on Dorian scales, replaying the earlier tunes like O’Keefe’s Slide, Ballydesmond Polka, Cluck Old Hen, and a new tune called Road to Lisdonvern. Love that one! I work the scales for 10-15mins just to get my left hand and my ears calibrated. I also enjoy the challenge of the Pedal Exercises II a fun, zoned-in workout shifting between the naturals and the sharps. Wow! Plenty to work on!! I’m on the injured list with a bad case of tendonitis in the left elbow, but working through it. It only hurts when I try to put the fiddle down. 😊
I’ve told my very patient and supportive wife about the FPC and my neighbor/fellow musician down the street who is still on the fence whether to pick up the fiddle again.
Thanks Jason for all you do for us!!!
Brett
A little late to post, but I did start on Monday. Here’s what I’m up to,
Oh well, that didn’t entirely work!
– Using my little finger
– Sluring with string crossing
– Getting more of a syncopated sound
– tune of the week: Hobart’s Transformation
I am working on bowing, flexible wrist, getting a strong sound and double stops. Thanks to the FPC for getting me back to music. It’s been hard to play since Covid because I miss the personal contacts of my teacher and fellow fiddle club members. 3days of practicing about 1 hour a day! I got this!
Thanks for the kick in the pants! Caregiving for my mom in a different state has me away from my usual routine and only playing when my group, Sheltering In Place, gets together. This challenge is the reset and encouragement I needed to play every day. Working on tunes, intonation, and bowing. Remembering to take some time to listen, too. Singing the tunes definitely helps to get them in my ear and into my fingers.
Well, it’s day four and after watching other people’s inspiring videos, I finally summoned up the courage to submit one of my own.
I won’t go into listing the faults but it’s a work in progress and I’m really enjoying the journey.
Best wishes to all learners out there sharing the challenge. It’s a great idea!
That’s for sharing. Keep up the good work.
Mary
Thanks @ffwrnais for sharing your version of Margaret’s Waltz.
Nice job! Keep on fiddling!
Thank you – you’re doing well!
That’s lovely! Thank you for posting!
Very nice! Thanks for the video.
Only waltz i know is “Rye Whiskey”
I’m on day 3 of playing blindfolded and it’s not as intimidating as you would think. I’ve been playing for 3 years on and off again though, so I have a little bit of muscle memory going for me. When you play scales or finger positions blindfolded, you really get a clear idea of your sound. You train your ear to hear when your off pitch vary quickly.
Sounds like a really smart idea! Will have to try that.
I don’t see a handy list of tunes to practice. Am I missing something?
You get there by going to Library > Tunes > Dronopoly Game > Dronopoly in G
Even before this challenge started I was playing off and on all throughout the day, and evening. I keep my case opened up on the table, along with the mandolin that I am trying to learn. (my fingers are so sore but that callus is getting there 🙂 But, signing up for this challenge has motivated me to be specific in learning scales correctly. I have had them written down and knew a little bit of a couple scales. But I want to learn them all and know where the notes are without having to think about it. I thought playing by ear you didn’t really have to know notes, keys, scales etc. but I am finding out that by learning them, opens me up to a whole new level of playing the fiddle. Which in turn is also helping me to play the mandolin. I have learned so much by watching fiddlehed, and I tell everyone I can about it. Thank you so much.
Even on days when you’re tired or not feeling your best and practice doesn’t go well, it’s a learning experience.
Practicing playing long notes while singing, plus playing a short lead on this song. Singing plus playing long notes–a good incentive to keep working on intonation, ha ha! Eventually hoping to add double stops to lead. [youtube]
Here’s a video of us performing the same song with guitar, mandolin and cello, just for reference. [youtube]
Lovely,
Mary
Thank you Mary!
Beautiful song, thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Rita!
Thanks for sharing Rebecca. Sweet song, and sweet voice!
Aw, thank you Jason! I don’t know why my embed code didn’t work; I must have done something wrong. I’ll keep trying! The song is one I wrote and I usually play guitar on it but hopefully I can manage the fiddle part at some point. In any case it is a good exercise to work on. 🙂
Wow, that’s a brilliant idea, to sing against a drone and play with different harmonies! I might steal that. I couldn’t embed either, I think we don’t have access as guests, that’s my conclusion. Looking forward to more of your songs!
Thank you Julia! It is really fun to do any kind of drone work; I am enjoying it and it’s so helpful.
Beautiful song!
Thank you Jill!
I’m trying to play every day, healing from a frozen shoulder, but it’s getting there!
I’ve been working on Si bheag Si mhor, not ready to post a vid yet…
Hi from Saint John, NB. These fiddle challenges are a great idea! I’m working on improving my sound by concentrating more on each note. Been working on St. Anns Reel, which I use as my cellphone ringtone. The recording idea really shows the difference practice makes, over time. Also working on Cantina Band theme, You’ve got a Friend in Me, Waltzing Matilda and playing along to other random music…which I dont find easy to do well.
Thank you very much for your interest and for everything you have done and continue to do, in regards to sharing your fiddle knowledge! 🙂
My video of the day
[youtube]
It’s just not embedding. Sorry again!
Thanks for sharing @juliag, and for trying to embed. It can be done easily from a desktop computer…
Nicely done!
Hey Y’all from Big Island Hawaii… Feeling well inspired by you all and the Challenge! Been delighted with progress on Pretty Little Dog & Ashokan Farewell.
Scared to record myself? Naw—but scared to listen to it!
Aloha for now—Forrest & FiddleHedSandra
Tell you what, just record it and upload without listening!
Jason, I fully appreciated the pace, and the giving, nurturing nature of your teaching.. For me slowing down was just what I needed to remind me to focus on sound. And I loved the throw away bow, letting it go! Everything I’ve been learning lately has been over my head so it felt good to be able to keep up and feel confident playing along. I also appreciated the interaction in the breakout group, and the fact that you paired me with a nice man from Ireland (Damien) who taught me how to really pronounce my Irish maiden name! Perfect! I look forward to more group lessons. Love your style of teaching. I’m a big fan! 👍☮️🎻💟
Jason, I fully appreciated the pace. For me slowing down was just what I needed to remind me to focus on sound. And I loved the throw away bow! Everything I’ve been learning lately has been over my head so it felt good to be able to keep up and feel confident playing along. I also appreciated the interaction in the breakout group, and the fact that you paired me with a nice man from Ireland (Damien) who taught me how to really pronounce my Irish maiden name! Perfect! I look forward to more group lessons. Love your style of teaching. I’m a big fan! 👍☮️🎻💟
Will this be viewable afterward like your on line sessions are? I’m not going to be home tomorrow but would really like to see the lesson. And I very much like the scale exercises you did in the video I just watched, especially the way you worked up into 3rd position. All truly great suggestions. Thanks.
This was awesome! I really enjoyed playing along with y’all after the fact. Thanks so much for sharing the lesson! I was too scared to join for fear of how bad I sound but maybe someday 😊
I have been playing for a while, and I bought a new fiddle. I didn’t put tape frets on this one. I want to make sure I am playing the notes correctly, so I look at the Pano Tuner app in my phone while I play scales to make sure I have accurate finger placement. When I play a song, I am starting to be able to immediately hear when the note I’m playing is too high or too low and adjust my finger placement without looking at the tuner. In addition to scales, I am also learning “Coleraine.” I try to play for an hour a day.
Love this Wagon Wheel lesson – where can I find the 2nd and 3rd breaks?
Thanks!
One of the songs I’m trying to learn to play on is a song I wrote. I usually play guitar on it, but now that I’m *trying* to learn fiddle I’ve set myself the goal of learning the mandolin part that my husband usually plays. There are also some long notes during the verses that I’d have to sing over, which is super hard and makes me really want to do some more work on intonation because it’s so easy to get thrown if the fiddle is even slightly off. Usually this song would have guitar on it, but here it is just with fiddle. This is my Day 2 practice. I’m working on the tuning during the verses and I hope to add double stops to the lead someday. Baby steps! I’ve embedded my practice video below, and also here’s a link to a performance of the song with a cello player, so you can hear more of what it’s supposed to sound like, ha ha!
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Instead of being one minute early I was 59 minutes late / Jason your problem child is not just computer challenged he is just flat challenged / I will look for a on line math class & try to be on time next time
I am navigating the site better thanks for your help / I hope your late breakfast was great !!!!
Blessings Ken
Hi Jason
Sue from Niagara-on -the Lake, Ontario Canada. Thank you so much for these group lessons. I really think that it will help me a great deal. And I almost felt I got a private lesson from you, thank you for the tip on how to improve my sound, I’ll work on that , it’s added to the list of things to focus on for the practice challenge.
You asked us to comment on whether we thought the lesson was too slow. It definitely was not too slow for me. I don’t mind slowing down and taking a few steps back because I feel it really helps me to listen to what I’m playing. I was very nervous playing for you but I also think that that is part of the next steps I need to take to become a better fiddler (playing with others)
I have a question, do you think that going back and doing all of the beginner lessons would help me? That really has not been my focus since joining Fiddlehed but I’m wondering if it should be.
Thank you again, you are a wonderful teacher .
Thanks for the inspiration. I split my practice into two sessions a day. I’m doing 25 in late morning. Musical scales, open string bowing double stop bowing and then working on a new tune for me with lots of micro practice( Harvest Home because it’s challenging and has lots of cross string). Late night is pick a major scale. Open bowing. Trying to make Ashokan Farewell flow. And then an improvised tune I made up with Klezmer scale. I love to practice. I’m having trouble all of a sudden with keeping my bow straight so it’s my primary focus on all the practice. Night practice 20 to 25 minutes. Fiddling is important for relaxing. When I’m fiddling anxiety goes away.👍🏽
Well I made it to Day 2 – didn’t expect to play today as I’d had to start work at 5 am and thought I’d be too dopy to do anything this evening. So I told myself I’d just do 10 minutes …. which became 45! I didn’t have a clear plan, so I went back to the Blackest Crow lesson Jason sent as a try-out and then moved onto the drone exercises. That was completely new to me and seems like a good starting point as when I played as a kid I was never too sure whether I was in tune or not (probably not most of the time LOL!).
If you commit to playing two minutes a day, you’ll probably do more once you get started…
Yesterday I practiced for an hour. Happy to do it in the middle of the day instead of at 11pm in a state of half-sleep…
The call and response really helps me get too know my fiddle!
Totally, Chuvi! 😊 Same here. And I love when Jason says “Good job” or sayings something funny! There are hidden gems in some of the Call and Response Tracks. lol! 😂
Did not get signed up until this morning. But I did practice the first 2 days of the challenge. I am going to be working on intonation. I am impressed with the people who have posted a recording of themselves! I am in a trio (Oyster Crackers) we sing songs of hope and inspiration; an eclectic mix of Americana, Celtic and original music. Some of our repertoire is a cappella, we also accompany ourselves on guitar, fiddle and mandolin. We did a recording at the Columbia Theater in Longview, WA last week which will live stream probably in November. The videographer will edit the concert, thank goodness. I need this practice challenge these days and I need all the incentive I can find! Thank you Jason for your wonderful site and this practice challenge!
My practice summary for Day 3:
[youtube]
Didn’t embed properly! [youtube]
Don’t know what I’m doing wrong, sorry Jason! I appear to be missing the last bit of the code for some reason.
sorry to be annoying, I am trying copying via a different browser to see if that works: [youtube]
Don’t sweat this too much. What did you use to film yourself?
I just noticed that on the YouTube phone app, there is not an option to post the embed share link. However on a desktop computer, if you go to your video on YouTube, you can copy what’s known as an embed link there.
I’m using an old iMac to video and edit. But I’m using my Macbook Air to log in to your page here. It is the YouTube embed link that I’m pasting, but it seems to come out half baked, somehow. Technology, eh. Cant live with it, can’t live without it!
It’s great that you’re filming every day. Try to keep going if you can…
Hellloooo everyone! I’ve been starting and stopping with the fiddle for a few years now as life events kind of take over and I was just about to stop subscribing to Fiddle Hed when I logged on and saw the practice challenge! I decided to give it a go again and I’m happy to say I loved making some noise with my fiddle which I haven’t touched since coronavirus landed. Thanks Jason! I’m looking forward to re-committing to practicing! I’ve told my son (who’s a great banjo player and was my inspiration for picking up the fiddle in the first place) and my cousin. Intending to practice 30 minutes a day!
I echo what LisaB said! That’s cool though! I like people to go over the top to pull me a bit more. I appreciate you, Jason.
With working 16+ hours a day and working out, getting in 5 -10 minutes of practice consistently this month is grand for me!
Just working in my oversll sound, D scales and Swallowtail Jig. 🎻💚😁
“I like people to go over the top to pull me a bit more.” EXACTLY! Need a little “boost up the hill” so to speak.
Just recently learned that if you are doing the ‘chop” on the fiddle, it’s supposed to be on the syncopated (or upbeat). That;s so H-A-R-D! lol
Off to practice!
I exceeded my goal of 40 min. I played Long Long Ago and Wildwood Flower for warm up and fun. I used the play along in 1.3 D major scale and also 2 octave exercise for 3rd position from an exercise book I’m assigned. Also worked on 3 problem areas from a piece I am working on for lessons. My husband plays guitar so I am starting the first fiddle break for Wagon Wheel. I really love Jason’s video lessons on that. It was a great second day!
These are fantastic!!! I have so much stuff to practice and these are going to help me along the way. I’m working some sort of these into daily practice for now on.
Hi everyone,
I am planning to at least 30 -60 minutes a day . Lots of scales, but working on double stops, duets, ( which I am in love with) and some new tunes. i have shared with my best friend and my husband ( also my best friend). Right now I love love love the Swallowtail Jig duet, and also Planxty Irwin. Gotta go…it’s late and I have to get my fiddle on….
Hi Jason, I love your work!
I plan to practise at least 30 minutes a day, comprising 10 minutes technique, 10 minutes new tune and 10 minutes revision. I am also hoping to be able to play the basic version of Ashokan Farewell by ear at the end of 2 weeks.
Thank you for all your great resources.
Best wishes, Peter W
Wow! That’s dedication! I tried having an outline of consistency; but family didn’t share my passion for practice. The thing I’m liking about this challenge, is that it’s self paced. One day, I hope to get back to intense and consistency.
You’re a WONDERFUL inspiration to us!
I tend to go overboard with outlines…don’t feel obligated to do this. Even if you take note of a few tunes you’re working on, that might be enough…it’s personal. What works for you?
Thanks, Jason 🙂
What works for me? I honestly don’t know. My time is not my own 🙁 Part of my downfall is–and I’m not whining, just making observances about myself–but I give so much to my work (Elementary school teacher), then my family… at the end of the day, I have nothing left to give myself. I’m hoping… HOPING that this challenge will change that.
So, what works for me? We’ll see. Hopefully it’ll come to me.
I will be practicing 1) A Long way home.
2) Thanksgiving Waltz.
3) Carry me back to Ole VA
Other stuff for about 2 hrs a day I hope.
This post is as good as it gets, and a lesson to always keep in the back (or front) of one’s head. Thank you for it.
from my man Tagore:
“My poet, is it thy delight to see thy creation through my eyes
and to stand at the portals of my ears silently to listen to thine own
eternal harmony?”
I’ll be learning “Wayfaring Stranger” for the challenge and focusing on smooth transitions with the bow when I cross strings. I still hear some squeaking when I try to play any tune fast, so I need to work on slowing things down. I plan to practice 30 minutes a day. My goal is to get as far as being able to sing while playing background chords. If I focus on one song for the challenge, I know I can do it.
I love Wayfering Stranger! I’ve never attempted to sing and play background chords, would love to hear it!
Hello, I’ll try to play John Ryan Polka with more confidence, good sound and rapidity. I learn also the begining of the Canon of Pachelbel, scales and rythm.
I’m french speaking. I play since one year, +/- 1hour /pro week.
I’m still in module 1.1, completing the string crossing exercises. I’ve told my wife, and plan to keep at it to be able to play with my bluegrass band someday!
I’m working on scales, double stops, exercise to build up to (hopefully) vibrato (someday), really into Klezmer lately and playing Hava Nagila and starting Berdichiever Khosid.
I’ve only been playing since January but practice and hour or two a day.
I love it so much.
I really like Klezmer too and love both of those songs.
I love Hava Naglia. It is so much fun.
Day two and I’m motivated and excited. I plan to work on double stops, improving my tone and honing a few select tunes. I’ve been playing a lot of songs from The Waltz Book by Bill Matthieson (highly recommend – there are several volumes and with wonderful, varied collections of waltzes) and plan to focus on a few of those.
Love this site and Jason’s approach, tips and inspiration. Thank you, Jason!
Working on some blues and double stops! And the never ending quest to get that 4 th finger sound clear!
Hi Jason,
I missed the first day of practice but I will add an extra day to the end.
– I’m a renewed newbie
– I going to work on scales, simple exercises, bowing and chords.
– I’d like to be able to play Marie’s Wedding and The Road to Lisdonvarna at the end of two weeks as a newbie. And hopefully continue practicing so that after 3months I’ll be able to do those songs some justice.
– I’m telling you folks in this group about my intention to: Practice for 15 to 30 minutes everyday.
I wish everyone good luck and happy fiddling ☺️🎻
I am working on a few songs that I really love and hope to be able to play with beautiful intonation and flow eventually: Ashokan Farewell, Danny Boy and Lovers Waltz. I told my family about this practice commitment of 30 minutes a day so they will keep me honest. I did a video but am too ashamed to post it. I saw the day 1 posted above and it was just beautiful! Maybe later I’ll be able to do one without swearing, lol! Thanks so much for keeping us motivated, you are the best!
I am working on Billy in the Lowground, which is a challenge since it’s in the key of C. I’m standing up as much as possible while I play, just to be different. I plan to practice at least 15 minutes every day during the FPC. Thanks for motivating me, Jason!
Oh yeah! Billy in the Lowground” is awesome! Have fun with it!
Hi! My goal is to practice for 30 minutes per day. Ten minutes will be to work on a new song, ten minutes will be dedicated to technique (such as chords and scales), and ten minutes will be spent playing songs I know and just having fun. I’m shy, but do hope to post something online. I’ve enjoyed viewing videos from those of you who have posted already. I found Fiddlehed from watching videos at lunch. I struggle with chords and found Jason’s 4 videos on chording very helpful.
Only got in an hour, 45 min. practice yesterday. 2 hours is my usual goal, will do it today. Same sched., long bowing, intonation (I slide up from flat, eyes closed) then look at my tuner to see how close I came, now pretty close ! Scales, including F now. Decided to learn Waltzing Matilda, it looks fairly simple. My scheme for learning new tunes is; I must know what it sounds like beforehand, and I must like the tune. Near term goal is to work on playing various note values using the metronome. I have trouble coordinating bow movement/sustain with metronome, compared to doing it on the banjo where it is easier to coordinate with foot tapping, my usual technique.
I am working on slurs,rythms,timeing and scales And adding bow technique broken down into a 30 to 45 minute time period
My goal with this challenge is to practice 20-30 minutes a day, working more on scales and bowing techniques, and focusing more on memorizing tunes. I told my husband that I am doing this, so hopefully, that makes me stick to it:)
I have been playing for 9 months. I am trying to practice for 20 mins per day. Hoping to improve my tone, which is inconsistent at the moment, by playing tunes. Working on the Cradle Song by Calum Scott Skinner and trying the harmony line for this. Have found trying to loop short sections very useful. I know this will take time.
I haven’t played regularly for the past two years and so my first focus for the FPC is to practice for 20 minutes every day. I know if I tune the fiddle and play for at least 20 minutes, I’ll likely play for longer. For a few days I’ll work on scales (I especially love the pentatonic scales you’ve taught), then I’ll add in an Irish tune to work on as well.
My goal is to practice 20 minutes every day. I am focusing on just working through the D scale and G scale with good sound. I keep thinking if I can enjoy the path and focus on my sound that I will play notes ten thousand times and start to sound good without so much effort!
I am just a beginner, on Mod. 1.6, and I like discipline and order so this challenge will help me, I hope. I am having difficulties playing the “Bile em Cabbage Down” fast enough. I am hoping to get this on down! I am also trying to make my bowing more precise – I tend to hit other strings, particularly when I cross strings. I am totally enjoying learning to play!!!
Hello. As a 2 year now beginner I will hopefully moving forward to the next stage by focusing more on technique.
I am also working on If I Ever Leave this World Alive by Flogging Molly in the hopes of performing with my friends. I have started recording myself and hope to submit a video of my progress🥴
Sandy
I signed up for the practice challenge to improve my sound. I have been playing scales and arpeggios. I want to eventually be able to shift from 1st to 3rd position and play a 3 octave scales. I enjoy playing and watching your lesson videos. Thanks!
Hi, I am working on low first and second finger, tone quality and getting that chromatic scale down and adding another song to my list. I am dedicating 30 minutes a day to these particular goals .
Hi everyone! I am signing on more to force myself to be social about my (attempts at) playing.
I will practice between 30 and 60 minutes each day. (sometimes it will be in bits).
And my list of what to primarily focus on is way too long to call it primary- . So I’m not going to mention playing in tune or string crossings or trying to start vibrato etc. etc.
Instead, I’m going to take a song I’ve wanted to learn and focus on that. It is Out on the Ocean. I’m an ocean swimmer (just did a 10k last week) and want to play everything with Ocean or water in the title LOL! I’m more a beginner than and intermediate but I’m going to give it a shot.
Working on my pitch and finger positions. With drones, and scales…wooot woooooot
Great fun everyone ! Personally I’m going back to the basics – bow hold, volume control, speed control, technical stuff that is not much fun but I know will help me in the long run. (also – Cherokee Shuffle, June Apple, and Top of Cork Road cause Fiddlin’ is FUN above all !!)
My goal is to get in 30-45 minutes a day, and to make sure I am breaking down the songs I practice into smaller pieces. I tend to just play them straight through every time, which means I don’t really work on the tricky bits or on sound quality for specific notes.
One of my goals is to improve my playing on Ashokan Farewell, one of the tunes I’m currently learning. Here’s my day 1 video; trying to be brave by posting here! 🙂 I’m working on intonation, flow, and trying to use more of the bow. It was helpful for me to see this video because I can see here that I am only using a teeny tiny bit of the bow closer to the frog. Also I feel like my string crossings are way clunky, so I’m trying to work on smoothing that out. Obviously I need a lot of work on intonation as well. I have been playing since late August 2020 and I absolutely love the Fiddlehed site and YouTube channel!
Great start to “Ashokan Farewell”! Thanks for posting video.
The video will show up on THIS PAGE if you copy the embed link from Youtube.
Here’s a tutorial on FiddleHed: https://wp.me/P8OLq8-boB
Ah, got it now; thanks so much!
Great! Thanks for sharing your practice! 🙂
Thank you Agnese!
That’s 20 minutes a day!
I’m planning to practice at least 20 minutes. It’s not much but way better than nothing! I’m working on the Swallowtail Gig, which I love. I’ve told my husband, and a flute-playing friend. I videoed the tune yesterday and will do it again in a week or so.
Ha! I love the sandwich video!
I’ve played for 1 1/2 yrs now off and on. These past few months have been tough getting any motivation. But I like this challenge because I think it will give me a boost again. I love the violin but sometimes more on the box than playing. I’ve trying to practice 30mins a day and working on a small but loaded piece from the essentials for strings book. Thank you so much for doing the awesome kick start challenge. 🙂
I have a new to me fiddle. I’m learning it. It feels very different from my rental one. I am working on getting a good sound on all the strings. I’m practicing intervals scales in G and C. I am also memorizing Angelina the Baker (the one fiddle tune my jam group plays that I have somewhat learned). I intend to practice twice daily for 20 minutes. I’m telling you and I’m sharing with a young fiddler in Indiana via Facebook.
Mary Reid
I liked this the last time. I was practicing anyway, but it made me focus better.
I particularly like your phrase- “if you play every day, then you are a musician.”
Everybody wants to be in that club.
No assertions are made regarding the quality of the musician, but we’re getting to that, day by day.
The sense of a community of dedicated players, studying in parallel, is encouraging in this strange time.
Setting my goal at 15 minutes a day. Yesterday was scale warmups, then Swallowtail Jig and Arran Boat Song.Today was scale warmups, then Swallowtail Jig, then playing descending G scale along with Friend of the Devil 😀
This is my practice video for yesterday. I studied the first part, today I am going to study the other. Have a nice practice day 🙂
DAY 1:
Very nice! Wonderful tone and timing. I love “Ashokan Farewell”. This song is on my todo list. Thanks for posting video.
Thanks! It is to improve, my goal for these days 🙂
Thanks for posting! The video will show up on THIS PAGE if you copy the embed link from Youtube.
Here’s a tutorial on FiddleHed: https://wp.me/P8OLq8-boB
And nice playing 👍
Thanks 🙂
I’also working on this beautiful tune as a very new fiddler. You sound wonderful
Thanks We can try to play together at the end of the practice 🙂
Very good timing and I like that you used some vibrato technique. Keep up your excellent playing. Very encouraging!
I always try to use vibrato, sometimes it goes out in some way 🙂
I am working through some of Jason’s intermediate and “Adding Variation” videos again.
Hi all, I’ve been playing for 2 yrs. I haven’t played much due to injuring my arm. I have been working on building strength in my arm and it’s getting better. So with that being said I will start off with practicing for 30minutes. Work on being more relaxed while playing. Practice my scales. Learn 1 song tll it’s embedded in my head (I have a hard time memorizing)
hope the arm keeps improving. is it your bowing arm?
I am again playing blindfolded to work on my finger placement and bowing.
Hello. Interesting practice thoughts. Does that help with training the ear? –Henry
Hi everyone, I’m a day late but excited to join! Practicing at least 20 minutes a day, I want to improve tone, tuning, and string crossing. I also want to just find some good consistent ways of practicing, as I have a tendency to just play a tune through and not really *practice* it to improve. Another goal is to make some fiddle friends!
I start with scale warm up, then variations on scale rhythm for about ten minutes. Next I’m trying to do double stop scales -very challenging. Also playing over chord progressions and drones. I’ve told my wife. Don’t see much of anyone else currently.
Thanks for this Jason.
I will mainly be practicing G major D major and D pentatonic scales.
Tunes little liza jane, Danny boy, ode to joy and Maggie in the woods.
Paying attention to being relaxed and making as good a sound as possible with accurate left hand finger positioning. Most importantly enjoying the time.
Only you and my wife know about the challenge.
I will practice about one and a half hours each day in 15 to 20 minute chunks.
Good luck to everyone one x
What song is “Maggie in the Woods”? Is it the same as “Drowsy Maggie”? I’d like to hear it if you get a chance to do a video.
Thanks to everyone who commented, it’s so nice to have a little community like this! My practice video for today is here:
That’s for sharing your video. I love that tune. Keep up the great work.
WOW ! That was just great !! Thanks for sharing – that took a lot of courage, but honestly helped me so much to watch and listen to your work. I love the tune. I did have to look up what “fortnight” means but now I know haha ! Thanks again !
Thanks for posting! What’s the tune called again?
The video will show up on THIS PAGE if you copy the embed link from Youtube.
Here’s a tutorial on FiddleHed: https://wp.me/P8OLq8-boB
Thanks so much for sharing. 👏👏👏
You are an excellent fiddler. You sound quite good. I do not hear the squeaks you speak of. Your rolls are super excellent. Very authentic. I want to do rolls like that.
A thought might be that you are not getting an even pressure on the string from your bow. Doing long slow bow strokes keeping the tone even from tip to frog And watching to see that the bow is relatively straight might help.
Good insight, thank you!
Tune is ‘Clark’s Cases’
Lovely tune. Sounds fun to play.
Julia, you had my feet tapping; pretty much in time, too. Thanks.
Good morning, 72 yo new fiddle player here in the UK. Started playing five months ago as a pandemic lockdown project. I already play the banjo and mandolin so had a fund of tunes to go at, but using a bow is something else!
I intend to practice for at least 30 mins every day, concentrating on my intonation and bowing technique, in particular double stops and learn at least one old timey tune a week.
Thanks Jason for your all your work and enthusiasm,
Hardest part – Not getting tight/tired muscles in my neck or behind my right shoulder blade!
Question, when playing 1/4 and 1/8 notes, doe sit help tone to travel across the same length of bow, only faster, or use less bow, or does that depend on the quality of sound/piece you are playing?
Such fun, THANK YOU!
I will study and practice Ashokan farewell and try to improve a part of ” Firth of fitfh “.
Greetings! Loving this course! Finally feeling like a have a path rather than loving on my instrument only to get quickly stumped as for what to do next!
Alas, I’m struggling with plucking the Kerry Polka Duet as I think the recording plays a an extra G on the 2nd and 4th line in several of the rounds, yes?
Ahh, is that just the second part that begins the “duet” section of the song, then? Please help clarify for this beginner mind. : )
Since the early days of the pandemic, I’ve been meeting with a couple friends twice a week and we jam under a bridge next to a creek where we can distance from one another, be outside, and take advantage of the good acoustics. We’ve been concentrating on several fiddle tunes, so this week I’m practicing Soldiers Joy – trying the be more precise, adding variations, and trying to increase the tempo.
Day 2. During the challenge I hope to: 1) develop a more disciplined approach to practicing, which will include keeping a record of what I have done and intend to do. 2) Work on playing scales in different ways so I enjoy them and learn the names of different scales. 3) Learn two new songs and polish old favourites. To do all this I need to break my nervousness about videoing/recording myself so will also attempt that. I hope to practice a minimum of 30 minutes a day but hope to do two lot of 30 minute practice one in the morning and one in the evening.
Well I do practice every day but I am going to try and be more disciplined and work on good sound and better string crossing. I tend to just play tune after tune and speed through tough bits.
FiddleHed Gayle here from Central Oregon. Pledged to 30 minutes a day, learning a new tune each week (just started on the bonus Irish tune, Over the Ocean, from module 2.3) as well as cleaning up my bowing techniques and working on double stops, and told my husband, my 98-year-old mom (who always got me to practice my accordion lessons as a kid), and now you guys. Happy to be part of this enthusiastic group!
Ok, here we go. Every day for 2 weeks. That alone is a challenge since I have to stuff my fiddle into a 737 cockpit as rip around the country. But I’m looking forward to it. I think i will try to revisit the tunes I once knew and have lost.
This is perfect timing for me because I am meeting my Dad and his jamming group in December and I want to play with joy not fear. Practicing will help me be ready!
So i’m going to be camping in the desert over the weekend and its not practical to take my fiddle with me… but figure it will still help me be consistent the rest of the days!
This challenge came at the perfect time for me! I was playing regularly for several months and then life got in the way. We are preparing to move, so are packing, showing the house and also house-hunting, Between that stress and the news, I realized I have not been taking good enough care of myself and have been feeling on edge. Playing my fiddle is part of my self-care, and I am ready to get back to it!
This scale has quickly become my favorite. It’s so fun to play and watch my fingers more across that neck in ways I haven’t seen them do before. It forces me to slide down, which is still awkward for me, but… I am working on it! Being able to play this actually gave me the confidence to try that Peacock Rag you posted. I found I can play the first two bars. It’s so intimidating, but breaking things down really helps. I know I’ll be here for quite a while. 🙂
This lesson was huge for me Jason. When I realized as you were playing that I can already break it up and play those notes cleanly on separate strings, it allowed me to focus and see exactly where the problem was.
I did have to start on the rabbit hole with my hand on the fiddle and not on the neck and make sure I could hit those two strings together from any angle no matter what I was playing. Once I had that down, figuring out the problem with my fingering was easy after you broke it down. These micro lessons are bomb…and this particular one gave me great strides.
I am going to be playing scales and first position fingerings blindfolded for 14 days for the challenge. I’ve herd that’s a great way to master intonation. I agree, but I’ve never tried it. I figured it’s a perfect challenge for this.
That’s a great idea! I may give that a try!
It’s not as hard as I thought it would be. I’ve also discovered that I need to work on my Bowing. 😖 It’s impressive how much sound you pick up when you can’t see and only listen👂
I am looking forward to finishing up Module 1.5 and starting the next. Also, anxiously waiting to pick up my new “old” fiddle from a luthier who is getting it set up for me. I have been borrowing one from a dear friend. Thanks for holding the FPC! Great idea!
I practice every day anyway but I’ll do the challenge anytime. I am still a beginner. I would also like to join an on line practice group. I am in Mooresville, NC. If anyone is near me I would love to meet and get together for live practice. My name is Doug
I am in! thanks everyone glad to see so many people trying to learn an instrument, inspirational!
Okay, I’m in. I truly hope I can stick with it without “life” hindering me. My goal: consistency in timing. I find that I’m good for a couple of measures, and then I just fall all over the place.
Good luck everyone!
My first YouTube video! Looking forward to the fall challenge! I retired this year and my goal was to fiddle more! Jason is an amazing instructor!
Oops! Forgot to mention what I’m working on the next two weeks. I’m a new student to Fiddlehed (I took lessons years ago back in the 80’s but haven’t done much with it since then, now that I’m retired I’m ready to fiddle!! My main focus, besides becoming a better fiddler, is old time hymns and my goal is to play in a gospel band) Jason has soooo many lessons, it’s hard to choose. I need to learn scales, so I decided to stick with the Key of D. I need to focus on playing in tune, so I started today looking at his “Playing in Tune” video. I will be practicing with drones and using a tuner I downloaded on my phone. I will practice tunes that are in the Key of D, like Arkansas Traveler, Bile-em-Cabbage Down and Ashokan Farewell. Got any other tunes in mind for key of D? Please let me know in comments below!
The video will show up on THIS PAGE if you copy the embed link from Youtube.
Here’s a tutorial on FiddleHed: https://wp.me/P8OLq8-boB
Very nice!! I like the little flourishes!
I went out and bought a small sound system to help with practice today – I think it will help to learn how to play into a microphone, and it will also help with making my back-up tracks loud enough to use effectively. A new direction seems to motivate me more. Thanks, Jason!
I will be experimenting with my Electric Violin, Effects and Looper. Goal is to practice 4 Tunes for a New Set List!.
Focusing on technique, intonation, some improvisational variations. Basically trying to incorporate things learned to this point.
Will be using pentatonics, modes, arpeggios, some slides, embellishments, 4th finger use and positions. Here are “The Tunes”.
1. Have a Cigar – Pink Floyd / To play over a backtrack with some FX
2. In the Light (Intro) – Led Zeppelin / To play over a Cello Drone in A with Delay+Reverb
3. Innisheer / Play Acoustic Fiddle over my own Acoustic Guitar Backtrack.
4. Ashoken Farewell / Play on Acoustic Fiddle
After a little over 3 months my cat doesn’t (always) leave the room when I practice. Practicing 2-3 hours a day, now working on clean string crossing, scales, long smooth bowing with metronome and 3 tunes; This Land is Your Land, I’ll Fly Away, Keep On The Sunny Side, and just started on Blackberry Blossom as a 4th finger exercise. Have worked through the beginner exercises and concentrate on the ones that need work. Slurs come easy, clean string crossing not so much. Just recorded the above 3 tunes and will see how much improvement after the Challenge.
In the last minute -i’m also inn!
I just bought an electric violin, and boy is it different than my acoustic… feel like I’m starting all over again.. but i have made a commitment to my band to learn 4 new songs with it, so, i am accepting this practice challenge to keep me on track
First day. I was more disciplined in my practice and spent quite a bit of time on scales and my sound. Then played some tunes I like. I realise I tend to the slower tunes so need to add faster ones to my repertoire !
Just what I needed…a practice challenge. I put my instrument down in April due to lack of fun in person jam sessions. I went camping this past weekend with my bluegrass buddies, fiddled lots and swore when I got back yesterday that I would start playing daily even if it was only for a few minutes and this morning I received the challenge email. PERFECT TIMING! Thanks for motivating us!
I’m all in. I’m working on the chromatic scale, cleaner more natural sounding doublestops, but mostly, just picking up that fiddle and making sure I play every day. Good luck everybody. Let’s stay Motivated, Dedicated, and All Fired Up.
After a long time of jumping around and only using the site as it would let me Jason told me how to start from the beginning and that’s what I’m doing half of the time it would not let me on as a member and the other half I didn’t know how to navigate / I will learn to play more scales With some flow and try to learn the second half of the Tennessee waltz with correct intonation
I signed up! Going to also use your evernote method to track my progress!
Nice @sarahnatsumi. Let me know how it works for you. I’m constantly fidlding with how I take notes on practice…so you might discover something cool to share…
I made my first video:
Hi
Julia, impressed with your video. Do you use a camera to make videos? I think it woukd help my practice to video myself (even if the thought makes me cringe a bit!😱)
Love the video. Love that song you’re playing! I need to do this tomorrow. I hope to see more of your videos!
Thanks – I actually used an old iMac for this. I am surprised by how helpful it is to just watch yourself and notice, being your own teacher as Jason says. I always try to be too ambitious and overlook the details.
Thanks Felicity – I used an old iMac for the video but you can use a smartphone or a camera. The nice thing about the iMac is you can play it back easily.
Thanks Julia. Might try my iPhone. Enjoyed your video. It’s made me be bolder about recording myself. I look forward to seeing your next video!
Love your tunes! Thanks for the video post. I only know “Irish Washerwoman” and “ Flowers of Edinburgh”. I’d love to learn “King of Fairies” and “Clark’s Case” eventually.
That is awesome
I enjoyed your video very much. Very encouraging. I’m a 66 year old grandma living in Maryland. You have a lot of courage to post your video as I won’t even let my husband listen to me yet. Playing through FiddleHed for a little over a year. Its been such a blessing to have this learning experience during this dreadful pandemic. Thank you. (Susan)
I know what you mean. For ages I practiced with my windows closed so I wouldn’t upset my neighbours!😆😆
I enjoyed that! Thanks for posting .
Nice work, thanks for sharing!
So sad that I’m away from the fiddle until Thursday, so can’t join in. Make music people … I’m with you in spirit.
Mike (aka Frank’s Fiddle)
Join late! We know you are out there Mike!
I forgot to post that I started learning how to play a fiddle when I retired at 68 and now it’s ten years later and I’m starting again. I joined a strings group in my church and I’m loving it….. Here we go…..
I don’t know if I should reply, but I am. I took up the fiddle when I retired also, that was 6 years ago and I am still at it. Nice to see someone my age here (73) Pam
Super. It’s fun learning new things in these late years. Keeps our minds sharp. Thanks for the reply…..
Hi, Pam:
I always loved banjo and played it a bit off and on. Same as you, retirement gave me the opportunity to pursue music so I started fiddle 18 months ago and I love it! Never too late to follow your passions. Last year here I met a 2 fellow fiddlers and we get together on Zoom almost weekly. You might want to consider that for support and fun.
best of luck,
Kay
That sounds like a great idea!!!
Penny
I’m looking forward to the practice every day time because I’ve slacked off completely. I took lessons for a couple of years but played cajun songs that I didn’t know, thus it made it hard for me to practice and learn. Now, I’ll learn English songs that I know how to sing and that will make the learning much easier. Thanks for the help and encouragement.
Hi! can you suggest me an easy piece to start my practice?
I started my 3rd year of violin in July. Recently my inner critic has made me wonder if I will get this. I recorded myself with video and saw my arm ,wrist and fingers looked stiff. So I went back to recording some back to basics of open string bowing. And tried to watch form and flexibility. I hope this works!
Thanks for the great suggestions and pointers.
My first step is to get the poor old fiddle out of its case and see if I can remember any tunes from those I gave up on rather a long time ago. Then see if I can track down the most recent tune I thought (about nine months ago) it would be fun to learn, and spend a fortnight learning and practising it. I need technique but I’m going to incorporate it into the tune practise by repeating little segments in different ways.
Fell off the fiddle wagon with massive face mask-making and too many Zooms. Hopping back on with “Pretty girl milking her cow” and focusing esp. on intonation and 3/4 time bowing.
time to get practising again. been a bit lax lately working 6 days a week and with other things. will need to start with bowing practice and string crossings
Working on “Tennessee Wagoner” has a double shuffle part. Also 2 Appalachian songs “Home With the Girls in the Morning” and “Lonesome John” strung together. Quite a few slides, double stops, and slurs. Will be a lot of fun!
I’m looking forward to participating, and have decided to simplify my goals. I will practice Jason’s Tuning Exercises (found in the Library, Call and Response Central) on a couple of strings every single day. I will practice at least one and a half hour per day. Plus, I will get back on track with keeping logs in the practice journal— I let the journal slip when time got scarce, even though I continued to play everyday. I’ve worked hard on intonation and it’s there 99% of the time. However, when I work on the Tuning Exercises (usually twice a week), the following day I find that every single pitch is effortlessly precise. Can’t wait to hear the results after two weeks of intensive training!
Pretty sure I already set too many goals for myself for these two weeks, but here they are:
Ashokan Farewell: work on intonation and flow. Video to see where I need to improve.
Arran Boat Song: Continue to work on intonation and flow. Video to see where I need to improve
I’ll Fly Away: Work on adding variation and smoothing it out. I always feel so clunky when I try to add rhythmic variation!
Falling Star (a song I wrote). Work on playing the long notes during verses while singing, also practice lead. Video to make sure it’s in tune, ha ha!
Hi Rebecca, i was looking for a piece to practice and searching among the comments I choose ashokan farewell 🙂 Thanks for the advise!
It’s such a beautiful piece! I hope to be able to play it properly someday. 🙂
Who else is working in Jerusalem Ridge? I got most of the first couple of parts but have been resisting (been lazy) with moving forward with the rest. And always working on Orange Blossom Special (over a year now). Two challenging songs I know but helps with a lot of skills.
I’ve been working on Jerusalem Ridge too. I can play with the practice track just fine, all the way to the end. I sure can’t get that rhythm though. Something is just missing and I can’t figure it out.
You’re working on the OBS? I dare to dream. 😀
OBS is one of those songs that takes a long time to sound good. I “know how” to play it, which is a bit different than playing it well. Has helped to improve my double stops.
Jerusalem Ridge is taking a bit more patience than I expected. With all the different parts it’s like learning about 5 or 6 different songs all at once.
LOVE Jerusalem Ridge. I’ve got a simplified version in a Fake Fiddler’s book. OBS? Only in my dreams lol
yes i’m in. looking forward to it.
I’ve only been playing for a few months, so this sounds scary but with encouragement from my husband I signed up! I think I did it correctly, I entered my email and name and hit subscribe. It that it?
I think the 20 minutes might be good! I tend to practice too long! And then my shoulders hurt. But I don’t want to put it down haha. Discipline !
I hope this helps me get on a consistent path to reaching small and eventually larger goals. I get frustrated easily. I’ll try to stay motivated.
I totally understand. You got this! Two days worth so far. All good?
i need more structure to my practice as I’ve been too easygoing with it. Although i play just for pleasure, i think if i don’t feel as though I’m progressing my efforts will tail off so I’m keen to try this. Let’s go!
Thank you for organizing this Jason.
I have many challenges on the go, workout 5am, knit 8pm, read 10pm, fiddle 6h30pm! I got this!
Goal is to warm up with scales and a couple of tunes, learn a new tune on the Monday and practise until Sunday. I should have two new tunes learned by the end of the challenge!
Kimberley
Hey Kimberly! Same here! I workout with weights when I get up at 1 and work 16 to 18 hours outdoors. We can do this!
My goals are to get better at the D scale, complete 3 more lessons and play Swallowtail Jig all the way through. 🎻😎😁
Wow!! 16 to 18 hours! How do you have time to fiddle?
I’m doing a 90 day challenge workout program.
I am working on Smash the Windows. I would like to play it with more rhythm and improve my bowing.
I am learning The Tennessee Waltz and would like to play it with a few grace and ornamental notes by Saturday.
My practices are 45min to an hour.
Good luck with Swallowtail Jig! It’s on my list to learn.
I want to learn how to post a video I love The Tennessee Waltz / mine needs some help I would love to hear your TW
Work and health issues have kept me from practicing daily, but I’m set to use the Fall Challenge to get back on track!
Nice @moonshadows, good to have you on board. Do what you can…
Yes! All signed up for the practice challenge and I’m looking forward to it!
I’m in! Excited for this and to participate with my fellow Fiddleheds. My goals: improve my intonation to the point where my cat doesn’t leave the room when I practice. 🤣
That’s funny! I had a dog that howled at me!
LOL!
LOL! Poor cat. So… goal reached? Maybe almost? Either way, I hope it was fun! 😀
This is awesome! Jason, love what you do and exited to be feeling like I’m not standing alone in a room driving the dogs insane with my fiddle…even though that is exactly what I do.
Another UK fiddler signed in! Looking forward to getting going – great start to retirement! 🙂
Whoa! Super cool!! Look at all these musicians signing up! Glad Jason started this so we can connect! I’m @mini_moose_ak on Instagram, which I recently joined, if anyone wants to follow me there.
👍🏽🎻 😎
Hey y’all, I just got my fiddle 3 days ago. Let’s do it 🎻
Good for you! Have fun…
I’m in! Looking forward to it!
Hi guys, iv been practicing 6 days a week for 5 months now and started to lose my way, so im hoping this will help focus me. I’m based in the UK
Awesome, glad you’re taking part.
It’s SO easy to do that. There is A TON of things to work on. Getting lost in all of it is a given. I have to remind myself this all the time. Sometimes I feel like I’m not getting better because I’m all over the place to much, so that’s when I step back and focus on one thing or one song for a few days.
Signed up and looking forward to it. Some unexpected life problems have stopped me practicing for the last two two weeks. This will kick start me into playing again.
Good to have you on board!
Hey Y’all…from Big Island of Hawaii… very cool Challenge! Love all your comments.
I’m fiddling on Pretty Little Dog, Ashokan Farewell, Ark Traveller with ultimate goal Amarillo By Morning…
all with the goal of relaxed fluency & tone….and slowing DOWN the practice!
Also been blessed to be working with bluegrass guitar for 4 yrs with Jack Tottle…the founder of the Bluegrass Program at EastTennStateU (so lucky to have him as our Big Island neighbor!
Let’s have a go at it !!!’nn
All In 🎻
I think I signed up correctly but let me know if I missed something
Right on, Misha! Let’s do this! 🎻🎶👊🏾😎
And i have a Son called Sammy…… alot of Supernatural connections here 😀
Say Hey, Jason
Almost time for me to sign up for my fourth year! I have been playing daily, 40min-1 1/2 hrs. or longer each day. The longer sessions are just because it’s fun. I am retired from the phone Co. now but still work part-time at the Y and I care for our 5 Acres which was once full of horses. I also try to keep my 71 yo body going by exercising and swimming at the Y. No more jamming at the local breweries presently. Besides doing FiddleHed Play-Alongs, I also play along with YouTube videos of other instruments playing fiddle songs, until jams re-open.
Sorry for the mini-bio! But the Simple to Complex is the theory which beckons FUN. I have learned finally a bit what you have taught all along; make it fun and then you won’t quit.
Battles with bad sound, poor bowing, arthritis in the fingers (wonder thumb helps), difficulty in audiating a tune……..whatever, Back to something simple and relax. It’s working. Thanks.
Owen O’Malley
The post onTTTF makes practice and what to practice make a little more since to me JDM
Ha!! The faucet concert was brilliant! This is exactly the thing I love to do❤️. Also! Klezmer is my favorite style! Yes to me my fiddle playing is a spiritual journey thank you so much for teaching us🙏🏽Blessings.
I have the standard notation for it and it doesn’t look too complicated.
Is measure two counted like this?
1e and,ah,two,e and 3,4
This is a great lesson. You make it so simple thanx.
GREAT lesson, lot’s of fun ! Thank you Jason this is super easy to follow and catch, could not be better !
Timing has been a tremendous challenge for me and since the loss of my weekly jams it’s really failed me. I went digging for help and, bless your heart, here are the play along tracks for my workouts. I can’t thank you enough. I’m doing them with double stops to enhance them, too. Is that what you call double dipping? These are my sit down breaks during my day.
I’ve thought about making my fiddle more accessible by leaving it out of the case. Are there any special instructions for the care of the fiddle this way? Should I still loosen the bow. Do I need to worry about the humidity or anything?
Troy
I’ve kept my fuddle on a stand and loosen the bow before hanging it up. I’ve been doing this for a year and have had no difficulty with humidity etc.
Wow…wow…wow… this is sooo much fun! I finally went to this duets lesson and have been having a great time. Cannot wait to play a duet with another person.
Thanks so much.
I just love this catchy tune. My 9-year-old was playing this on the piano and I wanted to play along with him. Of course, FiddleHed would have a tutorial on “Oh Susanna”! You seem to have every tune I have ever wanted to play. Thank you for making learning so easy and fun.
Hey @RiverLotus, glad you like this tune. It comes up over and over again throughout the course.
Hi Jason, does the variation that plays at the end of the playalong track come up in the course? I’d love to play it but I’m afraid my ear is not yet developed enough to learn from the audio!
@Tom points out:
In your sheet music on the lesson page for Pretty Little Dog, the key signature is blank, indicating a C major or A minor scale. In the video at around 3:25, you suggest warming up with an A Dorian scale and your fingering on the video is indeed A Dorian: A, B, C, D, E, F#, G, A. However, going by the key signature in the sheet music, we should be warming up with and playing A Minor; that is, using F instead of F#.
Since the song does not actually have any F or F# in it anywhere, perhaps it doesn’t matter in the song, but the scale on the sheet music does not match the scale you use for warmup in the video.
Please help calm my OCD with some clarification 🙂
Jason’s response:
Good point @Tom.
You are right. Technically speaking, the scale mode would be A Aeolian and have an F natural. For anyone else reading this, A Aeolian is based on C Major. Basically you play the notes of C major but start and end on A instead of C. This magically creates a minor mode.
For the purposes of warming up, you could use either the A Dorian or A Aeolian scale (as Tom points out). For this reason, I won’t re-make the video just yet 🙂
love this tune!;-)
Ditto to all of these comments. Somedays I wonder what I’m doing and others it’s pure joy. Thanks for the encouragement.
Mary
How much for monthly membership?
I thought i had signed up for free lessons for 1 week and you were going to ask me questions and determine where i should start. I have not seen free download for free book and questions. Did I do something wrong? Looked for a way to email you, don’t know how to communicate with you. How much is it to subscribe for lessons?
I tried both the Wonder Thumb and the Bow Right. I didn’t care for either of them, and didn’t find them that helpful. I also tried the Bonmusica Shoulder Rest, but it wasn’t for me. I am now using the Mach One Shoulder Rest (Model M07) and really like it. I also bought a Wonder Bow which I really like. It is like bowing with a feather it is so light.
This is such a great question! I will practice this– and you even chose the D string as an example. My fingering on D 1, 2, and 3 CONSISTENTLY sound awful. Here’s another question: when do you know you need new strings?
-Sandra from Hawaii
Hi Sandra,
Isolate D1, D2, D3 fingerings. See if you can make each one sound better on its own, then in simple combinations.
At a certain point the strings will be dull and not as loud. You may also notice rosin buildup and skipping from that. If you’re in doubt, just get some new strings: Helicore or Dominants are reliable.
Great lesson! Just what I needed to hear right now. Why rush? Enjoy the challenge and improve. Metronome is the foundation to build on. Great idea!!
Thank you Obi-Wan Jason!
Brett
You’re welcome Brett. It’s a lesson I’m still learning in various aspects of life.
The recap is wonderful! Not only can I review the answer and suggestions you gave for my question but also get to benefit from everyone else’s questions too! Thanks Jason and all! What great team work.
I may never truly master any of these but I’m trying things I didn’t believe I would ever even come close to attempting and having a great time doing it. Thanks Jason!
Oh, man! How cool is this! Thanks for posting the recap, Jason. I can’t make the next session, but I sure appreciate all this super cool information and the great questions my fellow FiddleHed students asked! 😊
Jason would be great at reading children’s books! I can just hear him reading, “Green Eggs and Ham” already! 😂
So bummed I missed this. Silly job. Thanks for continuing to support our journey!
The hardest part so far is holding the bow correctly and making a consistent sound.(either loud or soft.)
I am loving this! Just signed up today. However when exploring, When I try to use the workbook I get a message that I don’t have an account?
Intermediate question
When I’m playing double stops, and I’m new to it, and I bow Either GD or DA strings, it always seems like the D string is louder. Is this normal or just an unbalanced bow?
Hello Jason, My question is not in playing so much as it is posture. I seem to raise my shoulders, especially the right one, as I progress through my practice. It gets very tense and sore. My string crossings then get sloppy. I am continuously monitoring and relaxing my shoulder now-and wonder if there are tricks and tips to learn. I prefer sitting to play ( arthritic senior issues, haha).
Sarah from the burgh
I plan to join in but I won’t be able to stay the whole time because I Will have to pick up kids from School. I don’t really have a specific question either but will just enjoy listening in.
Krista from Georgia
What do you use for the drones in the practice library? Is it an app, software program or an actual device or machine?
I’ve been trying to find a good drone app but none are as good as yours and simple drones and easy to use.
Will try to zoom in if all goes well.
Thanks for your question 🙏
My question (Cindi from Blacksburg) I am working on playing double stops and find I can play open D open G together fairly easily and play up the scale on the D string while doing double stops on D and G but when I try to go up the scale on the G string while playing double stops it I cannot make a clear sound on open D. The same applies to doing double stops on A and D and on E and A. Do you have any recommendations as to how to correct this? I feel like I can’t arch my fingers high enough over the upper string so it lays on the upper string and just makes a scratchy sound .
Finally a way to not hate scales! 😁
Here’s my question: What are you covering in the beginner and intermediate group lessons? What were the sessions like… playing together, or a lesson format? Thanks, Carolyn from USA
By the way, I love everything about FiddleHed and the way you teach! I’m making steady and rapid progress by following what you say religiously. Thank you for your monumental efforts!
I’ll be there !! I don’t have a question but I always learn something new and helpful.
I’m going to do my best to join this.
I’m in.
Wow….I’ve just starting to be able to figure and read rhythms, and this lesson was SSOOO HELPFULL..because the notes written and the sound make visual and audible sense… I first listened, then plucked, and then bowed the written exercises—but on the A or E string so that I could also hear your notation at the same time. I also enjoy the call and response exercises.
Thank you for this (and all) of your lessons. You are terrific, Jason !!!!!
I will be there. Looking forward to it.
I will be there 🙂 Here is my question (Tara from North Carolina): Sometimes I need to use a mute when I practice. I’m wondering if the mute “interferes” with double stops in any way? Since there’s such a small margin trying to hit the exact bow angle for a DS, do you think the mute might slightly adjust the height of the string, so hitting the proper angle with a mute is different than hitting it without?
I’m REALLY pleased with these recent lessons you have done. It’s things I’ve been digging through books and other videos looking for and you are making it so easy and helpful. It’s taking some of the sting out of loosing my jam group to COVID lockdown. I have never stopped playing but this is putting some fun and adventure into it again. Thank you! My next want is to catch one of your group lessons.
I plan to be there! I don’t have a question at the moment but will add a comment if one comes up.
Thanks so much, Jason for this AWESOME lesson. It opens a whole new world. I have been playing trying various slides and sounds for 5 minutes with my violin combining slides and grace notes, amazing things coming out of the violin, totally destructured but very cool.
Learning dynamic alive creative fiddling is definitely the way to go!
Indian (Carnatic) violinists are always sliding notes and sounds as if there was a different philosophy of sound behind it, opening a whole new world of violin. Nothing seems to be as stable as our relatively fixed notes. If you find info or explanation on that I would be glad to hear it from you. A future post on how to sound Indian or transform a well-known melody the Indian way by sliding or else could be cool as apparently you have been going to learn violin in India lately?
Hi Folks,
I just corrected the zoom invitation. It was mistakenly set for Tuesday though the session will happen Wednesday. If you added it to your calendar already, please change it. Thanks…jason
I intend to be there but at the moment the link to find my local number isn’t working. This:
My ‘local number ‘ being for New Mexico, I assume ?
Hey @nick, Will you have internet access? Just use a laptop, phone or tablet to log in to the meeting. The number is used when you don’t have internet access.
Thanks, I have internet. Zoom is new to me.
I am hoping to attend though we are on a road trip right now and may be on a ferry when the office hours are on. So possibly no fiddle, but looking forward to Q and A
Follow up….Unfortunately, I will not have internet access for most of today so I will have to pass on this one. See you next time.
I’ll be there. Can’t wait.
Hey @abee, please leave your question in a comment.
It seems to me that you would be a very good person to have as a friend / I miss the kitty purrs / I won’t ever give up !!!!!!
There is enough good to love & it will get better
I downloaded Zoom and I am hoping I can find my way to this meeting
Blessings Ken Thiel
Hey @hogjaws, please leave your question in a comment.
Way cool! Thanks for the hand up 👍🏽
Great job guys !!!’n
I’m in
Bettina from San Francisco. Fiddling since lockdown in March. I don’t have any questions at this time; am looking forward to the lesson. Hope to have time to prepare, but efforts hampered by getting out of town to avoid heat and smoke. Note to self: put fiddle near your “Go Bag”!
Oh I’m looking forward to this. I don’t have any questions, but I am off to go learn that jig!
Same here
I’m looking forward to this lesson and meeting in a group again . I share some of the questions/difficulties already mentioned. My question at the moment is about knowing when to move on to new techniques eg double stops ,or adding variation etc – should I spend longer trying to play existing learnt tunes better before moving on? I’ve learnt 28 tunes and practice a lot of them at each daily( nearly daily) practice and try to get to practising them all over a couple of weeks . How much better should i try to get before moving on and what are the markers. Some days it seems to sound ok and can feel more fluid and other days it defintely doesn’t !
Thank you. Looking forward to it.
Dang! Wish I could take part but there is no cell coverage where we will be camping. I’ll be sure to pick up my fiddle and play the Kerfunken Jig that evening.
Hello all…..I love this tune. However, in the ‘Play Along Track-Full Tune’ — I cannot hear any of the notes “B” and above ( C#,D,E,F# ) in the” B Part “—especially when I am playing along. I’m not sure if it is drowned out by the drone and it’s instruments..or just not played loud enough. (Or maybe it’s me, haha.)
I do really like the”Sheet Music Video”, as it helps me see the timing with this tunes’ tricky notation. After a few loops, I could anticipate the rhythm more easily.
Thank you Jason, for all of your wonderful lessons.
Sincerely, Sarah B from the burgh.
Will you be teaching a tune by ear as part of the lesson?
😀oh my gosh! Feel like this is a special lesson for me! Thanks so much and this is FUN to study.
I’m not sure I’m skilled enough to be in intermediate. Can play those tunes ok but still having issues with my Bowing at times. Are there tips for keeping that bow in the right position on the strings?
One of my favorites to listen to. Thank you for sharing and I can not wait for all the lessons. I never thought I would be able to play it.
Is there a tune or technique we should have somewhat prepared for the lesson time?
For Sept 8, Jason had asked that we learn or review Kerfunken Jig.
Hitting a wall trying to play pieces at full speed, even when i know them pretty well when slowed dow. How do i get through this?
There is a trick I was taught where you play the passage in the rhythm of short long, short long. The short note is at the speed you want to achieve. Then play it long short, long short. So In essence you have played each note at the speed you are trying to achieve.
Now play as written all up to speed.
Do this in small chunks, like 2 measures at a time.
I love that you started with plucking. Thats a nice easy starting point.
Amazing little 10 fiddle player! Thanks for sharing the video and your thoughts regarding frustrations and accepting limitations with regard to our playing progress. Your classes include so so many resources, touching on every element of learning to play this tricky instrument. I appreciate them so much, and they have helped me out immensely. When I find myself getting overly frustrated, I check right back into the very welcoming Fiddlehed!
Thanks for sharing Lauren and Jason. yay….there is hope for us all 🙂
Cheers,
linda
Just getting back to double stops. Thanks so much, Jason
linda
Oh my Good Lord this is cool. This is my favorite Christmas song. I’ve been working on double-stops hard. I can do simple slides, but nothing drastic or in a difficult spot of the tune for me. If I start working on this now….maybe? Maybe I could learn it by Christmas? 2021?
The more I hear this, the more I have to try. 🙂
Peggy, I’ve been reviewing and replaying the exercises and tunes in Module 1.3 today and during the past few days. No problem here, unless I’m seeing a cached page. I see the full module plus all of the Bonus tunes and exercises, etc., as always. I’m working from an i-Pad. Hope the helps with the diagnosis.
What happened to the rest of Module 1.3? It only goes through Little Liza Jane, and I know there’s lots more there! Help!!!!!
Peggy
Yes! I just feel bad that my husband has to hear the same phrases over and over! Such inspirational advice though because sometimes I think others make it look so easy😀
Wow, now I want an accordian! Love this!
Love the note game idea !
I find it soooooo helpful
I liked this concept. I especially enjoy the call and response exercises.
Great idea. Love the sample progress video. She made amazing progress in 2 years!
I recommend close ups of both hands from different angles to check hand position. This is one of the most inexpensive practice aid you can have.
Oh, this is great and fun! And Im one who has a difficult time having fun. Looking forward to the rest of the lessons. I will be working on this one. It is short and simple and will have it down pat when the next lesson comes out. Thanks jason for all you do!
I really enjoyed your fiddle with friends. This Covid thing has stopped the group jam and for quite some time I kept up my playing. Recently I’ve been heavy into home repairs which never would have interfered but somehow it has now. I feel like I’m loosing ground instead of gaining with my fiddling. A friends group would be great to keep things rolling. It’s a fantastic idea. Thanks to all of you for sharing.
Been busy with some distractions as well and tired from helping with grandchild but I feel so much better about my fiddling now than when the video was made LOL. It just takes time and friends who are learning are a big help for your Covid social life and music morale boost. I have used a FB group to learn a couple new tunes and model from as well. But, yes, I think it’s great to meet new fiddlers through Jason’s site. He has alot of material that keep us beginners busy! It was my gateway to a great fiddler friendship with folks across the country. One of the things I enjoy most is hearing different fiddles. I have only played one other than my own. Each seems to be unique.
Hey Jason,
I think I get it! As a kid I did this also; throwing balls high in the air till I learned how to catch them and hitting crab apples with a broomstick handle till my hand-eye coordination got better. I did it, however, for fun. I am learning, slowly to do the same with my fiddle journey. My body is much older than when I was swinging at crab apples; but fun is fun!
Owen
I’m Bettina Steffen, based in San Francisco, CA. I have been learning with FiddleHed since the March Shelter-in-Place, so approximately 5 months. I have played the piano and clarinet as a kid into my 20’s, but ALWAYS wanted to learn the fiddle. I want to develop my playing-by-ear skills, learn to harmonize, and be able to play along with other instruments.
Music has been one of our family’s saving graces during the pandemic.
I have to thank my teenage son, who 3 years ago inspired me to do this by picking up a guitar and learning at first by internet tutorials.
This is Patrice- and I’ve already said hi , but just adding a bit more detail- I’m English ( well half French, half English) , living in North of England- so it will be 7pm for me when we met up for this group lesson . I’ve been learning the fiddle for 8 months now and the last 2 of them with fiddlehed. I’ve been skipping the note reading as I only play by ear
Looking forward to meeting fellow students
Hey, someone else from the UK – hello! I’m down in the south though.
It was good to meet two other people from UK even if we come different parts!😆
Yay Lauren for putting yourself out there!! Inspiring : )
Hi Mary Reid,
You might be pressing too hard on the strings but that’s just a guess. You really don’t have to press hard to get the notes to ring. Slowly increase and decrease the pressure on a string while bowing or plucking it until the note rings clear. This helped me find the right amount of pressure needed in the beginning though I never got callouses.
Playing my acoustic guitar with .013 gauge strings makes callouses. 😉
Hope that helps,
Jim
Hello everyone,
I’m Mary and I’ve been playing the fiddle for about a year now. Have played piano and sung for as long as I can remember.
Just purchase my first fiddle (I’ve been renting one) and bow. I think the bow needs to be re-haired.
Anyone else have sore fingertips from playing? I have callouses but they still hurt.
Looking forward to the lesson tomorrow.
Mary
My first fiddle was a (very) homemade (1949) freebie. I put synthetic core strings on it and, as it had low action, it was very easy to note and prompted me to order a new fiddle outfit. I’ve played the banjo for 8 years but mostly with nylon strings so didn’t have much for calluses.
The new fiddle had extremely high action at the nut and scoop and came with steel strings. That hurt. I ordered a fiddle from someone who knew what they were doing when setting up a fiddle and the action was perfect and very easy to play. I modified the first fiddle to copy the second one and it worked out great.
I have steel strings (Prim mediums) on both fiddles and some calluses on my finger tips (mainly left index??) and no comfort problems. Concentrating on minimum finger pressures has helped a bit, too.
If I do ‘t practice every day my fingers feel it! Joined FiddleHed a year ago.
Actually posting that comment helped…I can now convert the tome difference…using the time on the comment😆
I’m looking forward to meeting other students.
Loving this tune and the various speeds we can choose to practice with it until we can get it right! Also love the variations we can view from others to get some ideas of where we are heading in the future.. much thanks for the great ways you break it down to learn easily and not get frustrated! Keep it up!
Super fun to see regular folks working through songs… thanks to Lauren for sharing!
Hi,
On the b-part second quarter, I think the tab is missing an A (A0)? As in: E0-1-0-A2-1-0-D2.
Thanks.
Agree! Fun tune though!
Thank you for pointing out tab error, John. I keep thinking I hadn’t been listening well. Practicing over and over. Then I read your note. 😉
Thanks to you both for bringing this up Iona,Brandon and John, it’s now been updated. Your help means alot 🙂
I’d love to, but I can’t at that time this week.
Carolyn
I am all in.
Hey everyone. This sounds like an exciting thing to try out. Thanks Jason!
Woo hoo!!
Yay. Sounds like you have a good group here…🙂
Yes I’m looking forward to trying this out and meeting you all
Yes, I’m looking forward to trying this out and meeting you all
That would be great. Looking forward to it!
This will be great. looking forward to tuesday.
Hello,
I’m going to try my best to cut out of work early to join this.
I need this. Haven’t played in front of anyone yet.
Mistakes,.. indeed.
Thanks!!
Ha! I’m so there! Just play in front of my dog and he likes it. Biased audience😬
Really looking forward to giving this a try!
Looking forward to Thursday’s group lesson. Thank you for the invite.
Correction.. Tuesday”s lesson. …oh boy. 🙂
That sounds great. Count me in for the trial run!
Making mistakes?
I’m in!
Right on! Looking forward to the lesson! Thank you for doing this!
Can’t get the A drone to download 🙁
HI ,
I’m just new at this. When I click on the link that says “ introduction to intervals” it tells me that the page doesn’t exist .
Hey Tania, your right! It was a broken link. Thanks for helping us be aware of this. The search engine at the top of the Fiddlehed page can be helpful to search the name of something that isn’t working. We should have it fixed now on this lesson, thanks to all of You. 🙂
This was a touching read, that applies to my writing as it no doubt will about fiddling (for which my bar is low, I have always been judged as not having a musical ear and I guess I’m at a stage in my life where I think, to hell with that).
I feel creative time is never totally linear. I can write more on some half hours than I do on other entire evenings and I think when it comes to picking up violin skills the same will apply. The thing is: when you don’t spend time trying, you never get better. And being inventive in making trying fun is important too.
The pandemic has stolen lots of fun out of this year and replaced it with worry for my family, so finding this site that allows me to practice something new has been important. Something to remember 2020 by.
Thanks for all the effort that you and your team put into it. It’s a truly inspirational discovery, FiddleHed.
I also, like bsteffen above, love the duets. So much better than just hearing my own beginner sounds. I also like that we’re learning often
heard patterns- that we can eventually incorporate. And it’s better than just playing the open strings in a plain way.
I’m using a mute on my fiddle so that I’m not too loud as I begin. Is that OK?
At 68, my fingers are not so nimble. And especially with this “shimmering” my arms tire. But I’m stoked, have some time to do this,
and am enjoying your teaching. Better than in person I think cos’ I can just rewind on those kind of days.
Thanks for this, especially giving people the opportunity to take the first lessons free in order to find if it’s a good fit.
This was great. Thank you for the helpful words! Now, off to my fiddle!
Wow Lauren! I can’t even imagine playing the OBS yet. It’s like when I was a little kid thinking, “One day, I will be able to drive a car,” but that just seems forevers away.
But maybe? Just maybe? With the way you teach Jason, I think it might can be done. I can play that piece there in the video…lol.
Twice.
I’m a little excited and still kinda daunted by it.
gets your brain humming!
Wonderful! Bravo Lauren !
For me, reading is the quickest way to learn new music. I like to sight read through the whole piece, but slowly. This helps me learn the tune (if I don’t know it) and also learn to play it at the same time. If I find any particular measures hard I isolate those and loop until they are smoother, then I go back to working on the whole piece. It’s sort of a back and forth between macro and micro practice.
Once I can hear the piece in my head pretty well I alternate between playing with and without seeing the sheet music and playing without and without the backup track. For me these are all useful modes of practice. Playing without the sheet music or backup track helps me learn the piece by heart. Playing along with the backup track helps me to learn the piece by ear and also keeps my timing and rhythm honest and shows up places that need some extra work. Playing with the sheet music lets me hear the piece before I have learned it by heart which, for me, is faster than learning a totally new piece in segments, which I find hard because I don’t have the tune in my head yet so I have a hard time hearing how the segments go together.
Once I’ve learned the piece I like to play it with a drone to keep my intonation clean.
So, for me, fiddlehed has all the components I need to do this: the sheet music, the back-up tracks, drones, etc. It makes learning a real pleasure. Thanks!
Also, I’m thinking this idea of simplifying music also gives ideas of how to embellish by reversing the process! I’m looking forward to learning to embellish after I get a little further along…
Thanks for a great site!
Excellent tune! A classic and a real challenge but what a fun lesson!
Well done getting through all the variants verbally and explaining the changes of the tune. Wow!
I’m very familiar with the song which helps a great deal, and couldn’t help but laugh out loud after finishing the first play-along session. Fiddling! It’s a gas!
Thanks Jason! You the Man!
Completed
Completed
On many of the run throughs of the tune on the full play along track, the second part of the b part isn’t played, which is disorienting!
Yes. It’s kind of frustrating.
Yes, many months later still no B part.
That was fun!!! Finally got my bow arm into a steady hoedown mode. Slowly, with lots of looping, but it felt good and sounded better than single bows….after many reps. Not quite a 1000, but I’ll pick it up again. Starting to develop a touch of ‘tennis elbow’ in my left arm. It’s the supinator muscle than needs a break and some deep muscle therapy. This is a great lesson to build on what we’ve learned so far! Thanks Jason!
An excellent post Jason. As a beginning player (very) I experience the frustrations of getting things right, (clean string crossing…gah!) but also I know from experiences learning other instruments over the years, that eventually things improve and your various suggestions on how to practice are invaluable.
If only I had known them way back….yes, my cat runs outside whenever the E string is ‘featured’….her loss, lol.
Hi, Ive just subscribed and I am very excited 🙂
Xxx
Tania from Oz ( Australia )
You are an excellent teacher and motivator. My daily struggle lately is playing D1 without my finger muting A0 or D anything and AO or ……… Sometimes I want to do the fiddle like golfers do their putter—but I worked too hard to get it so I keep trying. You’ve worked too hard for fiddlehed to quit now
Super good advice! I picked three early on to work on. Sometimes I will play a new tune just for curiosity but I always go back to my three to actually practice with intent to make them sound nice. Generally it’s those three tunes and scales or learning new techniques as they are offered sequentially. When I can play with flow I’ll add in learning new one for real.
This may be a dumb question, but how do I bookmark where I am when I end for the day so I can just go back to it? Is there an easy way? I have been starting at a lesson I’ve done, like Twinkle, then going to my course progress and getting to where I want to be. There must be a more direct way, no?
I love this tune too!!!
Love this. I know it’s intermediate and I’m a beginner, but I’ve had good luck learning a few songs now with your learning chunks. I really wish this had recorded learning chunks along with the tabs.
Do you have a video on creating a bass line?
Not yet, but thank you for the suggestion! We’ll keep it in mind.
Thanks guys! I’ve now started playing with the local ukulele club, trying to do some little fills and chord/bass back up. Really challenging because I have to work out what key it’s in by looking at the chords they are playing. So I’ve been learning the circle of 5ths, scales and the make up of chords. Even though I’ve played other instruments (not very well) this is the first time I’ve actually understood and seen a reason to learn. Nothing better than someone saying ‘that sounded good’!
I am excited about coming events with fiddlehed. I think you’re moving in the right direction. I’m expecting a week or so of down time(bypass surgery ), but Dr says I can fiddle during recovery as long as it does no hurt. Recovery time will include some “deliberate practice)!!!
Had to revisit this. Had some down time and pinky has gotten lazy
I had a hard time using this play-along track because it is hard to know where to start on the part with just backup. There is no count-in or other clue as to where to start. And there are no chords notated on the sheet music to so when the backup chords change unexpectedly I’m not sure where I’m supposed to be, I just know I’m in the wrong place because what I’m playing doesn’t sound right with the chord change.
It would help if there the backup section started with a couple pickup notes or other clues and if the sheet music had the chords notated. I can see the use of learning where to come in but when playing with people in person one has at least some visual cues or something.
Thanks!
Oh, also, the playback doesn’t honor the repeat signs….
Ok, it starts in the key of A on the 1 chord and stays there till measure 4 when it goes to V and back to 1, similarly in measure 8. Then the B part modulates to the key of D with the same chord progression but in D….
Ok, the parts with back start immediately after the parts with fiddle (no measures of rest)…
yikes…. so lost
Don’t worry! It takes a lot of practice to get all of these essentials down, but soon you’ll recognize them instantaneously.
That’s for providing the videos at the end of each song so we can hear it in a full professional version. It really helps in knowing the song better and see where we could be heading!
Yes I like the interleaving. I have one note I play which frequently sounds awful. So intermittently I just play that note over and over until it sounds good. I might have to practice it again the next day though.
I don’t use interleaving too much, I prefer to set blocks of time, with a timer, and do that one practice, scales, string crossing, whatever, then do another timed block, reading music, etc., then another timed block, learning a new tune. With the latter I often practice the new tune later at night after my normal practice times. This helps ‘separating my mind’ from the other learning tasks, if that makes sense. I don’t log the later practice times so as not to obligate me to always practice later.
It’s great that you’ve found something that works for you @nick. How long are the blocks of time?
I have work on the 12th during the lesson will it be available later online?
Yes, for paid subscribers. Do you have a question you want answered during the webinar?
simple as this is – one of the best fun things I’ve done. Really just enjoyed tooling around with the C and G scales and zipping back and forth. Gonna try it with the drone now … hey, wait a minute …. am I making music?
Novice fiddler Mike 🙂
You’re onto something amazing, Mike!
Completed!
Music seems so complicated when it’s explained doesn’t it? Looking forward to getting my fiddle on later.
Thanks Jason
Novice fiddler Mike (aka Frank’s Fiddle) 😁🎻
Ok crazy question. Is it ok to use my first finger to play low 2 notes? I have tiny hands and tiny fingers and find it hard to reach from low 2 to 3rd for example. When I use my first finger it works! Is this taboo in the world of fiddle?
Hi, taggart405! I think I can answer that question. Although that’s not really taboo, it is a little discouraged, because it might create bad habits. However, I can offer a solution to your problem! I’ve been playing fiddle for about ten years now, and I’ve found that with time and practice, your hand will stretch out to accommodate the fingerboard! In addition, you can adjust and move your arm to get your fingers in the right position if need be!
Heck yeah! What fun! The drone is primo😀
In your demo, you slur some of the notes together in a phrase but not in other phrases. Why? And where should I slur or not slur?
Very nicely structured lesson. Rhythms 11 & 12 were challenging. I had to clap & count them out which was a good exercise.
Thanks Jason, I love this tune and the movie, O Brother Where Art Thou, sure put this music back on the map. I love the whole soundtrack to the movie, and it opened my ears to yet another genre of music to love.
Thanks again for all you do,
linda
Oh, my heavens. Just took off the tape to mark positions on my fiddle a few days ago. I picked it up to practice Fire o the Mountain which I have been working on for several days. I decided to record it. Oh my, how bad it sounded. Could not find any of the notes. Went ahead and recorded. The next time will have to sound better.
So I stepped back and worked with the mp3 recording – listening to the intonation and trying to match it tone for tone. What a genius, you are, Jason! Playing along with the mp3 really helped me focus on the correct pitch.
I will keep it. Although today’s practice was a struggle, I will confess.
The dotted notes now make sense the way you explained and demonstrated. Thank you for clarifying.
Enjoyed this. Helpful for remembering chords. Please expand on this!! Thanks
Well said, Katrina!! Sounds great to be traveling (with a fiddle); way to “walk the walk., “fiddle goes where you go. i am the same way. Forward!
Owen O.
A nice story Katrina. Congrats on your success. I have only been at it for about 5 weeks so the “excruciating beginner sound” is still a factor..lol. But from my banjo and mandolin experience I know that it is a slow and gradual process and I have plenty of time to pursue. Jason’s lessons are the only practical way to progress without an in-person teacher in my opinion. One difference in my learning is that I am taking the time to learn to read standard notation something I never needed to do on the banjo (impractical even if I had wanted to, and never bothered with it on the mandolin.) But there is so much standard notation available for the fiddle that it ‘opens doors’ for learning. But memorization will still be the way I will play. It works fine on the banjo and mandolin and obviously on the fiddle also.
jas
Thanks, jas, I’d love to learn banjo and mandolin! But violin is going to keep me busy for a long time. Good luck with the reading of notation. I still need to improve reading music!
the fiddle is very low in the mix
Hi Jason – I am maybe an advanced beginner and now sticking with easy tunes as I do some of the note reading course. Question – on the sheet music, why are there letters over notes that are not actually the note letters? For example in the second bar of Twinkle there is a G over the note that is an E and a D over the note that is an A. Next bar the D is over the F and an A is over an F. So confusing!
These letters are for guitar and piano chords in case anyone would like to play along! Sorry for the confusion, there is a small note in the description, but we can enlarge that! Thanks for the heads up, and keep practicing!
I wondered same…
Thanks so much, Jason…..Great advice and yes, listening has definitely been a different experience after learning an instrument. Number one for me, listening has increased my appreciation of all music in every genre so so much, knowing what it takes to become proficient in an instrument to even have to opportunity to play in a group. And number two, I am able to hear the individual parts on their own and in the whole. To get the chance to play a small part in a bigger piece of music, is pure joy. Has brought a tear to my eye from time to time,
Thanks again,
linda
It’s strange being asked that question as I commented to a friend a couple of days ago that since I’ve started to practice the fiddle, I was hearing other music differently. I started to hear components of music that I’d been unaware of previously. I started hearing individual instruments rather than just a single sound. It’s mostly classical music that I listen to so it’s quite an odd experience shutting off some parts and just tuning into some others. When I made my comments, I wasn’t sure whether this was a good thing or not. Maybe I was losing the ability to listen to the whole thing. On reflection, I think it’s a good thing as you can listen to music and tune in just as you can eat good food and savour the individual flavours that you experience if you concentrate.
I use your play along tracks quite a lot which I find really helpful but continue to have trouble getting the volume balance with my fiddle right. I’ve tried headphones and speakers but I’m still working on it. More practice needed!
OMG! this is so helpful!
That’s great! Happy to be of help! Keep Fiddlin’
Great to hear from you Jim! Great job!!
Dan’s story is very inspiring. I really like the teaching videos. I like the focus on bowing in this lesson. Thanks for putting this out there for us.
Yes, I was looking for the page about playing in tune with the drone and it’s not there! Where is it?? It would be very helpful!
Good morning,
The pdf link to the Swallowtail Jig isn’t working….404 Error.
Great tune!
Thanks,
Brett
great stuff at fiddlehed!!!
I love these videos! Great Inspiration! Thank you Dan and Jason!
Awesome job Jim!!! I’m working my way to that. Great inspiration!!!
I’m learning the same piece! This was really helpful and encouraging, micro practice is definitely key!
Oooooh, I danced to all this stuff in my younger days. So excited to learn to play it
This makes things way more fun, thanks.
Thank you Jason! What a great way to have fun and not be so serious about practicing. I can put music to all the funny things people say. My grandson loves this ” game” and I dont feel like I’m practicing at all!
This lesson was very helpful! I am always looking for ways to harmoniously back up other musicians, and creating a bass line is a great way to do that. I also went to the backup chords lesson for Kesh Jig and will practice those more next time. 🙂
That moment when you realize that something is off on a song you learned so long ago, and you haven’t looked at the notes since. There is some low fingering in there that I never realized existed. I can play them easily now, but re-training that brain and muscle memory to do it is turning out to be quite the adventure…Hahahaha..
Not sure if I should be pleased at how much progress I’ve made since learning this and that I can play those notes easily now, or if I should be displeased at my not hearing this until now.
I’m choosing progress. 🙂 End on that positive note.
Thanks for sharing, I’m inspired to go play my fiddle!
Great advice, Jason. I’ve been trying to do this and it really helps to keep me going and look forward to practicing tomorrow!
Yes, longer pauses would be helpful!
Thanks Jason. I have been working on learning variations of Irish Fiddle tunes.
Going back to the basic tune and other tunes that I am comfortable with is encouraging.
Very inspiring !!!! You set an example for all of us.
Well said, Reevo…..Ditto all that. :). Way to go Dan!
Love it … what an inspiration Dan is and what a teacher you are
Good double-stop practice tune! A real work out!
Thanks Jason!
This is brilliant, so encouraging. You’ve made me see this is a process and a journey, to be grateful and never take one note for granted. Thank you so much Jason for such wonderful insight.
Love this! Great ear training. It’s really helping me associate the sound of the note with where my finger has to go. I’m getting to where my finger just goes to the right place when I hear the note! Thanks.
Never mind. You ARE an incredible teacher! Thank you.
Thanks Jason! This is good advice.
Interesting reading the comments above. I started learning just on 3 years ago, learning by ear, but am now working on learning how to read music because the tunes are starting to get jumbled in my head.
I’m ok once I have the first few notes and the rhythm of the ones I’ve learned, but sometimes 2 will get mixed together in my head, especially if they are a similar beat, start on the same note, and/or I learned them around the same time. I’m hoping that learning to read will enable me to refresh my memory when I go to play something I haven’t played for a while so I can get started without muddling things up.
Something others might find useful; I’ve found Musescore quite handy as I can either type the notes in, or import the sheet music, then play along while watching where I’m up to. They also have quite a bit of sheet music already there. You can slow the speed while learning and set it to loop sections like Jason does when teaching. It’s free software.
Good idea @monicab. I use Sibelius for notation, but I want to look at Musescore. It might be a good way for FiddleHed students to practice writing notation.
I just bought my violin and the end of the tuning pegs are not quite flush with the head. Is this normal? It holds tune just fine, but the pegs are slightly recessed. It looks like Jason’s are flush with the headstock.
Normal. Overtime as the wood expands and contracts and frequent tuning wears off some of the wood, the pegs will ‘stick out’ more. If they begin slipping, then its time to either get thicker pegs or have the holes filled and re-drilled. All normal violin maintenance.
OK, this is great, especially tone building. Coming along, but how do I stop having the bow bounce on the strings when I start a note?
Relax and start with the bow on the string.
Thank you. These technical reminders are really helpful!
I have found that I always end a session playing the same tune. I know I can play it and I’m messing around with tempo and tone and at the end I can just play it once through slowly and as well as I can and it ends the session on a high, however bad it’s gone in the hour or so before that 🙂
Thanks for all you’ve done so far to help m,e learn to play this wooden box Jason – one day, hopefully in the not too dim and distant future, I’ll actually consider myself a bit of a fiddle player 🙂
Keeping motivated to play is key right now for me. Thank you for your suggestions!
Your advice is always great. I take to heart everything you say. Sometimes I realize I’m trying to tune that is way too hard for me so I stop and go back to the easier tunes that I know really well. I also go back and try to slow down and do the lessons that lead up to the tune that I want to learn how to play. And as you have advised if it’s really awful I’ll just go back to scales and just trying to play each note properly.
I’ve decided to learn note reading because the fiddle tab is too ‘basic’ and doesn’t provide rhythm and note time/duration values unlike banjo tab which has evolved into a more sophisticated form over the years. So I will devote a portion of my daily practice to note reading.
I’m replying again just coz I want a lesson 😉 I think this is great advice esp. for those of us who beat ourselves up. Maybe do this after listening to a song you just recorded and can’t believe how amazingly bad you are. lol
This is a great tip when you are frustrated and there have been many times that I felt like giving up but your lessons inspire me! I will always remember to end my lessons on a high note!
I love the variation you put into the play along track! It makes practice fun! Really loved to hear you sing, felt like I was in a band and made it even more FUN!!!!
I notice that you have positiion tapes on the fret board and I beleive I also saw two in your Bow……where do you review that? Enjoying this!
I’m starting to get to the stage (7 months in) that I find I would like to start reading the notes on the page as well as the tab version, but I don’t want to halt my progress with playing. Should I wait a little longer before I start trying to get to grips with the notes, or should I dive in and risk stepping back a stage or two?
Always feels better to end with a tune you know well.
Thanks for the follow up on this Jason. It’s finally coming together! That tip on practicing with the stop down and going back and forth between the strings has done it for me. It was almost instant, (but not quite.) I knew I could play cleanly while keeping fingers down on the D and switching strings to the A for a note or two. So why couldn’t I do it on two strings?
It turned out I needed a much more fundamental practice in the beginning. When I took my fingers off the neck of my fiddle and played open strings for two weeks, I got to where I could find those strings at any angle and play two at one time. This is where my problem lay the most. I just didn’t realize it. Yet, even after I gained confidence in playing on two strings no matter what or where, when I started putting just one stop on the D, it was like every single thing I had ever learned about playing got thrown out the window and I was doing something weird and unnatural.
Now I’m playing scales droning the D and A, with all my stops on the D string, but I bounce back and forth to the open strings (both G and A) in between every note. I can see what I’m doing, I know exactly where to practice and the sound is so much better. I struggle with that third finger too. It will come. In the meantime, I’ve started trying to work in just a simple drone here or there on songs I can play fairly well.
Newest breakthrough. I can play the 4th finger E and open E notes in the beginning of Elzic’s Farewell. I can’t slide into them yet.. but I can danged sure hit those notes on a pretty consistent basis now. It’s HUGE for me.
Ending on a high note is a great strategy. I love the drones, too. They put me in a state of mindful meditation, and the relaxation follows. I always play more beautifully when I’m relaxed! Thanks, Jason!
The micro practice was so important for me today. I also was working on Swallowtail jig. Though I committed it to memory and played it a lot, today it sounded timid and boxy as you said. Really glad you mentioned the throwaway bow. I’ll do that last thing tonight just so I can end on a high note as you said earlier.
My brain is on overload. The explanation is good; it just take me a bit to process.
Jason,
Thank you for all your insight on all aspects of utilizing practice time.
You have been a great inspiration to me since day one. From the first time i put my hands on a violin, you were the one to guide me in the right direction.
I find you teaching technique a real treat. The way you present the information is very clear and fun!!!!!
Thank you for all your great advice and can’t wait to see more.
Best Regards,
Joe Licari
My favorite high note is playing around with variations on Jambalaya, a simple tune from Hank Williams that reminds me of fish fries with my cousins in Louisiana a long time ago 😉 As I learn more this little tune gets more and more fun to embellish. It feels like my encore, thank you thank you thank you very much LOL. Gotta have fun with it.
Audio cuts out at 16:05 and comes back on at 19:02.
So glad to get some guidance about “tethering,” as I have experienced this issue—playing a tune from sheet music just fine, but being unable to look away from the music and play it from memory. Thanks, Jason!
Agreed! I learned to sight read as a kid – but haven’t played in 30 + years.
Now that I’m diving in – I’m way to dependent on sheet music to help me remember tunes. Great feedback!
It was going well up until about 16 minutes in when it became silent!
I tried plucking out the melody as well. It does help!!!!
Thank you so much. Got back from chores a little too late for live so I appreciate the recording of it. Lots of good questions and answers. I would be interested in zoom! Private lesson give away is awesome as well. I went back to more making notes sound good instead of hurry to learn more tunes! Trying to make the strings resonate lets me know I’m not always hitting the strings with my fingertips. That’s hard. 😀
I couldn’t get the 1st quarter of the b part for the life of me until I plucked it and heard ‘Shave and a Haircut’ and that did the trick. Except that now I sometimes feel tempted to play ‘two bits’ instead of going on to the next measure.
Hello Jason, I am so thankful for all your amazing Work on this site. I especially love the drones, as they are helping me to finally get a sound/ tone that I can live with.And now when I jump from a D on the A string to G on the D string, I have confidence. I am learning to nail the landing, just like a gymnast.Rather than jumping and hoping to Land somewhere close to in tune. I also really enjoy your humility and goofy sense of humor.
Sincerely,
Paloma from Sonoma County
Ps. I just watched your Office hours, and you touched on many topics that are relevant for me at this stage in my Fiddle playing. Regarding your question about practice since the Shelter in place began… I find myself practicing more consistently than I ever have in my life, (with the exception of the last week before any big gig.)I look forward to it and I need it more. Times are tough, I’m an RN . There is a great deal of suffering going on all around me during my work day and playing the fiddle frees me up from worrying about all that suffering. I am a musician, fairly new to the fiddle at age 61.Being able to play Lazy John along with Bruce Molsky after your online lesson? ,man, that is tip top in my book. The worries just melt away .You deserve some major hugs of appreciation( While wearing full PPE, but of course.)
Thanks Jason. Great words of encouragement! You know exactly what I going through and now it seems to be a normal progression of progress. Some days are good, other days not so good; so I’ll except that and just finish on a high note. Going to go fiddle with it now!
Hi Jason,
I have been playing for one year now. I started with your courses about 9 months ago. So the best compliment to you and your course came from my daughter just yesterday. She is home visiting from Colorado. She is a accomplished Irish and blue grass fiddler who also teaches and plays in a band. I have been playing for her and I am able to play some tunes with her…which is awesome! I asked for her advice – she said “ keep up whatever you are doing…these lessons are working well for you”. Nuff said. Thanks so much!
This is the second phase of learning a tune…
Oops! You gave it way on the listening component because of the file name. It was still fun to play though!
Time to apply the 2-Minute Rule for me is now!
Can’t wait to play a real fiddle tune! I like the attitude adjuster from “I have to practice” to “I can hardly wait to practice.” That is my first objective to complete in the goal of playing the fiddle.
So far, so good, Jason, and thanks! Looking forward to moving on. Any advice about how much to tighten the bow?
Just got A CHEAP fiddle off Amazon. (Don’t have a lot of dough) never played before but always wanted to… 50 yrs old seems like as good a time as any. Looking forward to more lessons… Gonna have to save, but seems worth it.
I like the string crossing exercise
Thanks @nancybrown. I want to create a rhythm of daily lessons for people. Some of these might be just little reminders.
This is great advice and I really laughed out loud about the Tam Lin comment because it’s one of my goals. However, I don’t dwell there. I just practice a micro on it every other day. One thing I discovered yesterday while playing along with a music video Is that there are some latent instinctive skills hidden in my dna and they can find notes and flow along without stopping or struggling. Beyond my current skill set. So once a week I’ll try to play along with a tune like that and add it to the scales. I have the problem of Quitting practice for the day but must do or I get sore. This is a really good suggestion with alternating scales and tunes and I will be more mindful of that as I go along. Thank you Jason.
I like that you have a problem not quitting a practice session. Good problem to have! But worth paying attention to. Take little breaks throughout a session to stretch, breath deeply and walk a bit.
Thanks for Re-posting. I like the idea of re-posting even more.
I feel like i’ll be able to keep up better and play better. Repetition, right?
oops….That’s ” plain” sight. And I might add, when I first started playing, I was a little discouraged because I wanted to sound just like the people I heard on records and Cd….lol. But now, after some time and practice, playing everyday, I can actually play along with some of those same records and Cds that I first listened too.
Thanks again,
linda
It takes a small leap of faith to learn a new instrument. But it if you practice consistently and practice well, you’ll start to gather evidence which shows that you can do it.
Jason,
Since I have listened and learned from you, my favorite bit of advice on progress is “play everyday”. That has made such a difference in my playing, I can’t even tell you. I have my fiddle out in plan sight, the only time I put “ronafiona” in her case, is when I go to class or play in a concert.
Thank you for all you do,
linda
Play every day is such a simple but powerful practice philosophy. If you can just establish a good daily practice, then you will naturally gravitate towards practicing well.
Enjoyed the article! It is inspiring to know how fiddle was so integrated into our history. Thank you!
Glad you liked the article. It was by another fiddlehead subscriber name Jim. He’s working on a series of articles in this vein. Send a message to @moonshadows to encourage him…
What I got out of this lesson is that combining all of these practices, playing, reading, singing, etc. in small snippets, helps to make things more “automatic” and “connected”, and eventually that can be expanded in to larger segments, and eventually whole tunes.
So, instead of “mechanically” having to “translate” or having to “think” about note to a sound on the fiddle or visa-versa, it becomes more internalized and kind of second nature. (Or the note and the execution of it becomes one in the same…not two separate entities.) Kind of like when we learn a new language, we first have to translate our native language to the new language before we can speak it. Eventually, we can speak the new language without “thinking” in our native language. The new language becomes more natural.
Hope this makes some sense. It does in my head, but it is hard to explain…most likely because I am still learning it!
I think you got the idea. It’s all about trying to internalize the music. When you read a book, you’re not thinking about the rules of grammar. In the same way, do you want to eventually be able to look at some sheet music and hear what it sounds like.
Then, I’m on the right track.
This is good advise all around. A while back a fellow fiddle player was watching me try to playa fast piece and commented “you need to relax your wrist”. I’m still trying.
Do the bow motion without holding the bow. Just try to play with your wrist.
Great lesson!
Love this subject. I am constantly working on my wrist and fingers. One of the people I admire who I think has a great flexible wrist and fingers is Bruce Molsky, and check out this kids wrist…a study of flexible wrist fiddle playing!
And, of course, Bruce Molsky.
Both have such “economy of bow” as I call it.
I also work on “pulling” the bow in both directions. Never “push” the bow. Learn to pull it in both directions makes you have to bend the wrist.
Playing long bows is a good way to get the wrist involved. Really exaggerate the motion on each end of the bow.
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.
Great tune!
I love your shout outs near the end…”keep going, we’re almost done”. It’s very encouraging! 🙂
And the “thanks for practicing “. Very cool!
Keep on fiddling!!!
Thanks, Brett
Ha ha! Glad you like the Bob Wills style shouting. It’s not on most of the backing tracks, but I thought it was a fun idea.
Like the variation but for sure I need to get totally familiar with the basic first!!’
I loved this! Lots of fun to play! I feel like I am getting the hang of this. Thanks for the mystery tune lesson.
This works for me!!!! My note reading Is fairly accurate but slow.
Love the way you teach and loving my Irish fiddle course that I bought ♥️
I swear that sheet music is a little off. First, it doesn’t show the long three-beat notes at the end of every quarter.
Then the last quarter’s timing sounds completely different in the playalong track. I don’t know the best way to type this out but the playalong track sounds more like:
D2- 2- 1- 2- A0- D2- 1- 2- 1- 0
long-short-short-short-long-short-long-short-short-loooong (3 beats at end)
By the way, I am loving this song! I didn’t know it before this. It feels like the first “real” fiddle song I’m learning that isn’t a nursery rhyme (although I get that those are useful for beginners!). It’s so pretty.
You’re not crazy! Or we both are. Anyway, I agree it’s a slightly different rhythm and I think your description is accurate. Even though I have the melody memorized, I rewrote sheet music to match the playalong because I find I can concentrate on getting my timing right if I read the music instead of playing from memory.
Hey Jason, totally off-topic, but b/c of your clarinet/piano recommended song i thought you might dig this tune:
sorry, wrong version
interlude video is set to private
Jason, thanks for posting this office hours video and notes. I get a lot out of these sessions even if I can’t “attend” them when you are doing them live.
Richard at 58:44. You asked about fiddle brands, and Jason recommended Fiddlershop. I own a Fiddlerman Artist violin and it is a quality instrument for the price. I can also recommend it.
I really loved this video Jason, it was almost as if you recorded it just for me. I might have taken some things a little differently, to apply them where I need it most. I too have written you, almost those exact same words. I can play almost any song I come across on your site fairly easily, with just the tab and listening to it a few times to get the song in my head. I can play cleanly on one string on a decent intermediate level. I’ve enjoyed the site because there are so many songs I don’t know which are now finding their way into my head and fingers.
I can’t play on two strings.
I’ve tried.
I can make sounds that will split atoms when I try to play on two strings. Sounds that would put Capt. Kirk on full red alert.
I will immediately forget every note of every song when I split those atoms.
Right now, I struggle on the throw-away bow on regular scales and I work on that constantly. I play the warm-up scales you suggest on most songs, but I admit. I’m just not into it. I also live in an RV. Walking from my kitchen to my bedroom is only a few steps…hahahaha. Forget the bathroom. I can barely wash my hair in there.
Now I think it’s time to concentrate on two strings… and having to get over the fact that I need to start at square one, take my fingers off the neck, place them firmly on the fiddle, and learn to get a decent sound on two strings before I work on stops.
One day at a time.
I took a look at the lessons there on doublestops. I’m going to need that first full week just to pull a decent sound without stops…lol. Maybe a true concentrated effort with this, combined with your Evernote to keep notes on what I’m practicing and taking video. Maybe one day… I’ll be able to pull that sound on two strings as easily as I can with one.
Maybe I can learn this suspicious little mordent that I like the sound of so much. 🙂
Thanks for all you do Jason. I’m glad you found your way to become a fiddle teacher.. it’s what you are meant to do.
Keeping the bow in the center on the E string, but it has improved noticeably with these exercises. No problem with the bow hold, using Jason’s method. Picking up the fiddle for the first time ever, but having played the banjo for many years i know these first few months require the greatest perseverance to get through, what I call ‘dog work’, no offense to dogs. lol.
I remember when I first found you Jason, Whiskey Before Breakfast was my nemesis.
I had been trying to learn that and Flop Eared Mule for quite some time. Studying your videos, remember to just stop and listen when I’m discouraged, finding those notes in the difficult parts.
When I want to turn my fiddle into toothpicks, I try to just bring it down to 1 Note, 1 Tune 10 Minutes. Loop it…Loop it…Loop it…Loop it..Loop it…
It’s all working together to keep me going. Now when I look back, I’m pleased. Whiskey Before Breakfast is one of my favorite songs to play and I often use it as a warm-up or as a base to try new tricks. (I can play that darned ole Flop Eared Mule too)
I wish there was a way to stop your full play audio and loop it where I need it in there. Playing by myself to practice a loop, then getting that little hard spot in time to play with you or others is proving to be harder at times than I care to admit. I’m working hard though…and dreaming big.
I know I’m getting there because now my computer now pulls up your page when I type an “F” before it pulls up “Facebook.”
Hells yeah!
Jason, you are right on the mark! Thanks for sending this bundle of encouragement to all of us. Always good to hear positivity and knowing I’m not alone on this journey. There are improvements and my recordings are a testimony; painful to listen to, but there is improvement.
Like we use to say….Keep on truck’n!
Got nothing to lose.
Thanks for all you do for us!
Brett
Great lesson, looping A part first and second Quarters now
This is perfect for me today!
During practice my bow kept wandering and I was disappointed. Not so smooth. I just played scales and one of the easy pieces. The angels are always depicted playing harps and the devil with a fiddle. I said to myself, if you’re going to dance with the devil always pick the music! I will never give up searching for the good sound. Thanks Jason👍🏽
Jason,
Really like the post on faith. Yesterday was one of those days when practice was not coming easy at all, Remembering your teaching, I eventually let it go for the day, as I left for my part time job at the Y. I have been keeping a journal, but stalled on it two weeks ago. Thanks for the reminder to “keep it up.” Arthritis in my hands is an added disadvantage, but even that, at this point I can work thru. I have progressed quite a bit in 2 1/2 years with your instruction.
I suppose faith works at all ages, all conditions and my “fiddle journey” is real and still brings me joy, with a little “sting” of doubt.
Thanks for the lessons. Working on “Win That Shakes The Barley”, Triplet Scales and “Club Ceili” currently.
Owen O’Malley
Nice email. Thanks for your frequent communications to encourage this learning community. In your last office hours, I related to the “Make friends with the E string” comment. Recently I am working on Hector the Hero. When I first watched that video months ago I thought it was way too challenging for me. Now, it’s that beautiful tune waltz practice that is helping me slow down and get more bow control, pulling it all the way smoothly for those 1/2 notes and just enjoying the tone as well as note reading practice. (I am curious though about a couple separate measures in the sheet music that don’t seem to have 3 beats as in the 3/4 time.)
When I record tunes I have worked on previously it sounds so much better now than it did 6 months ago. This takes patience and practice but it is very rewarding. I just started learning Banshee and I am doing alot of micro practice on that to get the rhythm and accent beats.
I have been doing a little self-recording in the form of sending my grandkids a tune for the day. Good or not so good, they get a big kick out of it (they are 13 & 14 yrs old). Sometimes I’ll re-name a tune to relate to them in some way. It’s fun for me, makes me listen to my own progress, and often I get a “Good job, Grandma, or….this one I love. “getting better….”
Thanks for all you do for us, Jason
linda
Thank you so much for this informative article on the History of the Fiddle. Learned a lot from this!
Thank you! Micro practice and scales are my friends. Self recording is good (wince) and sends me back to scales! Lovely message thank you👍🏽
Self-recording is hard for everyone at first. The great thing about that practice is that when you listen to these recordings later you’ll realize that you’ve actually made progress 📈
I love this compassionate note. The very idea of perfection is immobilizing. I am an artist, a painter and I deal with a lack of confidence with many of my paintings, (despite evidence to the contrary). Doubt sits on my shoulder and if I listen to it my life becomes hard. The suggestion of actually having fun! and forgiving yourself for being human is greatly appreciated! And also, I have noticed, in my violin practice and my painting, that improvement does not follow a strait upward line. Seems more like a roller coaster ride!
Lots of good things in what you said. When you practice every day you often can’t even notice any progress. It’s like trying to see the moon move across the sky. You can’t actually see it move in the moment, but if you look away for an hour, you clearly see a difference…
Good is better than perfect!
That was excellent. Thank you!
It’s so interesting to consider how history is reflected in music and culture. And at the same time, how music transcends our normal barriers.
Good stuff!!!!’
I currently use a nice looking book, but that gives me problems when I travel and I don’t want to lug it with me. Will give Evernote a try. Can you tell me which template you use? Seems like there’s a lot to choose from.
I don’t use any particular template. I just start listing things I’m working on using bullet points. You could do this and lots of other online journaling apps like Google docs. And then for things that I might forget, I make audio recordings or add images of sheet music.
I’m also a big fan of paper journals. Throughout my life I’ve gone back-and-forth between electronic and paper journals. Right now I use paper journals to quickly write down ideas as well as mapping out ideas.
Thanks so much Mr. Guinn, for writing this very interesting article on the early days of American fiddling. I enjoyed it very much. I love knowing how and when a tune came about, the great stories behind them and those who loved writing and playing them.
I really like reading about fiddle history, so I wrote this article and Jason decided to post it. I plan to write others about American Fiddling.
Hi Jason,
Really enjoying your brilliant lessons, you play all the tunes so sweetly I am impatient and want to learn everything at once ,so I will try to take your advice to slow down and concentrate on tone and tuning.
Many Thanks,
Sam
It’s such a cliché music teacher thing to say: slow down. But it’s what all beginners need to here…
Thanks
Shows how we are standing on the shoulders of Past Fiddlers…how we as Fiddlers today are part of something wonderful and carry on its history, traditions and sound!
Reading is practice! This Fiddle History really shows how important the Fiddle was in the past.
Interesting and informative !!!! Thanks for a well written article
Hi Jason,
I’ve just started your beginners course. Your music is very healing right now
Hi Eileen, Thanks for saying this. Best to you with the course and your fiddling…
Nice!
Any chance you could come up with Fiddlehed versions of Carrickfergus and Ragland Road for us?
Thanks.
Dave
Thanks for a beautifully mournful tune for these turbulent times. Music will help get us through as it always does. Thank you for helping me play the music!
Yes that is awesome ❤️
Beutiful. I like it.
Hey there jason! Just had a question/idea for ya’ll: think there’s any way to take some of the notes you’ve already recorded, allow them to be randomized, and make a kind of ‘online note generator’?
I LOVE the thought of old-school call and response (think many do), but it’s just not really commonplace these days. And double for these covid-y times. Doing the random part, I think would better allow one to exercise their ear, as opposed to having knowledge of the notes beforehand. Plus it’d be funner.
I’m not a full-fledged member (cheap, cheap bastard here), but i guarantee something like this would get me to join. I’ve searched, and there’s nothing at all on the internet in this regard (violin).
Cheers man!
Hey Jason, totally understand. Many thanks for the response. cheers, jeff
Hi Jason,
Thanks for placing this one on the site. I have been working on part A, so far this week; trying to get G# third finger right and fourth finger E as well. Almost there. Really enjoying the bowing the slurs encourage.
Owen O.
Hey @owneee61, you’re making great progress. Remember to use drone tracks to practice raised third and low fourth notes, do simple exercises like G2-H3…
It’s like Miles Davis’s “Sketches of Spain” procreated with a Scottish lament. Love it.
High compliment! Miles has been one of my heroes since I began.
This jig is beyond my skill level (beginner) but I’m having a blast trying it anyway! Trying to hurry before week is up haha. You know though, I’m starting to get it just by singing it first. Naturally I will up my sub as soon as I get beyond beginner! Thank you dear Jason, definitely good for the heart!
Love the wonderfully expressive and atypical sounds you make with this. Seems not only mournful but also inspiring. It suggests new ways of listening and creating, something desperately needed to get through our current times.
Thanks for sharing this. Speaks to my heart as music can when words are insufficient.
Lovely Jason. You are an amazing musician and human being. Thank you for sharing.
#BlackLivesMatter
Deep and beautiful. You are not only incredibly talented, you have great depth of character. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for that lesson. The new format is super fun (you on the framebox camera commenting).
Good stuff. Adding this one to my tune book. Thx.
Really splendid, Jason. Thanks, as always, for all you do; and for being such a good spirit in the world.
Also, your quote above made me think of this other one:
“Awe is the salve
that will heal our eyes.
And keen, constant listening.”
Thank you for posting, so beautiful !
Love it Jason!
Thanks, linda
Haunting. Makes you think.
True that @chirodoc. This is a chaotic time of change. If we can work this out (which we can) then life will ultimately be better for more people.
Thank you for the lovely Tune. The time will come (hopefully) when everybody will realize that all human beings has the same colour of blood.
How do I sign up for lessons? I tried the free lesson and nothing happened. How much does it cost to join your instruction? I enjoy your lessons on Youtube and would like to learn much more. I’m sure I have over looked some key to punch to join your classes so, I need help. Also, are you able to select the type of music and lessons. Is there an index of songs to select from? Your attention to this matter is much appreciated.
Jim Brannan
2400 Pisgah Rd. 32347
Perry, Fl. 32347
850-295-1539
Hi Jason,
A deeply thoughtful melody for today. We all need to listen more in every sense.
Well said @ffwrnais. Listening is what makes music a spiritual experience.
Jason, thank you. Music still heals. Tough out there right now. I appreciate your response
Thanks Blucy! and thanks for letting me sit in on your zoom fiddle group.
Thank you. We’re all in this together. Peace.
Peace to you to Ginny, and everyone else.
Hi Jason,
Beautiful mournful tune. You stay safe and may we all help to find a cure for the hate virus….lv
Thanks @linda…this melody just came out of the ether…
LOVE the drone practice!!!! This is like relaxation after a tough gym workout!!
I love that you have this lesson. I have wondered about how hard to press the strings. When playing mountain dulcimer the string needs to be pressed down to the wood of the fret board or it doesn’t sound correctly. I have been trying out using a lighter touch on the fiddle and it seems to work okay. Is that really true when playing fiddle? Oh, and another quick question: How much rosin should be used on the bow? Thanks!
Hey Nan~ glad the lesson jives so well with You!
Yea it seems that coming from a state and focus of relaxed/lightness with the fingerboard hand/arm can really support us in playing.. and moving from that, trying various ways to create the sound we really enjoy. Mountain Dulcimer sounds like an interesting song to play with and find the balance of sound you like. Be great to hear how you’ve made out with playing it since you commented.
As for the rosin question, have you seen Jason’s rosin post yet?
Thanks for sharing your experiences and inquiries!
Finding this a great aid to self discipline, great for pick and mix practice to keep momentum going.
An advice on not so good tone 3rd finger on D!!!
Hi, What do the parentheses mean in the tablature?
I should not have jumped ahead to the songs! The parenthesis are nicely explained in the lesson.
Hi Jason,
Thank you for breaking this down so well…I actually understand it! One question….why on some notes the stem (stick thing attached to note) point up and sometimes it points down?
Thanks again,
Cindi
With a few exceptions, the stems usually point down for notes on the middle line or higher, and up for those below
This is exactly what I’ve been looking for! You’re a mind-reader Jason or at least very adept at recognizing ways to build one’s fiddling skills besides just showing up at a bluegrass jam sesh and looking like I don’t know what the heck I’m doing. Thanks for making these challenges very approachable!
The drones are very useful to me for tuning. Also I like the metronome beats! I used both to do the exercises my in-person teacher assigned. They seem much more do-able and I can see progress! 🙂
This one is so fun to play! Looking forward to adding variation next.
Getting a good sound on the E string
Another good lesson, Jason. Thanks! I’m a bit behind right now and haven’t been practicing the past few days because of bursitis in my left shoulder, but I got a cortisone shot yesterday, so I should be playing again soon.
Hi Jason,
I think( I may be incorrect) but this second quarter should read:
D3-A0-1-L2-3-1-D3-A1-0-0 D3-A0-L2-1-0 instead of
Second quarter: D3-A0-1-L2-3-1-D3-1 0-0-D3-A0-L2-1-0
I am only starting to take your reading music course, but the recording and the sheet music do not match what you have tabbed.
Just wondering!! Thanks for all your fabulous lessons…I am learning SOOOOO much!!
Good stuff, Jason. In the video, you said you will cover dotted notes in next lesson. Could you please also add triplets to that lesson? I know what they are, but some counting help would be appreciated.
Thanks
Good idea @tszalay. I was just working on the dotted notes lesson. It seems like an excellent point to also introduce triplets. Cheers.
These passages are ALL SO GREAT. Such inspiration.💕
You rock, Fiona! Thank you for showing us the possibilities! By the way, I LOVE your name. I have the cutest little border collie and I named her Fiona!
Awesome idea @melissarice. You are actually practicing audiation when you do this exercise. I think i want to point this out in the lesson text. I’ve learned everything from good students like you!
I already can sight read music notation but I want to learn audiation. That is, I want to be able to hear how the music sounds just from reading the sheet music. This lesson seems like it would be helpful for that purpose as well. Thanks!
I find myself naturally slurring notes as I find the rhythm to this tune. Would you like to address this in any way? If it makes any difference, I am returning to fiddle after an absence of approx. 1 year due to a major life event (won’t do that again!) I had been playing for five years prior, mostly fiddle tunes. I decided to start at the beginning since my intonation was so horrible and I could barely read music anymore. I’m glad I did as the intonation is rapidly improving and I am loving your method of teaching.
These lessons are well worth the cost of this course. Thank you so much for your help. I feel that I may one day be a true Irish fiddler!
To be able to pick up any sheet music and play the song as written by the creator is choice and brings hours of enjoyment! I find practicing from hymnal books I find at thrift stores is rewarding. Most of the music is fairly easy to learn and builds up the Eye to Hand Coordination.
Good idea @Markus. One of the main principles of the Note-Reading For Fiddlers course is to star with melodies you know well.
Perfect – even though I really feel I ought to know this, I honestly don’t know it well enough to read and play – so for me, you can’t make this too simple. Thank you for taking the time to do something so basic. I know many people will really appreciate this Jason – I certainly do.
Thank you,, my goal is to lead tunes and build confidence to play solo in public!!!!
Keeping safe, and making good use of this unforseen. “Me and my fiddle time” 💟
My 11 year old son who is all sports no music was mesmerized by this and wanted to try it. So, I showed him the strings, gave him instruction and off he went. I could tell by his face he enjoyed the beautiful sound he was making, I might make a musician out of him yet!
hi Jason, struggled with the Blackest crow, rythm, but loved this as I knew the tune and also play a lot of Irish at folk sessions, looking forward to pop this one out of the blue, You are the best Utube fiddle guide, so so much fun.
Hi Jason,
Digging things so far – thanks! In some pictures you have stickers for the finger positioning but it seems as though you’re recommending we follow our ear to train finger positioning. I read somewhere else that many beginners use stickers for the first 2 years but that we shouldn’t over-rely on them. I’ve got a pretty decent ear through playing other instruments but just curious if you recommend using stickers or not for your course.
Thanks again,
Joe
Wildwood Flower
Yes! Good going…
Definitely interested, decided to take a break from classical lessons, (they are suspended for now-C19). Would like to learn more about fidding techniques anyway.
I am getting my violin tomorrow. I have been listening to the beginning lessons now for 3 days now. Can`t wait until sat Thank you..
Lesson 15.2 doesn’t open anything new. It just reopens 15.1.
Thanks.
I have this annoying thing where one day a slow song sounds lousy but a faster tune sounds good, then, maybe next day it flips on me the other way.
I’m going back through these early lessons because i picked up basics on YouTube and taught myself several tunes by ear. It’s good to remember that when hubby brought Lily (fiddle) home last fall, she only had 3 strings, one strung wrong, the bridge turned wrong with no notched, and, I’d never picked up a bow in my life (am 59)…..now about 6 months later we can belt out Down By the Riverside, mostly, and wail a decent Danny Boy, sort of…..and others, mostly hymns, all by ear, but, some days just don’t sound as well as others, and, yes, i know, I’m breaking the rule of learning too much too fast…..but in my defense, I’m making up for lost time. 👵 ANYway….thanks!
Jason,
I just discovered your website by chance.
I’ve been playing piano now for about 3-4 years and loving every bit of it. The other day I woke up having the urge to play violin. Having not a clue where to begin, I started searching YouTube for information on playing the violin.
I bought a violin online based on advice given for starting out. While waiting for the Violin to arrive, I started to do my homework on every aspect of what’s involved in playing.
I then came across your website and subscribed to your site and started listening to your introduction. I instantly knew this is where I wanted to be. I now have my violin and because of your clear and concise direction, I’ve become real comfortable with it. I’ve learned so much just from the last few sessions.
I’m going to sign up for your monthly membership to learn more.
Although I do intend on eventually plan on playing classical, I know that the advise and direction Of yours will open a whole new world for me.
Thank you Jason,
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
yup. need to share video
Video unavailable
This video is private.
Looks like you were having fun doing this lesson. 🙂 And, I like the FiddleHed collage background. The exercises at the end of the lesson are very helpful because they challenge me…rather than just going up and down D E F# G and then G F# E D. Are you going to have a dedicated area in the top menu to store all of these note reading lessons in order? I think that would be helpful before they start disappearing off the list of 10 most recent Fiddlosophy posts and get harder to find…just in case we want to go back and look at a particular lesson again.
And though this series of lessons is somewhat abstract and theoretical, my goal is for you guys to have fun 🎻
congrats on marriage, the most significant thing i heard and held onto and it works under all conditions is “Love is a choice”. I still keep getting message about subscriotion problems, tried fixing it. i only need 1 subscription.
How does the key signature work?
I see there is an Fsharp in the example. Why does it not apply to all the notes?
Instead of D, E, F# , G? Why would it not be D# , E#, F# etc?
Bob C
That single sharp in the key signature is just for F#. This is pretty much always the case when you see a single sharp symbol in the key signature. I don’t think I answered your question well. But just know that a single sharp in the key signature is the convention for F sharp.
If you’re patient with this stuff, it will slowly makes sense. Thanks for your question.
Yes, I’m interested to learn what benefits you are getting from this and how to do it. Thanks!
So glad I’m not going crazy with those tukka exercises.
Wow, this is such a well laid out, thoughtful, organized way of learning, I am so impressed. The tune is lovely, haunting. Are all the lessons like this? I am still on my free trial, am wondering if I should expect this level of detail with all lessons. Thank you Jason!
So far I’m really enjoying your lessons and style of teaching. I have had my fiddle now for about two years and after trying to learn on my own with books and stopping many times (books were boring), I look forward to these lessons and have the inspiration to keep learning and trying.
I have one comment on this duet lesson. In the previous set of practice drills you had the actual notes on the page, here it is the just the strings to play and the timing of the notes is a little hard to follow i.e. quarter or eighth notes. For me at least it makes it more difficult to follow along. Would it be possible to put both styles on the page?
Thank you,
Jason
P.S. I’m both a Jason, and I have a clone of your cat!! Maybe soon I’ll be able to call myself a fiddler too 🙂
I’m on it. Better late than never…
Yes look forward to it. I have seen that done with a light on the bow.
Oh no, my first challenge playing fiddle!!!
Yes! Also interested in that bowing technique. Thanks!
I have wanted to play the violin or fiddle ever since the third grade when I signed myself up to be measured for an instrument at school. Unfortunately my family was unable to afford the program at the time, so this is a lifelong dream. Thank you for such a great program.
Bowing – In general, the hardest is relaxing my wrist and forearm. Specifically, I find getting a good tone on the E string the hardest – still playing around with pressure on the strings from the bow and position to avoid the “squeaks”. I find the D and the A strings very forgiving in that sense.
I may have missed it, but did not see any discussion yet about the tension of the bow. I’ve been playing around with that a bit but don’t seem to find a sweetspot.
I’m enjoying the lessons, breaking each piece down and exploring the instrument before jumping into playing songs. I also find great joy in playing the duets at the end of each module. Thank you so much for this!
Interested! Thanks!
Thanks for the great lesson! Your presentation is precisely how our brains tie image with a word. Here, with a sound instead of a spoken word….. the language of music! It seems so much easier now. You are a gifted teacher.
*** —-Congratulations on your wedding!!! Many Blessings!
This course has brought me so much joy and pleasure; it’s worth every penny and then some. I never would have imagined I could play a sweet song like this. Thanks, Jason.
You’re welcome! Sorry for the late reply.
Happy wedding and hope you both are staying safe and sound in the craziest of times. I’m feeling for you all in the States. We have to all take responsibility for our health – and as fiddlers we know the best place to be is at home on our fiddles!
Awesome! I have just done an afternoon obsessively practising the note game. I started with the beginning of the song ‘Scotland the Brave’ in D major to do a loop on. I’ve a very weak scratchy voice (sort of matches my violin skill!) so it sounds awful, but I was really trying to train my ear to ‘know’ the notes that I’m playing. So I did a loop, building on the first few notes of the song and then naming them as I attempted to sing and play Part A. Next I built on this to try and remember the notes out of order from the song, to see if I could say and sing them then play them – that was a really good challenge. I then decided just to try it with the open notes; GDAE playing them, singing them and then naming them. Then tested myself trying to sing them and name them first before playing. I recorded myself doing it (hilariously bad) but I actually started to improve faster than I thought. I’m even tempted to go and test myself again!
Just read your email. CONGRATULATIONS on getting married tomorrow. I wish the best for you and Mrs. FiddleHed!
PDF not working. Need to see the whole song to play smoothly.
I would also be very interest in this lesson topic. Bowing is where I need the most help and this looks like it would be very useful. Big congrats on your marriage. How exciting!
Great lesson! I just watched the video following along with you. It makes so much sense the way you explain it, and it IS very clear! I also like the format with your video following the segments of the lesson. Now, to keep practicing it before the next installment.
Will you eventually put this mini-course into one area of the FiddleHed website? i.e. A new heading in The Art of Fiddling or another area?
Like your “enchanted forest”, but you need to “FiddHed” it up like your apartment in SF! 🙂
Yupper!
Yep, I enjoyed it in the office hours and would like to pursue.
Thanks, Jason.
Definitely interested in a lesson on this technique . Thanks Jason, keep up the good work!!!
Thanks,
You must be an incredible teacher!
This has been challenging. I have to listen close so I play the correct note. Definitely good advice to try and recognize patterns.
This sheet music is really helpful! I have studied classical music for years and really struggling picking up by the ear but… working hard 🙂 thank you
I’m a visual learner too and I lean heavily on the sheet music while playing with the play along tracks to develop my ear. It’s hard! I don’t process sound very well without visual cues. The thing I have learned is how to use the sheet music to help myself get started with the tune and then switch to playing with the tracks without the music as fast as possible. Good luck in your fiddle journey and find what works with your brain and what keeps it fun 🙂
I am finding the string crossing drills to be very helpful!
Right, Jay?! Me, too! JASON IS FANTASTIC! 💕
I love this site. It is awesome and so helpful for a beginner like me. Love Blackest Crow and so much more.
I hate auto spell””” Helps to remember them too!!!!!!!”
This is good stuff. It brings it down to a simpler way of learning notes. Helps remember thff Ed m too
This is my favorite Christmas song. It’s always been out of my reach. I love this version, I can play it. Thank you!
Hi Jason,
I’m a little frustrated because there a number of places where you’re playing something different than the sheet music. I’m not great at reading music but it sounds to me that in Part A, first quarter, second measure you’re playing 1 3 +, rather than 1 + 3. There’s a quarter note at the end of the measure rather than an eighth note. So should I play it like you do or like it’s written.
Please correct me if I’m missing something. I’m really enjoying this lesson and learning a lot from it.
Thanks,
-Chip
There are two main areas I feel are the hardest: 1) making sure of my bowing technique/form, and 2) trying not to hit other strings when playing.
This is a really great thing you are doing. I already read music well but want to be able to identify a note by ear and be able to go to it quickly on the fiddle. That is mind boggling to me. Any suggestions?
Fantastic! I have started to learn how to read sheet music a number of times, but always give up finding it so boring. Your games always are a big help for me. So, I am looking forward to the “Note Reading for Fiddlers” series and finally learning this once and for all. I had let my subscription lapse, and have been catching your lessons for free when you first publish them until they get locked behind the membership wall, but right after I post this, I’m going to renew my subscription for another year. This time I am going to learn how to read sheet music with Fiddlehed! Thanks, Jason.
There is obviously so much work put into creating this lesson for just one song! This is my first song lesson as a subscriber. Thank you for all the effort. You’ve structured this in such a way that I can learn so much more than just the song when practicing.
B Part 1st Quarter second measure you’re playing a different rhythm than the sheet music but you probably put that there to see if the students are paying attention. 🙂 It also seems like players take some liberties when playing these old tunes. You’ve made me so much more interested in practicing.
Love the drone s for playing in tune practice Good now I have room I can go to practice. !!!
These are so cool and so helpful!
Before I even watched the video I started playing with your drone sounds and it is so easy to zone out into a place where you focus on the quality of the sound and the accuracy of the pitch. Even though I wasn’t doing anything complicated, it was musical and hypnotic. Fun stuff just happens.
This is so true, I have been a perpetual beginning for 20 years. I think not practicing is the biggest obstacle to becoming better, but this is obvious.
My excuse was I don’t have 30 minutes, or I can do it tomorrow. Also I find that totally conquering a piece of music is more satisfying than just skipping around a lot. When I get discouraged, I play that one piece that sounds great. Thanks for the 2 minute rule.
Thanks for this lesson, Jason. Great learning tool and fun!
By the way, i haven’t forgotten your advice for the forum. It seems we have successfully migrated the site to a more stable host, so now I can turn my attention to setting up the form in a better way. Of course it’ll probably take a long time because everything takes longer than you think it will. Anyway I hope you are well and finding some peace in this time.
Looping video is really good. It covered s lot of ground I had not thought of
Thank you 🎻🎻🎻🎻
Now you gotta try it…
Wow! This is quite a stretch. I’ve finally nailed the first half, but never played a tune before that ranges fro G1 to EL2. Good thing I don’t have a 5-string fiddle.
Hey @davidsbrown, what tune are you talking about?
I’m all for the looping strategy, it certainly works for me anyway. I also find that plucking can get me out of a rut when I can’t quite get something right.
I am running up agains one problem though and would welcome anyone’s thoughts. I sometimes find that the transitions between the quarters become the problem. It’s particularly so when a tune may have 2 different endings. Ideally, I’d like a loop that goes over each of the ‘joins’. I’m getting special problems with joining parts 3 and 4 B in the Peacock Rag as an example.
I’m finding it difficult to work out in my head what I’m supposed to be playing and thus I’m unable to make my fingers learn it. Hope this makes sense.
Thanks for pointing this out. You can create loops to practice anything. So you could create a big loop of the third and fourth quarters of Peacock.
But you could also create and practice a smaller loop, something like:
A3-E0-A2 | A3-3
A3-E0-A2 | A3-1-0-D3-2-0-1-2-0
Does that make sense?
That’s exactly what I needed! Thanks. I was getting really frustrated with those transitions. Strange it looks quite simple written down like that!
This is great exersize ,very helful
Thank you!
Same here. Thanks
I always heard this in sessions growing up and now I can play it! Can’t believe it. thanks Jason 🙂
In the full tabs, there appears to be an extra note on the first quarter–shouldn’t it end on D2? I’m loving this song!
Hi – yes I think the last note should be D2 but only if you are done playing and not repeating. That appears to be how Jaso’n plays it in the video. I do struggle with how to “end” the song without it sounding like you are left hanging, so thanks for pointing this out! D2 sounds like a good note to end on.
Good call @fiddlefoot and @kellymhanson. I’ll update the tabs…
I’m not able to download the PDF When The Saints Go Marching In. Reason? Thank you!
Great tips!!! However with no jams happening now I wonder if apps like face book, Skype , or Zoom etc could be used for an on line type of gathering/jam session. I’m not computer savvy so just an idea??????
Yess!………., after a week and a half intensive study I can play the whole melody in the slowest version!
nice exercise: in the beginning it is a surprise when i am on the wright place.
Before the corona virus I had three terrible family tragedies. In the middle of grief I bought an old cracked and repaired fiddle from a friend. Now social isolation and you can bet I’m practicing an hour a day! I love your teaching and will be one who goes beyond the free week! Don’t forget me! Even though I accidentally Unsubbed and logged right back in. Thank you! Please send more! Stay safe everyone??
Thank you!!! Great song and awesome lesson!
I have been playing and singing for most of my life. Piano for the most part and I’ve heard been encouraged to memorize music except for recital pieces. Maybe it was just a teacher choice but now my violin teacher (of yesterday) and you are encouraging me to memorize the tunes. I took lessons from her for about 4 months and then she said Play it from memory. She had never before mentioned memorizing the Suzuki pieces from the book.
Will do, Jason. I’ll start memorizing.
Mary
It will not only gear you towards practice, but chances are once you pick up the fiddle for “two minutes”, you’ll keep playing past the two minutes to 10, 20 or maybe even 30 minutes! Sometimes it’s all about start-up inertia. Once you get moving, chances are you’ll continue.
Nice, easy waltz to get started. I love that you provide sheet music as well as tabs. The cat blooper was pretty funny too!
This lesson is definitely a challenge. I will continue with it until I get the hang of it.
I can see the lesson video for Fisherman’s Blues but I can’t see a link for the sheet music. Same for Kerry Polka.
Hi Jason,
The drones are great because at this point I am pretty much on my own so this serves to keep me on track and improve my ear for tuning. It did take getting used to but well worth it! Thanks!
Not able to mark this as “complete” for the learning modules, unfortunately; good info, nonetheless.
Double stops are my nemesis ???. One finger always wants to touch the adjacent string. Must practice
Just found this——good stuff here !!!!
Is this the Irish Variations course I purchased? or is this the week free subscription?
Hi … could really do with play along tracks for full A and B parts as well as the full track to help nail them down perhaps
I just e mailed asking about a drone app then realized there are drones all on fiddlehead site/ duhhhhhh. Thanks Jason, great lesson
C-note seems to be correct. D2-A0 audio play repeated in second quarter.
I wore green, made corned beef and cabbage, and took another FiddleHed Intermediate lesson on St. Patrick’s Day. Will that be enough to bring me the Luck o’ th’ Irish???
I entered in the giveaway, and will be hoping the Irish in me helps bring me luck!!
I saw I have to have up-bow when I start second and third quarter by the way.
Finally, after several hours dealing with the rhythm… Thanks for the videochat yesterday. Awesome inspiration you give people Jason.
Same problem as c-note. Exercise 7 labeled as G string but plays as G and D string.
Thanks for your feedback Jeff, we’ll look into adding more time for responses, and I fixed the exercise 7 label. We appreciate folks voicing their suggestions for improvement 🙂
Not hitting adjacent strings when I’m playing “A”
This was a good lesson to help with tone.
Mandolin playing has helped me find the notes, so I know where the fingers go. You’re style of teaching has made it a very fun way to help with bowing and overall love for the instrument. These kinds of things help bunches. Telling others where to go to learn this wonderful music maker.
Just wanted to add some things here…. I would like to learn these different rhythms….I like the Irish fiddle music and the challenge is the 6/8 timing and the jigs. I also play other instruments, but want to be able to translate this to dulcimer. It’s a natural fit.
I watched the first lesson in Lilting Banshee…loved the tune and see how the rhythm is a great start. I also worked on Irish Washer Woman, also the rhythm that I would like to learn.
In general, I love subscribing to Fiddlehed. I’m hoping all your Irish stuff will come with the annual subscription!!
I’m in, Jason!
The drones have really seemed to help me out.
This is a super-beginner question, but do you bow up and down with each note? Or does it depend?
Ugh, I’ve let myself become dependent on my tuner. I love the idea of interval scales with eyes closed, I think that’s going to help a lot!
Hi Jason and fellow Fiddleheds,
Re: “Too old to play fiddle”
First of all I want to thank you Jason for being so generous with your time and providing the “office hours” for your students. This was my first time participating and I came away feeling quite disappointed because my question was taken the wrong way and while everyone was being so reactive, my point was completely missed.
I am not ashamed of my age. Aging is not a disease. My question was, what kind of warm up would be helpful to gain flexibility in my fingers that do not have the same flexibility that they had when I was twenty and a piano performance major in college.
I never said nor implied that anyone was too old to play fiddle. I picked up the fiddle when I was 34 and three decades later I am still learning and playing.
Re:string action. There is a static measurement for string height at the nut and end of the fingerboard. This is a starting point. Every one plays differently so any competent repairman can adjust this to suit the player. Proper action will enhance your playing and your fingers will love you!!!!!!
I watched an interview with Charlie Daniels. He was asked if he ever got tired of playing The Devil Went Down To Georgia. His answer was, no, because I have never played it perfect! Every time I play it, I play it better but I’ve never played it perfect.
Jason, your rhythmic scale variations are a perfect example of this… just going up and down the D scale is fun! fun! fun! when you add rhythms : )
It is definitely a challenge to stick with a steady beat….Thanks, Jason
Cheers,
linda
I meant to say “along with ‘you’ on that list”. Thanks again…linda
Thanks so much, Jason. Love this tune and thanks for posting Martin Hayes’ version as well as Kevin Burke’s version. Two of my favorite musicians along with on that list.
linda
One note is amazing….I love that, Jason.
Thank you,
linda
Good,solid advice!!!!!! I agree it should be read daily
This is a great post and one every FiddleHedder should read often in my humble opinion. I’ve been rethinking my own approach to my fiddling and this reinforces some decisions I’ve made.
Excellent Jason. Thank you
Mike (Frank’s Fiddle)
Thanks Jason. Many teachers recommend using a metronome but I find it too easy to over-ride/ignore. I’d need a metronome that beats me over the head. I often play along to backing tracks using music speed changer app to increase or reduce the bpm, or play along with a guitarist. Is that sufficient? Does a metronome add anything more?
I like this type of practising as makes me more precise in my finger placements and on my bow angles. Returning to drone central, is a good routine for me.
All useful food for thought because I certainly get these off days. I find changing something is the way to go, usually just playing really slowly for a bit seems to help. One thing that I also find useful is to swap fiddles. I have one quite old, battered and worn and a second more modern one. The older one sounds more woody and mellow but is harder to get the intonation as I’d like it while the newer one is rather crisper and precise but lacks the magical musical tone of the old one. I find that when I get frustrated, a swap of instrument can be positive. This also works when I begin to get tired and ready to stop. Swap fiddle and I’m ready to go again.
Curiously, it doesn’t seem to work with bows.
Thanks for sharing.
Great exercise for learning to add variations. When you first play the tune, and especially at around 6:08 minutes on the video, it has a stronger hoedown sound which I think has to do with subtleties of timing (a bit of swing?) and maybe which beats are stressed. Can you please give us pointers on how to work up to getting that kind of sound? Maybe a little exercise or something? Playing it straight just doesn’t have the same cool sound. Thanks!
I am wondering why I cannot seem to check this song off as complete as two prior to it. I’m a check and complete kind of gal. It gives me more motivation when I need it which is sadly most of the time.
I ENJOYED and RELATED to every word, Jason. Thank you so much.
Last year a bunch of friends put together a memorial for a friend who was a musician.
My beginning dulcimer friend and I wanted to participate, so we learned Bile em Cabbage, Wildwood Flower and May the Circle Be Unbroken.
We made songsheets for everyone to sing along, practiced with the band, and felt great by picking tunes we could learn and have fun playing. You can imagine a whole group of people and musicians rockin’ on Bile em Cabbage. Yes, simple and fun and the BEST! Thanks for all your inspiration.
I love this song. Just took my fiddle with me to NZ on a holiday and didn’t get to practice as much as I liked – a little bit self conscious when camping in campgrounds. Instead I used it like a guitar and practised my fingering that way. Now home and bowing again, I find that my tone/sound has improved. Very happy! Thanks, Jason for your excellent lessons and words of wisdom in your blogs. You’re style of teaching is just perfect for me. I want to play everyday and no longer want to throw my violin across the room in frustration when it sounds terrible. Using your tips, I Am improving, and love it!
Jason
Love the Carter family. What an amazing story they have.
Bob C
A lot to absorb on day one! Fortunately I play mandolin and guitar and can read standard notation and tab. Also have a fairly good ear. Have sung choral music for 60 years.
I love playing this song! It has such a nice funky sound to it. Thank you!
Maybe you deal with this issue later–I can pretty quickly find a note by ear, but how will I be able to find the note/finger placement again when I’m playing without sliding my fingers around to find it?
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.
This is really fun! I am SO stoked!
Love this song! Can’t believe I’ve never heard it. Such a great practice tune. Really dig singing in between each part, great recommendation!
I feel like the unicorn was absolutely necessary. I think more of that would be helpful in my learning
Also Perhaps the scripture in Numbers 23:22 will shine more light on us (parenthesis added for flavor)
22 God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn (when playing his fiddle).
Sorry not turn the key, turn the pegs 🙂 Linda.
Hi Jason, you make tuning look so simple, i am so terrified to use the key to tighten the string, i have broken many strings doing this especially the E string which is so thin. How do we keep the keys from unwinding. I have not played for some time, (my glass fusing keeps me busy), but i would like to practise and the strings are very loose. I once had that powder chalk stuff put on but that locked the keys so hard i could not even move them. Thanks so much, i absolutely love your videos. All the best Linda – Port Alfred, East Cape, South Africa.
Thanks for this, Jason. I always get frustrated when trying to use a metronome, but I usually just jump right in, and before you know it, I turn the metronome off. I think I need to take some of your suggestions here, like…
-Start with simple things: single notes, intervals and scales
-Move on to phrases from simple tunes and eventually full tunes.
-Before starting to play, listen to the beat for 10-30 seconds. Feel it in your body.
I love this. I feel like a mockingbird.
Perfect! Exactly what I have been working on in my private fiddle lessons. Thanks!
Good system for practice—it does work.
Thanks Jason
Excellent lesson, challenging and fun. Thank you !!!!!???
… actually – just added Sailor’s Hornpipe to the bucket list 🙂
Thanks Jason! this is an excellent lesson I’m loving it! My family are happy for me to practice in the lounge now… thanks to awesome lessons like this I understand now how I can improve & my love for playing has grown twofold ??
If I’m honest I don’t ever see myself playing any kind of advanced fiddle tunes; I simply don’t have the dexterity and I doubt I ever will – so my bucket list is probably very lame compared to others with more skill and ambition.
However, the reason I began this at the end of last year was because I inherited my Father-in-Laws violin when he passed away and I kind of committed myself to learning to play one really good tune well before his birthday at the end of October, which bizarrely is the same date as the day he died. His name was Frank and I’ve called my instrument Frank’s Fiddle, after discovering that fiddle playing is what I want to do rather than violin playing.
I found a tune called Frank’s reel, which is (to my ear anyway) phenomenally complicated and well above anything I’ll probably ever play, but as it’s a bucket list, I suppose Frank’s Reel is my bucket list tune.
In reality, I’d be happy to play any number of tunes in a fiddle style and as yet, just over a month in to my fiddle playing career, I don’t have any others on my list to play 🙂
Novice fiddler Mike
Great Lesson, Jason.
Thanks so much,
linda
Farewell Kitty, May you and Jason meet again in another dimension in another time….Keep on a meowing.
linda
Just what I needed. I was so frustrated with my sound. Thank you
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
The three things that have helped me improve my sound the most are (1) use more bow (2) use more pressure (3) even out your bow speed. You can use more pressure than you think. You get more pressure either by rotating your wrist or your whole arm, not by “pushing down” the whole arm. For me, I have to rotate from my wrist because if I rotate the arm it kicks off my shoulder impingement especially on G string. Ouch.
Also make sure you are playing maybe 1/3 the way down from the bridge (in the space between bridge and fingerboard).
It is much better to get a bit of a crunch from more pressure than it is to get a thin creaky scratchy sound from not enough pressure. A bit of a crunch means you are on the right path.
Jason’s open string sound is wonderful advice. For a warmup, at start of practice I always spend 3-4 minutes playing open strings, whole bow, slow, 4 counts to the bow, maybe 70 beats per minute. This gets my mind and body in ‘the zone’. You can download a free metronome app for your phone and set that at 70 beats. Then draw your whole bows, tip to frog, open string. Keep your eyes on the bridge to make sure you are drawing the bow straight parallel. Watch yourself in a mirror to help with the parallel. It takes a long time to leanr to do this. Remember, this is a marathon, not a sprint. Rotate arm a little to get some pressure, draw bow and think about the sound and don’t forget to BREATHE and RELAX. If you stick with it, good things will come! “Wax on, wax off. Don’t forget to breathe. Very important!” – Mr. Miyagi 🙂
Thanks for your thoughts Pete. And thanks for the Mr. Miyagi quote. “Wax on, wax off” is one of those clichés that are very true and useful. Breathing too!
Remember, this is a marathon, not a sprint.
Also good advice!
I can’t get the lessons to play.
Sorry we didn’t help you with this in a timely manner, are they working for you now?
Loved it when playing along .. then when I tried it with the drone I got all Yehudi Manure-urin on myself and lost all timing … Thought my fingers were faster than they are .. or my brain is faster … great fun, although I can’t see when I will ever be able to play hoe down at any kind of hoe down speed.. I’ll stick to hoe down for seniors perhaps 😉
very pleasantly surprised at how un-scratchy that became. I know it’s very simple, but the cross sting from A to D string gets the claws out every time … this time a little less 🙂
Love the Soldiers Joy and Fairy Dance Duets. My wife says they are great to listen to. The ability to play with the backup track really is a lot of fun and definitely makes me want to practice. The only drawback is that tune gets stuck in your head ! Which is actually probably a good thing. I wish we could loop just the medium and fast tempo parts separately.
Thanks for all the great content thus far.
Bob C
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.
Hello, the 4 and 8 note exercises are missing.
thank you! love this site.
Learning and having fun. Thanks Jason
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!
There is more to be learned from this lesson than just variation on a classic melody . I’ve just started working with this lesson and already I see things that can be applied to I other tunes.
Good job Jason
I’ve tried for years to play with the bow parallel to the bridge but, no matter what, the bow swayed from side-to-side. Recently, after watching me play, a banjo-playing friend suggested that I keep my right shoulder back. The result was instantaneous: the bow traveled relatively straight and the tone was much improved with none of that irritating scratchy sound you get when the bow moves side-to-side along the strings.
Yes. Bravo. Best thing I have learned recently is slowing down and listening closer and enjoying the parts to whole process.
Biggest challenge in bowing? Unlearning sloppy habits from when I tried to learn the fiddle several years ago. I had an old-time bluegrass fiddler as my teacher and he was amazing. Problem was that our lessons became so social that he didn’t correct my bow hold, bowing – we just played together. I could have learned so much from him if I had been a more advanced fiddler. I put the fiddle down for 10 plus years and am trying to learn better technique and not jump into playing tunes. Really enjoying your site so far!
Great format for the follow-up on your part Jason! I really appreciate being able to quickly find info that didn’t sink in while watching live. Thank-you.
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.
This is good, because even though i got the idea of slurs, I didn’t feel the need to use them in previous songs for the flow.
This song starts off much faster than the other songs seemed to get even at max speed, which is a good way of forcing yourself to start using the slurs (because even if you could bow that fast doing single bows, it wouldnt sound very clean)
I really enjoyed Office Hours, even though I couldn’t be there “live”. It bumped up my excitement about playing. Thank you!
Thanks for posting this, Jason. I completely forgot about it! 🙁
Thank you Jason … enjoyed the session and paid my subscription today ??
Thanks for the support Reevo 🙂
??
Love me some Fiddlehed!
I just lost my little doggy girl back in August. This broke my heart again man.
Who knew I’d already be playing Mozart on the fiddle? In your face André Rieu
great having options
thanks for variations and the 3 parts
would love more on positions 1 2 3
I wish the sound tracks didn’t shrink back again when I hit pause. I want to be able to play the track and read the music but I can’t scroll fast enough or have the track ready in the right place to do that.
Very sight dependent when playing along even if I get it memorized without playing along. Open to suggestions on how to do this better. I really like the varied speed tracks to start slowly and progress the speed. I find I often speed up in the middle so these are helpful if I can start at the same time as the track
Hi Blucy, once a track is playing, try hitting the space bar on your keyboard to pause it. Press the space bar again (without clicking anywhere else) to resume the track where you paused it. I struggled with the same thing!
Got through Lesson 1; now onto bowing at which I am terrible!!
Wondering what your subscription is and where should I start. Have had maybe 7 lessons when I go to Florida but would like to do more.
Lou
Hi again. The last tune in the fourth quarter sound for me like a D, Can it be correct?
When I first heard you play it I thought I wouldn’t be able to get it, but the way you have it broken down was great. I have the first part comfortably and will work on the second tomorrow. I will be buying a membership next week. Cheaper than private lessons and better than any that I’ve had.
Thanks Jason
Very nice. I enjoyed that, but it is above my pay grade right now. 🙂
Thanks that was fun
This is also very fast for me, but it’s challenging me to learn to use slurs and bow changes, and the pedal exercises help.
Great lesson ????
I was very sorry to read that Kitty is no longer with you. It’s sad that he’s not here anymore, but his story is a very happy one. He was homeless, and you took him from your friend’s doorstep and gave him a wonderful, permanent, loving home. He had a great life because you. Thank you for sharing your beautiful tribute to him with us.
Enjoyed playing the exercises and the songs. The clearness of my notes seems to be getting better much of the time.
Hi, enjoying your lessons and have a suggestion. Maybe you have done this with other tunes but I would LOVE to have a lesson on dressing up a song once the basics are mastered. I bet this song lends itself to a bunch of double stops and a few extra notes here and there. thanks for all you do!
Jason, I liked him because he was so vocal…what a very good cat…w
I’m getting the bow bouncing when I start playing a string. I really have to concentrate to try and stop this.
I saw this in the corner of my eye over the past few days in emails and on my Facebook feed, but waited until today
to read the full story and watch your video tribute because I knew it would be emotional. Then later, after practicing for a couple of hours, all I could think of was Kitty and the lessons Kitty has been teaching us all along; play with passion (drooling pics), play with attitude (campy/attitude pics), have fun playing (Kitty camping it up in the background of your lessons) and take breaks (lots of sleeping pics). Made lots of breakthroughs today and everyday thanks to you and your passion for teaching. Kitty will live on in the minds and hearts of a great many.
Thanks! Perfect timing for this lesson. I’ve been practicing Cotton-Eyed Joe (8notes.com version). Tons of slur twos and several triplets across all strings. My bowing felt sluggish. Needed to get a little bounce and lighten it up. This lesson should help.
It’s so hard to lose a close friend. You sure gave him an awesome life. Your video was sad but so cool because the bond between you and Kitty is so obvious. Thanks for sharing that. Sorry about your loss. Take care. And thanks for the great lessons on fiddle…
<3
My heart goes out to you in the loss of Kitty. He had become a part of my life in a small way as I watched for him in each of your videos. I thank you for sharing Kitty along with your amazing talents and love of music.
One of my favorite versions of this song, thought I’d share.
Thank you for sharing Kitty with us. He will be missed.
I have the same problem as c-note … the response time is way too short on all but the first one for me. I just couldn’t keep up and pausing every time isn’t feasible. Good exercises though, but I’ll never be able to mark this one as complete I think
Hey Reevo, I ended up just speeding up the responses to fit into the space. When you “know” what to play, you can kinda speed it up anyway.
Thanks for expressing your experience with this Mike, we will update this when we can and add in more space for the responses.
this is what I’v been looking for. Thanks glad I joined!
I’m really enjoying the lessons and practice. although getting trickier! Just looking for some tips – I’m getting a nice full sound bowing on open strings but the sound becomes much weaker when I then do the D-string left hand fingering – I think I’m pressing hard enough with finger tips but the sound is weak compared to when I play open strings – any thoughts? Thank you and I’ll be subscribing to the whole course soon.
I feel the same way, Esther! The finger notes just sound “dull” in comparison to the big beautiful open notes!
Jason, I am so sorry for your loss. Our pets provide such a warm and happy spot in our lives. Losing one is painful. Your tribute was beautiful. I will still look forward to seeing Kitty in your wonderful videos, as I have been viewing them repeatedly. Thank you so much for sharing your talents and love with us.
Very sorry to hear about Kitty, Jason. I always enjoyed seeing him in your videos. He’ll live on in them too of course, which is nice. Our fella curls up in the fiddle case when I’m practising. (I took a picture of him and use it as my Facebook profile pic). I don’t mind except it means the case is always full of cat hairs. We run a B&B and I always pretend to the guests that I think he’s a pain in the neck. Which he is sometimes, but it would be hard to imagine life without him. Thanks for all the videos. I only took up the fiddle a few years ago, at the age of 67. I’m not very good, but that’s OK. I love it, and it’s already given me so much enjoyment. Last year I went across the border to Burlington, Vermont to see my favourite fiddle player, Martin Hayes, from County Clare. A small venue, maybe about 50 people, and a workshop the next morning in the local music store. You’ve been a big part of the pleasure I’ve got from all this, and at least writing to you about Kitty is a chance to let you know how much I appreciate it.
I’m very sorry to hear that you lost your dear friend. It made me smile when I seen you chatting with kitty. Take it easy
Sorry for your loss Jason.We’re all going to miss Kitty.It was pretty obvious from your videos how much you cared for her.
Thanks for sharing that with us.
I will also miss Kitty in your videos. Thanks for sharing not just your joys but your sorrows with us.
thank you for sharing Kitty in life and death. I enjoyed a surrogate friend as a human unable to take pets.
Beautiful video and tune. We are stardust. ????❤??????????????
Thanks everyone ?
I appreciate all the kind words.
I hope the video wasn’t too sad…
Yes, it was sad. But all loss is sad…As a veterinarian, I truly understand since I accompany my clients in their losses almost daily.
It is sad but also a privilege to be able to hold their hands and hopefully ease their pain.
I will miss Kitty in your videos…I starting looking for him every time I viewed your lessons.
I’m sure heaven has a “Kitty” door. With sympathy.
Hello Jason,
Although I’m a fairly new student of yours, I feel like I lost a member of my own family. Thank you for sharing your life and love a very special cat and part of the Fiddlehed family. I’m so sorry for your loss!!!!
Warmest regards,
Steven from Long Island New York
That was a very touching tribute Jason. I’m so sorry for your loss. I certainly could feel the love. Sincerely, Cheryl
Very sad to hear about Kitty, Jason. In your videos, I was always looking to see whether he would come through your door. And if he didn’t, the videos always had that thumbnail! Your memorial video was very nice! I enjoyed seeing the Life of Kitty….. Best, Cindy
Jason,I’m so sad for you and Kitty and your video made me cry…I always lived with lot of cats in my house and I understand your sadness…When there is one who dies I try to console myself remembering all the good time we had together and I tell myself I did everything to make him happy…With the time your pain will be less hard but you’ll never forget Kitty…We’ll miss him,us all the Fiddlehed’s fans who use to see him in your videos…Courage Jason…
Sorry to hear about the loss of Kitty. He brought so much joy to my daughters life while she was learning the fundamentals of fiddling. She always waited until the very end of the video to see him purring or barging through his pet door. She always had a big smile on her face after she saw him. Now that she is an accomplished fiddle player and winning competions, perhaps there is a part of him inside of her that lives on. My sincerest sympathies. Jim
Jason,
I’m so sorry for your loss, having had two awesome black and white “kitties” I loved seeing Kitty everywhere on FiddleHed…your “memorial” was beautiful the song you wrote beautiful and I loved the purring in the end….can’t help feeling sad knowing what it’s like to lose a buddy.
Though, it feels good to be sad, let go and let be ?
Amy
Sorry Jason, he was a pretty cute kitty. I will miss him interrupting your lessons to remind you to feed him.
Jason, I am deeply sad for your loss. Sometimes cats can feel like children to us. I know you were so close with Kitty. That is one reason I subscribed to your lessons, because I saw how kind you were to include a Kitty. We are all connected by the love of our pets. Just know you are supported through this sad time in your life. Peace ☮️
Thank you Jason for sharing your tribute to Kitty. I know you miss him a lot.
Jason,
RIP Kitty. We got a new cat upon moving to Va. 20 years ago. Her name, also, Kitty. We lost her about 5 years ago. I have two cats now, and a dog. None of them really cared for my “new” music at first; but they’re OK with it now. Sorry for your loss.
O
Sorry to hear about your loss. Jason. It is hard to lose a faithful pet. Three years ago, I lost my first dog, Rosie. We had her for almost 15 years, and when we had to put her down, I mourned and cried more than I have ever done for a fellow human being. I think the death of a pet strikes us to the core because of their innocence and unconditional love for us. Glad you expressed yourself in your reminiscences, music, pictures and drawings of your friend.
I’ve only just found you (and Kitty) here on the internets, but could plainly see how special your Kitty is to you ❤️ I’m so sorry for your loss. Clearly his spirit will still be present to many, thanks for being a good human for this sweet cat!
I especially enjoy the “other versions on YouTube” that you include in the lessons. “Cluck Old Hen” by the Hillbillies was hilarious to me and fun to watch. 🙂
I am learning more and more every day, and am motivated to practice every day by the amazing lessons in this course.
It bothers me that I can’t “mark complete” each section that I complete. Some have “mark complete” at the bottom, and some don’t, or maybe I don’t understand how it all works. Sometimes it takes me days of practice to complete a task (i.e. call and response has taken me a week to complete off and on, and today, as I finally complete it, there isn’t a “mark complete” at the bottom). Any advice or explanation to help me out on this?
I am forever grateful for having stumbled across Fiddlehed on the internet! It is an amazing course, and well worth the price of the lessons!
Happy down in Sweet Home Alabama!
Vic
Hi FiddleHed.
I can not download this PDF. Any idea how to solve this issue?
Regards, P
Great lesson! On your fourth and eight note exercises the one that’s D2-1-0-3 should be D2-1-2-0
and the one that is D2-1-2-0 should be D2-1-0-3.
Some glad morning when this life is o’er
I’ll fly away
To that home on God’s celestial shore
I’ll fly away
I’ll fly away, oh glory, I’ll fly away
When I die, Hallelujah, by and by
I’ll fly away
Just a few more weary days and then
I’ll fly away
To that land where joy will never end
I’ll fly away
I’ll fly away, oh glory, I’ll fly away
When I…
Very Cool!
Thanks
Last October my father-in-law passed away. He had a violin, which I’ll call a fiddle out of respect for where I am 🙂 … it was a cheap violin, the kind that comes in a set, but he could never play it … in fact it’s his second violin because he gave up and sold the first, before deciding he wouldn’t be beaten and buying another. Sadly he died before he got even a note out of it and I asked for the violin, sorry fiddle, from the family … which I now have.
I had never played a fiddle, never even touched one in my 60 years of being alive, but I determined to learn to play something .. anything really, for his sake. So far I am getting notes out of it … which is progress … but most of all I’m actually enjoying it. There are any number of sites and youtube lessons … and my wife bought me Violin for Dummies for Christmas – thanks Babe! … but actually it’s a really good book … then I saw a video by Jason when I was trawling youtube yesterday and thought, “yep, that’s the one” … so here I am … now 61 and still not at the ‘putting my fingers on the fingerboard’ stage yet … although I did have a go last night and it was dreadful.
Just my story so far … we all have one and that’s mine 🙂
Cheers,
Reevo
Keep going Reevo, it’ll sound better soon!
Very helpful!! Thank you.
This is right where I’m at. The patterned rhythms are very satisfying. I’d like more of these in other keys, and patterns and rhythms. I liked the supplementary bit. Not up to slur 8 so much beyond open strings, much less 16, other than for laughs. But I think a mix of quarter and 8th notes for example, or some similar mix of what a hoe down or georgia shuffle or other rhythmic pattern would be would be a great challenge and a big help to jumping into new tunes because you already have skill at moving around in a key with a particular rhythm. Which is to say, thanks again.
This is excellent !!!! I’ve been trying a really unstructured version of this for some time but you have put it into a system that is truly usable.
Thank you !!!!!!!’
What a great way to improve string crossing and have fun at the same time.
Nice tune. Thanks for sharing. Can’t wait to hear what’s next.
In the “ Fingering with Plucking – Exercises” all of the “tucka” rhythms are single note exercises, not transitional exercises as stated.
Just lettin ya know 😉 and thank you for these lessons by the way, I’m very grateful and excited to learn more!
This is a great post, and it’s a perfect one to recycle as we start the new year of 2020. I hadn’t seen it before, since I began to play in May of 2018. Love how you described the relief you felt when you stopped comparing yourself with others and saw your actions in light of your original purpose. Back to basics is almost always good advice!!
Keeping the right thumb bent and fingers relaxed!
Good day! I absolutely love your lessons and how many tunes can learn! I started playing this year and try to practise everyday. I have tried a few teachers and I find that your way is so fun and exciting! It’s the songs with the play along that enjoy so much. One question I have is which brand of fiddle do you recommend? Thank you Heather
1) Strive for progress not perfection
2) I still have a long way to go but I am already so far from where I used to be and I am proud of that
A couple of quotes that a fellow student at a fiddle school I attended had on cards inside her violin case. Nicely written post.
I’m really enjoying learning these songs and this one is so beautiful ! Love it !
Thanks for your words of encouragement Jason. On most days I sound pretty good, not perfect and not great, but I keep right on practicing. Some days, when I pick up the fiddle…it sounds like to two cats scratching on a blackboard, but when I pick it up the next day it sounds pretty good. So, as you like to say “small steps, good is better than perfect and practice every day.”
Fiddle On and have fun!
Please can you add the notes for the swing pattern
Just so you know… after 3 days of the “Bile ’em Cabage Down” Variation 1, I am leaving it for awhile. I was never able to play along at speed, so I just took comfort in being able to play it at my own speed, and to avoid total frustration, I’m leaving it for now. I can always return later, right? 🙂
No way I am giving up! I may not be progressing as fast as I would like to, and may not be as good as I want to be, but I am making baby steps. I am one of those folks who wants to be able to play some songs and tunes while sitting outside on my porch, for my enjoyment and anyone else’s who might care to listen. My motto since I started is “play some and have fun”. My biggest problem is I can’t seem to practice more than a few minutes before I have to put my fiddle down because of the pain (arthritis) in my hands. I also have trigger finger in one of the fingers on my left hand that acts up from time to time. I find that very frustrating, but like I said, I keep taking baby steps. Thanks for all you do, Jason!
After a hectic and stressful (in a good way) end of year I’d been letting my practice slip so it was good to get this reminder. I was impressed by how good the Autumn challenge had made me feel so I intend to go back to that good feeling! Happy New Year to you all at FiddleHed! Enjoy the music!
I doubled my speed today, which was very encouraging. 🙂 Who knows what tomorrow holds, right?
Vic
The sun is shining and this tune is gorgeous like a rainbow. My post polar bear plunge endorphins are lifting me up from the darkness we’ve had for days now in the PNW. And I really appreciate this message. Happy New Year fiddlers. Time to play today!
Reading these words with my first coffee of the year, about to practice the first hour of 2020… Thank you!
I love the old time sound of this tune and as always your teaching style is encouraging and make me want to keep persevering. This is a tune I’m going to be working on, thanks. Even with all the technical troubles your website is fantastic! Happy new year!
Happy New Year. Thanks for the words of encouragement.
Now that was absolutely quite a challenge! I finally made it through the whole music sheet of “Bile ’em Cabbage Down” Variation 1….. I’m not discouraged, but exhausted! I’ll have to come back to this one, and practice, practice, practice in order to get up to speed. I’m not even going to let myself think negatively… I’m just going to be thankful I made it through once, and know that it will get easier and easier if I stick with it. 🙂
Vic
Yay!!! AWESOME! Creativity as a process. ?
Thanks for sharing! Now get back to work and fix the site or you’re fired! I’ll just stand behind you and hover over while you fix it, over the entire weekend. And remember to fill out your TPS report. Thaaaaaanks. (Hoping that knocks those crazy thoughts about the easy corporate tech job out of you. I used to work in tech, had a boss that took credit for my work and literally called me 7 times at nights when I was home sick so I could come in and fix something he couldn’t do, but took credit for. Love the drawing!)
Hardest part of bowing? Getting a clean sound on the D string without squeaks or clipping G and A strings
Using my week off to spend time developing confidence with bow, with sound, with hearing myself. Jason – I love the gentle pace you take things at and how you break everything down into manages bits. Makes me feel that playing well is achievable. Huge Thankyous!
Always great tips, techniques, and new things to try as a way to improve. How do you do it????
opps…”Thanks again for all you do”
Hi Ya Jason,
Thanks so much for Breaking Up Christmas. What a fun tune & love Tommy Jarrell’s playing….wow….And Molsky’s as well. I guess I’ll have to play 1000 times and then a 1000 more to get up to speed.
Thanks again for all you, and Happy New Year to you and yours….linda
What tune(s) do you recommend for beginning Sawmill Tuning?
I’m going to retune an old fiddle I got to Sawmill. It already has a cool old sound so should be fun to A-E-A-E!
YaY! Love this! Thanx! and Happiest New Year, Jason 🙂
Hi empancer and Jason.
I’m not having any trouble at all going back or forward to other lessons after I’ve log in. P
Some times my wife says “ya know honey, that’s not the worst thing I’ve ever heard”
I guess you could say ill be playing the pry in no time! all thanks to fiddle hed!!!!!
I love it!!!!
I meant to say the opry!!!
Have a blessed Christmas Day kitties!!
Well done!!!!’ Thanks for a great year of lessons . Have a happy and blessed new year
Hi Jason,
I don’t seem to be able to get into any of the lessons after I’ve logged in. I only seem to be able to get to the most recent lessons using the “search” button. Am I doing something wrong?
Mark
Thanks again! How do I send you your Christmas gift?
Send me an email when you have a moment.
Hello there, you can contact us at [email protected]. Thanks so much for your kindness.
Wow, this really opens a lot of musical doors!!!! Thank you Jason
Hi Again Jason,
Amazing….I did it! Of course, I need more practice, but I get it and I love it. Thanks for making this video. It is so helpful, and believe it not, simplifies the whole idea of transposing so much for me and I’m sure others as well.
Thanks again,
linda
I like these different modules (naughty me for not finding them sooner) but now I understand why I haven’t been able to slow down so many lessons. I went on line just to see if changing the speed is part of vimeo and it appears that it should be. You may be ahead of me but if not, I think it would be worth inquiring about it. It would be incredibly handy for practicing so many of your lessons. The sound tracks are nice but I have trouble hearing them while I play. Right now I’m using the printout of the lesson and a metronome. The more I study under you the more I marvel at what a great teacher you are. Thanks so very much.
I have backed off a bit from learning tunes to work on technique,bow controll etc. To slow down is challenging to say the least. Makes for a good practice session!!!!!
You are a genius! I’ve looped small segments of this until I’m loopy (I’m talking hours and hours!) and I have the Kickoff until I return it after a tedious work through the first segment, actually getting it if I leave off the double stops and get back to the Kickoff and, without the slightest effort, no matter how slow I go, I’m doing reverse shuffle. One can only laugh. I won’t quit but I’m certainly more of a realist than when I first heard you play it. Lets say- it is going to keep me humble. VERY humble. I still think it’s cool. Have a wonderful Christmas and productive New Year. Keep up the good work. And the same to the rest of you out there-
These are really helpful. I like running through these to warm up! Keep up the good work!
Just so you know, I’m not seriously thinking of giving this up. I’m loving the work. I felt like sharing this doubtful thought because I think it’s the same process that plagues people whenever they embark on any challenging venture, be that learning the fiddle or starting a website.
It’s good for teachers to also be students. And i find sharing our stories helps us relate to each other.
I’m excited to make this site run better and to make new things for you ??
FWIW, I haven’t even noticed any issues with the site, though I’m only working in the 1.1 and practice areas. I’m running this in the Opera browser.
Hi Jason….I’m having trouble with double stops and making them sound good….I know….practice, practice….practice.
So we’re talking about different keys. That is confusing me. So why is it key of D starting on E1, G on A1, or C on D1? Where can I find that lesson? I don’t recall a thorough explanation.
All menus and everything else has been working great.
Thanks,
Peter
The hoedown version of Mary Had a Little Lamb (module 1.7) Full Play Along Track only has measures 10 -16 in it’s looping section that gradually speeds up.
When learning new songs, I usually think of old time fiddle tunes but being it’s the season, it’s fun learning Christmas tunes as well. You’re a great teacher and I’m thoroughly enjoying my lessons. Thank you Jason!
I love the play along tracks set at a particular speed because it allows for me to get into the rhythm and cadence of the song much more, and if I miss a note or stuff up the fingering I can join in again easier. I prefer to increase my speed gradually using the play alongs which are set at a BPM rather than use One track which has all the versions. Thanks for your awesome site. I’m sounding better and learning more everyday!
Glad you all are digging this. It was fun coming up with it. And there’s a surprise follow-up coming in about a week…
Great arrangement! Thanks for the fiddle gift!
Ditto on above. Happy Holidays to all!
great fun trying out all these techniques I’ve started dabbling with in the last couple months, on a fun familiar tune. Wiggling my way into intermediate mode
Thanks, keep the good stuff coming
b
Thanks so much, Jason for making this tune even more fun to sing and to play, and yet another challenge in fiddling! Love it…..From another ol’ lady out here in cyber land! Have a great Holiday Season and the Best is here, right- now- New year.
Thanks again for all you do
linda
Old Time “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town”. Now, that was good!
Jason, This is soooo cool. I love curve balls! You can bet I’m ignoring the house work right now and diving into this. I hope I can master it and blast the gang at our Christmas get together. Just being an old woman starter isn’t enough, I love to do the unexpected and you are setting me up great for it. Thanks so very much! Yes, I’m already fairly proficient with the Christmas music so I have the basic head start! Your lessons are never dry. You have a special knack of being personable. Keep it up! You leave me playing with a great big smile on my face and a glow in my heart.
Ha! Housework Schmousework.
I caught some of your videos on Youtube whilst I was doing the ironing at home while my wife was at the gym. (yeah, I know…) I have been trying to sign up for the course and as yet have been defeated by a combination of your site, my incompetence and lack of patience. However, The content and style and clarity of your teaching means that I will persist no matter what
Thanks Brendan. Please email
me at [email protected]. I’d like to help you with that.
Hi Jason. I appreciate what you’re saying, and it’s one of the reasons I like you so much as a teacher. You use the strengths we all want to develop in our day to day lives, to the challenges we face with learning the violin. You bring acceptance and humor and encouragement to the lessons. If you love teaching us, please don’t stop. I can deal with the site going down. There is plenty of practice to do without the site for those occasions when it happens to go down when I was going to use it. Thank you for the fun, easy-going style you teach with! Ginny
Dear Jason,
It is YOU we are here for! You are a wonderful teacher, fiddler, and human being! Hang in there as the site catches up with you 😉
Jason,
There is not a day that problems with the site keep me from playing. And it is the lesson that you teach that keeps me going; “when playing feels difficult, or parts of a tune don’t sound right; go back to something that is doable and sounds pretty.” I am on the sight most every day. Merry Christmas and keep on, if it pleases you! I hope so; you are a fine fiddle teacher.
Kerry Polka is helpful for starting to figure out a nice tone. It’s cool that the back up track is starting to move away from straight rhythm on the 1234 and hitting the “ands”, etc. That’s definitely hard and extremely helpful for me.
Jason: The menu crashing does not deter me. You have done great work and are an excellent teacher. Fiddle on.
@lewis, that’s incredibly kind of you to say. Thanks ?
Jason I’m one of those updating you of problems on the site. I too had ? frustrated but usually could find a work around.
Mainy this comment is to support you and Fiddlehed. Please hang in there. Your site is the best that I have found looking for several years of trying others. Please don’t give up. You might remember my conversation and some other comments or emails. Being old and retired and being alone I have found purpose in life, that being learning the fiddle.
I have looked back to the other sites that I had either subscribed to or did a trial. As I see it yours is the best that is why I have been patient and pray you’ll straighten the problems to your satisfaction.
I could go on and on praising you but you should have the idea.
I would like to help in any way I can. Take heed of PintoSixty. He wants to help!
Merry Christmas Jason!
Peter
Jason…Hang in there. We understand the site is giving you fits.
In case any of these were overlooked, some things to consider with WordPress…
1. Is your theme up to date?
2. Have you contacted your theme developer for help?
3. Are all your plugins up to date?
4. Did you install any new plugins and/or features around the time these problems started? If you did, there could be a conflict.
5. Are all your server settings the latest? (PHP, modules, SQL server, etc.) Contact your hosting company.
Jim
Thanks @moonshadows.
1. It’s a customized theme. We did recently update the WordPress software.
2. I have a developer helping.
3. Will check on updating plugins.
4. Yes. We removed one recently installed plugin called rtmedia (which allowed users to upload video and audio directly to the site).
5. I don’t know. I’ll ask the developer.
It’s a tricky problem because it is intermittent. Please let me know if you see the menus crash again so I can reset them but also let the developer know.
Thanks much…
Hello, the hardest part about bowing for me is that my right forearm and shoulder get really tired.
P.s.s. – I just noticed that your newsletter is a WordPress product. So, would I be correct in assuming that you use WordPress for the site?
Yes, WordPress. Thanks much for your reply.
We are currently experimenting with removing some plugins to see if that remedies the problem.
I don’t understand this: p.s. – Because your text is written in first person, the demands on you for updating the site are increased. I could explain further, if you’d like.
It’s a tricky problem because it is intermittent. Please let me know if you see the menus crash again so I can reset them but also let the developer know.
Thanks much…
Jason, I design websites. What the heck is the problem?? What software/app are you using to design your site? Or, have you coded the whole thing in something like Dreamweaver? I’d like to help, if you’d be open to a helping hand. Simply let me know by what means your site has been created and I can do some research. (I’m sure you and some friends have fully investigated this problem, but, as the maxim goes, “a fresh set of eyes, blah, blah, blah …”.
p.s. – Because your text is written in first person, the demands on you for updating the site are increased. I could explain further, if you’d like.
YIPEE-KI-A
Excellent lesson, explained really well. I do struggle with timing and I think this will help.
Thank you !!!!!!
I’m finding that with these drills, and with the tremolo work, my bow strongly wants to wander up the strings so I’m bowing farther and farther up the finger board in a diagonal fashion. It isn’t an issue with the previous drills, I’m trying to figure out what’s different. Is this a posture issue or a bowing hand issue? Which part of your bowing hand keeps the bow in line, parallel to the bridge?
I’m just reviewing these drills after some time and wanted to say that at some point in working up to the 1.2 practices this problem went away. I think I have a much more relaxed and loose right hand now without locking my pinky. I also have choked up on the bow a little bit which might have helped get everything relaxed. I had the hardest time keeping my thumb bent for some reason, but now I can and the feeling of tension leaving is noticeable when I do. I must have just needed to work those muscles into shape.
Thanks for the lesson, Jason. I’ve been working on a few traditional Christmas songs. This will be a nice contemporary addition.
“happy sad” positively perfect. Thanks
also under second quarter maybe something there isn’t right? it says D1-2 But the audio is D2-A0
Please forgive me if I’m the one at fault. On a different note I LOVE FIDDLEHEAD!!!!
looks like the first exercise is labelled wrong under first quarter D1-2 The Audio that is there is actually D2-A0
But I’m new I could just be doing it wrong
This makes so much sense. I’ve been guilty of zooming through the songs. Your lessons have taught me so much already – I’ve gone back to the beginning because it is all helping me. Love the slow scale too – it has helped develop my ear and tuning.
Kate,
I’ve been finding going back to the beginning, too! Love finding solidarity in this community focused on building a strong violin foundation 🙂
Interesting piece. Not one I know and I had to listen a few times to get my head around the rhythm. It has an intriguing end. I think this will be a tune which will get better and better the more you play it, with potential for variations and embellishments as I get better!
Wow just want to play more …feeling the joy!!! Your encouragement and caution that to move through every step of the way is golden.Thanks
Tremolo is hard. You are great at it!
This lesson was really challenging. Is it just me or do the recordings need two more seconds for the response? It seems like I’m finishing and the call is starting already
Thanks for mentioning this, I’ll add it to the suggestions for updating this lesson!
Really fun and helpful exercice, thank you Jason! As someone said, sometimes I too needed to rush because there wasn’t enough time for me between the bits, but it’s also great because you have to think fast and get it right! I enjoyed the lesson!
Glad to hear it. Happy fiddling!
@lesdoigtstordus, thanks for the feedback. Just do the exercise multiple times until you start to hear it.
I don’t see Mary had a little lamb on this lesson
Love this song and have just mastered it, would like to learn the bass part but PDF link is not working – it just goes back to home page.
Hi Kate,
I just fixed this. Thanks for pointing it out.
I noticed with the finger plucking exercises all tucka (D0D1 D1D2 D2D3) the recording stays on just D0 !
“Ode to Joy” was fun!!!!! I really enjoyed playing along with the “orchestra”….
Play on!??
I have just completed the bowing and string crossing lesson..have learned so much about the right arm’s role and trying to keep relaxed. I discovered that if I do not look at the strings but ahead , my bowing arm is learning the feel and angle for each string…make sense? Look forward to the next lesson..
Your arms are with the flow it sounds like?
The “Little Lift” lesson was the best tip ever! That is a BIG plus for me today. I have been pushing down the strings so hard, and I didn’t realize you could balance out the sound by adjusting the pressure on the bow and not pressing down on the strings so hard! This lesson made me soooo happy!
Sometimes it’s the little things that help out practice the most! Hurrah!
Wow, I love the lessons and this tune is great! Thank you!
We like it too!??
My wife said “Honey, that almost sounds like something. Good job!”
Small steps, small wins folks!
Sounds like a win! Keep it up!
I finally guts-ed up to tuning my fiddle to sawmill. The video at 12:30-12:33 has the right words, “1-0” but the notation all says D2-1 which I think should be D1-0. As in F#-E, which is what the micro part/B1 says in sheet music. . . Looking at the beginner version in G major all the B parts end in the same interval-ish, so D1-0 fits with all 4 quarters for this one. Sounds better anyway. unless I missed the point somewhere. ?? maybe?
good problem to have. great fun here thanks
I was terrified to even let my fiddle teacher hear me play. It was a real problem. What did I do to conquer this fear?
– I joined a jam class that is a “safe space” for new musicians to sound bad, but hopefully improve. Look up the Wernick Method. It is in many states across the US
– I developed the “hey I’m new but listen to this cool song” attitude. It puts the focus on the music and not on you.I might butcher it, but I’m excited to learn and that is very appealing to most people. They tend not to judge you.
– In my experience, many people will appreciate your efforts and focus on that rather than the quality…and most times, I hear lots of stories of how people have always wanted to play and instrument but never did. You may inspire other musicians!!!! Go for it!
We all seem to go through our own timing and practice methodology, and everyone in music should be empathetic towards everyone else’s struggles! Keep up the great work!
I, too, am trying to learn how to jam with other players. I’m fine when I play alone, but when other players are right there, my fingers get all tangled up! It doesn’t help that they’re all professionals. Well, I guess it’s just a matter of time and LOTS of practice. I’m gonna just keep trying because that’s all I can do – I’m too far into it to give up now! Happy Holidays to all!
We all learn in our different ways and at different stages in our life. As long as we push through, keep it up!
My goal for 2020! Learning to play for and with others.
Awesome!!?
Good timing. My local teacher wants me to do Christmas carols with his other students at a nursing home in December. I said, sure. For a few weeks all of the songs have sounded fine. Tonight everything sounded awful! Every mistake you can think of. All I could think of was, what if I sound this awful in a few weeks? With all those more advanced students who are just kids. It only made things worse. Finally, we moved on to other things. I am blaming after work stress and traffic tension. But calm and home now, I think the audience will give some perspective– aging is hard. Maybe some will not have good memories, and will appreciate a few familiar tunes. Breathing now. thanks for the tips
All in the practice and patience! Keep up the great work!!
I am a beginner fiddler. I just performed for a coworker and made some mistakes. She still appreciated my performance.
I perform Irish dances. I make my errors and keep smiling.
I find that I have to go through with these performances and get through this period of making some errors. It just seems the process I have to go through.
Congratulations on getting asked to perform.
All about the practice, we all start somewhere! Keep up the fantastic work!
Yup,
Those all seem like great ideas!
Last night, however, I took part in a monthly jam here in Virginia. Normally, I play back-up chords to as many songs as I can. But last night I just jumped in and played “Whiskey Before Breakfast;” very poorly, even though I could normally play much better. But, the point here is that everyone really wanted me to succeed. A mandolin player and a guitarist urged me on and I did calm down. Jason, you are right; I don’t know if all jam groups are so friendly, but this one was. Anyways, I felt great afterwards.
Owen O
Sounds like an awesome beginning jamming experience! All the more power to you!
Working great for me. Now I want to learn to play like at the end of that play-along track!
Great! Go for the gold!
Awesome
??????????
Great
I play fine when I’m alone, but when I get to a jam my brain goes blank. I’m going to try playing along with tracks and CDs to see if that will help. I’ve really been struggling with this for awhile now, so having someone else who’s experiencing it, too, gives me hope. thank you!
Solidarity is a potent ammunition for creativity! Keep it up!
I have same problem. I find that trying to mentally shut out one or two people before I’m due to play and concentrating on my music- yes, I use music, – I finger over it slowly before I have to play. It seems to help me tremendously. I’m elderly- that’s being kind to myself- and have only been playing a little over two years, so I have given up on trying to memorize the music. It comes when it comes. I’m in it for pleasure and socialization. Anyway, if you memorize, do it mentally a few times through before you have to play it openly. I hope this helps. It’s not the end all for me but certainly has been beneficial.
Jason,
Wanted to say this post is right on. I find it very difficult to listen and follow along with either a video of a guitar playing a fiddle tune or a fellow jammer at a bluegrass jam. It is great practice to search for guitar or mandolin videos of tunes and then try to play along; but oh so hard to listen and follow. Luckily, i find that some of these videos have a little “gear” speed control in then bottom margin, and thus I can slow the video till I can “catch up”
Thanks!!!
Owen
Glad you are finding your own “rhythm” in your own practice! Keep it up!
Where is the sheet music? 🙁
Where is the sheet music?
The play along track posted for second quarter of A part (above) is not correct. It is actually a repeat or another version of the first quarter.
Thanks for the article. Nice to be reminded to relax and have fun.
Always a good reminder!
Thank you for this, I was really struggling with the self doubt demon, because trying to get the timing of Gypsy Hora had me pinned against the wall. As this letter reached my inbox, it reinforced the fact that by simply going back to the enjoyment of playing is the reason of having a fiddle in the first place. Thank again Jason.
Always have fun!
Great lesson!!! Tommy Jarrell was from Mt Airy NC about 40 mi from where I live. I never met him but my instructor in violin building class knew him. Tommy is quite a legend around here.
Wow! What a cool 6th degree!
I think it’s obvious that doubts are self inflicted. I struggle with good sound so the exercise mentioned above really helpful. A fellow player told me you just have to play thru the rough spots and keep fiddling, it will get better. So I go back and work on the hard parts until they sound better. If it was easy there would be more fiddlers than guitar players so that makes us kind of a special lot.
Thanks Jason for the encouragement .
Just keep playing, as Dory says! Sometimes we have to just keep going forward, thank you for the insights!
Oh wow! Talk about coincidence, I was just reading this morning about the Round Peak style and Tommy Jarrell and Fred Cockeham
Great tune! I also like the way you have started putting references to the different parts right under the video and the different parts of learning the tune into drop downs. A lot less guessing where to refer back on the video and trying to find the parts on the lesson page. Hope this make sense. It helps!
We’re glad you like it! Never hesitate to let us know if we can improve anything!
I think demons are present in just about everything we do. I have a name for my demon; I call him “Mr. Self Doubter.” Some times, he gets the better of me, but as I get older, I seem to get better at taking back the upper hand with my friend, “Mr. Intro Spection.” Now, when new things come along, like the fiddle, he seems to get a new strength or hold over me. That’s when I have to dig down deep and try to resist him. And, sites like FiddleHed help an awful lot with all the encouragement I find here. Lately, I noticed I am making a transition to remembering more of the accomplishments of my practice and not so much the mistakes or failures. Mr. Self Doubter may slow me down at times, but he is not going to hold me back. Happy Halloween to you and Kitty.
Wonderful insight thank you! Happy Halloween!
Most helpful exercise. Challenging in places…just what I need to stretch my playing. Thanks for the stretch.
Glad to oblige! We could all use a little loosening here and there!
Still had a problem with site again, could not navigate only get front page.
Also today could not get play slings to start, again, again, again!!! Have to reboot to get it to work.
Hi Jason, I just signed up yesterday, and am really appreciating your lessons and teaching style. Was going to do the practice challenge a few days ago, but didn’t receive my fiddle in time. Wanted to let you know of a strange occurrence… On the eighth note exercises, the audio clip for the E string is not the right one. It contains a more complex pattern on the G string and then ends the pattern on the D string. 🙂
Thanks for doing what you do. I think I will learn a lot on your site, and enjoy the process!
P. S. Just looked back and saw someone else already told you about that exercise. Oops!
We were able to just now fix this! Thanks for pointing it out!
Merci Jason, les choses appalachiens sont brilliants! …. ^..^
Hi Jason,
Another excellent lesson.
Hi Jason,
your instruction was a great help to me, I haven’t mastered the steady bowing without wandering. As always you keep it fun, keep up the great work. You might make a fiddler out of me yet. Yeah
That is great to hear that you have the volition to improve (which is half the battle). Keep up the great work!
Really appreciate this lesson. Amazing how that little move really gives an old timey sound. Yes, a 1000 times…at least! I appreciate anything you teach in relation to OT fiddle music. Don’t forget to let Kitty out of the closet.
Old times is always a favorite. Glad you are having a blast!
Hi Jason, it took me awhile to get use to drones…..love it
Ok I have come to a conclusion.
If I sign out then in the buttons do not work, unless, I do a “Restart” of my Moto Z Droid Android version 8.0.0 then it works!
Also I have to check off “remember me” so it automatically signs me in on the restarts or cold starts.
Go figure…
Sorry for the hassle! We have been experiencing some technical issues with our site recently so hopefully this will be resolved soon! Please let us know if you have any more questions!
Maybe it’s me. I just did a second reboot and now it’s working again. However what I did different I checked off “keep me logged in”! I’ll play with that and see and let you know if I find any conclusions!
Sorry!
I concur with Rasygirl.
Also same problems occured with track buttons are again not working. They were fine all day today as well as last night, now broken again.
Very frustrating!
From someone from the Keystone State, thank you for this article on keystone habits. One thing I do to try and make practice a keystone habit is to keep my fiddles close. I practice in my home office. I keep one fiddle in a display case above my desk so it is always visible and easily accessible, and the other on a violin hanger on the side of the bookshelf behind my office chair. No matter which way I turn, I always see one of my two fiddles. This has helped me. I can pick up the fiddle at anytime and practice a bit, and often do throughout the day.
In your sight, in your mind! Wonderful that you are so focused and close to your practice??
I spend a lot of time listening to different versions of the same tune so I can find the ones that fit my style of playing. Sometimes, players add so many grace notes that it makes it really hard to hear the basic melody to learn from. I stay away from those versions since I’m a beginner.
The Amazing Slow Downer is one of my best tools, and I’d be lost without it! I’ve tried learning from recordings, but now I just tape them onto my tablet and run them through the ASD to learn slowly and it has made all the difference to me! Fiddlehed is a Godsend though – I would have probably quit had I not found Ja’son and his perfect teaching style. Gotta go now – time to practice!
Thanks so much for the kind words! Discovering a solid foundation for your your practice style is invigorating and important!
I wasn’t getting any error message. When I would tap on the button to play a track it merely would flash the perimeter. It wouldn’t extend nor play.
I rebooted my phone, closed the browser, signed out, etc. to know avail.
However, it works right now this Saturday morning Oct 19.
Jason, this is a great lesson! I always like to watch your new lessons; they ground me. I, and I think a lot of others, get discouraged if I don’t progress on a new tune as fast as I think I should. Your encouragement to just get “10%” better, is something I have been keeping in mind during this Fall Challenge, and it has really helped keep me ENCORAGED, and I’ve seen progress in myself…rather than getting discouraged when I can’t be “perfect” with a tune. Thanks!
Now no sound tracks are working!
What type of error messages are you getting? This may helps us to determine the right solution.
who is Amber Thompson? also, is there an easy way to know the key of a tune without having to either play the last note or memorizing the key it’s in?
Amber is a kind person who’s helping me to keep up with messages from all the Fiddleheds who are diligently practicing and have questions.
Good question about the key. I started writing a post which I’ll publish later but share with you now. Hope it helps:
Know your scales
I’d start by saying learn the essential fiddle scales REALLY WELL:
G, D, A major; E, D, A minor (Dorian)
And then these: C, F, B flat, E major
If you alternate between scale and tune with tunes you know, you’ll more quickly and intuitively be able to figure out the key for tunes you don’tknow. That’s why I always suggest that you first play the scale of a tune and then continue to return to the scale.
More on this:
What are the best scales to learn on the fiddle?
Are scales really necessary?
Drone on
If you’re trying to figure out the key and scale of a recorded tune, start by finding the root note (first note of the scale). This is often (but not always) the first and/or last note of the tune.
Play your best guess of what the root is as the recording plays. One note should sound the most “resolved.” For most (but not all!) fiddle tunes, there is one main root. And the most common root notes are listed above. It’s like you’re being the drone.
Wait, what the heck is a drone?Find out here:
Drone tuning the notes on the D string
Drone Practice
Drone Central
—
Once you find the root note, play a major or minor scale (Dorian, Aeolian modes) and see if it sounds good over the recorded tune.
Try this with each of these examples:
Arkansas Traveller A part starts and ends on D. Yes! It’s in D major.
Lazy Johnstarts on A (after pickup notes) but ends on G. Which is it?
Swallowtail Jigstarts on G but ends on E. It’s in E dorian. How do you know if it’s a major or Dorian scale?Start by knowing your scales well (sorry if repeating this is annoying). Dorian scales are minor modes of major scales. Without going too deep into theory right now, minor scales have a “darker” more “haunting” feel.
Finding the key from sheet music
Look up the sheet music on the interwebs and use the “key signature.”
This is a more precise method. In fact, you don’t need to know how to read, just use this handy legend:
No sharps or flats: C major
—
1 sharp: G major, A dorian
—
2 sharps: D major, E dorian
—
3 sharps: A major, B dorian
—
4 sharps: E major, F# dorian
—
1 flat: F major, G dorian
2 flats: B flat major, dorian
Warning: the recording may not be in the key of the sheet music! If that happens…more trial and error.
Use technology ?
If you try one of these apps (or find another one), please come back to this article and leave a comment on how it worked. We learn together…Thanks!
Interesting approach. 10:00 pm here in SW Virginia but it’s on my list for tomorrows practice time. BTW, I really like that tune
Indeed an excellent tune! Keep up the great work!
This really does work. Works better the more you work at it (practice). What you get out of a lesson Is directly proportional(sp)to what you put into it.
I’ve been having a good time working with this tune. I’ve mastered the A part, now getting comfortable with the B part.
I think this video is emblematic of Jason’s great teaching method.
As a beginner, I haven’t yet been introduced to the vibrato technique (not that I remember anyway). If you watch closely in this video, usually Jason plays Hector without vibrato – but sometimes his finger just can’t resist wiggling a bit!
I’m thinking that if I follow this video: the vibrato will begin to sneak in for me just like it does for Jason.
I hope I’m not jumping ahead here. Comments are welcome…
Jason, I’d like to start from the beginning again. I am pretty proficient in first position but I’d like to go through all the basics again. I’ve been away from my fiddle too long.
Thanks, Cynthia Tuck
Great advice, I’m trying some of your technics, going slow.
For me a little difficult. But I’ll Get it.
I’m lucky, I’m retired and can practice as much as I want. I normally practice 4-5 times a day, usually 5minutes on the key of the song.
Forwards and backwards. Then work on the suggested parts.
Really like the tune, and found easy to play.
great success. love ho-down
Jason,
I’ve purchased a 4/4 full size Cecillo violin (fiddle), cost about $200.00 dollars. Came with two bows, extra bridge, Rosin, Shoulder rest.
Good deal???
Hi Jason,
What do I say. You so many things well and with clarity, it’s hard to point out any one thing. I do play a few instruments, guitar, bass, piano, some banjo. I know I’m in the right place to learn fiddling. I’ve previewed some of the song lessons, and impressed how your teaching method makes it fun and easy. Of course, I’ve tried a few basic songs and progressed through them fairly well.I know the final results depends on my comment to dedicated practice, as with any instrument. I’ve previewed some of the easier basic songs and surprised how I progressed with your teaching method. I can read music. An added benefit .
I like casual Fridays! Plus, the moon is so beautiful tonight, I can’t help but be relaxed. Good practice time, yay!
Sounds lovely!
How ’bout creating a Practice Challenge Category on your website, Jason? I’m loving this and not getting lost like I often do on the site. Each day you have a topic and the links throughout it are more related somehow and it’s all making alot more sense. Maybe I don’t have as many choices to make and it feels like I’m grounded on a path within each day of the challenge. I really appreciate that every day doesn’t get harder – like today having “Casual Friday” as another player called it. There isn’t the dread I sometimes feel following the “Lessons” on the site because every day I DON’T always get better so can’t advance or end up skipping around for something easier and fell lost in the maize. The Challenges are like workshops…smaller bites and tasty too. Of course it’s awesome to do the FPC with everyone involved and messaged from you, but there is so much good thought and process in this challenge, I recommend a Category that this thoughtfully curated content should live in. It could have another name than Challenge, it’s more like your theory of learning in intervals, only expanded over a period of days. Thanks!
Yep, it’s casual Friday. I was trying to be kind even though I thought I sounded more scratchy and hit more off notes than usual tonight. So I reverted to Oh When the Saints, which is the first tune I learned on the piano from my mom 47 years ago. Just the memory of her sweet words telling me to curl my fingers like little shrimp helped get the tone going better (sooo Louisiana, but good for fiddle too those curled yummy shrimp fingers). It helped me soften my left hand, which then sounded better. So Yep, this lesson is right on for me tonight too. Also, the pizza’s here. So Yay, I did it (over an hour), and I’m done for the night. Looking forward to a mute-free practice tomorrow somewhere nice. Maybe take a ferry to get there.
That sounds lovely! Nostalgia can make it a cathartic experience. Enjoy what you do!
Day 5 of 2019 Fall Practice Challenge and today I felt that the more I practiced the worse my sound was. Feeling disgruntled I went to check in and found this bit of wisdom on the day 5 page. Talk about appropriate! I am having a tea break and then I’m going to go back to my practice and be casual!
All in good time, patience is key in practice!
I think this tune is A Stack of Rye.
Thanks for linking the song names together, Cat~
It’s helpful to know the various names to a song to support finding more folks who posted videos/articles to this song under that title.
Thanks for this post, Jason. I like to just work on tunes, but I know scales are important to my learning, so try to do both. What has kept me playing scales are all you scale variations. They help to take away the boredom and make the scales much more fun.
Sometimes, I make up silly 8 word (or 8 syllable) “songs” that I sing as I do my scales. i.e. “To-day is go-ing to be great” or “Scales are fun to prac-tice each day” or “I can’t scratch my nose when I play” or “Ja-son is a sil-ly teach-er”. I sing them up and then back down the scale. Then when I bring in variations, it gets a bit crazy. i.e. triplets…I-don’t-know | what-to-do | when-I-go | to-the-zoo | should-I-free | all-I-see | so-there-can | be-care-free. Yes! A little crazy, but fun.
That’s great @moonshadows. I’ve suggested that for tunes (without lyrics) as a way to remember them. Singing is a great practice if you’re a fiddler because it develops your ear.
Newsflash: this morning, before reading these comments, I trimmed my beard.
Also, I can’t emphasize enough that i LOVE scales. Really. Some days i just play scales with a drone.
But what works for me doesn’t work for everyone. There may be some jaw-dropping old-time fiddler who learned to play by mastering tunes and who didn’t really play scales.
But if you can find a way to make scales interesting and fun, they accelerate your learning. They help you make connections between tunes. They help your fingers, ears and brain map out new tunes.
How can you make scale practice fun?
Hello from near Saint John, NB, Canada! Played fiddle for the first time around 2011 and am having a great time with it. Been learning techniques and songs from Fiddlehed for years now. What a huge help! Working on improving my sound with double stops and focus on hitting those notes right…also working on backup chords and memorizing songs and adding variation.
Excellent road map to a successful practice!
Love the melodic variation patterns part of this lesson. I went on to the next two to learn more. So much fun! I’m having so much fun!!! Fiddle on!
Fantastic! So happy you are finding your “rhythm” with practicing!
I play scales every morning for half hour before starting real practice on tunes, bow strokes etc. scales make you more versatile in any type of music I think. Good way to work on bow strokes And different rhythms.
Wonderful insight, thank you!
RE: Playing with a drone.
Darol Anger has a cd of shruti box drones in all the keys. As I was not happy with my intonation, I practiced by setting one of the tracks for one of the keys on repeat and for a full hour did nothing but play the notes in the scale and listening to the interval between the drone and what I was playing. I’ve done this in the major keys for fiddle tunes: G, D, and A.
Glad you are enjoying drone practice. A good technique for tuning is to use individual drones to tune each note. I teach the process in this lesson: /beginner/start-fiddling-now-course-page/finger-dance/
Have fun…
Working on double stop scales past two days .
Keep up the great work!
Yesterday was a rough one work-wise, but I still made sure I got a few minutes of practice in…even, if it was only 10 minutes. Usually, on such a day, I wouldn’t practice, but I am determined to practice every day of the challenge.
Awesome determination! Sometimes it can help to have a goal to get us through!
Day 3 Fall Challenge: Eyes Closed is Fun! So here’s me with eyes closed on D Major. Yes I cheat a few times. I challenge everyone to post a video of playing something eyes closed, even something short and easy. And challenge yourself to figure out how to post. I get it about half the time 😉
[youtube]
Excellent! Great video!
Day 3
Whiskey BB, played at 96 bpm; notes and then chords. Some G and D scale patterns, listening for correctness. Double stop scales D and G, much better tonight.
Keep up the great work!
Great job, Richard!!! I don’t even know how to record onto You Tube. I think Jason did an instructional video or something on that. I will check. Nice going!
Owen
I followed instructions put up by jason to post that !!
I’ve been trying to incorporate 2 songs into one This is oh Susanna and boil em cabbage down having fun with the fall challenge!!
Thanks FiddleHed dude
I really start to enjoy this Drones. With the few notes i wanna play i start imagine a Melody and it becomes absolutely epic in my Head.
Let your imagination go wild!
Hello everyone from Jacksonville Florida. I plan on improving my double stops, playing in tune, and having smooth string Crossings. Good luck to everyone
Hello from Oregon. Thanks for the practice challenge Jason!
So glad you liked it!
As I didn’t record yesterday, i did so today on both Whiskey Before Breakfast and Blackberry Blossom; one song in D, the other in G. Played Whiskey BB with a guitar video both as a lead and with back-up chords. Neither song sounded great on record; just didn’t have it today, I think. Played for 1 hr. Great idea this group chat!
I’m french 😉
Thank you for all you do Jason
I will try Kerfunken Jig 😉
Très bien! Merci!
Yesterday I concentrated on scales, variations that held my attention while I traveled up and down.
Today (Day 2) I looped Hector The Hero Part A over and over and over so now (hopefully) it is really stuck in my brain.
Tomorrow I’m planning to attack the B part. Jason has a nice lesson on this great tune.
Great strategy, keep up the great work!
Thanks for the motivation! This is a great resource and it helps me to stay focused.
Excellent! Keep up the great work!
Hello fellow “Fiddleheads”! Im a Fiddlehed Student from the NJ Shore. My Fall challenge goal is to brush up on the Core & Bonus Songs from 1.1-1.5, targeting weaknesses in each song, and adding variations to ones I feel comfortable with. I am a singer/songwriter. Been a singer, play acoustic rock guitar, bass and keys, since I was 7. Started lessons with Jason on May 15, and also have taken up Mandolin (G-D-A-E tuning). Im open to practice or jam with other students on the Jersey Shore between GSP 82 and 117. Good luck everyone with the Fall Challenge!!
Good luck! Glad to have you with us!
Wow! Great to see so many taking the challenge! It feels good to know there are others out there, and I am not alone. It actually is comforting and motivating. Don’t forget to stop by the new forum group Jason created: Fall Practice Challenge Participants: /groups/fall-practice-challenge-practicipants/forum/
Let’s stick together and help each other out!
Jim
Love it!!! Grandma in Maine!
Hello from Scotland! Thanks for the challenge, Jason. I like practicing, but I’m lazy about working on hard stuff, and that’s holding me back. So I think I’ll commit to spending 5 minutes of my practice on things that are harder for me, like those darn Sevcik fingering exercises. The rest of my practice will be the reward!
Wow Scotland. I’ve been there once and loved it. Just recently I saw the Sevcik exercises online and they looked very helpful. I like your 5 minutes of hard stuff approach. Might borrow that. I also do 5 minutes of really easy stuff (at least) to produce good sound. cheers
Glad you like the lessons!! If you feel inclined we would love to add more testimonials and share your experience with our users. If it is t too much, send us a video or written statement saying why you like Fiddle Hed. No worries if not! Thanks again for fiddling with us!
Whatever works for you! Keep up the great work!
I’m in! (from southern CA.) I first picked up a fiddle about 17 months ago. I found Ja’son’s site through a google search trying to figure out how to hold the bow! ? His was the only explanation that made sense to me. I subscribed soon after and have been loving every minute!
I’m a piano teacher and sometimes challenge my students with “Who can practice the most this week, me on the fiddle or you on the piano?”
I’m going to work on “Old Rugged Cross“ for my challenge. It’s my dad’s favorite. He’s on hospice, so I want to learn it for him while I can. I’m picking it out by ear. I’ll probably also work on “Danny Boy” just because I really like it.?
Also, I’m a lefty. Any other left handed fiddlers out there?
That is great that you were able to find a learning technique right for you in the lessons! Thank you so much for fiddling with us and finding the love in bring music to others. We trust your father will be thrilled!
Hi everyone, Richie from near Valley Forge PA. Play every day and getting better ! Starting my 3rd year. I like to play on the boardwalk in wildwood nj. Trying to work up the nerve to sit in with bluegrass jams that happen in the bars around. I’ll be working on my D major scale and d pentatonic, trying to make a beautiful noise ! I’m also going to work on the song Tam Lin for my G scale work Good luck to all !!
Excellent
Hi Richie…I thought I recognized you user name. Good to see you taking the challenge. Jim
Thanks
Hi Richie,
Sounds great to play on the boardwalk in N.J.!
After practicing back-up chords on Fiddlehed and learning I,IV,V progression chords I was able to sit in on jams and play back-up chords on many songs, especially if someone shouted out the key the song was in. I stayed outside the circle till I gathered more confidence. I was lucky to find a jam where the people were friendly and forgiving!! Good luck!!
Thanks dude !
You are so welcome!
Here in Virginia, I pretty much play each day; but this social forum seems like a good idea. Hello everyone! I began to attend local bluegrass jams (very popular in downtown Richmond) 6 months ago; thanks to Fiddlehed lessons on playing back-up chords. But, leading a song is another story. To this point I have deferred to play lead on any song. So, I will take this challenge and see if I can get my timing down (as well as other things) and try leading Whiskey Before Breakfast. Normally at jams this is played very fast, so I am looking for some guitar videos, or mandolin videos that I can practice playing with.
Hi ownee.
Sitting in on a jam is a goal of mine
One of my goals, too.
Sounds good. Alternate between Whiskey and other tunes. This will strengthen your memory of the tune…
Hello from Wyoming! So glad to be a part of the challenge! I’m hoping to get better at the third part of a tune I’ve been taught at a fiddle camp called Leslie’s March. The is a quick arpeggio section on high notes that has given me trouble since I was introduced to it and it’s driving me bonkers! Glad to have a chance to really focus in on it. I had my husband record me playing (wow – that’s nerve-wracking in and of itself!) so hopefully I can post that in the forum. Happy fiddling everyone!
Hello from London! I’ve just picked up the violin again after 26 years, with the intent to play some free jazz and blues improvisations, and to escape from the daily grind. I discovered jason’s ‘Klezmer tunes’ on YouTube last week, which I have found very clear to follow. I have thus far learnt to play ‘Khosid Wedding Dance’ and ‘Hava Negilah’. My challenge for the next 14 days is to add more variation to Hava Negilah, and play slower/faster, until fluent. I’m also going to work on some vibrato…
Hi Seraphina,
Welcome to the Challenge. Sounds like you’re going to do some fun stuff…
I’m ready from Wisconsin! Just started fiddling 16 months ago after retiring from teaching. I love to practice (almost daily), but I look forward to using this time to focus on improving some fundamentals. Thanks Jason!!
I’m in,too. Up to my eyebrows. Tomorrow I head for Great Camp Sagamore for a Road Scholar ‘ Mountain Music and Dance’ program where this all started two years ago. This is my third fall trip up there and I’m looking forward to seeing my original motivators/instructors once again. To play daily is no challenge but it’s very upsetting when something happens to limit my time. Arthur Itis is doing its best to hamper awkward double stops and vibrato but the biggest challenge of all is timing. The new old fashioned metronome came today and is going with me…note to Tom above..have a ball! I got mine for myself for my 82nd birthday present and thank God for it all the time. Just invested in an upgrade and love it! It definitely outshines me. And, Yes, Fiddlehed has been a fantastic learning tool. For this Challenge aim to list my most persistent difficulties and designate set periods of time for each. My overall playing time each day is very liberal but not as well addressed at certain issues as it should be. Thanks Jason and Amber! Great motivator!
Practicing every day is my biggest failure! Hoping this will help. Thanks Jason!
I’m in, except perhaps for Oct 21 which is shaping up to be very busy.
I’m in Oliver, BC, Canada. Picked up fiddle for the first time about 13 months ago as a “turning 60” challenge to myself and signed up for Fiddleheds lessons shortly after that. Thanks for all the resources and encouraging approach to your on-line training!
Check out the new Group in the forum Jason created for those taking the Fall Practice Challenge. Let’s work together to support one another!
Fall Practice Challenge Participants: /groups/fall-practice-challenge-practicipants/forum/
Thanks for pointing this out Jim ?
My pleasure, Jason. I really think this Fall Challenge (how about one in the Winter, Spring and Summer as well?) is a good opportunity for all of us to increase motivation and support one another. I hope folks will make use of this new group.
Excellent! Us too!
Hi, all: When not traveling I already play every day but usually not with specific goals. So, for the next 2 weeks I plan to (1) spend time on scales, (2) get a smoother sound on the E string 4th finger B part in The Butterfly (3) work on string crossing in Fisher’s Hornpipe and (4) after hearing Fiachra O’Reagan play Uilleann pipes this afternoon, I am going to start using Jason’s drone tracks! I also plan to re-play some tunes I have “learned” more slowly to work on tone quality. I will record something each day as well. If there’s time left over LOL I hope to learn Morrison’s Jig. Anyone have the tab?
Here’s to playing every day!! Thanks for the challenge!!!?
I’m in. Here is the email that I sent to.a fellow fiddler:
You are the other fiddler “practicipant” whom I’m telling about my “taking the challenge”.
I’m going to work on double stop scales with alternating single string melody lines with syncopations, creating variations on Oh Susanna and Arkansas Traveller, and reviewing Stobbe books one and two. I will also record my playing at the start and the end of the “challenge”.
What are you up to these days on the fiddle/ violin?
I already practice every day, but I want to get better since I’m only 4 1/2 years into the fiddle thing! All my musician friends are professionals – so I have A LOT of catching up to do! Happy Fiddling from Arizona high country!
I’m in!!!! Looking for better fiddlin???
I’m in and up for the challenge!
This Jersey girl is looking forward to another fun challenge. Thank you Jason.
Yay! We hope you enjoy it!
Hi from a former Jersey girl now residing – and fiddling – in Central Oregon.
Hi, Bernie here in the Pacific Northwest. I hope to work out a humorous “Cheaters” set list to play with a friend, to include Tennessee Waltz and Your Cheatin’ Heart for starters. Might try come up with Jolene, and The Pines, for beginners by playing by ear, you tube slowdown/searching and writing up the tab that works. Then I want to be able to play through the set with only short breaks. Ambitious! Tone and string crossing will be critical. I will be happy with any and all progress achievable during the challenge.
That sounds like a wonderful strategy! Please let me ya know how it goes!
will do. In the Pines started shaping last night
I’m in Montana. My neighbors have urged me to do this.
Excellent!
This is something I’m really working on. I notice that when I am comfortable with a piece of music I can do it but with new music or if I’m trying to play too fast my fingers take on a life of their own and leap around like manic spiders!
Practice, practice, practice!
I am in!! Ready to giver….Hopefully make some new friends at the same time 🙂
From Alberta Canada
Wonderful!
Love your online name! Third Rock from the Sun was a great show! Third Rock from the Sun is a great song, too.
I’m looking forward to this. Thanks for the challenge! I’ll be practicing and Having fun in England!
Thanks, Jas’on! I am in! And ready to be bowing along ~ Heartfelt Greetings to All from New Mexico ~
I will!? I can’t guarantee the monster showing up though!?
I usually play most things more than twice but I do find that sometimes I’ll end up getting careless if I repeat too often and start making mistakes. I’m not sure why. Lately I was travelling in Scotland in my Motorhome with my sister and she brought her guitar along. Then I could play many repeats without a mistake which means that playing with someone else really helps!? ( I had just seen your video about students uploading themselves playing and I really wanted to video us by Loch Ness practicing! But it rained when we were going to do it and the lighting in the Motorhome wasn’t too good! Maybe next time!)
Next time please! We would love to see that!
On the 2nd quarter of the tabs the last 3 notes show open string assuming on “D” but sound like “A” string and, not that I know much about reading music, where I think it appears as an “A” or AO.
You were right about the missing A-string (AO-O-O) notes in the second quarter and it was never corrected to this day. O’ well at least we know to correct it.
Thank you for noticing this, Pat, and revisiting this comment about it, bringing it to our attention. I will adjust those tabs now. We really appreciate your feedback to help improve the program 🙏🏿
Well done Jocelyn. Thank you for your quick response.
Cheers – Pat
When I play along with the play along track, should I be imitating the fiddle or playing what was taught in the lesson? Also, I can’t tell a difference between the full track and the low fiddle track. Is there a difference?
sheet music missing again here 🙁 I won’t keep doing this but You get the picture– Sheet music is really handy for some of us… maybe many of us. I can’t possibly be the only one who needs it.
thanks
The link for Lesson: How to Play in Tune with Drone Notes, is an empty page!
Thanks pgross for mentioning. Looks like it got resolved now if you haven’t checked it out yet 🙂
PS: It did it again at about the 18:45 mark. Guess good things are worth repeating – LOL!
Hey, Jaso’n. In case it hasn’t already been brought to your attention, this learning video abruptly stopped and then started over again at about the 8:20 mark. Otherwise, it’s yet another great song to add to my ever-growing fiddle repertoire. Thanks for all the work you put into these and for the upbeat presentation. I have shared your website info with my “OLFIG” (Old Ladies Fiddle Instruction Group) friends. Hope they subscribe! – Gayle
Super helpful lesson on using slow down and other tools on Youtube to learn tunes, thank you! I am accidentally becoming more tech savvy as I learn fiddle. Hidden bonus. Haven’t tried yet, but I think pitch correction will be really great with friends who want to use keys other than g, d, or a. This website makes me wish I’d started playing a long time ago so I could imagine learning all the content here. But that’s a great problem to have.
All in good time and glad you are fiddling now! Utilizing all of our tools really helps us level up! Keep it up!
Thanks Blucy. Let me know how it goes. I’m always trying to think of ways to help people learn on their own…
Jason, I noticed that I have, in fact, been tense with the left hand and now that I’m aware it’s actually taking constant attention to relax, and I do notice the level of pain nearly gone when relaxed.
I’m so pleased to hear you’re working on the OBS. FYI – why that song is so important to me is I used to work for the “Nitty Gritty Dirt Band” for a couple of years with their transportation
in the 70’s and so impressed with John McCuen and his fiddle playing the OBS that that was when I was bitten.
So I’ll leave the OBS alone for awhile until you’ve trained me to be able to reach, at least, the 4th finger on the “G” string!
Thanks.
And thanks Kay for your response. I glad you got a smile from me. Carson Peters also says a purpose of his playing is “to make people smile. He’s about 15 now started at 3 1/2, check him out! I have to listen to him every day.
Practice, practice! That is great you have history with this tune, it is wonderful when we really connect with songs- it makes it that much better to play! Keep it up!
So cool that you toured with NGDB. I’d love to hear more about that.
I’ve outline the OBS lessons and made sheet music, but have a lot on my plate. Thanks in advance for your patience…
Had fun thinking about this today in terms of language. I love to learn languages. But it has taken a while for the old cliche that music is a language to ring true with the fiddle for me. (insert 80s pop song. . . Music is a language can’t you read? Smiths?) anyway. Today the slurs, scales, and pedals felt like like learning verb declensions. I may not be ready to navigate the trains without getting lost, but I think I can order from the menu. Looking forward to getting lost on the fiddle train and leveraging my language skills. thanks. We should get you a conductor hat.
Such a great analogy and insight! Keep up the deciphering and you will be fluent soon enough!
One way you can leverage language skills is to look for repeating patterns. sometimes a single phrase is repeated 3-4 times in a tune. Once you learn the first quarter, scan forward to see if it’s repeated.
So True
Jason..thank you so much for singing along to the play along video. It helps me to keep the melody in my head all day. I really appreciate it! w
This really does work !!!
I have been enrolled in another online course by a certified Suzuki teacher. I got a bit bored because my want is fiddle not violin. That’s why I’m trying Fiddlehed.
So far I I find this to actually be fun!
My goal is to play the Orange Blossom Special properly. Don’t know if I’ll live long enough to play it at speed or even properly before I die(I’m 75 1/2) but I’m having fun learning. I played the trumpet in elementary school but there weren’t lessons available when my family moved. I loved it and was good enough to be competitive.
Learning to play the fiddle has relived me from boredom after retirement and given me purpose! However it’s become a passion.
The fiddle sits next to my lounge chair so I pick it up for bursts all day long.
The previous course has been all “A” and “E” strings so now Fiddlehed will have me fingering on all strings. Because I’ve been trying to learn snippets of the OBS I have a pain at the bottom of the left thumb. What should I do?
My main question is will I be able to finger everything someday? Fortunately I have no or little arthritis is the left hand unless that’s why my thumb hurts when I strain to the “G”, I can make it all fingers down but with some pain. I’ve been using Blue-Emu!!! It definitely helps but not the thumb base.
Sorry I have the gift to grab. But I’ve been so excited about the fiddle and now even more since I discovered Fiddlehed.
BTW – I’m getting pretty good a rehairing my bows.
Thanks folks, I’ll keep you posted in the future how things are going.
Peter
Hey Peter,
First of all, congrats on beginning your fiddle journey.
I recommend holding off on OB special for now. Get the fundamentals down. And by that time, I’ll have my 4-part lesson series on OBS done (for reals).
Try to relax your left hand. Just play a single note and see how soft you can make it…
Your post made me smile since I also have become “addicted” to fiddle ‘playing’. Same deal here – music area has piano, loveseat, banjo & fiddle. The fiddle wins every day. Retirement has a new meaning. I get little else done, e.g., postponing mowing the grass and myriad other chores. I recently wondered about re-bowing needs. I am losing not just head hairs but horsehairs too. Loving my journey. Not enough hours in the day. Hoping to find a fiddle friend soon to help me. I also checked out several other online instructional venues. Jason’s is the best. IMHO.
Cheers,
Kay
What wonderful words, thank you Kay! Retirement is another journey nonetheless and it is fantastic you are filling your time with music! The world needs more of it in IOHO. Keep it up!
As I read the posts before me, I start to believe I’m in the right place here! Hello to all you Good People. I subscribed today after about a week of taking in the YouTube videos. Your method is logical, flexible, appealing, easy-going and direct. The real kicker to get me in is the variety of genres and styles you cover. I’m 55 and a life-long musician, recently retired from 30 years in public safety. Music has always been my happy place of refuge from life’s storms. Though I play several instruments in a few groups, the fiddle has always been my Holy Grail and I think now it’s time to seriously commit to this quest. I have been a novice violin student (day one, lesson one) about a half dozen times over the past 32 years! I have no foolish notions this will be easy or fast. You do, however, make it seem at least possible for me to someday reach a level I can enjoy playing with others. That is my goal. Thanks.
That is fabulous to hear that we can have such an influence in your fiddling! We are happy to have you join us!
Hey FrostyMac,
What other instruments do you play?
As you may know, if you focus on a good daily process, you will be able to do this.
One pitfall for people who’ve already learned other instruments is that they tend to rush through whatever course they take. I recommend you make something sound good every time you play. If you build a good foundation, than you will be in a your learning will naturally accelerate.
Enjoing it immensely…starting to sound like music… how this for a fun practice… play a verse tucka and the next hoedown then back to tucka etc….give it a go big fun
Thanks for the suggestion!! Playing is necessary when learning anything new!
Hi Jason and Amber! Thanks so much for all of the brilliant material – I’ve found it all so helpful. I found this new style a bit awkward to begin with but now I’ve got the hang of it and its definitely an improvement – the interlude is a useful reminder to focus on the sound also. The sheet music bits don’t always load very quickly – actually only the fourth quarter of part A – all the others were fine.
Hi Suze,
We love your kind words! We’re sorry you’re having trouble downloading the sheet music, though sometimes it has do to with internet connection and /or the specific browser you are using to access the site.
If it is not too much trouble we would love to use your words for future testimonials to be featured on Fiddlehed.com! We appreciate all feedback, and would love to let others know how you feel about Fiddle Hed!
Thanks Suze ?
I’ve been enjoying this lesson series so much! However, I’m noticing especially in this exercise that the sound of my fiddle becomes increasingly strangled and buzzy as I move up the scale with fingering. I also find myself accidentally hitting adjacent strings much more often with fingering than I ever did on open strings. I’ll admit that I’m not working with top of the line equipment and the tone problems may have something to do with that, but is there something I can practice to help keep a robust sound even on those F sharps and Gs?
Hi myArmCanFly,
Do you have finger tape on the fiddle? If so, that can cause buzzing with plucking.
If that’s not the case, then try to isolate each note to see if you can work out the kinks. Then play intervals like D1-2, D2-3.
The pdf link to the Swallowtail Jig easy duet doesn’t seem to work…
Hey Buckyboy,
I just checked it in chrome and the sound works for me. And no one else has mentioned it. Maybe check your sound settings, volume, etc. Let me know if it still doesn’t work.
Hey Buckyboy,
I just checked it in chrome and the sound works for me. And no one else has mentioned it. Maybe check your sound settings, volume, etc. Let me know if ut still doesn’t work.
Hey Jason,
The format is better and easier to navigate. Anxious to see if I can get friendly with downloading videos.
Owen O.
Thanks for the feedback Owen. If you have a decent internet connection, then downloading videos (the ones that are available) shouldn’t involve more than clicking the “Download this video” link.
Let me know how it goes…
I like the pluses that you can open for more content, but I’d like them even better if the minus signs would close the content to shrink the volume of material on the page again. This is a great improvement idea. If you allow them to pop back into the minus sign, then I can see tab and play tracks with less mad dashing to scroll to the right place before the man on the track says. . . 1, 2, 3 FOUR
Maybe I should memorize before I use the track, so feel free to keep that a bit challenging. But yes, like. And yet, seems it should work both ways.
Hey Blucy,
Right now there is always exactly one tab open, no more no less. What I think you are saying is that you want to be able to close ALL tabs in the accordion table, right?
Thanks for the feedback…
I love your lessons and love learning from you, but I find this “accordion style” difficult to work with. A lot of stopping and starting and trying to find my way. But thanks for asking for our input, and for trying new ways of teaching! It could just be me…
We always appreciate input! So thank you!
Thanks Roserock. I appreciate the feedback. This format might be weird at first.
If you don’t mind, please keep playing with it. Then let me know if it’s still awkward.
Thanks much,
I have kept working with it and am getting used to it now! Thanks. Like things broken down on to little bits. Family hanging in there with my practice. Only the dog is completely honest. And he doesn’t always leave the room.
Hang in there with them! And give the dog more treats because they sound like a good dogo!
sound does not work in chrome
I do at least 15-20 min of scales each morning before practicing what ever tune I’m working on. It helps with intonation and is a great way to warm up. My next scale challenge is chordal scales. I’m weak on the double stops.
15-20 minutes is good. How long is your average practice session?
This was great to play as a round!
Good idea Felicity.
Hey Jason,
This lesson fits right into my practices now. I am playing with “making scales fun”, and chordal scales ( to make double stops easier). I would like to be able to pick out the key of music I am listening to at jams…..so this lesson is timely for me. After I practice tuning and scales, I pick out some tunes and work on timing and rhythm.
Want you to know, Jason, that after caring for my wife (who had been diagnosed in 2010 with a rare spatial/visual dementia at age 52) for 7 yrs.; she passed to a better place July 18. The fiddle is much fun for me and somehow very necessary for my life on-going. y wife was a champion Equine rider (Reining) and always encouraged my playing. So thanks to . you for all you do. I will play in another jam on Sept. 8!
Sorry to hear that. Glad to hear that you’re still playing music. Probably the best thing you can do…
thanks again Sharlyn 🙂
Thanks Sharlyn for all your hard work!!
This is so much fun! Thanks for this super-current piece.
Glad you like it!
I’ve been taking videos of myself playing to see progress and it really helps a lot. On some other songs, like Kerfunken Jig and I Saw The Light I’ve used GarageBand on my phone to record my own accompaniment track on the guitar to play along with and I’ve found that helps make it more personal and encourages more practice.
It is a unique perspective that can help with profound learning. Keep it up!
Awesome AJ. This is great because you can really personalize the backing tracks.
Transposing this *up* to G Major was a lot of fun (and let’s it flow into Kesh Jig nicely)
Variations are a blast to “fiddling” with ?
Good idea. Try adding Swallowtail jig to the set.
This has been one of my flashmobs for sometime!
Wonderful! That sounds like so much fun!
This sorta reminds me of what happened to me last weekend: I invited some musician friends over to jam because I usually only play alone.(I live way out in the country, so getting together with other players is difficult.) I bribed them with freshly smoked salmon. Anyway, I wanted to play “Whiskey Before Breakfast” when it was my turn since I recently started learning it from Jaso’n online. After I began to play it, one of the other fiddle players stopped me and said he couldn’t play it that slow! If you really know the tune, I would think it would be easier to play it slower and relaxed. I guess not!
So, I am very grateful for Jaso’n for teaching us to take it slow, because I never want to be that person. Besides, sometimes the tunes ARE prettier when you can really hear each note and they’re not at lightning speed. I understand the need for speed under certain circumstances, but I don’t feel the necessity to determine who can play it the fastest. It’s too bad some people do.
Hey Buffalo Gal. Yeah the tunes are sweet when slow. But some fiddlers just don’t want to go that slow. You might want to seek out slow player groups if possible.
And eventually, you can have fun incrementally speeding up a tune…
Thank you for once again helping me feel okay about slowing down and enjoying where i’m at. I’ve been playing almost 6 months, and because I found you one month into it, I’m still loving the process. Thank you thank you thank you. I doubt if I’d be playing if it weren’t for you.
What kind words, we would love to use your words in our testimonials! If this is alright please let us know, but it’s fine if not!
Going with your own pace and patience is key, keep it up!
Nice! Thanks for letting us know.
It was helpful to be reminded to not lift finger too high from string.
Little lift is a great habit to develop now. Also try to finger with a light touch. Best to you…
Takin’ a trip down the “Old Town Road” with FH!
muchos gracias
De nada
Thank you for giving me some basics that I have missed along the way.
You’re very welcome!
Glad to have you T.Shaw
For me, the hardest part of bowing is staying on the string without touching the one next do it, especially on the A string without touching the E string. Or the D string without touching the G or A.
Hi Sy. Try using very short bows in the middle of the bow. Let me know how that goes…
Love that looping. I tend to learn better by repetition.
That is great that you can hone in on what works best for you. Keep it up!
Really enjoyed the rhythms on Ida Red on the play along track “Low Fiddle Mix” at the faster pace (once I got the slower paced notes to happen). Not part of basic lesson but fun to attempt the sounds happening there.
Nice. Do you like having the low fiddle mix?
Yes
It works for me as a check on whether I know the song and a way to get all of it in my ear(head) if I don’t. I’ve not downloaded these tracks yet. Is that usually available a couple weeks as well? Might be helpful as travel practice cues for less device memory space (sound cloud?)
Hi Blucy. Audio tracks are always available for download for
Paid users.
Cheers…j
I see now. It was a phone vs computer/tablet issue. I get the arrows for download on my larger devices by not my phone. thx
Jason- really enjoying the lessons and your systematic approach to teaching so far. Apologies if this info is somewhere and I’ve missed it, but something that could be helpful to us beginners would be tips around setting up the bow ready to play. For example, how much tension to put on the hairs (and how to judge this), also how to apply rosin- how much, how often etc. Thanks in advance.
Just at the end of a ‘practice that does not sound good today’ came an incredibly beautiful sound from the E cord that suddenly appeared when I bowed it. It was a loosy session but something incredible happened at the end. It seems the good sounding of the E chord hasn’t disappeared until that day. Do not despair !
The light at the tunnel, or the silver lining to the dark cloud can appear at any moment. Just keep going!
I play guitar and piano. 50 yrs I’ve played Folk Rock/Rock in bands and solo. Dedicated myself to study/play Old Time and Bluegrass. The first Fiddlehed video I saw inspired me to start up! Great teaching method Jason. I am also learning Mandolin at the same time, due to compatible strings (G-D-A-E). What I learn for fiddle I apply to the Mandolin! Slow and Steady 🙂
What an arsenal of talents! Good on you to keep with such a variety of musical journeys.
We are happy you got what you needed from our videos to start you fiddlin’! If you are open to it, we would love to use your words as a testimonial to let others know about the joys of fiddling with us! No worries if not, but we are grateful you’re fiddling with us any way!
Hi Markus,
As a person who has already learned other instruments, what is the biggest challenge about learning fiddle?
It’s nice how it’s relatively easy to play Mando once you can play fiddle.
Thanks for the kind words…
Oh yes!! Very cool and interesting, Thank you for sharing your solo and the approach to it. Drones have become my most favorite thing, helps me so much to tune and find inspiration for improvising among the practice. That’s how I’ve found the coolest things 🙂 And great to discover that it can be used on gigs as well!
Also the music video looks super!! Great job!
Thank you!! The drone is a gift that keeps giving with fiddle music. We are happy you are using it to it’s full potential! Keep up the great work, and thanks for choosing to fiddle with us!
Thanks Reetou. Glad you are practicing with drones. Have you tied playing different tunes along with the same drone?
jason this is br459 I,am new to the pc I,am trying to get free trial
lesson I want to subscribe to fiddle but I need to know the price
Thank you
I took violin lessons for about two years to learn fundamentals, all the while watching fiddlehed videos to learn what I really wanted to play. My instructor took pneumonia and went on to her final recital so I’m fiddling regularly with fiddlehed Fiddle lessons. Great lessons and tune selection
Glad you are feeling confident with our lessons! You can never have too many teachers, as long as you are getting something out of it!
The hardest part is maintaining awareness moment-to-moment of my stance, how I’m holding the violin, moving the bow, and the sound. It’s beautiful when all the thoughts disappear and the sound is just happening. Tremolo is suspenseful – made me think of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons! I spent quite awhile playing soft-loud-soft just for the fun of listening to all the changing moods.
Yes. In the beginning, you have to move your attention around a lot. It’s some serious multi-tasking. But then at a certain magical point, it all flows and becomes a single activity. It’s easier to get to that state if you work on a very small thing: a single note, a 3-6 note bit. If you can get this sense of moving from multi to single-tasking on a small piece, you’ll be able to this on other pieces and eventually on bigger pieces.
Glad to hear you have moments when you can just play without distracting thoughts.
Jason, I want to say how much I appreciate the Call and Response lessons you do! It really helps me LISTEN to the notes and I hope someday to play by ear. I think Call and Response will really help that. I also hope to be able to hear a note and identify it. Now, I can usually guess which string it’s on but I don’t always get the correct note.
I have a question about playing with a drone note. I just don’t get how it is supposed to help you play in tune. Do you have a quick explanation or a lesson that explains that?
Thanks!
“I have a question about playing with a drone note. I just don’t get how it is supposed to help you play in tune. Do you have a quick explanation or a lesson that explains that?”
I second this…I have a problem with this too. I don’t quite understand how the drone helps you play in tune. Further explanation would be helpful.
Thanks for asking this.
Drones function as a reference tone. If you hear a G drone while playing D3, your brain will over time get better at syncing with that tone. I can’t explain the exact neurophysiology of it, but it happens.
There is a precise method for tuning with drones that I use with students. Tune each note with it’s drone; D1 with E, D2 with F#, D3 with G, etc. I teach this with play-along tracks here:
/beginner/1-2-getting-plucky/drone-tuning-the-notes-on-the-d-string/
/beginner/1-4-the-d-major-scale/drone-tuning-the-notes-on-the-a-string/
/beginner/1-5-more-scales-more-tunes-more-fun-more-or-less/drone-tuning-the-notes-on-the-g-string/
/beginner/1-6-how-to-love-your-sound/drone-tuning-the-notes-on-the-e-string/
Check it out and Let me know if this makes sense…
Thanks, Jason…will check it out!
Jason, I have only been playing fiddle for about 6 months. I ended on-one-one Suzuki violin lessons and went with my heart to your site. Speaking of frustration, it seems like I focus only on how far I have to go, and not on how far I have come. Most recently I have been using the drone and call-and-response practice sections and they give me an unexpected feeling of peace. I have sometimes been able to close my eyes and repeat back the sequence of notes you have played. Just that simple action and the feeling I get reminds that I’m doing just fine, that music is a part of me and has always been, and for that I am so grateful. I love your sense of humor and words of encouragement. Speaking as a beginner, I’m so glad that you start at the basics and then show us how to progress. I especially love your hand drawn doodles! Thanks for all you do!–Regina
Hey Regina,
First of all thanks for your kind words.
Suzuki’s not a bad method, but not for everyone. And a good teacher still makes a difference with that.
I also love the peace that comes with playing with drones. It’s a good way to sink into a certain tune or scale.
Anyway, keep on fiddling…
There’s no absolute wrong. See the photos and demo videos for how I hold the bow. This is based on a classical hold. A lot of old-time fiddlers hold it differently which is fine and works for them.
Today’s symphony: Shakespeare in the park actors (and I’m sure they love the rest haha), seagulls chasing an Eagle over head, kids screaming and the slosh of a waterfall when the giant water park bucket topples over, barbequers chattering and small airplane day overhead. Oh then the train. and the ferry and the bus and the cars. I live in a musical place. This site is such a gift for keeping my head and heart in the right place to play. Can’t say thanks enough.
Thanks for sharing. Very encouraging to me to hear this…
Consistency.
I began violin lessons Aug ’18. Somehow I never felt comfortable with a bowhold. Teacher had trouble accepting a doublejointed/locking pinkie that produced probs after a few minutes. I finally compromised bending it with the top of finger resting on bow. That really did not produce stability or consistency of movement of bow or sound. Tried beginner hold (awkward), a “fiddlehold” (felt overheld), Russian Bowhold (felt ok but teacher had coronary with my bent/relaxed moments of wrist), FrancoBelgian, and whatever else i could come up with. One guy on youtube said he used combo of FB & Russian.
It has been frustrating.
Ps also love your cat!
Pps. Wanted to play violin for years & finally found one last year. Am 66. In spite of a few things, has been very enjoyable & satisfying.
Finding your own technique and specialty is half the journey. Your effort and determination are commendable!
I teach a certain bow hold based on a classical hold. But, as you’ve mentioned, this is not the only way to do it.
It should be comfortable and relaxed and flexible. Fingers should have a natural curve. Keep experimenting and studying.
j
That’s been my problem exactly! My pinkie joint wanting to straighten and catch in that position. Feeling very stiff. I have to really concentration to keep it relaxed and bent with the tip just resting on the bow. Glad it’s not just me.
It takes time! Be patient with yourself and you will more easily accomplish hard tasks!
I fixed Fairy Dance. Thanks everyone for letting me know ?
I have been playing with my thumb more touching the pad than the “tip” like lodged between the tip and the under side of my thumbnail. I need to correct this to move forward? It’s for sure wrong, if I understand correctly.
The recording for Fairy Dance is Fais Do Do
You are such an awesome Teacher!!! So happy to be moving out of full time work so I can now take the DEEP Dive into fiddling.
I love to go to a Fiddle Camp – especially if YOU were teaching it.
Have you ever considered?
Hi Jason amazin what you explain, i made the same program 3 weeks ago . just by myself , becouse i wants to go fast , and fastervprogress are made going slowly …and it works .. only one handicap .. BREATHING .. when i am too concentrate in something complicate i stop breathing and choke ..i have to menage it .. i have to concentrate hard because i am a little dislexic so i put before what is supposed to be after.. and also keeping the instrument on the right place end the bow not sideways ..too many contraints at the same time .. we will survive
Thanks for sharing. It’s a simple but powerful practice to just pause and catch your breath. Then see if you can do that while playing something simple.
Cool!
Jason, thank you. I liked the opportunity to reflect on fiddle playing and develop a mindfulness about it. I put some cool gel packs on my arm after work and hit play. Very pleasant prep for a short, happy practice today.
How do the gel packs help?
The cold gel packs are for the soreness I feel after playing sometimes, which comes after lifting and running after little tigers with special needs all day, Fiddling is my treat to myself, but my 50+ muscles and joints talk to me. Always working on listening better. I tried putting my back/upper arm at the wall, after seeing your tip in the webinar to keep the bow from slipping around. It helps. Stability above = less strain lower in the arm and a nicer tone. Win win. Working the balance, thanks.
Icing is always key for stained muscles, so keep it up! Keep doing what works best for you, but we’re happy you’re fiddling with us!
Thanks, Jas’on, for the useful reminders. Not only have they improved my fiddle experience, but I’ve passed them on to my husband, who has been learning to play the mandolin. We have both inproved our practice habits and are enjoying tackling new tunes with increased confidence. The only downfall is that we travel a lot and are off grid for days at a time, so I can’t log in for my next lesson! But at least I have something new to look forward to when we get back home. 😉
Oh cool, good to hear that. Have you tried printing lesson material or downloading mp3s for when you don’t have internet?
Hi Jason,
Just revisited Call-and-Response! Love it, so much fun and challenging to my ear .
As always, thanks for all you do….linda
Hi Jason,
I really smiled when I read your latest email as I was just that day listening and watching a video of Mark and many other amazing fiddlers including Vassar and Charlie D play Arkansas Traveler. Just the day before yesterday I was saying to my practice buddy who is also my husband and has played guitar professionally with very advanced and some famous fiddlers in NY and NJ) that I don’t expect to be able to play like Mark and there will always be great fiddlers like Mark (but never another Vassar (: but when I play every day, I know I have improved so much since I completed the Fiddlehed course (now I am more than halfway through the Irish Fiddle course). I am grateful for the tunes I’ve learned and eager to master the variations. When I see my husband smiling and tapping his foot while we are playing tunes together, I know I am playing well and my ears tell me it sounds good.
Occasionally, I must confess, I do suffer from fiddle frustration but I never give up because I love music too much. Thank you Jason for your thoughtful, challenging and most important, fun lessons.
Hey Diane,
I truly appreciate hearing all this. Also glad to hear you’re working through the Irish course. It sounds like you have a healthy mindset, content with where you are but not complacent. Keep on playing…
My fiddle was delivered today and I’ve been really enjoying this teaching method!
Good! Let me know if you have questions.
This is great. I have been frustrated lately, because I can’t seem to play as fast as needed in my fiddle class. I love the podcast idea, because I can listen to it in my car! Thanks for all you do! ?
Hey Daisy,
Maybe you can find some people who are into playing slow and meet separately with them.
It’s important to not rush into playing fast. Use a metronome to gradually increase your speed.
Jason, this is superb!!! I think I have learned all these things from you in the almost 6 months I have been a member, and use them when I think of them…which doesn’t always happen, but it is great to have them here, all together, in one place. You don’t know how many times these pointers have saved me during a really difficult, frustrating or discouraging practice session, and kept me coming back to my fiddle the next day. No one else online teachers like you do! May I make a suggestion? I think this Fiddlosophy article would be fitting for the Practice Toolkit area.
Thanks Mr. MoonShadows 🙂 Glad this is useful.
Sorry the practice toolkit is not up and running yet. I need some help on the coding.
I’m talking about this page: /practice-routine-hover-boxes/
Right. I just added the Practice Toolkit to the menu under “Library”. Do you think it might be worth putting in the main menu, maybe after “Intermediate”? I’ll work on adding more coaching to the toolkit. Thanks…
Thanks for this email, Jason. It is what I need to get me back to practicing my fiddle. I often sit down to play but get distracted by something and might end up playing only a few minutes, getting bored, and giving up. I am printing this and I will re-read it whenever I feel I need a boost to play.
Mary
What do you get distracted with Mary? Internet? If so, try to close all windows except your lesson.
Focusing on playing is a work in progress. It took me a LONG time to learn this.
Hi there! Really enjoying the course; what you’ve done here is amazing! I think the recording under Fairy Dance is actually a recording of Fais Do Do Duet. Would love to try out Fairy Dance; please upload. Thanks!
– Roma
I don’t believe at this point that I will ever be nimble fingered enough to do true Irish fiddling but I love to watch various techniques, at least tinker with your lessons and absorb anything I can. It’s all bliss.
Playing within your abilities can be empowering in its self! Keep up the great work!
I have been taking violin lessons for a couple of years. My instructor is on maternity leave so thought I would try my hand at fiddle lessons . Thx for being here. I love your tutorial on Long Black Veil, That is what got me interested
We’re glad you found us too! That is great that you are branching out of your norm and learning new things!
Have fun fiddling!
I started to learn the violin at age 70 and am now 82 and still love the instrument. The only violin I ever heard as a youth was a Strat at a church concert at age 15 when we held a concert toget money for our choir, of which I was a member. Then nothing until age 68 when I was a member on the Orlando ,fl old time fiddle group playing a chelo as a bass. I secided tto get a cheap violin from China, after I started I loved the fiddle and still do and play with a group of old timers in Saint Cloud , fla.every Friday evening.
Nice. Keep on fiddling ??
Backing tracks are great!!!!!! My goal is to play with a guitar player and this simulates that on a level I can work with
So great to hear! Keep up the awesome work!
I like the long drones. I plucked a bit and then called it good with a cool gel pack on my right elbow crook and meditated the rest of the 20 minutes. 20 minutes is a long set for my 3rd finger, but 18 is perfect for grounding with soft relaxed wrists. Really very nice drone stuff, thanks. This site is awesome
Whee hooo!
I like playing drones as prep to play with steadiness. And listening is good grounding, between the earthquake this morning, and a hurricane on its way to friends and family. ‘Between the devil and the deep blue sea’ ..calm in the eye of the storm…
Glad you are using drones. It’s a simple and powerful way to practice.
8th Note E track is actually a track of Gnotes transitioning to D note in a funky rhthym of 123 1234 with D on the final 4. cool. what’s it called?
re the 8th notes on E for 1.1 Beginning Bowing Exercises, that is really G and D. If you do the track (not the E notes) are you up or down bowing on the D. tricky going fast but fun
This is a mistake. Thank you for catching it ?
Was drawn to fiddle music all my life. Finally got a fiddle 4 months ago and started learning at 58. I now know I should listen to that voice inside when it speaks. Going slow, and loving it.
Go for it! It can be so uplifting to start learning something new, no matter where you are in life!
I play a few other things but have always been interested in fiddle too… finally dove in a few months ago at age 60. Never too late, but what I tell others who say they want to take it up when they retire? I say why put it off? Get on in there now! Time’s a wastin’!
For sure!
All of the FiddleHed material has been very helpful in my taking up the fiddle once again. For a long time (many years) I have not played due to chronic pain from an injury to my neck and right shoulder. I decided to give the fiddle a try and see if playing would worsen my problem. Somewhat to my surprise I found that this type of “exercise” seems to help my situation.
I find all of the lessons and posts to be very encouraging and presented in a real down to earth and easy to understand format.
This is a great site!
Hey thanks Tom. Glad to hear you can play again. Just keep paying attention to your body, taking breaks and stretching.
Have been away from fiddling for a couple of weeks. Picking it up again and appreciated your post. I’m still less than two years into it and realizing I really love it in spite of myself.
As long as you are coming back to it, time and time again it will work it’s magic on us!
I too played in grade school – badly. I find so much enjoyment now in practicing.
It is amazing as humans how we evolve into different tastes through out our lives. So glad you’re choosing to fiddle with us at this point in your life!
That’s awesome Katharine. Keep that flame burning with regular practice. Let me know if you have questions or if you get stuck…
Please reply. Tell me how to advance to the next lesson!!!!
Can you go back to main page for lessons and click a new one from the drop down menus?
You can find the next lesson in the drop down window, just remember what lesson you were on before hand! Let us know if you are still having trouble!!
Thanks, not sure even what this originally meant, but the navigation is pretty easy now that I’ve looked around more.
Good to hear! Happy fiddling!
I can not get my computer to advance to the next lesson.
When I complete one lesson, how do I advance to the next lesson?
somehow got baffled in Soldier’s Joy and Fairy Dream on what I hear vs what I see on the noted D0/A0/G0 guide, re: rhythms.
Are all the tunes, even these simple things in sheet music too?
Still finding my way around here. Feel free to ignore a few days as I look around. I’ll re comment if I find it or figure it out.
Helpful for me to note it here.
Yes I am talking to myself again because it helps.
b
Exercise 6 and 9 are the same and exercise 8 includes 3 strings vs just the 2 listed.
Hey rmwest87,
Thanks for letting me know. I cut the extra exercise and correctly labeled #8.
What did you think of these? Were they challenging? Fun? Could it be better?
Lots of fun! I like that it takes something that could get very boring and makes it engaging to keep playing.
I’m finding morning sessions better for learning and I’m working on new methods by
watching a variety of lessons, even those way out of my league- not to learn the piece but observe techniques and experiment with them. Relaxes the self inflicted tension of learning the music/tune and lets the various moves and ideas settle in. I’m hoping that once I’m more comfortable with them I will find putting it all together will come along more easily on the pieces I’m not familiar with. —
Maybe it’s geriatric slow learning but whatever works– :-]
Whatever works for you is fantastic! That sounds like a wonderful way to get the full picture, and to guide yourself to your desired outcome with fiddling!
I’ve Practiced all of this!
Fantastic! Keep up the good work!
I had to come back to the beginning to brush up on some fundamentals. Excellent lessons !!!
Thank you
You’re on the right track @crowbar47. If you can enjoy playing the FUNdamentals, then you’ll establish a good sound for everything else.
When I was much younger (43 years ago), my mom wanted me to play the fiddle. I played from 7th-10th grade. I was super bad. I think the orchestra teacher kicked me out because I was so bad. Now, a year after my Mom passed away, I’m playing again. Actually, I’m practicing @4 hrs a day. I love it! It’s like, “wow, I actually am playing and playing with my heart and soul”. I know my Mom is loving not hearing the squeaks. She’s probably telling everyone in heaven that I’m actually making progress!
That is a fabulous story, and wonderful motivation to play the fiddle like you’ve never played before. I am sure you are making your mother smile just by giving it a chance!
I play a few instruments and before my mom passed away late last year, I whispered to her something that has been true my whole life… I said to her “every note I’ve ever played was for you” and I couldn’t have said it out loud without crying, but I could whisper it, so I did. It made her tear up (me too) but truer words never spoken, for sure.
Amazing. Did this help and inspire you to learn music?
I’m having trouble with my bow wandering. I’ve worked doing slow bowing, scales with various bowing patterns. I choose tunes with a wide range of tempos to challenge myself but try as I might, my bow wanders. Yes, I’ve done the mirror and selfies of me playing. It gets really bad when I’m tired. Do you have any other suggestions as to how I might master this? Of course, when the bow wanders the tone tanks. Thanks.
I believe reviews are like basking in Moms homemade roast beef dinners. You just don’t remember it all until you’re enjoying it again. Refreshing, isn’t it? There’s always stuff that fades and going there again brings out the best. Thanks
Thais is a great way to put it! Perfect sensory comparison! Thank you!
Very interesting and helpful. Thanks for the reminder that the drones are there for us.
I also warm-up using Drone Central, and since that time I have to say, my intonation has improved so so much (and I thought I had a pretty good ear to begin with…but it is way better now!). Thanks so much for all you do and for all of your encouragement……LInda
You’re welcome. Glad you are using the drone approach, it’s fun and truly helps people play in tune.
Hello. I am just getting back into fiddling after a wrist injury. I have played for 2 years, not very good. What path should I take for future improvement?
Loved this…what a moving version of Danny Boy…on drones, Sensei Jason has never steered me wrong with his “wax on, wax off” advice. When he urges to play scales back by drones (and real pieces also) it has an amazing effect on improving your intonation i.e. hitting the notes right and in tune. I warm up daily on Drone Central and it then carries into everything else I play in practice. On to learning the Kesh Jig and how to foot stomp and fiddle at the same time…
Being able to utilize the tools in your tool belt is a great feeling! Thank you for the kind words and the insight into your practice. Keep it up!
Most Excellent! Enjoyed both videos (Wow—Kings of Vibration vid!) and your “making of” post. -New & Aspiring Fiddlehed Lisa
Fabulous Lisa! Thank you so much!
That’s very good. I’ve recently started through my list of known tunes stopping on each one and getting it up to “full speed” before moving on to the next one.
Here’s what I really do. I have all my tunes that I know or want to know right now written down on small cards in a stack. I shuffled them well, and started through the stack. If I knew a tune, I practiced it with the metronome, working on getting backing tracks for all of them, recording the fastest speed I could play the tune well. I have about 5 of these that I work on at a time. Once a tune reaches “full speed” I move it to just after the group I’m currently working on.
The whole stack is sorted with the current working group on top, the group that I’ve mastered next. All the tunes I haven’t gotten to yet below that and at the end is where I move all the tunes I haven’t ever learned.
That is a great technique. I may have to share this in a lesson one day. Thank you!
I like how this makes practice into a bit of a game, introducing some randomness.
I’m a bit confused about one part. You start with a random shuffling of the tune cards. When you know a tune well you move it further back in the deck? Does that mean you don’t re-shuffle the deck until you’ve learned all the tunes well?
Thanks for sharing…
wow. finally retired & lots more time to play 🙂
That is fabulous to hear! Keep up the good work!!
Very good lesson, I would think this would help in playing or jamming with others 🙂
We hope so too! Thank you for the kind words!
Thanks Jason— From what I’ve seen, this is one of the many things that sets you apart and makes you a great teacher and for great learning on our part.
Thank you so much for the kind words!
Excellent! 🙂 & Thank you!
can we get a lesson on this sometime? would be great to learn how to play this. I will attempt try to listen and see what I can come up with but a lesson would be cool.
It is ok the requests list! Stay tuned!
Thank you very much for these call and response exercises! I am trying to wake up my 70 year old “ear” after many years of reading music…this is a great help. I keep trying to remember NEVER TOO OLD!
Keep it up! It’s great to hear you are enjoying it!
I played 4th, 5th, and 6th grade then stopped. So it’s been a challenge to get these 57 yo fingers to move without pain but it gets better all the time! Loved this exercise!
Keep on fiddling!!
Thank you Jason! I love those nice exercises, also because this is such a playful way to learn and improve.Not as dry as scales would be. I found them easy. You said that you plan those for more tunes and techniques. Perhaps for the intermediate fiddlers longer sequences or faster tempo could be interesting and help be more ready for fiddle camps, which are fun but challenging for learning tunes where they teach by ear only and in a fast pace. Or scales like minor, Mixolydian or chords by using a tune?
Anyhow – this is way fun!
That is a great suggestion! Thank you so much for the kind words!
Good advice, Jason, that I need to adhere to. I have a tendency to semi-learn the first part, then move on. When I try to put the two parts together, I haven’t learned either well. I think that is human nature. I have to fight this human nature and adopt violin nature!
It’s all a learning process and you must have patience and forgiveness for yourself, just don’t give up!!
Did you write this advice just for me? LOL When I have a day like this, and it’s not getting better, I usually do one of those things you mentioned. If I still sounds awful, I will walk away, but not put my fiddle away. After a while, I will come back and just do a few scales, so I can end the day on a high note. Another thing I do is play a song I already know, and even if it doesn’t sound good, I’ll go back and listen to the recording I made when I first learned it or when I last recorded it. Invariably, I notice that even though I sound terrible on that given day, I can hear the improvement from when I last recorded it. That’s progress! And, I don’t end the day feeling bad.
So glad you’re getting a lot out of this! Progress is a rollercoaster but we must learn to trust our own learning process! Just keep it up!
So I learned this song this AM ! My kids say I need a you tube site. Not bad I guess for a beginner. Thanks for all your help. Variations here I come
You can do anything you put your mind to! Thanks for fiddling with us!
Nice going.
Just curious, what do you need a YouTube for? Sharing videos of you playing? Who would you share with?
I ask because I am seeking easy ways for online students to share videos for feedback…
Thanks
Anyone can add video like Rstrukey. You just need to copy “embed code” from Youtube. Here is a tutorial on how to do it: https://wp.me/P8OLq8-7B9
Jason…Why are two bows easier than one bow? I noticed that weeks ago, and it is still the case for me. One bow never sounds as good as two bows, three bows, tucka, hoe down, etc.
Sometimes the difference in sound can be the factor- this excites our ears! Alas, to each their own.
I love the call and response lessons. I can see how they lead into being able to do some improv. This is fun!! Thank you!
Glad you are enjoying it!
enjoyed this lesson
It might amuse you to know that the tune is also known as the Glasgow Reel. Glasgow being the biggest industrial city on Scotland. Mind you the beautiful countryside isn’t too far away. ?
Beautiful song beautifully played !
Thank you!
I love your yogic approach, Jason. One thing that came to mind as I read this is something I learned from my yoga instructors: “Confusion is a natural part of the learning process.”
If I can remember that, then I can surrender to the confusion, knowing that I’m learning something!
And by the way, good on you for learning to surf. I tried it and it was really hard. Plus it scared me.
Thank you for the kind words! Being scared is part of life, so we might as well enjoy it!
Confusion is humbling. These days I’m a lot more curious because I’m not afraid to appear ignorant about something. I ask a lot more dumb questions 🙂
Great lesson, Jason. I left a rather lengthy response where you premiered the video on YouTube (), so I won’t take up space and repeat it here, but I found this type of lesson very helpful.
This is very helpful. A second or two longer for response would help, as I had to rush sometimes.
You have the wrong recording for the fourth step. And could you put up recordings for all if the stuff ib the sheet music. please?
I LOVE that you did this! It reinvigorated my fiddle practice and motivation! Thank you!
I’ve been practicing the scales with variations since you created the Tool Kit. I start off my practice with them every day (first 1/3 of practice), and I have noticed a definite improvement in my intonation, string crossing and fingering when I move to onto playing the few tunes I have learned (second 1/3 of practice), and then go on to the next tune that I am presently learning (final 1/3 of practice). I love practicing; it never seems boring; some days are better than others, but I have noticed a lot has to do with how physically ready I am on any given day, but even more importantly, where my head is at when I sit down to practice. Best part is I am seeing progress, slowly, and I am having a grand time!
I really love this one. Need help/tips for barring/landing the c/g Sounds anemic and I keep “just missing” one or the other Any guidance other than practice?
Thank you for all you do.
I got an email announcing this new lesson. When I saw a profile picture different from yours and the name “Tam Lin”, I thought, huh, Jason must have other artists posting on his site now. So, I guess you can tell I never heard of Tam Lin the character or heard ballad or reel of the same name! What a beautiful tune, above my playing level right now, but I can enjoy the fiddle playing. I pictured riding a white horse through the beautiful Scottish countryside with the wind blowing in my hair (what’s left of it!) and warm sun against my face. Now, back to the Pocono Mountain winter, but thanks for the escape, albeit short.
ohlala sorry Jason my english is not very good I made a mistake I wanted to say “a man Full of good sense ” etc…Sorry !
Dear Jason,
thank you very much for this new lesson !
Like usually it’s not just a lesson to play fiddle it’s a lesson of life…Since I’m listening to your advices, not only have I made progress in music but also in my everyday life ! You’re a man empty of good sense and unpretentiousness,who gives a lot positif around him…
Just a technical remark, could you specify the bows (simple or attached) in your lessons? I try to spot them but it is not always easy !
Thank you !
Good point Karine. I don’t go into bowing with as much detail as I could, and am trying to do that more.
In the meantime, you can practice slur patterns on scales: slur 2, slur 3, slur 4, slur 2-separate 2…
Best to you…
Today is my birthday day. !! I’ve been playing for 18 ish months. Just started doing variations well trying to and it really ups the challenge and joy of playing thanks FiddleHed dude !!
You’re welcome Rsturkey, and a belated happy birthday to you ?
very, very cool Jason. loved it
Thanks Sam…working on an album of these tunes…
This is really helpful. I’m fairly good at the first 2 phases, it’s the 3rd one that has given me trouble. Now I have some exercises to help me smooth that part out. Looking forward to applying it to tunes I already know!
The first two phases are the most important. Each phase depends on the previous one. Have fun…
I really like this toolkit idea. It’s nice to have everything in one area, especially the practice routines. I’ve been a bit overwhelmed with where to start since joining and this will give me a good road map to follow. Not sure how much I’ll use the Metronome, but Drones are also nice to have all in one place.
Thanks!
Hey Geni,
How long have you been playing? Can you play major scales? What tunes have you learned?
This Tool Kit is really handy. he metronomes will be good for practicing “slowing down” and I love having the variety of scales handy. This is really something to go through regularly at the beginning of practice. Good work and thanks for providing these tools!
Hey good buddy the tool kit is an absolute winner. It can raise the level of practice to a new and more fun level
Oh cool. Thanks RayK. I’m going to fiddle with it ? more before adding it to all pages.
Fantastic idea having this toolkit at the bottom of each lesson. These are exercises that need to be visited and re-visited often. This helps not having to find them again (when I forget where they are on the site). Having the toolkit at the bottom of each lesson is also a “reminder” to practice them and a handy quick reference. At this point in my progress, I don’t know if I can suggest adding to the toolkit, but I might be able to make future suggestions. Thanks!
Hey, thanks a lot @MoonShadows!
I appreciate the feedback.
Hey FiddleHed dude !! I’m gonna be 55 this week and have been playing fiddle for 18 months. I’ve never played a musical instrument. The first month or so I played in secret. I found your lessons on Utube and started getting serious.
I work 12 hr days as an ER nurse so I always have a string of days off. I afford myself now at least 2-3 hrs s day when I’m off to practice first thing in the morning I have developed a LOVE to practice. It’s like when I was a kid and took my baseball glove to bed with me anticipating playing ball the next day
Your demeanor style and guidance have exceeded my expectations. My love for the sounds that I make and the songs I’m learning are like when I was a kid partying and really getting into the songs of Led Zeppelin and all. I’m really enjoying listening and learning
I’m not in a rush. I have my whole life to enjoy this.
I really enjoy the Irish music lessons and songs and my goal is to play on an open Mike night at a coffee shop in my neighborhood around st pattis day.
Thanks a lot
Your lesson style is so entertaining. I especially like your cat’s purr notes. Great job making it all fun!
That’s great. I listened to the Freakanomics podcast the other day and am probably going to order Peak. I wrote a post on my blog about deliberate practice and posted in the blog post a YouTube video of another interview that he did with The Musicality Podcast that was aimed more towards learning music. Here’s the link to that interview if you want to listen to it: It was obvious to me after I stumbled upon Ericsson that you were familiar with him from the way you shape your lessons…and probably why I am making progress following your lessons. His deliberate practice is definitely something I want to practice in learning the fiddle, and learning just about any new skill.
Jason,
Are you familiar with K Anders Ericsson and what he calls “deliberate practice”? How you teach your lessons are so in line with what he espouses.
Purposeful practice has specific and well-defined goals.
Purposeful practice is about planning out and putting a bunch of micro steps together to achieve a well-defined goal. If I have a goal of learning a new tune, how do I get from point A to point Z? What are the little steps, or elements of the whole, I need to accomplish? I need to map these out before I begin. I then work on each step, one step at a time, joining the steps together, one by one, until I can join all the steps together and accomplish my goal, to be able to play the new tune.
Purposeful practice is focused.
Deliberate, purposeful practice is hard mental work. I need to get rid of as many distractions that may impede my focus and concentration. No distracting noises, turn off the phone, be hydrated and nourished and as physically comfortable as possible are just a few examples. Additionally, I need to realize when I have reached the point of diminishing returns and take a break and do something totally unrelated. I need to relax and then come back to the task I am trying to learn with a renewed energy and focus.
Purposeful practice involves feedback.
How do I know I am doing something right? Where are my mistakes? What is causing them? Depending on the practice situation, feedback can vary. Listening carefully, using a mirror to watch myself, audio and/or video recording for playback so I can hear/see what I am doing, submitting a recording for peer review, meeting with a teacher are examples of feedback. Without feedback, either from myself or others, I cannot figure out what I need to improve on or how close I am to achieving my goal.
Purposeful practice requires getting out of my comfort zone.
Pushing myself is probably the most important principle here. Unless the seed pushes through the soil, it will never grow into a flower. Pushing myself beyond what was familiar and comfortable is crucial to making progress. If I never push myself beyond my comfort zone, I will never improve. Moving beyond my comfort zone means trying to do something I have never done before. Finding ways to solving new challenges is a key to deliberate and purposeful practice.
Yes! I had been doing and teaching a flawed form of deliberate practice on my own for a long time. And then I head Andersson on the Freakanomics podcast. He clarified a lot of what I was doing and thinking and thinking about. Then I read his book Peak. It’s one of those books I’ll keep coming back to.
More and more, I’m trying to integrate this philosophy into fiddleHed and my own life.
Just tried chordal scale in D-Major. This is going to be very useful in learning chords, in general; as well as I-IV-V in songs. What a great lesson!
“Velocitating” – never verified this – Josie Quick, a professional Denver, CO fiddler who teaches in the area – claims that the tendency to speed up when we are nervous is because we use our heartbeats to calculate rhythm and when our heart races we track with it. But that’s just nerves (I bow shake, ha ha!) – on Irish tunes, I velocitate on purpose as it builds intensity and lots of super awesome fiddlers do it – its like feeling the groove and just busting out, ha ha. I also like the rebelliousness of velocitating – its funner to do it because I’m not supposed to do it. And people seem to like it, so there. I’m doin’ it. Jazzy style: Learn the rules and then break ’em.
It sure is great to play something that I’ve been hearing on the radio, thank you! Would you be willing to share the tabs for the part in the song where the “oh-oh-ohs ” are? I hear it in your cover of the song and will try to pick it out on my own, that could take me a while though. Thanks again.
Alright – here’s what I think the tabs for the “oh – oh- ohs” are, in case this helps anyone else is eager to try playing along with the cover
D2-2-3-2-1
D2-2-A1-D3-3-1-A1
D2-2-3-2-3-A1-A1
oops – for the second line :
D2-2-A1-D3-2-1-A1
Thank you !!! This is way cool ??
where is the link for the play along track ???
I couldn’t find that one either? hmmm?
“I noticed that I tend to speed up while working on a challenging thing.”
Even in my first month, I’ve noticed I do this, too. I have to consciously remind myself to slow down. I figured it was just a “beginner’s thing”.
Then there was the time I drove down Rt 95 to Florida. A few minutes after I got off the highway, a trooper pulled me over for speeding. I was doing 71 in a 55mph zone and didn’t even realize it. I told the trooper I had a velocitation disorder, but he didn’t buy it. I paid the ticket!
I am so enjoying Fiddlehed, am learning, practicing, and glad I joined. Thanks, Jason.
I love all this. This is the end of my first month of starting to learn fiddle and I love it. Mornings are for meditation and yoga, evenings are for fiddle practice and other fun. As a bonus, my rescue dog has been cured of her separation anxiety. Every time she sees me pull out the fiddle, she gets up and goes into another room ?
Hey Beth,
Your dog will be sitting at you feet in a year if you keep practicing 🙂
Video is not available…is there a simple fix? Thanks, this is great stuff and want to play this in sequence if possible with the other variations. Kind regards.
Among the many things I am thankful for, I have now added finding Fiddlehed.
I have a bunch of numbers on my list from Grapelli, and Baker, and Clemmons as well as a bunch of Old Time Tunes. Crossing genres I know.
But one of the gems is Jerusalem Ridge.
Yes, one of my favorite tunes.
Hi Ya Jason, Congratulations on your surfing lessons in Bali, a lovely place where you can surf/play everyday. Of all the wonderful things in your lessons on fiddling, I love the “play every day” direction the best… and it is the one thing I have been able to accomplish. It has made me so much more confident in my practice, playing alone and playing with others. So, thanks so much!
Learning new things is, in my opinion, one of the most important things in life. I just recently enrolled in a Tai Chi class, something I have never done, but think it is so beautiful that I just had to try. It’s seemingly simple and slow movement is so much more difficult than I had anticipated. Will keep you posted on my progress, if you’d like. In the meantime, thanks again for all of your words of wisdom, lessons in fiddling, and last but not least your cheerful encouragement .
Most of all, enjoy your own journey of learning and living life to the fullest.
Peace,
linda
Thanks Linda. Grateful to be doing creative work and teaching, interacting with good students…
I started three years ago . Im 71 now so this is really encouraging. Thank you all, and thank you Jason
How amazing! So many people would’ve said “I’m too old for that.” Congrats.
Hey Jason,
This is awesome! Glad you’re having a rich, fun trip. Look forward to seeing you upon your return and continue to enjoy in the meantime!
Jim
Ya, I know what that’s like. I surfed the white water after the waves broke too-baby waves. I was afraid that a big wave would crash on me and take me under. Then you have to protect your head from the board hitting you in the head. When I did catch a wave at the HB pier all the other surfers cut me off and I had to knee board it so as to not hit another surfer. One guy broke his neck surfing at the pier when they crashed into each other and broke his board. Then I moved to the cliffs where it wasn’t crowded but the surf had a current and took me way down from where I started! Very cool you are getting back into it!
It gets intense out there! You have to be humble in the ocean…
I love the Pogues and Fairy Tale of New York is my favourite. Your You-tube video prompted me to sign up for your lessons. However, I can’t find anything on the very opening riff, which is also the transition from the beginning two verses (4/4) and and the jig melody (6/8).
I think it’s something like: (A0)-1-D3-A2-3-0-D0-3-2-1-0-0 … it contains probably the most nimble transition in the song, for me anyway (A1-D3-A2). Do you have a video section on that?
So nice you are enjoying your life in Ireland. Now I hope everything is beautiful for you in Mali. All the best for health and happiness in 2019! Now I’ll get back to fiddling a bit.
I too enjoyed my trip to Dublin some years ago. I never played any kind of music and I still can’t sing. I visited the pub where I stayed and the sound of the music captivated me. Folks started ask me questions and I told them my ancestors were from Ireland that most of them played the fiddle even to my own old Dad. His ear was perfect and no lessons. So I was offered the fiddle to play and had a hard time to convince the folks that I had no idea how to play the instrument but loved their music. Needless to say quite by accident a friend here in Canada offered me a fiddle which I promised to try to learn about 25 years after my Dad passed away.. I think that my Dad and Mom are smiling down at me now. Here I am still trying to learn to fiddle without any talent but some determination is helping me along. I would like to get better at fiddling before my 80th birthday. Wish me luck and thanks for your help. Ann
The above video amazes me. How does she do that and what is it called? Ok, I know it’s Irish celtic stuff but what’s it called? thanks. P.S. I enjoy hearing about your trips and of course fiddling. I’m interested in Irish music but I think that was left back in Northern Ireland where all my fiddling ancestors came from. Love Fiddlehed course although I don’t know many of the tunes that I hear played here in Canada such as Ragtime Annie and The Lighthouse Keeper. Just cannot get past a mental block when comes to Ragtime Annie!! I’ll keep watching your interesting life. Have fun and all the best for your future.
Ann
Thanks Ann. Try to master each part of Ragtime Annie before doing the whole thing. Spend more time on the hardest parts.
Thank you so much!!!!! This helps me tremendously!!!!!
Jason
It’s so wonderful to hear about your travels. I have always wanted to travel and see different countries but haven’t taken that leap yet.Thank you for the inspiration Happy Trails.
Hi Jason,
Enjoy your Bali journey experiences. So happy for you! And thank you for sharing your world travel with us all!
Hi Jason, I found the “learning success sequence and “low-fiddle” mix very very useful. And thank you so much for finding and posting the Dance Discover dancing Dargason. I love ii….makes me want to try the tune on the whistle 🙂
Thanks again,
linda
Awesome. Thanks for letting me know. I’m going to keep experimenting with this in new lessons. Cheers…
thanks Jason. you always express kind and gentle thoughts. makes it easier to be kind and gentle with ourselves and each other….and that what this world needs.
hey thanks! I like to learn in phrases….it makes more sense to me, I can get the tune in my head and I can get the rhythm better than note by note.
Thanks for letting me know. I’m going to keep experimenting with this in new lessons.
Thank you for thoughtful thoughts. I have many of those same thoughts. I don’t do New Year’s resolutions but I do take seven or eight major categories in my life and plot a path to follow. So for example one path is to continue to improve my fiddle playing. I have ideas of practicing every day maybe twice a day and all the other things that would come with improving my skill level. But I don’t think of it as strict rules to follow but a path that will take me where I want to go. And I don’t look for the path I look for the edges and as long as I don’t fall off the edges I know I’m on the path. Does that make sense? So for example if I don’t practice to days in a row I’m off the path. One day of not practicing I call “that’s life” but two days of not practicing I’m off the path. So my goal is no longer to strive to follow rules but to find a path that I want to follow and look for the markers to tell me when I’m off that path.
Thanks for letting me share and thank you for sharing all of your fiddle knowledge and your attitude and is it meditation great!
Hi Ya Jason….Wishing you and all your staff, a very Happy New Year filled with many many “just do this” moments!
I loved this article, and I can certainly relate, as I find myself jumping from one thing to another. I like to call it getting “sidetracked” and I smile as I write this. I gave up making too many resolutions for the year long time ago. I just wake up each day, say thanks, and get going to the first thing that strikes my mind, which is usually and good ol’ cup of coffee for my sweet husband and myself.
I did do every exercise on this page, using the D drone and found myself playing Lord of the Dance. I had heard it last night as I was watching a concert on T.V…I guess it just stuck in my head. Anyway I loved the sound and the idea that I could actually play it along with the drone and be creative in the moment.
I flipped over to Dargason, (loved it on your album, by the way) as I have to learn it for an up-coming spring concert, as it is part of The St. Paul’s Suite for Strings, by Gustav Holst, as I’m sure you already know.
You should know that because of your lessons I have accomplished much more than I ever thought possible, playing music I never dreamed I would be able to even attempt. So Thank You So Much….linda
What a great tune! Thanks! ANd Merry Christmas!
Thank you for this great reminder. I learned it as, “to be present in the moment.” It is so hard for a multi-tasker like me!
Your fiddle ragas take me somewhere else.Hopefully I’ll be able to get there by myself some day. Thanks for sharing!
I love these lessons !! You are so encouraging and I have no argument with practice so thankyou !!
Bernadette
Thanks, Jason for all your wonderful tips. They have helped me to learn some pieces of music I never thought I would ever learn to play. Low and behold, tonight was our concert and I learned to play those difficult tunes, thanks to your encouragement and practice tips.
Music always,
linda
Thank you, Jason….I think I will go fiddle with that.
Peace,
linda
Love this 🙂
And to mis quote a Zen koan
‘Sweet hearted one, meditate on knowing and not knowing
Then leave those aside…..and go play some tunes 🙂
This is a sweet misquote. Thanks Jimmy 🙂
Hi Jason!
I am looking forward to audio on this lesson too.
Jumping around to other pages is too confusing so I gave up.
Thanks,
Jessica
hey toby what is your gamer tag it would be cool to play fortnite with you
I love the ragas!! It reminds me of Brittany Haas doing grigsbys hornpipe. Thank you!!
I just renewed my subscription and owe everything to you for getting me started. I am now in a weekly jam in an macmurphys Irish bar in Ridgewood New Jersey . I also ventured into NYC and played at a jam at Paddy Reilly’s music bar at 29 and2nd. I went to saint johns Newfoundland Canada where my relatives originated and played at two Irish bars. There is a huge bluegrass scene along the east coast of Newfoundland
Great post. When I hit a rut, I like to set a small goal that focuses on one aspect: 3 times through on that measure, tune, scale, whatever, with good bowing (but not being picky about intonation) or the other way around. Very important to read that this happens to everyone; so easy to get discouraged if working on your own.
Thanks so much for the mp3. (and I do love your rambling and yammering :))
linda
I love this post, Jaso’n. It’s so important right now to really look for positives in our lives.
I give thanks for this reminder. What a lovely way to remember how giving thanks brings us so much joy. I’m thankful that tomorrow I start my first PT appointment for an injured shoulder due to too much heavy lifting on the farm this summer…which has left me unable to practice violin for the past week. I’m thankful for a teacher who taught me “listening is practice too!” because that’s how I’m practicing right now. Yay for gratitude. Yay for music in our lives.
Oops. I meant add examples like skedaddle, perididdle, throw away, string crossing.
Thanks Richard. It might be good to put some audio directly on this page. I’m going to be doing a bunch of maintenance work next week and do it then.
Cheers
j
Hello crowbar
Can I suggest that you you drop in a few of the words used in this lesson into the (very good) search box at the top of the page? This will reveal the videos detailing bowing techniques. Good hunting.
Could not get any audio on this one. I could be doing something wrong ??
Hey Crowbar, the video is more of a visual timer then a lesson with audio. This could be more clear…
And thanks for a new take on Mary Had a Little Lamb…..love it
linda
Wow, incredible, I love the unconventional. I’ve just taken the plunge and opted for a five string violin, so I’m going to have a play with this tuning. You are amazing!
Love the videos too.
really beautiful.
Great to hear!
Glad to hear that. Let me know how it goes if you do the conversion…
Having fun learning the Irish variations to Hector the Hero.
Thanks
Awesome 🙂
Super Jason. I really enjoyed listening to this unconventional approach to an Irish piece. Wonderful sounds and very soothing. I am inspired! Keep these musical gems coming, whether they be conventional or unconventional.
Peter
Thanks Peter! As much as I love creating the fiddle ragas, I’m a bit insecure about the whole thing. So your support is appreciated!
Great you commenting on what you are working on — knowing that the journey is long and that we can make it what we want. I love ragas and India and old time! Can’t wait to hear what you come up with!
It’s all about the journey sometimes! We will keep you posted on what’s coming up! Thanks for fiddling with us!!
nice little diddy, thanks toby!
Thanks Jason. we play this quite often in our sessions, so it will be good to learn some variations to make me sound more interesting to the punters !!
So soothing. I was going to put 1/8 size cello strings on a viola but have not yet. I am again motivated! Thanks
Jason,
When you have a moment, hoped you might fix the embedded vid so that we can pause and go back…one of my favorite tunes, want to work on this. Thanks–great stuff! Doug
Hey there,
You might try a different browser as the video is supported by YouTube. If you are still having problems, please let us know at [email protected].
I am a new subscriber. I have shelves full of fiddle books and useful software like “Printmusic” and “Amazing Slow Downer”. I am sometime having problems with terminologies. For me, the “Old Time” bowing is referred to as the “Nashville Shuffle” – 1 long bow and 2 short bows. I will be trying to work out practice material by adapting what you recommend to notation and sound files that will let me practice something regularly to improve intonation and speed.
I see posting in the forum mentioning “Pentatonic Scales”. I learned the format for major pentatonic, minor pentatonic, and blue scale. But very little is said about applying these scales. A banjo book taught me more about using minor pentatonic scales than my fiddle/violin books ever did.
One last things. At the end of the technique videos, having musical notation for exercises would be great. I would use it to develop notation and sound files for practicing what you are teaching.
I am curious about something. What is your policy on using slurs ? In tunes like “Whisky Before Breakfast” you probably use slurs, but I don’t see any in the notation. Using different slurring patterns are a big help when adding some variety to a version of a tune. I am always interesting in different slurring patterns, especially in tunes like “Leather Britches”.
Visit Quebec. I really like the French Canadian fiddling. Same with Canadian fiddling from the Maritime provinces.
Maybe having some of those tunes will interest fiddlers in Canada.
Lovely tune, Jason…..Thanks so much
linda
I enjoy playing this song! Thanks for presenting your variations.
For different sounds “chopping”?
Loving your brain! These lessons and posts are deep but doable Thank you!
What a great compliment: Loving your brain. Thanks!
Very, very cool Jason. Love that drone and the cross tuning.
Thanks so much, Jason. I find everything you offer very very useful. I’ll try experimenting with different tunings soon.
I learned a long time ago that when something doesn’t seem to be fitting well, there’s no sense in hammering away at it. I just put it down, do something else for a while, then come back to it when I have renewed spirit and energy. Just like you Jason said!
Sometimes, while I’m mowing the lawn or doing something unrelated to my fiddle, a tune will jump into my head. I do as Jason suggests to just hum along with it (humming is practice too!) and often I can imagine the fingering with the left hand that apparently is embedded in my brain. When that task is done and I return to my instrument, I often find that my practice has taken a big leap forward.
Jason may be a scruffy dude, but he’s smart!
Jason- would love to hear where you went in Eire…. Clare- Ennis – Doolin? Yvonne Casey is a friend. Spent months
all over the island back in the mid 70’s & have been “foddlin’ ( fiddle noodling) ever since. Sure there’s some tales to be told.
My poor technique holds me back and glad I found you!
Slainté agus Go Raibh Maith Agat! johnny
This is great. Tonight I recorded everything I’m work on tune-wise.
I have to laugh! Luckily I’m enjoying 🙂
Tomorrow is a travel day but don’t need to leave for the airport til 7:30am
So fingers crossed I’ll get a good practice in!
I’ll be back Sunday in plenty of time too.
Otherwise, I bought a funky travel fiddle from an ole’ timer which I really love too.
Happy practicing fellow fiddlers! Thanks, Jaso’n <3
Lafferty’s Reel
Enjoying your “style” – Slainte!
Great stuff. It helps to see your process too. Thank you for everything. Your work is appreciated!!!
Hey I’m here – audio recorded on Monday 15th- catching up first few days!
Hi yep just starting on the challenge – have printed the worksheet, aim to work on shifting positions and improving my tone practicing the Ashokan Farewell – Thankyou for your steer Jason – looking forward to committing to 30 minutes a day for the next two weeks in this challenge!
I had one of those “just don’t feel like playing” days yesterday, so will try to power through that feeling in the future ?. Sometimes life gets in the way…
That said, I did find that videoing on day 1 showed me that I was bowing at a slant to the strings instead of perpendicular. So going to be working through that issue as well.
Thank you. Love your lessons… they are simple and easy to understand.
Thanks for hosting this fiddlehed!
Looking forward to much improvement at the end of this challenge. I have picked my challenge and secondary challenge tunes, taped myself, listened to what I need to work on (everything ….lol )and put in my practice time, which was very much fun by the way. Thanks so much and good luck to everyone.
Cheers,
linda
Thanks for today’s tip, Jason!. I tried and it is a very nice way to begin daily playing.
Cheers,
linda
Oh – I hope the webmaster can update the FB link to 2018.
I’d love to share <3
Thanks, Jaso’n! I’m in with everyone else 🙂
that’s awsome ?
I like this! Inspires me to try some improv myself:)
I cany hear anything ??
thanks for all you do for us!!!
Thanks for all your efforts to keep us fiddling!
Awesome Jason! Was that done with your electric fiddle? No way I can get sounds like that out of mine.
Hey Robert, It was done on an acoustic fiddle tuned DADA. Thanks for the kind words…
Count me in! 🙂
This is perfect timing for me. I’ve learned so many new songs and working on my sound has been in my thoughts for the past couple of weeks. I love how this you seem to intuitively know what your students need, no matter how far away we are! Thank you for this.
This is perfect timing for me. I’ve learned so many new songs and working on my sound has been in my thoughts for the past couple of weeks. I love how this you seem to intuitively know what your students need, no matter how far away we are! Thank you for this.
Excited and I know nothing good comes easy. Looking forward to improving
Looking forward to a new journey to enjoy.
Maybe this is what I need to get back into it.
Looking forward to this !!!!!
Hey Jaso’n,
You need to update the dates for the FB Event. It is showing the 2017 challenge.
All my best,
Lily
Thank you for letting us know! We’re looking into it now!
Jason, you are a great teacher! I’m looking forward to adding variation to Tam Lin.
Hi Ya Jason, Thanks for all the good tips. I have been trying to learn a complicated (to me) section of music called “Jig” from St. Paul’s Suite,
that has lots of accidentals in it. I have really been struggling with it, and fighting it along the way. I took your advice from “What to do when you’re stuck” and “Play it casual” Casually I took that piece of sheet music over to the piano and played it on the piano, hummed along with it, and then back to my fiddle to work out the fingering as I plucked each note. Those accidentals didn’t seem so bad after all. Yay, I’m conquering the hard part….:)
Thank you so much,
Cheers,
linda
amber please put links to the scale play-along tracks so we can do this.
Best would be to put the links on the page.
Come on, have mercy on us, we are beginners!
Jessica
Hi Ya Jason,
Love the Fiddle Ragas, offering the opportunity for very personal creativity to take place. I think maybe meditatively moving comes to my mind. Thank you for teaching and sharing them with us all.
There are a two tunes I like to “try” drones to. Maybe you would enjoy them also. The first one is called “Freedom/Saoirse” from Martin Haye’s band, album called The Gloaming. I think you can see them on youtube. And the other tune is called “My Mind Will Never Be Easy” also Martin Hayes (Quartet) on the album called The Blue Room. This tune not so much for droning, more hypnotic.
These do not have sound on purpose. The concept is that this is a kind of practice timer. It guides you through different phases of practicing.
I should probably make this more clear on the page.
For scale play-along tracks try scale central.
Sorry for the confusion!
Amber
Love this tune, Jason….Thanks for teaching it!
Cheers,
Linda
This was fun and I enjoyed the exercise .. thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh cool, glad you liked this!
Couldn’t get audio either but the text info is great stuff .
Friday, mid-morning. I hear the happy gurgling of the water filter in the tank where my wife’s pet frog, Prince, dwells. Sounds like a little fountain. Oh, and the ice maker just dropped a load of ice in the freezer!
I also can not get any audio for this lesson. So sad . . .
I could not get this to play 🙁
This is ne of the things that has really helped my playing. When I learned to play as a kid it was here is the tune, piece, what have you that you need to learn to play by next week.
No one ever taught me how to learn a piece.
I use a metronome app to force myself to play slower. Once I’ve learned a tune are the slow speed I gradually increase the speed. If I start struggling then I need to slow back down.
This is a great lesson.
Thank you very much! Slowing down is a challenge sometimes when you get excited by what you’re playing, which is easy to do!
Technology can be a useful tool when it comes to learning to play an instrument. We’re glad you are enjoying the process of fiddling!
I love this idea! I will carry my fiddle around with me for a period and try to talk to myself with it at least! Then when I get a little better, carry it around and talk to others!!
Thanks for the lesson as always!!
Carry it everywhere I say!
Is it possible to re-activate this video?
Hey Beth, have you come back to this lesson since the video has been re-activated? Thanks for sharing what you found. This is a great video lesson in rural Ireland 🙂
Is it possible to re-activate this video? It’s never been available here maybe because it was removed from youtube?
Oh rapture!! Bit fast for me yet..but I’m on it.
It’s a journey, enjoy where your at until your ready to move on.
Just keep fiddling!
I liked this one!
This was a great little lesson to learn! After 26 years of being stagnant with my fiddle, I have decided to pick it up. To my surprise, the couple a years of fiddle lessons came back and I played a scale right off the bat! It took me longer to tune my fiddle and rosin my bow! Which now will come easier.
Now I am ready to practice, practice, practice. And my hubby just said to me, it is really something that you just picked it up and played anything. Remember that! Those that get frustrated, that frustration is all part of the journey!
I am so excited to keep going! Baby steps turn into Big people steps eventually!!
Thanks for this uplifting message!
That is lovely!
It sounds like you’ll be a pro in no time!
The challenge for me now is going from 1st to 3rd position. And this week I have been doing that incrementally, and it is working….yay…Thanks!
linda 🙂
Slow but steady! Keep up the good work??
I play Ashokan Farewell very simply. I’d like to “fancy it up”.
What a great tune! Never heard this one before and am excited to learn it.
It’s joyous.
Can’t wait to try this one!
Nice 🙂
Love, love, love this! Thank you for sharing! Going on my list to learn!
Yes!
Im sure I should stay on track with this more than I do– I went on into my own music choices and am loving it but not getting all the technique I would if I stayed with you. I already knew how to read music so when I got my bearings with fingering I just went off into my own space…. I know, not really what I should do but I’m loving it and having fun. I keep coming back and digging out the things I realize I am falling short on. I’m know I’m loosing/wasting valuable lesson time.
No time is wasted if you’re playing, paying attention and finding some joy in the process…
Toby did a great job. This was fun to play along with. I like the lay-out for practicing and also the catchy tunes. Great job!
Thanks for saying that. It was super-fun having a guest teacher. I want to do that more soon…
If I can become good enough at fiddling to get the music that I hear in my head straight to my fiddle without floundering around for the notes then I’ll be so proud of myself. ?
Thanks Thanks,
linda
Hi J,
In reading the comments it seems many of us are anxious when learning something new.
I tell you. This last year has been a struggle for me. Not only learning the fiddle but keeping myself motivated so I don’t get too down on myself.
I just noticed this week that I am able to actually hear the notes to play in tune. I thought there was something wrong with me, I just couldn’t decipher weather I was playing in tune or not. I was giving up at one point but forged on.
Now I’m over that struggle lol
Thanks so much for all your encouragement, it really makes a difference when I’m struggling.
Mar
Love your “play everyday video”, Jason. Looping technique has really been helpful! And I have focused on incremental learning as well….very helpful.
So thanks again,
Cheers,
linda
Helpful bits of knowledge from a fine teacher!
I like ‘Lament for Limerick’ – Martin Hayes version.
You are a natural encourager!!! SO VERY GRATEFUL for you!!!
You cause me to stick with it and celebrate any results as progress……and it works!
Just a passing note of thanks…….. gotta go bow up on my swallowtail jig now 🙂 #proudMama #proudfiddler
My dog sings (howls) along with me when I practice scales, and I swear he changes his pitch as I move up and down the strings. Makes practicing more fun!
Lol, I love the 60s theme you can practice anything video.
So both dogs and my cat run from the room when I pull out my fiddle…Glad I’m not the only one!!!
Beautiful and applies to everything in life!
Simply lovely. Thank you for the reminder. And thank you for all that you are doing, it has helped me a lot! 🙂 Cheers!
Ah, yes. My favorite is “I don’t have to do this, I get to do this!” I can apply that sentiment to all of my most meaningful work (wife, mother, farm worker, teacher, and amateur fiddle player. Lately, the ‘this’ wrt fiddling is immersing myself in the D maj scale and developing my ear, and playing the same few songs over and over. Sometimes, I hear my family humming Kerry Polka, Will The Circle Be Unbroken, or Kerfunken Jig, and I realize that however dissatisfied I am with my playing, I sound good enough to please the people around me. Even if my timing is way off and my e string rattles and my b natural is somehow always slightly flat (except for sometimes when it’s sharp enough to approach c natural…)
+1 for Kefunken and Star of the County Down.
If I had to pick just one I’d say The Road to Lisdoonvarna. It’s one of the few tunes I have confidence enough to play through down the pub (even after a few pints) so I suppose it’s about time I try and take it up a notch!
That’s a sweet tune. Try making a set with Swallowtail jig or Lilting banshee.
Beautiful. ❤️
Thanks for putting this together. I always ask for tune names at the local sessions, hoping to do as lhume says and start absorbing by osmosis while I’m sat at work. But it’s a lot of effort trying to find a decent recording and get organised with a playlist.
The other problem I have is that if I ever stray outside of my regular sessions I find I don’t know anything they’re playing. So it’s always nice to hear other people’s takes on a “recommended Irish” playlist and fill in more gaps. Actually having said that, I reckon I’m already familiar with a good 3/4 of this list, so it’s quite nice to think that maybe I’m on the way to turning up a random session and having enough of a shared repertoire to play into the early hours!
The reason I joined fiddlehed was to knock some things off my “bucket list.”
I will be moving to an island in the northern part of Lake Michigan, populated by a bunch of people of Irish decent (me too), when I retire. I found myself saying, “When I retire I’m going to…” Much of it centering around music and fiddling.
Then I decided, why wait? So I did some exploring and found Fiddlehed.
I’m really looking forward to Irish variations. One one day I will join open mic night at the Shamrock Irish Pub.
I want to go to sessions at local pub, bring my violin, and be brave enough to play it. Soon would be good. I’m getting old(er) and may be running out of time.
Not sure if this is the answer you want but… I love Celtic music but my main goal is to perform for a group of senior citizens. Normally I host parties for them and I would like to try and have a little concert for them. Thankfully this goal has motivated me to practice more. Not sounding any better but I am practicing almost every day! LOL!
I would like to be able to jam
Play back up with a group
Thanks
Love your videos and lessons
I noticed that one of your suggested books was written by Deborah Greenblatt
I took a few lessons from her years ago in Omaha before she moved to the old schoolhouse in rural Nebraska
I remember entering their house by just stepping through the screen door because the screen was missing.
I took the lessons in the living room while her husband walked in and through the room
She was a great teacher but I was self conscious and shy and they were both accomplished musicians and I felt out of place
Most people start out feeling self-conscious, even around kind teachers. Just keep playing, try playing with others who are friendly. Small acts of bravery will see you through.
Thank you very much for another thought provoking video.
If I could play “The Pretty Girl (Maid) Milking Her Cow” I would love to add a variation
simply because I could spend more time with the tune. I have been learning to play the fiddle for
about a year. So, perhaps you may conjure up a beginner friendly version of “The Pretty Girl…”
someday?
I added that tune to the request list.
If you learn the process of variation you can add it to any tune.
Some mighty good stuff there laddie, seems I need to practice more to be able to this that stuff…
I like the shuffle bow variation. Being from Appalachia it strikes home.
Kerfunkin jig is becoming a new favorite and challenge. Your e mails are motivating. Thank you for all you do
Thanks for the kind words 🙂 It means a lot to me that this means something to you!
Kerfunken is one of my faves too. And I teach it a lot…
I like to practice scales with a drone. Working on the F Major scale at the moment. Even started to play outside, with a mute on…. I played my scale with all the long bow,short bow, triplets etc. To be honest I know I don’t practice scales enough. Played around with arpeggios. Started to make my own little tunes up. I’ve been playing for 4 years now following you all the way. When I heard you playing against a drone something connected with me. I’ve even put some of my musings on my own YouTube channel called Ghost Within. I’d love you to check it out and tell me what you think. Thanks Jason
The other night we were playing the 3/4 waltz version of Star of the County Down and one of the group felt we were plodding through it. Some of the sadder tunes, as someone commented above, might use just a slight lilt with some variation.
Try speeding it up a bit to change the emotional quality.
how lovely! I’m drawn to the celtic airs, they are poignant…melodic and lively and what a nice blending of instruments and harmony
If I were choosing a tune to add variation to, it would be Jessica’s Polka. It is one I know by heart and it just goes on and on….could use a little variation. And also Midnight on the Water … maybe that’s a little off Irish … but a cool tune.
Thanks again for these appetizers and I think I’m gonna go get a snack right now, also
Cheers,
linda
You can apply Irish variation to Midnight on the water…
All of the tunes I’m learning. LOL!
If I had to pick one I’d say “Kerfunkin Jig”
Cool. I’ll be releasing a variation on Kerfunken in the next few months…
I want to add variation to Ashokan Farewell. As a simple melody it’s plaintive and sad – which is beautiful – but I’d maybe like to lighten it up sometimes.
Speeding it up a little will brighten the emotion a bit…
I like Amelias waltz. In the second fraise the melody drops to a pretty minor. The way I learned the notes, the rhythm wouldn’t lend to dancing the waltz, so Ive learned to add my version of a swing, as though the dance was the lead for the rhythm. One recording Ive heard is done by Natalia MacMaster. This recording is filled with lovely variations, and a real joy to listen to.
Listening to Amelia’s waltz now. Thanks for sharing…
B part reminds me of Pachelbel canon.
descending and ascending, slow, fast, soft, loud, rhythms like tucka tucka, hoedown, perididdle, periwinkle, saw bow, Nashville shuffle, slides, throw away, broken thirds, trills, Irish rolls, double stops, chops, pulse the note with bow, variations of long and short bows, strathspey, arpeggios, slurring, jig bowings, blues scales in all the variations, long bows, playing standing up and outside. I only use the tuner now to get my open strings in tune and am playing by ear. I use the keyboard for intonation and song recordings and backing tracks and recording myself and I see where I am weak and hesitate in my playing.
Sounds like your practice is fun and productive. You’ve got some good habits!
My scales routine:
-Slowly. Work on finger placement and bowing making sure I get them just right. 2x
-Jig Bowing. Long, short, short. Allows me to work on my bowing. 2x
-Triplets. 2x
-Slurring the notes.
-Vibrato. I still have not mastered it. I try to get through the scale. 1x.
When I first started learning I did triplets slowly the increased it each round until I was going too fast. It was fun and the closet thing to Irish music that I could do.
Cool. It’s fun to see how triplets are similar to the swing rhythm (Long-short).
Settling into the scales with each of your suggested ways highlighted areas where my technique is weaker. Where my wrist shakes in the middle of a long bow, or my string crossing gets messy, or the quality of tone slips with the change of bow direction or my bow drifts one way or the other. It feels revolutionary to strip away the melody and order of the notes in a tune to be able to catch these simple parts of technique, to focus on smoothing out that quality in those moments, repeating that section of the scale until the tone deepens, or the long bow is steady for the whole stretch. Long-bow-slow versus long-bow-fast requires a different awareness of the pressure on the strings. I also started to gain awareness of the path of my bow hand through the air, which in turn changed the quality of the tone in the instrument. All that in just 20 minutes.I could really sink into each note and could see how I could spend a lot more time right there in the scale.
I was then excited to turn to a challenging section of a tune I’ve been struggling with and apply the same study of transition while looping that section – slow, long, short, quiet, loud, bow path until I was getting the tone I was looking for, to match the tone I was able to get with easier sections of the tune. I hadn’t quite figured out how to fix that phrase yet. So cool!
Sounds like you’re on the right track. You’re practicing with a high degree of awareness. Keep it up.
Try throwaway bow for the shaky bow…
What a treasure to hear this! Thank you!
You’re welcome Hikerchic 🙂
I practice about five of these daily. It really helps to get the sounds into my brain. Then I can use the ones I want to improvise. I’m trying to play with a guitar player. At first I was terrible, now I’m merely not good. That’s real progress for me!!!!!!
You’re improving while staying humble. And keeping your sense of humor! The idea with variations is that you’ll practice things more just because it’s interesting.
Great for listening while I work at my paying job. Hopefully learning by osmosis. 😉
Osmosis + practice
Thanks for searching out all of these excellent examples of Irish music. I enjoyed each and everyone one of them and will go back and listen again and again. I love how some start out slow and get faster and faster…so fast, I think it must be a miracle to be able to do that. :). Love John Galway & Matt Malloy playing together. Makes me want to get my tin whistle back out….. And Sinead O’Connor’s lovely performance of Danny Boy.
Thanks again for all the time and effort you put into these lessons,
linda
You’re welcome Linda 🙂
You can also start slow and play faster. Perhaps not as fast as these videos yet, though you can still do that NOW to some extent.
Hi Jason, here’s my answer. I have all these written up and pick a few ideas out when I practice. You’ll be pleased to hear that I got a lot of these ideas from your lessons. Cheers.
– melodic: changing note order in groups of 2 or 3, doubling notes, tripling notes
– rhythmic: straight, hornpipe, strathspey
– bow: long, short, hard, soft, split movement into 1/3s, split into 1/4s etc, moving towards and away from bridge in 1/2 bows, 1/3 bows, etc, using different string crossing bowings, only use up or down bows
– speed
– arpeggios of each scale, pentatonic
– ornaments: rolls, bow triplets, cuts, slides, vibrato
– double-stopped
– misc: saying the note names as I play, reading the sheet music as I play, adding an extra note at the top of the scale
Nice going James. What style are you mainly interested in? Do you also add many of these variations to tunes?
Hi, mainly focused on English, Scottish and Irish but only because that’s what people play in the sessions I go to (here in Yorkshire). I’ve only ever dabbled in simple variations with ornaments (cuts, rolls, bow triplets). Definitely interested in learning more melodic and rhythmic variations.
When I practice my scales I use to start improvising, playing the notes disorderly, randomly, so that I have infinite possibilities of variations …
But should I stay disciplined and really just play the scale from bottom to top and top to bottom?
And I like to go to my bathroom, the sound is stunning there and what I play seem so brilliant then ! I would like this sound and freedom when I play a tune, which often seems boring and dull. But I feel you can help me to achieve that Jason, cause you are so great !
Ps : I’m french and I hope my english is correct
Good question.
I recommend starting by playing the scale up and down, with and without variation.
It’s good that you improvise!
I recommend returning to the scale before moving on to other things. This is nice closure.
Thanks for sharing…
Hmm,, well omitting the obvious and striking quickly out of the box, You can play a scale in tune or not in tune…
One of the elements that keeps me going is using bits and pieces of Jason’s sage advice, like ” want to play, and listen to the voice inside honestly “, but beyond all the lists of technical expression, I’ve been getting closer and closer to the feel of the the fiddle, the vibrations, the various harmonic reflexes my instrument gives me, and the quiet in between them. Its nice to learn new songs, and nice to get quicker, and nice to learn new to learn new tricks, variations, etc. but I have learned to to enjoy the bond I’m building with the instrument. Like, for example, my fiddle wakes up about as quick as my fingers, ( not immediately ), and once it is awake, It shares unpredictably its secret past, like a budding romance, revealing in time some hidden secrets. I imagine it has been played well before, perhaps has either shared or produced tears, joyful and sad, and so has a heart and as sure as the metaphor i’m juggling here could be a dear friend.
Well said Steve. Use the same poetry when making music…
I just noticed that Kerfunken is in a different key in the first video: G major. I teach it in D major. Maybe they play it in G because Kesh jig is also in G…
How many different ways to play scales….humm….I must admit I haven’t done them very much…but that is about to change. I love the idea of fast, slow, rhythmically, in a different room, standing and sitting. I’m going to try them all. Thanks for those tips.
So many times I have listened to Irish music and wondered “just how do they do that”, getting all those little nuances that I have always thought you had to be born with. I think Martin Hayes is my favorite of all the Irish fiddlers ( And there are so many more I love, as well)
This is a little off Irish, but I have read this book twice already, called The Music Lesson by Victor Wooten, who is a bass player in the jazz/pop/every other genre world, that I share with you, for your enjoyment.
Wel,l on to the many ways to play scales & thanks again,
linda
Hey Linda,
Just go into scale variation with a sense of curiosity and fun.
Martin Hayes might be my favorite Irish fiddler too. I love the way he has re-invented the music.
My bandmates have read the Victor Wooten book and liked it. I wanna get to it soon. Thanks for the recommendation.
Thanks so much. I will definitely play with scales with a sense of wonder and playfulness. Wonderful to read how others tackle each step.
Cheers,
linda
Hi Jaso’n, I just watched your appetizer video and read your post. I guess I’ll give it a try, although I do think scales are boring. I’ll try to do like you said, think of them as just short songs. I like the sound of a hammer-on and pull-off so I will add that to practicing scales. Gotta tell you, your drawings really kill me! Okay, off to play scales all kinds of ways!
lukidog (Mary)
Hammer-on and pull-off is a good idea. Are you a guitarist?
Challenge yourself to make it cool and interesting.
Ascending, descending, slur, hoedown, fast, slow, short bow, long bow…that’s about it for now.
Nice. That actually covers a lot of bases…
I have no idea how many different ways I can play a scale. I’ve not tried them all out yet. One day at a time.
I’ve been at this violin thing for less than a year. Every day, my first task is whatever tune I’m going to play, I play that scale. Long slow bows. In thirds, working up the length of the bow and back down again, down the scale and back up again. Then, play my scales to the tempo of the tune I want to play. Then I add in the rhythm. Everything I have to do in the tune, I do with the scales first. It takes me twenty minutes before I’m ready for the tune I want to learn. If I get myself into a fankle and can’t do it. I go back to just open string bows across all four, then my scales and use things like you teach. Tuka, Hoe down, throw-aways, to reset my brain and fingers.
If I’m not in the mood, or just don’t have much time. to do much tune practice then I’ll do simple scale variations like A-A-B-A-A-B-B-C-B-B-C-C-D…I don’t do that so much as a daily routine because I’m trying to train my ears and be done with tuner.
Hey Mary,
“A-A-B-A-A-B-B-C-B-B-C-C-D-C-C” is actually a pretty interesting. It’s a 5-note pattern. Just don’t get yourself in too much of a fankle!!
Hello Jaso’n,
I tried this technique today with a tune called The Orphan and it worked for me. Thank you for all of these very useful tips.
Tapping myself is a revelation, and I laugh as I write this having hope that it can only get better.
I did discover the result of playing a loop over and over again until it becomes second nature, and I love that.
I also tried playing a tune for ten minutes straight with a tune called Jessica’s Polka, and I realized I can play something from memory. That also gives me hope for many more tunes in the future.
I had to laugh at the idea that what I’m playing now is better than it was six months ago…because as of today, I’ve only been playing for three months. (Haven’t missed a day of practicing yet!) I’ve been recording weekly and then monthly “Marco Polo” app videos of my progress and sending them to my daughter in law in another state. It’s a good thing she loves me….because there’s a whole lotta screeching going on! ??
But it’s getting better. Slowly. ? I agree, recording is a really good idea. It shows me what I need to work on, and gives me some encouragement that I am, in fact, improving. I wonder what I’ll sound like six months from now??
I think asking people to take a survey and then sharing the results is a great way to do surveys. Thanks!
Hi
How do you find out when your subscription ends?
I am so impressed with all you have done! I have not kept up with my lessons and think a practice/buddy group sounds like a great motivator!! (Kind of like going to exercise classes even though I have unused equipment at home!)
Wonderful to find someone as committed as you to helping people learn to play and enjoy fiddling! Very glad I found out about you and thank you very much!
I decided to try the micro practice sheet but I had some trouble downloading it. I looked and the link and noticed it was a concatenation of the same link twice, see below.
Also, it was the link on the download page, not the link on this page, sorry. This page is fine.
Thank you for letting us know! We appreciate any feedback and will be working on reviewing the error.
Jaso’n
Hey Jason,
Ran into a busy week, this one. But pretty much practice every day, sometimes multiple times. I am a full-time caregiver for my wife, with hired help. Most time she will enjoy my scales or melodic rhythms, while I feed her dinner. The fiddle has become a large part of my life. I love learning the chords; learning to play in tune; working on tone. I have recently found a local place where there may be jams. Shortly, I will garner the courage to hiire someone to watch my dear one, while I go make a fool of myself. When do I renew my annual lessons?
Yours,
Owen O’Malley
Hey Owen,
Your yearly membership ends on November 28, 2018. And you should be notified before it expires.
It is a true blessing to give the gift of our music to our loved ones. I am happy to hear your life, and the lives around you, are benefiting from the joys of the fiddle.
I used to love listening to my sister’s folk group recordings and picking out her voice. When my sisters sing together I am always amazed at how different in style our voices all are. Beautiful breathy and low Becca, pitch pure and high El, gentle but clear Catherine. I’ve always wished I had an accent to give my voice character but I guess even my sound adds to the spectrum.:-)
About that “practice every day” thing….not a problem. I’ve had my fiddle for two months now and have not yet missed a day of practice. Sometimes I play twice a day. OK, I confess, sometimes three times a day… If this keeps up, I may need to find a good 12 step program….fiddler’s anonymous? ??
Thanks for the great website and lessons!
Ok will try again. PS really enjoying the course!
For a while there, I was dedicating 30 minutes each practice session to scales, arpeggios, etc., before trying some of my favorite Irish tunes. Then, I tried to incorporate my pinkie. It threw me for a loop and into a downward (practice) spiral. I’m back on the horse now, but my “music” still sounds like someone stabbed the bagpipes.
My new T-shirt will read, “Play like no one is listening (and hope they’re not).”
P.S. If you ever want to clear a park, whip out the (beginner) violin. 🙂
Great advice. It’s like the Four Horsemen of Music. For me tone is the most elusive; the others are a little more mechanical. To make good music you need all four
Well said! I can see the Four Horsemen riding over the hill…
this was great. Thanks Jaso’n and Fiona…it is good to see the benefits of being an older student. For some of us, it is a bit humbling to be a beginner again at something..I love fiona’s approach….stealing! xoxo w
I’m 56 and want to get good enough on the fiddle to be able to do my own fiddle tracks so I dont have to keep paying fiddlers and trying to convey what I want. I’m delighted that the mando is tuned the same way as I often think, hmm mando doing this or that there would be cool.
Right now I’m trying to “perfect” the 12 bar blues bass walk in G (first string).
I’m very proficient at electric lead guitar but this instrument of humility is giving me a run for my money. Especially the C part.
I feel it’s going to be good to be able to get that down as it causes me to have to fret a lot in different fret positions.
Yes I have frets on my fiddle. Acoustic guitar geared tuners too.
I’m not so sure as a beginning fiddler that it’s is good to / for other people.
Even my dog who thinks I’m the best because I can open doors and the fridge looks at me with my fiddle with that must you? look.
You just solved my problem, thank you! I was struggling with all the possibilities that music offers and I like too many styles too. Becoming so stressed not to be able to make up my mind wich style to choose. Now you made me see that its allright, I don’t have to make a choice, Jay!!! Because its not my goal to become master in one style, I am allowed to be happy playing all kind of styles and it doesn’t have to be perfect!
The problem is that other people cannot handle it when they cannot put you in a certain box, they become frustrated: “What is your style? Make up your mind!” Now I can tell them: that’s not my goal, and that’s a choice too, and it’s allright! Jay!!!
hi Jason’s
, english is not my mothertongue .. first of all i wish to undestand the real synonim of ” drone scales or playing or whatever attached to the Drone word ..”
second ,full understand your system of work that it looks quite logic and similar to my point of wiew
everyday practice is a goal
unfortunately not always possible as , i guess , neurones have to adapt to the inputs,assimilate or otherwise after a while is the reject the little burn out .. of course it is always relative to our age ..
teke care theo
As an adult learner, the benefits of fiddling are so vast! I get to be a beginner at something again. I am learning to be kind and patient with myself for sounding awful (a lot!) and sometimes my playing just flows and sounds great. This is amazing to me. Right now, playing the fiddle gets to be the one thing in my life that is just for me, but at some point is see how it will connect me to others and be a gift I can share. It has also taught me more about listening to music…melody and tempo, not just how it makes me feel.
Lin, yes my intonation became very good when I had a very picky teacher. Playing with others helps greatly if you are listening AND they play in tune too.
I learned that the violin has many G#s some a tad higher and some a tad lower depending on the mood of the piece and if playing with others.
Note: playing something imprecisely 1000 times but with good tone and bowing technique still creates positive results.
How beautifully, truthfully and succinctly put Tangora. Your words I make my own ?.
Thank you Fiddlehed !
I am 67 and I just started this past February. Thank you all for making me realize I’m not alone! I fell in love with the violin years ago, but never had the confidence to try. But when I heard Taylor Davis play – I knew that I wanted to “Play” … and I will ! And Jason, you’re the greatest … you make it fun!
Thanks for the kind words ?
Super-glad you’re having fun.
Hi I’m new to the course, but so far I love everything I have seen! Your play-along practice tracks are just what I have been looking for – and I even like your sense o humor! I anticipate being with you a long time!
Buck
Hi Jason,
Do you have a specific lesson on grace notes? Thanks.
Cheers.
On the way! Stay tuned for the Irish Variation course.
Excellent advice. I play scales for about an hour every morning-still chasing better intonation and the elusive beautiful tone
Nice. Check out the How to Play in Tune course.
Jason .. thank you .. you are so sharing and inspirational.
You’re welcome ?
I know this sounds a bit immature, but i bought a bunch of rainbow, stars, and heart stickers…some are bigger than others. I printed the awesome fiddlehed calendar and for everyday I practice, I put a sticker in the box..if it was a long practice day 45 mins or more…I put a big rainbow sticker in there..it makes me happy to see so many stickers at the end of the month and motivates me to “earn my sticker”…if I don’t feel like practicing on the occasional day, i give myself permission to intentionally not practice that day, instead of just “forgetting” or “putting it off”..when I do that, it reminds me that commitment to an instrument is my CHOICE and i seem to be anxious to play the next day. Just my 2 cents, and probably worth as much as you paid for it..LOL. Jason thank you for your amazing work on Fiddlehed and keeping us excited! This program is really great. I love it. Wendy
I ♥️ stickers. Good idea. I want to make some for students.
Sorry messed up my txting! I often go back and practice my basics, ie, string crossings, full bowings
Good !
At this point i’m just trying to learn theory of music and anything related to violin. I often go backback
Wednesday Night Waltz as performed by Clark Kessinger….my whole reason for learning to play.
Nice. Did you put it on the request list forum?
I love the encouragement as a middle-aged beginner!! I’ve tinkered with fiddle once or twice over the years, but never seriously until now. The FiddleHed lessons give me structure, a huge variety of tunes to choose from, “someone” to play with (the backing tracks), and great entertainment. Sometimes I listen to FiddleHed YouTube videos for fun while I’m driving.
Although this is harder than any instrument I’ve learned, it’s also the most rewarding to accomplish. I’m more proud of calling myself a fiddler than I ever was during years of piano and professional guitar playing.
Sure, my brain and fingers aren’t as fast as they once were. My hearing is changing. My right wrist has begun to hurt from playing. I’m constantly reminded that adults can’t master violin. But I’m having too much fun to let any of this stop me now. With FiddleHed I might really make it this time!
Just keep playing. It sounds sounds ridiculously simple, but it’s so important ?
For me it is hearing something that I want to make my own.
I really appreciate your step by step encouraging philosophy to learning to play music. The “How to play In Tune” course has been very helpful and the time goes by quickly while I am practicing with your suggested techniques! Thanks! Tunes are sounding better too!
You have the gift to explain things to those of us who struggle with learning. We all have anxiety, I believe, although we hide it well .. it feels good to read that it is part of a normal learning process. You are very humble and honest. I love all kinds of music and always have music playing, especially when I am gardening. Indian music is the best for the plants to grow, the vibrations of this music has shown this to be the best also the peaceful Hangdrum. There are many sites that show the science of music and plants. I’ve just signed up and look forward to many happy hours of practise!
Thanks for the wise words, graybird! I’m 65 and trying to learn. Some days seem to go smoothly and I’m sounding ok while others I wonder why I’m doing this. I keep trying to maintain what the Buddhists call the beginners mind. I’m trying to stay focused on the present as opposed to wondering why I’m not at the future yet. I sometimes battle with my need to get it right. Daily practice is really helping me to get better little by little. Thanks Jason. You are awesome.
Thank you graybyrd, I’m 56 started learning the fiddle in Feb, I so times think I haven’t made much progress, but I started to record myself every couple of weeks and realise that it does sound better on the open strings, not so much on scales, but your post really cheered me up, all the best to you and your wee wife from scotland
I too started the viola at age 58 … it’s been 6 months and I am so glad I took the plunge and went forward with it. Fiddlehead is a fantastic resource of learning methods and encouragement !
Could you post the tabs for Galway Girl? I’m having a hard time following the video and really want to learn this song.
Thanks!
I agree the tabs would be very helpful. Also Mairi’s wedding might be a fun easy one to do as well. Thanks and it’s a great website.
Good idea. Mairi’s wedding would be fun. Thanks for the request…
I looking for the first week free where is it
I am 57 and truly trying to learn something new, both for the synaps (?) firing and my own piece of mind. Loving the process and totally loving you Mr. ‘Fiddlehed’! Fun. alone. making some scary sounds and alot of good ones too! I truly look forward each day to my practice! Had childhood music and lifelong love of listening. Hoping this whole thing carries me toward the next 20+ years of playing, having fun and listening more!
This is very encouraging. I’m going to start memorizing all my favorite pieces. I have a few memorized but not all of them, so I’ll make it a goal. I’ve always felt a little overwhelmed by the prospect of memorization, but now that you said it, it makes sense that it would help me focus on and improve other parts of the tune, if it’s already memorized. Thanks for writing this! ??❤️
Thank you Jason for posting this article and thank you graybyrd for your inspiring words. I had a rough practice session today so this was a EXCELLENT pick me up to read. Keep on making that fiddle talk, keep on makin that fiddle sing graybyrd!
I think Orange Blossom Special is the Holy Grail. I’m struggling with Tam Lin right now but I know it will come together eventually with practice.
Jas’n loved your fusion of east and west in the jig, as a scot, I’m used to scandi-scots-Irish, but this is new to me,blown away,more please
You Rock!
I like to “get in the zone” almost a meditation with the drone. I start each practice that way and it just feels good. The tunes I learn or the progress I make are secondary – I think the the fiddle is very much a soul instrument, like a drum. In fact,the drum is the only other instrument that has that quality of meditation for me. But the fiddle goes beyond with the melody and takes me to yet another place. So I do it for joy, but also for relaxation, for peace, for escape and for playing some of the coolest fiddle tunes! So I play almost everyday, but I don’t have to force. If I miss a practice, it is very much missed – I feel longing for the next time I get to play. It is truly something I love. Thanks for your help on the journey.
I love that Graybyrd… No one stops walking after a stumble. Pick yourself up.
Your insights amaze me; obviously, you’ve been there.
I’m 77, 78 in July. Time is short. I’m trying to learn the fiddle. I’m also retoughening my guitar-chording callouses after years and years away from it. At the same time, I’m making a deliberate effort to learn finger-picking on my guitar. Too often my fingers won’t obey and I fumble on the guitar, and the fiddle will sound dull and lifeless. But I know that it will sing with more care and effort. An hour later I can play a cascading series of finger-plucked guitar notes, and the fiddle will again sing. My wife in her sewing room compliments me: “it sounds good,” she says.
After more than three-quarters of a century, I can truthfully advise: the most terrible agony is regret. Don’t let failure to perservere be yet another regret. No one stops walking after a stumble. Pick it up and take another step.
Tearing up as I read this. “The most terrible agony is regret”. Thanks for saying this; very helpful to hear it…
Love the attitude!
If not now, when? I started playing a year and a half ago. I’m 62. Keep on fiddling!
Thank you graybyrd!
You inspire us fellow beginners! I’m in my mid-40s, and am trying not to listen to the voices whispering that only people who started as children will ever be able to play well. I dont need to turn pro to be satisfied, but it would be nice to get good enough to play Irish Washerwoman some night with a little Irish ensemble at the local coffee house, or to learn enough double stops to play along at a Bluegrass festival parking lot jam session.
And I, too, cannot bear regret. I’m old enough now to have had some. It is a most hateful, ugly thing, and I do anything possible to avoid it. Thank you for the reminder that I don’t want to create another one by giving up on this music that would make me so happy!
Very best wishes!
Love this! for anybody! So I shared the exercise with my FB friends, none of which are musicians. ?
I love this!!! My friends often play old time tunes so fast and with so many double stops and embellishments that I cannot even figure out what key they are in, much less the melody. I have been toying with the fiddle for years but gave up as often as I tried to learn it. So glad to have FiddleHed to learn from at my own pace!
I’m a terrible person with timing- always have been but this sounds like something I just might be able to pull off. Great suggestion. Thanks.
Man, there was like zero equivocation in that article/response to a question; you were totally honest. Thanks for sharing.
I’m having to learn to read music in a violin class and I find that if I get the first 2-3 measures down it helps me get a sense of the tune and the rest goes a bit easier. Great advice as always -thank you
Jason.you are more than a jack of all trades,you are a master teacher, I was born visually impaired and have always loved the nuanced sounds of the violin, and in Scotland ceildhs are part of the fabric,my birthday is even on Burns Night and every year I say I wish I could his wonderful songs,Auld lanng Syne is one of his and you have that as a beginner tune,I digress, I am waiting for the trad fiddle music lessons to begin,te tutor also takes the Scottish youth fiddle orchestra and won’t be available for a couple of weeks,so I liked on you tube for a stop gap and found you,not a sop gap any more,Have learned so much from you,even though I can’t see the strings,no problem,stop and rock,learn scales everything,vision not required,you have given me so much more than lessons,just the sheer joy of learning to make the open string sound good,I am totally in love with learning the different sounds ,It’s a queer thing but it has added such a rich ness to my life,beautiful tapestryof sound,I love your lessons,Love jane
Excellent suggestions. I’m doing micro practice but double stops give me a bad time,Especially fingered double stops. One finger always seems to get in the way.
I’ve always loved fiddle music but thought it must be too difficult for a person like me to learn. I couldn’t even read music-I can still only decipher notes with careful study and it will be a long time before I’ll be able to play from sheet music. But last December I got a student fiddle and started Fiddlehed lessons. I turned 60 at the end of January and want to be able to fiddle with a group by the time I retire. My goals are to practice daily and develop better sound until someday I can play without embarrassment. Thanks Jason for your efforts.
Ten years ago, at the age of 43, during my first fun mid-life crisis I borrowed my sisters old grade school violin and attempted to learn a few drinking songs and maybe a waltz or two to entertain my buddies…. with no music knowledge, instruction, or plan. I simply tried to gut my way through it as has actually worked for me in so many other areas of my life. I wrote my own tabulature for Ashokin Farewell (yeah, my starting song) and spent oodles of time trying to make it work. Fear or shame of failure is what kept me going. Completely idiotic, completely un-fun. And completely failed, of course.
Now, ten years later, and several more “mid” life crisis’s later(don’t get me wrong-I enjoy them), I have again picked up the fiddle to give it another go about four weeks ago. But this time I am embracing the patience required. I have completely surrendered to the FiddleHed gameplan/syllabus. So so so much better. It is actually fun and without pressure. And my progress is actually faster…by taking it slower. Imagine that. Magic.
Thanks FiddleHed guy… for reminding me to keep the fun in what is meant to be fun. I still may fail, but I will have a better time getting there.
Cheers.
Fiddle is like icing on a cake—-too much and the cake gets lost. When it’s just right it makes the whole thing better.
The account of life on the road reads exactly like some biographies of famous performers I’ve read. All bling and glory on stage; grim and gory in the backstage reality. Good mates hanging together, plus the ecstacy of the magic when it all comes together, the sum is far, far greater than the parts. Joseph Campbell said it best, in the “Hero’s Journey” … follow your bliss. Today it seems tough; tomorrow, looking back, it looks better. Years from now, off the road, it will be a long-lost treasure. I’m 77; 78 in July where I’ll be attending the state Old Time Fiddler workshops to get back my guitar groove (and hang around the good fiddlers with my new (old) fiddle you’re teaching me to play in hand). The only true Hell is regret. You can’t go back and do a damned thing over. So hang in there. You’re touching a lot of lives, and that’s pretty rare in this life.
Speaking of buskers, we live on an island. Across the salty strait is the magical town of Port Townsend. Buskers abound. Somebody might get a smile out of this photo I took last summer during a walk-about along the town’s waterfront street:
Like Skitter, keeping my fiddle out of the case is key to practicing. I’m not as focused and goal oriented as I should be to progress at a steadier pace, but the fiddle and bow hang on a hook on a beam in my timber frame home unless I’m taking it somewhere.Not only does the fiddle look way cool, it invites me to play.
A lot of people I meet want to play an instrument, most want to wake up one morning playing their instrument of choice. Daily practice depend more on discipline than motivation. Sometimes it’s work, sometimes it’s fun. It is always rewarding. The series of lessons about melodic variations in playing scales makes scales fun. Not an easy task, but if you play more you sound better. When you sound better you play more.
Motivation: I’m super goal-oriented, so I have mini-goals (learn these X tunes to play in beginner/intermediate session) and an overarching goal (be able to eventually play Irish tunes at full speed in a pub session). Each tune is like a puzzle, and when I solve one, it makes me want to learn more. It’s like a feedback loop!
The other thing that drives me to practice is often a matter of pure habit/discipline, and a sort of “reward system”. I usually play around the same time each day, and I have a tracker graph in my planner in which I color in a square for each day I practice — my goal is to have no empty squares at the end of a month. Also, I just started a dedicated practice journal in which I plan ahead what I’m going to do for practice the next day (broken into three categories: technique, new tune(s), review). Finally, I make sure my fiddle is easily accessible: I have a hanger on my music stand for both fiddle and bow, and I have a clip-on tuner there as well, so all I have to do is pick up my instrument and tune up and play; the only time my fiddle is in its case is when I’m taking it somewhere.
Good thoughts, and spot on. I used to think I shouldn’t even waste my time trying to play anything at all because I’m not dedicated to music and have little to no native talent. But I love music, and I love making music (or, at least, trying to!) so I do it anyhow. You’re obviously a talented musician and teacher, but you also ventured into the unknown and I’m glad you shared your doubts here. I think a lot of amateurs and adult learners are held back by the idea that we should only pursue something if we’re both dedicated and talented. Hogwash, I say! I used to feel guilty about my old student violin mouldering in the closet and then I found fiddlehed on youtube. I’ve played nearly every day since then. Not particularly well, but not always horribly either. And it’s made my days happier.
Jason,
As ever, you pour your mind and soul out for us and I, for one, am very grateful to hear it. Cate said it also, but what you are giving to the musical world is positive and wonderful. Your musings came to a great point- it isn’t your path to spend a life time learning Indian music, and to admit that is not anathema- you are no imposter, only someone open to learning and hopefully you were humble in your approach to do so.
I hope you enjoyed your trip- I really do. I hope it was a relaxing experience and that you didn’t get caught up in a mentality of stressful learning and I hope this doubt that plagued you was only temporary, because you deserved some true peace…
I actually ran out of good words to say right about here, so please just, like, feel some positive vibes and continue on, knowing that you are helping so many people, and that is a path that is MORE THAN worthy of praise.
Respectfully,
Max
Of the tunes that I’ve played, there are many that I find I can’t hum in the shower by just remembering the name of the tune. I have to play a note or two, and then can remember at least a good part of the tune, but maybe not the name of it! I wonder why?? I can hum “Take me out to the ballgame,”and “Yesterday,” by the Beatles. Is it not enough repetition? I can not sit down and say, “now I am going to play Bill Cheatham.
Look forward to learning some classical Indian songs. Would like to play something with our friends when staying in Sri Lanka this summer.
Thank you for this honest, thoughtful comment, Jason. It really helps a lot. While I am an intermediate player, learning and playing for four years now, I still have tremendous bouts of doubt from time to time. I feel I am not where I should be, etc. Fiddle playing is hard; it is a tough instrument to master for sure. Your words are so honest and encouraging, and just hearing you speak of doubt in someone who’s been playing as long as you have and what a professional you are, really helps us learners who are struggling with intonation, double stops, keeping the bow straight, etc. Thank you so much for all you do!!
Ha ha!!! Double stops uneven??? Ha! I wonder why my doublestops don’t even sound like doublestops!!!
This was a good description of what happens to me (and probably everybody), not just with music but with career, hobbies and important life choices, like to marry or not, have kids or not, and just about anything and everything.
Here’s 2 things I thought of right away that you have taught that have helped me with my doubting regarding fiddle:
1. Play every day. Even I can do that! I might sound like crap (The Bassett hound cries when I play) but I always remember to play every day.
2. Looping. Sounds almost obvious, but I sure did not do that or even think of it before Fiddlehed. Looping has helped a lot – to get started on a new piece and then to navigate through harder parts that just don’t seem to sound right.
Thanks for sharing your experience! It helps this newbie to know that even a smooth fiddler has these struggles. Kind of a good example of how we all need each other, too.
My beloved Lab, Lola, got up and left the room when I starting playing 4 years ago. We said goodbye to Lola in November, at the age of 13+, and in her last couple years she had become quite a fan of my playing. Not only did she stop leaving the room, she moved closer to me. Over time I discovered that she truly liked certain tunes better than others, I became her mama iPod.
I think what you’re doing with your life is sharing the gift of music by posting lessons,tips and advice. I’m taking classical violin lessons to learn solid foundation and fundamentals. I don’t wish to play classical music. I study some old time tunes but don’t wish to play about boiling cabbage. My goal is to play with a guitar player or small group and a couple of your videos are the only place I’ve seen information on this anywhere. So thank you for doing this with your life.
Nailed it again! As ever you are SO encouraging. Am loving my beginners lessons – thank you.
Awesome account! Thanks for sharing. 🙂 Made me thankful for my day job.
Always love your approach Jason. Have you read “Effortless Mastery” by the Jazz pianist Kenny Werner? He talks at length about letting go of the outcome (and our ego attachments that go with this) and to fully engage in the present moment of making music. And he really emphasizes the joy of mastering the fundamental skills and not being all urgent and relentlessly impatient toward some future achievement. His ideas apply to anything not just learning music. It’s really about getting out of our own way and allowing the music that is within us all to arise and unfold. Thank you Jason for all that you do. I feel blessed to have discovered Fiddlehed and am enjoying learning from you immensely!
Thanks for the recommendation. That book sounds right up my alley. Best to you…
The worst part of being a musician is starving on the street from busking. LOL just kidding
This is all such good stuff. Thank you guys for sharing real with me. Writing about what is hard and what is encouraging is real stuff. i am grateful for you who play because you have music in you. that’s why we do it, right? Thank you guys. you rock.
good advice as always Jason
but also one must beware of making the same mistake every time unto the 1000th you practice (you dont see the wood for the trees if you judge yourself). I thought I had mastered “Coleraine” and was feeling pretty chuffed with myself for getting it. But then, when playing in a little jam session with friends, I noticed one of them looking at me quizzically, and I thought “I bet he will say how good I am getting” , but when he spoke he actually said “you know you should be playing G#, not G in that B part” !!!!!!
I was most upset, until I realised he was actually right, and I went home and have worked on better intonation in more of my tunes, so I am grateful for that reminder of continually checking oneself critically, and repeat the same mistake every time.
Pride cometh before a fall they say 🙂
Thank you for this reminder, Jason. I’m a yoga instructor, and it is often said that “With practice, all is coming.” (That’s a quote from K Pattabhi Jois, a well-known yogi.) And so it is with everything. I like to think that every bow stroke I take has moved me one more bow stroke forward.
Best wishes for the process!
I’m feeling very encouraged by you. If I practice everyday, that makes me a musician! and the fantasy in my head is just to play increasingly better music…..and if I play on my front porch and someone walks by, that they will be pleasantly surprised. So I’m hopeful!
Thank you for this inspiration.
I appreciate your fiddle instruction, but also the flow into general life encouragement.
I’m feeling even better about deciding to pick up and learn to fiddle…..all the good stuff!!!
You can sound like a hippie if you want to! I think today more and more people are experiencing things in a more spiritual light, but are hesitant to talk about it. But that is changing. Just feel it, say it, play it!
I really like your specifics about practice. I guess I would be considered an intermediate player, but being mostly self-taught, there are huge gaps in my technique and the understanding of how to go about improving. My practice has been a mish-mash, confused, hit or miss affair. I really appreciate your detailed instructions on how and what to practice, broken into easy segments.
I chose to subscribe to you over several other teachers I considered online, but I had no idea just how much you had on offer. I took one online course, a couple of years ago, which was very good, but I didn’t finish it because the lessons took you through specifc tunes, half of which I didn’t like! If you didn’t learn the tunes in order, you missed out on instruction for the next step. What’s great about your set up is that you have a long tune list and a student can choose tunes he likes and choose what things he wants to work on. This is a rich site. I am so pleased—and excited!
My projects this winter are learning 15 lively tunes that would have been played in the 1870’s, for reenactments in Lincoln NM this summer, and to make a foot-operated Jig-doll as a rhythm instrument. I have 7 tunes now that I’m sticking with for awhile until they sound good. I have until the July event to perfect another 7 or 8 tunes. Jig-dolls, sometimes called limberjacks, are jointed wood toys that dance on a board as you tap your foot. They’ve been around since the 1600s. I stumbled onto buskers using them on youtube. They are fascinating to watch. Since I am self-conscious about playing fiddle publicly, the jig-doll will keep the focus off me and on the dancing doll.
Fiddleflyboy—love your duet with the electric toothbrush!
Glad you liked it Minsky, but I’m not that good a fiddler! I found the video on YouTube and cut and pasted it??
Thanks for posting the the harmony part video for Swallowtail Jig. I am 52 years old and have a 10 year old daughter who has just started violin. I decided to purchase two violins, one for each of us so that we can both learn together. I thought that the progression of her school lesson program was way too slow for her ability so I began teaching her songs that would challenge her. I started to teach her Swallowtail when I happened across your site. Since I have been playing guitar for 35 years, I have a good grasp of music theory and tend to design alto parts for simple carols like wish you a merry christmas and then play them with my daughter while my 9 year old son plays background keys. I thought I could write a harmony part to Swallowtail but you already had one worked out. Saved me a ton of time. Looking forward to what your site has to offer. Thanks again. Jim
I wish you’d been around when I was in my 60’s when I started learning to play fiddle. Over the past 20 plus years (I’m 83 now) if I hadn’t made such hard work of it and given up, I’d be a fair fiddler by now. But no regrets—every day is a new beginning! I appreciate your reminding us to make the process of practice fun and the encouragement in your blogs on taking the time to enjoy experimenting with a tune instead of racing to learn a passel of new ones—as I use to without learning them well.
Great to hear that you learning and having fun with fiddling 🙂
And you’re right, every day is a new beginning. Helpful to hear that now.
Cheers…
Not much to do with the topic. I just wanted to see if I could post a YouTube vid in here. The link above is a good example of playing along with a drone 😉
This is good advice.
I’d like to thank you for the inspiration you have given me. You have so many fantastic tunes on your site and I want to learn them.
However, I have resisted your charms.
I have been laying for just 4 months, using the Scottish Folk Fiddle Tutor book. I’m about to learn the G Major scale and the songs that follow, but I’ve decided to stop where I am for now, sticking with just learning to play the G scale. The songs can wait a while.
I can play the earlier tunes pretty well and revise them all every week – I just accept Twinkle Twinkle is the price I have to pay to learn this instrument. There are some songs I’ve learned from the book, that to me are important. Jeely Piece Song (that’s a jam sandwich for non-Scots), Coulter’s Candy, Lovely Stornoway and Fairy Lullaby. The first two are childhood songs we all learn in Scotland Matt McGinn videos of these songs are on youtube if anybody wants to go and listen. The other two I hadn’t heard before; I blew myself away with them, so I played around with them and polished them and polished them more. I play the long notes much longer than the note length in the book. I just make it feel right and move on to the next note.
Just before Christmas I plucked up the courage to take my violin around to my mum – she’s in her 80s – and play for her. When I’d finished those two songs and looked up, she had a tear running down her face. “Oh, lassie! I don’t know why I’m crying. I just am, they’re beautiful. Play them again for me”. I was shocked, but that’s music, that’s what it sometimes does if you play it with polish. And I’d played them. She said Lovely Stornoway makes her feel like she’s at a rocky sea shore with her feet in the sea being gently lapped by the waves, and Fairy Lullaby makes her feel like she’s falling asleep in front of a coal fire with the snow falling down outside.
I’ve got a lot of learning and polishing to do and one day, I’ll be able to play her some of your tunes. She might get up and dance! Or Coorie Doon if she feels like another dreammy snooze snuggled up in front of a dreamy fire.
So I know the advice here is very good advice and it’s nice to have someone who knows their stuff say it.
Thank you Jason, thank you so much.
Dear Mary,
I chuckled about you resisting Jason’s charms!
Such a lovely story about your Mum. Thank you for sharing.
I’m very new at this, but trying to take in all good advice! I Love it!
Sandra
Exactly what I was thinking. I picked up the fiddle 2 years ago at the age of 40, just for my own amusement, after spending many years regretting not learning a musical instrument from my father, a folk musician. I found I could play passable versions of tunes quite quickly but then I’d move on to another one without trying to get really good at the ones I already learned. Putting the brakes on now and returning to the basics to try and get the foundation right.
In response to, “Hey play us a tune”! Where “is” the appropriate place on the Fiddlehed site to cut and paste fiddle recordings we post on YouTune? Also, I think it would be a wonderful idea to establish a free Google Fiddlehed Chat Room where Fiddleheders could gather to share ideas as is done on BanjoHangOut/FiddleHangOut.
Good advice. I have been fiddlin’ for 2 years as of 10 Jan. Over this time I learned over 60 tunes. Most I learned from Fiddlehed on YouTube. Some I learned from other instructors, and several I learned by just listening. As with David McGowan I recently put on the brakes and am now focusing on quality over quantity. Applying vibrato, slurring, and drones to tunes I know and like. Jason’s advice and approach resonates with me. Listening is practice!
Hi Jason,
I’ve been trying to play double stops and have them sound good for some time now. Actually the very first lesson I watched from Fiddlehed last year was on double stops and I became a big fan of your teaching ever since. Anyhow I’ve been working on Midnight on the Water with double stops and got the A part down pretty well, but had trouble with the E and A string double stop so I took it a part in the true Fiddlehed way and voila’ ! even my mom (who is almost 95) was impressed. Thank you Jason for your thoughtful and fun lessons.
You’re welcome 🙂
By the way, micro-lesson on double stops coming soon.
excellent advice, as always
I believe this is why so many people like your teaching style, you are so down to earth and practical, but fun too
Thanks 🙂
Thanks for the kind words ?
This gives me a lot to look forward to as I can keep finding ways to make my tunes evole and sound better.❤️?☺️?
Excellent recommendations! Well thought out. Organized and succinct. Usable insight. A nice page to go back to for reminders and focus. Thank you. A peaceful 2018 to all.
Whenever you are in College Station, Texas you can stay with me. You are guaranteed a bed and a place to practice. My five cat will leave you alone?
Cheryl
?
I’ve decided to stop learning new tunes recently (until you posted Fairytale of New York) and really work on and enjoy a handful of tunes I already know. Get these to a point where I REALLY know them. The goal is for someone to say ” hay Dave bring you’re Fiddle over here and regale us with that tune, Kerfunken Jig”…. Not oh no he’s picked that Fiddle thing up again….
Hello Jason, Just wanted to let you know that I continue to progress and have gained so much more confidence. I am finishing 1.5 and the lessons that you teach in getting a better sound is amazing and helped me a lot.
Thanks Again
Keep up the Great work Teach.
Maryann
You are AWESOME, Jason. You make everything easy to understand and that is just what I need. No Complicated lecture on all the ways to do it right.. You make it short sweet and to the point. I will definitely use this approach going forward in my journey. I have been trying to do too much and I am in too big of a hurry. I appreciate everything you do. It is very helpful.
Glad to hear that!
That’s a nice quote. I am going to post that in my office now.
What quote?
I play with a group of three other adult fiddlers once a week. I met them through a bluegrass jam but we play all kinds of fiddle tunes when we get together. Playing with others is a whole new skill. You have to listen as well as pay attention to what you are playing. We play off of sheet music but we also play from memory the tunes we know well. This can be challenging because we may have learned different versions of the same tune. We are also starting to work on some duets where we are not playing the tune in unison. We all struggle with certain things and we all mess up here and there, especially the first time we go through a tune. We’ll go through a song a few times and when it goes well it’s a beautiful thing. If I could play with them several times a week my progress would be so much faster, but in the meantime I play along with recordings, which is not as good as playing with real people but still helpful.
I appreciate your comments. Playing with people on a regular basis combined with your own practice is a surefire way to develop confidence.
Absolutely loved the video application…and Diego’s sound fantastic.
Given me another boost to try harder!
If only more could share their talent with the universe
Keep trying, but remember to somehow find joy in the music and the learning…
Thanks I needed that! I have become somewhat negative about my progress. I’ve been playing for over a year now and was hoping to sound better by now. I hear so many little mistakes as I play and I suppose that’s a good thing, but I want perfection! Another thing… I am always so nervous when playing with others. How can I overcome this?
I would start by getting together with one other friendly person. Do it regularly until it starts to feel like a normal thing. Than ask someone else to join. Best to you…
I’ve been an Air Marshal for 10 years, actually started learning to play fiddle because I’m bored in the hotel room overseas at 3 in the morning, you can imagine how happy the other guests must be. Everyone is excited and interested in how great it must be to travel to a different country every week and all the great things I get to do and see. It does have it moments but hard to enjoy when your exhausted from being a professional commuter. I have learned that no matter what the job is, it is just that, a job. There are always good things but overall I would be happier hanging out in the country side riding a horse, fixing fences or doing some manual labor and learning to play my fiddle better. I guess, hope, that’s way retirement is for. Keep up the good work. I have enjoyed learning from you.
Thanks for your thoughts. I’m pretty grateful to be doing what i do, but I was asked to write about the Worst part of being a musician, and that’s what came out. Cheers…
Wow … touring sounds tough. I have been in photography for 20 + years … it’s also not as glamorous a lifestyle as one would think. ? People will say, “Oh you take pictures for a living, that must be a great job and really fun.” I just smile and think, “well that’s a long story.” … Life is such a balancing act and following a path of creativity can be a bumpy and winding road. ?
For sure. I hope it didn’t sound like a complaint. I’m grateful every day for what I get to do.
Not at all. I thought what you wrote was insightful and real. Following the creative path can be sometimes amazing, sometimes tough, but most always truly rewarding. I always chose that path and I’m really glad you did too. You shine in all you do. I enjoyed your post. ❤??
Wow- impressed by the sheer variety of music you play. Hope you continue to teach of The Fiddlehed sight and share your love of music with us!
I have a plaque in my music room/office and it says, “The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away. Pablo Picasso”. Everyone has to make a living and pay rent, etc. and you need to get paid for your work to survive and as you said, to be able to create more … and we all benefit from that. 🙂 Teaching is one of the most generous professions out there and it is a true gift. I’m glad you’re teaching and I’m sure all of the FiddleHed students are as well. When I was looking for a teacher, I really couldn’t find anyone that taught and played the kind of music that I loved. So, I took some classical lessons, that I don’t regret at all; I learned how to read music and play reasonably well. I’d faithfully practice my half hour and call it a day. Since I’ve been taking lessons at FiddleHed.com, it’s like a switch has flipped on and my passion for music has been reignited. Practice is like a train I can’t get off and I don’t want to, as I’m having so much fun. I love the way you teach and the music we play. My logical side usually ends up thinking, I should probably stop now and give my fingers and brain a break but my creative side doesn’t want to stop. 🙂 Lastly, how cool is it that I can say, “look, here’s my teacher, he plays in an awesome band. – check out his video.” I am really glad you’re teaching and sharing your talent with the universe. Thank you! 🙂
Thanks Emmie! Glad you are playing again…
Emmie, thanks for the thoughtful reply and the Pablo Picasso quote. That’s helpful!
I really hope you do get into the class, thank you for sharing so much of this journey….your gentle playful spirit always comes thru your videos, I smiled thru the whole thing and am still smiling…I bet they will be smiling too!
As beginner, this is the kind of tune that keeps me feeling inspired to keep plugging away, slow and steady. Thank you!
You’re welcome! It’s a good beginner tune if you’d like to try it out.
I agree totally with the ‘never too late’ theme. Just turned 66 and started trying to play my fiddle in my mid-40’s when my kids were driving me crazy playing ‘Twinkle Twinkle’ for Suzuki lessons on our piano. I actually started playing along (in a remote room) with my fiddle from time to time – that was my start. A friend of mine had graduated up to the fiddle and we went back-and-forth sharing tunes and discoveries. We grew up together doing much the same thing with guitar playing. He spent a lot more time than I did musically and as a result pulled quite a ways ahead of me in playing ability, and I eventually put down the fiddle thinking I’d never get anywhere much with it. Focused on learning the mandolin for quite a while, which I discovered wasn’t a bad switch for wanna-be fiddle player having a parallel with tuning and fingerings – the frets give a late-learner a break on tone compared to the fiddle.
About 2 years ago I sincerely picked up my fiddle again. The mandolin playing was a leg up, but the biggest plus this time around is all the available videos and software a person can use for like personal lessons, or breaking a favorite or tough song down in speed to ‘aha’ the tricky parts. I spent a little money for these lessons and software the past two years, but the payoff has been very wonderful, and surprising. Key things I found were the 1) practice every day, 2) play with confidence and be positive, 3)recognize your weak areas (and strong ones) and find a way to work them over (or utilize them), 4) keep an open mind for new ideas/techniques, 5)know your limitations and know there likely is a way around them, so go find it.
So play as much as you can. There is ample time to dedicate when you start looking for it. My biggest hurdle is making myself ‘slow down’ and be more accurate and clear to start with and then build speed. Think that is probably a symptom of being older and knowing there is less of a time window to accomplish things. Have to say, every time I’ve gone for clarity and accuracy first, I have been able to progress faster than I thought I was going to be able to. Jason is so right about that.
Thanks, Jason (Fiddlehed) and all my fellow fiddlers (and late-bloomers) for this great world of music!
I took up fiddle when I retired three years ago. Now I’ll probably never become a professional classical violinist, but that was never my goal. I’m having a great time jamming with friends, and at Bluegrass festival campouts. I can hear and feel improvement and that’s really my goal. And I’m having a great time and meeting new people. I’m using my brain and keeping active. My husband recently started learning to play guitar and sing.
I’ll add my agreement. I started the fiddle a couple of years ago when I was 57. Teaching myself, I really struggled until I found Fiddlehed, then came on in leaps and bounds. Jason, your tunes are fun and simple without being childish, you teach at just the right pace, and I often feel as though you’re there in the room with me. In my younger years I played recorder, guitar and flute but always imagined the violin would be beyond me. I appreciate you showing me the light. ?
Hi,
I believe also that anyone who is physically able can learn the violin at any age. I started on 10th November this year 2017, and I am 80 years young. I am taking your free lessons and appreciate you Jason for taking it slowly and getting to show a student the correct procedures
many thanks
TW
I agree, too. I’m 62 and will have been playing for 2 years in Feb. When I was taking piano as a girl, it killed me to practice for a half hour. Now I practice twice a day and can easily do it for an hour or longer, just because I love playing the fiddle so much. I have an in-person teacher, but I kind of like Fiddlehed better.
I too had a teacher but got away from her after a year and a half. I really enjoy FiddleHed and it’s always there, accessible to play and practice as long as I please . I am 65 and started two years ago.
I agree it is never too late to start. I am 69 and began lessons last May. I keep wondering if my aging brain is slowing me down and keeping me from remembering where to put those left fingers and to keep my bow perpendicular. But I have always loved the fiddle. I wish I had begun this years ago, but I am very happy I began now. In spite of my mistakes, it is so enjoyable learning and it is a joy when I can make a tune sound like the tune.
Thank you for this online tutoring experience. It is a valuable supplement to my in person lessons.
I love the title and the message of this article. The more familiar, the slower and the simpler the song, the more I have to practice to achieve the sound, I wish to be heard. I simply love the selection you have for your students to learn. Thank you, I am having so much fun learning something old, yet new, each day!
Glad you are enjoying music!
Last night i tried playing old susanah to every different beat on the beat central. It was fun and a great way for beginners to get used to new rythyms. I probably wouldn’t have been able to keep up using an unfamiliar song.
Oh cool, glad you tried that!
Well, I am finding the old fiddle tunes to be wonderful. They are mostly new to me. Like a whole new world. I find them fun to play. Plus you don’t have to worry about copyright infringement if you want to post a video online. Most are probably way beyond worrying about.
Actually you can post a video of yourself playing any song, even if it’s copyright protected. Youtube has an algorithm that will find it and add an ad which is how the owner of the song will get paid…
Well said!!! I have been at jams, where there was a hierarchy of tunes, and the “old” ones were treated as boring and beginner….I myself have heard some amazing versions of Angelina Baker. The old, familiar tunes I love for their communal nature, bringing people together. Amy
Indeed! It’s a common language…
Thanks for all the motivational tips you give for all of us that have to “be our own teacher”. I’ve learned alot from your online course. It is true when you practice in front of a mirrror i realized where i wasn’t bowing as straight as i thought. Also when i record myself it is “glaringly obvious” what i need to work on. Little by little i’m improving. Thankyou for offering these courses.
You’re welcome ?
Makes sense to me! …and practicing both ways means there is absolutely no time during the day when I cannot practice.
Jim Ford
Very busy this past week, AND the computer caught a virus….New computer, new email. Not sure how to convey that, so I will give it here, hoping that it gets recorded: [email protected].
I think I will stay with Fiddlehed and find people to play with (I may have to pay them!).
You’ve probably touched on this before, and I apologize for missing it (I’m new). Regarding bowing: if a person can make a satisfactory sound with his or her own version of up/down/slur or no slur, are they harming themselves? To clarify, I’ve watched orchestras and ensembles of strings — it appears they all are moving their bows in unison. So I figure that means there’s a right way and a wrong way. Personally, I would be happy to be able to play “Orange Blossom Special” in my own way, even if it meant arthritis in later years. But I would like to know if there is some general method to bowing. Thanks.
Avoid that arthritis! Try to relax muscles and breathe. Orchestras coordinate their bowing for a particular sound, but also because it looks good. Fiddlers don’t do that.
Once again thanks for this great advice, plus my grandchildren would love these tunes. By any chance, would you have lessons for some Christmas tunes to play on the fiddle?
Mar
I find this happens to me.
To help, I have found that I should forget about the piece for a few mins and slowly play a couple of scales in the key that the piece is in, concentrating on bowing and the sound of each note.
Then go back to the piece and play the wretched bit that was tripping me up – slowly once or twice.
Then I can have a go at the whole piece again and it is back to sounding at least as good as it was the day before.
Another problem I have is that I can’t just pick up the violin and play a tune at someone’s behest. It is really frustrating, as I really do need to warm up before I get going and it isn’t always convenient to warm up – eg if you are playing a tune at an open mic in the pub and you have to wait your turn. Maybe I’ll make a new post to ask for tips on this…
Oh My Darling Clementine
Red River Valley
Kumbaya
A popular piece given for beginners in the old tutorials was Bluebells of Scotland in the scale of G.
Just completed day 4 of my 5 min challenge.
It is so weird, the bars look simple enough but they were catching me out every time when I tried to play the piece quickly, which is why I chose them. I am so glad I did choose them, as they are still tricky to get right even after all the practice I have done.
I have found myself trying to analyse why I find them difficult and trying different ways of playing each bit eg leave one finger down whilst playing on the other string to help when I come back to it, also moving my elbow up when coming across to the A string form the E.
I have even watched myself in the mirror and found that I was tilting my bow back so wasn’t playing on the flat bow ie less hair pulling the string. It wasn’t relevant to the fingering but I hadn’t realized I was doing it.
Some of the problems I have include making the notes sound nice, not touching other strings inadvertently and keeping my finger (positioned on the D string) clear of the A string when I’m rocking from G (on D string) to open A.
It is amazing how much you start thinking about a few simple notes when you are playing them over and over again!
I really hope I can complete this challenge as it can only be good for my playing I’m sure. I have also found myself noticing other single bars in other music I’m practicing. I am sighing as I think I could usefully use this approach on a lot more bars than just the couple I have chosen…I have a feeling that once I have done this challenge I will be following it up with another similar challenge. There could be no end to this!
Loved the Practice Challenge Jason – helped with the motivation knowing I was participating with lots of other folk!~ Looks like it was a great success.
Thanks for taking the challenge with us!
Dear Jason, that is fab well done setting the challenge for everyone. I am sorry that I missed it. (I didn’t see it)
I am a member of an online forum (a professional body) where the hosts award “prizes” to its members by awarding “stickers” and these accumulate and build up over time into a certificate (I think 10 stickers where you have contributed to a discussion on a topic give you a certificate). Once you have a certificate it is automatically pinned as a background to your photo, so whenever you chat or create posts on the forum other people can see the latest “certificate” you have been awarded. It is fun!
I’m on day 3 of the 1000 hours practice on 2 bars of music (5 mins at a time for each bar) – which actually is having the effect of getting me to practice every day as well. Once I have started on those bars I always find myself wanting to carry on with some other bits. I keep my violin out of its box as much as I can as it is much more conducive to picking it up when its just sitting there. (only use the box when travelling with it).
I’m not active on twitter although I do have an account.
Would your forum be able to host a chat page for your members and a place they can post vids – perhaps even for a short time ? I am not very tech savvy I’m afraid. I use FB and that is where I usually pick up your posts, which I really love. I think you are amazing, thank you very much for being so motivating and making your knowledge and experience available to us all.
You would like to have a live chat page to talk to other users?
I’m going to look into ways to post video.
Just did my first 5 mins on two bars and it was quite illuminating. In fact I ended up breaking it down into half a bar at a time for some of the time. Astonishingly, I can’t wait to do another 5 minutes on it! (but I am going to save it for later as a treat to myself! haha)
..and I have even written down the plan (marking it as a 2 week challenge until 13 November) and listed the planned sessions ready to tick off – just about to make my first tick – yaaay! Thank you Jason and especially for Fiddlehed.
Hey Ajs. Glad you tried this and thanks for the comment. It’s such a simple but powerful idea. I’m glad you were able to break through to the point that you ENJOYED playing one thing a lot. Best to you…
crikey – that sounds really interesting – I think I might give it a go. I am trying to play “The Peelers away with my daughter” with a local folk workshop type of group I have just joined (they meet monthly). I struggle playing at the speed I need, especially in a couple of the bars (in fact two lots of two bars) – so I’m going to just play those 4 bars over and over – for 10 mins a day – split into two 5 min sessions possibly as it might e too much otherwise (I’ll see how it goes).
That will be on top of my other practicing. Fingers crossed and my struggle with them might become a thing of the past within 2 weeks!
Thank you for the suggestion. I will let you know in 2 weeks time. Wish me luck 🙂
PS I’m going to diarise my practicing as well I think, which is another of your really fabulous tips. So I should see these sets of 5 mins ticked off each day for the next two weeks at least. What a challenge, and it’s not even new year!
I like it very much. Thankyou. This piece reminds me of a stream in upstate NY my husband and i canoed and it literally did branch out. Sometimes it ended in dead ends and we paddled back to the main stream. It was lovely.
I hear Ireland in it….very nice piece; thanks
David
Thanks for this post. I thought it was only me. Nice encouragement. ??
It’s frustrating to have a bad practice but I always, always find that if it’s bad one day, it’s invariably good the next. Somehow stuff is sinking in, even if it doesn’t feel or sound like it. So I think your best advice – although these are all good ideas – is “accept.” Have faith that practicing works and muscle memory is real. I’m just an intermediate beginner, not an expert, and it’s reassuring to know that someone who has been playing for 40 years experiences this, too.
RE: “Play it with single bows, and then with two bows.”
I have done this on some tunes.
Another thing I do to simplify a new tune I am learning, to get the rhythms right, is to play all notes as eighths (or sixteenths if that’s the shortest value note), and set the metronome to a somewhat slow tempo. So for example, if I the shortest note value in the piece is eighths, then I play two eighth notes when I see a quarter note, three eighth notes when I see a dotted quarter, and so on. That way you know just how long to hold the note. After a few times through you can “tie” together the longer notes, and then you have it. Once this is all worked out then you can add the “swing” to the tune.
That’s a really good idea Kiirmit. I want to try to integrate that into my in-person as well as online lessons. Thanks…
Actually I am a classroom teacher but am blessed to teach a just for fun ukulele club after school which has made my day. I have kids who have never picked up an instrument and kids who are with me for year 2. Music should be FUN!!!
I’m a classroom teacher as well–5 periods with 7/8 graders and the two classes of bluegrass music are the last two periods. I love it that you are doing an after-school ukulele club!
i just listened – so interesting! I am excited to try and work it out . . . . sitar sound/India . . . thanks – you’re inspirational. I relish the accessibility of your work.
Funny I just read this BLOG entry…. I have not picked up my fiddle since school started [I’m a 4th grade teacher]. The beginning of the year is chaotic and there was no time for my fiddle. I maintained my twice a day ukulele practice but could not focus enough on my fiddle. I’m a real newbie…I taught myself [with your help] to play fiddle in May of this year. This summer I spent an hour a day plus on both instruments with emphasis on fiddle. By end of summer I had some cool tunes under my belt and I felt pretty good about my playing. I signed up for your subscription……and then school started. End of fiddle 🙁 But today…. I sat down and tuned my fiddle friend and away we went. Good times! I was amazed at how easily it flowed back…Ok sure there were some ugly squawks, but my point is the “vacation”while perhaps too long really opened me up to my fiddle practice. So it’s back to my twice a days with both instruments.Thanks for being here when I was ready to return.
ann
@Ann, I could have written your comment–I’m a teacher, too, and ever since September 5 I can barely find time for my own music. Luckily I get to teach two classes of bluegrass music grades 7-12, so I’m getting something in the way of playing strings. Hang in there! ~connie
I love to hear something that I’ve never heard before and make see what my first impression is, and for this one, I like it a lot! I’ll try it soon.
Thank you Jason, Very nice, even if you don’t have the speed to follow you easily just drone along and it sounds great.
Beautiful!!! Intervals transformed. Thanks Jason!
thanks Anita. It’s always fun when there’s a good tune to learn a particular thing.
Love the sound and feel the drone creates. It’s not just in the background but part of the tune.
Thanks David. I’m working on ideas for an album in which the drone evolves along with the tune…
Recording is painful, but very beneficial. Slightest misplacement of a finger and the note is flat or sharp! I’m using scales in Dmajor, 1-2-3-3-2-1 and Kesh Jig, Bill Cheatham and Foggy Dew as my practice tunes.
I find recording my playing to be very helpful. I have been doing that since I started playing a year and a half ago. I hear sooo much improvement. At first I was very slow and very scratchy. My pitch wasn’t very good either. I still hear things I need to improve, so know where to focus my attention. I am learning to play without the aid of an in-person teacher, so am using all the tools I can find.
Great advice! I would add that I like to use the slow down feature available on YouTube videos. This can be found by clicking the gear symbol on the YouTube page. Fifty percent and 75% work well. Twenty five percent slowdown may or may not work depending on your internet speed. I like YouTube because it gives you a visual look at the hands to help you get started, and understand the fiddler’s technique.
I might be able to handle that. I couldn’t figure out how to use the app for slow play lite. I was going to request a computer lesson LOL. Jason, I remember a video of yours in which you were at the computer and using the slow play features and thought that is what I need, but I didn’t even know how to put my songs on the page. Hoping this You Tube feature works for me. Thanks to both of you.
I have an inexpensive essay book, the kind you use for school, in which I keep a list of what I’ve practiced every day. I write the date, then note:
*what scales I practiced
*what tunes I practiced and whether it’s a new tune* or a tune I’m playing from memory
(* I write whose version or what book I learned it from because it sometimes makes a difference when I get together with other players)
*What techniques (usually applied to a specific tune): double stops, bowing, crossings, positions, etc
*if I went to an irish session, fiddle camp or bluegrass jam that day –and what tunes I did there if I can remember them all!
*if I played along with the radio, youtube or playalong tracks — melodies, fills or improv
*if I transcribed any tunes I heard into EasyABC for future reference
I’ll be on vacation in Asheville, NC from October 17 to October 23. Here’s some things I think I can do to keep participating.
– Start early
– Keep watching videos
– Keep listening to fiddle players
– Go see good blue grass open mike
– Visit a luthier
– Visit this Exhibit – The Luthier’s Craft: Instrument Making Traditions of the Blue Ridge @ Smith-McDowell House Museum
– Get tickets to see An Evening with Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas, October 22, 2017 @ Isis Music Hall !
– Listen to recordings of my playing and imagine how I’d adjust it.
I’m not bringing my instrument…but I can do all these things 🙂
I never heard this tune before …It’s a fantastic discovery ,many thanks to you ! I bought the cd yesterday,now I’ll try to play it ! I love it !
I loved hearing your story. Each musician has a unique start and journey. Your rendition of Whiskey Before Breakfast was great. I started piano at 4 yrs old and was taught in the strictest classical manner. Taking the violin (fiddle) up in my 50’s was a challenge. It took me awhile to realize I could hear the music. At the start, I was amazed how people knew when to change keys. Now I, am one of them. Thank you for your interactive and fun approach to music. I’m still struggling with fills.
I’m gonna meditate now.
What an experience to see how music lives in Ireland. The audience is multi-generational and how the audience loves to sing. You likely won’t get a place to sit, smoking is allowed, and food is not served. It is all about music.
LOVE THE RAGA! For intermediates gunning for advanced… any tips or maybe even a separate blog post for intermediates who do practice slow (not sure how to define slow – guessing it is where you can deliberately think about each note – or say put the tune to half time and stay on it perfect at half time)… but the thing is, after learning it slow and going for speed to liven it up, I can be surprised at how the bowing feels: completely different (have to lighten up for one). Seems you have to go in circles (and do lots of simpler bowing drills on related patterns at speed)? Signed: going in circles.
Great tune, great album,great times. What a band. They released a box set of all the demos, out takes that didn’t make the cut. Absolute gold for a fan. There is also the first time Mike Scott introduced Fisherman Blues to the band, calling out chords etc. You’ve made my day Mr Fiddlehed……
I absolutely love these, Thank You for the listen
When I was learning Scruggs’ Style 5-string banjo, “the slow down to play fast” rule really applied! Good advice along with “play it clean”!
Aww this song brings back memories for me too. Raggle Taggle gypsy-o was a favorite of my little daughters back then! Can’t wait to check out your version of Fisherman blues.
Thanks Jason
Enjoyed the tunes Jason. As a child of the 60’s, they reminded me of that great musical era!?
Hey Jaso’n. Hope you are doing well. I love the idea of your app but can you say who wrote it or published it? there’s a zillion out there. Some are obviously not the one you have.
question about the little fiddlehed tune book, 1.1 is not supposed to be in it? want to make sure i didn’t screw up the pdf.
Hi Jason,
I was practicing with my metronome last night and decided to take your advice and play slow, I am learning Wildwood Flower this week. I noticed that when I practiced with the metronome at 50 I sounded terrible, it was too slow and my bow was not making the connection I needed it to, for some odd reason. then I put it up to 60 and I did better.Yes, practicing slow definitely helped me learn the note sequence better.
Thank You
Mar
Nice, thanks for trying that. Extremely slow is extremely hard; something you have to work towards.
Tunes that I will play someday:
Brilliancy, Black Mountain Rag, Mule Skinner Blues, Hurricane (Bob Dylan tune), Back Up and Push, and Foggy Mountain Breakdown.
I am years away from most of those, though I can play a few bits and pieces of all of them.
Sounds good! I have a lesson for Peacock Rag which can prepare you for Black Mountain Rag: /level2/2-9-chromatic-scale/peacock-rag/
Thanks! I’ve already been working on your peacock rag lesson. It’s great!
I thought at first I was listening to Ravi Shankar! Interesting rendition of Swallowtail. Thanks!
Quite a high compliment. Thanks 🙂
I agree, this really sounded like you were playing a sitar, beautiful. now I cant wait to learn the swallowtail jig lol.
I’ll say music is in my blood. My mother was from a little steel mill town, West Aliquippa, PA. She told me how her brothers would play music out on their porch and Henry Mancini would be there too. She married my guitar playing dad in NY. My brother got lessons and plays everything. I got chord organ lessons and went no where with it. It was stuffy and confining to me. I like to be more portable. Many years ago my daughter played violin in school. She grew up and the violin was stored in her possession. One day I asked her if I could borrow it. I was beginning to like hearing the tunes on you tube and I was picking them up by ear. I didn’t want to spend the time reading the music. After about 6 months, my granddaughter wanted the violin back, even though it was to big for her, so I returned it and eventually she started playing with her school and is doing so well, about 4 years now, and I can’t play what she plays…beautiful classical music. Anyway Christmas came and my husband surprised me with my own violin. Most of my learning is from you tube still and I’m comfortable with that. Almost 70 years old now and I play a little, cook a little,back to playing, do a little Fitbit competing with the grandkids and back to playing…loving life!
I’ve only been playing for a year now, but I have not missed a day. Sometimes it’s just 5 minutes, sometimes an hour x 2, but I play every day — because I love it. The progress is painfully slow at this age, but it’s there — I can feel the improvement for the every effort I put in. I love the feeling.
I feel bad for CorrinRadd; my husband is very supportive of my learning, and he even drives me to the lesson (I can’t drive right now as my leg is in a brace) and patiently sits in the room and observes. My son memorizes the tune I am playing and hums along. I am so lucky! CorrinRadd: don’t give up!
I wasn’t playing every day until I bought a String Swing and mounted it on the wall. Now I pick it up and play several times a day – even if just 15 to 20 minutes at a time (in addition to my regular practice time). Accessibility is definitely the key to practicing more. I also agree that playing a decent instrument does make a serious difference. That doesn’t mean you have to buy brand new either. I found a perfectly good instrument at a pawn shop that normally retailed for $1000 for $300 (take a knowledgable person along to look it over if you’re unsure). I am thoroughly enjoying learning fiddle music!
I practiced once or twice a week until I got a String Swing. Now I play everyday. Accessibility is a huge factor.
Twinkle, twinkle… is a great sound starting out.
Then, “I am a fine musician” and I’m ready for scales…
Thanks, Fiddlehed!
I play most days. My wife has a rare dementia that originally just involved “warped” optic nerves and spatial problems. She continued to ride horse from age 52-56, when she lost depth perception entirely. She rode all her life and was rated sixth in the US in 1998. I toyed with the violin when younger, but never put my heart in it. Now I am a full time caregiver (with help). I know my wife wants me to grasp this art, as she had grasped her equine skills. I am very, very busy, as you can imagine; but I always have 30min-1hr. to play in the evening. Children are all out of the house now and I play in the family room, behind closed doors far from the bedroom my wife is sleeping in. I write this just to express how precious this opportunity is for me. Hope it doesn’t sound “sappy;” it is real life. I am 68, my wife 59.
Owneee61, I can relate to your comment. My wife has dementia that was caused by viral encephalitis over 12 years ago. I first took up the banjo “scruggs’ style” and taught myself using YouTube videos. About a year and a half ago I did the same with the fiddle mainly using Fiddlehed videos. It is very rare for me not to play every day. In my banjo adventure I was “Banjoflyboy” and now “Fiddleflyboy”. The fiddle has captured my soul and I really enjoy playing!
Fiddleflyboy,
Thanks, appreciate your comment
I am so glad to be able to be a part of your fiddling and I hope you will continue. How wonderful that you and your wife support each other. Life is real but you are faced with something that is very difficult. I hope the fiddling helps you both. Your age? Google “Fiddlin’ Phil May with Darling Nellie Gray”. Let him be your inspiration. Fiddlers are never too old. Will keep you and your wife in my thoughts. Thank you for your candor. You inspire me.
I play daily. I have missed two days in four months. Some days, I don’t feel like it, but as soon as I start I get lost in it – and I know this, so I always start. On days when I do a lot of ‘drills’ (scales, arpeggios, bowing exercises) and then songs, I feel great afterward. I had a mute on through the summer, because I practice late at night and didn’t want to offend the neighbors, but now that the weather is getting cooler and windows closed, I took it off. The sound is so much more engulfing and rich without a mute, that it makes me look forward to playing more.
I’m interested in “Own a halfway decent fiddle” and what are the characteristics of a halfway decent fiddle. I frequently lapse into the thought that if I only had a better fiddle I’d play better. But then think my deficiencies have more to do with the fiddlers and not the fiddle. I’ve been playing about a year, with a teacher for the first 3 months. I do play every day and I am getting better, although oh, soooo slowly!
You should try a better fiddle and see how it goes. Rent a nice one for a month. It can actually make a huge difference, not only in your sound, but in your motivation.
Thanks for this suggestion! I had seen on Johnston Strings that I could rent a fiddle and was thinking that might be a good idea. They give a little bit of guidance on choosing one to rent. I live in a small town with limited choices, so that might work well. My husband had surprised me with my current fiddle that he bought via the internet. Good intentions, but I don’t think its much better than the student fiddle I already had, although a but more expensive (about $425). Patience is a virtue!
Sometimes a setup by a good violin tech makes all the difference. I’m a guitarist, but I was struggling with keeping the fiddle in tune. I grew to despise friction pegs. I had Wittner geared pegs installed and also had my tailpiece swapped out for a better one. He made adjustments to the bridge. The last step was to check the soundpost. At this point, he adjusted the intonation. Honestly I can’t be happier. It was $200 well spent. It might seem like a lot of money to spend on a $600 Barcus Berry fiddle, but it is a nice fiddle made in Romania. I’ll probably bring it back yearly to have the setup adjusted.
I play every day. I’ve only been playing for a year so my motivation is that it is a ridiculously fun and challenging instrument and that I have so much to learn that I have no trouble finding new things to play and practice that interest me.
I have young children so finding time to play is a challenge, and also my wife HATES to hear me play. I race home after work to get a few minutes of unmuted playing in before I go pick up the kids and my wife gets home. Also, my wife won’t even let me play in the house with a heavy mute on, so I play muted outside during the day if the kids are napping or in the garage muted at night after the kids are asleep. Even with these challenges I still usually get in at least an hour a day. Unfortunately, I almost never get to play unmuted.
Man, you need to get a new wife. Seriously.
Sounds like you just have a natural gift for playing music which is wonderful. For me the piano was painful as a kid, and after 9 years I just couldn’t take it anymore. I wasn’t progressing and for some reason had immense problems reading chords. BUT I have always loved music of all genres and was envious of those who played instruments.
Now that I have young children, they are my motivators. In addition the violin just seemed to click with me. It’s emotional to watch people playing and honestly I never thought I would be a violin student at my age, but here I am, ready to take on the lessons and learn everything I possibly can. It’s relaxing and fun and after a hard day at work, I just grab my violin and practice, it soothes me and I’m so happy I started this venture.
Very sweet tune! Thank you, allows for adult beginners like myself to look forward to actually knowing the hard work and practice does pay off!
I’ll be 70 next month and determined to learn this at least to the point that I could play in front of someone besides my dog. That drives me to practice every day.
If it was easy anyone could do it. Fiddlehed is the best !!!!!!
Well I say a very happy Birthday to crowbar47! I hear you my dog can probably understand the various out of range noises that inadvertently
occur during practice, so he’s patient and will stay with me. One thing I have noticed is I get extremely nervous in front of people, even myself (while attempting to video my bowing). The first month I just said to myself all the squeaking and bow hopping will stop by the next month. So here I am three months into my experience and I am still not where I want to be. When I came upon this website I was so excited because Fiddlehed believes in baby steps, which is so crucial due to the steep learning curve. So I started completely over, not playing till I thought I got it perfect, playing for the sheer joy of playing and trying to make each note sound better then yesterday. Before I knew it, I worked my way up to two hours/day (and that’s not every single day) which was easy since I focus on scales, finger exercises and simple tunes I learned here. I make practice my “free time” and yes even 10 minutes are better then nothing. I also bought two wall hooks that allow me and my kids to place our violins within site and reach. That’s been the biggest motivator having your instrument right there.
I still flop in front on my instructor, but I’m sure that’s a matter of being confident, and that also comes with practice. Good luck to you!
Fiona, very strong and beautiful tune. The B part really developes nicely – and lots of tunes don’t have a B part that does that so well as yours. Such a well rounded tune is an inspiration. Keep on fiddling.
Sounds great Fiona!
your tune sounds very good Fiona – very inspirational
you are so lucky being able to have personal tuition with Jason
I dont yet feel like a fiddler, but I think that after 5 years I have reached the end of the beginning 🙂
I love the statement, “This makes me feel like I’m a fiddler.” I don’t feel like a fiddler very often in practice, but when I do, its powerful! I wasn’t sure of what I was feeling until I saw those words here.
Thanks for sharing this very organized plan! Its inspiring!
Well done Fiona. Enjoyed that….
Good advice to “play it clear” and I would add that sometimes “less is more”. Interesting to note that the two fiddlers in the pic above are holding the bow and the fiddle in the same way.
Well done, Fiona! You must be pleased with your tune. Lovely!
Very nice Fiona!
I take lessons at Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago. I’ve kept the lessons pretty much a secret until now. “Fiddle lessons” becomes “violin lessons”. “Violin lessons” becomes “ballet lessons”. Now I am proud of my fiddling and was surprised how cool my friends think it is. Great website
Jack, I have been a student there as well. I love that place!
Small steps make long runs. Many thanks!
I’ve been a PGA teaching professional for 28 years, and I’m really keen on the biomechanics of what ever motor skill I’m teaching or learning. I’ve also had THREE carpel tunnel surgeries, so I’ve got bad hands. But why is the thumb of the bow hand supposed to be curved?
Thanks!
Ram
Oh BTW. Jason, how can I contact you personally? I have a couple of questions.
Thanks
Ram
I’ve been putting off learning the fiddle for years because it’s so difficult, but this program might get me over the hump.
My main issue is it’s so freaking loud and obnoxious when a novice is learning to play. I fabricated my own mute, so as to keep my bride out of my colonic aperture while I’m practicing she’s home.
I’ve played guitar and bass since I was 12, and I started on mando about 3 years ago, how long do you think it will take for me to become proficient? I’m going to join a Pete Wernick class in Evanston this fall, but do you know of my good instructors in Chicago? How about at the Old Town School?
Thanks
Ram
Yes! Thank you!
Yes, Thanks for sharing your story.
This is a great story, thanks for sharing. We don’t know what always motivates us, what does matter is that we got
motivated!
Small steps are good!!!! Helps me remember.
I’m new here, but you have already mentioned several of my favourite things: Ireland, sessions in Ennis, and Douglas Adams. Don’t panic and take a towel! 🙂
Clare
Another life rule: Jump in the water if you can.
So long and thanks for all the fish!
This is actually a relief! Thanks!
You’re welcome.
As an avid skill collector (hoarder?) I totally relate to this. I’m always learning or wanting to learn how to do something new. But it’s usually visual or tied to a piece of art I want to make. Or a skill I must learn to keep the wheels on the cart so I can do the other fun things. (I’m looking at you, business skills.) More welding and blacksmiting are on my to do list. And fiddle of course!
I actually bought my fiddle right down the street from the Galway Girl video! That was in July this year (almost 2 months ago) and I haven’t put it down since. I’ve played guitar since I was a kid but I never REALLY practiced (just more interested in using it for rhythm and chords) and I’ve always wanted to learn violin. So before my wife and I went to Ireland, I decided that I’d get a fiddle from there and actually try to learn this time haha. Galway is an awesome, lively place. Looking at this post has me wanting to go back! Hope you enjoyed it and thanks for this song!
Keep Galway in your heart when you play!
I am all for playing it clear and believe sometimes that playing too many notes actually gets in the way of a good melody. But— maybe when time is right you can suggest techniques for improvising when maybe I don’t actually know the melody well enough to play it clear.
Thanks.
Dave
I’m going to start working on a beginning improv module after I finish the Irish fiddling module.
Before I became a Fiddlehed I knew what I wanted but had no direction or path to follow. Looking back everything seemed to be to quick. Get this tune done, now the next,next,next.
I thought I new how to play Kerfunken Jig until I played it for a week with real concentration, now I know I can play it. And play it well. Take you’re time,small steps…. Follow the modules. Even if you think you know the tune.
Thanks for the direction and path Fiddlehed
You’re welcome. I still practice this way; I stay with a tune a good long time. Mainly because I find it enjoyable, but also it sinks in better…
nice
I get a bit of a rush when the music was speeds up, and up! Fast and clear works for me. 🙂
Thanks for the great advice.this tune sounds much akin to “the 8th of January(Battle of New Orleans)” to me.
Interesting. Listening to 8th of January now…
Hi Jason,
I’m spending the entire month of October all over Ireland. Besides Galway, did you hear or play in any sessions in other pubs that you can recommend?
Thanks!!
Jill
Go to Ennis and Doolin! Also the Cobblestone in Dublin.
I can’t speak for the rest of Ireland, but there’s music everywhere.
Have fun…
Having such fun learning my way with you, and love the advice “play it clear”.
Your advice to not start “sliding” too early was good too. I have been doing that and it is obviously why I am having trouble playing the notes correctly…must walk before I run!
Cheers, DrLesley
Glad that helped, and glad you’re having fun…
Haha Foxy is amazing!! Come to Sweden and learn some spooky Swedish fiddle tunes Jason!
Sweden and Scandinavian fiddling are definitely on my list of places for Fiddle Around The World. Are there any good folk festivals?
Fabulous…..this is one of my favorite Steve Earl Songs! What an adventure and thanks for sharing the places you visited!
You’re welcome…
Jason – such good advice from yet again “play it clear” “listening is practice too” “loop it” thank you so much for all you do, it is a great help
Sounds like you had a great time in Ireland – so pleased – you deserve it!!
Lin
It was a good trip!
Super fun tune! ?♂️??
Jason what kind of shoulder rest are you using in the Galway Girl lesson?
Bonmusica. It’s great…
Love this tune and the scenery.
Jason, something you might want to pass along to the Fiddleheds is how to use the gear symbol “settings” at the bottom of the YouTube videos. They can slow down the video to 75 or 50%. 25% is shown but doesn’t seem to work. Sure makes it easy to play along!!
Good idea. Audio quality is not so hot, but it still is very helpful…
That looks like Fergal in that video you posted of the town of Galway.
Oh yeah!
Cool stuff Jason! I’ve learned quite a few of your Irish tunes. I’ll learn this one. Did you meet Fergal Scahill “theirishfiddle”? Keep up the good work!
No, I didn’t. But I tried! I sent him a FB message because my airbnb host had heard of him. Maybe next time…
Loved sharing the fun….everybody so happy and energetic!
Thank you Maureen to share your experience and to give me advices,that encourages me a lot !
Karine
I like that,but when……
Thanks for that little thought.
….Does it get worse sometimes before it gets better? Cause I think I’m on a “worse” roll right now. 🙂
It may feel like you’re getting worse. But if you keep practicing and pay attention to HOW you practice, you’re sure to get better.
Practice makes perfect, yes, but I guess I’m lacking something in the “HOW” part that you mentioned. That’s very interesting….How?
I’m probably pushing too hard, choking up, and don’t realise I’m doing that.
Thanks for the insight.
By “How you practice” I don’t mean techniques like bowing, but are you doing things efficiently. Are you working on the hard parts of a tune or do you just play the whole thing through each time? Are you working on your sound? Do you practice with looping and/or drones? What is the quality of practice?
I do practice the hard parts and I do play with the play along tracks practising looping and drones.
…I have not been faithfully using a weekly planner.
I took your questions seriously and found myself back under the “How To Practice Fiddling” tab. How can I have efficient, quality practice if there is no order/structure to it? How will I know any improvements I’ve might have made when I can’t remember how I played any particular thing at the beginning of the week, let alone what I practised yesterday? That’s what I asked myself. And answered. Use the planner everyday and worse to better will probably come a lot sooner! 🙂
You have 13 steps under “How To Learn And Practice A Fiddle Tune” that I’ve printed out to put in the front of my planner. This is something I’m sure going to want to have handy.
I can’t thank you enough for this site!
I like the band scan because i do it all the time. Especially to annoy my husband. LOL Over the years i got pretty good at it, even picking out Roy clark and buck owens. LOL But you can’t miss the greats, eric clapton, ally bain, michael bouchet(sp?) mark knofler, Eddy Van Halen,
Chet Atkins. and so many others. Andrew, i think his name is, in Buckwheat Zydeco was great always on the accordian. I saw him last year. He was so frail. And that little chic playing the base with jeff beck, blew me away the first time i saw here. and roger in Queen, so many over the years. Yoyo Ma have you seen him play with different genre people. I think he once played with Carolina chocolate drops with Rhianon on fiddle of course. Well I better stop.
well, i finally picked up the violin again which i have been trying to learn for 10 years, well i haven’t touched it in 4. I though that i may learn something now after i saw how you structured your videos now. I had one teacher and it was not a good experience.Today is my 65 birthday and i am starting all over again. Thanx Jason.
Happy (belated) birthday 🙂
Hello Jason, Im new to Fiddlehed and fiddling, I am totally enjoying my learning experience here on Fiddlehed. I have hed 3 teachers since I started last November and I did not learn as fast as I am learning with you. Thank You. I agree about always learning. I have been doing hatha yoga since 1999, but, have just started to learn Kundalini and I love it. I do feel like I play better when I dont think too hard about what I am doing, If that makes sense at all. lol.
Glad to hear you’re having fun. You gotta think things through a bit, and then you just have to play…
Hello !
in fact I realized I’ve been like Maureen,I always wanted to learn more and more tunes …without never play one very well !
The other problem for me is to play when people are looking at me…It gives me a lot of stress and I’m starting to play not well and as I hear it’s not good,it stresses me even more it’s without solution…Even to play in front of a mirror and to look at me gives me stress ! It’s horrible,may be I’ve to meet a psychologist !!!
Ps and for the moment my cats continue to leave the room when I’m playing !
Karine,
I got over my “stage fright” quickly after some friends asked me to get together weekly with them to play music. I am not even a very good keyboard player, but I am now a better, and a much more confident player because of that. I was a bundle of nerves in the beginning, but gradually that feeling went away and now it is all fun!
And now with learning the fiddle, and being a beginner, I take my fiddle everywhere I go & I practice using a fiddle mute while sitting around with family and friends. I am not playing for them. I am simply practising scales, looping,intervals, fingering, etc. fiddling my heart out in the background while hanging out with other people. It is very comfortable and this way I’ll be playing songs for them soon and they won’t even know it! 😀
If you are nervous even playing in front the mirror, then keep practising in front of the mirror every day until your nervousness goes away….because it will.
It is the same as your fiddle practice. You need repetition to be better.
Have fun with it and enjoy yourself!
Well, don’t worry about playing in front of people yet. When you get interested in that I can suggest some things to help…Maureen had some good ideas…
I agree, Jason, always be learning is a good rule of life. I am learning to play the piano right now, and it is not as easy as people make it look when they play! I’m totally engaged with the learning and understanding more of music theory this way. As always, I practice the fiddle daily and am learning both classical pieces as well as fiddle pieces. I must admit, though, that I like the fiddle pieces better–they’re just more fun!
I was learning piano for awhile until my life got taken over by FiddleHed. I love it!
Hello…pick me! I’ve been guilty of over eagerly learning too many songs far too quickly and not concentrating on learning to play any one of them well. I gobble it all up without savoring the music because I want to be a pretty darned good fiddler…like yesterday! Happy to say that I have mellowed out since starting your course. Thank-you for that. 🙂
I’ve recorded myself singing, in the past, and that was surprisingly helpful. I struggle with accepting, and believing any compliments on my voice because of how I sound to myself in my own head and with being my own worst critique. So I have an idea recording is going to do my playing wonders. The only promising sign I’ve had so far is that the cat doesn’t leave the room anymore when I play. 🙂
Thanks for the most helpful blog post!
Right now I am listening to a symphony called “Rainy Summer Night Next to the Fan”. What I hear is an oscelating fan set on medium speed. My window is open and there is a steady drip from a light shower outside. I am in a rocking chair that creaks occasionally as I find it impossible to sit still. I also hear the far off sounds of cars down on main street, probably going faster than the speed limit. Now my cat, impatient with me just sitting here tapping away at this silly box that isn’t a very good cheek scratcher, meows at me to get up and give him a snack before bed. Off I go!
This is just the kind of information I need to keep me going without it getting boring. So simple but NOW I just have to do it!!
Recording is a good, actionable practice. It will give you feedback on your playing so you can focus on what’s difficult for you.
Right now, I have the symphony of an old XP computer, which crashes a lot but I keep it around because it runs Photoshop 7. I’d never noticed the sound of that XP computer before. . . . My Mac Mini is quiet; no symphony there.
But at night, its a different story. I walk with 2 dogs up the hill and the cat follows. The symphony up there is always exciting – birds and other far-off dogs mostly, but after a while, we usually we hear the deer in the woods – they stomp and snort – I love that sound! Sometimes we also get treated to another symphony after the cat eats a bunch of grass, and uh oh, here comes the hairball! If one or both dogs needs to go out in the middle of the night (frequently, usually around 3am), the symphony is of crickets and is particularly superb!
Sitting in my garden I can hear my wind chimes, birds singing, a lady singing a strange operatic fashion, crickets and someone cutting the grass. I like my garden. Soon if you listen very carefully you will hear someone putting the kettle on. I hope….Symphony of my garden…….
He was magic. The recording is just the tip of the emotional iceberg.
Love Foxys song, especially the way the musicians join in as the song moves along. Beautiful, thanks for sharing. (You were foxed, but did the lock get fixed?)
Hahah lovely story Jason. Are you sure you should be out by yourself ?????
No, I probably need a professional “handler”.
On second thought, I think your title is best, “The Key is Already Broken”
The zen of fiddling ?
Ha Ha! That experience would make a good title for a fiddle tune. “The Lock is Broke”, “Walk Don’t Run”,……..
Listening: The Symphony of my place! This certainly is a gift. Oops! I need to feed the puppy. Thanks!
Symphony of Needing to Feed The Puppy ?
Glad you enjoyed Ireland. I’m jealous. Ive never been…and I’m just across the water in Scotland!
I might see you in Scotland one of these days…
I am certainly not where I want to be yet, but I think I have made great strides, thanks in large part to access to your teaching when I make time to, day-to-day. I am so happy you have lessons laid out as you do now, and that you provide the various tracks to practice the songs piece by piece. Thank you!!
I’m loving practicing the Ballydesmond Polka. Doesn’t exactly sound cheerful yet -more like a dirge at this point but I hope to get up to speed soon. I’m enjoying the play along track. I’m also practicing using my pinkie which has its own will. Thanks for the lessons!
Nice. Don’t be in a hurry to play fast. Focus on good sound.
Sounds like an amazing adventure, a great journey in self exploration as well as enjoying new dimensions in fiddling and working. Enjoy every moment – how long are you in beautiful Ireland for? Where are you heading after Ireland? Will you be visiting England?
I’ve been here just over two weeks. Leaving tomorrow. Not going to England…
Love it! Just printed your awesome calendar!
Oh good. Let me know how it goes.
Great ! I’m gonna play every morning and bear the music in me all day long.
Hello
I am confused. I am trying to learn Berdichiever Khosid but I don’t understand why the recording for A part, third quarter does not seem to be the same as the music. Can you help?
Thanks
Really like this tune..watched a gal that clog dances and plays this really fast while clogging..can’t think of her name.
I can play moderately fast but no where near as fast and flawless as her and Jason..another goal.
Hey Reg, clog dancing and fiddling at the same time — that’s a lofty goal. Speed comes with time. Keep chipping away.
Hey Reg, clog dancing and fiddling at the same time — that’s a lofty goal. Speed comes with time. Keep chipping away.
This came at just the right time.las I mentioned a local group..that plays slower old time tunes and gospel..asked me if I want to come with my fiddle to their practices every two weeks..Guess what Amazing Grace and Rubber Dolly.
My wife even said I sounded decent paying along with you and from memory.
Great stuff
Hey Reg, an invite to a real group — that’s a big deal. And ‘sounded decent’ from a spouse is practically a standing ovation. Keep going!
Hey Reg, an invite to a real group — that’s a big deal. And ‘sounded decent’ from a spouse is practically a standing ovation. Keep going!
The G Major – A Dorian Alternation audio does not play on my iPad. Am I the only person with this problem?
hey Jason that is such a soul touching heart felt Beautiful song and the tune , thank you for singing the song you did a great Job ,, and I have been Practicing learning it,— know I cant sing it, but I can hear the tune, in my head, AS tho I’m singing it in my head, fun RE learning this , G pentatonic , the 6 notes,, then it just click inn I didn’t expect it was that easy, I did have to work on the d3– a1 learn to rest hold , the right time , an yes I had to play for my sister, she said that was Really great, that’s because I got a great Teacher ,,,,.IM., happy you did the REplay,, as I did that I felt I made process,,,, yah gave me that Burst of stars , So Thankful and Grateful ,
Hey Wanda, that G pentatonic click is a real milestone — and a sister seal of approval is worth a lot. Keep at it!
Hey Wanda, that G pentatonic click is a real milestone — and a sister seal of approval is worth a lot. Keep at it!
nice tune have to practice more to get the tune in my memories bank
Hey Wanda, that’s the spirit — a little more practice and it’ll feel right at home.
Hey Wanda, that’s the spirit — a little more practice and it’ll feel right at home.
great sweet tune practice up on this also I was wondering is there any variation of this tune, grateful and thankful for music and the lesson Jason
Hey Wanda, glad you’re enjoying it! There are variations scattered through the lessons — keep exploring and you’ll find them.
Hey Wanda, glad you’re enjoying it! There are variations scattered through the lessons — keep exploring and you’ll find them.
I’m got practice more on these variation ther really cool fun, grateful and thankful for music an lesson to learn
Hey Wanda, those variations are fun once they click. The more you play with them, the more musical it feels.
Hey Wanda, those variations are fun once they click. The more you play with them, the more musical it feels.
Need drone links to drones intended for practice playground Lessons. Preferable next to instruction to use drone. Thank you. I like how much faster your website responds, it will be super-powered with audio links discussed. Good Work, book looks fun.
Hey Michelle, great idea — drone links right where you need them. I’ll add those to the PP lessons. Thanks for the kind words on the site speed too!
Hey Michelle, great idea — drone links right where you need them. I’ll add those to the PP lessons. Thanks for the kind words on the site speed too!
So on the tabs for B PART first quarter, shouldn’t there be a D in front of the 4th 1?
Jason o this beautiful tune , I’m so thankful soo, grateful and to hear you play this so peaceful , tune Thankful for the lesson , I’m learning , you play it so tender , soul touching , the stars are jumping out bursting with the light with each note,
having fun with Mississippi Sawyer,, I can’t get right on the hoedown, but do I know the tune, not perfect, getting,there grateful thankful , been under the weather , but still couldn’t Resist the temptation of this tune , thanks for the lesson learned , Jsn,,
I have been enjoying the lessons and the videos. Your teaching style is just what I’ve been looking for.
I’m not sure if this is the right place, but on the beginner section, Kerry Polka, broken into chunks, the very first part is wrong. The sound doesn’t match the notes being played. Give it a listen when you get a chance please.❤️
Wow, this lesson is great! I love how you broke everything down, including the hidden melody..you really helped it make better sense! Thank you! So much fun 🎻💕
Hi, is there an F major chordal scale available? I’m learning “Little Sadie” in F Major and it would be very helpful to know it as I am unsure about my double stop choices. Thank you!!
Crazy..just discovered this tonight…I have a difficult time memorizing a tune per se, but I can play along with the jam track as tho it’s memorized.
Just stumbled onto this today after 3 1/2 months….great stuff
Was fun ; just received my new fiddle from Fiddlerman..replaces my VSO , Vevor , from Amazon….so much better sound.
Love! Really got into the swing of things. Definitely a great tune to play around with improvisation. Thanks!!
Great Lesson..
Thanks
Hi, my emai is [email protected]. No 2 in it… haven’t been able to log in. Thanks
Love the sound of these Irish tunes…must be a genetic thing.
Retired so I can put in loads of time everyday..quite often don’t journal but I ver seldom miss several practices a day.
It’s paying off..fingers are limbering up.
Much less cross stringing..starting to get into the tune tempos……listening daily to tunes play along plays really helps getting into the lilt or feel of the piece.
So much fun….wish these type of lessons would have been around 70 years ago.
I watch kids 6&8 years old competing festivals and can’t believe the amount of tunes they can play and have memorized.
Really enjoyed call and response on this tune.
Was totally lost on the first two calls
Then started ove a few times..made it right through..this won’t be the last time..lots of fun…..how come I hated music lesson# back in the 1950’s..sh3 kept whacking me on the head at lessons if I made a mistake, plus I hated that classical stuff.
A fiddle friend came over to visit last night ..showed me to slur the last three notes together..sounds more Irish…not for my yet but it does have a smoother sound.
So I bow down on the first note and V stroke the 3 remaining notes of each measure.
Different bowing..fun, doing something different.
Showed me that if I downbeat my foot on the down bow , I’ll be starting each measure with a down bow and my foot down.
Really like this tune but get totally lost at abot 3/4 of the way into the play along
Still plugging away at A 1 st , 2nd & 3red quarters ..working at getting my speed up ……very tough going.
Today was not one of my better playing days
Hi Jason, You mention in the introduction of this lesson that you’ll add a link to a picky finger technique tutorial but I haven’t been able to find it. Is it still lurking somewhere on the site? Thanks!
Typo!! *PINKY finger. But that’s pretty obvious. 😛
Really enjoying the sound of this Britches Full of Stitches…very catchy tune.
The call and response stuff really helps…..at the beginning of the course..I sloughed off on it..then..had to go backtracking …it really helps.
Now I go through everyone several times before even beginning a tune….makes everything so much easier, plus Inget the feel of the tune, not just rambling off a string of notes..cudos to the course
I’ve completed several of these lessons..checked them off..but they don’t show as completed?
i don’t mind some things being iffy here and there, this site is GREAT!
But there are a lot of things wrong with this lesson, the loop section audio in the parts doesn’t match the written music, and the final play along switches to a different variation of this melody after the first time through that i think is showing up in those same parts
Is Fire on the Mountain all single bow strokes or are there any slurs? Thanks much.
I really like this piece.
I rotate my playing Ballydesmond, Kerfunken and this tune….but in this tune although I can play right thru..I’m working at no mistakes in chunking and chaining the first six measures
i’m not sure why this lesson comes before learning the d major scale in module 1.3. I had to skip ahead to know what the d major scale is.
It would definitely be nice to have some sort of count in on this track. I cannot start playing the fiddle fast enough from when I hit play.
great lesson jsn, did chunking , looping, AUDIATION metronome, that was a long metronome, I hang in with it was fun practice more, grateful thankful ,
I have written many poems over the years and wonder what they would be like when married to music. Have you ever written words and made the notes up later? I’d be interested in learning how, even though I don’t see myself as a singer.
Actually , Black Velvet Waltz and Maple Sugar , have this staccato..so worked in well for me
I like this summary with actionable click thru content for immediate gratification
Real COOL !
I will do my best get a video of my skills. thanks Jason BowingI need help on the tone. but will work on the tone for now Or any other Suggestions u have to help
This will be a challenge. I will work on chords hoping to learn to play in jam sessions
Question. Are the chords you show in the “practice toolkit” on this page specific for playing back up to this particular song? Or are they just some common chords. If so is that the case for all the songs in your library? Do they all have their specific chords shown to play along with each individual track?
grateful and thankful for together work shop inside! I followed right along with ya great session il been practicing, I think back, when I started, have come a long ways buy coming back, re visit an taking them o ver has produce me more into the fiddle journey, create, bring into life fun feeling happy ya oo
I would love to do more like this! Really great lesson!!!
Hey @kayli,
Here’s an early preview of the Practice Playground book.
https://media.fiddlehed.com/2026/03/06103606/Practice_Playground_v2.pdf
Thank you! I am getting more confident playing by ear with this! 😁
It would be nice if you’d learned to use the asset management system for the web hosting company you used so missing assets like the ones for part B were easily fixed. On going maintenance is a thing, despite what their sales literature might say.
This is the fourth or fifth module I’ve run into that’s had some issue with missing assets, most of them with complaints like mine that are over two years old.
Jason I canny not get the G-1-D -O my index finger- hits the D my index finger must b like the crooked tree, help,, fun tho
I added some slides to the 3-2-1 descending pattern for a minor pentatonic, and boy, was that fun! Feels like a bluegrass riff 😃
I found my staring point and by the end of day 1 i could play the Kerry Polka, Ive followed you for awhile now and learnt a few songs. I love your way of teaching, it makes it very doable. thank you
Really like this song..but I notice on several of the pieces that I play..I get a slight chatter on the down stroke when changing strings..I’ve tried less pressure..no pressure, more pressure, flat bow, angled hairs.slower bow, faster bow…hmmm, perplexed.
Anyone have a suggestion
Where is the link to download the book please?
I’ve given myself the task of trying the 1-2-3 ascending and 1-2-3 descending pattern on all the full pentatonic scales I’ve learned this year. I’m excited to hear how they sound!! Thanks again
🤯mind- blowing…love it! Thanks!!
Reflection of tucka was incredible help to get the, short -short -short long – long , and the plucking, ,D A G strings , grateful and thankful for the lesson was fantastic , was lots of fun love the dute with the sun glass’s,,fun fun ,, looking forward next lesson,
Jason this hoedown journal and practice has incredible helpful for me, I’m so excited ,even tho I did this before but, taking the deep dive back, has help to my memory, realize what I miss ,I must been grasping to fast on driving, threw I’m taking a deep dive into the play ground , an the new addition of your new book practice play ground, has been so incredible helpful for this fiddlehed, grateful and so thankful
Going from Ao to A3 then the switch to E1…taking so many loops…, can do it but want to clean, solid notes ..no squeaks or scratches….something so simple takes a load of work
Hey Kids! It’s Hillbilly Ševčík!
I am so happy that I stumbled upon this Website and Course structure. I’ve been struggling for years. I would take private lessons. Bring them home go to great lengths too cut them into chunks for me to practice slowly because I learned very slowly the fact that you do this for me makes my life so much easier and the tunes you’re picking are awesome once again thank you
a little suggestion, but I don’t know if it’s too hard to do it is since you ask us to rewind, and I often have to rewind to listen to the chunks. It might be nice to have the minutes and seconds in the recording that the different chunks start at, but if it’s too much trouble, I get it I can rewind it myself.
Thank you for this. I’ve been getting a bit lost lately. Im sure this will get me back on track.
Having a difficult time crosding from D2 in stanza 12 to E stanza 13 without accidentally touching A string.
Other than that Angeline was relatively easy.
Slowed it right down twice today…did many lopps trying not to touch the A string without a pause .
Will keep working a t it daily…frustrating
I’ve spent a load of time on this module three and going back over 1&2 modules. I rushed..completed but not to my satisfaction…now I feel like things are coming together.
As wise and old as I am, didn’t quite get the point of call and response..I do now…have to get it together to pick up music that you hear and copy without sheet music. Today I was having pretty fair time with D & A call and response patterns..then suddenly ..couldn’t follow anything…time to take a break..more coffee.
Bought this cheap fiddle from Amazon..I know better but I did it.
Finally broke down and took it to a luthier..basically told it s a toy ..looks like a violin,,,,but.
I knew I would get this speal…anyway..he told me only so much can be done..I was having trouble with fingering and D3 and A3…A3 was really poor sound
Anyway..new Dominant strings..he cut the nut notches and reshaped the bridge..cut it down…spread the strings out more evenly. Now fingering is quite easy and D3 sounds better A3 is improved but the resonance in the cheap fidddle has dead or almost dead spots.
Going to keep playing on it but have my eye on a fiddle built in his shop..sounds super
Wanted him to check the sound post but he said replacing and adjusting would cost more than the fiddle…oh, and bought a graphite bow with a lot more hair..much easier bow handling
So why did I write all this…hmmm, to advise newbies not to cheap out like me. I played for six years, 70 years ago…should have known better.
Not fun hitting notes , but getting almost a whisper from it and fighting trying to figure out what is wrong.
He had special case of tuning forks that he placed on sections of the brifge to show me very low to actually good resonance spots.
Great supporting content of lesson !
Video and audio were in sync for me ?
Hi Jason, I’ve been trying to work through the replay tonight but getting a lot a lagging on the video. Just wondering if anyone else is having the same problem or if it’s just my internet. Can’t seem to get past 35:36. I’ve enjoyed the process up to there though.
Hi Marg, thanks for letting us know. I experience the same. We will let you know when it is fixed 🙂
Ditto, Marci.
the hoedown its a challenge , then i tying to seperate it was hard till i gottt the hang of hearing the note, i did little better on the accents , more i practice icatch it , i noticed in this lesson ,where i didn’t catch the first Session ,on the workshop Replay , listen an played it all back over to catch the notes hoedown , offbeat accent so yeah this has really help me an the short short long , then to reverse that to long short short go between , those Little bumps, i really had fun learning this back over , Jason im so Grateful and thankful, you come up with your book Practice playground this has been so much fun of learning more,I’m excited to have this book of practice playground to go to,
So glad I discovered this. I’ve been wanting to figure out how to improve my jamming and my overall understanding of how to play with the fiddle and this is perfect. Thank you so much looking forward to much more.
Accessing D0-1-L2-3 produces an error message
AccessDeniedAccess Denied
Thank you Scott, appreciate you noticing this. We will let you know once added.
Playing inteval scales..even , odd scales and Mary Had a Little Lamb…aiming for clear sounds
Smooth fingering….go up the scales but trying to avoid fingers loking up coming down.
Slowing down on practices
Thank you! I would absolutely love another lesson on adding variation to this beautiful song! 🤩
Will take note of your suggestion, thank you Kayli!
THANKS JASON FOR THIS LESSON, PRACTICE on these scales , love these scales, I get my self mix, up just getting the hang of it , the note in the scales as you said , does make a tune, , tuning in , on an the scales just by There self beautiful note, jig accent , that will take work on yet hoedown just have to practice more more ,, doing the scales helps me hear by ear, the notes just love those scales pattern Grateful an thankful for have you to teach the students
My love sent me this waltz so here we go! ❤️💃❤️
I really enjoy playing interval scales compared to straight up and down scales.
A little more complex and more concentration..but break the monotony of straight up and down scales, plus add to finding notes quicker and more accurate…neat stuff
Cannot figure what lesson that I haven’t completed. 1.2 fingering and lingering
Been through this many times, searching….beats me
Continues to show 91%…..??
Hi Reg, I understand this can be frustrating and hard to know where you are at. Please disregard that the progress tracker function is not fully functioning, and continue with the lesson focus. Jason is working on a new option for guidance and navigating lessons that will replace the current progress tracker. It is going to be worth the wait! I wish enjoyment of the course without the progress tracker in the meantime 🙂
Keep trying to figure out Metrodrone
I tap strings…but can t pick out the string plus it doesn’t drone for all four strings…what am I doing incorrectly
Hi Reg, I’m glad you asked. Please click here for instructions on using the Metrodrone.
When you click strings, that function allows you to pick 2 sound options, strings or warm pad. Below that, there is the ‘drone root’ where you click on the D, and all the note options open to choose from.
Try as I might can’t find which lesson I haven’t completed in this 1.2 module
Hi Reg, Thanks for your patience with the progress tracker function. Jason is working towards a whole new system for guiding students within the course.
Please click here for the main module 2 page, to support you to navigate where you are at.
There is also a function near the bottom of each module lesson (just above the practise toolkit), where you can click on the text to go to the next lesson, or to the main module page.
Please reach out anytime 🙂
Hi Reg
I had the same issue.
I think the problem is with the core lesson on ‘how to read Fiddlehed tabs’ as there’s no box to tick to show you’ve completed the lesson.
Ordered a set of a, d & g strings Dominant 135
Ordered a Pirastra, E string
Oh and a new bridge..good one
I know I ‘m relearning a lot of stuff…I though5 this cheap ($250), Amazon fiddle isn’t the best, but they come with real crap strings , bridges.
They sell these things cheap , but then keep dunning a person for more $’s , to bring the instrument up to speed.
Had a neighbour that performs here as a metis fiddler told me , the strings and new bridge would make the fiddle sound better and give it a better feel for fingering…..fingers crossed
He showed me the difference in sound just droning on his fiddle and on mine. He said his performing fiddle isn’t expensive but the tone is really nice.
Been playing / practicing at least three times a day…working a lot on string change drones..D scale., Mary Had a little Lamb..hoedown…Sts Go Stumbling In at least my version.
Having fun..frustrating at times..but , onward and upward
thank Jsn,this is such a Beautiful tune, grateful to come across this,
I’ve been getting quite frustrated with myself..crossing from A to D string and back.
Then I thought bad bridge..I think it’s bad bowing.
I used to play 70 years ago and I think I’m living in the past thinking that I can still play wee and play faster..neither is true. Took lessons for six years..classical, which I hated as a kid.
Read Jason’s article on string crossing..slow down…break before string change..concentrate on the angle ..movement…do it over and over.
I believe that I’ve been rushing thru the excises and should have spent more time….so, reversing myself and going slower.
Now I bought a cheap $250 Amazon fiddle, because I didn’t know whether it was for me again…it is..so, down the road maybe six months to a year , I’ll probably purchase a better sounding fiddle
I set ridiculous six month goals for myself….resetting that nonsense….
Inhave a friend on the east coast of Canada that keeps sending me music and pushing..told him tonight..quit..I’m going to proceed at a slower , sane and fun speed.
He’s been playing for 25 years…I’ve had a 70 year non playing gap.
I really enjoyed this lesson. I love playing with the drones they help me tune my ear to the note sound much better..
Hi. Do you have pdfs of the chordal scales? Thank you.
Hello Nigel, thank you for asking about this. That is a good idea. I will make a request and we will follow up with you directly one this is offered. Happy playing 🙂
Ni Nigel, Jason added the pdf to the page, here it is for easy reference.
I’m loving this workshop, thanks! 💯
I’d like to have a “Complete Lesson” button on this so it will gray out on the list of lessons… pretty please 🙂
Melba, thank you for notifying us of this. I will add it to our suggestions. Jason is working on a new and exciting system to support our navigating and guidance within the Course, that will replace the progress tracker. Thanks for your patience and understanding with this malfunction in the meantime. Happy music making to you!
Hi Jason. Glad to be back. I’m accessing the videos from my phone but I’m not seeing a place where you can adjust the speed of the video?
Hi Stacey, thank you for this question. Most videos are shared through Vimeo, and should include a little settings cog button at the bottom right of the video screen, where the speed can be adjusted. On a phone, there is a little leftward arrow at the bottom right of the video screen to expand the options, in which the setting button is within.
Please let me know if I can support further with this. Best on your music journey!
I’m a beginner fiddler but long-time gigging guitarist. When I asked my local fiddle instructor about chord patterns for joining a simple G-C-D group song he pushed me to do G= D3 A2, C=G3 D2 and D=A3 E2.
I was overwhelmed and my left forearm and first finger ached within minutes. And I sounded like a rusty gate. I do see his point that these inversions lend themselves to cool runs using similar patterns. But for me the hand position was just to advanced.
Thank you, Jason. Your gentle approach is what I need right now.
Oops. Those chords shapes on my previous comment were G= D3 A1 C=G3 D1 and D=A3 E1.
Not any 2’s.
Hello! I just bumped into this workshop with 17 ways to practice the Jenny Lynn tune. Thank you and there’s even more stuff to look at. Great!
Rosalie Werback
This Is A Great Lesson Jason,,, o I love , that A part,, Double Stop is So Cool, I need more practice , repeat the replay,,,and practice more grateful and thankful, for your teaching,
Working with the metro drone…how do I get to E string 1 and drone fingering
Found lesson 21….it was the review
I was really having a difficult time cross string…had a heck of a time playing just one string…the solution was easy , although it too three weeks..sit on a taller chair..don’t slouch…
Also found I was using too much bow hand wrist bending ….thank goodness for self video , stuff.
Having fun…100x’s better doing this than the six years of classical crap back in the 1950’s.
I hated it…lol
We were forbidden to play by ear..not allowed to play anything other than scales and the stuff out teacher gave us.
We played because our parents made us.
Now at 81, I’m having fun.
I keep looking for a missed part of module 2
Progress keeps telling me 95% complete
Module 1:20/21
For the life of me can’t find 21
Lol
I’ve looked for whatever it is several times..
Any help would be great
That’s an F# right?
Yes correct! Sometimes the tabs can be confusing. E1 = F#
In the G major upper octave on the E1# is the finger positioned in right on E1 or is it a little lower or higher?
Hi Leslie, thanks for asking! E1# (F#) has the same position of 1st finger as you would for A1 (B). I hope this helps.
Still working on part B, first and second quarters. Those are tough. Time to move on and come back later and try again.
I practice the core material, but then have fun by jumping to something not really in the series…try looping, which is fun…but I go to various parts of the core material everyday.
Much more fun than when I was a kid 70 years ago doing scales and classical stuff….hated it.
My fingers are starting to remember..they still feel like sausages looking for string placement…nonaspirations to play anywhere except for myself…so no pressure…just fun , now
Hi, There is no comment section on Module 8 Low and High Second Finger Practice, so leaving one here. I cannot get any of the excercise tracks to play – no sound for any of them. Thanks.
Thank you Will. I have noted this and will follow up with you once we fix it 🙏🏽
I like what you do with your 3ed finger ?? on the C Note Get that Wang Wang sound, I have a long way to go to memorize the basic But will not forget about it for later.
Thank you so much!! I spent a hour in privet lessons today only to be more confused. Fiddlehed is much easier to understand I know next week I will go into my lessons and know what he is talking about, Just wanted to say Thank You Thank U Thank You
Jason…. Excellent exercise. Thank you. In the sheet music, can you tell me the meaning of OYO?
Never mind… I figured it out…. ON MY OWN…. hehe
Glad you enjoyed this, Don. I think it stands for On Your Own (continue pattern, loop, look away, memorize, etc), though I will double check 🙂
This lesson completed three times but not perfected….will be working on it before and after each lesson for 10 minutes , before continuing into a new lesson.
G to D…good
D to A good
A to E good, but E to A the A to D…not great…playing two strings before correcting.
Part of my daily warmup for 2026…. Which I’ve named “The year of the double stops” which have always been a challenge for me.
Had fun completing this lesson….definitely sure that I’ll have to work on this every day along with each new lesson.
My fiddle friend told me that I’m supposed to record by vid my progress and send it it to you.
How do I do this or is he wrong
thanks for the Lesson jsn I cant do the sawmill yeitt, will take time, get the hang of it and memorize it,
Hi
Just enjoyed playing with other folks with Jocelyn organizing us all so kindly
Don asked for the sheet music for one of the tunes I brought. Le Ruisseau Francais by Andre Brunet. He said there was a place we could attach it along with the tune played by Andre.
Would you point me in the right direction?
Thank you,
Lynn
Thanks Lynn, The best method for sharing amongst the community is through the Play Every Day Community Platform. If one decides to not utilize PED, email would be another option for sharing. I have messaged you on PED to discuss options further. 🙂
The practice hack is great! I like working on mixing hoedown and train rhythms. It’s definitely a challenge to go faster and this can be a new goal for me, now that I am aware. 😀
Lovin’ the MetroDrone!
Thanks Jason! Very helpful!!
Some aspects of this exercise were difficultt for reasons other than the actual music.
The gain on the recordings is all over the map- some are too quiet, while others are practically clipping.
The amount of time left for responses is equally inconsitent. On some of the longer calls, there’s literally less than a second to respond at the same tempo before the next call is offered- other calls within the same exercise have five to ten seconds.
Hi Scott, really appreciate your clear feedback. You’re right, this can be improved. I will note this for consideration when possible! If if works for you, please continue to let us know as you see things that could be improved, we are in this together 🙂
Looking forward to the workshop
me 4 so I’m Practiceing Mirror and Lopsided Scales , have fun,,,Happy New year y’all
Me three Pete!
Looking forward to this workshop!
I been enjoying learning and playing with Fiddlehed. I’ve run through all of your lesson coarses and have continued learning from you song videos. I really like how Jason teaches. I am discontinuing my annual subscription and moving on to other ways of learning music. But will continue to look to Fiddlehed videos on Youtube. Thank you again for all that you have taught me. Three years with you has taken me on the fiddle journey that I had always wanted.
Gregg
Thank you!! This lesson was so helpful.
Tuning in the beginning would be helpful. Im not getting the same sound because it’s not tuned and it is a stressful endeavor.
Thanks Shannon, I agree! Will pass this suggestion along. Happy music making 🎶
If you’re using a practice journal exclusively as a way to memorize the materials you’re studying, pencil and paper are more than adequate. The physical act of writing things down is an effective way to bake things into your brain, analogous to “looping” a set of bars for learning a music passage.
However, if you want to use journalling as a way to recall a practice or rehersal two years later, a searchable electronic journal is probably a better method.
Spending twenty minutes looking for the correct spiral notebook and page for a ten second exercise isn’t a good use of practice time, especially when you’re already sitting in front of some screen connected to a networked device.
Its been a busy couple of weeks working through this lot. I am glad I have put in the time doing each exercise, I can hear the difference from when I started to the end.
Loving this song!!! Starting week 2 🙂
Welcome to Ševčíkhed.
Great songs. Yeah, double stops are hard, and the chord dbl stop thing seems impossible, lol. Where’s the beginner lesson on double stops? I just finished Module 1.6 so I’m probably not there yet.
Great to hear of your interest, Sarah 🙂 Here are all the lessons for Double Stops for your perusal: https://fiddlehed.com/?s=double+stops
Thanks Jocelyn! ☺️ That’s super helpful!
The tune finder is a great tool. I can see how I can implement this into my learning journey. Thanks for creating this.
I really appreciate this lesson, thank you..I need ones like this. I can listen and follow, however, my brain seems to want to count the measures out to help me remember the patterns and come in on time. For example, 1234 2234 3234 4234, recalling each number the change lands on. Otherwise, I do have to listen every time and potentially get behind/lost in the patterns. Should I follow my brain with this organization impulse or is that cheating? Lol
Great you enjoy, and share the noticing & reflecting, Kayli. It makes total sense to count. I’d say keep trying both methods (counting internally and also challenge ourselves by not), once we get more and more familiar with a tune, the chord changes will become automatic as we further memorize and sense how the song transforms between chords. Could also experiment counting in different ways such as 1 or 2 counts in a bar, 1..2..3..4.. in 4 bars or 1,2..2,2..3,2..4,2.. 🙂
Your encouragement and guidance helps! I think I got the rest of the notes almost all right with audiation!
Love this lesson, thank you!!!! 😁
Thank you for this course! I am a 41 year old complete beginner with 0 musical training prior but I am already experiencing so much joy in playing even this early in the course. Maybe I can be a musician after all if the trend keeps up!
thanks Jason for singing this song, that was
,so cool how you sang that an the tune was Awesome , hope I can learn, that right, down to earth in this side of the hills
This was an awesome session and tune, thanks for what you do! My son was just norn a few weeks ago, named morris, a fun little coincidence!
thank you Jason for the lesson, I know part of it just wasn’t sure but thankful you help to correct , me your so cool, Grateful for Songs
THANK YOU SANTA FOR TEACHING, OF THE SONG AN TUNE, I AM GRATEFUL THANKFUL
Hi Santa! Love this song so much – thank you! I think I’ve got all the parts down, but am a bit confused about how to put it all together. Sorry if I missed it in the two different lessons, but is there anywhere that you play it with all the parts altogether?
Great point Shannon, Jason has included full sheet music on the lesson page, that puts the parts together. Here’s the pdf link for reference
I will note your suggestion to create a video/audio that puts all parts together, thank you!
Loved this!
cool tune have get that tune in my head listen for a while, thankful an Grateful Merry Christmas next Month Thanks Fiddlehed Jason
hey Jason this is sooo Coool I love the double stops, lt take me a looonnggee time get this not the tune its that bowing part,
,thanks Fiddlehed Jason, your so cool,
o those double stops so cool have to learn that put in on the tune , thanks for the lesson having fun practice
Wondering if you have recommendations for double stops for all three sections in sheet music form? That would be so helpful!
Hello Tirzah, Thanks for reaching out on this.
Here are the chords:
1st Break: A E F#m D A E F#m D A E D D
2nd Break: A E F#m D A E D D
3rd Break: A E F#m D A E F#m D A E F#m D A E D D
Locate the triad notes for each chord and find the double stop that works best for you. For example, F#m triad is F# A and C#. Locate where you prefer to play a double stop with two notes from the triad, how the transition between the surrounding chords are, also how it sounds with the melody/solo.
Chord Finder, Interval Central and Scale Central can support you in this process.
Also, have you seen this lesson on Beginner backup for wagon wheel?
I don’t understand the second option—practice one interval on each string pair? Is that 2 strings at once? Thanks
Sarah, thank you for mentioning this. It is confusing, therefore we removed it 🙂 Appreciate You! Please reach out anytime.
this looks so hard ,,,,, il will do one bar at a day, every day . thanks for the lesson Jason ,sorry i miss lt few days ago il have a lots of practice in this Jig, Thankful Grateful for Music,
Cool exercises, but can we talk about the awesome purring cat at the end of the video! Loved that.
Jason I did the Replay Lession I listen very Carefully. I got. Some of it. Took me awhile. . I got the Hang of it. not perfect. Hanging in there with Y’all. Thanks For The Lession Thsnkful an Grateful 🎻❤️
In the section that says “Full Tabs, Audio & Sheet Music” the sheet music is missing. I would love a copy of the sheet music if possible! (The sheet music is easier for me to practice than the tabs)
Thanks for reaching out Rachel, I somehow do see the sheet music and pdf link on this page. Here is the pdf link in case it’s helpful: https://media.fiddlehed.com/2017/01/Joy-the-World.pdf
Maybe clearing caches/cookies on web browser, updating browser and device software, or opening a private/incognito window could help. Please let us know if you experience this with more pages, and we can help get to the bottom of it 🙂
I have a 3/4 violin. A little too small for me, but otherwise it sounds pretty nice and stays in tune. I thought I’d start with this since $$ is a bit tight, and then splurge (reasonably) when I commit. Does that sound like a plan?
Good idea Angela~ it takes some adjustment to learn the different position of arms once upgrade the size. May be worth keeping an eye out for a reasonable full size, or even option to share/borrow one when possible 🙂
Great you took this step towards playing!
I just started this song and I’m struggling getting the rhythm in the first measure. I’ll just keep breaking it down and working on it.
Thanks for sharing John~ sometimes I try various metronome or beats to help learn a section. Could have a beat sounding for every 8th note to get the feel for rhythm. clapping and voice practise too 🙂
Jayson I am learning so much from your way of teaching and Just want to thank you
Hi Jason!
Can you please put a printable version of the colored finger chart for the Kentucky waltz on this site so we can print it out?
Thanks
Cher
Thanks for asking Cher, I will add your request to our list 🙂
I got a new bow as a gift about year into lessons, and I need to relearn my technique! I’m trying to figure out how much pressure to use, and everything sounds pretty scratchy, still. Any tips?
Hi Matt,
Great to hear, and thanks for asking.
Please ensure you have enough rosin on a new bow, it will need extra application if you received it without rosin. Also ensuring the strings are clean can help with sound, wearing earplugs to clean rosin off strings is advised 🙂
Here is a post about rosining the bow.
There is a great section on bowing called Bow Central under the ‘Practise’ tab.
Another section under the ‘Support’ tab called ‘Fiddle Questions’ , has a whole section on bowing with FAQ.
Also, when one types a key word into the search bar, such as ‘bowing’ , there are further lessons/posts to peruse.
Happy music making!
Who is THAT young guy?
Oops “Lean on Me”
Hi Marcos, there is a full audio under the full tabs. Thanks for asking!
These are fun – I was hoping we might complete the song “Lean in Me” after the intro :))
I posted a question below on 9/28. I have moved on to other lessons but it would be appreciated if it could be answered at some point. Much appreciated!
Thanks for following up Malcolm! You’re right, this tune is in A dorian (G major key but root note is A). That seems to be a typo. I changed the warm up to say ‘practise A dorian with A drone’. Thanks for noting this, and please consider noting anything else in the comments along the way. If you would like a more timely response on something, please email us at [email protected]
Still cannot play the jam mixes
So warm up part a second warm up notes do not match audio…and then on a part 2 nd quarter notes don’t match audio either? What’s up with that? And why do you start playing before the count in is finished? Kind of totally throws me off at the beginning.
Glad you mentioned this, Marcos. Good point that the sheet music shows the notes in opposite order that Jason starts the audio with, same notes are used though.
With the other audios, Jason is playing pickup notes to begin the audio track, which aren’t included in the sheet music snippets. I see that the 3rd and 4th quarter also contain the picckup, which is inaccurate. Thanks for mentioning this is confusing, will take note of it.
Yes, pickup notes are what Jason is playing prior to finishing the count in. It’s good to hear the pickup notes that lead into that phrase to help transition between phrases and start the song. Please let me know if this can be explained further.
HELLO… I LEARNED JINGLE BELLS ON MY FIDDLE WITH A BACK UP SOUND TRACK YOU HAD ON UTUBE… YOU STARTED SLOW AND THEN WENT FASTER… IT WAS SUCH A GREAT LEARNING TOOL BUT I CAN’T FIND IT ANYMORE… AND I AM ALSO TRYING OUT STRUM MACHINE… GREAT APP… THANK YOU JASON… DENISE
Denise, thanks for asking! I think I found it on YouTube:
Here’s also the main lesson page for Jingle Bells with a variety of play along options/content.
Oh boy, I can’t do the double stops right now. It works to put my fingers closer to the DG strings in doing the first three but when going to the A BC it’s very easy. Going back down and up on the D is hard. It’s hard because I worked so hard at landing correctly on the note and now I must move my fingers closer closer to the G string to do the double stop! I know, it’s a process. I’m 70 and been playing classical for 1.5 years but love the slower fiddle tunes that use double stops as accents. I guess that is my goal for now. Master the D scale with double stops. Thanks for your tips.
Why isn’t there any full audio of the song?? Only the chunks. Would be nice to have the full track somewhere so I could play the whole thing with audio.
Hi Marcos, there is a full audio underneath the full tabs. Please let me know if you still don’t see it. Thanks for asking!
I’m new to your course and enjoying very much. I think a lesson on the Mixolydian scale (and other scales) would be good. As you mentioned in your video above, reviewing the scales with the song would be a big help.
I know a little music theory but not very much so if you have any lessons on Music Theory they would be of interest to me.
Thanks,
John
Thanks for your feedback and inquiring, John.
One can use the search bar at the top of screen to type in keywords to see what similar content is available.
When searching mixolydian, a couple options show up: What is Mixolydian Scale and Fiddling with Mixolydian mode
As for Music Theory, the section called Note Reading for Fiddlers can support learning theory. It can be found under the ‘Courses” tab, then ‘Pathways’
There’s also some common questions answered in the page Fiddle Questions about note reading, found in ‘Support’ tab.
Very helpful. Thanks.
Fantastic! More more more, please. This is exactly the level that I need. Thank you!!
(My 4 chord sounds pretty screechy–especially in A)
Thanks Carol, noted this!
No “Complete Lesson” button on this page?
Thanks for noting this Sam, no not currently.
Hi
I would like to learn to play the Bandura waltz. I found you on utube but you don’t have the fingering for each part on there. I have only been with you for a year now and like your way of looping to learn. I searched for that lesson and could not find it. Can you please tell me if you could please give me the fingering for each part? Or is there a lesson that I could take with you?
Thanks
Cher
Cher, thanks for mentioning this. With the Youtube lesson, please click the ‘more’ button in the description below the video and there you will find full tabs.
Your right, this lesson is not on FiddleHed, just through Youtube here:
Will put in a request to create a full lesson for this on FiddleHed. Thank you!
For some reason I am unable to get to this lesson, the Mary’s version or the OBS pattern lesson from here or on Instagram. The links here take me to the home page for signing up for Fiddlehed…. I want to learn this tune but I need to start with the Bile them Cabbage, Mary’s and/or the basic OBS pattern. What should I do?
Thanks for inquiring Michelle, I will contact you directly to troubleshoot this.
This is interesting. Shows how much tension is in the bow hand. The challenge for me is not letting the bow bounce on the return stroke. I am trying t observe to see why that is happening. It must be a smooth transition somehow. I’ll might be letting the bow fall onto the string. Perhaps I will slow the motion down. Love learning how to self analyze! Great lesson.
Great tune Jason may thanks
May I ask a rookie question? Jason suggests that we warm up for this tune with the A Major scale (which has 3 sharps, I believe), but the sheet music for this tune appears to be written in G Major. Can you explain what I am missing? Much appreciated! Malcolm
This was a fun challenge to do cross strings with the slur.
enjoyed practice oh Susanna it helps with the jam music, sometimes I had to pause to catch up with music or I was ahead of music , it was fun for me thanks fiddlehed jsn yah
Yes!!! Breathing into the sound is where I’m able to start sounding good. I’m very physical in my playing… I love to sway and walk while fiddling. If you’ve seen Mozart in the Jungle, the woman in that show is very inspiring!
I almost feel “blind” at the beginning, trying to hear where the different chords belong, but you really helped to guide us through the struggle. I did so much better when we got to the chorus of the last song!
P.S. a lesson on the melody would be fun, too! I love how you mixed it in with playing the chords towards the end 😀
This was awesome!! I really needed this! I think if I keep doing lessons like this, I will be much more comfortable trying a jam session in person and getting away from my sheet music. Thank you Jason!
I am having difficulty with these pages, I am subscribed but each time I click on a section of the course it logs me out and tells me I need to pay for a subscription (which I have). I log in again, and the cycle continues.
Thanks for your comment, glad we dealt with this via email. Please reach out anytime.
thanks jsn , for the teaching me ,it take me while to catch um on still learning by ear , going by the small steps ,
thanks fiddlehed jsn this has help me hear the tunes ,better ,I still have a ways to go yet ,this has improved me keep going the first quarter was ok , but I accidently bumped the 2nd part, I try to listen realize I had the wrong chords but it was fun this was the first time playing this tune ,more I practice better it will come togather,
I do not see the notes being stacked in the second quarter, it looks the same as the first. How am I supposed to tell when they’re double stops if they look the same?
Great point Sara 🙂
You’re right, I draw the chords/double stops 1 over the other by hand, but digitally it isn’t always easy to do. As one can see in the section ‘Notating two notes at once’, Jason has simply omitted the dash (-) between the notes, to identify they are played at once. I think the two tabs put together in that way is what Jason means by ‘stacked’.
2nd quarter does not contain any stacked notes.
Please let me know if this can be explained further.
Love the learning steps breakdown!
Hi, Jason. I was wondering if you could make a pathway for Texas-style fiddle? Western Swing?
Thanks Charlie, will note this for consideration 🙂
Having lots of fun with these lesson Fiddlehed Jsn .I practiced the tun small chunks . Then I couldn’t sign in on some of the Others. sites . To login in but still practice. The Excerise with. Kerry Polka. Thanks Fiddlehed Jsn. Yes I was having lots of fun to day. Need more practice. On these tunes I never played them before. So ther new to me. I’m thinking about sending. Smoke Signals. Your way. If I can’t get through to my lesson so you know I need your Help. 🤣 Lol I’m just grateful. That u got me on these lesson. Has Reslly help Me. ❤️⭐️
This is very helpful, as structure and timed intervals makes learning more meaningful, yet fun! Thank you.
I did ok untill pick up speed , having a time keep up with the speed of the tune , beautiful tune I need more practice thanks Fiddlehed jason, sure was fun trying this out on the fiddle
This was great. I was surprised at how tunes I learned weeks ago came right back to me as soon as I heard them. Also great to revisit some tunes that I struggled with and recognize how far I’ve come. I was brand new to the instrument just a few short months ago, and while I still have quite a way to go before I’m ready for prime time, I have made great progress. Looking forward to whatever comes next!
Thanks for this lesson! I could feel this breaking some barriers for me!
Thank you ever so much. I did it with the tune of Ashokan farewell 2nd Quarter. I had to listen Close to catch the chord’s I love it. Thst really Help me a lot… Fiddlehed Jsn I sure R.Grateful …made me Feel like yeah fin doing something Right. I never play this tune or sing before. I will continue. Doing some more of this. Thank you. Again for your Guidance helping me. I think I made My Stars in the Atmospheric. Happy. lol 🤗🤗❤️⭐️⭐️🌟
thank you Jason
you have found your life’s mission !
I had an instructor that said always end your practice session with a tune that you like and can play well, so you feel good about your practice.
Jason Loving your site And This really is good for a self taught That did not know anything about Cords or Music
See you soon At The Office
Thank you Jocelyn! That makes sense! I’m enjoying the challenge of getting these into my fingers. I’ve been notating and memorizing them gradually. I play them with my regular scales each time I practice. 😁 They truly are beautiful…I’m hooked 💖
As long as it’s marked for “cross-tuned” or “saw-mill” before the color-coded tab system, I’m good to go. I’m mean, I’m starting to understand what’s going on. I’m glad that I waited and went through the earlier classes before I attempted this. Great fun and thanks. Ro.
Thank you Jason for the info on Miro Motions practice it has influence me help with me with My. Lessons of. Motions help me to Listening better Pay attention of what I’m hearing Relaxing more Picking up little by little Grateful thankful Of Learning to play clean an getting the right Tunes In my head ❤️🤗
I was wondering perhaps that the “Tom Bigby Waltz” is very similar to this tune? I don’t see it in your index list but maybe its called by another name?
I don’t see that tune within FiddleHed either, thanks for bringing it up, will add it as a request 🙂
Hey Jason, I’m really enjoying your product, fiddlehed. I like the way you teach and the content that you have. My main interest is the old time fiddle tunes. My question, and concern is, is it hard on a fiddle to cross tune it to AEae? I love the sound, but will it damage the fiddle? Thank you Jason. Jim G.
H Jim, thanks for your patience with our reply. Appreciate your interest in FiddleHed!
I am not familiar with answering this question. Personally, if i was to use sawmill tuning, I’d likely buy the specific string for that note, or use a cheaper string to tune it to 1 note higher than it’s intended use.
I will ask Jason this and get back to you. In the meantime, here are some other common questions answered.
How do I add to Favorites Why dont my lessons get saved in my profile
Hello friend, thanks for asking. You can add any page to favourites by clicking the button at the bottom of the page, just above ‘leave a reply’ section.
You can access your favourite list from the ‘practise toolkit’, which can be found under the ‘Practise’ tab, or close to the bottom of most lessons.
You can also access your favourites list to the right of the ‘favourite’ button, when you select the page as a favourite.
Good point about having it in your profile, I will make a suggestion for this.
How do you put things in Favorites I dont see any tabs
first time playing this tune thank jason
I 100% just picked up that bow and did it…. Before I got to the directions. But I did it. Yes I did.
New to you site and like it a lot But having issues
I need help with how to save things I am working with, Like I found somewhere and was working with tune U2 With or Without You But could not save and now I cant find it. And Im working with Nashville number system But no way to save it, There are other other course as well I have started but not in my profile. Text message are good Thank You
Geoff Lippman
Thanks Geoff, sorry we could’nt get back to you sooner.
You can add any page to favorites by clicking the button at the bottom of the page, just above ‘leave a reply’ section.
You can access your favorite list from the ‘practise toolkit’, which can be found under the ‘Practise’ tab, or close to the bottom of most lessons.
You can also access your favourites list to the right of the ‘favorite’ button, when you select the page as a favourite.
I’ve made a note of this to put an explainer into the ‘How to Use FiddleHed’ section. Thank you for the feedback!
This certainly was an interesting challenge tune to learn. I hadn’t heard of it before. The call and response was a challenge, but I did as much as I could. lol I reverted to the sheet music, but only to confirm I was on the right track. I realized that if I listened to the tune long enough and get familiar with I would eventually be able to play it. Definitely being able to sing or to hear the tune in my head helped. Great fun!
I wish you would leave the finger positions chart on all the time, while you playing a song.
Great suggestion Fred, thank you! Will note this.
What a beautiful song and really fun to play!!
What does “finger printing” mean?
Great question Lori!
Here’s a post that explains the term
Is there a short video on how taut to make the bow? I always loosen it prior to storing away, but am unsure how much to tighten it prior to playing…
Sarah, thanks for asking. There’s a post answering this question in the ‘Support’ tab, within ‘fiddle questions’. Here’s the post for easy reference
I am using a few different sections of your site. I am a self taught fiddler. Play a lot by memorization. Is there an easy way to keep track of lessons I am working on.
Hi Geoff, best way would be to favorite it, or keep the tabs open, or save them to your desktop. the progress tracker function is being worked on, so not currently a reliable function. Thanks for asking!
I just did it slow and moved on. It’s a hard one to do fast without slurs. I’d print it out and write in the slurs—but I’m coming from classical, so I’m still pretty notation dependent. Hoping this course will make me a little faster on my feet without relying on music
Hi there! I’m having some issues with “completing” the lessons. I keep getting a blank page (well, with a “-1” in the upper left corner) when I hit the “complete lesson” button. 🙂
Thanks for letting us know Erin. This function is being worked on currently. We’ll make an announcement when functioning well again. Appreciate your understanding.
I’ve finshed the module however; I cant seem to get the “Complete lesson” button to work on my progress.
Thanks John, this function hasn’t been working properly since the site upgrades, we will post an announcement when it is fixed. Thanks for your understanding.
Hi there! It is so nice to have your violin playing to play the G and C scales with. The 3 sound tracks for the G major upper Octave and the 100 bpm in C major won’t play. I’m making progress!
Thank you kindly Linda, sorry about this. We will update you once this is fixed. Happy playing 🙂
Thank you Jason, the call and response sessions are indeed fun and learning.
The words on the screen as you talk are great.
An old person losing their hearing , will find that quite helpful.
Hey folks, I think we resolved most of these issues…remixed the tracks.
New ones on the way with more space, simpler ideas…
Out of curiosity, I read through these modes. It certainly helps to understand them better with the songs listed in each mode. I have a feeling that it will be years before I will understand them. For now, I will start with the ones that are more familiar to the songs I know! My brain is full….. How would I ever be able to mark this lesson “complete”…. lol. Thanks again for all the great work that is on Fiddlehed….
I am enjoying the challenge of making these rhythms timely and sounding beautiful as the recording. Very helpful for technique, playing in tune, and flow. Please take notice that the audio of 13b is actually the audio for exercise 14a. It would be nice to correct exercise 13b to match 13a. It’s incredible that you have developed all of this structure online. Thank you..
Love your feedback Linda, thank you. We will let you know once these missing audio files have been added.
great call and response lesson
I can’t access the sheet music for this one. I have a subscription.
Hi Lori, I see you have an active subscription as well. I will email you to discuss further. Thanks for your patience.
For some reason I can’t access the sheet music for this song, Devil’s Dream. It doesn’t seem to recognize that I am a subscriber.
After several failed attempts I was able to get back in. Seems okay now
Hi Will, thanks for reaching out and letting us know what you’re experiencing. I will follow up via email. 🙂
I can’t seem to get to the lessons. I am trying to get back to Call and Response Exercises 1. It comes up with the page title but none of the exercises show up below that. Scrolling down all I see is comments
Wow! Just discovered the scale central! What an amazing thing! I love it guves me structure to play scales, which keeps me working through them longer.. and allows me to keep working on my ear as i pay attention to that in tune body feel and hum! Thanks for this.. Fiddlehed really is such a great resource!
This was extremely helpful. I actually was able to figure out the chord progressions when I did the play along track.
I love this!! Thanks so much, this lesson truly made my day. I can’t wait to fiddle around with more of this tomorrow!! Yay! You really made the video easy to follow and I appreciate how you teach. Everything is so thorough. 😀
Timing is the essence
I liked this approach. It would be great if you could add a faster version or speed up half way through. Also a version in D and in A would add interest and challenge but I do appreciate how much time it must take to make these lessons.
This was very helpful. Thanks,
I am a beginner and have been working on “loving” my sound and finding the right place for my bow. In the meanwhile, when working on this, for some reason my intonation of my left hand has gotten off. Can’t wait to get the two working back together again!!! lol. A long way to go for sure. This tune has been a challenge as far as switching over three strings. I don’t understand why my fingers of my left hand changed, but this module is so precise. It’s fascinating that I am improving each week. I also learned in this lesson the appreciation of doing sa cale and “playing” with it. It’s been very exciting. Great lesson..
Lots of information here – I’m not a beginner but I’m starting at ground zero as a refresher. No posts here for quite some time!
Love this lesson! Thanks!!
thank you Jason
I think I finally found my starting point. I’ve been jumping around a bit since I started my trial. I love how you teach and really appreciate the variety of resources you provide. Thank you.
Wow! Plucking that beginner part along with the video really made my heart sing!!! It was soooo fun!
What a great resource! Thanks heaps!
I can use these to learn new tunes, play along with old and new tunes, and practice chords. Fabulous!
Carol
Fun tune! I love this list of tunes that I can play along with and practice playing chords. My chords are awful! Especially the G (D0A1). I can’t seem to get that in tune. Also I have trouble consisting playing both strings. I know: Practice practice practice!
Carol
starting all over
I was struggling on the 3ed quarter, I am playing more advanced with the high 3, I like to look closely at the note graph on the top corner and then I write the notes to sheet music to follow, Can you include the finger chart for advance like you do in beginner notes, I keep missing when you play same note twice, Like D3 A-O D1 A1 — A1 D3 D1 It took me a bit but after watching you over n over I final caught I was missing the A1
Also Sheet music showing Double notes or a slur I think its called. But I’m getting it. And learning new tunes
I find it good to copy this and place the music on my music stand instead of looking at computer.
Thank you Fiddlehed Jsn I’m looking forward to to take the fiddle Journey . The only thing I can’t do is sing . I’m not good on talking either I have impaired speech problems but I can hear tunes an I do play them I would like to learn dawning of the day.. wild wood Flower Mary had a little lamb .thank you for the videos . been watching an practice playing ever day. God Bless 👍
I really enjoyed this lesson.
Question: In the video and image for plucking you have your thumb right on the corner… is it ok to tuck it all the way under the strings?
Thanks Amy! Great question. It is easier to pluck on different strings if your thumb is on edge of fingerboard, as Jason displays. The movability of our hand in this position supports alot of freedom to move. Experimenting with anchoring your hand in different ways makes sense. Keeping the hands from touching the strings is good so the sound can ring out/continue during and after plucking. Also, touching the violin body with our hands can wear away at the finish.
Maybe you can find a method that is preferable for you!
I often will put the violin in a guitar position, rest my fingers on the lower edge of the fingerboard and pluck with my thumb, especially if I’m not going between bowing and plucking quickly.
Love these. I’m wondering though, why do these pentatonic scales not end on the root note of the scale like I’m used to for regular scales?
Thanks for asking Kayli. Yes, good idea to play pentatonic scales in both ways: within the range of the root note at bottom and top (as you mention), as well as utilizing the full range of notes possible within 1st position (how Jason is showing it here).
Wow, unbelievable. It’s like you read my mind. This is exactly what I need at this stage. Thank you!!!
I am searching to see were to start, I played the fiddle 17 years ago Just good enough that the average person could not tell I didn’t know Jack, But then I had a very bad finger accident that took 2 years to heal and a couple more before i could start using it. That set me back, I have picked up my fiddle now and then but just a few months ago got tired of waiting time on internet and social media
and started practicing a lot, I never understood cords. Played a lot on memory. I hope between your teaching and some privet lessons I will not Run my dog or Wife out of the house.
I’m looking forward to embarking upon this journey!
Yes! This ear training for chords helped tremendously. Not hearing the name of the chords was a benefit, as my ear found the chords (and when to change them) without my thinking getting in the way.
Revisited this lesson,
Holy cow, I sound a little better !
This was a great intro to training my ear to hear chord changes. Please do more sessions like this!
Great lesson and fun to watch you have fun doing it.
You seem more relaxed singing ( la Laing) lately
Thank You , keep them coming.
Try them chunking.
I really liked this lesson and would love more like it. And or more suggestions for simple chord song.
I really like this type of practice. Foe so long i have practiced scales and learning notes and songs, so learning technique is really helpful. My husband plays guitar and someone asked him about it and he said for years he thought all his learning was his left hand, but what made the music come to life was his right hand. This is a right hand lesson!!! Brings the music to life!
Building triads is doing wonders for helping me to make the connections across the fingerboard. Two note chords are delightfully ambiguous.
Hi, I am trying to access Chord Backup Central and have tried from several different links and the website returns a 404 error.
Hi Michelle, glad you asked 🙂 Jason recently changed this:
see courses > pathways > chord backup pathway:
https://fiddlehed.com/courses/pathways/how-to-play-back-up/
Hello! This one was interesting. I get that its based off of mary had a little lamb, and the different bow pattern (long,short,short) changes it up, but there is also added notes that are not in original.. which mages it feel like a different song. I know in some trad music grace notes and ornamentation can drastically shape the tune.. but i was surprised to see added notes here. Is it common to add notes with a hoe down shuffle pattern?
William, thanks for your comment! Great observation. Yes, hoedown rhythm could be utilized on basic version too. This variation does add a twist that changes the tune. Please reach out anytime!
Instead of rushing to the next tune this week, I am working on my intonation this week. Everyday has been a little different. Straight scales and Rhythms. In working with the drone I beginning to hear some progress. To treat myself today, I played along with the tune loop. It’s very fun! Thank you.
Love this lesson!! Thanks!
Sorry I missed this one – will go through recording. Got the time mixed up.
Hi Jason
I think it was the May office hours that I attended during which I asked about how to make the best chord choices when playing back up. I have been following your chord course although, as you will hear, still not getting even the one finger chords perfectly in tune. But I notice that, especially when playing in A, the simple chords on the A and E strings don’t sound right with many tunes and I asked if you, when learning a new backup, would run through all the possible inversions until you found the best ones for that tune.
You kindly suggested that I send you a couple of examples of songs I am trying to play back up for and I have finally pinned my partner down and recorded a couple that are not too terrible. However I now realize that don’t know where I should upload them to!
All the very best. You have a great program here.
Anna Holdaway [email protected]
Hi Anna, thank you for your message 🙂
Please log into your Play Every Day account: https://play-every-day.circle.so
That would be the best method for sharing content for feedback. Happy to support you in logging on, posting content on there, or anything else.
If you get onto Play Every Day platform, feel free to message me directly at Jocelyn Martens, or email at [email protected]
Happy music making
Fabulous practice. Thanks! Definitely worth repeating! Yes!
At first I was confused because you didn’t play the repeats (AABB) but once I caught on, hugely useful! Thanks!
Fabulous!!! This is exactly what I need to take my fiddling to the next level. Thank you!!!!
This was a great lesson. I worked through most of it 3 times and made some progress each time. I could definitely benefit from going through it another 3 times. Thanks for all the effort you put into this.
Do you have to move into second and third position to move up the scales, because of finger placement, from what you have given us here?
Great question Grace. No, these exercises are designed for 1st position. That would be a great challenge to approach other positions with these, as you feel drawn 🙂
I like this tune !
The triplets (3/4 time) practice tracks would be great if they had a 1-2-3 count lead in instead of 4 beats, and if they didn’t have the two beat weird pauses at the end of each set. It made it hard to get into a good groove. The other tracks have been very helpful!
Melissa, I agree, thank you for sharing 🙏🏽
how can I download and print this sheet music?
Noticed the sound tracs are missing from from the G major upper octave variation exercise.
I just re upped my subscription and took this workshop, I had a blast! Thanks Jason🎻
Thank you for this work shop. I’m trying to learn Kenny Baker’s Back Up and Push. I was told to try it in second position. So I went to this work shop to help me learn to shift. But I am learning much more, not only shifting up the neck, but better hand position and how important it is to hold the violin better at the chin/shoulder. Difficult lesson for me but doable with a lot of practice. Jason, I always see how important small repetitive steps are and chaining the basics in order to move forward or “up the neck”.
This was a great lesson. At 46 I am learning how to play the fiddle. These lessons are easy to follow and I feel like I am actually learning to play! Thank you
I love these exercises!
Cool! I like this, thx
Tanx John 😍
Let us know how you use this. Do you practice with it once or multiple times?
The guided fiddle lessons are A#1
love it!
Had to come back to this after learning the first two bars of Cooleys reel. I could not longer play first A quarter of Road to Lisdoonvarna without a refresher!! Thank goodness for fiddlehed!!!
Pretty tune!
The initial fast speed also caught me by surprise. I was able to keep up about 2/3 of the way through the track. After that I started missing notes but nevertheless satisfied with my performance.
Oops. I think the tab for the 8th note in the first half of the first qtr s/b A0, not D0. Just didn’t sound right.
Thank you kindly, Tom!
That was so much fun!
this was a good practice. I still find it challenging to play those notes on the E string in tune
This will be my first real try at 4th finger.
…Great one. So simple but beautiful
This was a fun and informative lesson!
great lesson, thank you!
Thank you Jason for another excellent and highly useful guided practice! Clean string crossings are probably my no. 1 struggle so this practice session is just what I need. Please keep them coming!
Great great great!
Yiou give so much, but of course I want more, greedy cuss that I am.
Could you create links to 5 (or 10) songs that have just those 3 chords with a recording that we can play along with for each.
Great idea Carol! Have noted your point for consideration 🙂 We just added a list to this page related to songs/lessons that utilize the 3 chords. Thanks for mentioning it!
Shootin’ Creek – Beginner and Intermediate versions are exactly the same. I was having trouble with the Intermediate version so I checked tunefinder because I thought I remembered seeing an easier version–but, no such luck! Stuck with mastering the harder version. Bwa bwa…
Hi Mary, great point you make. The only difference between those lessons are the lower and upper octave focuses.
I do not see a simpler version through FiddleHed either. I will add the idea for a simpler version to consider in the future, thanks!
Great lesson, Jason!
Wow, this is so great! You have created a truly amazing learning opportunity. Thank you!
Carol
Love that chord practice. Thanks!
This is great advice! I have a friend who always want me to play songs way to difficult. When I do I sound terrible and then get discouraged. This course has been wonderful for me. Thanks Jason & Jocelyn
This is great practice. I liked learning the different patterns with chords
OK jumping into this one…a little shocked at the intial speed and feeling like I need to do some work on this one but up for the challenge! Printing out the music now and working out how / where to slur to give me a fighting chance of being able to play along 🙂
Hi Jason,
I’ve just been spending the last two or three days looking at tune books for Old Time American / Appalachian fiddle that I’ve accumulated over the years, simply so that I could play these tunes on the mando. However, I’m now going to attempt to play them properly, or as well as I can, on the fiddle in the Old Time fiddle style, as I can see how the techniques you teach apply to these tunes that I know, but have never really tried on the fiddle, because I wasn’t sure about bowing, etc. I realize that (relatively) “simple” things like double stops are not that easy (depending on the fingers involved!), which is why I probably dodged them before. I’ve decided to challenge myself to focus hard on your Old Time Intermediate Course, initially for a month, if that’s ok, just to see how I get on. The course structure suits me very well – as a former (language) teacher I fully endorse your method: take nothing for granted, and keep going over the same thing until you’ve really got it down.
Kind regards,
Doug
May I suggest adding “The Gael” (Last of the Mohicans) to the TuneFinder list?
Thanks!
Thank you for noting and suggesting this, Dwight! Here is the lesson page in the meantime: Last of the Mohicans Theme
The tabs for the last quarter of the B part don’t seem to match up with the sheet music. What am I missing? Is it just that this is a more simple version of the actual tune?
Tom, thanks for mentioning it. I have adjusted the tabs for 4th quarter of both A and B parts, they were missing a couple notes at the end. You’re right though, one could stay on the A note for the whole last bar to make it simpler.
I have also noticed there’s a slight difference leading into the last quarter between the sheet music/tabs and how Jason plays it. I will make note to work on this lesson when possible. Happy playing!
Thank you! This is helpful for my messy strings… I am going to go through the lesson again and keep these exercises in mind when I come to those challenges in songs. Also, good reminder for me to start slowly and build up speed. And congratulations to you on your new little guy Sonny! 🙂
really enjoyed this lesson
Playing along with you is so helpful for me to hear if I am in tune or not. I’ve been playing along with other beginners who are not always playing in tune so it’s hard for me to tell if I am playing in tune or not. I am sounding much better playing along with you Jason! Great little tune!
This is an absolutely beautiful song. Came to this site to learn Irish fiddle and finding I am falling in love with so much more. Thank you for bringing joy in my playing, andf for opening my eyes to the wider world of fiddle music!
Would love to see the “Heaven’s Gate Waltz”- a beautiful moment on film!
Sounds great, Van 🙂 I’ve added this to our requests.
I enjoyed this workshop. I am a low intermediate player I’d say, but these basic skills are great practice in improving sound and intonation. Will these guided practice sessions be archived somewhere on the Fiddlehed site. Thank you! And welcome to Sonny! It’s good to have some happy news!
Thanks for your message, Lisa 🙂 I agree these are so helpful.
Great question. Yes, Jason has archived these practices under ‘Practise Tools’, called Guided Practice Sessions
What a sweet easy tune. Thank you for sharing!
I did enjoy this but had difficulty hearing the difference between offbeat accent and downbeat accent. Perhaps just more subtle than I thought it would be. I liked the lesson though
Thanks so much Jason! A brilliant practice session, very enjoyable and really effective. It was easy to follow along and yet there is a lot in it with so many possibilities of adapting it. That’s not only my practice for the next while sorted but I’ll definitely be coming back to this often. Much appreciated. I’d love more of this!
I used this song to learn how to use Garage.
Played the Easiest first version an octave higher on fiddle, as well as the first variant ion.
on Mandolin, I played two finger chords, and the melody for the Duet Variation.
https://jmp.sh/s/SG48PxQDmufvslZUde7g
Like many, I am too struggling with the timing especially with the last two lines in part B.
Looks like you have moved to the attic …….
“The General, formerly a near-sighted newspaperman, had become disoriented in the close fight in the pouring rain and, in the process of reconnoitering, came upon some troops he took to be his own men. They were not. A colonel of the Union troops realized the nearsighted general’s mistake and, in plain view of Zollicoffer’s men, killed him with a point-blank pistol shot to the chest.” https://tunearch.org/wiki/Annotation:Zollie%27s_Retreat
Everything about that war is just too sad.
Might have missed it in the video but why do you call it an I-V progression?
I haven’t looked at this for a long time…and I see what you have added. This is terrific! Thank you, Jason.
Yes. I can’t follow this recording. A lot is missing
Thanks for notifying us, Lisa 🙂 There was an editing feature used that cut out some content. Jason will work on this and let folks know.
Hmmm. The transition from D2 to AO dilemma I spoke to below. So I skipped on down to the D3 to A1 interval which I have had trouble with in the song Amazing Grace that I picked out by tune. It’s a hard one to navigate without extraneous sounds between. Would be great to hold down the D notes and “toggle” between the two. I just now tried something and was able to make it work! Do you ever kinda slide the D3 leftward and play the note over a bit in order to then create space for the A string to vibrate to minimize “skew”? Is there actually a correct term for what I’m calling “skew”?
Anyone else unable to play D2 then AO with D2 held down? (AO is skewed) Wasn’t a problem like for G1 to D2 with G1 held down which was pretty cool to articulate those notes back and forth with both held down. Tried tip of finger down on D2 but still unable to hit AO. Btw: AO is the best note on my fiddle: good clear sound: anyone else relate?
Just leaving a note: knocked em out: humbling
Got em all. Thot’d these intervals would be easy. Nope! But actually doing the exercises makes you slow down and focus on trying to get (on key) notes without extraneous sounds. It’s humbling but I’m committed to tough it out!
BTW, there’s also a wonderful (and incidentally the first recorded version of it) cajun version by Steve Riley
Yes it was written by Jay with his wife Molly Mason for each other. They kept it private for a long time, but lucky for us it made it out into the world 🙂 It’s in their book Catskill Mountain Waltzes and Aires, but this version is a bit easier. Its been one of my favorites for a long time, along with Blue River Waltz which Jocelyn mentioned. Thanks so much for this lesson!
The fiddle playing part is missing a lot…
Thank you John, Appreciate you letting us know. Jason will work on this and notify you once fixed.
Playing around with backing tracks, 100bpm might be too fast for me, but practicing chords and rhythm.
It actually wasn’t written for the documentary, Jay wrote it to capture the bittersweet feeling that happens at the end of his and Molly’s music camps at the Ashokan Center in the Catskills of NY. Its always the last song played at the last dance for each camp (and that is the only time it is ever played there). The dance for it is a circle dance with specific steps so that almost everyone gets to dance with and honor everyone else (including children) who shared the week. It ends with waltzing with your original partner and is full of lots of both joys and tears. It helps both build community and say goodbye until the next time we gather. I don’t know how it was discovered by Ken Burns, but yes the film made it famous. My daughter and I have been going to Ashokan for a number of years so this beautiful song is close to my heart and is so full of emotion and memories for me. I’m grateful for this lesson and the song being shared with others, thank you
Hi, always wonder why folks call it a song, it is a tune.
Didn’t spend as much time this one, but I want to improve on the timing,
Here’s my go at it after a week practice.
This is such great practice for me. I’m trying to hear where the chords change, and when you provide those short passages with the chord names, I listen for the change. I hope I’m getting it right. I think so.
Thanks for sharing Carol, great you are enjoying this lesson!
Great lesson. I thought I could get along without reading but I am finding it to be easier than I imagined. Your teaching method is wonderfully stimulating.
The breakdown parts for the B part don’t seem to be correct. The tabs are different from the sheet music on B parts 1st & 2nd
Hi Joanne, thank you kindly for noticing and letting us know of this. Please refer to the regular sheet music for those sections for now. 🙂
Thank you for this! I’ve played fiddle tunes for a lot of years but have only recently tried to play chords as back up. This is the perfect practice recording: slow enough for me to find the chord and then gradually speeding up. This is going to help a lot!
Carol
Sorry to miss this live, this is fun/ could we do some more Dylan?
I will submit your request! Thanks for taking part Kathryn 🙂
Great lesson!
Thanks! I’m going through from the beginning to see where I should start.
This link will not open! Can you please help?
Please refer to this link: https://fiddlehed.com/blog/is-it-harder-to-bow-on-certain-strings/
Sorry about the error!
Why does a lesson not appear when I click on this link? Several others on this page also do not open also?
Thanks for bringing this to our attention, Malcolm. For anyone who ends up on this page, please refer to this link instead: https://fiddlehed.com/blog/6-tips-for-a-better-bow-hold/
Oops, I misinterpreted the rhythm for Hoe Down it’s long-short-short, still, it corresponds with the letter D
Jason, I was interested to note that the rhythms you showed in this first lesson corresponded to MORSE CODE letters.
Hoe Down – long-short-short-long corresponds to the letter X in morse code.
Triplets (if I heard correctly, 3 longs) – correspond to the letter O if they were three shorts then the letter S
and
Swing: long-short-long-short – the letter C
Tom Abrahamsen
Hi. I cannot loosen or tighten the bow easily, due to arthritis and loss of finger strength. I can use a silicone type “jar opener” product, though!
The last time I had blood work done, I asked the lab tech if I could keep my ‘used’ (disposable) tourniquit. Once home, I tied the tourniquit to my violin stand. Now, every time I start or finish playing, my handy device is right there so that I can adjust the bow accordingly!
Thanks Jason, another great workshop, just did it on replay. One of your hints that helped me was to lift the 3rd, 4th and maybe 2nd fingers slightly off the bow when adding doubles stops on the accents. I’ve always felt that I dig in heavily when attempting to play two strings together.
Lightening the pressure instead seems to work, I’ll practise paying more attention to that feel. Really enjoyed building the rhythm with off beat accents.
I’m having a hard time thinking of my fiddle goals as quantifiable. Other than the number of tunes I have memorized, what can I count? I guess the speed of my vibrato? Or the speed of a tune?
How would I measure the quality of my tone? Or the use of double stops? Or my ability to improvise? Or do I just count the amount of time I spend on these things?
This is way fun! It wasn’t too hard to learn by ear. Practicing it more frequently will help cement it in my shaky memory. Such a pretty tune!
I’m trying to figure out the bowing pattern for when you stress certain notes. Also, are the double stops you’ve added in just with D and A??
Hi Caroline, nice pursuits 🙂 It seems Jason is mainly emphasizing the 1st beat in a bar, also 1st pickup notes.
I think the double stops add open D and A as you found, as well as D1 (E),open G and G1 (A).
Learning the chords for the song can help in understanding the notes to use with double stops.
I will put in a request to consider a lesson on variation for this tune.
I’m surprised that the Goodnight, Irene hasn’t yet made it into the archives.
Thanks for the suggestion, have added it for consideration 🙂
Wow! What an experience.
Please don’t judge me, but I wound up improvising a soundtrack/song just with the different Drones
and the D and A string that honestly had me weeping. No kidding.
I played my fiddle through an amp with a lot of reverb, and along with the Drones,
the sound from such a simple combination of fiddle notes and Drones cranked up through the TV
was overwhelmingly beautiful.
This course is such an amazing value!
In our remote town, the sole fiddle teacher moved away.
I’m recommending fiddlehed right and left!
What to do with sore fingers that are slowing me down??
Thanks for asking, Cheryl. I will see your question gets addressed at the February office hours.
I would lean towards embracing what feels best, even if it means slower movements, embracing what is best for us.
Just enough challenge to make it interesting and want to learn !!!!
Thank you Jason🎻🎻🎻
Hi, I’ve been practicing Variation 1 of Old Joe Clark, and wonder if you could include the PDF file for printing? Thanks in advance!
Jody
Hi Jody, thanks for asking 🙂
The PDF file link is usually available below the sheet music photo. Here’s this one for easy reference
Happy music making!
Jason has there been any interest expressed in physical warm up exercises to do before practice? I do these every day to keep joints loose and muscles stretched. Do you have a favorite routine?
Hi Daksha, great questions to share. I will add your ideas to consider for a new post/lesson.
Be awesome to hear what different people do.
I often stretch, move limbs in circlular motions, shake, and move my body in opposite ways to what fiddling requires. I do this throughout my practises. 🙂
This was a great lesson. It was just the right amount of challenge for me. It was fun to learn a tune with such unusual timing!
thank you, Jocelyn, that’s helpful. I find it humorous that my mouth opens and closes while focusing on the roll!
Are you rolling your fingertip from side to side, or front to back along its pad?
Great question, Caroline 🙂
For me, rocking of my finger contacting the string starts at the original placement and moves a couple ways from there:
-back towards hand/larger pad of finger
-also a bit of twisting movement towards the scroll
I experience the movement to vary slightly depending what (and how the) finger is placed.
Vibrato is unique to each of us, moving naturally with what’s most comfortable.
Happy experimenting 🎶
So much fun and so useful to have these tracks to play with
My goal for this year is to reignite, recover, regain my focus and play every day!🎻🎻
Hi Jason, I didn’t realize there was a webinar today so I only viewed part of the archived version, WHICH was quite time for me as I DIDN’t know about drone tuning. The teacher I had before never taught me technical skills, so I am literally starting from scratch with you and have so far enjoyed the journey.
You asked where everyone is from: I live in Kamloops , British Columbia , Canada
Lynn Garbay
Oh yeah.adding to previous post…I did check out the common chords piece and I’m going to have to work on “tips of fingers” to keep from muffling up the sound of the double stops. Wife yelled from the other room her approval of the sound coming from the chords so I must be doing something right a little…
Not too shabby with getting oh Susannah added to my playlist. Really like the 60bpm Jam mix with chords. That is gonna take me a while but it sounds so good. Can you put the sheet music for that on here? I’ve no clue how to find them to make it come together for the tune.
Hi Sam! Nice going, thanks for sharing your ways 🙂
The Sheet music on this lesson includes the basic chord progressions where the letters are capitolized above where they happen in the song, continuing with the same chord until it shows a different letter.
Please reach out anytime! Awesome to hear your progress mentioned above as well 👍🏼
Thank you for the challenge 🥳
1. Dream goal to be able to play tunes at tempo
2. Short term : Learn all all the major and minor scales and improve finger dexterity.
3. To try and memorize pieces. I have a memory deficiency due to two brain tumour surgeries ( no chemo, just radiation after the second surgery). Learning the fiddle is good therapy.
Setting goals! Long term goal is to be able adequate enough to jam by improv and have fun. Short term goals is to maintain activity with Fiddlehed, be interactive, and be disciplined in following the lesson module, by doing so I intend to post weekly videos of my improvement weekly improvement, and what I learning.
Hi! Thanks, I’ve been in and out a few times with fiddlehed, always skip around and play tunes that are either familiar or come naturally with the fingers, then I hit a development wall and put down the instrument, sometimes months, or years. For the new years I’m giving it a disciplined go! No cheating this time around. I’m going to attempt to share on the forums a weekly post of what I’ve improved on, and what I’ve learned. Hope to build the courage to attend the group trainings. I know my long term goals are to be skilled enough improv tunes and have fun
Sorry to say, but I find this to be the least good lesson on this site this far. I’d go as far as saying it’s so much below the sites average, that it’d warrant a remake, since it does not uphold the professional standards that Fiddlehead is selling. First of all, the video is super rambly. Nothing wrong with a few tangents, but it gets a bit much if you want to watch it even a few times. But the bigger problem is that the video does not teach the tune very well. There is a practice bit for the A part but not for the B part, and there are no practice tracks for the whole parts, nor half parts, and in this particular tunes (especially B part) binding the quarters together is tricky. After watching the video a few times I decided to just learn it from the audio track instead, since I was confused about the structure of the song in the B part. In addition to this the backing track (the first one) changes tempo in the middle of a repetition despite having breaks for the counting in a new tempo, and the sheet music has wrong (and incorrectly written) repetitions. The tune itself is great, fun to play now that I’ve managed to figure it out, and again a nice choice for this level. Looking forward the more advanced vesions.
Hello Jari, Thanks for your thorough feedback on this content. It’s great to have community input to grow with. I will record your ideas to address 🙏🏼 Agreed, there’s content that could use work.
Idea that could support; the intermediate lesson for Shooting Creek is simply in the higher octave. One could play along with the audio tracks for each quarter from this lesson, while playing in the lower octave.
Thanks again 🎶
Jam Mix links don’t seem to be working, they tells me that “Anonymous caller does not have storage.objects.get access to the Google Cloud Storage”.
Hi Jari, much appreciation for you filling us in on what you notice.
I just re-added these audio files so they should work now.
Happy Fiddling to you, please reach out anytime 🙂
Test
Thanks for thinking so hard about what would make this fun. Your thinking shows in my progress. No longer stomping my foot in frustration… or at least only very rarely.
Hey @joanneiles,
3rd tune is Scarborough fair. All these tunes have have a similar melodic intro to this carol…
Jason, I’m challenged by my strings. Recently I loosened all of them so that I could slip a fingerboard lines sheet under them. When I tightened them back up and checked the tuning with my clip on tuner aid they all registered as accurate. But when I played, the A string sounded flat and dead. Does loosening up formerly in tune strings cause metal fatigue or something? Is it bad practice to ever fully loosen strings because you’ll never get them to work? Also, the last time I put on new A and E strings it seemed to take forever for them to settle and sound good. Do you have any suggestions? Changing any of my strings feels like going to the dentist; it must be done but I’m a bit scared.
I’d love to hear from others how they approach string changing.
Thanks, Daksha
Same problem as folks below. There is no “Complete Lesson” button on the “tuning the Fiddle” page, so we’re stuck. Thanks
Hi Michael, Thanks for mentioning this. Great point with this page not having a started/completed lesson button. I will note this.
A good method for continuing from this page is to utilize the links at the bottom of the lesson (above the ‘favourite’ button), to help you navigate to the next section, such as, ‘Return to module 1.1’ or ‘Return to questions about fiddling’.
Also, please note there’s currently is a slight glitch in practice tracking.
Jason is looking into a different Learning Management setup.
Thanks for your patience. And please reach out anytime 🙂
what a great lesson, thanks so much! I just caught up on the replay. My favourite carol sounds great in this E Aeolian scale so cool & this will integrate so well with O’Keefe’s & Lisdoonvarna. What’s the 3rd tune? Happy Christmas & holidays all!
So pretty. Never tried playing chords like that before.
Would love to have the sheet music for the song. And is there a backing track?
Hi Yolanda, I agree! Will consider adding these when we can and will let you know. Happy fiddling to you 🎶
Hi Jason, I’ve just been listening to the Simple Gifts lesson and I’d like to suggest you set the background drone at a lower volume. It’s real hard to hear you speak, with the drone, and me playing. Maybe setting the drone at a lower volume would help???
Daksha
Yes, Daksha, thank you for sharing this suggestion. We will continue working on this for future sessions. Great point 🙏🏿
Hey Jason. It shows I’m 95% on module 1, I’ve gone back over and can’t seem to find what’s left. Can you share what I’m missing so I can’t finish it up? Thanks!
Hi Sam, we connected via email as well. Just re-iterating the info Jason shared for anyone wondering:
Sorry about that. There is a slight glitch in practice tracking.
Jason is looking into a different Learning Management setup.
Thanks for your patience.
I really love these call and response exercises, they’re probably what I need the most. Maybe I’m slower than most, but it seems like the ones in Exercise 1.7 don’t leave enough time for response between each call. Thanks for these lessons!
-Travis
Great Feedback, Travis. We appreciate hearing from you, and take this into consideration for the future.
I agree, the recordings in this lesson leave little room for the response. I find I need to stick to the same speed as the call and start my response in the immediate beat after the call finishes. Trickiness!
We will note this and consider adjusting this and/or future lessons. Thanks again 🙏🏽
This has been a very helpful lesson. I can definitely use the techniques I have learned here.
Jason–In Part A of Flop Ear Mule – Basic, there’s this:
Third quarter: (D3-A0)-1-D3-A1-0-D3″”A0-D3-1-0-1-0-G3-2-1-0
There seems to be a glitch that has dropped a note or two in the center of this quarter.
I’m fine. I read sheet music but I like using your system to write
down music on my index cards, i.e., Marg’s method, as you suggested.
All the best,
Rosalie W.
Hello Rosalie, Thanks for mentioning what you’re experiencing. When I evaluate the tabs, audio, and sheet music, I see the tabs have a funny inclusion in there (“”), which I will omit. Otherwise I am not seeing any missing notes within the write up. If you still notice an error, please let us know. We really appreciate your feedback 🙂
But… where’s Jason?
I think tremolo has been the hardest for me so far. I am getting better at it.
Thanks for breaking this down into chunkable components! Love the play along track to try to match the tempo. Shows me where I need to slow down and work on looping.
Hey love the 50 songs suggestion, is there a site that has all this sheet music?
Great you enjoy this, Kathryn.
Sorry we can’t suggest the sheet music for those 50 songs, though Jason does suggest Ultimate Guitar for helping navigate chords for these songs.
Also, a great opportunity to pull the songs up on YouTube or somewhere similar and navigate the 3 basic chords within the songs.
I’ll add this suggestion regarding sheet music for these songs. Thank you!
I appreciate the music theory references– it’s sort of like noticing the birds flying overhead– a whole different element of music than I have ever known. It surprises me that I could have taken piano lessons in grade school and sung chorus in high school without anyone ever really referring to this huge body of knowledge.
The lyrics helped me remember the melody to this–
The crow that is so black my love
Will surely turn to white
If ever I am false to you
Bright day be turned to night
Bright day be turned to night, my love
The elements will mourn
If ever I be false to you
The seas will rage and burn
May I suggest adding a few more Cajun tunes? “Fais Pas Ça,” “Ville Platte Waltz,” “Te Petite, Te Meon,” “Ma Negresse,” or anything else recorded by Hackberry Ramblers would be great!
“Jolie Blon,” “Allons à Lafayette,” or “Opelousas Waltz” by Harry Choates, the “Fiddle King of Cajun Swing,” would also be appreciated.
Above all else, though, I’d love a lesson on “‘Tits Yeux Noirs.” Please do a lesson on “‘Tits Yeux Noirs.”
Hi Clayton, thanks for sharing these ideas 🙂 I’ll add all this to our request list for consideration! Happy fiddling 🎶
I love these!!! I’d like to request 2 octave ones for future learning. Thanks 🙏
Agreed, Kayli! Thanks for mentioning this, will consider 👍🏾
OK. Got the notes. Got the rhythm. But… the transition from any one note to another is noticeably chop/stop-n-go rather than smooth or gliding. Bow pressure, bow too flat on string? Suggestions?
Thx, Benno
Hi Benno! Thanks for reaching out.
I like your approach and inquiry.
I would isolate the bowing on its own and eliminate the fingering hand. Some examples of this would be to try on each string; open bows with triplets, open bows with long, short, long, short, notes, then also long, short, followed by triplets… all associated with what rhythms are included in the song. Isolating the bow focus by eliminating the left hand work can help us hone in on that flow we are wanting to achieve.
Also, work at this and other specific bowing focused at a wide variety of speeds in which you are comfortable with. When eliminating the left hand work, other focuses can come into play, like what you mention, experiment with bow pressure, starting with long slow bows, then shorter bows, various speeds, various rhythms, etc.
the bow hair contacting the string can be another neat thing to experiment with, and this relates closely with bow pressure. Full contact of bow hair is for more/stronger sound, less contact of bow hairs (angling stick slightly away from you) creates lighter/smaller sound. All this and more are great to look at with open string bowing.
Another thing I did with more bow focus was go through Kerfunken Jig with the bowing and not using the left hand fingering (open strings in place of fingered notes), which helped me understand the rhythm and string changes. I enjoy this practise.
Jason has a variety of bowing practises in the Practise Tools called Bowing Central
Glad your working on it, thanks for taking part in FiddleHed!
Thx. Good info. Especially the drill of going through a piece with the bowing but not using the left hand fingering . Benno.
A question about bowing: On the demonstration video Jason is slurring some notes, but this is not mentioned in the video and thus far there has not been anything about bow directions when playing tunes. Should we try to follow the bow directions from the video? Or would it be beneficial to try to keep to a single bow direction pattern on every repeat? Or should we just wing it at this point?
Hi Jari, great points you raise on bowing patterns. As we experience Jason’s bowing for this song, when he initially plays it through, he is creating natural slurring patterns as he goes, likely what feels best while he plays.
For folks learning a new song and in a beginner situation, it can be helpful to start with separate bows. This can help with getting rhythm solid and support focusing on doing the basics well. That being said, it can also be beneficial to simply let the slurring of notes occur naturally as we play. Following a specific bowing pattern (such as what we see Jason doing), can be a fun challenge, and can also take a lot of specific focus to make happen. I usually work with what slurring I feel good in doing, and this can change over time with various speeds in playing, styles of playing, state’s we’re in, etc.
Some further ideas with practising related to this: play with separate bows, play with separate bows while starting with opposite bow direction (so our up and down bows are switched), and also let oneself slur where it feels good to, and more! Try a variety of ways 🙂 Happy fiddling.
would love to see a lesson on Neil Gow’s Lament!
I will add this for consideration, thanks Kathryn!
Hello! Is there a pdf version of your Variation so I can print it?
Hi Carrie, thanks for asking and noticing the PDFs were not included. I have included them in the lesson now, and here’s the variation for easy reference: /wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ashokan-farewell-variation.pdf
Happy fiddling 🙂
Good grief! This is Rosalie, again. I went into Vimeo to try and see if I could use that but now I see my YouTube video has popped up in my earlier comment. I’m confused but if I can figure out how I did it then I can start participating more. All the best, ro.
[youtube]
I don’t know what I just did. I’m trying to post a video that I put into my YouTube and I can’t get it to work. It’s a recording of me doing my first attempt at a bad “Butterfly.” I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.
Thanks, ro.
Jason, I was looking for a spot to ask you a general question and to make a recommendation for an upcoming post. This may not be it but here goes. Recently I’ve been dealing with arm pain on the surface of my skin. After internet search I believe that it is a result of neuropathy and with further research I think it stems from playing the violin. I’ve come up with a solution. I use both a capsacin cream and have found some helpful exercises that I will start doing each day before practice. I was thinking that other violin players might be dealing with something similar and might benefit from a class on taking care of the body when playing the violin.
Thanks so much for sharing this, Daksha 🙏🏿
A great way to share information is through making a post on the Play Every Day Platform: https://play-every-day.circle.so/home
I appreciate hearing what you’ve found out and solutions created from it.
I’ll add your suggestion to our request list for considering with future content.
It’s good you added it to the Office Hours page here, as the Office Hours sessions are a great means for addressing this topic as well.
Hmmm…apparently the Google universe considers “What is a pentatonic scale?” a philosophical question, which leads into definitions of tonal and modal and absence of hierarchical chords vs. predominance of same…and on and on…aaargh: headache! Ha ha–now I see what Pete said. Well, this discussion does open up a BIG can of worms. I guess one just has to develop a taste for cans of worms.
Thanks for the boost–I did this workshop. I’ll go in now for a review. ro.
Just worked through the replay, thanks for another great workshop Jason. I particularly liked how you gradually expanded on the beginner level ideas through to intermediate level. I really hope you write that book and get it out there, you have so many good solid exercises to offer fiddlers in a way that feels achievable and fun.
I was here. Thanks, ro.
I was here. Thanks, ro.
I can’t find the printable sheet music for Spanish Ladies?
Kathryn, thanks for reaching out 🙂
I am seeing under the ‘full content’ tab, there are two links for sheet music documents.
learning version:
/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Farewell-and-Adieu-To-You-Spanish-Ladies_learning.pdf
performance version:
/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Farewell-and-Adieu-To-You-Spanish-Ladies_performance-.pdf
Hope this helps you.
It just occurred to me after I learned this piece today that this is one of the tunes that inspired me to finally pick up the fiddle! I really loved Celtic Woman’s rendition of this piece. It was a little bit of a full-circle moment for me. Thank you 🙂
Having a great time with this. I made a list of the tunes from module 1.1 to here and I don’t remember even learning “I’ll Fly Away” in a previous lesson. Egads! There’re 40 tunes counting this module. All the best, ro.
Just tried to download the pdf of Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy.
Instead was taken to site about cross over strings — wrong link.
Can anyone possibly help.
Many thanks.
Hi Margaret, thank you for mentioning this error. I just fixed it on the lesson page.
Here’s the PDF for quick reference: /wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Dance-Of-The-Sugar-Plum-Fairy.pdf
And here’s the lesson page:
https://fiddlehed.com/courses/intermediate-fiddle-lessons/2-9-chromatic-scale/dance-of-the-sugar-plum-fairy/
One of the first tunes I learned on the hammered dulcimer and probably why I like playing old-time tunes more than anything. Your version is a little different than what I have in my pile of sheet music, which is good–tunes belong to anybody that finds them. I like this one. Module 1.9 is a short one but a lot for me to learn. I’m trying to memorize some of the chords too along with the triads they belong to (am I’m saying that right?). Thanks, r.
P.S. I have a full-sized violin, but I just rented a 7/8th a couple of weeks ago just to do it and the 7/8th is sweet mostly because it is a better-constructed instrument. So, I’m not sure why I’m telling you this. I think it’s because of that lady during your office hours last Monday talking about buying a 7/8th instrument and I was curious about what she decided to do. r.
Hi Rosalie, thanks for sharing 🙂
Yes, triads and chords are directly linked, so working with both are great. I often do that when warming up, playing the triads for a key I am focusing on, and also looking at various chords that could be played with those notes.
I looked at the last Office Hours and found out the person you are wondering about regarding 7/8 violin. Here is their profile, in which you can directly message them to inquire: https://fiddlehed.com/members/margotita/
J, thanks for sending me the contact information for Margotita. I’m curious how she’s going about this. What I do or have been doing is go through parts of Module 1.9 with my 4/4 fiddle and then going through it again with the 7/8 fiddle. If anything, I’m getting a double dose of the module. I got this bum right shoulder and small hands. Trying to keep my left thumb close to my middle fingers and forcing my right shoulder to raise up where I think a normal shoulder should be. It’s all good but wears me out. Looking forward to the next group happening. ro.
J,
P.S. By the way, your, “triads and chords are directly linked, so working with both are great. I often do that when warming up, playing the triads for a key I am focusing on, and also looking at various chords that could be played with those notes. …” is a great direction, which I will heed. Being an old Bach violist sitting in the back I never would wander too far from the sheet music. See you soon, ro.
Any chance we could get a “Will the Circle…” variation lesson? pretty please 🙂
Hello, Thanks for reaching out about this. I will add your request for consideration 🙂 Happy music making!
Oh he taught me to love him and promised to love
And to cherish me over all others above
How my heart is now wond’ring no mis’ry can tell
He’s left me no warning, no words of farewell.
Oh, he taught me to love him and called me his (*flow’r)
That was blooming to cheer him through life’s dreary hour
Oh, I long to see him and regret the dark hour
He’s gone and neglected this pale wildwood flow’r. NICE AND CHEERY 🙂
Good evening,
“Exercise 9: Call-and-response with D major triad”
it won’t play when I “click” on it.
Thank you,
Rosalie Werback
Appreciate you reaching out on this, Rosalie 🙂 This exercise should work now.
Sorry for late reply.
Thanks for fixing.
ro.
Good evening–finally got into 1.9. anyway:
“G major triad, two octaves up and down
Note: EL2 in the exercise below is another G. It’s the beginning of the next octave of triads.
G0-2-D0-3-A1-3-EL2-A3-1-D3-0-G2”–
the notes demonstrating this triad doesn’t match what is written.
Thanks, Rosalie Werback
P.S. Enjoyed the video a lot.
r.
Whoops! My recent comment was referring to Exercise 4.
All the best,
ro.
Hi Rosalie, I am seeing the sheet music for this exercise does not include the high G note, and is noted instead. Is there anywhere else you are noticing that doesn’t match? Thanks and great your enjoying this lesson 🎶
Good morning, Jocelyn, Exercise 9 is working and I’m good to go. Going through the lesson again (probably a few times). Thank you, Rosalie
Well I just loved how that unfolded over time with your ability to enfold and follow musical phrases to go simple then complex. I was totally engaged.
OMG I have watched a few YouTube videos on how to do vibrato but have struggled getting it right. I am sooo glad that you do wrist vibrato. I’ve learn’t a lot already in your introductory video, your explanation is the best if seen and look forward to finally learning the technique.
I’m glad you are my teacher !
GREAT Recap..and more
Thank You Jason
BTW :on the slur 6 exercise ,
How do you finger the 2 – D2’s in a row ?
Agreed!
One method is to play the two D2 8th notes as a quarter note. So, holding D2 double the length when slurring all those notes together. I would also attempt to sing it in my head or out loud as I play, as it’s written, to practise.
One could also make a little pause/emphasis between the two D2s while doing the 6 slur to somewhat keep each note individually heard.
Great question, John
Rainy day in Va, great time for fiddle practice🎶🎶🎻🎻🎻
When I first tried to pick up the fiddle 20 years ago, my instructor first had me learn pentatonic blues scales with no open strings, these finger stretches remind me of those days. I was told by a fiddler that the guy from OCMS often plays in an AEAE tuning
A part 2nd quarter needs help-, plays 1st quarter
John~ Thank you for this 🙏🏾
I made a rough, self paced recording to fill the gap for Part A, 2nd Q.
hmmm…I got lost here! Didn’t know where to go next! Somehow have finished more of 1.2 than 1.1 and I’m stuck in a 1.1 Purgatory…aaarrgh!
Mary, thanks for sharing your experience.
Do you have access to a desktop device (laptop/computer)? If so, this is a good way to check out the content and course progress.
On my laptop, I hover (do not click) the mouse over ‘Courses’, then ‘Beginner Fiddle Lessons’, and from there I can see which Modules I’ve completed. From there, I click on a module like ‘1.1 Start Fiddling Now!’, and scroll half way down the lesson page until I see ‘Core Lessons’ and click on that. Within that it lists what I have completed ( therefore, if I have clicked the buttons on each lesson page to ‘Start Lesson’ and ‘Complete Lesson’).
If one has not utilized the tracking of course progress, within the ‘Support’ tab, there’s the ‘How to Use FiddleHed’ page:
https://fiddlehed.com/contact-help-new/how-to-use-fiddlehed/
This is where you’ll find ‘How do I track my progress through the course?’.
The Support tab has many great resources to consider checking out.
Please email us at [email protected] to help you further. Happy music making 🙂
Hello, I’m trying to get through the “Bird’s Eye” part of 1.6 module and I notice in Kerfunken that the Jam Mixes, multi-tempo and 60 bpm, aren’t working. No big deal. I thought you would like to know. I’m trying to learn to memorize the tunes listed and hopefully figure out how to record them and put them somewhere. I jumped around too much back in the day and never really memorized anything–I’m too sheet music dependent. All the best, ro.
Hi Rosalie, really appreciate your noticing and sharing. I have updated those tracks. Neat to hear of your process and plans to implement the change of approach! 🙂
J,
Thanks.
All the best,
R.
Thanks for the email sending me this link. My approach to how I practice gets a little off because I never know where I left off or remember where to commence. I’ll heed your instructions and re-start my practice journal, which is already a mess—the extra help in learning how to live with my fiddle is invaluable and you can send me as many emails as your want.
Fais dodo, mo l’aime mo ti chère,
Fais dodo, dodo sans douleur.
Hi there – is there a play-a-long track for this tune? I do not see it here.
Thanks much,
Garth
Garth, thanks for noticing this. I found the play along track on the Practice Journey page under the ‘Sheet music, tabs, play-along track’ https://fiddlehed.com/community/group-lesson-home-page/practice-journey-the-butterfly/
I will also get the track added to this page, have fun with this 🎶
This is such a cool tune, thank you!
There seems to be an extra part on the play along track – a C part?
Yes, what a great tune. Neat find in the full audio track with Jason adding a section. I haven’t seen this in other versions. Thanks for mentioning the addition. Some of the pick ups seem to be a bit different in the track too, than the writing. Sometimes that can be a refreshing change/challenge to work with 🙂
The timing on this one in part B was super challenging for me. One month later and I am so happy I finally feel ready to move on!
Yes! What a refreshing approach to something simple, Thanks for recreating this 🙏🏿
J,
Thank you–I never could get “up to speed” but I’m going to follow your approach, and I appreciate it your suggestions. I got to start using my metronome. I also got to start writing my progress down.
Rosalie (werbose)
Loving these group sessions – doing them in my own time as am in uk and struggle with times -just played chord backup to kerfunken jig and it was beautiful, my main problem at moment why does my shoulder rest keep falling off
Hello Alilow, Thanks for sharing your enjoyment and experience with these recorded workshops 🙂
Some ideas regarding shoulder rests fitting on violin:
-Depending on the type, often, they can be adjusted in length with screws. There’s various sizes of shoulder rests to match the violin size. I use a Bon Musica and can adjust the screws for length variety, and can also adjust the length by bending the main metal body piece to fit snuggly on the violin body
-Also, the rubber/silicone parts that fit over the ‘fingers’ on shoulder rest that contact the violin body directly, can wear out/dry up, so that is a good thing to check on periodically (and replace as necessary) for grip on the violin body.
-Another thing I have experimented with is where I position the shoulder rest on the violin body, Currently, I position the end of shoulder rest that is closest to my shoulder further up on the violin body, towards the chin rest. And alternately, the other end of shoulder rest, which is near my chest, I have positioned further towards F holes/centre of violin body.
-If you have access to a violin luthier or instructor in your area, it can be very helpful to meet them in person with your instrument setup and have them provide suggestions for fitting your shoulder rest.
The BonMusica shoulder rest seems to be the most versatile option out there, something to consider acquiring. Here it is explained and linked in more detail: https://fiddlehed.com/contact-help-new/recommended-gear-books-and-music/
Happy Fiddling, please reach out anytime, on here or at [email protected]
Loved this eerie sounding tune. I do feel the play along track need some sort of count in, by the time I grabbed my bow the track was into part A.
Glad your enjoying this, Karen 🙂 Thanks for the feedback, great suggestion to give time between pressing play and being ready to play along with the tracks, we’ll note this.
I have struggled learnin songs on the fiddle and almost thought of giving up. I know most of the basic like how to hold the bow and the fiddle. Startin all the way over learnin how to make a good sound. learning these beginner songs like peri diddle along with the others. is very enjoyable. I also like that he teaches how to play by ear which is something that ive been wanting to learn.
This has been a great skill building exercise. I had put my metronome in a box but now it’s on my music stand and we are becoming friends again🎻🎻🎻
Thank you Jason
Gave it a try. New tune I’ve been working on. D 60 but probably more like 100. Part A right up to the eighth notes at the end.
is strum machine an annual subscription? How much does it cost? Are there any viable alternatives?
Hi Steve, great questions. I believe Strum Machine is about $50 US for 1 year. I’m not sure about similar alternatives.
Other tools I regularly utilize:
Free version of Garageband for recording, and one could create backing tracks with that program.
I’ve also more recently been working with online drum machine through the musicca website: https://www.musicca.com/drum-machine?data=90-n-44-a–5acegikmo6em7ai-
I had to laugh – Cabbage was the first song I learned on the mountain dulcimer, and I still use it as part of my warm up.
Day 5, WOW. Working on technique and skill more than song and tunes. Less than a week away from International Play Music on the Porch day. In all fairness, whenever I get to the mountain cabin, it’s play music on the porch, at the fire, or down by the river…
short but still on the ball. Never though foot tapping could be in my bag of tricks. Wil lkeep working on this method until it’s second nature.
Strum Machine is brilliant. Thanks for suggesting that rhythm tool!
Working from day one, and two and now three. I don’t want to work on a skill and just plow ahead. 1/4dot 1/8, 1/4, 1/4 is my chunk if that makes sense.
I’m trying to follow the separate 1 and slur 3 bowing pattern and want to make sure I have it. Is it up bow on the separate 1 (open d) and down bow for the slurred 3 (a open, d open, a open)? Thanks!
Day 2 (for me) chunking it out was a little tougher than I thought. Revisited Kolmarden in Bb Major. Changing the fingering pattern is getting easier. Thanks to today’s open practice I learned a new trick for getting the timing down. Using the metronome on more familiar tunes I have recently learned.
I find that I have a habit of speeding up on my downtown, had to really concentrate on that beat. Also, it made me realize that I was lifting my fingers too late on the scale as I came back down. This was so enlightening.
Good observation!
When you focus on timing other technical problems come to light which you may have missed before.
Ok, so I’m starting the timing challenge two days late. But at least I’m here. Prepping up for international play on the porch day. Now I have two venues to attend and 120 miles apart. Uggh.
Glad you made it, Steve. Working these challenges at our own page and timeline is vital.
Goodness, that sounds lively and spread out! Looking forward to hearing about it.
https://playmusicontheporchday.com I have “participated” with this since year one, maybe two. My porch in Stratton VT and my cousin’s jam in Worcester Ma. Let’s get us all on the map
Hi Jason, Jocelyn: I am looking for Day 2 recording of the Timing Challenge and can’t seem to find it – can you send me a link?
Hi Garth, great question. It appears Jason has an audio and short video recording for Day 2 posted within the 2nd tab, titled ‘Timing Meditation with Tune Chunks’. I’ll let you know if there’s more that I haven’t seen either. Happy timing challenge to you ⏱ 🎶
Can‘t find replay of day 2.
Hi Dot, glad you reached out. There are 7 drop down tabs for each day in the above lesson titled ‘Timing Prompts & Lessons’.
One trick to viewing the videos, make sure you REFRESH this page (if you had it open from other days), as Jason makes a new video available each day.
I hope this works for you, please let me know if I can support further.
Have an awesome practise 🎶 🙂 💕
Is the challenge comming here on this site? Greetings Jytte from Denmark
Hi Jytte, thanks for asking. There are emails sent out each day related to the challenge. If you haven’t signed up yet from the newsletter, you can sign up here: https://fiddlehed.ck.page/8b3c94619a
Happy Fiddling 🙂 🎻 🎶
Does C major have an F# in as you have included it in this module?
Really looking forward to this one. Kind of a restart for me. I’ve been totally immersed in house fix up for couple months and finally finished. Time to Fiddle!!!🎶🎶🎶🎻🎻🎻
After watching Michael Doucet with his impeccable sense of timing live last night (Beau Soleil), I figure it can’t hurt to focus on this challenge.
Thanks again Jason for all your inspiring “challenges!” Working on “Over the Waterfall.” Timing and bowing! This will be good incentive!🎻🙏
Looking forward to the 2024 timing challenge!
I’m working on a waltz called Medicine Bow which is quite a new tune for me & I’ve got the usual problem of slowing down on the trickier parts of the tune so I’ll be using the metronome to smooth it all to a steady pace ….hopefully 😆
Joann, I love that tune! Back in 2021 I emailed Peter and asked for the sheet music for Medicine Bow because I couldn’t find it. He graciously sent it to me and asked if I would send him a video or audio once I learned it. I worked hard on that piece and eventually sent him the video. It was received by his daughter, who responded and informed me that he passed away just weeks prior. I love Peter Ostroushko’s music and would love to hear you play it !
Hi there:
I see an error in fingering notation:
First quarter: (EL2-1)-0-A3-1-D3-A0-1-0-3-1. should be …AO-1-O-D3-1 (at the end, missing the “D”)
and
Third quarter: (EL2-1)-0-A3-1-D3-A0-1-0-3-1-3, should be …AO-1-O-D3-1-3 (at the end, missing the “D”)
Garth
Hi Garth,
Greatly appreciate your thorough sharing of these corrections. 🙏🏼
I also noted the pickup notes for start of part B that weren’t included in tabs.
Happy playing, your awesome!
Definitely looking forward to this one!
I can’t say enough how much I love and needed this lesson! It is an essential chord guide! I had a goal of learning backup chords so I can one day play in a bluegrass circle..now it feels reachable! I am really enjoying recording song chords on a looper now and then playing the melody along with it..hours of fun! I recommend the Fiddler’s Fakebook for this to other students here. Thank you 🙏
I dig it! Thank you
boy do I need work synching with others.. Gotta keep working this. 🙂
I should be more specific..would you do a hoedown rhythm for the chords or something else?
Hi Kayli, great topic you raise.
At first glance with the tune, when singing the melody and chording with fiddle, I naturally want to ‘chuck’ the off beat (I look at a bar/measure in 8 counts-instead of 4, chucking beats 2,4,6,8). For the A chords and AD chords (as you mention), I’d lean towards chording 8th notes, breaking the off beat for those.
Another fun thing to try is playing chords with the same rhythm of the song, that can be a great practise.
I’d imagine the hoe down method is great as well, and a good challenge!
Fun thing with chording is how open ended it is with what rhythm you feel like doing throughout. I usually like to switch it up throughout.
Here’s a version Jason shared which has the off beat being clapped throughout:
https://fiddlehed.com/blog/tune-of-the-week-little-liza-jane/
Be great to hear what you create with this 🙂
Thank you Jocelyn! Your ideas are really helpful and something good to think about as I develop how I use chords more. I appreciate it!
Chord backup for this seems like it would sound a little different than usual considering the fourth and eighth measure chords/rhythm. Please consider sharing how you would approach this. Thanks!
Good afternoon, this is tricky. I’m counting the beats (like I do) and kept messing it up I guess in the second and fourth stanzas. So, your approach made the most sense–nuts–when I started singing (badly or “la, la, la”) I finally got it. I thought I would be through this lesson quickly but I’m going back until I get it. I was hoping to record this one. It’s more than just a simple “familiar” tune, isn’t it? All the best, Rosalie (werbose)
Thanks for sharing this, Rosalie. Singing and rhythm tapping with body, in any fashion, helps so much! Great your experiencing deeper dimension to the tune too 🙂
Loved learning this tune. Incorporating the howdown pattern gave it a really nice aspect.
* hoedown
Hi Jason: I’ve made it this far and am really liking the courses. Today I am holding a marathon practice session, playing all of these songs five or six times from slow to faster, and all of the songs since 1.1 as well, so about three hours. Question: how well should I play each song before moving on? Thus far I have learned each song and am able to play up to the third speed – 1st, 2nd and 3rd speed on play-along tracks – and then I move to the next lesson.
Garth
Hi Garth, thanks for reaching out and sharing your Fiddle journey with the program. Nice going, sounds like your putting in some great discipline and focus.
Jason shares his suggestions for how to move through the course on the ‘How to Use FiddleHed’ page, within the support tab.
Within this page, there are some great resources to support your question, such as ‘How long should I stay with each lesson?’ and ‘How fast should I move through the course? Is it self-paced?’. Here’s a link directly to this page:
https://fiddlehed.com/contact-help-new/how-to-use-fiddlehed/
I also suggest folks check out the support tab in general, there’s some great content to support our journey on there.
Happy Fiddling 🎻
Boy. This is a tough one to learn!!
Yes! Perfect lesson for continuous simplifying.
I find the more acquainted I can get with the keys in the song and the twists in notes among that, can support foundations for familiarity with the tune. Enjoy 🙂
Still working on this. I went back and just listened to the song a lot. That helped. I hear Jason’s voice – “listening is practice too!” Will continue listening and looping
I’m seriously considering taking up my fiddle journey that I abandoned 2 years ago. I totally get the practice method you laid out. My question is how does everyone deal with your practice when you go on vacation? I’ve tried takin my instrument(s) with me but find it hard to make the wanted/needed practice time away from home. Any thoughts?
Jim, glad you shared and inquired. This is a great question.
I find when I bring my instrument while travelling, I often play less often – though the times I do play, I feel really glad I brought it. When bringing the instrument with me to a different environment and lifestyle, my playing experience is fresh and rich in a different way… my perspective and approach to playing can really transform in a new space and state. I especially like this somewhere in nature, with no service or resources on hand and see what comes up.
Be great to hear how this works for folks.
Good morning–I just started to take fiddle lessons from y’all; for what it’s worth, I’m going to have to travel to visit family and friends in September. I’m a recent widow and I have been neglectful and must go and do this–but enough about me. I do plan to bring my violin. I was actually thinking about this. I plan to “pluck.” It’s not the same, but it’s better than stopping the momentum that I have right now. I haven’t done this yet, but I’ll report back. When I was playing (well, I still do) the tin whistle–it was next to impossible to keep people from jumping out of their skin when I started up. All the best, Rosalie (werbose)
One thing I forgot to mention was that you could probably use a mute if you are going to take your instrument on “vacation” with you. It will significantly reduce the volume.
Ah, that’s right. I am renting a fiddle right now and will be buying one next week and a mute is on my list of stuff I want to go with it. The “practice” mute is a big plastic or rubber thing–impressive! I do live in an apartment building, and I have asked around if I’m driving people nuts, but they seem to have been okay so far (well, I don’t play in the middle of the night…). Best, Rosalie W.
Good afternoon, I just got finished with “Bile ’em Cabbage Down” and decided to behave myself and do this section for bowing and low and behold I was playing sharp with the Cabbage tune. I don’t know why, but I could hear how sharp I was with this exercise. ## I want to get through the tunes so I can find what “level” (ha!) I’m on but these exercises are surprisingly more helpful than I had thought. Now I’m annoyed and trying to back track what I’ve glossed over. I noticed that you marked off your bow–I’m assuming it’s in thirds. Do I measure just the horsehair part or am I’m being too specific? All the best, Rosalie (werbose)
P.S. My bowing has improved. I do play without a shoulder rest (but I do have one and will use it when I get worn out) and I do the Russian bow hold (sort of) and I do choke the bow–not sure why I want you to know this. r.
Thank you for sharing, Rosalie 🙂
Yes, the tape on bow stick is the bow hair approximately in 3rds. If wanting to get real specific, could measure the portion of bow hair that is used to play (eliminating about a half an inch on each end of bow hair).
Really neat to hear how you are making it work, it helps to hear one another’s ways.
The link for double stops is wrong, page Not found
Hi Gabi, thank you kindly for mentioning this. Here is the link I think Jason is referring to:
https://fiddlehed.com/courses/intermediate-fiddle-lessons/2-3-double-down/introduction-to-double-stops-1-1/
Thanks for the overview, very helpfull.
Jason,
You are the BEST.
My sound is really starting to improve.
Thank You,
John
Great! I’ve been learning tunes by playing them over and over again trying to build up “speed” and wondering why I’m getting worn out and frustrated—I will take heed with what you stated here. Thanks, r.
Always good to come back to basics. It helps to clear some of the fog accumulated along the fiddle journey and get a fresh start.
Great lesson to return to, I’m going to try to revisit this once a month!
Sure!
Spend a little time each day focused on sound.
Hello, I got a couple of tuners on my iPhone and I put them at 440Hz. I think I’m going sharp. Are your recordings on 440? More than happy to adjust what I have since I would like my open strings to match. I mean, what I’m playing is close enough. I’m trying to fast review your earlier lessons because who knows what I don’t know–even though I can stumble through many tunes–maybe I’m a rusty intermediate or something like that. All the best,
Rosalie Werback
(“werbose”)
P.S. I’m renting a violin but going to purchase a modest decent one from my local violin shop, and I’ll be signing up for your full course as soon as I find my credit card–I wanted to make sure that I’ll actually go and buy that instrument and get on with this. The call and response modules are meditative. I’m not even stressed that I’m pretty bad at it because the repetition is peaceful. ro.
Hello Rosalie 🙂
Great sharings, thanks for this. Yes, I can confirm Jason’s recordings are using the 440Hz frequency.
Great noticing with how you’re experiencing it. Happy playing and do reach out anytime!
Really good lesson, Jason! Good coaching; while practicing, drop back to bowing basics! Will do! Thanks!
In the first line the d0 after the red section is that not an A0?
Yes, thanks for mentioning this. 🙏🏾 We’ll get it edited soon. Happy playing, Marshal 🎶
This is perfect. I am just learning where to add ornamentation: slides, taps, triplets, double rounds, etc. I am used to having my father {back in the day} add all the doo-dads (LOL). He was so amazing- listening to Al Caiola and Chet Atkins and Les Paul records and then playing the songs exactly on his guitar. Wow. So, Thank you Jason!
You can now channel your dad’s voice though your own music. You’re going to have fun with this…
Jason, it’s good to know that the frustration and sometimes setbacks are part of the continued process. It has beaten me in the past but then there are those breakthrough moments. Your reminders if it’s supposed to be fun definitely help as one of the incentives to not give in to the frustration.
Cheers!
Henry
Learning SO MUCH from the chord backup workshops Jason thank you… My biggest takeaway is the “equal pressure for double-stops as for a single string”. My biggest struggle is hitting the two strings consistently. I know THAT is a matter of practice. Right now I find myself concentrating on “staring” at the bow contact point, then memorizing my arm posture. Not an easy task.
Looks like the first and third line need the A on 0 for that string change
Hi Marshal, love how you caught that and shared. Thank you kindly 👍🏿 Happy playing 🙂
Oh and by the way, that map/art behind you on the wall is pretty awesome.
Jason I love the chord lessons… I strive to play with my praise team at church and I am doing pretty well playing single notes along with them, but being able to play chords with them will make me feel more a part of the band, and I am getting there!
Thanks for sharing this. Made me smile. I really enjoy your lessons and glad that you are out there teaching fiddle in such a fun and effective way!
Very cool, Jason! Everybody has a journey. To come round circle back to WBB is perfect. Glad your here, you’ve given me a lot at teaching.
OMG.. I have so much to practice, based on these simple skill building exercises. And the possibilities are endless.. different rhythms, bows crossing, doublestops… and then all the different scales. It could be different everyday… yes still practicing and developing the same skills.
Very much agree with you! I love your perspective. Enjoy the creativity in practise 👍🏽
I LOVED this. so much fun… the separate on, slur 3 took a bit to get my brain in gear… but once it clicked, it was so gratifying. And the Doublestop slur at the end was a sweet reward!
Beautiful sharings, Tracy, thanks for this!
Okay.. I’m in my second week of working with your fiddle lessons. What have I learned? That my ears are quicker than my fingers. Thank goodness your lessons remind me to be mindful and take it slower than I think I may want to. I am excited that I’m already beginning to play in tune. Can’t wait for week three.
Awesome insights and eagerness, Linda. Thanks for sharing 🙏
Hi Jason
the Old Crow Medicine Show ends the song with a few notes on the fiddle – could you post those notes? I am jamming with a small band and would love to finish off the song the way Old Crow did. I think it’s only 5 notes or so. Thank you
Best Viktoria
Hello Viktoria, Thanks for reaching out, asking, and sharing your experiences with this.
I will add your request to consider including teaching the ending to this lesson.
In the meantime, here are the tabs for the fiddle ending notes:
E3-1-0-A3-2-0-1-L2-H2 (A-F#-E-D-C#-A-B-C-C#)
I slowed down the playback speed on youtube to .75 and initially sang the ending part a few times to get familiar with the notes, then I found the notes on violin from singing a note or two at a time, like call and response.
Happy music making 🎶
I enjoy your you tube video’s so much. I am 68 years old. I started playing when I was 25 years old. I had a time finding a teacher because they wanted you to start under 6 years old. My teacher used the Suzuki Method. I would play for a few years and sometimes family illness would have to take it’s place. Anyway I started playing again. Having so much fun. I’m not that good but it gives me joy. Thanks so much for your great lessons.
It’s great to hear your experience with Fiddling 🙏🏿 Thanks for coming along with the FiddleHed experience 🙂
EXCELLANT !
YES 🎵 Thanks for sharing the love, John!
This is probably, for me, the best and hardest advice to follow. I am not a very patient person. I always want to move along and see what’s next, but, I am learning that playing slowly does have many benefits.
Thank you for shedding new light on this, Bill. It’s amazing what can come from slowing our endeavours, and takes continuous gentle efforts to come back to this focus. 🙂
Fyi, the backup tracks for 2nd, 4th quarters and the whole tune. Those three backing tracks don’t match the tabs, or am I missing something? Just checking. Thanks!
Hi David, thanks kindly for mentioning this. Yes, I notice similarly, the audios are moreso working on the transitions between quarters (last bar of one into first bar of the other). Sorry for the mismatch there. We’ll get this sorted and let you know. 🎻 Happy musicking to you!
The Files of the Exercises, Eleven and twelve are swapped
Thank you kindly for mentioning this 🙏
Enjoy 🎵
Where the track with embellishments for this tune?
Hi Louisi, thanks for asking. I am also not seeing information regarding embellishments for this tune within the website. I do see a video lesson on Youtube for adding variation to Ashokan Farewell:
We’ll take note of this for adding to the website and will let you know.
Happy music making to you!
When changing between the respective quarters, my challenge was to end with the upstroke of the bow so that I could start with the downstroke for each quarter. Otherwise, I had a restlessness in the bow because I had started sometimes upwards and sometimes downwards. And when I had found the finger/bow combination, it became difficult with the increasing tempo because I played more uncleanly or played the fingers per bow stroke differently as it got faster. But now it feels good on the violin with the bow, even at a faster tempo.
Hi Gabi, nice to hear your process, struggle, and growing through it. It’s a great point, bowing patterns change in various instances, especially when changing tempo.
Good to get familiar with various bowing directions throughout the practising process, to support freedom of what arises in the moment. Thank you for mentioning this 👍🏿
Oh, I’m thrilled. I’ve been practising for more than half a year now, I do the call and response exercise from time to time. Today I felt like I could really hear the notes.
Great breakthrough, Gabi! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Preparing for tunes with interval exercises is so valuable. It moves attention away from the song and to the segments, which can be repeatedly practiced and improved.
Great insights, Lulu 🙏🏾
I’m having trouble navigating through the Irish fiddle course as well as the note reading course. There doesn’t seem an order to take the lessons.
I’m I doing something wrong or do you just jump around according to your own level of interest.
Hi Thomas, glad you reached out and mentioned this.
Within this Irish Fiddle Lessons page has specific modules for a recommended order within the ‘Irish Fiddle Course Outline’.
And with the Note-Reading page, there is a suggested order of lessons within the ‘Course Outline’ Tab.
I will forward your inquiry to Jason directly to provide further guidance.
Great your checking out these programs 🙂 Thanks for the feedback.
Hello. I’m just starting. How do you know when to move to the next tune?
Welcome Linda, Thanks for reaching out 🙂 Good to hear your getting going. Here is some guidance from within the ‘Support’ tab ‘How to use FiddleHed’. I encourage you to skim through the Support pages to have a good sense of what’s offered there.
How long should I stay with each lesson?
As a general principle, strive to make everything good, not perfect.
Time lengths will vary for each student. For a brand new tune or exercise, I recommend 1-2 weeks.
You want to be able to reliably make it through each tune and exercise with flow. Can you play it three times in a row without stopping? Can you you reliably play something which you couldn’t do before?
Keep in mind that (ideally) you’ll return things and make them better later on. You’re never totally done with anything, but at a certain point, it’s best to move on.
https://fiddlehed.com/contact-help-new/how-to-use-fiddlehed/
Wow. Thank you. The options are endless.
This is a favorite for sure!
Great to hear, Annie 👍🏽 Agreed!
I can just hear your mother: Jaaaa-sonnn, is it supposed to sound like that? 😂😂😂
Yep! I truly wasn’t trying to annoy her 🤪
Thanks for breaking this one down to a simple version!! My last fiddle teacher tried to teach me this song but I couldn’t get it the way she was showing me.
Love this method is working well with you. So many ways to learn a tune! 🙂 Thanks for sharing.
I do feel my brain growing! So fun, thanks!
Yes 🙂 🧠 🎶 💗
That was so fun! Great way to practice cords!
That was so fun! Great way to practice chords!
🙂 🎶 Awesome you feel great about this! Thanks for sharing, Ellen.
I want to learn the fiddle breaks for wagon wheel. I got to the part of the website that teaches this song in chunks. Part way through the first fiddle break the page changed, I could never get back to the page that teaches by chunking and repeating. I found the wagon wheel workshop by somehow cannot get to an area that teaches by chunking and looping. Thank you for sending me a link to that part of the site
Hi Louisi, Thanks for reaching out 🙂
To find something specific, I use the search bar at the top right of the screen and try to search the most simple form of what I’m looking for (ex: ‘wagon’ or ‘wagon wheel’)
Here is the page link from my search, which includes 3 separate lessons for each break and a duet lesson:
https://fiddlehed.com/?s=wagon+wheel
There is also the grey ‘favourite’ button, just above the ‘practice toolkit’ (lower down) on each lesson page. You can access your favourite list within the practise toolkit drop down.
The ‘How to Use FiddleHed’ page (under the support tab), has great explanations with photos/videos to explain points like these:
https://fiddlehed.com/contact-help-new/how-to-use-fiddlehed/
Happy Fiddling 🎶
This was really interesting and helpful. Once I identify what note to start on, things fall together much more easily, especially on known songs. Could you comment sometime on clues to identifying what key a song is when sheet music is not available – in other words, just from listening to the song? Thanks
Hi Lisa, yes, what great depth shared with transposing in various ways. 🙂 Thanks for sharing how this sits with you.
That is a great point leading from this subject. We’ll take note of this for a future post/lesson.
For now, I’ll share my process for identifying the key of a song from listening to it.
-I’ll utilize my instrument, and work on identifying what notes are in the song (even just in the first section or so), and I write down all the different notes I locate (ex: Let’s stay together by Al Green: A, B flat, C, E, F, D, G).
-Once I have a decent range of notes written, I go to my ‘Circle of Fifths’ chart and see what key, in relation to those notes (specifically the sharp/flat notes within those notes I wrote) and narrow down the potential key signatures (ex: F major or D minor).
-From there, I would try to guess the feeling of the song, whether major or minor (also recognizing the key could change throughout song) (Ex: mostly major).
-One thing to note when identifying the notes in a song, there could be some notes added which are not related to the key that the song is in, so I’d also try to keep that in mind and if i think that has happened, I will write that note down outside of the main range of notes I am writing from the song (ex: D flat)
-I’ll also try playing the associated scale with what I have narrowed down and see if the scale ‘matches’ the sound of the tune.
This is a great topic to go further into. Thanks for mentioning it.
Also, here’s a page that supports learning tunes from recordings:
https://fiddlehed.com/blog/how-to-learn-from-recordings/
even though i kept my sub up all this past year, this may be the first time I’ve logged on all year due to needing to caretake a family member. after a few scales I came here to hectors hero. i hope i can come on a regular basis just as I about to sub for another year. lol. thank you from the bottom of my heart Jason.
Misha, thanks for mentioning this and staying involved with FiddleHed. Welcome back, and what a great place to land 🙂 🎶 Please reach out anytime via [email protected] for help with your subscription or anything else. Thanks for sharing the love!
Hi, the variations you made to the second part have so much style! Would you consider breaking these details down? I’d love to try them, thank you.
Hi Kayli, yes, what dimension and creativity in Jason’s variation. Great suggestion! We’ve taken note of this for consideration. Glad your resonating with this!
Thank you! I should have mentioned that I meant the second part in his performance video, but it looks like you understood that. Everything is very clear in the lesson 😁
This is the first time I encountered the “double stop”, namely in the call-and-responses, so I had to google it. It means to play two strings at once.
Hi Adam, great point on that term. Thanks for sharing your experience and the definition you found.
Also, here are a variety of lessons and posts related to double stops on FiddleHed:
https://fiddlehed.com/?s=double+stop
Just learnt this tune and loved how the audio loop transformed it into a gypsy jazz feel. Improvising flowed pretty freely, not always the right notes, but some ideas to work on for sure. Started out adding fill ins then some melodic phrases that by good fortune harmonised with Jason’s melody. Felt like a happy jam.😊
This is beautiful! thanks for sharing Marg
Fun
Yes 🙂
I love that. Indian and Irish fiddle.
G
Oh yes, so well mixed 🎶
Jason, thanks again for the great and thoughtful lessons – making progress and fingers getting smarter. I have researched the origin of each of the songs above and would be happy to post links to all of them.
Hi Garth, thanks for your sharing your thanks giving 🙂
If you would like to share the origin of the songs, that would be lovely. Please either comment on here or email [email protected]. Great idea.
Definitely a wicked twist; heart attack on Christmas Eve with bypass operation April 26. But, about 10 days later, I was able to play my fiddle while I recoup. I have been working on playing pentatonic scales as backup to Angeline, changing the key as the chord changes. A little “clanking” but I’m getting there. Also, working on “Rolling Waves Variation.” Can we still post student videos?
The new format will leave me a bit disadvantaged, as there is no solid high speed in my neighborhood. However, I will use archived lessons, jams and Strum to keep me going!
So glad you are able to keep playing. Please post videos when you can!
Thank you for sharing this Owen. Yes, please still use the student video page for posting! And if/when you have a setup for the new platform, please do check it out. Agree with Debbie, great you can play fiddle moving forward 🙂 Happy music making to you all!
when you did hoedown and triplets were you playing across the 2 notes or all 3 bows on each one please. im still trying to understand different bowing patterns and how they work in songs
Hi…
The Call and Response exercises are really hard for me. I just can’t remember the longer strings. My attitude is rapidly going down the drain on these. Hints on simplifying? Or…what are some other practices that might help? Other practicing is going well – scales, intervals, working on metronome and tunes.So enjoy the tunes. Also appreciate all you do to advise on how to structure practice, breaking things down and the value of going slow. Your humor and joy at playing is wonderful. I’m having a great time…just need to get a handle on these C&Rs. Thank you!
Hi Claudia, Great insights you give and sharing on your experience. Thank you.
Your not alone in the Call and Response exercises being hard to accomplish and can create adverse feelings!
I’ve compiled a number of responses from other folks’ similar inquiries to this:
Jason:
Keep trying.
Here’s a practice-flow to help you:
– Listen
– Pause
– Play it back as best you can
– Rewind and repeat until you get it
Mary Scott:
For myself, I find just repeating the little bits I’m forgetting a few times helps it to turn out right in the end. Never Give Up! (That’s a great South African -I think… song : Bambalela!)
Further ideas I’ve posted:
One idea is to break the call down. Listen to the call and try to play the first bit, listen to it again and try to play the middle part, then same with the last part. Could even go into smaller chunks than that. Then slowly put two chunks together, then 3, and so on.
For easability with this, I click on the download button to right of audio track to open in another page. Then I can easily use my back/forward arrow keys, as well as pause and play button, on keyboard to loop/focus one call of the track.
writing it down could be a good way to learn something that’s continuing to be challenging. How about tapping the rhythm to the pattern first, then try singing it, then trying to play on fiddle. Working one’s way towards the goal by learning the various skills separately first. 🙂
as the caller is creating sounds (as they make each individual sound and immediately after each note – during the calling process), sound them with my voice, in my head, visualize the notes in my head, strum the notes with the caller in guitar position, etc – this may be considered cheating to some, though I often find myself utilizing various techniques such as these as I’m experiencing the caller make the strings
and also simply going back and repeating the same string of notes it until I get it. 🙂
Here are some Practise Variation tips included in another call and response page that may be useful:
Respond with plucking instead of bowing
Respond with singing instead of fiddling
Respond with Audiation (“hearing it in your head”) instead of fiddling
On your own, alternate between singing and fiddling small tune phrases
On your own, alternate between playing something in the low and high octave
Record your own call-and-response exercises
It’d be interesting to hear how this process unfolds for you 👍🏾
Oh and have fun with it, move on, and come back to it later. These exercises are great for returning to. 🙂
Wait a minute! I was not expecting practicing with my eyes closed to be as helpful as it was. I combined that with the Little Lift exercises and am excited to add that to my warm-up routine.
I didn’t catch how to play B minor using G and D strings
Hi Lisa, great point about Bm chord
B minor has a triad of B-D-F# (GH2-D0-DH2) – so any combination of those notes could do well for G and D strings.
G2-D0
G2-D2
Happy fiddling 🎵
I thought I had this song in the bag before trying to keep up with the fast tempos. I’m sure muscle memory (or carpal tunnel) will be formed by the time I can play it through lol
😀 Thanks for sharing the fun and surprise in this for you. Many levels to getting to know something well. Happy fiddling, Heather!
This w/e practicing for private jam I go to on Mondays. An older guy there has introduced Maple Sugar, Snow Deer, Down Yonder and Under the Double Eagle. I’m pretty strong on learning tunes, but I still need to work on faster tempos…And I learn melodies, but I feel I need to better learn the tune chords. 🤓🎻
That was great yesterday with the Wellerman. Playing in a different key made it hard for play and respond. But that’s on me. I’m still working on cleaning up Josefins, dopval, Halsa dem Darhemma and Ganglat fran Appelbo and will be adding Visa Vid Vindens Angar and Dansen Ungdom once I can get them transcribed to Alto.
Cheers
Nice, sounds like Scandinavian fiddle. I learned a bunch of that last year.
Did you learn how to transpose to alto with a notation program like Muse?
I do use Muse, but also just try to keep it note for note. Playing with a group I’m trying to keep it in the same key and I don’t know how otherwise. Muse can bounce the key around. The group leader has been tossing me a few scores that she arranged for the viola which I love.
I’ve been practicing some jazz tunes like “Fly Me To the Moon,” and “All of Me.” I’ve also been working on playing back up on some contemporary Christian songs. I play the keyboard in a Praise band, so I’m trying to include the violin. I got a mandolin for Christmas so that’s another project (moving a little slower with that; not enough hours in the day)!
Nice! I know a few older country gospel songs, but that’s pretty unexplored.
That praise band sounds awesome.
Do you have fiddle music for Don’t Think Twice? My partner sings this and plays guitar, I would love to be able to join in…
Hey Lindsey,
I don’t but I recommend Musescore for this. You can transpose things there. I pay for the app…
https://musescore.com/user/498481/scores/6384442
Let me know if that works.
Yes, it did, and I subscribed to MuseScore. Thank you!
I went to my first jam session a few weeks ago. Now I’m reviewing tunes to see if there are any I might be brave enough to lead and practicing backup and chords.
Nice! You’re making such good progress with playing out.
Continuing to work on technique based on “Soldier’s Joy”. Went back to working on “Wagon Wheel” fiddle breaks and vocals. Plan to start on “”Move It On Over”. Basic and then hopefully get more advanced giving it a blue sound similar to George Thorogood’s influence.
Very cool. I’m also working on wagon wheel singing + backup.
Hi there: I am trying to find an explanation of L1 and L2 (low notes like GL2) and cannot find it. Can you point me in the right direction? Garth
Hi Garth, Thanks for mentioning this. the ‘L’ refers to ‘low’, bringing the finger down half a tone.
Here’s a page explaining tabs in more depth:
https://fiddlehed.com/courses/beginner-fiddle-lessons/1-2-getting-plucky/how-to-read-tabs/
Please reach out anytime on here or via [email protected]
🙂 🎵
Great Lesson! I’ve practiced the Cooley’s/Wise Maid/Bird in the Bush set over and over, and somehow it’s a lot more fun than just practicing the tunes on their own, so I’ve started compiling other sets, such as Out on the Ocean/Rolling Waves and Swallowtail Jig/Kerfunten Jig, using Strum Machine. Great warm-up sets, and there’s lots of scope for more out there!
I can’t seem to find a way of indicating that I’ve finished this lesson, so I guess I’m just going to have to keep on keeping on!
Hi Nigel, thanks for sharing, sounds like some great tune medleys you’ve worked with. I agree, mixing sets is a great way to engage with the music experience. I’ve done a little bit of this with the Hootenanny sessions and am inspired again to pursue this more. I like your perspective on the matter.
Good point about the lesson start and complete button being missed from this page. Will update you when we add it. Thank you for mentioning it. 🎶
I’m confused by the “arranged for fiddle students” sheet music, did I miss an explainer? I don’t need it, though. Almost every “D” label, and every “A” label, is over a note that is either “F” or “E”…
Great points, Adam. The sheet music was compiled in a manner specifically for this program, that’s why it’s dedicated to students/members of FiddleHed. And great point about the letter labels – those indicate chord progressions.
The ‘Support’ tab has great info, including more on this topic – under ‘Fiddle Questions’ there is a drop down tab titled ‘Note Reading’, which has some sections to support you further. Thanks for mentioning it.
Reach out anytime 🙂
I like the chaining idea, especially as it relates to parts of a song. I tend to want to play the whole song without really paying attention to the parts. I find it easier to do with a song I am trying to learn rather than with plain scales.
Thanks for sharing these insights, Bill. Yea, a neat tool to utilize for deeper practise and gives a good alternate perspective to something in whole.
Steve @ripton shared a cool project he was involved with relating to this song – one of many projects like this he’s been involved with~
Review set 1.6, some fun tunes and the oh so important intervals, rhythmic scales, petal pattern, transposing and call & response. Great things to practice to get that better sound and ability to improvise more, imo.
Yes, David! Thanks for reiterating the value in these practises 🙂
I have Strum Machine.
However, I don’t know what guitar chords to plug in and where.
Thanks so much!
Hi Jason,
Trying to figure out the guitar chords for Sheebeg and Sheemore.
Any suggestions on how to do that.
Thanks.
Mark
Hi Mark, good to hear your navigating this, and utilizing Strum Machine 🙂
I found these chords for this song, (which seem to work with FiddleHed’s verion on first glance): https://folkguitar.us/chords/Sheebeg-Sheemore.htm
Good idea though to get chords added to this lesson page, I’ll note that for future consideration.
If you do make a Strum Machine track for this song, could you share the link in the comments here or via email [email protected] ?
Thanks for your ideas and consideration!
I just noticed that improved my intonation drastically! I realized that when I lift my fingers to cross strings they stick up almost straight; by keeping them as close to the strings as possible I am able to keep them in position to play in tune again when pressing the string back down.
Beauty, Courtney! Sounds like a great breakthrough 👍🏽
This is fun! I like the build up to a faster rythm.
Great to hear your enjoying, Christine 🙂
Can you teach us Arlington by Trace Adkins
I’ll take note of this for future consideration. Thanks Thomas, Happy Fiddling to You 🎶
Oh and is there a way to ‘Complete’ the lesson? It stays on my “Started Lessons” list.
Yes, Don. Thanks for reaching out. You can complete the lesson near the top of the page (using the same button clicked to start the lesson), there should be a ‘complete lesson’ option.
Here is more info (within the ‘support’ tab, and ‘How to use FiddleHed’) under the ‘How do I track my progress?’ tab https://fiddlehed.com/contact-help-new/how-to-use-fiddlehed/
Please let me know if we can help further. Happy fiddling to you 🙂
with plucking, should you always use your index finger ( closest to thumb) or can you use the middle finger too?
Great question, Patrick. Plucking with the other fingers makes sense as well, and good variation to get familiar with, as it feels good for you.
I often pluck with my thumb, having the violin in ‘guitar position’, using my middle and ring fingers to anchor on the bottom of fingerboard.
There are more lessons on this topic to come within upcoming modules, and I also encourage folks to use the search engine at the top right of the page and search keywords to look into more posts/lessons on specific topics such as this one.
Have fun with the various plucking methods 🎶
I like the videos and lessons.
only thing. navigation and progress aren’t totally intuitive.
Example. On the “how-to-hold-the-violin/” page, the last video (with the title above it. “Another Video Holding the Violin”
does nothing to describe the plucking (1000x) and the patterns that are being learned.
Also.. at the end of a page.. it would be nice to have a “completed” but at the bottom, for that page/lesson.
Not sure how you’d remind the student to continue practicing 1000x unless there”s reminders.. on following pages.
Thanks. Pat
Patrick, really great feedback and examples where improvement can be made. I’ll pass this along to Jason for consideration. When we share how it’s going for us and what we notice, it gives new opportunity to grow and enhance the current situation, so thanks again for taking the time to do this.
The ‘completed’ lesson button is at the top, which is the same button one clicks to ‘start’ the lesson. It’s a good idea to separate these buttons and add the ‘completed’ one at the bottom of the page, if possible.
Happy fiddling to you 🙂, please reach out anytime through comments and/or [email protected].
question on the tremolos… are those *real*? I mean in the last half or last third. it sounds like a robot, or a digital speed-up.
loool… I came back after a few weeks off, and had the same exact question to post haha
Adam, great question! Thanks for commenting and coming back to it. 🙂 It seems digitally sped up, I’ll confirm with Jason, Be neat to have a real life challenge on tremolo speed 🎻 Happy fiddling to You
How would you play the B minor chord with the left hand for backup?
Hi Kayli, great question. For B minor, our chord notes are B D and F#.
If playing the G and D string, B (GH2) and D (D0) work good. Also, DH2 and GH2 (F# and B) is another option.
If playing A and D strings here are some options: B (A1) and D (D0), B (A1) and F# (DH2), D (A3) and F# (DH2).
Be great to hear how the chord backup works for you with this lovely tune.
I’ll take note of adding this chord to the dedicated chord lessons. Thanks 🎶
Hi: I cannot get 1.2 to show completed – I have completed 100% but still shows not completed. Garth
Hello, Thanks for mentioning this.
When I go to the top of this page, there is a button under the ‘Review Set 1.2’, which either says ‘start lesson’, or once clicking that, there should be a ‘complete lesson’ button to press once completed. There should be this option on most pages.
There is further guidance on this topic under the ‘Support’ tab, within the ‘How to use FiddleHed’ page, and under the ‘How do I track my progress through the course?’ option:
https://fiddlehed.com/contact-help-new/how-to-use-fiddlehed/
Please reach out anytime 🙂
I notice that my fingers “stick” or are not totally in synch with my bowing. Any practice or tip to make playing cleaner? It’s not when string crossing.
Hi Lulu, great point that you bring up to support us all. I suggest you check out the ‘Fiddle Questions’ page in the ‘Support’ tab, specifically the ‘left-hand fingering’ section. https://fiddlehed.com/fiddle-questions/
Some thoughts that arise are to continue a good amount of focus on scales associated with the tune being focused on, to simplify and refine the focus on specific notes and rhythms.
I also like to separate my left and right arm skills – I will take time to simply use my left hand fingering without the bow, then also use bow without the fingering, bowing the rhythm on the open string that the tune suggests.
Be great to hear how you do with this. Some further ways to engage on this topic are to bring it up at a monthly Office Hours session, at a weekly Open Practise session, at a monthly Beginner Group session, and one can also submit a Feedback Video for further support.
https://fiddlehed.com/community/group-lesson-home-page/
https://fiddlehed.com/support/video-feedback-lessons/
Jason: love these courses and your teaching style. I see how much goes into it. Thanks for doing it – you bring a lot of joy to a lot of people.
Garth
Great feedback, Garth! 👍🏿 Agreed
My fiddle has plastic pegs. They tune just fine but I wonder if it affects the sound at all? Would wooden pegs be better?
Great point and question, Charles.
I am not familiar with plastic pegs but you could be onto something. If you have the opportunity to chat with a luthier about this, and consider upgrading your pegs, it could support a better sound.
Another thought is that if the pegs you have are functioning well for you and not creating additional sounds/rattling, then you may be good to work with how it is.
Maybe contacting the company who made the violin could provide you with more insights on this.
Can be handy to go into a shop and test out a variety of instruments to experience what differences in sound and easability of use you notice. Someone else on FiddleHed may see this and have experience, be interesting to hear more about it. Thanks for bringing it up 🎻
I love it! I look forward to being able to do that in the future. 😉
Glad you dig it, Deborah 🙂
I think I would probably be considered an intermediate beginner but I have struggled with string crossings, intonation and straight bowing, as well as learning new music. Your beginner exercises have helped with bowing because the bow strokes are shorter, making it easier to control. This was the greatest string crossing exercise (for me) that I’ve ever done and I have seen great progress in that area in just the 24 hours since I signed up for your two week free trial! I think I will make these open string exercises part of my everyday practice to continue improving my string crossings.I also underestimated the importance of playing pizzacato (until I did all of your plucking exercises) and I will be using it on every new song I learn from now on. (AND you were correct, I did have fun doing it.) I will definately be upgrading when my free trial is up! I love the little count-down clock you have on that. And thank you for offering the free trial; I don’t know if I would have tried your course otherwise and I’m VERY glad I did! I have been a little discouraged with the lack of progress in the area of string crossings in particular and all of the “tips and tricks” I had previously been given, while somewhat effective, were not producing the results I was hoping for. My six year old grandson noticed the improvement I made just since yesterday and mentioned it! I was beginning to think that as a very, very, VERY “mature” adult I was too old to ever be any good at all on the violin, but I have hope that your “fiddlospohy” of “Small Steps, Small Wins” might make me a fiddle player after all! ;D
Such a beautiful sharing and insights, Deborah. Thank you for sharing your journey 🎶
OMG
I don’t read music, but think I uncovered something for myself – the sharps f and c in Oh Susanna – mark the key the song is in. Is that true?
I have heard that songs often begin and/or end with the first note of the key they are in. 🙃
Hi Lulu, great intuitive noticing 🙂 yes, the first section on the sheet music (where the sharps/flats/or none are listed) helps refer to what key the song is in, in this case D major. And yes indeed, in this song, the start and end note includes that D note, which can, at times, relate well to the key of the tune.
You may find these sections on FiddleHed interesting to dabble into:
https://fiddlehed.com/courses/note-reading-for-fiddlers/
‘Note Reading’ tab
https://fiddlehed.com/fiddle-questions/
Great to slowly integrate realizations and theory components as we’re drawn to it 🎶
There is no active link to the sheet music?
Hi Timothy, thanks for reaching out on this. We’ll follow up with you when we get this content posted. 🙏🏽 🎶 🙂
Really enjoyed the workshop Jocelyn, thank you!
It was great to see a different perspective on engaging with a tune. I don’t think learning a tune back-to-front will ever be my go-to method, but it’ll be perfect for those tunes — or even chunks — where I hit a ‘road block’ and just can’t make any progress with my standard approach.
Looking forward to more workshops by you!
Thanks for sharing your experience with this, Caren! So good to hear how you may navigate that alternative method. Appreciate your support 🙏🏼
It’s great to learn together through sharing various ways we experience playing 🎶
Excellent article. Thank you!
Glad you resonate on this, Lisa!
It’s really frustrating that you don’t show how to tune the fiddle before you ask the player to make notes and sounds. Yikes. I had to skip around the videos to find the tuning one.
Hi Daniel, really appreciate your feedback on this. That makes sense. We will work on improving this, thank You!
I’m loving this lesson. Will I ever move on? I feel such pleasure being in the drone space and improving my call-response ability.
Great your into it, Annie. It’s a powerful practise 🙂
I feel like I’m clenching my hand, right below my first finger. Any tips to relax my hand?
Hi Ryan, thanks for mentioning this 🙂 There’s some great support on this matter within Fiddle Questions, under ‘Left Hand Fingering’. https://fiddlehed.com/fiddle-questions/
This and other answers/help can be found under the support tab.
Be good to hear how you navigate this challenge.
Also, please consider submitting a video of you holding and playing your violin on the video Feedback Page https://fiddlehed.com/support/video-feedback-lessons/
We can offer you some personalized suggestions on this matter.
Sorry I messed up with the time difference. Looking forward to more…lovely tune!
the speed of that tremolo, near the end, in those exercises.. is something else
This is my favorite exercise thus far – grueling but so satisfying. So simple, training the ear – I will return to this often.
I would love to see the slur patterns people use for this song. I know it’s personal preference but as a beginner it really helps me to see it. I am a note reader by the way. I tried some slur patterns but I think it could be improved. I also like to have bowing marked as it helps me learn the tune too.
Hi Kathi, great suggestions, Thank you 👍🏿 I’ll take note of this to consider adding into the content, and will let you know if we do.
As I look at this song, I tend to slur two notes together (quarter and 8th note), I give the dotted quarter notes their own bow, and I slur the triplets into one bow. Summing it up, mainly using 1 up bow and 1 down bow in each bar/measure. I notice I like to slur the triplets together with a down bow (starting tune with up bow to facilitate this). Once I learnt this song well and started speeding it up, these bowing and slurring patterns happened fairly naturally, to help the ease of playing.
I’d love to hear what you and others try/prefer, always good to experiment various bowing ways once we have the song dialed.
This is a great topic to go into more detail with together. 🙂
I have played this tune so many times now I have it memorized. Now that I have it memorized, I find that I’m having trouble playing it to a metronome beat. Tried it fast and slow, and really find this tune challenging to stay with the beat, and I’m not sure why.
Thanks for sharing your experience, David. What a great challenge to embrace 🙂
When I check the tune out with a metronome, I work with 2 metronome beats per bar. I emphasize the notes played on beat 1 and 4 (within 6 beats per bar), and match those with the metronome beats. I’ve found 60bpm is a good pace when using 2 beats in a bar, could start slower and work up to that.
Another fun thing to work with is setting the metronome at a higher speed, around 160bpm and having metronome tick for each of the 6 beats in a bar.
I also like to try both these methods without a metronome, tapping my foot to 2 beats in a bar, then tapping all 6 beats.
Be great to hear how your experience goes.
Seems as though the beats are mismatched on a few of the exercises, ie 1 and 6.
Thanks Lia, we’ll let you know when we get this dealt with. Appreciate you mentioning it 🙂 Happy Fiddling
gratitude for the basics!
Love your perspective, Annie!
Hi Jocelyn:
I solved the “big fingertip problem” by buying a new violin at fiddlershop as suggested. I am really liking the course and just finished 1.1. I will now go back through 1.1 for one week to get better at each thing. I like the teaching style – accessible, fun, well put together and illustrated – and very much appreciate the work that goes into such an endeavor. I am considering private lessons with you, but want to get further along.
Great to hear you found a solution, Garth. Way to go more in depth with the program, that will serve you well. And reach out anytime. We offer a ‘Feedback Video’ service, which supports folks to receive further insights into their playing: https://fiddlehed.com/support/video-feedback-lessons/
I’m pretty slow in my violin playing and my instructor and I were talking about the best approach to speed up. And your timely email arrived today and now I have more instruction on speeding up. Yay!
Great news, Jody! Glad it lines up with what your focusing on.
Here’s another post on this topic to keep the flow going:
https://fiddlehed.com/blog/slow-down-to-speed-up/
Hi, thank you for this explanation and link!
I am an older fiddler somewhere between beginner and intermediate. There is a man who lives not far from me who rebuilds older (antique) violins. I already have an ok violin but I am wanting to upgrade sometime in the near future. I plan on spending $1,000 to $1,500 on a new violin. I was thinking of going to the man I mentioned and see what he has to offer. He has over 200 violins and bows to choose from. Would you recommend potentially buying from this man? Thanks!
This is his ad on craigslist: https://wilmington.craigslist.org/msg/d/violins/7725682256.html
Thanks!
Craigslist doesn’t come up.
Is there another way to contact him?
Hi Charlie, thanks for sharing your story and pursuits. I agree with Margaret, the link you shared is no longer an active post on craigslist. Can you share other information about this seller? Looking forward to checking it out and chatting more about it.
Thank you!
Happy to support, Garth. Please also consider connecting with Jason directly on this matter within the following group sessions – Office Hours and Open Practise.
Group Lesson Central page is under the ‘Community’ tab, where the upcoming schedule for these sessions can be found.
https://fiddlehed.com/community/group-lesson-home-page/
Jason: I find the tips of my fingers are too big and hit the other strings (A on D1 for example), and my solution has been to bend the string up toward G (away from A), or bend down toward A, when playing D1, D2, D3. Is this going to be a problem in the future and what do you suggest?
Garth, great point. Are the tips of your fingers being placed vertically down on the strings? Is it the true tip of your fingers you are utilizing (rather than the pad of fingers)? I can show you this in a short video if that could help. Extra bending of our finger knuckles can support us to come directly down onto the string with our fingers, rather than at an angle.
One could also experiment with gently pressing the finger down on the string more-so on an edge of the tip of the finger in any of the 4 directions (though directly straight down from above is the most ergonomic).
Another point is to put less pressure down on the string with the fingers, helping keep our fingers from widening when applying pressure. Here is a post on this: https://fiddlehed.com/fiddle-questions/violin-finger-pressure/
I’d say keep trying with this. Be great to hear how this challenge is going for you. May also be worth trying an instrument like a viola to see if the wider string spacing is something you prefer/works better for you.
Email us at [email protected] anytime.
A good tool for recording yourself is ForScore. It’s the tool our little group uses for storing sheet music, creating setlists, etc. But it also has other useful practice tools. For instance, you can make recordings that stay attached to the particular piece of sheet music. You can make several sequential recordings if you like. I also use it to record the melody and then play it back to practice the harmony. ForScore also has another useful feature; the Dashboard, which keeps track of everything you view (and for how long) during a practice session. In addition, there are tools such as a metronome and tuner (and probably more I haven’t used yet).
I audio record only my playing on my desk top computer but much more infrequently than every day, more like once a month. But what I do every day is video record my playing using my web cam and 22″ computer monitor.This is extremely useful in showing straight bowing or lack of it and general posture. Far better than a mirror. Then I switch over to the Intonia.com program stored on the computer, which automatically records the audio of any video recording and watch the visual representation of the audio. This shows the intonation as well as note values and metronome, if used. I am a visual learner so this is by far the best practice system I’ve found.
Yes! I didn’t realize until recently that you can record a video using QuickTime Player, which is free on a Mac. Just choose New Movie Recording from the File menu.
I have made it through the beginner module… I love that I can jump back if I run into something that I need to brush up. Thank you for that Jason. It has been so much fun. Unlike Gregg I think I’ve been working at the beginner modules for over a year. Sometimes I get stuck on a lesson or song and don’t want to give up. Not always quick on the uptake. On to the next level!
Awesome method, Don 👍🏾
Wrong link in recommended gear: the “floor stand” link goes to an Amazon search for “violin practice mute full size” (instead of an Amazon search for floor-stand, or something). I couldn’t find any other way to contact you so I hope this reaches you!
Hi Adam, thanks for reaching out. Great find. We really appreciate your support. I’ve mentioned this to Jason. Commenting on any of the FiddleHed pages are a good way to be in contact, if the matter is not urgent. For more urgent matters, please email [email protected]
Happy music making 🙂
Hi Adam, we updated associated links with the floor stand and instrument hangers. The specific stand associated with the picture on the gear page is a little ways down the amazon page. All the best in pursuing tools to help you with playing 🙂
https://fiddlehed.com/contact-help-new/recommended-gear-books-and-music/
These are great; i really love the multi-tempo ones. Thanks, Jason!
Soooo useful
So great to hear, Lulu!
Jamm session prepping for tomorrows zoom lesson
Awesome, Steve!
I really like the idea of having jam tracks that alternate playing the melody and the chords. I found that I could play the alternating jam track for Swallowtail while having the sheet music page open so that I could see the chords listed fun and helpful. I wasn’t able to do this with Rubber Dolly. As a beginner with chord changes, it is helpful to be able to see the sheet music so that I know what chords to play. I have difficulty knowing what chords to play, just listening to the tune
This is great Jason. I love having everything under one umbrella, simplifies
everything to have all together in one place for me!!
Perfecto:)
Ooh yes love this! Thank you very much Jason this is such fun! Can’t wait to hear & play the rest when loaded!
This is fine,, way fine!!! I don’t have to ask anyone to play a song they don’t know so I can practice fiddle tunes
Thank you Jason
I am trying to go through The Fiddle Book by Marion Thede and also trying to learn to read the music. The first song in Hanings Farewell. Do you have any instruction on this tune?
Thanks!
Hi and thanks for reaching out & sharing some methods you’re learning with. I don’t specifically see any posts related to this song, though I will pass this along to Jason to consider bringing up for the next Office Hours. Please don’t hesitate to remind him at the next live session if you can attend. Happy Fiddling to you 🎻
Any advice/tricks for remembering the longer strings? I’m pretty good up to about 12+ notes but struggle after that. Thanks!
Hi Claudia, great topic you raise.
Here are some Practise Variation tips included in another call and response page that may be useful:
Respond with plucking instead of bowing
Respond with singing instead of fiddling
Respond with Audiation (“hearing it in your head”) instead of fiddling
On your own, alternate between singing and fiddling small tune phrases
On your own, alternate between playing something in the low and high octave
Record your own call-and-response exercises
Some thoughts I have:
as the caller is creating sounds (as they make each individual sound and immediately after each note – during the calling process), sound them with my voice, in my head, visualize the notes in my head, strum the notes with the caller in guitar position, etc – this may be considered cheating to some, though I often find myself utilizing various techniques such as these as I’m experiencing the caller make the strings
and also simply going back and repeating the same string of notes it until I get it. 🙂
It’d be interesting to hear any specific methods you have for remembering longer strings of Call and Response.
Happy playing 🎶
Thanks for this workshop Jason, as with all your workshops, it was really well paced with clear instructions. I think the jam tracks are a real winner! I’m looking forward to coming along for the ride as you develop your ideas on teaching improvisation.
Would you consider a lesson on Gershwin’s Summertime at some stage?
Thanks for sharing this reflection, Marg. Improv is a big draw for expansion and creative growth 👍🏼
I will include your lesson suggestion to our list for consideration, and please stay tuned for upcoming opportunities to be supported in one another sharing song lessons with the community. 🙂
Also love the drone behind the music – keeps it grounded in the note.
Yes indeed. Utilizing drones regularly is amazing! Drone central is a great resource on FiddleHed for this.
Hi there: I really like Jason’s teaching style / methodology and am very much enjoying this. Great course and will continue. I like that you add some complexity to each course and practice session so that I have to figure out what is going on by listening. Thanks for creating such a great experience. Garth
Great you’re feeling good with the program and understanding the methods for learning well, Garth. Thanks for being with us 🙂
Whoah! This is a hard tune to learn! But it’s “Desirable Difficulty” – and (for me anyway) is a great example of how repeating each tricky phrase over and over and over again before stitching them together REALLY works.
The next challenge is to try and remember it . . .
Yes, Nigel! Thanks for bringing us into your method and perspective 👍🏾
Good lesson!!!! I’ve struggled with improvisation for the longest time. This blows away a lot of the fog !!!🎶🎶
Very good to hear, Mike! Such relevant, useful and fun content 🙂 Be great to experience you playing and working on this. Enjoy 🎶
I left this song for a while and started playing the basic version, and many variations from this video just came out of me! I’m so excited that I have some memory that is beginning to show in my playing…possibly from the repetition and muscle memory..it feels like magic!!! Thank you!
Wow Kayli, special insights your sharing. You’re onto something great! Importance to recognize what our capabilities are and how we’ve grown, and noticing/creating this from simplifying. Thank you
I just caught up on the replay of this lesson, loved it! Thank you it’s a really cool lesson. I didn’t use the sheet music links just listened and played along which worked well for me, really liked the little improv session at the end too.
Thanks for this feedback, Joanne. Great your enjoying and utilizing these replays. Agreed, such helpful and enjoyable sessions. Great point in working together without music references when possible, helps with presence and what can arise from that 🙂
Here’s FiddleHed Debbie H:
Thanks for putting this up here. Awesome playing Debbie 😀 You really know this tune and have taken it to great heights, integrating your own creative style of playing.
Woo hoo! Done with 1.1. Took a long time, but my practice has been inconsistent. Loving every lesson! And SO happy for noticable progress. Didn’t know Twinkle Twinkle could be so much fun! Thank you!
Awesome reflection and sharing, Claudia. Your onto something special, taking your time and going into great depth with it. Have fun!
Sorry I missed this live, but awesome job everyone!!
Glad you enjoyed this, Henry. There will be more of these to come! Happy Fiddling 🎶
My rough take on Kitchen Girl 🙂 I’m working on droning with open string notes while making string changes with melody, which has been a good learning curve. I seem to compensate by separating notes in a choppy way to maintain my bow angle on strings as melody flows between strings. All good fun! Great to come together with this song challenge.
https://soundcloud.com/jocelyn-martens-374027408/kitchen-girl-with-open-string/s-wvgNtrZq0YL?si=40d2ed8aeba644a5841b24f496dcc0e2&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
This is an interesting tune with a rather mournful sound to it. Presumably it commemorates some sad event that happened on January 28th in the USA? In all the recordings I can find (e.g. The Fuzzy Mountain String Band) it’s played quite fast as a reel, but I think it sounds good at around 100 beats per minute, which is about as fast as I can play it anyway.
Looking forward to trying the Variations now.
Thanks, Nigel. It’s fun to imagine meaning into songs from what we hear, how we play it, the title, and more. I like this speed you mention as well. Enjoy 👍🏿
I just realized I should have recorded this in the kitchen instead of the living room. 😆
Well done, Anne! 👏🏼 It turned out great as Living Room Gal
How play this at anything approaching jam speed? Usually played at least 120 bpm. Will you show us slurs to make it a possibility in the future? This lesson seems to be too labourious for a jam
Hi Kim, great inquiries you mention. I’ll add your request for future lesson creations.
Here are FiddleHed links to support you in the meantime:
Playing Faster Lesson: https://fiddlehed.com/blog/seven-ways-to-play-faster-on-the-fiddle/
Playing Faster Workshop: https://fiddlehed.com/community/group-lesson-home-page/timing-workshop-playing-faster/
Q&A on Slurring: https://fiddlehed.com/blog/play-faster-on-violin/
Q&A on Playing Faster: https://fiddlehed.com/fiddle-questions/how-do-you-play-faster-while-still-sounding-good/
Consider learning chords for a song like this, to engage with a faster played tune in different ways: https://fiddlehed.com/courses/intermediate-fiddle-lessons/2-6-low-fourth-finger-i-iv-v/playing-backup-on-songs/
Another alternative is to eliminate some of notes in this song to play along with a group in the meantime.
As for slurring this specific melody, I would lean towards slurring two notes together at a time, and keep the quarter notes and same notes that repeat (D0-D0) separate bows.
I’d also challenge myself, as I gradually increase speed with this song, to learn it with separate bows as well as slurring. I’d also work the song gradually slower to balance the practise out.
I can’t seem to attach my video. It’s not great but I tried. I’m impressed by everyone’s videos.
Hi Mary, thanks for your efforts.
Here’s a post explaining how to upload a video to the site: https://fiddlehed.com/contact-help-new/how-to-use-fiddlehed/how-can-i-upload-a-video-to-the-site/
Reach out at [email protected] for further assistance.
Be great to get your video shared 🙂
These duet lessons are really useful and fun. Doing the accompaniment is a great way for me to practice longer bowing plus those G-string notes (which I find harder). Plus it is fun playing along with the accompaniment for both parts. 🙂
The series of reps at the end are so helpful! Excellent 🙂 Thank you.
This is awesome! Not sure how I missed it
Thanks for sharing the interest. Be great to have you join in on the next session. We’re always looking to improve so any feedback in making it more accessible for folks is welcomed 🎶
Hi…Enjoying this step by step approach. Thanks for making it easier! Wondering two things…My bow is making more scratchy-squeaky sounds than it did on open strings. What’s that about? Also sometimes the bow just bounces. It will go away a bit if I put more pressure on, but I’m wondering if that’s the thing to do. Thanks!
Hi Claudia, thanks for reaching out. Wondering how this is going for you now?
Please consider submitting a feedback video so we can more easily see what’s going and provide some ideas to support you. Here’s the page for more details on this: https://fiddlehed.com/support/video-feedback-lessons/
Please also check out the ‘Support’ tab, and ‘Fiddle Questions’ page. Within there, the ‘bowing’ drop down section can support both of these questions you have further. Here’s the page link for easy reference: https://fiddlehed.com/fiddle-questions/
Also, can be handy to tune into the interactive group sessions to address these items together live. The ‘Community’ tab and ‘Group Lesson Central’ page gives further details on these sessions. The Office Hours, Open Practise, and Beginner Group sessions are all good ones for interacting on these topics.
Be great to hear how this is going for you some months later. Thanks for Fiddling with us!
I really liked it. It was just fun listening to the fiddling (and your singing).
This is absolutely gorgeous, Jason. Good on you for persevering!
Wow, glad to see I could still login to make a comment. This is definitely resubscribe material. The comments that came in ahead of mine really say it all (especially about the fish) this is the level I feel I need to focus on. Total teaching to it’s best at waking the mind up. I want more for sure.
The simplicity of chords used for singing was a light bulb on hi voltage.
Thank you.
Dan….
Love it! Well worth all your effort!
I really enjoyed listening to this. Great job with the fiddle arrangement. I would be interested in learning an “untraditional song” perhaps a new fiddle journey. Thank you for keeping the new ideas flowing!
Wow, Jason, you have tremendous talent! It sounds awesome to me! And yes, it is ALL about not giving up! Isn’t that what we should all do in life…. Great job! I’d love to hear the piano part…
As I couldn’t make the live lesson I made a recording of where I’m at learning by ear.i played along to Jason & Deb’s recording until my WiFi signal dropped!
I hope I can catch the replay of the lesson soon
Great sharing, Joanne, thanks. That worked out great how the last leg of the song was your solo fiddling. Workshop replay is posted 🙂
Kitchen Girl
Thanks, Vera. I love your sharing 👍🏾
A large part of what makes Fiddlehed lessons so much fun is being introduced to beautiful tunes I’ve never heard before. A lovely tune such as Lucy Farr’s makes me fall in love with fiddling all over again. I have also been learning Patsy Geary’s Jig by Mr. Hayes, another great one. Thank you for including Martin Hayes and his beautiful music in the lessons. This is definitely one of my new favorites.
OK ladies and gents, here is my first attempt
Why do I look so ANGRY!
Great playing, Don. You look relaxed and focused 🙂
I thought this might make you laugh! This is me trying to learn this tune from the backing track with some very intermittent WiFi in our campervan in southern Spain
On another note, this dropping out of the tune actually benefitted me on learning the melody as I had to learn it in small sections at a time & then, once I had it, it became almost like a call and response session, filling in the gaps.
I love this playful, organic practise 🙂 And yes, great method to utilize!
Joanne, your video of your learning the tune with the audio was fun to listen to! Thanks for posting!
Awesome lesson! Thank y ou!
Thanks for enjoying, Susieq 🙂
Hi Jason, this is Joe Ann Sturgeon. I was watching the office hours for this week and Terri made a suggestion of speeding up some of the tunes on the audio runs and you spoke about alternating on tunes loops with gaps. I thought that would be really really helpful and a great idea as well.
You did a demo on chord loops. Love it!
Tunes that would be great would be Whiskey Before Breakfast and Wildwood Flower. Thanks – still loving the site although I don’t get to watch in real time. Thanks!
2nd from last is not a hoedown. 🙂
Hi Jessica, great point you make 🙂 Often, a hoe down rhythm is with separate bows. Here, Jason is slurring (1 bow stroke for 2 notes) the short notes so it sounds different. This is still a long-short-short pattern though. Maybe there’s a different name we could give it when slurred like that?! I’m glad you brought this up. Happy Fiddle journeying to you 🎵
What a great, all encompassing guide, and available to all. Great work on this folks.
I have found some folks could use a bit of info on cleaning their bow hair.
Lots of youtube resources on this, here are a couple I’ve benefited from:
How to DEEP Clean Violin Bow HAIRS:
Bow Hair Cleaning:
Just listened to the group playing Saint Anne’s Reel. Wow, wow wow! This was definitely one of my mum’s favourite tunes, and although she didn’t play the fiddle, she often chorded along with my uncles and grandfather! Brings back the sweetest of memories. And look at those happy faces! Fiddling is Joy!
Hi everyone, I listened to the song, and i think i did have an “aha” moment! The melody is exactly the same, just that the second one is played in A minor. I don’t read music well, and i also struggle to hear the highest notes in this song, but I do feel it is the same tune, just a different key! Hope this makes sense!
Great insights and noticing, Susieq. Yes, key change makes sense forsure. I’d be curious what brought you to the second part in A minor? 🙂 Nice to see folks investigating and going on a journey with this song challenge 🎶
Hmmm….I think because when you think of the keys (or the notes you are playing) you have an A a C and an E, and those make up the A minor chord if you were chording on a piano. Does this make sense at all? Have a great day!
Yes! Thank you. Learning the 3 chordal/triad/arpeggio notes for a key can help with so much, including this.
I often look at the note placements, For part A – notes that line up with D major.. and Part B, notes lining up with C major or A minor – and narrowing down from there, the tone of chords and melody for part B makes it sound more minor.
Beauty tune 🙂
Oh my, wouldn’t it be so pretty if both parts were played at the same time? I’m going to try to play the “other” half of the song while the first part is playing to see if it works!
Oh my, wouldn’t it be so pretty if both parts were played at the same time?
A little trick I just discovered… sometimes I’m a little slow on the uptake… I downloaded the audio and then dragged it into Audacity. I find it very helpful because it makes it easier to go to a specific spot in the tune that you are working on.
Nice pointer, Don. I’d like to try this. Thanks for sharing
Hey Don,
If possible, make a screen recording the next time you do that. Explain what you’re doing as you do it.
Then we can share it.
No pressure to do this, but it might be fun.
Thanks…
Nice one! May be good added to this page, under variations? https://fiddlehed.com/courses/beginner-fiddle-lessons/1-3-the-d-major-scale/d-major-scale/
OMG I love this tune! I’m in!
But what in the world is A Mixolydian??
Hi Don, glad you asked! Here’s a lesson to get Mixolydian more familiar: https://fiddlehed.com/fiddling-with-the-mixolydian-mode/
Hey Don, are you getting more familiar with A mixolydian? Same key/notes as D major, just starting on A note (which can take practise to adjust ourselves from wanting to play in A major). 🙂
Thanks for taking part, with some good fun energy!
This particular video has helped tremendously! 🙏 Thanks!!
I’m sorry for posting late..I had some computer issues earlier today. I’ve been working on memorizing chords and getting comfortable with the train beat or hoedown, which has lead me to decide on learning the backup for “Squirrel Hunter”. It is a lot of fun to play along to the melody and I think it’s helped me rhythmically.
Hey, you come up with an idea!
Fun to play it like that and it sounds really nice too! 🤩
Thanks Ann!
That’s really nice! Thanks…
Kayli that was awesome and I love watching you as you play too. You really get into it.
Thanks for sharing, Kayli. I resonate well with this. This is vital work in rhythm practise and following along with others playing. Your bowing patterns, rhythm feeling and creating, as well as transitioning between double stops and single notes, are so lovely to experience. I really enjoy the violin utilized as a support instrument. Wondering who is playing in the melody track, is it you? Well done!
Here’s a call-and-response track I just found…
I’ve decided not to perform but I’m definitely going to be listening in today to the other performances
Thanks for sharing Kathleen, and for joining in a way that worked best for you. It is great to have folks involved in various ways, everyone contributes. I hope you had fun for this challenge. Happy Fiddling 🙂
Hey,
Here is my Welsh song Gorsaf y Gof.
Many greetings from Ghent ( Belgium )!
Good luck to those who will be performing soon!
🎻✨ I don’t think I’ve heard that one..I dig it! Nice work. I enjoy the pedal notes/rocking bits in there too
Thx Kayli
Heartfelt applause for you, Ann 👏🏼 I love this Welsh tune, thanks for sharing it with us. The string crossing is thorough in this one, you did really well! Your tone shone through beautifully, and it was really nice to see you play for that length of time. 🎶
PS – Hopefully someone can give me a tip about why when I record it sounds tinny and kind of squawky, both musically technical terms I’m sure. Strings? Bow? iPhone mic? Or maybe it’s ME?
Hi Don, I also really enjoyed this video of you playing. Such a great tune and you have learnt it thoroughly! I love the range of notes this song holds, you carried the tune great 🎶
Great points other folks made with relating to your sound experience. If you are only hearing that sound through the recording, then yea it’s likely related to how the sound is coming through the electronics. If you have the opportunity to try moving your mic onto a ledge or stand where the mic can be closer to the level of where your violin sound is directly coming out of instrument, that may help? Be interesting to hear what you try. I like what Kayli mentioned about getting advice from someone who has that experience, and somehow showing them your setup as well as trying out a different setup to see if that changes the outcome.
Sometimes I get different sounds produced through my instrument when something attached to violin is a bit loose (chin rest tighteners, fine tuning peg loose, loose screws on shoulder rest, etc).
Here’s a good example of someone who has their mic positioned nicely from their fiddle:
Definitely had planned to participate, but an appointment got changed and I will be on the road. Here is a YouTube link… I hope that is the right way to do that. I’ve never done a video on YouTube before.
Beautiful!! I love that song, and you played so well!
My videos always sound scratchy and squeaky… I think part of it is the speakers? Anyway, your video was lovely!
Thank you! I appreciate that.
Lovely! I’ve had that sound happen in recordings before too..it seems to me like sometimes I’m too close to the phone mic and repositioning in the room has helped before. Learning how to record audio can be a challenge on its own! It’s helped me to reach out to someone who understands music equipment much better than me. Thanks for your song, I enjoyed it very much.
Oops
Hi Tammy, thanks for your efforts to post the video. 🎶 Do you have your video privacy settings on youtube set to ‘unlisted’?
Here’s a post on Fiddlehed with further explanation: https://fiddlehed.com/contact-help-new/how-to-use-fiddlehed/how-can-i-upload-a-video-to-the-site/
I’m here to help you get it shared, please reach out at [email protected] if it continues to not be available, or for anything else. 🙂
Tennessee Waltz
Great lesson!
Thanks for sharing this, Denise 👍🏽
Sorry to miss it in person. I have to work.
What a fun tune, and nicely done!!! Kudos!!
It looks like a few of us have fallen for this song! Nice job 👏
I love Squirrel Hunter, Anne. Thank you for doing it so well.
Anne, very nice playing 🙂 I love how solid your fiddling is! Thanks so much for sharing what you’ve been working on. I’d be curious to hear what type of mic you are using.
Just my iPhone
👍🏾 Nice
Tennessee Waltz
Here’s my video; Ashokan Farewell.
Very nice!!! Love your timing…great selection:)
Dawna this is my favorite Jay Ungar waltz! He has been kind of my “fiddle hero” since I started playing. You did a fabulous job at it. Thank you.
Lovely musical sharing, Dawna 🎶 I really enjoyed your relaxed approach, it shines through into the sound you create. Thank You! Be great to hear you play for longer in the future. Well done 🙂
My video. Wish I had a backtrack. Getting to love this tune, but time to move to the next one.
What beautiful tone and timing! Thank you for sharing this!
Steve, I enjoyed your sharing a lot. Your sounds are very soothing, way to be 👍🏽 Yes, getting some live backup from family/friends for a recording is also something I’d like to facilitate!
I like the lesson and the song very much, what I found difficult at first were the first notes at the beginning, the song starts so dynamically, it took a while until I could play along with the melodies here, but now it’s slowly getting better. The sheet music video helped me at the beginning because it was slower than the melodies. Thanks for that lesson. 🙂
Hey Gabi, I agree! Yes, great sharing on experience with the pick up notes at beginning and how the tune starts out with pretty good jumps in notes. Neat to hear your progression too. Thanks for expressing how you resonate with the lesson presenation. Happy Fiddling to you 🎵
New student here, just finished my first module! I enjoyed it. I also appreciate this review element because it nicely presents the tunes that were in the earlier modules! I’ll take the next few practice sessions to learn them before moving on to the next module. I appreciate how thoughtfully this course is designed.
Hi Jessica, welcome to Fiddlehed 🙂 That’s awesome to hear. Glad you’re taking your time with it and appreciate how the program is setup. Have fun fiddling and reach out anytime 🎶
Neat…you sort of do that with piano, too, don’t you? Great stuff!
Hi Susieq, yes good point. Other instruments can work great with these types of exercises, like piano 🎹 Glad to hear you enjoy!
I will upload a recording on Saturday. Sunday I am heading north into the mountains for the week. Cell service is spotty, but will join in and play along if able. I was hoping to have my wife back me up on guitar but she hasn’t had the time to work that out. ( a novice player who hasn’t really played much for many years)
I’m going to play a very simple tune…Nail the Catfish to a Tree. Just a fun little tune for this first challenge!
Here is the video of Squirrel Hunter I just learned.
Yes! Thanks for sharing…
Really enjoyed your Squirrel Hunters…. it was haunting! great timing, which I envy!!! 🙂
Nice! 🎻🌟
Lots of “Squirrel Hunters” in the audience! 🙂 Playing it with a drone was a great choice. Thanks!
Hi @lbiehl, Thank you for this share. Wow you’ve done really well with this! I agree, the drone and speed you chose lined up beautifully. It brings new perspective to a song. Loving your sounds 🧡
very good practice,
Thank you for sharing, Gabi 👍🏼
I’m learning Hector the Hero. I started it a long time ago and got side tracked.
I won’t be able to make the meeting tonight (Spanish time!) So here’s my progress so far on Crazy Creek! Still some mistakes, & I have some trouble with the transitions on the B part so I’m using chaining to practice
I can’t wait to hear you play this again….I never heard of this tune before, but its a keeper!! Love your playing!
Joanne what fun tune! I love it!
Thanks for sharing a video of your progress and sharing this great tune! Enjoyed you live as well, great playing Joanne! 👏🏼
Just did the group session: Drunken Sailor
I enjoyed it and it was very helpful. I am doing this song for January 10 day challenge
Hi Denise, that is a great choice! And awesome your finding ways like this to learn the tune deeper 🙂 🎶 Have fun!
Drunken Sailor song was utilized in the Hootenannys between April 2022 and Feb 2023, in which there are replays, ( the song list order can help one find where it it played in the video) if your looking for further means to engage with this tune.
I also did an audio track for this you may find fun to listen to/play with if tempo works for you: https://soundcloud.com/jocelyn-martens-374027408/drunken-sailor-mixture-2023-02-01-105-pm?si=83ae56e180b34cb3874b82cc0b9717f0&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
Do you know yet what time the zoom meeting will be on the 29th?
Hi Kathleen, Great question. The times have been included in this page, maybe added since you read it last. Please refer above and reach out anytime. Be great if it works out for you to join 🙂 🎶
This is great lesson, Jason! Your fiddle lessons are giving me much joy! I am just beginning me fiddle journey, and it is starting to become a smoother ride already! Practising is the key, and your videos are EXCELLENT! Kudos for being such a wonderful, patient teacher!
Love your experience with this, Susieq 💕
I’m not much good with Internet stuff! Also, I’m a bit shy. I love playing and have recently found a couple of ladies to play with. One of them has requested that we play the above tune. Maybe I’ll post something a bit further down the line!
Hey Julia, thanks for sharing~ your openness to expressing your experiences is awesome. What song are you speaking of? That’s great you have some folks to share playing music with in person. Be lovely to hear you play someday! 🎶 Happy fiddling to you
Jason, I just started a few days ago….thank you for making the fiddle make sense to me! I absolutely love this Jig, and yes, it is beautiful when played slowly. A am totally loving this course so far!
Wow, thanks for sharing, Susie. Your experience is enlightening 👍🏼 🎶
I’m going to play Lazy John, or maybe Too Ra Loo Ral Loo Ra, a lullaby my mom used to sing to me, then I sang to my son.
Would you expect me to know all of the tunes by heart or is it ok to use the music too?
Hi Barbara, great question. Here’s a good post about this topic: https://fiddlehed.com/blog/memorization/
Memorizing scales and tunes is a really helpful practise and is highly suggested to pursue 🙂
You have a good point about using music too. Great to balance out some of each element in engaging with the music. Listening, reading, singing, playing, watching, moving, meditating, clapping/tapping etc
Thanks for your engagement 🎶
Okay! I got the whole tune, mostly; here I am playing it against Serena’s playalong. I didn’t notice that the camera had slipped until I had played this over and over about 20 times, and then I was too tired–well, lazy, really–to reshoot it. But you can see the important thing, which is the bowing, and you can hear the important thing, which is the intonation, so okay.
I sort of feel obligated to do it the way Serena is doing it, but if I ever performed this, I wouldn’t do it quite this way. I’d do it with the double stop at the end of the A2 and I wouldn’t do that (to me) goofy quad-stop thing at the beginning of B1 and B2. Maybe it sounds better at speed, but it just grates on me when I hear it, hmm….
Good job already!
On the 3rd from the last exercise I don’t think the sheet music matches the tab and audio track.
Beautiful catch, Jessica. Thank you kindly for mentioning this. I’ve removed the sheet music for now and will replace it when possible!
Hope your having a great time with Fiddlehed 🎵
This is Great lesson to come back to Refresh. My memory. Bank 🎻❤️
In the “ Fingering with Plucking – Exercises” all of the “tucka” rhythms are single note exercises, not transitional exercises as stated.
@lavonjohn, Hi and thank you for catching this error and taking the time to mention it 🙏🏽 I will change the text for now and take note to consider adding new audios with note changing, as the other audios provide. Hope your having fun fiddling 🎶
I’m going to learn Wayfaring Stranger, but I’m going to play it in A dorian instead of E dorian of the FH lesson. I guess I’ll really learn it in D, then just play it one string higher to be in A!
Fourth day and here’s a segment of my work on Part B. Yep.
There’s so many! Songs I want to learn that is. I think I’ve settled on “ The Blue River Waltz.”
Annnnnndd here’s the third day for me for ‘Wheel Hoss.’ I’m moving on to the B part, which is quite a bit harder than the A part.
This is only the first half of B. Serena starts it off with a quadruple stop–I’m doing it the way she’s doing it because she knows the tune and I don’t, BUT I would never play a quadruple stop in front of, you know, actual people. It sounds awful to my ear, and since it is a melody note, the listener needs to hear it as a NOTE, not as…whatever it is.
Anyway, most of what I’m doing here in this short segment is to match her bowing, but it does occur to me to wonder why it’s okay to lumberjack it here and it wasn’t okay to lumberjack it in the A part, but…whatever. It does sound good at speed when Serena plays it (even the quad stop is a little less awful-sounding), so as I say, I’ll do it the way she does it, at least for now.
Mmm-hmm.
Hey Wayne, love your videos and funny comments there. I had never heard the word lumberjack before.
So I am learning some English too. I like your song and I already tried a bit. But for now I have to focus on mine.
Keep on going!
Thanks!…W.
Lumberjacking–that’s what we call it when all you do is just saw back and forth on the strings, heh 🙂
Thanks! I can totally imagine it now 😆
I don’t think we have such a nice word for this in Dutch.
In some of your tabs you refer to L as E can I ask why and I understand the pickups for Irish washer woman what do you refer to when you have EL2 AL2 just a little confused
Hi @shanni, thanks for asking 🙂
EL2 refers to E string, Low finger position, and the second finger.
If a tab does not show the string name, it meants it is the same string as the last tab that does identify what string it is (ex: D1-L2-3-4, These are all on the D string)
Here’s a good post explaining how to read tabs: https://fiddlehed.com/courses/beginner-fiddle-lessons/1-2-getting-plucky/how-to-read-tabs/
Have a great time with it and reach out anytime 🎶
Cool! I will try a Welsh tune, Gorsaf y Gof ( The Blacksmith’s Forge )
Lovely idea! I think I’ll go with Kerfunken Jig.
Hi Jason and Jocelyn, same issues that Gregg and Brian noted.
‘Wheel Hoss,’ Part A only for bowing. Here’s a short segment of the 20ish minutes I spent doing this tonight in order to get a feel for the Georgia Shuffle bowing. I’m working here against a small portion of Serena Eades’ most excellent tutorial for this tune; the only thing I much care about here is that my bowing is aligned with hers. Yep.
I’ll try Galway Bay Hornpipe, and this is going to take a lot of practice‼️
I’m going to try Breaking up Christmas in regular tuning first, then maybe sawmill
Nice bouncy little dance tune, and a good “warm-up” tune for G major. The extra bowing tutorial is great, too.
Unfortunately the “Full Mix” play-along track doesn’t work at the moment. But as Jason kindly provides the chords in the .pdf sheet music it’s easy to set up in Strum Machine.
Hi Nigel, thank you for sharing. I’m glad your feeling it and enjoying this lesson. Thanks for your feedback as well, it greatly helps to be informed when something isn’t functioning. I added an audio version of the full song, which is kept at a decent tempo throughout. We’ll consider adding another full play along track to this with more tempo variances in the future.
Glad to hear your utilizing strum machine, an efficient means for getting play along tracks happening. Their enhancements to the program lately have been great. Cheers to music making 🎶
Thanks for adding my request Faded Love – wish I had been in the able to be in the liove group.
Hi Lynda, your involvement in supporting bringing this lesson to fruition is appreciated. Yes, live sessions sure are lovely. Hope you can tune into future live sessions. The main group lesson page can support us in pursuing upcoming and previous sessions: https://fiddlehed.com/community/group-lesson-home-page/
Thanks for fiddling with us 🎶
yes she is fantastic,i been watching her on youtube.gets my toe tapping every time
hi there,a great site.ive played bluegrass banjo for near 15 yrs,just 2 eeeks ago i pick a violin up and im addicted to it.i only read tab so its a great site for me.2 weeks and just got swollowtail jig down at 75bpm. Fiddle is so much fun….. do you think The road to lisdoorvarna, better or Kesh jig to go with Swollowtail jig….? 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
Hi @artie! Thanks for sharing your enjoyment and experience with how your fiddle journey’s going.
I’d say any combination of those 3 songs can go nicely together. I’ve experienced all 3 of those tunes played together at a contra dance.
As for skill level, it seems Road to Lis may could an easier tune to learn than Kesh. Happy Fiddling to you 🎻
Sounds like fun! I’ll have a try at Crazy Creek!
Hi I’m wondering how I can get finger notes or placements for fiddle tunes I listen to on YouTube
Great point, Shanni. There’s a post on learning songs from youtube here: https://fiddlehed.com/courses/beginner-fiddle-lessons/1-8-the-high-and-low-second-finger/how-to-learn-tunes-from-youtube/
I also tend to use blank sheet music pages and once I get a small section of a tune, I’ll write it down. This could be helpful to do even simply in tab form.
If you want help in achieving this with a specific song, we can discuss further support options via [email protected]
Be great to hear how you do with this. Have fun 🎶
Hello, folks! I’ll be using this time to deal with that good old tune by the great Bill Monroe, ‘Wheel Hoss.’
Some of you know me, I’m the banjo player who is learning some tunes on the fiddle so I can take a fiddle with me on my upcoming northbound hike of the Appalachian Trail starting March 15 of this year.
I’m taking a Magic Fluke ‘Cricket’ travel fiddle, which uses a 3/4th-length bow and fits comfortably in a 5-inch document tube. I’ve had it about a year now, I’ve played it a lot, and I’ve clunked it up and down trails on my backpack and it seems to tolerate that pretty well.
I’ve been working on fiddle for a year or so now, I can play a few tunes: ‘Red-Haired Boy,’ ‘Kitchen Girl,’ ‘The Cuckoo’s Nest,’ ‘The Sailor’s Hornpipe,’ that sort of thing. I found myself being interested in Irish-slash-Cape Breton-type tunes lately, so I’ve been working on things like ‘Gaspe Reel,’ ‘King of the Fairies,’ and ‘Road of Lisdoonvarna.’ None of these are especially hard, but like so much of this stuff, I do find it hard to do well.
You can see a bunch of clips of me working on tunes–and about 10,000 photographs of my recently departed and much missed dog–on my Insta, @tophatbanjo, or on my YT channel, ‘tophatbanjo.’ Yep.
Annnnnndd here’s a segment of my first practice for ‘Wheel Hoss.’ Yep.
Probably Cape Breton Waltz
I might try Waiting for Nancy or Swinging on a Gate
Kathleen I love Cape Breton Waltz. I once heard Natalie MacMaster play it in concert and I was mesmerized.
Hi Jason, I just started practicing Call and Response Exercised 2.2 and noticed some of the same issues Brain was commenting on. Is that how the recordings are supposed to be?
Thanks,
Gregg
Hello, folks! I appear to be the first poster for the 2024 Learn-a-New-Song Practice Challenge. I’ll be doing 20 minutes a day starting today on Bill Monroe’s ‘Wheel Hoss,’ not a very hard tune, but like so much of this fiddle stuff, it’s hard to do well. I’ll be posting practice clips somewhere or other–probably on my Instagram, @tophatbanjo–so stay tuned for that. Mmm-hmm.
Please, a lesson for solo (fill) break for I’m so lonesome I could cry.
Thanks for re-iterating this here, Bill. I’ve put in your request. Thanks for letting us know what you’d like 🙏🏽
I remember being so impressed with Kate’s video the 1st time I saw it. Tried to learn the 1st break but wasn’t really ready for it then. Tonight I reached it again having worked my way up to module 2.8. It was so much easier, I can feel that I’m listening better now and could feel the syncopated rhythms. It takes time and committed practice but I think it’s well worth it to work through every stage of the course.
Beautiful, Marg. Such important sharings of your way and experience 🙏🏿
Love this! Thank you. This is so well done. As someone relatively new to double stops the variety of ways to practice here are so helpful. I can confirm the notes to play by looking at the chart as chords change and then watch Jason’s bowing (long bows, hoe down pattern) and (do my best!) to play along. Eventually I will move to audio only.
Thanks for sharing this feedback on how it’s going for you 🙂 and putting your intentions out there, all around inspiring manifestations 👍🏽
Learning to use treble and playing viola. Learning new methods to improve and make my practice time more productive, less waste playing the same tunes over and over. Thanks
Great reflection, Steve. Neat to hear your aspirations and what’s formulating in your playing, supports all!
Hello, yes, here are my litte story and the goal for this year 2024: Last year the violin found me 🙂 Due to a prolonged cold, I was unable to attend singing lessons, so I took a few trial violin lessons. So fare I play the piano in our family home music, and with the violin, one of my husband’s wishes came true, a Blue Grass home music. Said and done ! The first song should be “wagon wheel”. I found a Youtube video of Jason and then this platform. So I started playing the violin only on this song since Easter 2023. What can I say, with every day of practicing, a lot of fun with every success and a happy husband, we mastered our first audition in the family celebration with a simplified version of wagon wheel. Banjo my husband, guitar – my son und Fiddle -me.
What is the goal of this year 2024? I am now starting the violin course from beginner level – to learn something structured. And so far I’m having a lot of fun with it, I especially like the duets and my feeling for the bow is improving. Happy new Year and all the best.
Jason, I would like to learn your fiddle solo for, I’m so Lonesome I Could Cry. Would like music notes along with video.
Hi Bill, thanks for reaching out and making this inquiry 🙂 I’ll add this to our request list for future consideration.
To clarify your request, you are referring to this solo break video from youtube?
And that you’d like to see it as a full lesson on the Fiddlehed site?
Happy music making to you 🎶
Can this lesson be improved? Can we add anything? Happy fiddling 🎻
glad to find this lesson. I played this tune years ago and now find myself struggling. Found my old sheet music. Will work on this lesson and see if I can get back into shape. 🙂
Great Steve~ nice to re-approach in a new way, a new state and in new times! Enjoy the process, with some great background experience to support you.
I’m going to consider this for the Hootenanny tune list, thanks for bringing it up 🙂
it was very funny, I like the duets. But, only the first one, the Kerry Polka Duet I didn’t catch.
Thanks for this feedback, Gabi. Yes the first duet, Kerry Polka is unique. It has a long introduction and then starts with duet at 39 seconds. Also trickier one with the background music, the duet notes, and melody going at once! Glad you enjoy this lesson. Happy Fiddling 🎶
Hey,
First I am going to start with a little story. I’ll try to do it in my best English 😉.
A few months ago my classical violin teacher gave me a quite difficult piece of music to learn.
After some weeks of struggling with it, I wanted to throw it in the trash. Really!
I was also thinking of quitting the classical violin and to go on with the fiddle. A lot of thinking…a lot of doubts
Until the day I attended the general rehearsal of Petrousjka, an opera ballet in the opera of Ghent
I was blown away by the music. These musicians play every day more then 6-8 hours! They also need to practice a lot, even they are professionals.
Back home I took the piece out of the trash and started again, very slowly with
small chunks and looping, everything what I learned here for the last 5 months.
After a week I had a much better result and I was happy to move on.
So I told this story to set my goal of building a strong bridge between the Fiddle and the classical violin.
Because choosing is not an option. And I think they can reinforce each other.
I also want to be satisfyed with my playing, to be patient and to keep smiling 🤩 every day!
Happy New Year! 🎻❤️🎻
Thank-you for reminding me, time to reflect and look towards next year! Since I started Feb. 7, ’22, I’ve only missed 2 days of practice, so I will also _aim to Play Every Day in 2024_ 🙂 My _2nd goal is to Practice Wisely_. In 2023, I tried to incorporate some Brainjo Principles into my practice, mainly that of “work” for ~ 30 min and then allow your brain to catch-up for ~4 hrs (so 3 mini sessions per day). I like to practice 1 – 2 hrs per day total, but for me, this seems to work better in 2 sessions of an hour-ish, so I’m going to work along those lines. For me, practice is some combo of Scales, Scales, Scales, Bowing, Bowing, Bowing (right hand rhythm development), finger independence exercises, playing 2 notes at the same time exercise, learning new techniques, reviewing songs that I know (this is fun time to me, especially with waltzes). I’m continuing to work towards playing at faster tempos (using an Atomic Habits approach). In 2024, I really need to work at learning by ear (I’m able to do this in your workshops because your pace suits me, but I need to do it quicker during jams). I will improve this area by committing to learning 1 song per week by ear. Happy New Year to you and your family Jason (thank-you for all that you do for us), and Happy New Year to all of you FiddleHeds 🙂🎻
I started at the beginning of 1.1 in early October 2023 and just this evening got to here. Lots of exercises working on notes and scales has really allowed me to get more fiddling time and I think has improved my overall sound! It’s actually fun!
Wow, that’s awesome David. Thoroughly embracing 😀 Thanks so much for this insight sharing.
Good goals & incentives. Makes me feel like I can do this
Thanks for this feedback Christie, helps to hear your perspective! 🙂
Hi Jason, hope you had a great Christmas, I have had two cataracts removed from my eyes and as a result haven’t played any Fiddle for last few months, I have been depressed but I wil get back into it,as I always enjoy it once I start
I never had trouble reading Music,but my bloody mood got in my way, sorry for boring you with this but any tips for getting back to playing,
Thanks Hannah
Hi Hannah, this is great you reached out for support in returning to playing. And sharing your personal experience helps us related and connect, so thank you for this.
One place that can be great to peruse is the well rounded Fiddle Guide https://fiddlehed.com/blog/how-to-play-violin-an-illustrated-beginners-guide-fiddlehed/
There’s a table of contents on the left side to help you pinpoint areas of interest.
Also, I put the keyword ‘mind’ in the search engine at top of page and came across some great posts to support one’s motivation: https://fiddlehed.com/?s=mind
Also encourage you to check out the ‘community’ tab and the various pages within, as we grow and learn best together.
Looking forward to hearing how you’re doing along the journey 🙂 🎵
challenging and fun, had to work up to third position to get into the F# and E. I love thgis sone, never thought I could play it. Now for practice, practice, practice. will try a video clip soon.cheers
Awesome to hear your process and motivation, Steve. Way to pursue it in supportive ways 🎶
Please add me to the advanced group lesson list and schedule recipients. Thanks, catherine
Hi Catherine, great idea. We will keep you posted on opportunities of this nature. There’s a Student Group Page under the Community tab, intended for this purpose between subscribers, though I just noticed the main page link is not functioning. Will work on that issue.
Thanks for mentioning your interest in this, I’ll follow up with you directly as opportunities formulate. Happy fiddling 🎻
cant see your attachment, 🙁
Shucks, wonder if it’s not visible for anyone else. I’ll email it to you Steve 🙂
Sheet Music Please
Thanks for this, @lavonjohn. I added this suggestion to our request list.
I can relate that having the sheet music available, especially when we include the tune in a group lesson, is important. I made a rough hand written version of this song I will share with you for now.
Thanks Jason, looking forward to Hootenanny tonight. Will be racing home from work. Any chance
You can transcribe the sheet music into Alto in the same key? Or can you recommend an app I can use. I have used Muscore but find it tedious. Thanks
Hi Steve, great to hear you plan to join the group today. I like your suggestion, will add it to our request list.
Often, I will write it out by hand, either right on the same sheet music (where it looks like double stops), and/or I’ll write it out on a new blank sheet music page. One can write up rough sheet music in these ways, to get the basics down. I’ll show some examples of how I do this at today’s Hootenanny and can share photos of this on Hootenanny page later on.
I’ve used musescore and also find it can be tedious, though from utilizing the shortcuts they recommend, and continuing to practise, it can speed up 🎵 😀
Jason uses sibelius. There’s also soundslice which offers great play-along track options.
thanks
Hi
In the sheet for “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” you have applied some “L’s” ?
E.g In bar 3: L2 -3-l2
And it would be nice to have the chords.
I have followed Fiddlehed for 5-6 months now, and I enjoy it very much. I am 62 and completely new on the violin, but I have played guitar and piano since I was 12, and I read notes.
Hi Leif, Thanks for reaching out 🙂
the L’s refer to that finger placement being ‘low’. Here is a page explaining tabs further: https://fiddlehed.com/courses/beginner-fiddle-lessons/1-2-getting-plucky/how-to-read-tabs/
Sounds good about chords, I’ll put in a request to get some added to this sheet music. In the meantime, I did a search on strum machine and someone had created a track, which in B flat major key, their version comes out like this:
Bflat – Bflat – C – F
Bflat – Bflat – C F – Bflat
D – G – C – F
Bflat – Bflat – C F – Bflat
Happy solstice week ☽
jocelyn, Thanks for asking that. I was going to ask the same thing.
I have a question about a fingering question. When you play, D1-A1-D2-A2-D3-A3, as an example, what’s the best and most efficient way to finger that? Do you just put one finger down on both strings and alternate bowing? It seems a little challenging to keep both notes in tune when I do that. Thanks!
Great question, Andy.
I find the 1st finger can be fairly effectively placed on both strings, and the other fingers being harder to do, like you mentioned.
I like to use a roll method where the lower string fingering uses more of the tip of my finger, and the higher string note, I will roll my finger more onto/towards the flat/pad of my finger.
I also tend to use a sliding technique, where the transition between a finger on 1 string to the same finger on another, I slide the finger over, often including a slight lift of the finger to get it positioned on the next string. A little slide with little lift.
I play around with using all 3 of these methods and see what fits best for that specific note transition, and eventually it becomes a natural decision on how to go about the note transition.
The speed in which one is playing is a big factor in which method to utilize a swell. Experimenting with various speeds on the note transition is helpful.
These (and similar) interval exercises can be helpful for this type of practise:
https://fiddlehed.com/courses/beginner-fiddle-lessons/1-5-how-to-love-your-sound/intervals-1-5/
Glad you brought this up 🙂
I notice sometimes the audio exercises will work better if I click the download button to the right of audio track, taking me to another page, where it’ll play. Sorry for this difficulty in the system, we will work to upgrade this when possible.
Not going to lie…least favorite lesson so far. Very difficult for me to remember extended sequences. I also really don’t understand what value the drone adds. It just sounds creepy. What am I not getting? I could be on this lesson for days….sigh.(BTW no problem accessing the audios)
Great points and sharing, Claudia. I’m glad you shared your experience with this.
Yes, it can be difficult and may be something to come back to later on.
The drones definitely take some getting use to, and can be nice to have them on sometimes, then not on. Drones can help a lot with training our ear and also playing in tune. When I identify a note I’m playing that’s difficult to get in tune/reach, I’ll put on a drone for that note while I’m playing and it helps me get to the note and get real familiar with what that note sounds like. I also like to practise tuning my strings to drones for ear training, prior to looking at tuner, when I have time.
There are also many different types of drones available. Jason has a good variety of them on the drone central page: https://fiddlehed.com/practice-tools/drone-central/
Youtube and various apps can also be a good source for different sounding drones. I encourage you to try it out 🙂
…. this is fun.
Great you enjoy this, Alvin. Thanks for fiddling with us 🎻
I am having so much darn fun with this. Honestly surprised. I really appreciate how simple you keep things, how much repetation there is…and also you explain what we’re getting out of all the repeats. Very motivating and helpful. I am humming these tunes in the grocery store:)
Question – One time you said in a video that you always start D with a down bow. Is that true or did I misunderstand?
Thank you!
What a great perspective you have with this, Claudia 👍🏿
That point may have been said in a certain context, though it can be helpful to experiment playing in both ways, start with an up bow, then start with down bow. Trying different slur patterns which leads to various bow direction patterns can be a great practise for getting to know a scale or tune deeper. And inevitably, when we play, there will be circumstances where we get into different bowing directions and patterns, so it helps to be familiar with doing/practising this. Thanks for inquiring, it’s and interesting topic.
OMG! If you put a flat bridge on a violin you’ve basically converted it to ukelele! HAHA sacrilege!
😁 that goes far!
I know this will come in time, but one of my biggest problems is remembering how a given tune starts. I pull up the sheet music and look at the first 2 notes and “OH YEAH” and off I go.
Hi Don, yes I agree 🙂 Here’s a lesson on this topic
Thanks for sharing this 👍🏼
Love this tune but the speed of the playalong track(lol!) I would need to play it every day for 10 years to get close to that! Sounds great though!
Great point, Joanne 🙂 We’ll consider adding another track at a slower pace to support the learning process and let you know. Thanks for mentioning it. Yea fun tune for sure. Glad your checking it out.
Now this makes since to me gonna try it out I am working on silent night and other holiday songs this year then find a small audience to play for and see what they think maybe lol Jeff
Hahah, great to hear, Jeff! Thanks for your interest and feedback on how you’re going to apply this. Nice goal- be lovely to hear/see you play sometime 🎶
Thank you!!!!!
Excited to get my new violin delivered from Fiddleshop.
Gonna. Be. Epic.
Sue
Awesome Sue!! Your excitement is contagious 🥳 Thanks for fiddling with us
I didn’t expect holding the bow to feel so weird. Your multiple views and repetition are really helpful. I feel like my wrist is not very flexible; in fact sometimes I feel like I’ve locked it. Concentrating on just trying to move the bow in a way that is relaxed and doesn’t hurt. Not hurting seems like a good goal:) Will be returning to this page.
Overall I’m still really glad I’m doing this. Still smiling with each lesson. Thank you!
Thanks for sharing your reflections, Claudia. Yeah, continuing to relax the body, focusing on 1 aspect at a time, can help so much. Tapping into the freedom our bodies can have while playing so important. The bow wrist being easeful and having flexible movement is a big one. You’re on a good path!
Glad to hear you plan to revisit this lesson. Favoriting it can be a helpful tool for coming back to. 🙂
I like this a lot – a LOT! My fiddle’s with a local luthier getting a new bridge, but I should get it back tomorrow (knock on wood), and I can’t wait to start using this approach!
That’s awesome your practising and engaging in the program, even while not having the fiddle on hand. It’s sure nice to make enhancements on our instruments. Your feedback on these sessions is greatly appreciated, Pete.
Love it! and happy that my log in all sorted, thanks
Great to hear, Mary. Thanks for being with us 🎶
Why am I unauthorized to go on to continue on to plucked up?
Hi Jerry, thanks for asking. I will email you shortly to continue this discussion 🙂
Great, Looking forward to Them
Thanks for your interest, Andrew.
There are multiple ways to be reminded of these sessions, if you so choose. One can link the group session calendar to their own digital calendar, signing up for group session email reminders (sent out the day of), and the weekly email newsletter often includes past and future sessions.
We welcome feedback on any of these sessions, and ideas for new sessions. We also like to facilitate Fiddlehed folks to form practise/meet up sessions together. Reach out anytime to [email protected]
As an intermediate beginner with 15 years of self-taught fiddling, I am working through your beginner’s series and starting to rekindle the fire. New methods of practice. I can play all these tunes if not by ear but find myself struggling with some of the adaptation (Hoe down eek). This is helping. Started a journal (a tip from your office hours yesterday). hope to keep this up. Thanks, Jason
Thank you for sharing, Steve. It’s great to hear one another’s methods 🙂 Glad the program is working well for you.
Putting goals out there helps solidify them, way to be!
I am really enjoying this course. I like having it broken into smaller parts and not going forward until this parts are learned. Constant review is certainly a necessary component of moving forward!
What great feedback and takeaways, Rick. Thank you 🙏
well..that was a little tricky for me:) I decided to take 2 practice times on these tunes. I really enjoyed them and will return to them. I feel like the audio sometimes plays notes faster than I expect. Like there’s a sequence of D0-0-0-0 G0-0-0-0 where the last 0 in the D sequence is faster so it sort of “leaps” into G. It sounds nice, but is a little confusing to me as the writing seems like the sounds should last the same length of time.
Of course…i could just be taking this all too literally….
I am surprised at how many times I catch myself smiling while I’m doing this. Nice.
Beautiful, Claudia!
Thanks for this feedback. Yes, some of those rhythms have tricky transitions between strings, with shorter notes.
Glad you took extra time and had a fun experience.
Jocelyn, I attended Hootenany with you on 11/27 and enjoyed it immensely. You are an awesome and fun teacher, Thank you.
Don~ thanks for this feedback. So glad your jiving with my offering! I learn so much from that sharing process. Glad you tuned in.
For folks interested in checking out the Hootenanny sessions, replays are available here:
https://fiddlehed.com/community/group-lesson-home-page/fiddlehed-hootenanny/
Thank you, this song is so much fun to play!
Great to hear your enjoyment, Caroline 😀
HI Jas’n, so happy to see your lovely family and glad that your sweet Veda is doing so well. Your kindness and sharing of the fiddle has always been appreciated, you are the best, bar none, teacher of this music. I signed up last May, and summer was a rush, so I wanted to practice but put it aside for just a “bit”. I am so grateful that you are helping all of us learn to understand and play the fiddle. And I am grateful for the joy that I feel when I practice. Also I am forever grateful for my loving and supportive hubby, for our darling SpoilerKat, for enjoying this most wonderful life .. sunshine, greenhouse, growing plants, walking in the sun, Plus, grateful that I am going to plant more garlic in the greenhouse before the frost arrives.
Jason, you ARE a nerd, but I loved the explanations of the frequencies of the lower vs the upper. And one thing you mentioned in the overview just previously… the expression “angry at a section” of music. I loved that! I do it all the time but I’m glad you made me aware of it. I will pay and play closer attention to it now!
Thanks for sharing your experience with these points, Don. Yes, variety of insights are great. Also, awareness and befriending stresses as our a supportive teacher is so key!
Here’s the video reference Don mentioned with practise tips near the end:
https://fiddlehed.com/courses/beginner-fiddle-lessons/1-8-the-high-and-low-second-finger/#tab_core-lessons-and-tunes
I can’t believe I’m doing my first lesson after waiting to start for soooooo long. A-mazing. Really appreciate how slow and deliberate your lessons are. After plucking and trying different holds, I am not terrified of holding the violin. Less afraid is good! The sandwhich was a hoot. Thanks for your encouragement and clear explanations. Excited to be making nice sounds!
Way to be, Claudia, thanks for this reflection. So great you resonate well with the program! 🥳 🎶
Hello,
I’m just getting back into playing. I get the plucking but I don’t know these songs by heart. Am I missing something?
Thanks
MaryZ
Hi MaryZ, Thanks for sharing and inquiring. This lesson is intended to be worked through, focusing on the open string duet parts, even if we are not familiar with the melody of songs. The open string rhythm plucking, that plays along with the melody, turns into bowing while using the same open string rhythms, which are shared in the tabs of each exercise. The recordings Fais Do Do and Soldier’s Joy start with the open string duet part, which I think is helpful for folks to get acquainted with that part intended to be played, before adding the melody in to play with.
Be nice to know how you navigate this lesson further, if you continue pursuing it. It can be quite the practise challenge in listening and following/learning the open string part, then maintaining that part while the melody plays with you.
Enjoy the journey 🎶
I am working through the recorded workshop. I find that hitting the A/E combination consistently is more difficult than the G/D or D/A combo’s. Does anyone else run into that? And wow this is two+ years old so I probably won’t get a response 🙂
Hey Don,
Thanks for mentioning this. Yes, I can see that difficulty aswell. The A and E strings having smaller surface area seems to require a more precise angling of bow and precision. Also the position of the bow arm for this feels trickier. Great to recognize something that requires extra attention! All the best on your practise endeavours 🙂
Yea, some of these lessons can go back a ways! Nice to have the living comment section to share on anytime we want.
Hi Jason, doing the lesson from recorded session. Just taking the time to relax and breath reminds me that I’m here for the enjoyment of playing without pressuring myself to learn x amount or x number of tunes in x time. I like viewing group lessons after they are recorded so I can take my time, repeat parts, take a break, etc. If I had been there live, I might have asked you to turn the drone sound down a notch so I could hear you better. Thanks, Susan
Great, Susan. I agree, recordings are very supportive to approach in our own way.
Thanks for your sharing and suggestion with drone 😀
This was a great lesson!!! Special thanks for the double stop sheet above. Double stops are my nemesis!
Great you enjoy! Yes, helpful support for integrating double stops, and awesome you are approaching what feels tricky! 👍🏽
Wellerman is another great Sea Shanty.
Yes, Don! Great sharing 😀 I’ll add this to the request list.
You may have mentioned this at some point but I missed it. Why are they called “pedal patterns”?
Yea, it’s an interesting name. Jason describes it more on this page:
https://fiddlehed.com/blog/fun-with-pedal-patterns/
Seems to have a relation to the term ‘pedal point’:
https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=pedal+pattern+music+define&ia=web
Hey Jason. I am thankful for this great season in my life. My home, marriage, kids, and finally having time for my music. This includes how much I am learning from Fiddlehed!!! I am an intermediate player but have been going through the beginner lessons to pick up things I missed before. So amazingly helpful!
I have joined some jam sessions with my mandolin and working up to bringing my fiddle. Just about ready for that.
Thankful!
Right up there on a list too long to share are my strung along fiddle friends and the fiddlehed community!
Counting our blessings every day, it is even important as playing every day.
I am grateful that I have the chance to help people in my job as a pharmacist
But even more when I can recharge by playing music
and that I can enjoy the fun lessons of Fiddlehed.
And there are still many small and big things that I am grateful for
Sometimes we just forget how lucky we are
Grateful to take some time to think about it again
So big thanks!!
( also to google translate 😉 )
I’m grateful for my husband of 14 1/2 years and that he’s willing to be get involved with my music. I’m grateful for my church and church family. I’m grateful for where I live in the beautiful PNW and my warm cozy home. I’m also grateful for Fiddlehed and how I’ve improved since getting involved. 😌
Everyday there is so much to be thankful for, I love your “categories”–
Family, all the love even with the challenges
Health–my fingers mostly still work! Grateful for my Jeanne doctor
Music–my medicine for living
Teachers–yes, Thich Naht Hahn taught me how to breathe
Mr. Graubard taught me how to learn
My children taught me about myself
My bees taught me how to move slow
My students have brought me joy
Friends–where would I be without them?
Water, Sun, Clean air
Thank you, Jason!
Hi Jason!
I am grateful for Fiddlehed, and all babies, including your beautiful daughter and my 1 year old granddaughter Johanna, who brings such joy into her every day! I am grateful for my dog, who gets me out in nature every day, and shares his playfulness and joy with me. I live near the ocean, so I am grateful for the two beaches near me, and also for meditation, family, and musical friends, and of course – so grateful for music!
Re: your back – my physio told me to set my alarm for every hour to get up and move – stretch, touch your toes (knees bent), do some yoga. And thanks, Vicki – I will be checking out those “Jen Hilman lower back” videos too!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
This is suddenly a really hard tune out of the blue! Good thing I can read sharps and naturals – otherwise it would be a total loss without even a sound bite as a guide. I will keep at it though. Your lessons are really awesome and I am learning a lot.
Thanks for sharing, Catherine. Your motivation in the challenge is great to experience. Thanks for your interest in the program!
Simplifying more than I originally think or plan to always helps me with trickiness.
Jason – I have 4 words for you “Jen Hilman lower back”. I was told I have 4th degree disk degeneration and would need a chiropractor for the rest of my life. Instead, I do Jen Hilman yoga videos. Some of her videos are 100% seated and I attribute my ability to walk painless to mostly ONE pose….💖 Supine Spinal 💖.
I am so incredibly grateful for all members of Fiddlehed. I’ve practiced every single day since the FPC last month and it’s been my favorite outlet since becoming caretaker of my mom which has really broke me down to ground zero.
I am grateful for my daughter Kelsey who lights up every room and makes everyone feel seen. And my partner Bryan who makes me want to be a better person every day so that I may return to him a fraction of the joy he has brought to my life.
To my bestie Jill who empowered to turn down a round I hadn’t had the courage to do before meeting her. If you don’t have a witch in your life, go find one today.
And finally to my pupper Oliver. This little guy has spent 11 years loving me unconditionally and I love sniffing his neck each morning 💖
Love to all my fellow Musicians 💕💕💕
Grateful for my health today and that despite many joint issues, I can still play fiddle and participate in Fiddlehed, Strung Alongs and with some friend musicians. Grateful for my kids and grandkids and that I can travel to visit them. I love the State and National parks here in Virginia, where I love to wander and I’m grateful for that. Grateful that a puppy may soon be in my future.
Owen- I just said this morning we have to go back to Galax Rails to Trails 💖💖💖 we are in Pisgah Forest NC
I am so grateful to live in such a beautiful place – the Pacific Northwest. Grateful to have raised two healthy children with a loving partner. Grateful to have found the Fiddlehed community and to be having such fun learning music. Thank you everyone for sharing!
PNW is so magical – we got to spend a year of Vanlife in Oregon 2019 🪄✨🌟✨🌟✨🌟
My first fiddle teacher, Del Bassett, recently passed at the golden age of 90. I am so grateful to have had him as a teacher and a friend. He taught me much about “Faith, Family, and Fiddle” in that order.
Grateful for my wife Ann, two fabulous stepdaughters, Caitlin and Kyah, and two “fabulouser” granddaughters, Amelia, and Eleanor.
Just turned 70 myself, and besides the aches and pains of arthritis in my hips, fingers, and shoulders, I am in good health.
Grateful for the knowledge of Jason. Learning so much more!
The sheet music above is missing the letters for the TABS printed above and it makes a really brilliant exercise for learning to read the sheet music for me to work out which string the notes are on! It stops me being lazy reading tabs & actually means I have to look at the notes as I play whilst using the video and backing track too!
Perfect challenge, Joanne 🎶
I like how you recognized this and put it out there, so relatable.
Opens up fresh approaches to learning 🥳
Hey Jason, Do you teach Mandolin too?
Ive stopped with piano and would like to learn how to play the mandolin.
Thanks Robin
[email protected]
All lessons in this course can be used to practice mandolin.
Take this workshop: Mandolin For Fiddlers https://fiddlehed.com/courses/art-of-fiddling/mandolin-for-fiddlers/
Have fun!
The Learning Chunks saved me quitting! (I was stuck on Part B, 1st Q)
Anyone else working on this??!
That’s awesome, Vicki. Good to hear the lesson supported you in this way 🙂
I re-posted your question in the student video page as well:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/topic/cooleys-reel-2/#post-69498
Have a great time with it!
Fiddlehed Tom showed me how he utilizes the number system for this tune to help him learn a melody, similar to guitar number system.
First half of Verse (D major): 1 3 5 5 6 5 3 2 1 H1 1 2 1 7 6 5 5 6 5 3 2 1 2 2 3 2
Here’s a neat live instrumental version (moves from D major to A major right away)
🙂
Love the bluesy Swallowtail! Great ideas, Jason! Thanks!
Thank you for this feedback, Cindy. Agreed 😀 💡🎶
Fun Lesson. Thanks. 🙂
Jay Ungar is one of my violin heroes. Right up there with Jason Kleinberg and the late Del Bassett. I know, I know. Nobody knows the last one. He was my first violin teacher, music teacher in Michigan, and past president of the West Michigan Fiddlers Association. Anyway one of the first waltzes he gave me to learn was Mountain House. Still one of my favorites.
Yes, Don! Thanks for this share. I was shown Blue River Waltz by a Fiddlehedder recently… really wholesome music all around 🙂
Not only did you make a sandwich, you also made a salad too!
Too funny
I just ordered a shoulder rest. 😉
So good 🙂 Awesome Cathleen, enjoy!
Cool!
Indeed! What a fresh creation 🎵
The blues lessons have opened up a whole new dimension to fiddling. I really appreciate the availability of the replays.
Yes! Really resonating 🙂
Hi Jason: If I can check in with you in the breakout room today that would be great – just to check how I hold the fiddle because I sometimes have pain. thanks!
Jo
Hey Jo, thanks for reaching out on this. Were you able to connect with Jason during the session regarding this? Feel free to email us for further support. [email protected] 🙂
I really enjoyed this experience and just wanted to thank everyone for the chance to receive positive feedback and share. I hope to revisit this page and listen to some of the videos posted that I missed..if I had more time I would have listened to and commented on each one. I’ve really enjoyed what I’ve heard/read and hope you all keep up the fiddle love!! 👏🎻
It was a great FPC this year. It got me where I wanted to go! Jason’s Chaining technique ended up being the magic elixir! I’m participating in Fiddlerman’s group Christmas project again this year: “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” Violin 1 (may contribute more parts if I get to it). The “hardest parts” for me were several consecutive measures of triplets, all played at a brisk pace. For weeks I worked on them, “chunked’ them, slowed them down, looped them, but there was always this little hiccup at one spot, sometimes audible and sometimes just internally in my fingers or heart. Finally, I resorted to chaining one note at a time. Eureka! It wasn’t a “finger” issue, my brain was fighting itself!! The first three sets of triplets followed a repetitive pattern; the fourth set altered the pattern by just one finger. Half my brain wanted to continue the pattern and the other half wanted to play it properly. A couple sessions of chaining practice and it all came out smooth as silk. I can now play the piece well at click track tempo and feel well on my way towards a satisfactory video presentation. Thanks Jason!
👏🎉that’s awesome!
Final day of FPC. I tried to hard to play it “perfectly” (as good as I think is possible) and I started to get frustrated because I couldn’t get there, but then I remembered this is the end of the FPC, but not the end for learning this song.
I can hear improvement on the song, but mostly I feel way more confident playing it after sharing it here several times and receiving kind comments on my videos. Thank you all!!!
Wow, really well done! Good intonation too! 👌
Rachel, you sound great!
Well done, Rachel!!
Love it! Great execution. Can’t help but notice your awesome fiddle shirt, too! 🙂🎻
This is the final recording of my project song for Fall Practice Challenge 23. It will be interesting to see if I’ve improved it any since the first video I posted on 10-17-23. The FPC was great. Throughout the Challenge, I practiced key areas where I was having trouble and hopefully made some progress! Thanks to Jason!
Keith, I could tell you made great strides before I even went back to your first video. Timing was better and notes sounded crisper. A little daily progress really adds up! Nice job!
Thank you Rachel! It’s good to hear that!
Agreed, way to go Keith! 🎻✨
I started the challenge two days late, but I did practice those days..so I want to catch up by adding two videos. I unfortunately can’t recall the name of the first song, but I’ve had a lot of fun thumbing through the big Irish sheet music collection it comes from and picking ones at random to play. The second one is an intro from Lannigan’s Ball by Charles Harrison. I tried testing my ear to figure out the notes for this on his play along track.
Tune from O’Neills Music of Ireland book:
https://youtube.com/shorts/-5vaMbT0D6g?feature=shared
Oops it’s not Lannigan’s it’s Tenpenny Bit, lol, I’m mixing up my Irish song titles
Love your sharing, Kayli. Your creativity and movement is inspiring!
💕✨
I did it! Practiced the fiddle everyday for 14 days. My FPC project was a medley of 3 Irish tune. I wanted to be able to play each one twice thru, cleanly transitioning from one to the other. When I started I barely knew Laniigan’s Ball and I hadn’t played them all together. I can now play all 3 together with strum machine at 90bpm. 😁 I even got my husband involved learning the chords and playing back up for me. Also I’ve been inspired to do a practice challenge of my own with my Dulcimer starting tomorrow. This challenge has helped me be more consistent with my practice and more comfortable making recordings.
You sound really nice with the guitar and your timing is spot on! I love your song choices, too.
I didn’t record anything. I have a group of friends that play bluegrass. I usually play my guitar but I’m trying to switch to fiddle. So I created a list of all the songs that we called in our last jam and the key. Over the last several weeks I’m trying to play each one of those pieces on the fiddle by ear without sheet music (when possible) so that I could do it during the jam. I started with the easier pieces and trying to learn the harder ones. I played along with fiddlehed whenever possible or Youtube or strummachine (slowed down of course -ha ha). It’s gone really well but I still need more practice of course! The Fall Challenge did help keep me on course. Thanks everyone!!
Today was our last day working at a campsite in Woolacombe, North Devon & we head home tomorrow so this tune seemed appropriate! It’s written by Rupert Kirby called Farewell to North Devon & as you can hear, I’m accompanied by the rain hammering on the roof of our motorhome!
Hey,
I am Flemish and also very new here, since August, so there is still a lot to discover!
Playing every day is rather a reward for me than an assigment.
However it remains a challenge to continnally push your boundaries
and that is what I really like about this program.
To play something nice in front of the camera is not as easy as it seemed
but I had a good time with it.
It was wonderful to play in nature during a morningwalk today with our grandson.
The tune is called The Skye Boat Tune. It is a Scottish song.
I tried also the variations but not yet in front of the camera 😅
That will be for the next challenge as well as the interplay with a flute.
Hope you like it!
Ann 🎻
Absolutely beautiful Ann!! 💖💖💖 and great videography too 💜
Thank you 😀
Lovely!! And I think that’s the cutest audience I’ve ever seen! How sweet! 💕🎻✨
Thanks, Kayli! Nice to read!
I am quite impressed by your technique and concentration during your playing.
It inspired me a lot! 🤩
Awe, thanks Anne, that is so sweet..I’m so glad ! 😊 💕
You played that beautifully! This is a favorite tune of mine, too.
Thank you Rachel!
I chose it because of my fond memories of the isle of Sky.
The Arran Boat Song is also very beautiful.
Love this song, thanks for posting
Thank you! for encouraging us to do this!
Pardon my sweat- 80 today and 25 on Wednesday (poor birdies)
Here is Day 14 of Cripple Creek and I kind of added the blues in. Very cool to see our progress!! Thanks to all 💖
https://youtube.com/shorts/23L2aKxOlOM?si=cKwd9gbLulir1msl
No video for me today but tonight, I did go to a Halloween party/Old Time jam! I had a great picture but couldn’t figure out how to post it here, so you’ll just have to take my word for it! There were some great costumes and some great tunes played.
Video taken in May of this year:
I revisited “Road to Lisdoonvarna” tonight for practice. I was so into the recording of this by Jason when I first heard it this year, that I no lie tried to obsessively dissect the song to figure out the different things (techniques/patterns/embellishments/notes) I was hearing. I replayed it and replayed it, trying piece by piece and note-taking my ideas on my “Fiddler’s Fakebook” sheet music for it. I even asked a friend who is much better at understanding music by ear than me to help and he was able to break down a whole section. I actually was surprised that my friend agreed with my guesswork on the intro..which shows me my ear is actually getting better. When I started out with fiddle, I felt discouraged at times because I thought this ability was so poor, but I’ll tell you, don’t let it stop you! Music is for everyone.
I actually thought about asking Jason to help me continue this song, but wasn’t sure if he’d want to share his secrets from his artwork and felt too shy to ask I guess. So I’ll use this FPC to reach out and request a supplemental video for this song or for extra education on it, as I’d love to understand more about it and try it. I haven’t gotten to the end yet and it’s so packed full of different things like double stops, backwards slides, interesting bowing, and composition, that I don’t believe is all written in the original.
Someday, I hope I can develop my own voice and express songs my own way without mimicking others too much. But for now, it’s helping me to learn and I find it exciting!
Wowsers!! 💖🍁💖🍁💖
Gee, thanks!!! 💕🎻✨
Today, I just wanted to play. To continue with doing videos I decided to play a tune that I learned from my uncle. He learned it from my Great Grandpa and we don’t know the name of this tune. We always called it Grandpa’s Waltz. If anyone had heard this tune before and knows its name let me know. 😊
How sweet that you all have carried that song through your family, keeping the spirit of your great grandfather with you. That’s so special ❤️ It sounds lovely
It’s been many generations since anyone in my family played fiddle, but just knowing some did gave me the confidence to start. I love this special story.
Thank you for the replay. I missed the original lesson but Im catching up. i agree its better to learn by ear. Sheet music is good if you hit a snag but eartraining helps to keep the tune in your head
Glad you enjoy, thanks for sharing takeaways and connection points 👂🏽🎶
Busy day today, but I still managed to fit in some practice 😁. I even got my husband involved, he’s learning to play back up guitar. We played thru the Irish medley I’ve been working on. It was fun. 12 days done!
It makes it doubly fun to be able to play together, doesn’t it?
I would love some more instructions on how to do the bowing on this!
Kris, great suggestion. I will add this to our request list.
Something I find helpful to dial a bowing pattern is to initially eliminate the fingerboard hand and simply bow open strings (example for bar 1: E0 – long long short short short short, example for bar 3: E0-A0-E0-0-0-0-0-0)
And slowing the rhythms way down and slowly working up speed as we are ready.
Also, there are some useful bowing technique lessons you may find helpful:
https://fiddlehed.com/blog/4-tips-to-improve-your-bowing-precision/
https://fiddlehed.com/courses/beginner-fiddle-lessons/start-fiddling-now-course-page/fingering-and-bowing-exercises/
https://fiddlehed.com/practice-tools/practice-routines/15-minute-bowing-practice/
Today’s video is King of the Fairies, or as I prefer, King O’ the Faeries. I only went through it one time for each part. Less chance to make mistakes that way! 😀
Nice Keith! One of my favorite Irish tunes.
Thank you!
Practicing the train beat today and trying the chords found in “Pretty Little Dog”. I enjoyed playing the melody along with the backing track first.
Funny enough, all the neighbor dogs can be heard barking in the video as I work on this “Pretty Little Dog” stuff 😅
Nice bowing!
Thanks!
Cool exercise! With all the dogs barking sounds like my neighborhood.
Thanks!
Day 12 – I far prefer standing and letting go with my chin a bit to move with the notes and I can breath better.
Happy Friday!!
Cripple Creek almost ready for blues lick
https://youtube.com/shorts/sutwd_vhWcs?si=D52yeWxoQSU8YAig
I prefer standing too but in the Old Time world, everyone sits! When I sit, I sometimes hit my leg with the frog end of the bow!
One of my goals for FPC is to get to a point where I can video myself and play as well as I do when the camera is not on me. As soon as I turn that camera on, I stiffen up and my bowing and intonation go out the window. I’ve made a lot of videos since FPC started and I don’t think I have made much headway in relaxing before the camera. Stage fright. I am actually less nervous at the jams than with the camera, because at the jams, my mistakes are often drowned out by all the other instruments. And even when recording a video, I might feel like I’m doing pretty well, but as soon as I watch/listen, I see the truth of the matter. That is, I am nowhere close to where I thought I was and where I want to go ultimately. I might have even gotten worse, because now I become filled with dread at the thought of turning on the video camera (my iPhone). But I guess I’m being hard on myself. I haven’t been playing very long so maybe I’m being impatient. The FPC has been good for me though, as it has really put a spotlight on my weak areas. I plan to keep on working on it, through the 29th and ever after! Thanks to everyone who has encouraged me and thanks for all the videos everyone else has posted!
Hi Keith, I know what you mean! I found myself being less nervous onstage playing with a band & at jam sessions than playing on a video or even a zoom group of fiddlers! I guess you know on a video that you are Isolated in sound and technique & going to be heard & seen by people who know what they’re doing!! Just remember on Fiddlehed we’re a nice bunch & all going through the same learning process so you’ll always get the support and encouragement. As with most things, the more you do it, the easier it gets. 😊
Thanks Joanne!
Hi Keith, You are doing great! When I first started this challenge the last thing I wanted to do was video myself, let alone post it for others to see. The more I did it, however, the more comfortable I got with it. It’s a great learning tool. It’s more forgiving than playing for a live audience, if you mess up real bad, you can stop and delete and try again 😁
Thanks Darcy!
Last night was a late practice because I had company arrive. No one minded me working on my lesson, so I continued with my current course progress (Interval Exercise 4) to keep my tone improving. Sometimes it’s helpful for me to just follow the course when I’ve had a busy day.
Oops I meant to post a reply to this and my daily post went in the wrong place.
I also get nervous taping myself, but I need to do it b/c I don’t get much other feedback (not really playing in jams yet and no live teacher) so I need to critique.
I tape most of my practices. I turn the video on and let it run, then I crop down to the best version and save it with the song name on my phone. I find leaving the video running, eventually I’ll get in the groove again and play normally, without fear.
I’ve found I play much better by standing and not holding with my chin. It just feels right to move with the notes. I also focused on not holding my breath today. Happy Day 12!
Cripple Creek
https://youtube.com/shorts/sutwd_vhWcs?si=8i_fCVTMTjz_cECk
💖🍁🎻💖🍁🎻💖
Thanks for sharing your experience and preference with playing, along with this lovely musical video. Nice work adding it to this tune page, Vicki 👍🏾 🍁💗
Happy fall practise challenge~
Roped my hubby into playing the guitar with me tonight to work on that “live” element. It wasn’t so bad. I never got the ending right, so this is the best we did.
Yayyyyy!!!! putting that down as my next challenge, although that sounds really hard to learn.
It’s so fun! Jason did a lesson on it not long ago. I would love to see your rendition when you get it ready.
Great job, Rachel!
It really helps to have that backup, doesn’t it?
It sure sounds better!
Pretty sure you’ll be ready for the jam. You two sounded good
Aww thank you!
I love the expression “greasy slide”. Is that a musical term or did you make it up? It’s awesome
My pal Les Raw from the Pine Box Boys used it once and it stuck in my head…
Continuing practice with the fingering for the A major pentatonic scale found in the Hesitation Blues lesson and trying it on the lower strings. Decided to “fiddle” around and make some things up after that for fun 😊
Today, to fulfill my FPC commitment, I participated in Jason’s Zoom practice meeting, and tonight I made a (rough!) video of Soldier’s Joy. Getting comfortable being recorded is one of my FPC goals. Not sure how I am proceeding. Normally I wouldn’t post this, but it’s for practice, so it’s ok. 🙂
It’s a fun sounding tune! You look confident up there and you’re so good for using your metronome!
Thanks Kayli!
Nice job Keith 😊 One of my favorite old time tunes.
Thanks Darcy!
Well here’s the full medley. I decided to up the speed a bit, so it got a little rough in spots. This is practice after all. Also I had run thru the medley a number of times before the I made the video and my arm was getting tired. How those Irish fiddlers play and play I don’t know 😅
Wow, Darcy, that is awesome! Well done!
Thank you Keith 😁🎶🎻
Love the medley! They mesh with other well. Well played I really enjoyed it.
My 4th FPC and I’ve been slacking. Have enjoyed everyone’s videos and nice to see how everyone is progressing! Love all the different songs and variations.
For this years FPC I’m trying to keep it simple with working on “Cripple Creek”, “King of the Fairies”, and a set “Smash the Windows and Captain White”.
Slow and steady progress. I either have to make the fancy parts better or drop them out when I go to the jam so I can stay in time. I’m fighting for them!
Very nice Rachel! Love Bob Wills and “Faded Love”.
That’s really great, Rachel! I wish I could get my intonation that good and that consistent! Good job!
For my practice today I played through all 3 tunes with strum machine each tune twice thru at 75bpm. I got a bit tangled up and lost my place a few times but eventually got thru the whole thing. If I like how it sounds tomorrow I will post a video. This challenge has been great so far and has helped me be more consistent with my other instruments as well. 😁
I’ve been revisiting “Lilting Banshee” variation today and I think I missed the supplemental variation video the first time around! It was really insightful and I can feel myself gaining a deeper understanding of rhythmical variations and composition. I really love to bite into this kind of knowledge and look forward to learning more!
I am a “fiddle scientist” and I get to “choose my own adventure” (pulling from the Fiddlehed video) 😁!
I took lots of notes on my sheet music, but I’m not sure how to attach a picture. Anyhow, I think they’ll help my retention of the information. I feel like one my strengths is sight-reading and a weakness is playing by ear/recalling songs from memory. I think the latter is improving some, but it will take time and more focused attention/patience. If I’ve learned anything, it’s that music is about the closest thing to magic you can find in life..Tom Petty said this and I’m a believer too!
Part A
Part B
The variations are great! You have the trills down very good! They sound very nice.
Thank you!! Not all my fingers trill as well as others, but it’s a work in progress 😃
Well, your playing is simply fantastic! What more can I say? Wow.
Gee, thanks for your support Keith, you’re very kind. I was very lucky to find a teacher in my area around 10 years ago to help me and Fiddlehed too.. I can’t thank them enough because it truly is hard to learn on your own. I tried it and can compare it to stumbling in the dark with my fingers. I could only understand so much from a book. Thanks again and best to you
Yes, Kayli, you are so right about having a good teacher. I had one locally for a couple months, but he moved away, so I’ve been depending on Jason for 2 years now, and I have only been playing for 2-1/2 years. I would really like to find a local teacher that I can afford. $60 for one lesson a week is too hard on my budget!
Wow Keith, that would be very steep for me too. Around 25 a lesson hour is much more palatable. I didn’t know about Jason back then, and I’m so glad you found him early on and he’s more affordable!
Also, good luck on finding someone locally to help you, too 🍀 You’re doing great and going to jams must be helping you tremendously with harmonizing with others..very fun opportunity
Love it Kayli! You need to go and play this in an Irish pub!
Thank you!! I’ve totally dreamed of doing that. Irish music makes me so happy when I play it. So far I’ve performed at a restaurant with my teacher/friend years ago and one senior living facility this last St. Patrick’s Day. I was most comfortable playing for the seniors, more than I’ve ever been, so I’m hoping I can continue to settle my performance nerves! They sure were a bear at first!
My practice this evening will be a two person jam session with a friend who backs me up on guitar. We do this every 2 or 3 weeks and it’s a lot of fun! We usually play for 4 hours or so, so it is very good practice indeed!
Sounds awesome!
It was very cool, hammered out some good tunes. I described it in my note below (above?)… Thanks!
What are your go-to songs for the jam? And what’s your main instrument you usually play most in the jam?
Castanu92, last night we played these old time songs, Benton’s Dream, Gunboat, Lost Girl, Grey Eagle, and Whiteface. I always play fiddle, but my background is acoustic guitar flatpick. Last night it was just myself and a friend on guitar, but my regular Thursday night jam has anywhere from 8-15 people and is all old time with some great fiddlers who know all the old time standards. I learn a lot there…like just how far I have to go, ha ha!
Sounds like it was a fun time. Playing with others is so rewarding 😊
Day 10 Donzoes!!!
I’ve fiddled more in the past 10 days than anytime when I first took the plunge in 2019!
I’m actually starting to feel like a fiddler!
I have not been able to set consistent time and have just been making it a priority at some point in the day but I know I need a set time!
Thank you Jason and everyone for the platform and support!! Yay! Happy Happy Fall 🎻🍁🎻🍁🎻🍁🎻🍁🎻🎻🎻💖
Yay!! 🎻 😊 Playing every day really does make a difference.
I didn’t have a lot of time to practice today, so I just played through some of my favorite tunes. This on is so fun to play because I don’t have to struggle with my ring finger and pinky. Also I’m finding it much easier to record and watch myself play. I really am having fun playing this tune even though I look like I’m frowning. I call this look my fiddle face 😂.
I seem to have a particular “fiddle face” as well, ha ha! And mine is not very pleasing to watch. 🙁
This one is fun for me too. I have tried to practice my smile while playing—it’s just as hard as breathing while playing. 😆 I even recorded myself and my “smile” was undetectable. 🧐
You really hung in there for a very long and beautiful song! Way to go!!
I want to say that, while most of the videos I’ve posted here were not tunes I learned from Jason, he is certainly the one most responsible for getting me to this point! Many, many thanks to you, Jason.
So, this tune is Yew Piney Mtn., a very old modal tune from W. Virginia. I like it because it is sort of spooky, perfect for the season.
Yew Piney Mtn has such a haunting sound—mountain music! I like that Benton’s dream too. Sounds like you’ve almost got it down.
Love all the old timey tunes especially the names. Very fun to hear them!
Actually reminds me of an Appalachian tune “Lonesome John”.
Wow, this one’s super cool. Where did you find the sheet music for it? I’d love to try it some day. Love your double stops in there! Great job 👏
Getting a little frustrated with my project songs, I seem to be getting worse! So, I decided to play something fun and forget about my obsession with those other songs, (Indian Ate the Damn Woodchuck and Jaybird died of the Damn Whooping Cough) 🙂 I started playing a pretty easy song I recently learned, Benton’s Dream. Surprised myself by playing it fairly well! Decided, what the heck, let’s video it (one of my FPC goals) and see how it goes. It went well enough that, confidence regained somewhat, I played Yew Piney Mtn. Then shot a video of it also. So I will make two posts since I’m not sure if you can attach two at the same time. Thus, my practice for today’s FPC.
That’s what happened to me too Keith so I went back and played the few I know well. Tomorrow I’m going to loop where I got stuck.
I love practicing this song..it has a really neat feel to it. I noticed I accidentally made a bow sound I didn’t want at one point in the video, but it’s just a reminder to work on smoothness this year and decrease this sort of thing.
(I started this challenge a few days late, so I’m trying to catch up with extra posts or I would have spread them out.)
Love this version with your variations!
Yay, thank you! I can’t claim the variations though, I got them from Jason 🙂 I hope to be embellishing raw music more on my own someday. I’m happy about this part of the process though, too 🍀🎻
“The Butterfly” is a beautiful tune. Once again your trills are very well done.
Thanks again! I love butterflies and wonder about the history of this tune..it seems to capture the spirit of a butterfly to me.
I’m really trying to
have clarity with the variations as I play faster..make sure they don’t sound muddy. I also want to make sure things are tight rhythmically. These are some of things I think about as I try and edit my videos and improve my playing. I watched Jason’s supplemental video for “Rolling Waves Variation” and repeatedly played along, which was very helpful.
I worked on “Rolling Waves” variation today. I will post a video tomorrow as I need a little more time.
Today I put all 3 tunes together. It was a challenge to not mix one tune up with another. It’s a little rough in the video but I expect it to smooth eventually, with practice.
Really excellent job, Darcy! Nice clear notes with good intonation, something I could use more of for sure!
Thanks Keith, your comment is encouraging. 😊
Very nice! This song is definitely on my to-do list!
This is a song I learned from Jason last year. I’ve been concentrating on Old Time stuff lately but this is a great song that’s kind of Old Time and Irish too. I used it to get my daily dose of video fear today. I don’t even get this nervous at my old time jam, probably because there are lots of other fiddles and banjos to hide my mistakes! 🙂
And I also practiced my project songs, Indian Ate the Woodchuck and Jaybird Died of the WC.
30 minute Mimosa Fiddling
https://youtube.com/shorts/k83ztO8TsFQ?si=aX37EGJCbaSAECy-
30min. Mimosa fiddling sounds like fun. Gonna have to give it a shot. Sounding good nice clear notes.
OK so I took up the challenge of trying a tune I find difficult! The solo part from Fishermans Blues! I’ve been trying this for at least 18months now & the 4th quarter B part still destroys me! I’d love some help with it please Jason on Thursday! 🙏
My offering today is an awful rendition of Jaybird Died of the Whooping Cough. Yes, that’s the real name. 🙂 It is certainly one of my most difficult tunes currently, along with Indian Ate the Woodchuck, my FPC project song. Gotta love the names, right? In old time jams, it’s not considered particularly difficult, but for me it is, ha ha! I am painfully aware of all the mistakes of technique and performance that I make in this rendition. See if you can count them all! (just don’t tell me, ha ha!)
I’m posting these videos to help with one of my FPC goals, becoming more comfortable with being recorded. It’s amazing how you can have a song that you play pretty well, but when you turn the camera on, everything runs off the rails! I swear, it took me 20 takes to get this horrible rendition. And of course, after I quit filming, I could magically play it through with no hiccups. Stage fright. Didn’t Jason have an article about this?
Cool tune! Sounds great Keith!!
My humble offering for today is an abso
Oops
Six days straight now! Since today is Sunday I thought I would play a medley of old hymns 😊
I miss counted, it’s actually seven practice days straight 😁
Working on intonation today so I chose Dawning of the Day. It’s a fairly simple tune but can change so much on getting the intonation right. I use some audio recordings then sing it in my head to get it sounding how I I want it
Very pretty!!!
Hi Jason,
I’ve been taking your lessons for 10 months now and have made it through your beginner module. I am so happy that I decided to sign up for a membership with Fiddlehed! You are a excellent instructor and make learning on of the hardest instruments fun. I noticed months ago that you push the importance of daily practice of scales, bowing exercises, looping, chaining and many other great learning techniques. I use to feel like maybe you were moving your students a little slow and so much repetition of songs like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star or Mary Had a Little Lamb. But what I realized was you’re lessons have a deep rooted sneaky design. After learning and practicing all of these modules I realize how these lessons have taught me to play by ear, fingers are trained subconsciously to land on notes in tune, body and mind relaxed and breathing and most of all having fun practicing. When a new student follows your lessons all of a sudden the student will realize the purpose…. and hear the music.
Thanks again,
Gregg
Thank You for sharing, Greg 🙂
Practice tonight was two steps forward and one step back all night. I slowed down some source tunes and listened to what the fiddle was doing. Then I tried my own version, but adding more variation messed up my bowing pattern and I had to back up and play SLOW. Once I got that down, I sped up and then I couldn’t keep it all in tempo, so back to SLOW. I recorded the whole thing but there was nothing worth sharing tonight. 🤪 It feels like I’m almost getting it, but not there yet.
I was tired after work today, but it felt good to get my instrument in my hands. I revisited “Shady Grove”. I’m posting a short clip of me practicing it in F major tonight.
I realized that I’ve unfortunately not retained the chords I learned for this, so I plan to practice those more.
I’m posting the chord backup video I made in January, because it was a big accomplishment for me that Fiddlehed made possible. I have a friend who plays bluegrass and he urged me to learn chords in case I can ever get to one of his Jacksonville, FL jams. Some day I hope!
F Major clip-
Chord backup-
Beautiful tone!
Wow, thanks Rachel!! It’s taken many years to get this far and a lot of research/saving to get this fiddle ☺️. My first, and much more affordable one for a single mother at the time, didn’t sound nearly the same. I guess I just wanted to share a little about my journey 💕✨
I am starting again, and again I am getting pain in my neck and shoulder. What am I doing wrong?
Thank you!
Jo
Hi Jo, Thanks for mentioning this and inquiring. It can help greatly to have a professional violinist/luthier/teacher help, in person, fit your instrument to your natural posture. They can see from a different angle what kind of shoulder rest is needed and how to position it.
I use a shoulder rest that is recommended on the Fiddle gear page, called Bon Musica. I’ve found it to be very versatile in fitting the violin to my posture/body and helping secure the violin while playing. https://fiddlehed.com/contact-help-new/recommended-gear-books-and-music/
Be interesting to hear how that journey evolves for you. Pain and uncomfortability doesn’t need to be a regular part of playing fiddle. Reach out anytime 🙂
Yesterday worked on Hesitation,slow double stops and vibrato before meeting with the online group. Today was a travel day. Had I known there would be a two hour traffic tie up I would have pulled over somewhere and practiced 😄. Instead I listened to some tunes I had recorded and of course there’s always audiation and singing! The music is there even if you can’t pick up your instrument.
It does work! Even my 7-year-old knows my songs from listening in the car and when he hears me try to play them, he says, “You need to practice that some more.” 😆 🎶
Tonight I practiced my project song, Indian Ate the Woodchuck. I’m slowing it down and trying to play clean with good intonation and timing. It is a challenge on any song, particularly this one!
Someone told me to “make every note heard”count and that’s what I’m working on too…playing clean.
https://youtube.com/shorts/kEEP6H6jjE8?si=vopjyqoQaFcbhvBt
Sounding good! Your ta-da dance at the end was the best!
Nice! I’m working on “Cripple Creek” this FPC as well. Fun song to shuffle to.
Wow, I have been practicing frozen in space, never moving. I didn’t realize it was ok to move a little bit to work with the strings. This has been very helpful (and my back thanks you!).
Thank you so much. This is going to be very helpful in both this course and my private lessons. Learning a rather tricky piece right now, but applied chaining and it’s actually coming together.
That’s awesome. Denise. Thanks for giving insights on your experience with this. Simple practise tools that we can get familiar with and utilize wherever 🙂 🎶
Hello Jason,
Playing the different speeds is very helpful, especially with the whole song, you learn to match the rhythm correctly when playing along. One question, is it possible to set the whole melody for some more faster speed? Currently the highest speed is 90BPM (which corresponds to Strummachine 45bpm), the ordinal is around 140 (Strummachine 70). It would help me to master speed and rhythm better. Thank you 🙏😊
Ohh, I’m sorry, I found the solution in the audio settings
That’s great 😀 Be interesting to hear how you navigated this solution if possible. Thanks for considering.
I’ll add this suggestion to our request list also. Thanks for sharing, Gabi.
Thanks, that is very helpful
Yesterday I took a break from Faded Love to spend my hour working on intervals across strings. Tonight I didn’t really have time to practice, but I still worked in 20 minutes for Faded Love, scales, and playing D well on the G, D, and A strings.
I love the Irish variation songs within this course and have revisited one of my favorites today, “Wild Mountain Thyme”. The lyrics to this are just gorgeous, too.
I feel very drawn to Irish music and the first time I was introduced to “rolls”, I became addicted. Lol. I’ve been working on adding embellishments to songs this year and have grown a lot from the variation songs offered by Jason. Many thanks!!!
Thanks Kayli. I have directed some community theatre and one of my favourite plays of all time was John Patrick Shanley’s “Outside Mullingar”, which featured repeated renditions of that song and it became one of my favourite Celtic tunes. (I’ll let the Scots and Irish argue out the origin!).
So when I started on fiddle a few years ago I had to start with that tune, though my embellishments are not as refined as yours are. Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome Tom! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I would have loved to watch/listen to that play, too. Thanks for sharing the experience. I think that working with the theatre as a musician is a neat avenue. I got the chance to help a friend of a friend in theatre with a few violin bits for a community play in Maine. I wasn’t able to see how it turned out, but I hope he was able to use a good amount of our recordings. I was so nervous because I never did anything like that before. The music was also classical and I had to learn a new position to be able to play some of it. I knew it could be improved, but I’m glad I tried my best. I could stick to playing Celtic music most of the time 🍀
P.S. just keep at the embellishments..the more you do them, the more natural they feel. Promise. I just happen to enjoy them so much that I’ve obsessively practiced them, lol. I love the ones Jason does, for example, for his Road to Lisdoonvarna. I try and model them and those of other players from listening. I think you would like “King of the Fairies” by Dave Swarbrick. His are also incredible like Jason’s.
Working on Road to Lisdoonvarna today. It’s the 3rd song I’m playing in my medley. I struggle with my ring finger dexterity sometimes. Still playing slow and precise and listening closely to my pitch.
It’s sounding great! I really love this one too!
Great intonation! I think you’re already up to speed on this one.
Today, I continued working on my project song, Indian Ate the Woodchuck. It’s coming along. Then I decided to record a tune I’ve recently learned (at our old time jam!) the tune Tipping Back the Corn. This song was written by Jordan Wankoff, of Chicago, Il. It’s a fairly recent song (less than 50 years old) as far as old time music goes, but has become a classic! Plus it’s fun to play. Of course there’s lot’s of improvement to be made here!
Looks like I got hijacked by commercials somehow!? If you click on the title, the video will come up.
Sounds great. Excellent rhythm. Is that you stomping out the beat or do you have a drum-sounding metronome app?
….
At the end I noticed it’s not your feet. What’s it called? It adds a good back-up sound.
Nice groove!
FPC2023 day 5… I’ve been working on Battle of New Orleans the past couple days and though still a bit rough in places, I decided to put it out there. The droning double stops in the main chorus (starting second time through) were surprisingly achievable and are my favourite part.
Great job, Tom! Heck of a performance! You got it!
Great song! I love what you’re doing with the double stops!
Sounded great!
I’m trying to learn this tune from some recordings especially Kenny Baker’s version! I’ve simplified it and added in some of the blues techniques we’ve been practicing recently so here goes:
Nice!
Wow! I agree it sounds amazing.
Very good! I can hear Kenny Baker coming through!
https://youtube.com/shorts/vSA1bVwU9iQ?si=wqpUukk5b4pe8VQE
Today, I happily fulfilled my Fall Challenge obligation by going to my weekly old time jam! It’s a great group with some really excellent fiddle and banjo players from whom I have learned a ton. Definitely helps to play with folks a lot better than you are yourself!
Yesterday I practiced for a short time. I had worked in my yard and my arms were so tired I my fiddle felt heavy. 😂 Today was better and I worked on Lannigan’s Ball, playing slowly and precisely. It’s the second tune in the Irish medley I’m working on.
My card today is deliberate practice. I started working on the variation of Hesitation and realized I need to work on double stops. I checked that my bow was straight but I still have wavering and inconsistencies especially on an up bow. I will add slow double stop scales to my scale warm ups now. I think it might be a wrist issue.
I have found my sound. Thank you so much. I have only been playing for three months and are throughly enjoying your lessons
Thanks for sharing, Le. That’s awesome!
Looping ➰ to try to get the first part of the chorus down. I tried a bunch of different versions at first and then decided to loop this chunk
Hey! How do you do the drone/double stops? Many thanks!
I really enjoyed learning this one. Kind of a bouncy, happy song. And Pete was right, the repetition of it is easy AND fun to learn. Working on the tempo though.
Working through ‘week one’ exercises:
The notation for Exercise 2 is incorrect. It appears to belong to the beginning of Exercise 3. The notation is exercise 3 is missing the first 2 notes of the hoedown pattern.
Really enjoyed playing with the Hesitation Blues preparation scales today!
I believe in the power of looping!
Sweeeet!!!
🤗
No video for me today. Earlier today I re-read a piece by Jason that talked about the importance of slowing down so that in the end, you’ll play better once the speed picks up. I guess I’ve always known that helps, but today I really focused on this technique with four of my hardest songs, Indian Ate the Woodchuck (video I posted yesterday), Jaybird Died of the Whooping Cough, Forked Deer, and Lost Girl. I set the metronome to 70, 80, then 100 (jam speed more or less). I played several times through on each song at each speed, and wow, it really helped when I got back up to speed! I’m not sure why I was hesitant to slow down my practice before, but I think life in general would be better slowed down a bit!
Hi Debbie, try this link
https://fiddlehed.com/contact-help-new/how-to-use-fiddlehed/how-can-i-upload-a-video-to-the-site/
Thanks Keith. I have no trouble posting to student videos using these steps but it doesn’t seem to work here.
I pasted the video link into the comment and it worked for me. Feel free to reach out via email if it still doesn’t work for you, Debbie. [email protected]. Thank you for reminding folks of the video posting support page, Keith.
Happy playing and sharing folks 🙂
Having trouble getting my videos to post. Day one I shared vibrato practice. I’ve been working on that for about a month and I feel pretty comfortable with third finger but not first and second. Day two I played Fisher’s Hornpipe. I’ve been working on speed and accuracy on that one.
Hi Debbie, please see my note above. I thought I was replying to you instead of starting a new thread, but oh well. Hope you have success uploading.
Hi folks, thanks for your interactions and support with this matter.
I went to your youtube channel, Debbie, and thought I’d try attaching your vibrato video link
Thanks!
Yay Jocelyn!!!!!
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!
Yes, great insights, Jim 🎶
Day 2 trying playing it slowly. I used Amazing Slow Downer. The original is 100 bpm so I cut it in half and played 50 bpm ten times through. Noticed some extra diddly-dos I could try (and they were pretty easy at that speed). I can’t use my metronome and record simultaneously.
Day 2 fall practice challenge
Chromatic scale
I started this challenge yesterday and I aim to practice at least 20 minutes a day. I posting a video for the first time today. O’Keefe’s Slide. I plan to work on a medley of Irish tunes in ‘Em during this challenge
Well done! I love this tune!
I woke up with a tune in my head and couldn’t remember what it was so looked it up & found it was one I haven’t played in a long time! When I tried to play it I couldn’t get the first part right then Jason’s post came through about slowing down so here it is!
Nice bowing there, Joanne!
Today, I am posting the hardest song I know, Indian Ate the Woodchuck. It’s in the key of D using standard tuning. I will be practicing this song throughout the Fall Challenge and will re-record it at the end to see if I made any progress! I know the notes, it’s just getting the timing and intonation right now! Of course there are bowing issues, stiff wrist issues, oh well, it needs a lot of work! 😉
When I first joined Fiddlehed about 2 years ago, Jason suggested practicing every day and keeping a journal. I took his advice and now I normally practice two hours a day and keep a detailed journal of everything I do during that time. It makes a big difference!
Wow that is a notey song! I can’t wait to see the final result. Maybe post once a week so we can follow along and be encouraged? 😊
Yes, it’s not an easy one, but I love a “Challenge”, ha ha!
We also have a big Black Lab. Her name is River.
He was 1/2 Golden Retriever and half unknown mutt. One of the best pups!
Practice Challenge with the goal of being able to play this at a local beginner jam 11/11.
Excellent job, Rachel! Great all the way around!
Thanks! I’ve always hesitated to post a video, but I was encouraged by the ones y’all posted yesterday. I love Bob Wills songs.
You gotta love Bob Wills!!
Yes, it’s intimidating to put yourself out there…!
I’m playing primarily old time stuff these days.
Sounds wonderful! I liked how you added the double stops in, too. Nice touch. The jam will be happy to have you, I’m sure!
Beautiful!!!!!!
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.
I’m a day late. Going to plan on at least 30 minutes a day. Working on intonation, getting more solid on tunes I know , and I’d like to start practicing playing backup chords with old time tunes. I think the journal is a good idea. I might try to video Green Willis—I can tell that by breaking it down into chenks and playing the hard parts slowly that it will help with both my intonation and bowing. Now I’ll go try to figure out how to make a video
Day 1 and 2 in the books! 🙂
You just made me want to practice that song too. It’s been a while since I’ve touched it. Such a fun tune!
Hello Jason,
Great workshop yesterday. I did try several times to pick up the tab without success.
Please send, meanwhile, I’m having fun fiddling!
Thanks,
Catherine
I needed to hear this today. Yesterday,’s practice was clear evidence that I need to slow down.
Mary
I think the “Play Slowly” is suitable for framing, for its message and its style! 🙂👍
On the road up in Canada for the week. Started just about a day late but will keep consistent here on out. Even with the mute on the fiddle I want to be considerate of the late night playing at the hotel LOL… Always appreciate the fall challenge. Enjoy y’all!
Very cool!!!
Nice! Calvin Vollrath is playing up there somewhere.
After falling off the fiddle wagon, so to speak, I am hoping this will get me back into the daily practice routine. Still working out specific goals beyond improving tone that sounds like skis on gravel — but daily practice will help me get back on track. 👍 Happy to take part.
Nice to see ya back on board!
I’m learning a piece by Chilly Gonzales called “Dressed in Green”.
https://vimeo.com/875017406/f0da04571c?share=copy
I’m also learning blues scales and tunes on piano.
First day in the books! My goal is 20 minutes per day, focusing on a few specific tunes and doing “Violin Aerobics.”
The fall practice challenge always seems to come at just the right time for me, helping me to re-commit to my practice time as we go into the darker months. Thanks fiddlehed!
Jason, when the Practice Journal is submitted, does it also go to you so you can read comments?
I am able to see what’s written in the practice journals, but I don’t typically check them. It’s really something for you to track your progress…
Just finished 40 minutes of practice.
Tried recording but the phone battery died.
Will try again tomorrow with a recording
Today’s tune. I can see a lot of possibilities with this one.
Beautiful already!!
Ok, first day of FPC! I just recorded this video to start my first day. Since improving my performance on video is a goal, I might be posting more. I hope that’s ok.
Wow! Fun tune! Which is it?
Oh, sorry! The tune is Liza Jane, using crosstuning AEAE.
I’m so glad you inspired me to do this! I put down the fiddle a few years ago when life took a turn, I was just a beginner. I’ve just moved across the country, finally feel like this house is a home and I’m ready to take it back up again! My intention for this fall practice challenge is to just get back into the joy I once had in learning the fiddle! I think I can do 25 minutes a day before my neck starts hurting 😀
Me too!! I started in Portland Oregon 2019 as a reward to myself for completing a degree and am now settled in Pisgah Forest NC 💖
Hi Vicki, I’m not far from you, Maggie Valley, NC!
We went to see the elk in your backyard last night! We did not hear any bugling but got to see about a dozen feeding at dusk 🥰
I went from the SF Bay area to Vermont!
We spent our first Vanlife season in Vermont and talk about it all the time!!! 🥰🥰🥰
It may be Fall Practice Challenge, but for me It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas. I’ve been working on this song, and I intend to have it “performance ready” by the end of the challenge. This means I’ll be ready to record my video for Fiddlerman’s annual group Christmas project. Each year, these projects are a musical milestone for me as I inventory which aspects of my playing have improved over the year and which aspects of playing need focus in the upcoming year. These projects become all-consuming as I try to do my best and truly work through the challenging parts. With an early start this year, hopefully I can complete the video and then re-focus on other fiddling pursuits and the upcoming holidays.
You go girl!
Had a great day of practice sessions. Fiddle is kept out and I keep returning to it multiple times throughout the day. Took Jason’s “Lifting the Bow” lesson again, followed by practice. This technique plays an important part in these Christmas projects that are arranged by a classical musician. Bowing matters. There are multiple instances of a bow lift after playing B on the A string followed by a landing playing 4th finger D on the G string. Brushed up on that technique and it went well. Worked on sets of triplet runs. They are really starting to blossom. Thanks for the support, Deb.😊
Alternated playing the piece at 96 BPM and 48 BPM following Jason’s slow playing suggestion. Gave additional attention to triplet runs. Good results.
Love the annual Christmas projects! So inspiring 🙂
Great idea!
I will work on my bowing technique, and repertoire for a minimum of 15 minutes a day.
Practice at least 15 minutes a day
Continue working on Aerobics for Fiddlers exercises dexterity on D and G strings
Chromatic scales -D and G
Double stops on A and E strings in G
What a goof Idea. I will start with double stops for song wagon wheel.
I’d love to get to the point of trying Wagon wheel!!
Ooooft I need this right now!
I’ll be focusing on vibrato, bowing and fiddle yoga!!
Looking forward to it!
Since I practice every day and keep a detailed daily journal anyhow, why not make it part of the Challenge and share with others! I will be working on my old time repertoire, with focus on improving my performance with video. I find that with songs I normally play well, I get very nervous and often choke when the camera is turned on! Of course, working on playing cleanly and with good intonation is always a challenge!
You sound just like me – the daily practice, the daily journal, the choking before a camera playing familiar songs … here’s to playing cleanly and with good intonation. To get there, I will exercise patience and slow down, way down. Here’s to slow FUN!
Right on, Nena! It’s hard to slow down once you learn the tune, but I’m really having to force myself to slow down the one I posted today!
Hi Keith, haha, yes, slowing down is a (the?) real challenge!
Practice journal is unusable bc post button is not reachable.
Hello Jason,
I’m very happy with that lesson.
A suggestion for the repetitions for each part. For me as beginner it is difficult from the end to immediately switch back to the start of the repetition. A little pause between repetitions would help me get the bow and myself in order.
Thank you for this suggestion, Gabi. Happy fiddling to You. Glad you enjoyed.
I’m going to be working on blues and country tunes and scales. I also want to incorporate vibrato (still working on this) and some shuffle patterns.
The last post was July 7th, I have just tried and exactly the same exercises will not play i.e.
5,6,8,9 and 10
Thanks for revisiting this, Peter. I will personally update you once those exercises are added. Sorry for the inconvenience. Happy fiddling 🎶
Peter, these exercises should be working now. Can you try them and let me know how they work on your end? Thank You 🎶 🙏🏾
I got pretty lost in the minor Blues scale. Tried replaying the lesson, but still don’t understand how you get from the major to the minor scale. I should probably look at the minor pentatonic scale lesson? Still enjoyed the lesson. I like the sound of the E minor blues scale
Hello, thanks for sharing this experience.
Upon my observation, Jason has given split the workshop into 2 sections, one using major blues scale associated with Cripple Creek, and then moves to working with minor blues scale with Cooley’s Reel.
Yes indeed the minor pentatonic scale lesson is a good one to look into. The practise tabs below the video such as ‘prepare for the journey’ and ‘outline’ have some great breakdowns of each topic. It appears to me that the major blues scale stays associated with the major key of the tune, and likewise with minor blues scale linked with a minor key tune.
Please reach out anytime 🙂
I love the sound of all these blues tunes & scales, I’m going to be working on these!
Shifted my focus a week or two ago from learning variations of old-time tunes with double-stops to closed-position chord shapes. Will continue my work on those while also getting back to more tune variations.
I really need to get back into fiddling everyday. Let’s do this!
What a perfect time of year to start this challenge!!! 🍁🍁🍁🍁💖💜💖
Love the FPC! Really gets me back into working harder to practice every day! Bonus a few new tunes! Thanks!
I’ll be working on vibrato, double stops and bowing patterns mostly on tunes I review.
I’ve been negligent too long. I’m ready to go. Start slowly; start slowly; start slowly…
Hello, I actually started yesterday, practiced technique and sound. I’m still playing a few of the basics; You Are My Sunshine and Old Joe Ckark. My goal is to have the Holly and the Ivy underway by Christmas.
Going to practice a bit again this evening.
Almost too much for me at one time. I need to get the a & d parts down first.
The song after that.
Great feedback, Linda. Thank you for this 🙏🏼
Another great workshop Jason! You’ve unlocked mysteries and opened up a Pandora’s box of scales and new ideas for us to play with. Just what I’ve been looking for, thanks so much for not only teaching the scales, but also how to apply them to tunes.
Thanks for sharing your experience with this 🙂
i missed the workshop but this follow up is too good to pass up. great blues licks!!!!! i really like the slide effect!!
Agreed, what thorough and fun content! Stay tuned for the workshop replay 🙂
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.
I renewed my subscription after a couple of year, once I learned you had new content. I was wanting to take a deeper dive in to Old time, Appalachian and blue grass. This is a great place to start.
Sawmill tuning is fascinating. Love this.
Thanks for this feedback, great you’re back on the program 🎻
Here’s the main Old-Time & Appalachian Fiddle Lessons page for folks also wanting to dive deeper into that realm:
https://fiddlehed.com/courses/old-time-appalachian-fiddle-lessons/
Great chord tabs!! I use these a lot 🎶
Yes, handy to have that and other items in the toolkit with us as we navigate different pages. Thanks for mentioning this 👍🏽
These exercises are so helpful. I will definitely make them part of my practice repertoire. They force me to slow down and really focus on practicing string crossing.
Thank you for sharing this, Theresa. What a great regular focus 🎻
I have to add one more comment because I was surprised this morning when I played double stops. Going through these exercises at different tempos has helped me improve my double stops also. Great lesson, Jason! Thank you!
This session resulted in a major break through for me! I have been playing for several years but have never had a relaxed bow hand. Couldn’t figure out how to move my fingers with a nice, even flow. But as I practiced these scales with rhythms, I could feel my hand loosen up without ever realizing it. I told myself I had to remember how this felt. I showed my in-person instructor the next time I attend my private class and she could tell the difference. She was so happy for me because she knew how hard I worked to figure this out. She gave me more practice tips to continue, mainly work on slow, long flowing bows on open strings and then progress from there. I also plan on doing these scales with rhythms before every practice sessions as a warm up.
What a great breakthrough, Jody. Thank you for sharing this, helpful for all 🙂
I really enjoyed this lesson, especially Soldier’s Joy. Another way to think of the hoedown pattern is “I’m happy, you’re happy.” Like others have mentioned, I find my tone deteriorates after a few minutes of looping when bowing. I discovered that doing a round or two of the loop using the lift off bow exercise is really helpful to help get good sounding notes back and alleviate the scratchiness, although it can be tricky to get the bow from bouncing when doing this. After plucking the songs I bowed them followed by playing the chords- Jason do you have any tips for catching both strings in a cord evenly or does this get covered later? Thanks!
Hi there, thanks for reaching out and sharing your insights.
There are some simple techniques for catching both strings evenly when chording. One main point would be to practise specific exercises on playing the notes separately and then together, and really noticing the bow angle change on each. Getting familiar with the bow angle is 1 big point.
There are multiple lessons/posts on this site with chording, simply search the keyword(s) in the search engine.
Here is a chord lesson that explains the exercise and more
😁
I couldn’t make the live session so just caught up with this. Great discussion on the playing fills & solos. I really like the suggestion of playing a musical conversation with the Call & Response exercises. I’m going to try that!
nice steady way of learning, loving it
Thanks for sharing your experience, Peter 💗
Looooove this!! I would also love to see an insanely simple deck. Like… Do 1, 2, 3 done. But I’ll likely get the hang of it!
Love this feedback. We’ll talk more soon.
Have you tried the Journey cards?
🧡
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!!
I’m doing this every day but still can’t get to my Practice Journal to record it.
I have committed to play every day! The cards keep me focused and organized. This course is a steady flow of new ideas.
As always, great work Jason!!!!
Thank you for also posting the A major modulation!
Glad you enjoy this, Brian 🎶
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!
Learning tunes by ear is the best way to keep a tune in your head!!
Call and response is the best for learning a tune from scratch!!!
Truth be told!! 👌🏼
Would love a lesson on songs from “The Last of the Mohicans” movie, “The Kiss,” and also “The Gael,” just beautiful songs on the violin.
Hi Cate,
Great suggestions. There is a workshop post on The Gael Theme from Last of the Mohicans. Here’s the link:
https://fiddlehed.com/community/group-lesson-home-page/learning-tunes-by-ear-last-of-the-mohicans-theme/
I will add your request for a specific lesson on this. Happy Fiddling 🎻
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.
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.
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.
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!
Such a sweet song.
I am actually an advanced beginner, but I didn’t see the recommendation for intermediate players, so I joined in. And, I really had fun. I was able to get the notes, and play the song through by the end.
Thank you for the great explanations and for breaking it down. That really helps.
Thank you for sharing this Tracy. 👍🏾
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.
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.
The whole fiddlehed site–small chunks, ear training, Jason’s encouragement–csn’t imagine another way to do this.
A teacher that expects you are capable of learning what you need to learn to succeed. And an encouraging family.
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….
Love Cajun music, this is gonna be fun! MEOW 😸
Thanks for sharing your joy, Susan!
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 .
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.
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!
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.
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.
encouragement to practice daily and to slow down when learning.
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!
Good to hear this! Were any of them too challenging?
I feel like I sometimes play too long or complex of a call (at least on the earlier videos).
No, they weren’t too challenging! I enjoyed doing them. Once in a while, I’d have to listen again, which was fine. It was just really good ear training.
As an aside, I find Call and Response easier when using a song rather than random notes. Mind/hand coordination is better
That was a great workshop, perfectly timed for where I am in my fiddle journey, trying to infuse more musicality into my playing. Though I was very familiar with the 3+3+2 pattern from my days as a Music major, actually *executing* it consistently through one’s fingers can be tricky, so I slightly modified the scale fragment we used in the workshop to fit its shape to the 3+3+2 accents more closely (at least to my ears). I play that modified segment with and without a double-stop drone, and also alternate it with the 3+3+2 pattern on open strings and on double-stop octaves. The sound is mesmerizing and fun, and is helping me really sink the rhythm into my fingers (even if my playing is still ragged at times).
That is neat how you worked with it, Pete. Be cool to hear/see how you did this. So glad your moving with these offerings so well.
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.
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).
I’ve been exploring this too. Trying to just enjoy the sound of a few notes played in different ways.
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!
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.
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
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.
Thanks for sharing. Something I’ve been pondering recently: Nothing is obvious until it’s obvious. The foundational practice strategies are relevant forever: Chunking, Daily practice, Playing Slowly, Focus on sound.
Daily practice is the best thing for my improvement. When I miss practice the fiddle feels foreign in my hands.
Mary Reid
This is another simple/obvious thing that can fall by the wayside. Thanks for sharing…
Jason, What is helping me the most is your encouragement to play very slow until it begins to sound good.
Great to hear you’re taking that to heart. It’s truly one of the most amazing practice strategies. It seems simple and obvious…maybe that’s why everyone forgets this (including me).
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.
Amazing idea for getting feedback on your playing. It’s a “twofer”. You get immediate feedback and then can also watch it after you play.
Totally! Awesome for any age too 🙂🎶
I love this song, thank you for the content. One minor comment, the sheet music does not match what you are playing. In your video, the quarter notes at the end of bars 3 and 6 are played as half notes. It took me a minute to figure out why what I was playing didn’t flow like it does in your video 😛
Correction: bars 2 and 6
Thanks for enjoying and sharing Travis. We appreciate yal mentioning these little incongruencies. We will get this corrected asap. Glad you figured it out in the meantime. 🙏🏽
The most epic way to figure out rhythms!! Love this!!
Loving your teaching
Great to hear this, Joe
Thank you for sharing Joanne. I really enjoy shetlan tunes… I have some Scottish heritage in my family. You play this song beautifully, nice effects too. Really appreciate the background information aswell 🙂🎶🌈
Jason, Thank you for this ‘Song-Scale-Skill framework. It will be very helpful for me. It comes at a good time for me. My biggest challenge is to get a good sound. Thanks for all you do to keep us motivated.
Robert Goode
Just what I needed. Printing out now. Thanks for being here for us every step of the way.
Good! Let me know if you use this…
Great material Jason.
Just diggin in today!!!!!
I couldn’t make it to this session but I watched later and it was very helpful. Your notes are as well. Thank you
thanks for letting me know 🙏
I’m working on this beautiful tune called Da Slockit Light. It was written by a Shetland Island fiddler Tom Anderson around the time of the death of his wife he visited his old home town on the Shetlands and was struck by the number of houses now in darkenss due to depopulation caused by death and younger folk moving to the mainland. Its a lament about the extinguished light and I thought it sounded nice with a bit of reverb & echo effects….
Very helpful lesson after learning the Blackest Crow variation in A. Now I understand the chord progression, which really pulls it together. That Red Tail Ring version tingles my spine!
Thanks for sharing this experience!
Just starting this one and, oooh, those slides make it *juicy*! Just no other word for it! 😀 I can tell I’m gonna have fun on this one!
Awesome to hear you’re loving and feeling good about the program, Pete. Enjoy 🎶
My dad held it like a cello. Not what he was taught, but did it to annoy his 3 violin playing sisters. Thanks for the videos including the sandwich making one. 😉
Thanks for sharing this! Indeed the humour carries with us well 🙂
This is great. I have put all group lessons in my calendar and plan on doing them regularly which should help me practice!
What a great intention, Gayle. Yes, they can help support consistent practising.
Optimism exists in some from birth born from either nurturing environments or necessity to. Even in challenging situations amidst setbacks and hardships, those with this trait survive. However, optimism is generally learned but you have to feel safe and secure – with yourself and the world around you to embrace it.
I was recently in Ballina, Ireland. They had a regional music competition for school kids. The music spilled into the streets, pubs & school hall. Is this tune as the Kerry Polka?
❤️☘️Patrick
https://share.icloud.com/photos/05cxw_cbXDtZViKlO16AER1wA
That is so cool! Sounds like it to me!!
Hey Tammy,
Great minds think alike. I’m just trying to learn this tune. The playing by these little tikes put me to shame, but I’ll keep at it.
Cheers – Pat
Lovely Patrick, thanks for sharing. Neat to experience a bit of it with you.
Sounds like they are playing it in D major, starting on F (E1), which is easy to transpose, just go up 1 string. 🙂
Thanks for the insight Jocelyn.
Thank you
Thanks for being here Stan
Thanks for another great lesson Jason, I just caught up on the replay. Your call and response method is so successful, having worked through your course (up to module 2.7 now), I found this lovely tune super easy to pick up by ear. I think that because that part was easy, I was able to focus more on listening to your intonation and tone and it was very helpful for me to work on that. By the end of the workshop I found myself improvising along with the tune. I liked your suggestions at the end and will probably have a go at writing a harmony. I’d be interested in a follow up lesson too. So far I’ve been working through the modules and all the bonus tunes, but I wonder if I should sometimes dip into the Irish or Appalachian collections to learn more about embellishments and style?
I noticed a few issues with the recordings that made it difficult to complete this section:
Exercise 3: Sounds like 2 different play-along tracks are playing simulatenously so it’s hard to understand what phrases are being played. You can tell by the gaps between phrases being played.
Exercise 4: Similar issues to exercise 3. It sounds like 2 different play-along tracks were combined.
Exercise 5: This recording is much smaller in length when played at normal speed compare dto the other tracks. There’s a note that’s cut-off in the beginning of the recording which leads me to believe this track wasn’t fully uploaded.
Exercise 6: This recording has some phrases from Bill Cheatham. I’m not sure if that was the intention as the exercise is labeled “Fourth Finger on A String”. It sounds like 2 tracks were combined here (example: 8:21)
Really appreciate this Brian. We’ll look into it and let you know once adjusted. Happy fiddling 🎶🙂
I love this “short video summary” idea! Great to have a little review w examples
Thanks for your feedback Caroline. Helps alot 🙂
What a fun polka! Played it in D too. Fun!
Have been practicing this for a few days and making slow progress. It feels like I have opened the door to an unfamiliar room that is at once confusing and intriguing, I’ll confess to skipping the basic “Bile ’em Cabbage Down” last year because I thought it was trite. Seeing it played by Mark O’Connor gave me a different understanding and I was able to revisit the lesson with a better attitude.
Great experience sharing, Wayne. Important life lesson sharing here 🙂
Wow! This is an incredible piece of work. Wish I had seen it 5 years ago, although maybe I wouldn’t have understood it then. Still struggle with a clear tone so I need to slow down (again). Fantastic article!
Hi Ginger, Thanks for sharing your appreciation of this and what you’re honing in on improving. Coming back to slowing down is always useful 🙂
All great tips, I can see where my tone is improving already. Just a side note – the cat wail at the end of the saw bow video was the confidence boost I needed. 😉
I just did a 4 day music camp where it was expected to play by ear and the instructor was very reluctant to hand out the sheet music. I practically had to beg her for it before getting an ulcer. I am 60 years old and have never played by ear. I can do one quarter then get overwhelmed when we move on. If I get the next quarter, I’ve forgotten the first. I feel like it’s a lost cause ☹️ Should I continue to stress over it? Keep trying? Or just enjoy playing with my music?
Hi Kathy, thanks for sharing this. Sounds like a great challenge you had at camp with learning by ear. It was nice they ended up supporting you with sheet music. Makes sense to keep trying to learn by ear, at your own pace, and respect that it’s good to try it (to any degree) in a higher pressure environment like you did, and that the pace was too quick for you to learn fully by ear at that time. Keep working on it though, as slow as the process may be, it’s so beneficial to develop that skill.
I have also relied on sheet music for alot of my playing years and find it quite difficult to go the route of learning by ear when I know I could learn it much faster by seeing the music. (Similar to going for the processed snack food that is already made when I could otherwise go into the garden or fridge and take some time to make something from scratch.) I continue to remind myself that the skill of learning by ear is what I need to develop and it is it’s own path, much different than the one I am more comfortable with/impulsively drawn to. 🙂
Jana Jea from Hee Haw has a fiddle camp at Grand Lake here in Oklahoma Sept 1, 2, and 3rd. I won’t be able to go this year. Hopefully I can go next year.
Hi Jason, I got about half way through it. Got tired so I took a break. Love the song. I know why you’re not supposed to look at the sheet music. Doing that actually slowed me down. I was doing pretty good until I started looking at the music. Lesson learnt. I’ll try it again in a couple hours. Thanks again. Holly
I just completed this archived group lesson. Really enjoyed the tune. It was fairly easy for me to pick up by ear, but would enjoy a follow up lesson on adding variation or improve to the tune. I will try to do some of this on my own. Also transposing to A major. Thank you
Thank you!!!!!♥️
I think optimism is somewhat of an inborn trait. Can it be learned? Perhaps. To me there are 2 kinds of optimism – 1. Always having a viewpoint that everything will turn out to the positive before even beginning something, and 2. Optimism created by seeing progress in something you are doing that, although you may have doubted what you could accomplish at first when you see you are making progress, it in turns fuels optimism which in turn fuels the desire to work more/harder toward what you want to accomplish.
For me, optimism is an attitude and a choice. I’ve always been optimistic about most things in my life. Optimism has carried me through some difficult times in my life. And I’m a problem solver; I tend to believe that, no matter what, I can figure something out and find some sort of solution or pathway. Like most of us Fiddlehed students, I came to the fiddle later in life. I do like to set goals, but I really enjoy just being present with the fiddle sounds and the music. Makes me smile when I put that bow to the strings and just listen to the tones.
Deliberate practice for me is the affirmation of all that’s optimistic. Just knowing I can follow those steps and find myself in the zone is optimistic. And I like what Debbie wrote — We have to be optimistic to have picked up the fiddle at whatever point in our lives we did so.
I don’t think you can DECIDE to be an optimist any more than you can decide the sun will shine tomorrow. I believe it is possible to BECOME an optimist after experiencing life. You will never escape the bad stuff that happens in your life, but you CAN choose how you react to the bad stuff. That takes a lot of practice, believe me.
If hope is a virtue, then optimism is surely a choice. I’ll even go so far as to suggest optimism is a kind of practice, an essential discipline. Optimism sees that some thing or situation can be made better, & then works on that improvement. Like many others here, I picked up my fiddle late. I’m not aiming for Carnegie Hall or the Grand Ole Opry. I want to make music and find happiness while I play. Everything about that is optimistic. And optimism’s sister is gratitude. So thank you all for being part of my community of music!
Practicing the A Part of this variation and am really enjoying it, so I hope the B Part is all there! (Looking at the last comment from 2019.)
Thanks for sharing Pete, and following up from the last comment.
From what I can see, Jason didn’t put audio tracks for the last 2 quarters of part B (tracks broken down into quarters), because they are very similar/the same to other parts of the tune.
Please let us know if you notice anything that could use attention. Enjoy 🎶
I think optimism changes. When things are going good you are optimistic and when they aren’t you are not so much. However, that is where a good teacher comes in (Like you Jason). Some of the approaches you suggest work very well imo. For instance when you were talking about the death grip or whatever on the strings it tends to make the bow screech. However, I noticed that when you suggested you touch the strings lightly with your left hand it simultaneously causes at least my grip to lessen on the bow and then I got the sound that I like which made me more satisfied and could be optimistic. I guess what I need is suggestions on how to address the little things that come up frequently that tend to make me sound less than I want. When I have a suggestion that works it makes me feel like moving onto the sound I want.
Very thankful for the great comments so far.
I have more ideas on this, but want to let the conversation roll and see what you all are thinking…
I guess if we weren’t optimistic we never would have picked up a fiddle!😄
I think this is an appropriate response. 🙂 Also the same reason we don’t quit.
I believe optimism can be turned on.I think it is a decision one makes inside their own spirit, mindset or what ever you choose to call it. It may only last an hour or few but it can be restarted. After enough restarts it becomes a pattern or habit.
I have been in some dark places and determined to get out, I climbed an imaginary rope ladder made of fiddle strings and guitar frets. You can be optimistic if you choose to be.
I’m 76 and I still get a feeling of accomplishment when I play a scale on my fiddle in proper intonation.
I think optimism and a positive outlook on life is not really a choice, but closer to a personality trait. Inherent personality traits can be affected by life—especially early life events and how we are raised. All that being said I do think that we all have some choice about how we view the world and can make successful efforts at being more optimistic and positive—whether it’s about playing fiddle or anything else. Also, it depends on what we mean by successful. What that means is different for everyone. For me I hope to —at some point—be able to play on local jams and be as comfortable and have as much fun as I do playing guitar or banjo. My version of success is being good enough to have fun. I’m not shooting for being a virtuoso. Looking forward to Jason’s thoughts on this.
It’s similar to a something I tell myself, “You’re fortunate if you know you’re fortunate.”
A lot of people have better lives than they realize. The get upset by minor things. Me too, me three…
I feel that optimism is a choice, but you’re fortunate if you come to a place where you have the mind, income level, time, etc. to make this choice.
Maybe anybody can chose optimism. But it seems easier for some people…
Also, I think it helps to know that you do have a choice. This is the core idea of a “Growth Mindset.”
As a late bloomer, picked up a fiddle at 62, is to first be honest with yourself, brutally if needed. It is just a fact that I will not live long enough to be great. So I had to ask myself what was I hoping to achieve. I’ve arthritis, 2 kinds, my knuckles & fingers appear mutilated. I find optimism remembering the awe I feel when I start to play, knowing last time, I couldn’t get a particular thing correct. Next day or “a few more” depending on frustration, I find that somehow between then and now, my brain figured it out. Our brains are awe inspiring creations. My optimism comes from knowing that everytime I play, EVERYTIME, there is something I couldn’t do before that, unbeknownst to me, my brain figured out and even choreographed with my hands. Sometimes it’s a big thing, sometimes it’s very small but, everytime I start, something is possible that wasn’t before. It’s miraculous to me.
I will never be really good but I love the feeling of the sounds I’m making. I like tuning. I tune down to the Hz, E-659.3, A-440.0 etc., then I check my fingering on 4th of previous string. I love feeling the vibration. I find optimism in knowing that every time I pick up my fiddle, I actually have a fiddle🤗, there will be something new. There will be something new about me.
Beautiful last comment, “every time I pick up my fiddle…There will be something new about me.”
Ok. I want to make this work. Iam an intermediate fiddler. I play with Alasdair Fraser’s San Francisco Fiddlers at concerts and farmers markets. But I have trouble memorizing tunes. Learning by ear. I read music . Wish me luck!🍀
Gayle, so great to hear! Fiddlehed is a great platform for supporting us to play for memory.
Here are some good posts regarding this matter:
https://fiddlehed.com/blog/memorization/
https://fiddlehed.com/blog/fiddling-with-mental-triggers-to-aid-song-memory/
Thanks for fiddling with us 🎻
I agree with the theorem that you must choose to be optimistic and this choice becomes the path that leads you forward to greater and greater success.
Although, sometimes we have to take this optimism in the face of a bad practice season, but we will persevere. 🎶
I think it’s worth celebrating the fact that you did the practice. Period. Even if it didn’t feel that great.
Steven Pressfield (The War of Art) says something along the lines of…The pros just show up and do the work.
When I feel bad about how something is going,for example, the recording I made sounds terrible, I think of something that did go well- I have that tune memorized and now I can work on making it sound better.
Optimism is a choice. A little inspiration can help with choosing optimism. Here is my story of how I was/ am able to chose to be optimistic.
I knew a person who was in their 60s when I was in my 20s. This person took up ukulele as a hobby. This person said something to the effect of, “I might not live long enough to become a master ukulele player, but if I can stick with it for the next 10 years, then in 10 years I’ll be able say, “I’ve been playing for 10 years”, and in 15 years, I can say I’ve been playing for 15 years, and so on.”
When I decided to start violin in my late 30s, I lot of people snickered and expressed their doubts regarding success starting “so late”, especially when hearing me play.
I remembered that persons words from before and it helped push me to continue through the “screechy and out of tune times.” When things feel frustrating, I think about the bigger picture: “In 10 years, I’ll have been playing for 10 years. In 15 years, I’ll have been playing for 15.” Then I take a breath and keep trying.
That’s super helpful tip Debbie.
Do you use that strategy with other aspects of life?
Have you always done this? If not, when and how did you start?
It’s helpful to have a strategy when you’re feeling unoptimistic.
Realizing that it’s a choice is key. It’s ok to be disappointed but why linger with negative thoughts?
I think we choose to be optimistic. It’s easy to be discouraged after hearing someone who’s more advanced knock a piece out of the park. I am encouraged when I can break a song into smaller parts as in Jason’s lessons. Or practice one technique in slow mo. Take heart in improving one thing. Remember, even the slowest train eventually reaches the station..Deb S.
“It’s easy to be discouraged after hearing someone who’s more advanced knock a piece out of the park.”
I feel this when I see a five year old playing Foggy Mountain breakdown at 200 bpm 🤯
I turn it around by thinking of all the creative work and bands and experiences I’ve been privileged to do over the years.
It also helps me to feel simple gratitude for being able to create and appreciate music…something I’m also feeling from the other comments.
Hiya. The D-major D-dorian alternation file is incorrect. It has the d-major double stop instead.
Thank you very much for letting us know, jbrahney. We’ll work on this. 🙏🏼
Hey folks…I re-mixed the audio and republished the video today. Give it a try now…
Great points to remember – thank you!
Great to hear your interest 🙂
Good lesson !!! Interesting scale, challenging at first, gets better with practice
I am so excited to find this sight. I am an ‘’older’’ student. Have played for quite a few years but still feel such a beginner. You have helped me already.
Came back to finish this lesson and this time also watched the video of Dianna’s lesson. I love it! Very clear improvement over the course of it, and I smiled more than once at the tough spots she encountered that also trip me up! Practice may not make perfect, but it sure makes us better! 🙂👍
Can’t get past the code to the replay of moving up the neck. — very frustrating. What I saw before I had to take a break was excellent and that’s compared to MANY Utubes I’ve watched trying to master it.
Hello, thanks for letting us know this.
Can I confirm what you are referring to is the full workshop video replay (under outline section) that you are having trouble accessing? I will email you also.
Wow, another great lesson on this technique! Good choice of tunes, especially with the hoedown patterns of Whiskey Before Breakfast thrown in there. (That also happens to be one of my favorite tunes.) Your reminders to work in increments – Small Steps! – helps me really get this technique into my hands.
Awesome that it’s working so well for you, Pete. Your attitude and attention to the basics is great!
Yes!!!!!!
:):):)
Great exercises, and I’m enjoying the full Georgia Shuffle lesson series.
Great to hear, Pete. Thanks
fun
yes 🙂
Hi Jason! I think you inadvertantly filmed this (wonderful) lesson summary with a mirrored setting, thus seeming to hold the bow in your left hand!
Thanks for observing this illusion, Rachel. I think that video is done on the video platform Loom.
Back up track was too loud to hear the call very well.
I had the same experience (also too fast for me.) I gave up on call-and-response and made up my own patterns following Jason’s rhythm patterns. Ended up a fun way to practice notes in the scale.
Thanks Susan, the feedback on your experience helps us improve and provide what folks want. Neat to hear how you worked with it in a creative way.
Jason updated the video
Great point, Tom. We’ll consider this moving forward. Thanks!
I love this exercise but I had the same experience the backup track being too loud!
Hi Joe Ann, thank you for sharing. The more suggestions on a similar matter can help decide to make adjustments to this. I’ll pass it along and let you know if/when it gets updated.
Jason updated the video
Jason updated the video
Great lesson, thanks!
Great to hear, Kayli!
Love the bonus kitty at the end!🥰
Glad your loving it, Debbie! Simple things can do alot for us 🙂
Some of the practice play along links appear to be broken or incorrect…
just fyi
Thank you for mentioning this, jbrahney. If possible could you share an example of one that isn’t working for you? Appreciate it 🙂
Love the call and response style of teaching in the second video! Thanks, Jason!
Thanks for this feedback, Katrina!
By the way, you really should *categorize* this page so it’s easier to find and return to! (For now I’ve saved it as a Favorite, but that doesn’t help others who may never stumble across it!)
Thanks for this suggestion, Pete. I’ll pass it along to consider.
Fantastic article and examples! Thanks for a powerful Music History course in miniature!
Great to hear how you experience this, Pete.
Thank you for this lesson Jason! I have not paid nearly enough attention to this and this lesson is forcing me to. I will be spending a bit of time on it.
That’s awesome, Don! Yea, our focus of what’s important to us comes at the right time. Glad your noticing this. Thanks for sharing.
My biggest problem is getting my brain to remember 15-17 notes in a call.
Yes that is a big challenge, Don.
One idea is to break the call down. Listen to the call and try to play the first bit, listen to it again and try to play the middle part, then same with the last part. Could even go into smaller chunks than that. Then slowly put two chunks together, then 3, and so on.
For easability with this, I click on the download button to right of audio track to open in another page. Then I can easily use my back/forward arrow keys, as well as pause and play button, on keyboard to loop/focus one call of the track.
Hey Jason, thanks for the motivation in this post. I’m a beginner fiddler who over the years keeps losing my way. I’m on a 3-month hiatus from fiddling now and I don’t want it to go any longer. Traveling and life stuff got in the way but I had my fiddle with me so it’s totally all my fault!
As I exercised on the treadmill this morning I listened to you and I’m ready to hit the strings again! Thank you for being the awesome teacher that you are and for being so supportive and motivating! You ROCK!
Mary, thanks so much for sharing this with everyone. It’s great to hear you’re reinvigorated to Fiddle!
Maybe I’m just totally confused but why is this tune in D major, but the sheet music only has one sharp? Isn’t that G major? I see all the flats written in, is that why?
Ellen, thanks for mentioning this. The label of ‘tune in D’, may refer to the ‘klezmer D scale’ that Jason mentions in the video.
The sheet music made for this lesson is definitely unique, and it is a good representation of how one can alter the way something is written. I think Jason approached it in this way for simplicity sake and to try and help people learn it more easily. When I look online, some versions will have the key signature with 2 flats (B and E), making it in G minor.
Please let us know if we can provide further explanation. 🙂
You’re right! It’s in D Major. I just added this to the Fix list.
Thx Jason!
I have a question. These chords are not what I play on my mandolin. My question I guess is could they be if I wanted to play them. And second part of question is could I play the chords I play on the mandolin here instead of learning new chords.
Hey Lin, Thanks for reaching out, great questions.
I’d imagine you could utilize the chords you know on the mandolin and integrate them onto the violin, picking 2 strings/notes (often folks will play violin chords with G and D strings, or D and A strings)
These chords could be used on mandolin (though one may at times want to have all 4 strings (or 3) integrated for strumming rather than 2 strings?).
When looking online at basic madolin chords, the D G and A chords seem to line up notes with the D and A string chords listed on this lesson above. These chords can be considered a portion of the full mandolin chords.
I find it fun to strum the violin and one could play the 4 string mandolin chords on violin in that way. Another method would be in a ‘double stop’ method where you play the G and D notes together, then immediately go to play the A and E notes together (with bow).
Enjoy connecting the two instruments together 🙂
Woo-Hoo! I’m beginning to see a future in this. 🙂
Awesome, Benno! Thanks for sharing your motivation 🙂
Great advice!
Agreed!
Great teaching method have been wanting to play for 40 years and here I am.Excited for this journey.
Thanks for sharing your joy, Chris 🙂 great to hear it’s happening for you
Exercises 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10 didn’t load. When I tried to download #5 (pressed red button with white arrow) got this error message: AccessDeniedAccess denied.Anonymous caller does not have storage.objects.get access to the Google Cloud Storage object. Permission ‘storage.objects.get’ denied on resource (or it may not exist).
I am using an iPad, OS 16.5.1.
Thank you, N Coyne for this clear explanation of your experience. I see this on my end aswell. We will work on getting this fixed and let you know.
Hello Nicole, these exercises should be working now. Can you try them and let me know how they work on your end? Thank You 🎶 🙏🏾
I started this journey thinking, “Meh, I’ve been playing for at least a year. I can skip module 1 altogether and jump right into module 2.” But then I thought what the heck, I’m paying for the WHOLE course, let’s just breeze through module 1. Jason, I have learned SO MUCH from module 1 it blows my mind. The call and response are a lot of fun. Playing the key scale of a song before you play the song has helped me a lot.
Great Don! Thanks for the feedback, it means alot to hear you are enjoying and getting more from the program than anticipated. It reinforces the goals of Fiddlehed hearing this 🙂
In practicing this repeatedly, a sixteenth note duplet just came out of me for the first measure a part, like you did for the first measure of the b part..I’m so happy that variations are coming more naturally to me with this course!
Ah yes, progression towards natural familiarity to what we want more of is a great thing 🙂
And always coming back to the simplest form is so helpful for making space for new experiences to arise.
Star of the County Down?
Yes, great idea Debbie, I’ll put in the request.
This is so helpful and I love this tune! Thank you! I can feel my understanding expanding 😁
Thanks for your feedback Kayli, great to hear how it’s going for you.
Thanks!
I’ve really, really enjoyed working through the FH online course over the last 15 months. I’ve learned a ton, and I know my skills are much greater. But there’s NO WAY I’m now an “advanced” fiddler (lol!), and that’s fine. I’m going right back to the beginning, and will focus on greater accuracy, speed, technical skills such as double-stops, and expressiveness. I’ll also explore tunes in the different traditions, and I know I’ll have a lot of fun doing that. There’s plenty more to learn and love on FiddleHed!
What a great reflection, Pete. You express the way that feels right! Another great thing to consider is sharing a video or audio of oneself playing to the student video section in the community tab. 🙂
Great tune!
Thanks 🙏
Agreed, Mark 🙂
Howdy,
How about a lesson posted on the good old eighth of January?
Thanks,
LR Swadley
Hey LR Swadley,
Great tune to inquire on 🙂 I’ll add it to our request list. Thanks!
How about the 28th of january?
https://fiddlehed.com/courses/old-time-appalachian-fiddle-lessons/twenty-eighth-of-january/
I would really like some feedback on my playing. I’ve only been playing for about two months and this is probably the second or third time I ever played this song.
Holly, Thanks for sharing this video. I created a feedback video for you and posted it in the Student Videos page (under the Community tab)
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/topic/oh-susannah-with-feedback/
This is great thank you. Got all the wee bits I was missing. Plus you’ve explained some terms I had no idea about.
Linnie
We really appreciate the feedback, Lynn. Great to hear your takeaways 🙂
Often experiencing slight bow “bounce” at finish of down and up bow. Also at the finish of a down or up bow the sound is rather abrupt. Corrective action?
Benno, Thanks for reaching out.
Could this page on bow bounce be helpful for you?
https://fiddlehed.com/blog/how-to-get-rid-of-unwanted-bow-bouncing/
Super fun!!!!!! 🎶
Happy to hear this, N Coyne 🙂
On to 1.2!
Way to go, DonStine 🙂
Jason, I have been taking in-person lessons from a very good fiddler for nearly 2 years. I recently started with Fiddlehed because my teacher has had a stroke and is no longer able to teach me. I started this and thought “Meh, I am beyond module 1.1”. HA! Even as much as I have learned from my teacher, I have learned a lot from these lessons. I will continue through the beginner lessons because obviously I have a lot to learn. Besides, I’m paying for it 😉
Thanks for sharing your journey, DonStine. Great idea to go through each session, help fine tune and add to your experience.
Do to technical difficulties last week, I couldn’t login. Today I logged in for the first time in a week and was able to practice with you again. I completed 1.7 call and response. It was so good to be back with my lessons and it reminded me how much I missed learning from your practice sessions. This call and response was really fun. I probably enjoy your call and response the most. What a great way to learn to play by ear. And your right, it’s fun and puts me in a tone trance.
Thanks again Jason for your lessons.
Gregg
Awesome feedback, Greg. What a great reflection on what’s important 🙂
I’m not as fast as the drone so I guess I need more practice. I’m loving fiddlehed. I’ve got another core song memorized and I’m even playing it with double stops. This is so much fun. People keep telling me that violin is hard. It’s not hard for me. Keep up the good work.
Hey Holly, I’d be interested to hear more about the drone and speed you’re playing at.
Thanks for sharing your experience with Fiddlehed, your motivation and perspective is inspiring 🙂
I’m not using a drone. I’m just playing it by ear and with the sheet music. I know how to read music so all I had to to is play the music as I saw it.
All the tunes so far are wonderful to listen to and fun to play. Yes, even the scales. Play one, keep playing, play another, don’t wanna stop … alas, time to put down the fiddle and start work. Best of all, I’m feeling more confidence with my fiddling.
What beautiful sharing, Nena. Thank you for gracing your experience with us 🙂
What a brilliant, simple, no nonsense way of knowing if a violin is a good fit. There’s a huge resistance in the violin world against adults playing anything but a full size instrument. I spent the better part of three years learning that I needed a 1/2 size violin (The scroll lands right on the wrist pad). I started with a full size and did ok until the fourth finger was introduced. I went down to a 3/4, which helped, but was told I could stretch my little finger out to be able to play a full size by my then adult orchestra director. After several more months and lots of online searching for how to choose the right size violin for a small adult (I’m a tad over 5 feet tall with arms that are two inches shorter than all the long sleeve shirts and coats at the store.) I decided to go down to a 1/2 size. The folks at the violin store were very resistant and tried to talk me out of it. My adult daughter was with me and let them know that I was just playing for myself in my living room so I didn’t really need a violin for performances. They finally relented and let us peruse their 1/2 violin rental collection. I can now reach the fourth finger position with relative ease (I still tense up from all the years of using violins that were too big.). I highly recommend getting a violin that is the right size. It’s so much more fun to play one that fits!
Thanks for this inspiring sharing, Melba. Great to persist in finding what’s right for us, regardless of surrounding opinions. 🙂
Love it thanks
Great to hear, Morgan
Hello, Jason,
It looks like I accidentally unsubscribed to the Wednesday Practice Tip email. When I try to click on the ‘click here’ link nothing happens. I would like to resubscribe. If you can help me through my hiccup it would be greatly appreciated!
Sincerely, Malcolm
I had never heard this song before, but I love it! Fourth finger has always been a challenge for me because I am double jointed, but I am determined to master it!
I agree, Brooke, I love learning this song through Fiddlehed too! So great your motivated through this lesson with 4th finger mastering 🙂
Thank you for adding repeating sections so that we can get another shot at listening and responding. The longer gaps are great as well for helping to figure out notes when I’m unsure of where to start!
So good to hear this is working well for you, Brian 🙂
Agree with the others, this is a really easy, fun, forgiving and, most importantly, beautiful piece. I wonder if you would be able to record a video on an advanced version like you did for Whiskey for Breakfast. I saw the video on singing and playing, but would something with more technical difficulty in the playing. Thanks for the great content!
Great idea Travis. I will add this suggestion to our request list. Thanks for sharing 🙂
I finished module one. I can even play all the songs by memory.
Way to be, Holly! Playing for memory is so good
A couple of the “D” Major Syncopated Scale exercises are actually A Major scales. (And I wish I didn’t always have to go through 5-6 ” Error Captcha” cycles to post comments from my android phone!)
Thanks for this information, Pete. We’ll get those exercises sorted on this lesson page, your help is greatly appreciated. 🙂
And we will also see what we can do about the error captcha prompts you experience when trying to post comments.
I have successfully learned Bile’em Cabbage Down. With fingering and bowing. Can’t wait for more.
Awesome, Holly!
I love this piece. I just need to practice a little bit more the passage between high D and F# without sounding squeeky. It is nice to have a slow tune.
Agreed, Estela. Great points!
ahhh thank you. I will check on his other post on speed and thanks for the tip on the metronome. I think it will be smoother transition!
This was so much fun. Can’t wait for tomorrow.
It’s great to hear your experience, Holly 🙂
I love this piece. I have been trying for a few days now but I don’t seem to be able to get to the last part of the recording where it gets super fast. I am not stressed about this. I know at some point it will be easy. For now, I am happy finishing at almost full speed 🙂
Hey Estela, thanks for sharing. That’s great you’re enjoying it.
I noticed the speed increase is 20 bpm. Can be helpful to also play our own metronome and practise increasing the speed incrementally (2-10 bpm each time), that can bring us up in speed in a manageable way.
Jason has some great posts on speed as well:
https://fiddlehed.com/?s=faster
Happy fiddling 🙂
I don’t get the Kerry Polka Duet. Maybe they’ll give more instruction on how to play that one. The rest of them were easy.
Hey Holly, thanks for sharing your experience.
I noticed this Kerry Polka duet audio starts out quite slow (half the time of 1,2,3,4 count in) and it also does not utilize the repeats (A part once, then into B part, ABABAB etc). Let us know how it goes for you if you try it again.
Great idea for adding more instructions for playing along.
Enjoy 🙂
This is so much fun. I saw your lessons on YouTube and had to do the 2 week trial. Thanks
Play-along track for B Part, Q1 is actually for Q2, and doesn’t match what’s notated (and taught in the video). Otherwise, an excellent exercise that I’ll use going forward, along with the partner String-crossing 4 exercise on the D major scale.
Awesome Pete, good to hear.
Thanks for sharing this error, we’ll get it sorted. 🙂
Hello Fiddlehed! Jason! I have been watching your videos for many years on YouTube and just now going through your classes. I love your teaching style. I am on the page to practice my call and response and I can’t get the audio files to play. Am I doing something wrong? 💚 thank you!
Hi Tricia, thanks kindly for sharing your experiences with Fiddlehed and Jason’s work.
You’re right about some not functioning. We will get the 8,9,10 exercises fixed soon. Are you able to play the other ones?
Happy fiddling 🙂
unable to access exercises 8, 9 & 10/ got an error message
all other exercises ok
Thank you for sharing this, Tammy. We’ll get them fixed. 🙂
I have done this documentation with Piano over the years but I like the idea of creating a folder with a specific name. My videos of piano are everywhere.
You asked if if was hard to transpose songs to another key. It is for me just because I do not know the entire song by heart that we play. However, I have no trouble doing that on songs I sing and play on my own. . Isnt that accomplishing what we are trying to accomplish. I can play songs in keys except B and E which are ones we havent worked with yet I believe.
Whiskey Before Breakfast
Midnight on the Water
Angelina Baker
Circle be unbroken
Playing “Britches Full of Stitches” in E (starting on D1) is a great way to practice H3 fingerings!
Hey there! I know you’re probably incredibly busy, but one day, could we get a klezmer fiddle journey? I love this!
Yes Katie! It’s on my list. Do you have any questions or things you want to learn?
Sorry for so long in responding, but I wanted to think about what specifically would be cool for a klezmer journey. My initial response is I’d really just want to learn skills and songs that make for dancing music…which I know is kinda nonspecific. But, in the same way Irish music has a certain swing, klezmer music has a swing and a sound (I know, very non-specific, sorry!) to it that’s unique. Whatever skills it takes to capture that would be cool to learn. I know there are a lot of klezmer songs use time signatures and key signatures that aren’t super common in other genres of fiddle music, so learning about tuning and rhythms would be cool. I think you’ve already covered shifting up into second position in other spots, but it’d be cool to learn that in the context of klezmer songs.
Katie, these are great suggestions for a Klezmer practise journey and content in general for Klezmer style. I’ll ensure Jason see’s your ideas and will also add to our request list for future consideration. Thanks for your help in content suggestions for Fiddlehed, so valuable 🙏🏼
Jason, I’m blown away again by how your Fiddlosophy posts ring so true – and help so much! For the past week or two I felt like I was stuck on a plateau, even though I know these “phases” come and go. It was a bit demotivating, so I switched up my daily practice routine and let myself spend more time simply on enjoying the sound of improvising short melodies on scales (major, minor, and pentatonic) and triads. A few days of that refreshed my sense of fun and “remotivated” me as I move into Module 2.8. Your insights and encouragement are “da bomb” in every best way!
This is great to hear Pete. I talk a lot about Deliberate Practice, but there’s a lot of value in balancing DropBox with exploration and fun 💃🏻
Happy to see permission or encouragement to mess around a bit while practicing. Often, I will veer “off track” and then back on track (though the track is a bit bumpy…) I like this idea of mixing deliberate, consistent practice to master tunes with play and exploring — or goofing off. There are different kinds of joy found in these different kinds of playing. Thanks – great observations and suggestions.
Glad to hear this resonated with you. It’s something I’ve also been working on. Finding a good balance between focus and wandering.
Chord backup is the best ever!!!!
Love your enthusiasm!
Identify as a musician…..priceless! Never thought I would be able to say that!
Yes! “You’re a musician if you play every day.” I say it a lot…but it’s useful.
Whew! Ngl, after fairly little time on bowing patterns up until now, these bowing variations are pretty hard. Even with daily practice, I think I’ll be on this lesson for another week before I get any flow (beyond two-note slurs).
Thanks for letting me know. Do you think this lesson is too advanced for this stage in the course?
I look everywhere but I can not find classes in fingers positions in strings
I believe there needs to be an ‘E’ in front of the first L2 in the third quarter ‘WILDWOOD FLOWER IN G MAJOR UPPER OCTAVE’.
Great catch Brian, thanks for mentioning this 🙂
Enjoy the fun and expansion with transposing.
Thank you for the quick fix! Another minor thing, but ‘Scarborough Fair’ doesn’t appear in module 1.4 when you navigate to the main course menu. As a result, I didn’t learn this tune when I went through module 1.4 the first time (not that I mind learning this transposed version of ‘Scarborough Fair’).
I tried this before and It was hard to do. But when I heard the notes like a part of a song it was much easier to repeat.
Is there another video for Carry Me Back that talks more about the double stops and the bowing with more pressure to give it a “fiddley” sound? Thank you.
Hi Stephanie,
Thanks for reaching out. That’s a great idea, I don’t see another lesson available yet on Fiddlehed for this tune with variations and style additions, I will be sure to add it to our request list for future consideration.
For the meantime, there’s a good amount of lessons/posts on double stops in general as well as for some other tunes that could support getting you on your way to integrating this into songs like this one.
Here’s a link to most of the posts on double stops:
https://fiddlehed.com/?s=double+stops
Your idea about a lesson on fiddle style bow pressure is great as well, I haven’t seen something on this specifically on the site but will check with Jason and also request it.
We really appreciate the feedback 🙂
God idea Stephanie. I’m going to do this soon…
I am having a hard time to play the First Quarter. The repetition means that by the time I repeat a second time, I ran out of bow. Yes, I can lift it and start from the tip of the bow again but I am not fast enough to lift and play open D on time to be a tempo. So I am not sure there is much that can be done 🙁
Great point Estela. This is common and a great tune for practising bowing skills. Try to focus on slower/smaller/slighter movements of bow, while keeping beat and sound. This takes getting use to. I find it can be easier (and habitualized) to move our bow faster and further, when in many circumstances (like for this tune) we need to be able to play with less bow. It can take time working on it in simple ways before integrating it into a tune. You can do it. And great idea for a lesson, I will request something of this nature for the future.
Be great to hear your experiences with this going forward. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Estela, just practice the lifting motion with a single movement. Focus on the motion, getting the lift right. Do little circles to practice lifting the bow.
This post came at just the right time, funny how that happens. I’ve been struggling with Fingering and String Crossing 4, Fiddler’s Playground #1, B part, D2 to A3 and D1 to A2. very difficult internals for my fingers. Thanks for reassurance that working on these micro motions will eventually result in my fingers knowing what to do.
This lesson was long overdue for FiddleHed. Simply learning to focus on individual motions can 10x your playing quickly. It also can be fun and physically enjoyable.
Bonjour,
Thank you for a great class. I used to play Baritone for three years when I was in middle school. I noticed the notes are similar, they are just called different names. What I don’t understand is where do I locate my fingers in the strings. How do I go about doing that to make the different notes?
merci
Vilma Mendez Colombani
I play piano so at first, when I saw the call and response exercises I thought they were too simple but in reality, violin is a different beast and not as intuitive as a piano (you go left and you get lower in pitch, etc). With strings, you need to learn that as you press more fingers on one string, you get higher. That concept seems simple but it is not when you have never played a string instrument so I am no longer thinking call and response exercises are simple. They are just perfect to train you with all those little things that end up adding to tons of good stuff.
Beautiful! I’m using this right now to revisit “Little Liza Jane,” just playing the first measure (nine notes total!) to strengthen my flow and speed. I’ve loved this little tune from the start and have been playing it lately with double-stops I worked out as I move through Module 2.7. But this post gives me reason to break it down to basics in a new, deep, and fun way. Thanks, Jason!
Yayyy, I just finished Module 1.1. I am so happy!!!!!
Estela, thanks for celebrating with the community, happy fiddling 🙂
I’m enjoying learning these techniques, but I have to say that the links jump around too much among the songs in this module and really disrupt tracking progress. Would be good to review and simplify the user path in this module.
I’m the exact same! I’ve spent several months on the first couple of modules, and am doing my best to work through the material slowly so I know I’ve got it down before moving on (which is the complete opposite of how my brain likes to work, haha). Some days I feel like I’m not making any progress, and other days I feel like it’s almost too easy, but when I take a step back and think about how I sounded the month before, I realize I am actually getting better. I would definitely recommend recording yourself every once in a while so you have an actual record of how you’re progressing 🙂
Thank-you Jason! EXCELLENT lesson, this resonated w/me and is helping a lot!
I am enjoying this lesson. I am back for a third time. 😊
Denise, that’s a good sign! Quality content that one can revisit. Thanks for sharing with us 🙂
Did it!!!
That’s lovely, Briony!
Well! Just realised! I just picked up the violin after thirty years!!! I learnt Suzuki, to work with my four year old daughter. She was 34 today! Now I’m 73 myself, and I thought I had too much arthritis and pain in my hands and fingers. But a new friend has recently started Fiddle Hed, and wanted me to join her. And I can do it, (and it’s not excruciating!).
I think it’s lesson 2.7 she’s on, though, so I have a long way to go to catch her up – but I got to Book Four, so there I have a head start on her. (My daughter did her Grade 8 when she was in her last year at school!!!!! She left me way behind! (And now she doesn’t speak to me. How sad life is.)
But I did the first lesson in just a few days, so if I stick with it, I could (maybe!) catch her (my friend, that is!), up, (though I doubt it, she does practice a lot!
But it’s starting to take off now, just like you’ve just said. Really excited about lesson 1.2!!!
This is great! I’m practicing the “advanced” version of the fingerings (in the video) by looping a fairly slow D pentatonic scale in various rhythms until I achieve flow and speed. Fun!
I’m starting the course projecting to my smart TV. And it’s difficult to use the TV remote to type anything or move through the screen very much. It’s a great way to view the videos and practice in a room that’s set up away from others in the family so they aren’t disturbed. I’ll see if I’m able to make notes and put things in using my phone or laptop at a later time.
Thanks for sharing how it’s working for you, Ronnie. I have used a wireless/bluetooth keyboard before with a TV and has worked good. Yea, any way to put down notes whether on paper or on a device, can be really supportive of our practising. Enjoy!
Greetings All! I’m really struggling with the speed of this tune but it makes me feel better to see I’m not alone. I’m going to slow it down and keep working on it. It feels like total defeat at the moment! 🙁
Hey Melinda, thanks for sharing your experiences. Your motivation to continue learning is inspiring and great to hear, amongst the difficulties. We’ll keep this lesson at the forefront for updating with slower play along content. Your sharings help us prioritize the improvements.
In the meantime, I made a rough audio track playing this tune at 3 different speeds with metronome – 46, 52, and 60 bpm
https://soundcloud.com/jocelyn-martens-374027408/bile-em-cabbage-down/s-ioGba12WXSy?si=879ea136cef04096a6bb62060c670a98&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
Thanks for the slower track. This made it possible to play along while learning.
Good to hear, Rachel. Enjoy the learning process 🙂
This 3-speed audio track was exactly what I needed to get a good feel for this variation. I don’t have it quite yet, but it’s coming along nicely. Reading all the previous comments here is also a help to me. Thanks for all you do!
Thanks for sharing what has helped, Dee, and that you’re on a path that’s working for you 🙏🏼
I love this tune and most of all I love the tone of the notes that is coming out of my fiddle.Thank you very much for making that happen!
Thank you for always posting this group lessons! I typically miss it because of work. I had a lot of fun learning how to apply the Improve Playground concepts!
Looks like a great lesson and I’m anxious to work with it!
Finally getting to bow again after January shoulder replacement! I’ve kept up with ear training by humming and recently, with a piano keyboard. I love the way your modules are organized (on 1.4 now) and use them to guide my practice. I really like the way you have organized the modules and I use them to “interweave” –Warm up with scales and intervals, and a favorite familiar tune, then work on new tunes and call and response, often alternating these.
The hardest part of playing for me is developing an ear and remembering tunes. The best parts of this lesson for me were the mental triggers and the concept of the tortoise and the hare. I have been working on my own cards with notes: Starts on, Ends on; Lowest note, Highest note, and Dominant note (most frequent.) I’m going to add the first two or three notes of the A and B parts. I am printing out the written music for the back side of the card for when I’m really stuck.
I can easily get overwhelmed with two many things at one time or too many options. I’m not sure if using cards for practice tip reminders will help me. I do love getting the lessons though because I then apply those techniques to my practice as I go through the module– i.e., play intervals slow and fast and play sections of tunes slow and fast.
As always, thanks for your amazing lessons and energy. PS love hearing you sing to baby Veda. So happy for you all.
Went to use videos. But they are not working
Hi Denise, thanks for mentioning this. Can you try the videos again and see if they work for you now? I am not seeing the issue on my end. If it’s still an issue, we’ll help get it sorted.
These tunes and rhythms stuck in my head all Found I was humming them. 😊😊😊
So fun.
Amazing, yet again .. wonderful tips on learning and remembering. The index cards look increibly helpful, so I will start that today. Really appreciate the incredible helpful tips.
Great explanation. I put a tuning app on my iPad.
I received an electronic violin for Christmas. I got a shoulder rest for it.
Just completed the first lesson. I have gone through a 14 day lesson book. I am glad I found your site on utube. I like doing the rhythms today.
My note reading skills are basic and I’ve struggled with reading and understanding various types of scales, sharps, L2 etc. So now I am going to focus on the Note Reading. I’ve also learned music by trying to memorize whole tunes, without really understanding the learning process. These extremely concise explanations are incredibly helpful to me and I am feeling much better about learning how to relax, breathe and take my time in the learning process. I find the note practice (read the music section, play the music section, play without reading) very helpful.
I’ve always struggled with the sharps, etc., this helps tremendously .. the fog is clearing up!!
I love this tune and am enjoying practising along with the play along track. Besides enjoying the challenge of keeping up the speed, which I am achieving with great enjoyment, I really enjoy the additional musical sounds that add to the richness of the practice. Interesting to start with the DO string, which adds another element to the learning of this music … playing the change adds to my learning “outside” the strict learning that I had previously employed. Having lots of fun now.
Wow, that is an *awesome* melody! Somehow the phrasing and bowing seem to fall together naturally, too. I see now that the klezmer mode, at least in this song, is essentially a harmonic minor scale ending on the V. Beautiful!
l love this tune.Its one i can play!!!!
Great to hear, Karen!
Jason, just saw the TikTok singing video- so happy for you guys! My absolute best to ya’ll, and to Veda.
Would you mind telling how to pronounce ‘Veda’- is it ‘vay-da’??
I have never loved scales more. The pentatonic scales and the drone and call and response have all helped me improve. I look forward to advancing!
Yes, Margo. So good to hear you are loving these aspects of playing 🙂
Jason, thanks for the encouragement. I’m learning ‘Whiskey Before Breakfast’.
The idea of learning chunks is good. I’m learning to slow down, taking one chunk at a time, repeating and repeating
(looping). Makes a big difference. I tend to want to move on. But you are right, looping a difficult part teaches me quicker.
I’m going to try to be consistent with ‘Play Every Day’.
Really enjoy your course.
Robert
Watched this replay. Take away: alternate scale with sections of the tune. Love messing with the
Pentatonic scale.
Thanks for everyone’s feedback on their experience with this lesson and how fast it is being taught. I completely agree that makes it really tough to participate. We will look into getting the audio tracks posted in a slower manner to support learning. Stay tuned 🙂
I found this difficult because even though I was following the notes, the notes were not slurred, but the play-along was. My brain and fingers were confused as I tried to slur in the places I was hearing, but not seeing the slurred notes confused my fingers. Very frustrating.
I’ve been loving this course! I started off my fiddle journey learning from books but having your videos to be able to see and hear what I should be doing has really accelerated my learning! I appreciate all the breakdowns of songs to practice them in parts and other tools like the drone tracks. I also really enjoy your style of teaching! Thank you!
Girl who broke my heart
Thank you so much!!
I’m loving your teaching style and tools. I really needed to go back to the fundamentals.
It’s making so much more sense (and better sound too).
Grateful to be part of this ride.
Juli (in CO)
Ps-congrats on your lil one
Well, made it this far, and it’s been fun (99.4% of the time)!
So beautiful Joanne, thanks for going back and sharing this piece you did. It sounds like a roaring fiddle orchestra 🙂
It feels so good to be able to play what I could not play before!
Tam Lin – Fiddle Lesson
Love the video! From The Beatles to REM – awesome! 😅
I did it!!!! I learned Wheels on the Bus by ear!! So excited and encouraged. I have to say it took me listening to it repeatedly many, many times. I’m embarrassed to remember how long I spent on it, but it paid off and I’m happy!!
thanks, Jason!!
Ah I finally figured out that on the third ‘note’, the A2-D1 double stop, that you have your first finger on both strings. I was having a terrible time quickly moving that first finger from the E to B. But now I see you have that first finger on both strings, like you do for the first two notes, and you just lift your second finger when you move the bow to the A string. It’s still very difficult for me though.
Great point, NewCheri!
Yes I agree that is a difficult transition. Glad your going deep into it and growing with it. Thanks for sharing with us. It could be fun to try creating alternate variations and see what arises 🙂
This is a recording i did last year of Swallowtail Jig. I played the main part, a harmony variation and bass fiddle part as detailed on Jason’s Duets Lessons plus I then added another 2 tracks of back up chords so there’s 5 of me in total!
This was tough for me..too fast . ill work on the slower version.
This was wonderful. I could not play Kerfunken Jig with the right timing. But I played along with someone in their video and in just a few minutes I could play it.
That’s awesome lin k! Ultimate community collaboration 🙂
Could you please pop some tabs up for this tune as well as the sheet music?
Thanks for reaching out Joanne. I am seeing there is sheet music available for this session now, and I will put your tab suggestion on our request list to add here in the future. Cheers~
Hi Jason,
I think the video replay here is from the lesson on Auld Lang Syne rather than Bill Cheatham?
Thanks for speaking up about this, Joanne. We will get it swapped and let you know.
I think I would use these to scan for ideas when writing down what to practice the next day. I often forget about improvisation. I think the best way to advance is to become your own teacher like you say. The resources listed in this area would be very helpful. Don’t know where it would fit in but I also try to figure the key and chords when practicing a tune.
It was surprising that I could actually hear the sound of the different strings. And at the end when it was so long I decided it was easier to play them with yoiu so I know which direction I was going rather than try to remember the whole thing. I noticed others had hard time recalling them too.
Hi Linda, Yes it’s not an easy process when getting to the longer phrase schemes. That’s a neat way you altered the challenge to make it work better in the moment. We will keep this lesson on our radar to adjust and help make more user friendly for everyone asap. Thanks for sharing how you did with it. Ciao for now~
Hi! I’m planning to attend the office hours today. I’ve got a question to submit but I don’t see the tab that you reference above?
Great point Kate, we will get this fixed. Thanks so much for notifying us.
Thank you for the chords.
I’m learning very slowly, but I don’t seem to be getting any worse. Have “looped” “call& response” exercises many times. Am finding the whole learning process enjoyable. A great program that I would recommend.
I’m the exact same! I’ve spent several months on the first couple of modules, and am doing my best to work through the material slowly so I know I’ve got it down before moving on (which is the complete opposite of how my brain likes to work, haha). Some days I feel like I’m not making any progress, and other days I feel like it’s almost too easy, but when I take a step back and think about how I sounded the month before, I realize I am actually getting better. I would definitely recommend recording yourself every once in a while so you have an actual record of how you’re progressing 🙂
I wish I had found your site a long time ago! I would be so much farther along as a fiddle player. Thank you!!!
Cool tune. It kind of sounds like the nautical cousin of Kerfunken Jig.
I played the violin as a child. I enjoyed it but it was a chore. No longer. Now grown up and picking up the violin again, I want to thank you Jason for putting the play back into play. Violin is a joy and no longer a chore. Great rhythms!
The Ab scale is a nice challenge, since it requires a good, strong stretch of the fingers on the G string in particular for decent intonation.
I’m excited to see how these cards develop, and I’m already enjoying using them.
How are you using the cards? I’m curious about the process….
Like Grace, playing every day is not a problem for me as I would miss my fiddle fix otherwise! I actually missed a day this last week as we were travelling back to the UK from our winter retreat in Southern Spain & after 10 hours at the wheel, my arms needed some rest. I made a silly mistake of leaving my fiddle in a cold vehicle overnight & the strings slackened causing the bridge to move, fortunately the sound peg stayed put! Took me 30 minutes or so to get it back in tune whilst playing in our cabin on the ferry! I’m now catching up on all the group lessons I’ve missed. I learn by ear & my ongoing challenge is to read music, which I can only slowly work out at the moment.
Was struggling quite a bit with the D-Eb-F-D figure – intonation all over the place! – until I realized I can basically bar Bb and F with my index finger on L1 and almost keep it there. I still have to build up speed, but that really stabilized my intonation.
Great technique/trick Pete, so true, one can anchor with low 1st throughout the tune. Thanks for sharing this wit us 🙂
Playing every day has never been a problem for me. It’s almost an obsession. I watch VERY LITTLE TV, and truly enjoy playing the violin. I’m currently trying to analyze my study and learning patterns to help me memorize music more easily. I’m a well educated person and have hit a real stumbling block with being able to learn by ear.. I have no intention to give up so I’m pondering how I studied years ago and am trying to figure out how to swing from how I learned facts to how to grasp tone and tunes without the notes written in front of me. Back to the call and response——-
Grace, I always enjoy your comments!
Like you, I’m working on how to reassess my learning skills so that I can learn a little faster. I’m not looking to be a speed demon, but the tedium of constant repetition is sometimes discouraging. I do a lot of reading in brain resilience and learning music (mostly to understand learning), and I have concluded that at our age, we may need to look for different kinds of learning strategies. I’m hoping this new project of Jason’s will help me along this journey. It’s exciting to be searching for novel ways to learn!
I had never heard of that before. Thank you.
Really liked the call and response,
That was fun!
Way to be, Lin!
Wow, kinda surprised and excited to realize that Exercises 9-11 take us into the keys of Ab and Db!! 😀
Having fun with this already, improvising melodies in Bb and Eb pentatonic scales over the drones!
The tiktok video isn’t as controllable as other tracks, I can’t go back, only listen through and pause.
Good point Taryn, thanks for mentioning this, we’ll keep it in mind when posting videos for learning purposes. Happy Fiddling 🙂
This is good!
I always love these CNR videos and exercises, and this one seemed especially good in it’s fiddleosphy and the selection of “bits” to try. Nice!
This was fun! I love the play along.
Great lesson,fine old tune. Learned it from my grandmother.
Great lesson, thank you.
I wonder about the purpose of the first two videos in the learning chunks section. The sound track is not working.
Thanks for mentioning this Margaret. It seems those videos in the learning chunks are to help explain what it looks like as well as tips on what to do before trying the exercise using the bow. And the use of them right in with the exercises is so that one can focus on these methods while playing the audio track.
I am curious what sound track is not working on your end, is it the audio for the first 2 exercises? Sometimes if the sound isn’t working for me, I’ll click the red circle with downward arrow, that takes me to another page with the audio track, and that usually always works. Could also try reloading this page.
Well I really enjoyed the challenge of playing the complete Jig along to the music. I did freeze up and got some off key sounds as I tried to keep up. So I think this means that I will need to slow down and work in the chunks so that I am more at ease. Although, I must say that, even though my sound isn’t that great, I am having fun. I hadn’t played for about 3 years, so I am also happy that the music is still there for me and I am having so much enjoyment in the learning. My fiddle (I have 3 and always play with my favourite one) now stays in the kitchen, not in another room. That, to me, is progress!!
Fun to play! Easy to play along.
Perhaps “is helpful” would be the better choice of words since I’ll be working on these exercises for a while.
This was helpful. Thank you.
Wow … didn’t me take long to get the first part. Thank you Jason.
Great lesson. Love this tune. Thanks Jason
This is so good, I feel like I should read a small version of it every time I practice. Thank you, Jason, for reminding me it’s a process.
Starting small is best.
I love this lesson. I know I did it before but I’m glad to be back here. Funny how returning sometimes makes for a great opportunity to improve … all part of the here and now I guess.
Great sharing and reflection, Margaret. Returning in the now can bring a new and fresh experience 🙂
Congratulations, Jason, to you both and the little one!
Love the meditation. Very calming and helpful to get focused. Definitely provide more as you can.
Thanks for the journey, Cindy
I am enjoying this so much! love they way you break it down. Thank you!!
A fiddle lesson from a hospital waiting room. A life lesson. I’m so deeply happy to be part of this community. 🙂
What lovely news. You are certainly embarking on a wonderful adventure. Wishing you both and the baby great happiness and fulfillment. Thank you so much for your personal touch in Fiddlehed. I value your work and guidance immensely and you have made such a difference to my fiddle journey, thank you Jason. 😊
These bowing exercises are new to me and greatly enhance my understanding of better bowing, extremely helpful.
Congratulations! Thank you for sharing!
Some tricky exercises there. Good practice! Did wish the volume level was higher on the exercises.
Hey Pete, thanks for sharing your experiences.
What I do when playing with tracks is hook my device (phone, tablet, laptop) up to a speaker (whether via a wire or bluetooth) and it greatly improves my ability to hear while I am playing along with the tracks. Another method would be to use headphones/earbuds and have one ear listening through the headphones and one ear out to hear myself.
Such a wonderful time… many congratulations to you and Melissa. And thank you for the inspiration. Rick Rubin seems like such an interesting guy… and what a career! I would imagine he’d have so many insights about the creative process. My thoughts are with you as you embark on this wonderful journey.
The best teachers may be those with a love of learning. Thoughts with you today, Jason.
Playing with the drone and focusing on playing the d created a strong sense of calm. One with the music….
Wow, what an inspiring post. Such great messages for us as we are on this journey to play beautiful music. This is definitely one to bookmark or print to read again whenever we are feeling frustrated and impatient with our progress. I love the first tree best 😀
Jason, very inspiring post today! So many messages in it, I think I’m going to print it out to reread when I need a reminder.
Also, the artwork is absolutely mesmerizing, I can’t decide which tree I like the best! Who is the artist?
Finally, CONGRATS!!! I’ve been keeping you and Melissa in my thoughts for this wonderful event to happen and now it is!!
Thank you for the encouragement. Blessings on your new baby
Wow .. I’ve been working through the plucking the peri-diddle, the bowing and think I have been playing for about 2 plus hours! Found myself stepping to the bowing practises, unconsciously! I think that this shows how effective your instructions are!
Previously I tried way too hard in learning the fiddle. Today I started the free 14 day course as a beginner, finished the plucking and peri-diddle and found myself actually having fun in playing the fiddle and not mired in rules. Actually enjoying the practise …. Jas’n you are the most incredible teacher!!!!
Hmm, another lesson that doesn’t register as Complete no matter what I do. That’s disappointing after doing all the exercises and the Supplemental Video. 🙁
Good to know this Pete. We’ll see what we can do to fix this. Thanks for your help in improving how this site works.
The volume level on these exercises is too low. I had to max out the volume on my good quality smartphone and they were still almost impossible to hear when I started playing along. 🙁
love this tune and how it is broken up!! I enjoy my practice sessions so much!!
Love this lesson, saving my money for an annual subscription before I’m 60. Dang, my hands are tired in a great way. Thank you Jason for the free FiddleHed
Hey Jason, I tried this today and it really helped me rediscover why I love the fiddle. I work a lot on skills and techniques so I will use this to keep my love of fiddling alive when I get too deep into all that skill building stuff. Thank you!
So refreshing to hear, Josie. Thanks for sharing~
So much truth. I wish I had been told this stuff a long time ago. I was always told, practice 30 minutes every day, if you want be good. But no direction or focus, other to work on a specific song. Thank you for this!
This is awesome! Thank you for the motivation!!
Thanks folks, the correct link is here: https://fiddlehed.com/how-to-practice-music/fiddling-with-chords-and-melodies/
I fixed this on the chord central page
Great question! I agree w/Jason’s and Rick’s responses. I started on the fiddle Feb. 7, 2022 and started w/FiddleHed on May 2, 2022. In Sept. 2022, I was invited to attend a local bluegrass jam (they’ve been doing this weekly jam for their 21st year now). But they don’t have many fiddle players, so they’ve been especially welcoming and supportive to me. For my first song, I picked “I’ll Fly Away” (in G), and I practiced w/the FiddleHed lesson and full playback and also Strum Machine. Pick a simple song you can learn to play solidly. In the jam, it will be received better if you play it at a slower tempo that you can play solidly rather than trying to play it faster, but you can’t hold the tempo and play the song solidly. They’ve all been there with starting so they understand! Then, when you’re not playing the melody, start by playing just the root note of the chord of the measure (you could use this time to “practice” quiet long bows). Or you can “chop” on the off beats (any mandolins there would be doing this). If you don’t know the song, try to listen to anyone there playing bass, the bass person is holding the chord, listen especially for what the bass is playing on the 1 and 3 beats of a 4 beat measure. I hope this helps! Don’t give up, keep trying w/it!!!
Great technique for jams that are maybe just a bit above our skill level. I think listening and playing backup chords really help and just sitting in on the sessions trains your mind to move a little faster. Although you may need to sit in a few sessions before you feel comfortable doing it, when it is your turn to lead a tune, don’t defer! Then set the tempo at your comfort level. It won’t hurt all those speed demons to play one correctly at a slower tempo!
Great lesson! One of my favorite uses of the pentatonic scale is George Harrison’s intro to Octopus’s Garden. I’m fiddlin’around with it in D instead of the original E. 🙂
Fun exercises, but on the longer ones I can’t remember all the notes. I know what notes are being played when I hear them, but the string is too long to repeat. Also, some of the pauses between are too short for us to play the return unless we speed it up. That’s fine on the shorter ones, but I tend to play the longer ones slower because I’m trying to remember the pattern. Loving the lessons overall though!
Thanks for sharing Cheri, we will work on adding more time for the responses when we can. Please refer to my reply to Steve further below this for suggestions to learn the longer patterns. Have fun and keep trying 🙂 Another idea would be to learn the pattern in chunks – try to get the first part of it, then work on the last part on its own, then try again to put it all together.
Should the bow be tilted for tremelo?
It looks/sounds like you’re using trills vs. vibrato in different spots in the tune. Am I hearing that correctly? Would vibrato work just as well, or do you use trills because of the need for speed? Thanks.
Usually, I am not a fan of looping, but I have enjoyed using your different practice sessions. Indeed once I get into a groove, I feel like I am just making music and fiddling away. Thank you for this breakdown @Jason!
That’s a neat idea!
I don’t see audio for the second quarter!
Hello Josué,
Thanks for mentioning this. We’ll get this added when we can.
In the meantime, hopefully you can make use of the full play along track to help learn that section as well as the sheet music and tabs.
The 2nd quarter mimics the 1st quarter other than the last 4 notes: D1-1-0–0– (instead of D1-0-1–1-01)
Wow, this tune’s fun, and really perfect for practicing moving between Low and Regular finger positions!
I think it would be very helpful to include a link to the play along tutorial page!
Thanks for everyone’s feedback and help with linking to the video for this post.
We will get the content edited above.
Together we make this all happen 🙂
What a great lesson! If I would have looked at the sheet music first, I would have been intimidated that the song was above my ability, but I was surprised with Jason, Pete, and others’ guidance how much of the main melody I could pick up from listening to the video.
OK now I’m hooked!😆🎻
Hi! Just a heads up – “Frosty Morning variation” is missing the section with the full play-along tracks/sheet music! The full play shows up in the TuneFinder but it’s not on the song page under “Full Content” 🙂
Greetings Megan, thank you. It looks like it may be there now. Here’s a link for the audio aswell:
/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Frosty_Morning_Variation_fullmix.mp3?_=58
Thanks for helping make Fiddlehed more user friendly 🙂
Thanks! I still don’t see anything, it just says:
Full content
Below you will find full play-along tracks with fiddle at high and low volume (so you hear yourself more), full tabs, and full sheet music.
I will try a different browser?
I must be missing something. Unfortunately, I can’t find the “Here’s a short tutorial to explain further.” link.
Hello Texashoppy! Yes great point, we’ll get this added asap. In the meantime, this similar post may be helpful:
https://fiddlehed.com/contact-help-new/how-to-use-fiddlehed/how-to-mark-lesson-pages-as-favorites-or-things-to-review/
I love irish fiddle!! I had so much fun familiarizing myself again with Britches Full of Stitches and O’Keefe’s Slide. Great tunes!
Hi Jason,
I participated in the Student Hangout on Sunday, 1/15 and met some nice folks to practice with. How can I find them on this site so that I can message them and set up goals for the next hangout?
Thank you! Barb Heskett
Thanks for mentioning this Barb.
There’s some options for this; one great method is to go to the Student Groups page under the Community tab at the top of Fiddlehed site and join a group that is of interest/related to your skill level and post an inquiry on there to make connections with the people you met as well as more Fiddlehed members that could have similar interests as you for organizing yourselves in whatever way works for you. We can also add your post to an email newsletter to help guide people to your post/inquiry (please remind us through [email protected] for newsletter additions).
Here’s a link to the page: https://fiddlehed.com/groups/
Also, at the next student hang out we could try to link your same/similar group together and during those sessions it’d be good to exchange contact information with folks who want to do that.
We’re still getting acquainted with how to help folks get connected in the best ways possible so feel free to reach out with recommendations anytime. Thanks for your involvement 🙂
Another solid, systematic lesson, but with quite a few discrepancies between the sheet music and the audio clips in the Exercises. Might confuse some students.
Hey Pete, thanks for pointing this out, I can see that too. We’ll work on this asap. Glad your enjoying it anyways! Happy fiddling 🙂
I like the drone practice. Since I don’t read music, it’s important for me to hear the tone and sing along.
I’m wondering if you could have a complete back-up track for Boil?
Thanks for inquiring Christi, good point that hasn’t been added here. We’ll look into getting this added when possible. 🙂
Thanks
There is a full tune audio available above. Is this similar to the track you were inquiring to receive?
Just listening and watching everyone else in the playback makes me feel so much better!! Until finding fiddlehed, I struggled immensely with feeling dumb and really slow. Now I have learned, it’s just part of the process. Thank you!!
OK, here I am, leaving a comment! 😉 Now back to remembering and “re-practicing” these tunes!
Tremolo is the most challenging so far…it’s so fast!
i appreciate all the practice tips.
jan
Thanks for sharing, Jan. Simple tips make practising more approachable 🙂
Wow, I really like the drone practicing. It works great to get your playing and ear in tune. Good idea!
I had never heard this song before, and I absolutely love it! Such a beautiful, haunting melody! I love the way you break it down into chunks for us to learn. It makes it so much easier!
These exercises are fine, but for me I find it more effective to practice double-stops by playing a D-G-(D)-A-D chord progression, so I then have to move across strings. If I want to add fingering practice to it, I use 0-1-L2 on the upper string in each double-stop to give it a Blues feel. 🙂
Pete, that’s great, thanks for sharing. It’s so beneficial to hear the ways it works for us.
I won’t be able to attend office hours today. Have been working on learning chords for Blackest Crow in A major but am having some difficulty coordinating the chords with the melody. Could you post the sheet music with the chords written above it by any chance. Thank you
Hello, thanks for sharing your experience and request. I will add this (blackest crow sheet music in A major with chords) to our request list to consider for Fiddlehed in the future. Another method to obtain this is to book a customized service with me and I can create this content for you. Feel free to email [email protected] to discuss further.
And if you can figure it out, it’d be great to hear how it went 🙂
Does the length of time for a quarter note change with the tempo?
Hey Pat! I’m a beginner fiddler but know some basic music theory so I thought I’d reply 🙂
The answer is yes! The faster the tempo, the shorter the length of your quarter note.
If you’re played quarter notes over and over at a tempo of 60 beats per minute (BPM) you would have to play 60 quarter notes every minute ( one quarter note per second). If you were playing the same thing at 120 BPM you’d play 120 quarter in a minute so your quarter notes would have to be played twice as fast – two per second. So at 60 BPM your quarter note would last a second and at 120 BPM your quarter note would last 1/2 a second etc.
Hope I understood your question right and that helps. 🙂
Thanks for asking Pat & appreciate you answering this so well Mark! 🙂
Thanks Mark! Sorry I’m a little slow getting back to you. I really appreciate your detailed answer. It makes sense to me now.
Hi Jocelyn,
My lesson is tomorrow and I’m just now reading through this technical stuff. I have used Zoom many times for work meetings so I’m comfortable with that but I probably won’t have any other special gear. My husband may have something I can use so I’ll check with him first, but wanted to let you know that. Also, I have tinnitus mainly in my right ear and am sensitive to loud sounds so I’m a little hesitant to use head phones or ear buds anyway. I always play with musicians’ ear plugs in.
Thanks very much. See you tomorrow.
It was great working with you Josie, and the sound worked out fine without the additional mic/headphones. A simple microphone can make a good difference in the quality of sound being transmitted. And using headphones or not, they can be configured in zoom settings quite easily.
Here’s a couple short videos explaining this:
Zoom audio settings without headphones:
https://www.loom.com/share/6acc9ac3c5af4820b986e2053d5508c4
Zoom audio settings with headphones:
https://www.loom.com/share/9956f8ffe4024b0c823f3b7a785222af
This has been a great year in the fiddling journey. Thank you Jason and fiddlehed! Looking forward to 2023!
Great lesson. Couldn’t get dialed in go the original posting.
Hope you all have a happy twenty Fiddling three!!!!!!
Love this!❤️Thank you Jason ! Happy New Year !
How do you know when it’s time to upgrade your violin?
Hi Vera, thanks for inquiring.
I’d trust my senses in seeking out an upgrade like this. And it’s always worth going into the stores/visiting luthiers to try out other instruments/bows so you can have a sense of the difference.
My experience has been, upgraded instrument between 4-5 years of steady playing, then upgraded again at about 10 years. These decisions were supported/recommended through the teachers I was with at those times.
Happy fiddling 🙂
Thrilled to have become a FiddleHed early this year, just a few months after I started learning fiddle! What a fantastic community, guided by an amazing teacher in Jason! Really looking forward to going and growing as a FiddleHed in 2023. Happy New Year!
I really like playing with the drone and like that your play along track has a guitar in it. I’m a guitar playing dad, who’s keeping up with his young daughters learning classical violin, but personally like fiddle music better, so ultimate goal is to play my guitar with my kids on fiddle around the camp fire. So I’m learning the fiddle songs first, then teaching the kids, then back to guitar, lol. Need more time in life…Your lessons are fantastic. This is a fun easy song to start the family band on. thanks.
reviewing chords 1. v helpful. chris I
This is a great tune. I liked playing starting on the A string and then playing it starting it own the G string.
Wow!! I wish I had read your blog a year ago. I was paying for lessons and seeing very little improvement. I was frustrated, loosing interest, disappointed and no confidence at all. Thank you so much for all you share! Love your content and how you teach!
The hardest part of bowing is when you first start moving the bow on a note. Most of the time I notice a tinny sound on the E or A string. I don’t notice it when the bow is already moving before I put it to the string.
Way too fast is what I think. Also, I find it sounds peculiar and I’ve not the experience or knowledge to determine why I feel this way. In any case, It’s not a recording that encourages me to ‘play along’ with, which is my primary reason for being here, especially during the beginning stages. I also get the same experience with other tracks of other tunes. Challenge is great at some point but why so soon?
I’m afraid I’ll just end up trying to struggle along on my own again. Not fun.
Why did you change the key in the hornpipe version? Is it because of the style or because a part is easier to do in that key?
Thanks for the fun call-and-response lesson!
(I’m referring to the hornpipe sheet music on this page, because I think you played it in the same key on your Twitter video.)
K, I promise this’ll be my last comment, but I just love this lesson! So, with apologies to Kool & The Gang, let’s do it!…”Au-di-a-tion time, come on!…” 😃👍
More seriously after my last comment, even though audiation comes pretty naturally to me because of rigorous ear-training as a Music student in college, I’ve found in the one year since I started learning fiddle that, to my surprise, I’m now able to pick up my fiddle, bow a fingered note, and generally know if I’m in tune before I even play an open string. I sure don’t have perfect pitch, so it seems like the open string pitches have become implanted in my head, which I think is a fascinating form of audiation that I never imagined.
Time to channel my Dean Martin! “When…you…walk down the street, and you hum something sweet, that’s…audiation!” 😅
Wow! thanks for this ted talk by Eveleyn Glennie… I’d heard the name but had no idea…. what an amazing woman!
I’m barely one year in to fiddling and am thrilled at how this has reignited musical skills I learned nearly 50 years ago as a Music major, but never used in my career. (I’m recently retired.) So this lesson hits me deeply, and gives me yet another reason to be very thankful that I came across FiddleHed.
I also did the 50 year hiatus thing! Played violin from age six to twelve, and then not again until age 62. Just a short break. LOL.
I’m going to start this program again. This time with more commitment.
Good! We are doing some updates to the course organization now. Mainly improving the tracking.
Hello Jason! Are all the bow hairs supposed to be flat on string? Or is it only part of the width of hairs hitting the string? I never know what to do or practice. New to Fiddlehed!
Hi Jason
I’d be grateful to know the other reels to complete the set
Best Simon
I _love_ the full play along tracks, VERY helpful 🙂🎻
Is there a way to open the Fiddlehed site, sign-in, and then go directly to the lesson I was on the day before, instead of trying to maneuver the site and go through a bunch of pages first?
Thanks,
Steve
Sheet music please!!
Just so I understand correctly, this (2.2) is the next lesson after the 2.1 Fourth Finger lesson?
It is so different from 2.1, I wanted to be sure.
Thanks,
Steve
Good lesson, but here’s a mundane question: How can I mark this lesson as Complete so the donut graphic for Mod 2.2 will show as 100%?
Oh how I love this tune
This is really helpful – thank you! 🙂
wow this is a challenge what a beautiful tune! This is definitely my mission this Christmas! Thank you for another great lesson!
Love working with call and response! Huge challenge!
Yay! This was so fun. What a sense of accomplishment being able to play along. This is such as well-designed course. Thanks, Jason!
Is there a way to turn the drone down or off? I can hardly hear what you are playing? Thanks
I am puzzled by the idea of warming up with G scale when a tune is in A, as happens with the Ballydesmond Polka. Can anyone explain this, please?
I played the fiddle upside down but I was standing on my head so I think it defeated the purpose!
Thank for this article. I especially appreciate the introduction to Evelyn Glennie. I wonder about her several references to deafness. I wonder whether this conference had something to do with people who are deaf.
This is a great warm up. Every day, my ear and my playing improve. So happy. Thanks Jason
Bro I wish this was earlier in the course! I’ve always struggled with putting the individual quarters together and with being too dependent on playing through from the very beginning (i.e., if I mess up I have to start all over). I will definitely use this technique!
Is it just me or is something wrong with the sound of the full content play-along track. I’m doing a review of past lessons and recall that I was disappointed with the sound when I first heard it. I still find it sounds a bit strange.It’s not how I’d like to sound.
Thank you so much for this wonderfully informative article. I am really enjoying rhe article, links, recordings and pictures.
Kudos to you, Jim and Jayson !
This is a fun one! Especially loved the sound of “Britches Full of Stitches” played spiccaaaaaaato! 🙂
My first office hours session. I listened to the recorded version. Very Helpful.
I also like the start button, however, I’m having a hard time marking them as completed. I’ve completed some lessons at least 3 times but there’s still no check mark when I try to track my progress. Any suggestions on how to show as completed?
Thanks!
Love this article. I moved out of an area in Florida that only played old time and landing in the middle of bluegrass in East Tennessee. Jam sessions have been an challenge. I never had to play “breaks” or sing before. All new. This article puts is all in perspective. Thanks.
This is great! Thanks for sharing.
This was terrific – thanks so much for all the info!
Thank you for all these lessons. Never associated vibrato with sliding. Makes much sense.
Jason, definitely helpful to add the fingering as well as the color to repeated parts! Thanks for all the learning tips!
Cindy
Outstanding article and very informative. Thank you !!!!
What a wonderful article. Thank you.
This is a comment / question I have a really old fiddle that was given to me it has geared tuners on it is fully intact but fragile wood not play it but was played alot during its younger years finger board has dips on it from being played so much for a very long time anyway was just wandering if you’ve ever seen or heard of one set up with geared tuners
Hi
I don’t know why you are asking me about this. Did you hit the wrong reply button? in any case, what I do know is that my Best Buddy installed a set of geared tuners on a cheap violin about ten years ago. He purchased the product from George Hienyl ( or Heinyl – I’m not sure of the correct spelling). Apparently there were several types of tuner available but not all would be suitable for a valuable instrument since alteration to the instrument would be required, not something to do on a fine old violin I’d guess.
The Heinyl company has been around a long time and might be a source of information for you. They are located in Toronto, Canada and known for high quality, at least they were ten years ago. Times are changing so it’s hard to be sure these days I guess.
challenging Tune but I learned a lot and improved intonation with 4th finger
I think A1-2-3-1 sounds like A1-3-2-1. Is part of the exercise to notice typos? Just wondering.
Good find Margaret, thanks for helping out by mentioning the error, we’ll get that adjusted. 🙂
I found these exercises especially helpful, the drone not so much. Am I alone in not finding drone exercises relaxing? I find myself becoming quite tense, especially when the drone sound is stronger than the violin.
I found these expertises especially helpful, the drone not so much. Am I alone in not finding drone exercises relaxing? I find myself becoming quite tense, especially when the drone sound is stronger than the violin.
This was originally a Ukrainian folk chant, ‘Shchedryk’ (The Little Swallow), sung for the new year.
Wonderful Irish variations!! I also enjoyed mixing these with the chords you taught ✨👏🤩
No matter what speed you play this in it still sounds beautiful!
Very Helpful!
Too advanced for me. Will seek another level, easier tune.
Good idea. Remember: You can’t do it YET…but soon you will…
Oh I so love everything about this this lesson that I might just start my day with it. I have no doubt that the tune will soon be in my memory. Thank you for the beautiful sound.
Margaret Sharon
Was the chat scheduled In
advance? Newbie here
Hi Brenda, I think you may be referring to the chat that is discussed during the practise journey? When the session is live on zoom, they have a chat function during it for communicating. The chat from the live session isn’t posted afterwards. Feel free to put any input into this comment area to continue any discussions that were had during that session, or whatever else arises for you to share. Hope you can make it to some live sessions where you’ll experience the interacting that you see happening on these replays. Thanks 🙂
Just finished Call and Response 1.2- Love this ear training! I click the little down arrow so I get the screen where I can move the slider so I can repeat difficult patterns over and over until I get them. Sometimes helps to take a break and come back.
I’m loving this too!
I love this too.😊
Would you encourage learning Kerfunken Jig with 4th finger? I’ve never thought about it until I saw a video above and now clocking it more mentally.
Hello Karin,
Practising the 4th finger can be helpful and practising with it in any tune can be a great way to work on that skill.
This tune doesn’t seem to be of more benefit for using the 4th finger instead of open strings so one could go either way with it. Have fun!
I love this lesson! Thank you!!
I definitely have a lot less control on A-E strings.
Double Down means playing two strings at once I explain to my granddaughter.. So she asks me “does that mean that you can play two different songs”? Way too funny.
I usually practice every morning just after breakfast, it’s my favourite time of day 😃I enjoy all these challenges, Jason however I am a little behind schedule due to being sick with Covid for a couple of weeks, so I am extending my practice challenge into November if that’s ok 🙂 Thanks for your inspiration 😃
I love all the Call-and-Response videos because they’re letting me dust off eartraining skills I learned decades ago but then never used in my career unrelated to music. But *this* video is the best so far. The vibe, the message, and the change-up in keys are all great!
I’ve played drums for over 20 years, so these rhythm sections are feeling natural to me. But it’s super cool to be able to transfer that over to a new instrument.
These are so helpful. I also use them to hum responses or say the notes to myself just for ear training and memory. Using ear phones for my phone, I can do this anywhere–waiting for the dentist, having tea, in the morning before I get out of bed.
I was successful in the challenge in that I played everyday and I really improved. The main change I made is that I prioritized my music practice to be first thing in the day instead of waiting till the end of the day. Often at the end of the day I have a hard time sitting down and getting to my instruments. By playing first thing I actually got it done every day and played much much longer. Starting is the hard part. Also the music was in my head all day so I was likely to play later in the day as well.
I focused on memorizing several tunes that I can play in the bluegrass group I belong to. Currently I play backup guitar but would prefer to play my fiddle. In addition to memorizing them I’m at the beginning stages of chords so that I can play backup and not just the melody on those tunes.
Note – I noticed during the Oct Hootenanny that Blackberry Blossom is a really good tune to practice chords on because there are a lot of chord changes. Thanks Jason and Jocelyn – great workshops, Hootenanny and practices.
Thanks for mentioning this Chris and Michael, we’ll work on getting those video loops functioning.
Just finished Module 1.1 and I am down on my knees jump up and shout with gratefulness and joy. I tried the fiddle a number of years back and stuck with it for about two years before letting it go. I am good to go with rhythm and bowing, but to say my ear lacks training is an understatement. I tried learning everything by sight and in the end, this only limited my progress and discouraged me. Using your call and response, short chunks, and repeated practice with drones has already improved my ear so much. I use a snark tuner, but try turning if off now and again to make myself rely on careful listening. I also love that the core lessons are laid out for me so each day, I know exactly what I’m going to practice and don’t have to figure this out for myself. That’s my fan letter. Thank you again Jason for your incredible approach and your warm encouragement. You are a cool dude to have “in my house.” Susan
I just finished module 1.1 as well and had the exact same reaction! I was playing on and off for over a year, just teaching myself by playing around and learning from random scraps on the internet, and didn’t have much luck making progress or sticking with a regular routine. I thought I would get bored going back to basics like plucking on open strings, but this course has already taught me so much in such a short time 😀 It’s really nice having a guided plan for practice rather than just figuring things out on your own, and Jason’s been a great teacher!
Glad to hear from a fellow newbie, Susan! I hope your fiddle journey is still going well 🙂
I’ve just finished my 2022 FPC, and I’m feeling very satisfied with the noticeable accomplishments. (Added on two additional days to compensate for a funeral.) The most notable lesson from this FPC is the effectiveness of Jason’s Deliberate Practice approach. I set my timer to 5 minute focused segments with great success.
I really enjoy and benefit from sticking close to Jason’s outlined lesson plan. In the past, this has been my conflicted season: feeling tugged by FPC, ongoing FiddleHed lessons, annual group Christmas project preparation, my approaching December desire to play nothing but Christmas pieces, and the sense of urgency to learn and improve jam group tunes. This year’s FPC unified these forces. I intended to work on and memorize an already-familiar fiddle tune a day, plus practice Christmas music on hammered dulcimer, playing for at least 1/2 hour per instrument per day. By incorporating 9 FiddleHed tunes (which also happen to be jam group tunes), the Christmas project song, and 3 jam tunes, I finally gathered all of my eggs into one neat basket. Very calming!
Two of the non-FiddleHed tunes still need significant work, that’s ok. I unexpectedly learned and memorized two additional tunes! So 14 tunes finally memorized in 14 days, that’s better than I expected! Can’t wait for summer…they’re ready for a festival camp jam right now! I will continue to work up the pace of these tunes with my metronome using the deliberate 5 minute approach to attain the deranged 200 beats per minute that my winter jam friends blaze with! And the Christmas violin piece is fine.
The biggest surprise was my hammered dulcimer work. I fully memorized and learned to play smoothly a complicated level 5 Christmas piece with a real sense of effortless dynamics and expression. I had just taken a class on this piece two days before the practice challenge began. In my dreams, I hoped I’d learn this by Christmas maybe, but here it is!!! Five minute segments did the trick. I also realized that just 30 minutes a day on hammered dulcimer with take me where I want to go with this. A year ago, I would have said that I’m trying to learn the dulcimer; now I solidly feel that I play the hammered dulcimer. A dream come true!
That you, Jason, for all you do!
FPC 2022 I look forward to these every year. I didn’t hit all my goals but I did learn “Whiskey Before Breakfast” by ear that I’m happy with and also “Midnight on the Water” by ear. Didn’t make a video of my starting points but will try to make a video of each of those tunes this week and post them. Wanted to work on beginnings and endings of songs but that fell by the wayside. I was nice to read about everyone’s journey through the challenge.
I thought I would check back in as I successfully completed my October practice challenge and feel I did definitely notice some improvement in my playing. Especially the songs I was working on. I just got started with some of these FiddleHed lessons and Jason ‘s tips I have tried to keep in mind with all of my practicing. Listening to drones seems to have made me appreciate each tone a lot more. I like to play the scale for each song I start to practice now. I have always done loop type practice on difficult song sections,
This is the second time I’ve participated and it’s great!! It gets me back on track after I drift away. Life can be complicated, especially summers, and this has served a much needed reset.
I used the practice period to nail down six tunes I had learned. These were tunes I could play it if I heard the tune, but nothing would come to mind when I set out to play it. I focused on memorizing the beginning of a tune, and every day I just worked on simply strengthening my recall and performance. So now I am thrilled to have six new tunes “in the can,” that I can bring to a jam.
Loved the FPC! I’ve been doing these for the past few years and always enjoyed them. I met my goals in unexpected and rewarding ways.
1. Some California fiddler friends came to town and we got together and jammed every evening for 2 to 3 hours. I played my mandolin, but practiced the pentatonic scales in the common keys we played in: G, D, A, C, and Bb. Yep, even Bb. So my time on instrument goals were definitely met.
2. I played with another jam group that was asked to play at a YMCA Senior Expo….again, I played my mandolin. Too many fiddlers already there! Again, had an opportunity to play the pentatonic scales in those keys and work on songs and scales. Loads of fun and lots of music.
3. After the guests left for California, I got back on my fiddle and worked through Jason’s rhythm workshop, which was challenging but very interesting.
4. Before we went our separate ways, three of us fiddlers created a challenge for ourselves. We each picked a song we want to learn by ear, one that will challenge us. Each of us will learn all three songs. Fiddler #1 picked Bees Wings in Bb; Fiddler #2 picked Booth (Sawmill tuning); and I picked Tam Lin (Dm to learn the string crossings). We will check in monthly via a Zoom meet to check our progress. We’ll meet in person next April to spend a week jamming once again. I plan to use deliberate practice, chaining, scales, and other learning strategies to learn these three songs. Jason’s video on bowing rhythms will also come in handy here.
A successful FPC overall, with some unexpected musical fun and challenges along the way — and some directions to go forward. I must say it was more fun playing with others than sitting here at home and playing by myself.
Cindy
Mostly I’ve kept my promises to myself during this practice-fest. I even went far beyond the twenty minutes a day. What I gave up on were the three practice tunes I chose. While I did manage to lighten up on the fingering I couldn’t seem to improve the sound. I might have improved string crossing by slowing down. As well, I discovered it was much more fun to play along with the videos and audio tracks supplied with the course-supplied tunes. I hadn’t realized how much easier it would be to learn the old favourites I’ve been hearing over time.
All in all I’ve done some pretty happy fiddling during this period.
Im not able to get the video to play, i tried to click on it but it keeps adding and taking away time but not playing. What am i doing wrong?
Ok, i think I’ve got it figured out. (Sorry, just didn’t want to miss anything)
Yay! I made it through the Practice Challenge and I played every day! Most days was 60 minutes or more, a couple days was only 30 minutes. I met my goal of knowing 3 songs from memory and then I moved on to learn Whiskey Before Breakfast. I have the A part down pretty well, didn’t try the B part yet. I also worked with a metronome and it was a frustrating experience. I couldn’t hear it very well and I wasn’t sure if I was in time or not. That needs a lot more practice. Thank you Jason for having the FPC and for all of your emails and nudges!
Okay. Time for some honesty here.
I bit off more than I could chew with my FPC goals:
making double stops sound better
incorporating dips, double stops, slides
and keeping a steady speed.
I ended up just focusing on the steady speed goal. Lots and lots of practice with metronome with D scale and one tune – Arkansas Traveler (which I now officially hate). I had many issues – not being able to hear the metronome over the fiddle sound. So I muted the fiddle. But that sounded odd. None of my many exterior speaker devices wanted to pair with my phone or my computer. More frustration.
The more I practiced the worst it got – my fingers could not “remember” where the notes of the tune are. This afternoon, the worse time, I was nearly at the point of tears. The first time in my fiddle journey!
I said, “Forget this. I like playing the fiddle. I’m playing something for myself.” So I played by ear all the songs we sang at church this morning. The first time through none of them were perfect but after a couple passes I could play them. That’s an accomplishment in my book.
So, for now, I’m going to forget Arkansas Traveler and the metronome. I MAY come back to it later when my artist heart is feeling more secure.
I did play every day more than the 30 minutes. These Challenges are just that – a challenge.
Mary
Well, this challenge went by fast!! I was able to play at least 45 minutes a day, which usually ended up to be over an hour and a half. My goal was partially met… I spent most of my time working on memory and lightening up my fingering,
The best thing about this challenge for me was getting back on track after a scattered summer… I am more focused and ready to continue on my daily playing. Thank you for this, Jason… it has been a good two weeks!
These practice challenges are truly motivating. I try for one hour a day starting with bow strokes, scales, triads and string crossing exercise. Then back to whisky before breakfast. Slowly, slowly Slowly!!!
I’m reading a book called” the practice of practice”. One of the quotes says” if someone can tell what your playing, you’re going too fast”.
I became a FiddleHed early this year, so this was only my second Practice Challenge – and I loved it! I’m coming up on my first year of learning fiddle, so while I’m a uber-newbie, it’s given me a chance to actually use the ear-training skills I learned as a Music major (literally 50yrs ago!), but then didn’t use once in my marketing career (for some reason, lol!). Anyway, the 2022 FPC has helped me strengthen my ear-training even further, along with a solid comfort level using 4th finger. I didn’t spend as much time as I had planned on increasing my speed on some pieces, but I’ll keep that high up in my goals and my practice. Thanks, Jason and fellow FiddleHeds!
Ugh! Angeline is kicking my Fanny! But I have discovered areas of difficulty that are also showing up in other tunes mostly having to do with moving from the A string to D notes. Elementary, eh Watson? So here in is my Desirable Difficulty!
Same for me!
I think this review set is a great idea. With all the previous tunes in one spot they are easier to access.
Appreciate this constructive feedback, Margaret. Happy Fiddling 🎶
This mostly works for me except for the missing last bits in B part. But maybe that’s the way it is supposed to be played, skipping that list bit every second run through? Not a great problem I guess.
Hi Margaret, the last half of part B is meant be included in the tune, thanks for mentioning this again, it’s been a lingering issue and we intent to get it fixed soon in the full play along track. 🙂
I’ve always wanted to do vibrato, but I never thought I could master it. You have given me hope! I practice it everyday, and I’m finally beginning to get it. Thanks
I remember trying to learn this tune MANY years ago when I wasn’t too serious about my fiddle and gave up. Now I am really looking forward to being able to play this lovely song. Thanks Jason. The way you teach the itty bits at a time really helps.
I have been loving your course so much and really can feel my progress now! I can’t wait to keep going, so thank you for all of the content you put on here- keeps it lively and interesting and I’m having lots of fun practicing the tunes!
Emily
This was the best review session yet. I really liked having the list of tunes all together. It would be great if the play along tracks were right there as well – kind of like in the tune index. I’ve been trying to play more by ear, so I tried not to look at the music. I was amazed at how much I actually remembered and at what I had forgotten. Thank you Jason. I have learned so much.
Flying fiddle sticks everyday! Sticking with it is what I’m working on…ear training, listening, bowing, and trying to remember…it will be a forever process for me, part of bringing joy into everyday!
I have made practicing a daily part of my life for about a year now. I used to play fiddle back in my 20s and 30s and kept developing tennis elbow. I’d heal up and then it would come back again. I think in retrospect it was my mind’s way of creating an excuse not to practice — I mean, who can argue with an injury, right? So I put my fiddle away and played very sporadically for the next few decades. Last year I read a book called Stop Doing That Shit by Gary John Bishop and it really changed my life. I learned all about the ways I sabotage my life and began to recognize that even though I really wanted to play the fiddle, I wasn’t, and only I could change that. So, I picked it up and started and haven’t looked back, despite the hard days and the days I sound so bad to myself and the days I was really tired. I’ve missed some, of course, due to illness or being out of town or what have you. But mostly I have played every day. The habit gets easier, although the challenges keep coming, and I definitely still have to talk myself into practicing on many days. Then I’ll play something that brings tears to my eyes, and I’m so glad I didn’t give up. Anyway, to the challenge…I really want to 1) improve my bowing and string crossing 2) continue to work on vibrato, and 3) get over my fear of recording myself. I hate recording myself! I’m always so afraid to listen for fear that it will sound really horrible and then I’ll feel like I’m not making any progress. Does anyone else out there have this fear? If so, do you have any suggestions? Many thanks!
I try to think of the horrible parts as prompts to show me where I need work. It will show you things that need work way better than just listening while you play.
Thanks for that, I often need a bit of inspiration to move my practise on a notch!
Thanks Jason these emails really help me and I look forward to them. Your teacher for this old woman
Hi All, a bit late signing up, but I’ve decided to practice for half an hour before breakfast. Main focus on playing in tune…working my little finger in all strings…fluency and lightening up.
I’m playing Florida Blues and a Welsh tune called Machynlleth at the moment.
The idea of playing before breakfast is part of me starting lengthening the time between last meal of the day and first meal of next day, supposed to be a good thing to do! I’ll let you know at the end of October 🤗🎻💃Mary
This is my first practice recording of Carol of the Bells for Fall Practice challenge
I think you have the spirit of the song.
Awesome, I am having trouble, apparently,grasping the concept of time differences!! Lol! I’m in Memphis ,TN. I thought it was a hour earlier here. But I had already missed the live practice along at 12:30 pmET . The other day on the gram.When I joined at 11:30pm?
Hey, Thanks for bringing this up 🙂
It’s looking like your current time matches the ET current time, when I did a time search.
Be aware though that some of the scheduled times (like the hootenanny in PT) are in a different timezone, sorry if this can be confusing.
All the best in tuning in live and if it doesn’t line up, replays are usually available.
Thank you. That whole section was amazing but I especially enjoyed the response exercises. Much appreciation also for saying,
“You are a fiddler.” For the first time I fee that’s true.
I feel that’s true … I see that’s true.
I had to remove the video loop links. This feature is still unstable and being tested. Sorry about that…
I found three little birds on YouTube but I’m having trouble finding it on fiddlehed in the lessons . Tune finder says no matching record for three little birds. I know it’s in here somewhere , it’s on youtube . I know it’s probably operator error (not the most tech savvy one n the bunch haha). And thanks again for all the work you do.
Hi Tracy, great point. I also see Jason’s lessons on youtube but can’t see anything on the Fiddlehed site. We’ll make note of this and try to get it put up on the site soon. Thanks for your feedback, it helps alot 🙂
I think this might be the case with Spootiskerry as well! I can search for it but its not on the tune finder 😉
Thanks Megan, we’ll get it added
thank you for adding it, love playing it so much!
https://vimeo.com/760018334/
Fun open practice session today! This is Day 5 of the Fall Practice Challenge. I worked on single note rhythms with a metronome and round peak tunes.
Some things other people worked on:
Jennifer: bowing
Tom: Intonation and timing
Dan: Liberty
Pete: Hobart Kitchen Equipment’s Transformation
David: whiskey before breakfast, chaining try with metronome
Deborah: memorizing…and everything!
Joanne: Drops of Brandy, Trying to get it on time with a metronome – struggling with the B part!
mtroxell: something Scottish-double stops hammer ons – beginner to intermediate
Mary: Working on starting some songs, also my 3 practice songs, TN Waltz, snow deer and red wing
Jan: Sounding good, Seamus obrien
Margaret: memory
Rita: getting my skills back after shoulder surgery 3 months ago
Terri: Westering Home and TN Waltz w/metronome
Alice: blarney pilgrim
Diane: Arkansas Traveler
This challenge, 1 hour a day, I’m working on the tune Rights of Man. Adding variations to the tune.
Working on adding triplets, and rolls. Main focus is on part B of the tune so I can it
play well in tune. Warming up with a repeat of a couple of older tunes each evening too.
I’m commenting late, but so far I’ve played every day! My goal is 30 minutes a day including warmup.
I’m playing Galax Waltz and Road to Lisdoonvarna. I will:
1. Play my tunes, practice scales without open strings, and practice looser freer bowing.
2. Intentionally play a medium tempo and really get every note right where I want it, including double stops.
3. Get a smoother tone from the bow, less squeaking and accidental string touching.
4. Use consistent memorized bowing patterns for each tune.
5. Improvise melodies in Dmaj and Cmaj.
I’ve had a rough couple of years and my fiddle playing suffered because of it. (I had sick family members to care for)
My main goal for this practice challenge is to get back into the habit of playing every day. I’ll review old tunes and work on my intonation. My bow hand keeps getting stiff and starts to cramp…I’ll work on being conscious of that and try to relax.
I like these rhythms for scale practice! Sitting in front of the video screen, trying to mimmic Jason’s smooth relaxed bowing arm, seemed like it made me smoother right off.
Thank you Jason. I am going to practice at least 20 minutes per day.
I am going to work on trying to improve the speed of my playing and my sight reading speed.
Jason – Thank you for doing this!
Here’s my practice plan for the next two weeks:
– Stretch, tense/relax, and shoulder relaxation (2 min)
– Evenness in bowing: speed, pressure, soundpoint, parallel. Whole bows, slow speed (4 min)
– Shifting: 1st-2nd pos (4 min)
– Cmaj scale in 2nd pos (4 min)
– Cmaj scale in 3rd pos (4 min)
– Hand frame drill Cmaj 2nd pos (3 min)
– Sevcik shifting drill #1, meas. 1-5 (4 min)
– Octave scale, G and D string, Cmaj lower tetrachord (4 min)
– Moonlight Waltz (3 min)
– Gardenia Waltz (4 min)
– Glen Road to Carrick (5 min)
– Ave Maria (Bach-Gounod) – 10 min
I’m a couple days late to the party, but I will:
– spend 20 minutes per day on Bile ’em Cabbage Down
– work to increase my speed to 75bpm while maintaining written tune and rhythm
– practice it in fun ways by transposing, flattening, using different rhythms
I only missed one day of practice and most were for an hour or more. I gave up on “Cabbages”. I realized I didn’t like the tune well enough to spend that much time on it. I’ve since realized that I don’t have to like every tune in the lessons. I figure if I just keep on with techniques, speed will come. My new motto is “better, but slower”!
I challenge myself to
1. practice at least 30 minutes a day and focus on some part of a tune that challenges me
2. work on 1 song until I can play it with no mistakes or assistance and up to speed
3. review several songs each day
3. sing the tune and play the tune (not something I am good at)
3. work on bowing technique and variation
We’ll see how this goes. 😏
So glad I decided to hitch my fiddle wagon to your horses !
This is a new tune for me!Thanks for the introduction to the Butterfly. It’s definitely going on my faves list! methinks! And I’m looking forward to putting that pinky to work! 🙂
Correction to above post. * Many thanks!!
Hello all! Looking forward to setting forth new inspired practice routines! And continued enjoyment along my fiddler’s journey! Focusing on small gains. Slowing down. And non judgement of my skills and abilities as a musician. 🙂
This is my third FPC!
We play almost daily but I enjoy knowing I’m doing it with intention along with so many others.
Working on: Fairytale of New York and La Danse De Mardi Gras. Which has some fingerings I’m not familiar with. So I’m getting to know the fiddle neck better along the way as well as new notes.
I plan to practice 30 minutes each day. Work on intonation, fingering, bow crossing.
Tunes : King of the Fairies, Lament for Limerick, lament of the first generation, Paddy Fahey’s etc. 😊. 🎻
Yesterdays group lesson on this tune was excellent.The variations added a new dimension to this piece.
I am playing 30 mins each day. I plan to review past lessons and work on my timing.
Hi all – I am new to Fiddlehed and happy to take part in the Fiddle Challenge! Just getting going on Module 1.2 after a year squawking out too many tunes… my plan is:
– Play 30-40 min per day
– Improve tone, finger placement and bow-crossing; practice-repeat parts that are harder
-memorize correct starting note for first 6 songs and improve these songs
-Focus on tone-placement-crossing skills for a couple of easy-ish songs or song parts learned last year (prob. Barbara Allen and one other)
-Learn and memorize next song (extra goal…we shall see)
-Practice patience…this is perhaps the hardest goal…lol.
Have told my husband and warned the cats.
Thanks 🙂
I will practice 45 minutes a day. Right now I am concentrating on improving tone and intonation. I am recording myself to listen to where I need to improve. I am also very interested in getting the feel of the music alternating between scale and tune. I have been slow to sign up for the challenge as I know I will be out of town for about 5 days during the month. I do travel quite a bit. So far, I haven’t brought my fiddle on the plane. Any thoughts/suggestions on traveling with an instrument. I have looked a bit at travel fiddles, but there doesn’t seem to be any good options.
I am going to practice 30 minutes a day and work on:
making double stops sound better
incorporating dips, double stops, slides
and keeping a steady speed
into tunes I already know.
Yay! FPC 2022! Have fun everyone!
1. 20min a day practice.
2. I plan to work on kick-offs and endings on tunes.
3. Learn “Whiskey Before Breakfast” by ear by just listening to song on recording without a visual.
I printed off the practice sheets and will utilize them this FPC.
Hi Jason,
Thank you for the practice challenge.
I plan to practice at least 30 minutes a day,
reviewing tunes and focusing on tone
and memorization.
This is a great challenge again! I’m practicing some tunes to play with my husband on his guitar & mandocello ahead of our winter playing sessions. Plus trying to slow things down for now & play with more accuracy & intonation. In the 2 weeks I’m going to learn full pentatonic scales in D, F, G , C, & A chords to help with playing along to tunes & making solos. I’m practicing a minimum 1hr per day.
Hi Everyone,
I plan to practice at least 20 minutes every day. Maybe 30 minutes if possible.
I want to:
retrieve and refresh some tunes that I used to play along time ago,
work on my tone and sound
Practice vibrato😬
Spend time playing simple melodies while concentrating on relaxing shoulders, hands etc.
I am happy to join this group and the Challenge. I hope to get better on all the beginner tunes. I have a tendency to rush ahead. So My goal will be to not try a new tune for two weeks so I can get better with the old ones. I am at Little Liza Jane in the beginner Module 1.3.
I have no trouble practicing as my fiddling has become an obsession. I get in about an hour a day. I sneak to it instead of doing my housecleaning chores! It is my reward. It has replaced reading mystery novels and watching TV after dinner.
I hope to improve the sound of my notes, improve my bowing with less scratching and better fingering, improve the rhythm of my tunes. It is bringing new joy to an old lady!
I’ve gotten away from playing unfortunately, even tho once I pick up the fiddle I have fun and find it a great escape. So this is good for me. 30 minutes a day and hopefully I’ll just keep on going. Thanks for this Jason.
Hi Jason and fellow fiddlers,
I started my fiddle journey just a few weeks ago and I’m so glad I did. I know I have come to the right place and found my people! I commit to practicing at least 30 minutes a day duirng this challenge. I am just finishing up Module 1.2, and will continue to work on hitting the right notes using the drones, overall quality of sound, and string crossing while playing the beginner tunes. I look forward to better sound quality soon and so does my dog who dutifully hangs in there through my practices.
This is always a great challenge. Practicing 30 minutes a day sounds reasonable while working on:
Learning two new Irish fiddle tunes focusing on difficult measures. Try to loop difficult measures three times in a row without error.
Review list of past recorded tunes and try to play from memory one or two each day.
Try to increase tempo of best known fiddle tunes.
Sharing with my Wednesday practice group.
Ready for the FPC!
My general goals are to become better with intonation, timing, and speed. I plan to apply my fiddle learning to my mandolin along the way. Here’s what I’m thinking:
1. Play 30 minutes a day on songs I’ve learned for review, improvement, and fun. Just trying to make them sound better with more flow and listening for possible variations.
2. Play 30 minutes a day learning triads and pentatonic scales for keys of G, D, A, C, [F, E]. (Lessons are on the site.)
3. Start learning chords and work on double stops (from the site). Incorporate in songs where I can.
4. Keep a practice journal of daily accomplishments and reflections.
5. I’m telling my Strung Along group and everyone here.
I do practice fiddle for several hours every day, so that’s not an issue here. I’ll set a low bar of 1/2 hour per day on fiddle and 1/2 hour per day on hammered dulcimer.
My 2022 Fall Practice Challenge is about What I will practice. On fiddle I intend to:
– Memorize
– Smooth out
– Tweak the tempo
on tunes I’ve already worked on significantly. I plan to visit a tune a day. My tune list consists of 9 FiddleHed tunes, 3 jam tunes, 1 Christmas project piece, and 1 song for a friend. Whiskey Before Breakfast, St. Anne’s Reel, Danny Boy, Flop Eared Mule, Out on the Ocean, Harvest Home, Kesh Jig, Bill Cheatham, Over the Waterfall, Butchers Row, Fig for a Kiss, High Road to Linton, Wexford Carol, Seminole Wind.
On hammered dulcimer, I intend to work on Christmas Carols.
I’m telling my husband, my fiddle friend, and of course, you FiddleHed folks.
I’m committing to 15 minutes each day. I want to learn the time Squirrel Hunters Reel, brush up a couple others. I’ve told my daughter and I’m excited to start!
Hi everyone! I have so enjoyed all the wonderful Fiddlehed content but am a little shy about engaging online. This is a perfect opportunity for me to devote more time to fiddling and meet all of you. I happily accept this challenge. I plan to work on intonation, timing and memorizing more tunes. My ultimate goal is to jam with the local Old Time fiddle group. Practice time will be at least 20 a day. I shared this with my husband. We are wrapping up a road trip this week. I do have my fiddle to start today but may need to postpone some if needed. Thank Jason for putting this together for us.
Hello fellow fiddle-friends 🌝 I‘m quite new to this, just joined last week. Here‘s my plan for the challenge:
40 mins – 1 h practice per day
I‘m going continue working on module 1.5 and besides this I really need to fix my A-string-game 😄 Don‘t know why, l never had the slightest struggle with my E-string sounding bad, but the A-string is horrible. (Tips are welcome!)
Thank you Jason! And happy fiddleling to all of you!
By „tips“ I meant suggestions, not money 😀 Sorry, I‘m from Germany.
So glad for the fall challenge! I’ve practiced an hour today. I know I can improve my playing if I practice.
I’ll miss Friday-Saturday because I’m at Spirit of Suwannee Roots festival. Hope to be inspired by some great fiddlers. I plan to take a workshop on Friday while there.
I’ll double up on practice before and after going.
My practice routine doesn’t change a lot, though the tunes do as I learn new ones. I practice bowing, then scales in different keys, then some drills I borrowed from piano lesson decades ago that include arpeggios so I must work back and forth across strings and get the intervals right. I then move to tunes and try to do songs in different keys, tempos and styles. I break out the hard bits and try your micro-practice and looping with them. I try to play every day but must confess to missing once in a while. The sessions are 1/2 to one hour. Progress is slow, yes, but steady and so gratifying. Your insights about adult learning and focused listening have made it easier to acquire new tunes, so thanks!
I need this challenge sooo much! Thank you Jason! I’ve been a beginner for almost 10 years because I keep quitting and not touching my fiddle for (sometimes) a year at a time! If I have someone to play with, I keep with it but for the last 3 years have had nobody around to play with so it’s hard to motivate myself.
I printed Jason’s calendar and I’ll use it. I told my husband and a friend (neither are musicians). My goals are to pick 3 tunes which I kinda know and really learn them so that I can hear them in my head and I know just how to start them. Getting a tune started is hard for me.
I wanted so much to join the Student session last night but I couldn’t get my computer to behave and couldn’t get any sound to work! Hoping I can get into a beginner group???
Mary-TN
Practice 30 minutes a day.
Review my beginner lessons.
Work on bowing using drones.
I need to slow down and be more consistent.
It’s been quite a few years since I bought my fiddle/violin. I’ve had a few teachers and many lapses along the way. For about five years now I’ve worked mostly on my own. I don’t have a problem committing to regular practice. The thing is … I want to sound good. I know I need help with this. I believe that help is to be found here at fiddlehed.com.
Learning to play tunes without sheet music has been a real challenge. So far I can do only three from memory: Un Canadien Errant, Molly Malone and The Black Rogue.
So … I will commit to:
Improving the three tunes I already know.
Practicing at least one chunk of 20 minutes per day between 4 and 5 pm.
Slowing down and paying close attention to string crossings.
I’ve told my husband (an awesome guitar player who is so patient and encouraging that he doesn’t mind if I practice even if it’s 4 am.)
Thank you Jason for this great opportunity.
Thanks for doing this Jason! Hello to all the other Fiddleheds out there!
I’m going to practice for at least 15 mins per day. Going to continue to work with metronome/ getting a more consistent, steady beat, playing at different speeds.
Going to work on memorizing two new songs and go over some hard parts of other songs.
Thanks, Jason for the opportunity to participate in the FPC 2022!
I aim to practice for at least 30 minutes each day and focus on relearning some old time tunes in the key of C that I haven’t really got under my belt – Texas Gals, Little Rose and Lonesome Blues. I will also review some other tunes and work on improving flow in what I play.
I have told my wife that I am doing this, and am looking forward to starting a good practise habit.
Best wishes to all others participating.
I will practice at least 25 minutes per day. (If I was a therapist that would be a half hour.)
I plan to do deliberate practice on clean string crossing and the hard bits of tunes I’m working on. The tunes include core tunes from lessons and some Cajun tunes I am working on.
I told my wife and son I will be doing this. If I wanted everybody to know I guess I could call my former secretary and tell her.
Happy to join in on this – I will practice at least 20 minutes per day. I will learn the Lonesome Moonlight Waltz, and review at least 2 tunes I already know well, and 1 that I learned recently, focusing on good intonation, and practicing the appropriate scale first.. I will finish Module 1.3.
Fun!
Oh, and I am telling my Facebook Fiddlng group!
I have been sick with covid for what feels like forever, but finally well enough to start playing again, so want to re-establish my daily routine. 20 minutes a day sounds about right. I want to review my memorized irish tunes (about 5 of them) and mess around with bowings to see what sounds good as I play them differently. I also want to practice vibrato every day, and pick one of my slow tunes to practice including it. I also have two easy classical pieces I love to play to mix up the sound. And relax the left hand! New to the challenge but love all things fiddlehead so far!
Well, here I go again, trying to be disciplined for 15 minutes a day for two weeks with a focus on reviewing Cajun tunes and memorizing them. Thanks for the challenge! I’m telling my husband (who has no problem playing music every day) and my grandson (who is a high school senior teaching himself piano and he’s starting out very well, so I hope to inspire him to keep going a little every day). 🙂
It’s 8:04 pm on October 9 in Indiana and there doesn’t seem to be a meeting. We are on Eastern Daylight. Did the meeting mean Eastern NOT daylight?
Thanks for tuning in last night through the temporary link Nadine, we’ll host another student hangouts again soon to make up for the trickiness that happened with this last one 🙂
Hey Guys, I am having an issue logging in as the host.
Here’s an alternative link we can gather from for tonight:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84306858183?pwd=cE1XR3lCQms2NHh0T0ordXdES3owZz09
Sorry for the confusion
Time: Two different blocks of 10 minutes each day (total 20 minutes)
Goal: By the end of 14 days, I will have reviewed scales and learned a new tune.
Breakdown: 5 min (scale or theory) & 5 min (new tune), repeat 2x every day
Hello! This seems like fun and will be my first-ever FPC so I’m excited! What will I try to improve on? Here is my list:
1. Slowing down on songs for quality rather than quantity
2. Being consistent in my practice
3. Will try to practice at minimum, 15 minutes a day
Fiddlehed and Friends:
I will practice at least 20 min a day in the afternoon.
I will work on my community orchestra pieces using listening and playing along.
I will continue to work on my 3 sets of fiddle contest tunes.
I will tell my husband about the challenge
I will track my practice by using an old school paper calendar and Fiddlehed weekly practice planner.
Bonus: I’d like to get a time together with my jam buddy’s for at least one jam. Finding a convenient time for everyone has been challenging.
Hoping to attend today .Oct 9, 2o22. I have intermittent net so we will see. I am in California. Just started about 2 months ago…
Hey Cherry, sorry it didn’t work out for you last night. Our apologies the main link wasn’t accessible for me to open. Looking forward to seeing you at the next session if it lines up!
Hi everyone!
I’m going to practice at least 15 minutes each day and I want to focus on recording myself playing tunes and practicing in front of a mirror to better self monitor. I also want to record tunes all the way through to post for video feedback, because I definitely find myself going on to a different song at times before the one I’m working on sounds any good. I’ve been subscribed to Fiddlehed for a few months now, but I’m a special education teacher and just started a new job, so I didn’t have much time to really participate in this awesome community! Looking forward to learning with y’all! 🙂
Good morning, Musicians!
1. I will work on sounding good.
2. I will learn one new old time fiddle tune, which I will choose this morning.
3. I have told my husband, which is going to have a ripple effect for his practicing guitar.
4. I will practice 20 minutes each morning at 10 am.
I’m very glad for this challenge. 🎻
That must have been a fun workshop. Thank you for share in the video.
‘Thank you for sharing the video. I learned much from it.’
Hello All,
My goals for the 2022 challenge are:
1. Improve intonation – in particular A1-A4 and E1-E4.
2. Improve timing and speed – “Flowers of Michigan” and “The Pilgrim” both have long runs and I plan to use a metronome to play slow then gradually speed up.
3. Practice for at least 5 minutes each day – I know it doesn’t sound like much but if I tell myself that I need to practice for only 5 minutes there is a better chance that I’ll pick up the instrument and play than if I think I have to practice for 20 minutes. Besides, once I start I usually get into it and end up playing 30+ minutes anyway.
Hello Fellow Fall FiddIers! I participated in the spring practice challenge and loved it. Certainly improved my violin playing tremendously, so of course I’m all in for the fall challenge.
Here’s my plan-
– practice 30 minutes per day (at least)
– improve tone
– improve string crossing
– learn double stops
I also want to learn a duet with my husband who plays banjo. We’ve picked Girl I Left Behind Me. My husband knows about the challenge since he’s participating in one of my goals.
FPC great! I need this a huuuge Thank you again Jason! Plan is to practice 10 -20 each day! And work on my bowing which is all over the place, tune will be Rueben’s Train. Also older tunes I learned and get more confident to play at jams. Loved the group song last time which was the sea shanty, Farewell and Adieu to you dear Spanish Ladies.
Great thanks again for the sessions! Fell out of practice over the weekend, but the FPChallenge was great! Awaiting the next one. Thanks Jason, good luck in your new home, enjoy winter, and applesauce!
Looking forward to learning some new tunes.
I’m glad you asked for goals. I will focus on lightening my left hand touch, better double stops and chords and reviewing tunes. I usually practice for 1hour every day but since I will be at someone else’s house I hope I can get at least 30 minutes. If I can’t play I can go through my cards and hum the tune to help with memory. I’m telling the Strung Along group and everyone here! Thanks Jason!
I didn’t play for a few months this summer because we were transient while waiting to move into our new home. I’ve been practicing pretty regularly since then. I’m committing to practice for 20 minutes a day for the next 2 weeks. I will be reviewing tunes I’ve already learned, specifically working on intervals for Little Liza Jane and Wildwood Flower in order to improve those tunes, and working on playing Mary Had a Little Lamb (Hoedown var. 1) faster. Longer term goal– I’d love to complete modules 1.3 (I’m halfway through it) and 1.4 before this year is over!
These exercises are wonderful. Thank you Jason for this opportunity to orient myself and find my level before signing up to a longer term.
I am excited to join this challenge. I ahve been playing Cello so playing Violin is a challenge in itself. But I plan to dedicate at least 15 min a day. Id like to learn scales, and some jigs. I am still trying to figure out where to start. I am checking out the fiddlehed site right now.
I am looking for some pdf fiddle tunes to print out and some scales. Oh and I told my daughter. She plays violin and she will keep me accountable 🙂
I found 15 short beginner fiddle tunes and I will learn a tune a day. They are all like 4 lines each. This will be fun !!! By the end I will have a small packet of learned beginner fiddle tunes !!!
I will not be close to my fiddle until Thursday, so I can’t join your group. However, when I get back Thursday, I will be practicing at least 30 minutes a day. Trying to perfect Tam Lin using double stops (a weak spot) and triplets. Also a tune called “The Morning Dew”. Thanks for the lessons.🎻🍀
I started playing just one year ago with my grandkids in a small homeschool group violin lesson. I had to practice pretty hard to improve at all and stay up with this group. I am motivated to keep moving on past just being a beginner and on into intermediate playing. I have been averaging about 2 hours a day I believe. and I am going to commit to practicing at least 2 hours a day for this challenge. I have a lot of goals. I wrote an ambitious list for this month of October. I have about 10 fiddle tunes I am working on speeding up, playing with tracts, and other family, and working on back up chords for those as well. I am starting to learn Westphalia waltz, and would like to get into Arkansas traveler too. I also have three pieces for a classical Christmas concert I need to polish. and I am looking forward to doing your FiddleHed lessons. Well I better get going!
Well, I’ve not been playing much recently and so this challenge has come along just when I need it.
Goals: I plan to play for 30 mins every morning,
I’m planning to focus on memorising a tune, playing it in tune and constant tempo.
Told my kids, 🙂
Hi fiddle friends :)…I’m joining to work on developing more structured and hopefully progressive practice habits! My 3 areas to work on are 1) bow techniques to improve tone, 2) string crossings, and 3) using these to improve the opening set of tunes that are always played at our local Irish sessions (Southwind/Planxty Irwin/Planxty Fanny Power). I have told my hubby and all of you! I plan to practice 20 mins after work/before dinner. Thanks for this challenge, Jason!
Whoo-Hoo!!! I’m so ready to take on this challenge!!!
My goal is to practice no less than 30 minutes a day – which hopefully turns into an hour or more….
I have told my husband and the Strung Along group so I KNOW I’ll have to be accountable!!
I will work on being light-fingered (in the musical sense only!!!) memorizing better tunes I know, double stops and adding triads as an embellishment in tunes.
This will be fun!!
I am committing to 5 minutes everyday, I will memorize Twinkle Twinkle and learn how to read tab and basic music when not playing.
I have established a daily practice schedule with two other friends on zoom for 2 hours. I work on a different scaled every day from A to G. Friday is my Fiddle Friday when I spend most of my time on Fiddlehed.
I am using the drones to help with my scales every day.
I’ve been waylaid with other commitments so this is the PERFECT challenge at the right time to get my practice rolling again. I commit to a minimum of 10 minutes each morning, to revisit and memorize at least two tunes on my list of “Old Time tunes to know by heart” and to find a bowing module to work on.
Thank you, Jason… and that Michigan tree is gorgeous. Just returned from visiting family in Columbia, TN and the colors were just starting to turn.
Hi Jason and everyone at FH . Glad to be part of the FPC once again . My goals for 2022 challenge are:
-30 minutes minimum daily
-working on my rhythm and building speed
( just a little at a time)
-trying to get my list of new tunes a little bit smaller and still sound good, maybe learn 3 new tunes well.
-work on my bow hold and wrist, try to relax more and maybe it will help my speed on tunes
And I have just told my husband, my daughter and all of you.
Good luck everyone and have fun 🎻
Here’s my plan for the FPC:
Practice for at least 20m in the afternoon.
* I want to establish this as a habit.
* I still have the option to practice later that night.
What I’ll work on:
* Reviewing old-time tunes
* being able to recall the melodies from seeing the title
* Deliberate practice on 1-2 hard parts from each tune
Rhythm rabbit hole
* working on rhythms on single notes, building speed
Playing songs just for fun, as a way to break up more focused practice.
Glad to be taking part with you all!!!!
Yay to Jason & The Famous Fall Fiddlers of FiddleHed! Perfect timing to step up our daily practice — Love the Danse de Mardi Gras tune— Thanks for keeping things lively in the FiddleHed Universe…from PacNorth West: Sandra & Forrest
Nice! What will you work on? How much time will you spend practicing each day?
I usually practice every day because I enjoy it so much. I did some videos yesterday and boy did I sound terrible. I’m just beginning. Completed module1.1 .2 and .3. But have gone too fast I think.
Good that you’ve noticed you’re going fast. Slow down and see if you can make each simple thing sound good.
What will you work on during the FPC? How much time will you spend practicing each day?
So this is the last day of the challenge. I have practiced minimum of 45 minutes per day. I told my husband. I have been working on making my beginner tunes better. Angiline the Baker I thought was going to be my brick wall but after I battled my way across the first quarter of Part A and realized the rest was similar I have just about managed it. I have been videoing some tunes and comparing… I can see a difference. (yay) and I am trying to SLOW DOWN! Today I plan on doing call and response exercise for Angiline. Hope you all had as much fun as I did these past two weeks.
Cherry
Hi all – this looks fun! I’ve been trying to practice every day, but somehow it often turns out to be piano practice! I think I can commit to practicing fiddle every day too. I get so much joy from trying to memorize tunes, so that is my goal. Memorize two new tunes in two weeks.🎻✨
Memorizing 2 tunes is a great goal. You can also choose to practice piano during the challenge too.
Very excited about this, especially since I just “graduated” from Beginner to Intermediate on the FiddleHed lessons track! (Though I’ll always be a Beginner in spirit and intent, and I’m glad of that!) 🙂
Great! What will you work on? How much time will you spend practicing each day?
Yep, two immediate things I want to focus on: (1) building accuracy and strength in my fourth finger; and (2) increasing speed by at least 10% consistently in at least five tunes (such as O’Keefe’s Slide, Wildwood Flower, and Kerry Polka). I aim to spend at least 30min average each day practicing.
Hi Jason and crew…. The links don’t work for me either. Nothing happens when I click on them. Mike was having this problem too.
Sandra
Thanks for mentioning this folks, we will let you know once it’s functioning.
I bought my first violin about 6 0r 7years ago and watched a few of your lessons on my phone. I was still working full time then and didn’t continue. I”m now semi-retired. I only work 4 1/2 days per week so I now have time for my fiddle!. This letter has really encouraged me. “Assume you will get better” was the best thing I’ve read. But I am still struggling to organize my practice. I have become addicted to my fiddle and can get very grumpy if I don’t get me fiddle time. Thanks for all you work making learning this beautiful instrument fun; difficult but fun!
Cherry
I love these Fingering and String Crossing ll exercises. I began working on about four a day, consecutively. Now, as I finish up working on this module’s tunes, I mix them up, playing exercises: 1, 11, 2, 10, 3, 9, 4, 8, 5, 7, 6. I do the full set during my practice and this mix takes the repetitive motion strain off of my not-quite-so-young muscles and joints. I feel myself gaining strength and endurance, and I focus now on relaxing the tense muscles and maintaining my intonation and tone as the tempo of each loop increases.
Thank you for these, Jason!
Fun, fun, fun! I really enjoy this tune. It’s so fun to play. I have repetitive strain issues in my left hand that makes it difficult to use my ring finger and I don’t have to in this song which makes it even more enjoyable. I am really enjoying fiddlehead, thanks for all you do 😁
Having a start button is a great idea. It would certainly help to keep wanderers like myself on track. Admittedly I tend to get what I feel is the meat out of the lessons and I’m off in another direction. I totally agree with Owen about the time and effort you put into these lessons and entire site. Thank you.
Jason, I like the idea of a Start button also….it seems to make more sense to me. Thanks for all you do!!!
Patty
Hey Jason,
I like marking a lesson started. Still like to see they are completed, but would like for us to mark it “ needs” review, as that sometimes occurs as we go through years of practice.
Thanks for working so hard to constantly improve the site and all of us who learn from it‼️
Owen O
Great lesson, than’ you so much! Very useful
Excellent lesson because small loops (or micro-practices) let me focus on better intonation and more efficient fingerings. Btw, I was going to bookmark and start using Tuning Exercises, but the link above just took me to what seems to be an unmaintained page.
Reminds me of the old, old way one person singing a line of a hymn, then the whole congregation repeating it. Can’t remember what style that is called. When they did not have enough hymnals or maybe folks couldn’t read.
On the A major triad, the upper octave and two octave (starts with G1)
the drone is the same. The A0 first note of the upper octave sounds the same as what would be G1 of the two octave drone. Am I not hearing it correctly or am I missing something about the scale?
Hi Amy, thanks for sharing this. You found an audio error on the two octave audio. We’ll get this fixed soon. Your help in noticing this is appreciated 👍🏾
Great job! Can you post the full song? The link above does not go to it. Thanks!
Hi Terri, which link are you referring to? I’m seeing the full song play along track as well as the full sheet music.
Thanks
Hi Jocelyn, Sorry I just now noticed your reply! Actually, there’s no link or pdf of the full song. Thanks!
I have learned so much from you in just a couple of days! Thank you!
Jerusalem Ridge 3… is that anywhere? I’ve played through 1and 2…. Would like to venture over in the higher octave on the D part. TIA
Hi Lisa, Thanks for mentioning this. When searching part 3 in the general search engine at the top right of screen, I found it. We will get it added to this list aswell. Thanks for noticing this. Here’s the link to part 3 for now:
https://fiddlehed.com/level2/2-9-chromatic-scale/jerusalem-ridge-part-3/
Do each tiny bow stroke in tremolo count towards the thousand times? Hee Hee
; )
I can’t download the track for this song like I normally do. Can you check to see if the link is missing? My internet isn’t fast enough to keep the song playing off the website. Thanks!
When I change pressure on the bow, I can get the scratchy sound. Also, keeping the correct angle on the bow is hard to maintain.
I am intimidated when I need to turn the pegs. My fine tuners were getting too low. After watching your video, I dove in, with you kind of “by my side”. I’m enjoying your instruction very much. Thank you.
I am quite enjoying learning Fairytale of New York but am having difficulty with this bit:
B Part: Chorus
First half: (A0-0)-1-1-1-1-2-3-3-2-1-0-D2-0-1-2-2
Is this played with the same timing and rhythm as the a part?
Hey Dean, yes that is a tricky rhythm section you pointed out. The timing is the same throughout the tune but the rhythm of those notes takes some time to get familiar with. I suggest slowing it way down and start by clapping/tapping/singing those last 3 bars while following along with sheet music for rhythm support, counting all 6 beats in each bar. Thanks for mentioning this and have fun with it 🙂
Fun to learn this classic, and I like the exercise of transposing and practicing fragments of the melody across the strings.
great lesson- thanks for the quick posting.
With this lesson and the previous one, I am not getting sound on some of the videos. The first one usually sounds fine, but the extras sometimes play but without sound. What am I doing wrong.
This was absolutely wonderful! YES! Do more like this! I heard this song in a totally different way that captured my imagination and helped me think about ways to reframe many of the songs I know into something special. Norwegian Wood fit perfectly in there. I loved the Bb chords and key! What a wonderful lesson! Thank you, Jason, for taking the music to another level. ~Cindy
Absolutely LOVED this lesson! Opened up so many ideas… and yes, Norwegian Wood was an inspiration in this tune! Thanks, Jason!
Follow up: I was thinking of a “Drone machine”.. that IS another device to purchase, yes? Not a website? A time and place for everything… when might we utilize a drone machine?
I LOVED the “train sound”demonstration. I agree with Carolyn; that put the pieces together. I can do double stops. I can play straight chords..I can “chunk” for backup… but to put it all together… just wasn’t sure.
For that train sound, I’m thinking it’d be a good back up sound to play on the song, “Life’s a Mountain Railway”… as well as I’m thinking that’s part of the Orange Blossom Special….hmmm… gets my wheels a turning….
Dollar store pencil grips for the bow comfort. Very cool!
Way to go Ms. Nancy! Persevering until you find something that works so you don’t have to give up the violin because of arthritis Kudos!
Tremolos are fun to play; although I’ve not found a chance to incorporate that technique into playing. When might one use a tremolo?
Strum machine? I thought that was a real hold in your hand apparatus. I didn’t realize until watching this that it was a website (strummachine.com) I’m not sure how much the subscription is, but it looks worth it! (Provided it’s utilized on a frequent basis)
I’ll definitely be looking into the strum machine. I’ve heard it mentioned tons of times in Fiddlehed, but I just thought it’d be another machine/instrument I’d have to buy and I already have limited room. Good to know! I really need to look into this!
I appreciate this being posted for those of us who aren’t able to make it. I’m making more of an effort to learn to navigate around the website. Keep fiddlin’ folks! 😀
Thanks
This was really helpful. I play guitar and uke as well as the violin and thought that I would have to give up the singing part when I took up the violin. It is good to see that it is still possible. It is so encouraging. Thanks so much.
Diane
Good exercises! The melodic fragment from “Shortcake” was especially worth practicing in both octaves of A.
Very helpful. THANKS!
Just read your email, “How To Sing And Play Backup” and couldn’t believe that the original “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” was in F#! Checked the official YT video on my keyboard and found it was true. Seems like such an UNidiomatic key for any of the instruments involved. I wonder if it was really done in F or G, then slid with the recording equipment of the mid-80s. Or maybe F# really fit Lauper’s vocal range better! Anyway, it was an intriguing bit of trivia. Thanks, Jason, for all your great lessons!
Hey, back again because there’s some great call-and-response with a fiddle on Cyndi Lauper’s recording of the Country song, “Begging To You.” Fits perfectly with the “how to play on songs” theme!
Can I suggest one of the most popular Canadian tunes to add: Maple Sugar by Ward Allen. It is complex enough to deserve a lesson on it and most people recognize it. It was a radio hit in Northern Saskatchewan in the ’50s but it is still well known.
There is a whole genre of French Canadian Reels that would be fun to see on the site if you ever have a chance.
Thanks for all the work you do to find interesting fiddle music!
Great ideas Diane, I will add your suggestions to our request list. Thanks for mentioning this 🙂
I have to ask. With all of the runs of eighth notes, is it OK to slur them or do they all have to be played individually? I don’t want to cheat, but I have a hard time playing them fast without slurring.
This sounds great Jason, amazing what you can do with one voice, one fiddle and one drone. Thanks for the clear explanations and break down on how you work on each aspect of the song, backing and riffs. Please keep posting these videos, we’re learning so much from you.
How fun! I love how you break down theory when teaching! It’s like you’re gifting us with knowledge to apply to other songs! Thank you for teaching us how to *fish instead of just giving us a *fish!
Yeah! Really liked the lesson with a sneak peak into a creative mind. I used to be quite creative with a baseball or soccer ball. This is a learning process for me and I am enjoying it. Thanks for the video‼️
Very cool! Yes, the mix of simple rhythms, chords and arpeggios, and short riffs really works well. And the “Norwegian Wood” interlude is frosting on the cake!
THIS is my favorite lesson (in regards to how the page is laid out). I really like the different speeds for the full tune, repeated, and with solo time included.
lisab-1964 just said about exactly what I was thinking. Thank you for the replay. This is so much what I’ve wanted to learn since I started fiddling.
This was SOOO much fun and SOOO informative! Although I won’t join live for awhile due to work schedule, I am thankful for the archives (and for fellow fiddleheds pointing me in the right direction!) During Jams, I always wonder if I’m playing “too much” or over bearing, or too little.. or…or…y’all understand.
At any rate, this gave me some pointers to carry over to other songs.. especially when someone is already singing lead.. no since in fiddle playing lead unless it’s during a break/solo/etc.
Cheatin’ Heart is a rather slow song. I’m guessing that for faster songs, we can just do some rhythm to the I, IV and V chords of the given song. I’m learning to do a few “walk ups” (or downs) from one chord to the next. Such a fun journey! Thanks, Jason for your hard work, and thanks fellow fiddlers for the encouragement! 😀
FiddleHed Tom made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed Tricia made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed Gary made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed Mary made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed Rachael made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed Patty made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed Seth made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed Laura made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed Laura made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed Aaron made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed Twyla made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed Deb made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed Tom made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed Mary made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed Kate made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed RJ made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed Joanne made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed Joanne made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
You Go Joanne 👍🏻
FiddleHed Leanna made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed Owen made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed Kate made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
i did not intend to unsubscribe. i am looking for the mini course
FiddleHed Michael made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
Love less pressure💕🎻
Oh my gosh- I’ve been wanting to sing with my fiddle- the mandolin would be a great
solution…I lent one out from for restoration and it never came back- egads- but with your
help I feel I could acquire one and tackle this….because… I love to sing! hope to learn more!
That was fun!
Great job Joanne!
Every practice isn’t going to be great or even good. However, you are actually learning. It comes as little surprises for me. Holding the bow; I struggled just trying to hold it properly to rosin. The struggle to hold it properly and also be able to move it sort of to my will lasted about 4 days. Then, half way dreading the struggle, I started to practice bowing when I realized I had tightened the hair and started to practice with no struggle. WOW. How tight is just right? Sweatsweat. Then I started making small adjustments. Start at “my little finger”, start at same width as the bow. I finally just tightened it, then adjusted it til it sounded good and didn’t bounce. I AM THE MASTER OF MY BOW. Well we’re still in negotiations but I feel relaxed adjusting it. Same with shoulder rest and position. When it comes, it just feels natural and I become so very impressed with myself.
Great start! You’re Terrific, Jason!
Howdy,
How about posting a lesson for San Antonio Rose?
Appreciate ya, learning a lot, been playing for not quite a year. Your diagrams have helped me a lot with each part.
Thanks,
LR Swadley
Wow 🤩
Playing on songs is a high water mark in the Fiddlehed program. This is the best explanation of playing along with a song ever!!!
This was so interesting Jason, I learnt a lot from you explaining your creative process. The listening, finding the triads for the intro, chord back up rhythms, descending bass line, slides. All the building blocks we can play with to make a song backing. Thanks for another great lesson!
Make lots of picks from those nasty credit cards!
https://www.amazon.com/Pick-Palooza-Guitar-Leather-Holder/dp/B012D6KT7M/ref=sr_1_7?crid=3GKFJ2Y3BN1NW&keywords=Credit+card+pick+maker&qid=1660926015&sprefix=credit+card+pick+maker%2Caps%2C2423&sr=8-7
HI Jason, Above, when clicking on the video, it doesn’t open. I found it on YT:
Terri, thanks for the link!
Pete, glad it helped! 🙂🎻
That was a great lesson yesterday. Today the old song Wayfarin’ Stranger came to my mind. It’s another great one to work on using these strategies from yesterday. The phases give time for a echo of the melody. It’s under Bonus lessons module 1.7. The play-along track starts slow and then speedsup.
Thanks, Mary Reid
Sorry this is probably in the wrong place but Jason, I wanted to tell you about something I stumbled across. At WWW. folkways.si.edu there are two albums put out by Dewey Half a. The first is on basic fiddle playing like how to tune from A, the rest by ear. In bowing he says “ok, push, pull, push , pull.”
The second is about technique like slurs, triplets etc. It fascinated me because he is teaching in the style from way back, my great uncles taught by their father around 1910. You can buy the vinyl or CD, download separate parts or just listen. I don’t think anyone could learn to play from these but it’s a fabulous, fascinating look at the history of how fiddle has been passed down.
Mostly, for me it was THE DEWEY BALFA! Again, sorry for putting this here but I don’t know how to just send straight.
Dewey Balfa! He even teaches how to correctly tap your feet. Historical info.
I love this piece; also love how there are three speed available to practice the entire piece. Never heard this one before, but I like the wide variety of tunes Jason teaches.
Ive been fooling around with this song for quite some time, but now with this play along track.. it launched me forward and re-focused reading music instead playing by ear/ memory. Thank you ! Awesome !!
If I had to do these exercises out of a book or off a sheet of paper, I wouldn’t last five minutes. These, however, are very rewarding to practice. Hearing the notes as I play makes all the difference. I feel like these are a ‘game changer’ for my pinkie. Thank you Jason!
mind blown
Wow this was awesome!
Thank you, James. Glad you enjoyed it.
Great lesson! I’ve been including this with my practice all week and it feels very effective.
That was a fun lesson!!!!!!
Jim! Hello – happy to be in touch with you again!
I was making some updates to my fiddle blog recently – thinking about you due to the comments and encouragement you left all those years back, and hoping you were still fiddling!
It makes me so happy to read this post and know you’re still at it – and a fascinating post it is, too! Thanks for all the research and work that went into it! Hope all is well!
Hey Aywren. I think I replied to you privately, but I am not sure it went through, so I will post my response here again.
So good to hear from you! Jason asked me about writing for Fiddlehed again, and I accepted his offer. My fiddling has been almost non-existent for the past year because of severe shoulder problems. I practice when I can, but I have fallen way behind. I am on the mend, but it has been a very slow process. I thought if I wrote for Jason, that might help me get back into the swing again. I told Jason I would write 6 articles over the next 12 months. I still love fiddle music,but playing it has been a real ordeal. I hope you are making good progress. If you should want to contact me directly, you (or anyone else) can use [email protected] So GOOD to hear from you, my friend!
Love playing along with the backing track. So much fun! Really enjoy Soldiers Joy and Fairy Dance.
This is a wonderful study. Thank you, Jim Guinn, for writing this and to you Jason for getting this out to us FiddleHeds.
My pleasure, Patty. I enjoy writing about the fiddle.
My cousin was allowed to photograph the Amati 1649 and the Strad 1716 in person as part of a project to republish the book about Amati, in 1984. That was picked up by the car company that released an ‘Amati’, around 1991. Just some added trivia. Thanks for your work.
That sounds exciting!
Like lisab_1964, I love these Call-and-Response lessons, too! They’ve given me the chance to resurrect the ear-training skills I learned as a Music major in college, but then never used in my career as a marketer. I’m soooo happy to be back into music and using those skills in my retirement! Thank you, FiddleHed!
Exciting stuff Jason!!! Got mandolin tuned up ready to get into the lesson.
Jason — Thanks so much! This is what I’ve been looking for, and it’s working!! I WANT to enjoy each practice and I also WANT to sound better NOW. These workable ideas are already helping me improve. A gazillion bazillion thanks!
Thanks for the Mystery Tune! I missed it when you were live but just enjoyed the recording this morning. I am getting better at following you but I can’t seem to remember all the parts again at the end to play the whole tune! Do you have any hints for memorizing as you go? I confess to cheating a bit and looking at the music score
FiddleHed Joanne made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed Kate made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed Owen made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed Keith made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed Niels made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
I love it!!!!
Yes! So great to share what we create 🙂
FiddleHed Joanne made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed Keith made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed Joanne made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed Joanne made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed Mary made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed Twyla made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed Joanne made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed Garrison made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed Debbie made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed Debbie made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed Deb made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed Michael made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
Btw, as quick follow-up, the lowered 6th degree in “God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen” puts it in Aeolian mode, if I recall my modes correctly.
I was just about to start this lesson, but read the past comments first. MaryReid’s comment from Nov 2020 struck me, so I picked up my fiddle, and picked out “God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen” without much trouble, thanks to the rigorous ear-training I got as a Music major 50 years ago. But I’d never have thought of trying it with her comment, so thank you, Mary Reid! 🙂
I love all the emphasis on rhythm in the beginning lessons. I am picking up fiddling many decades later after a few year of classical violin as a kid. The fingering is coming back pretty well, but my bowing and rhythm is a hot mess. It is great to start over with good habits.
It’s fun to do tremolo and finish off with a throw away bow!! Love it!
This is a great exercise! I’ve heard this before but now it’s something I hope to include daily until it becomes a habit–a good habit!
I find it helps to close my eyes and get the feel of it. One cool thing I noticed is when I lighten the pressure on the string, I feel the string’s vibrations in my fingertips.
Thank you Jason!
Can you do more or do have something on double stops and scales having problems with the fingering to make the chords not sure what to do to improve one thing I have other is how to get over muting the other strings while fingering to make the double stops can you help email if you can
Hi JD,
Here’s a lesson on chordal scales: https://fiddlehed.com/chordal-scales-technique-lesson/
You need to place your fingers on the tips for most double stops so that you don’t put other strings.
I recommend you submit a video for feedback. Go here to do that: https://fiddlehed.com/support/video-feedback-lessons/
You can email me if you still have questions.
cheers
I tried to do double stops on this as it sounds perfect for it but it came out sounding…off. Can this be done in double stops? If so, what strings?
Absolutely love these exercises! Is there a way to save lessons so I can come back to them? Like a bookmark? I feel these exercises are great for learning how to improvise by listening before playing.
There is no place to mark “completed” on this lesson.
FiddleHed Debbie made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed Owen made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
Thanks for posting this video Owen! It’s nice to hear someone else learning it!
FiddleHed Joanne made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed Rita made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed Michael made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
What a lovely upbeat tune. Many thanks to Fiddlehed Michael for the inspirational student video and @sharlyn for sharing it too!
FiddleHed Joanne made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed James made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed Deb made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed Fixkids made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed Joanne made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
Thanks for sharing this here, Sharlyn. And great footage of a fun music session Joanne. So nice to see what folks are getting up to with their fiddles in the community.
Fiddlehed Twyla made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
Fiddlehead Marg made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed Marg made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed Deb made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed Owen made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed Sally made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
FiddleHed Kate made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page:
https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
Great job Seth! Jason, thank-you for posting! Out of curiosity (I’m a beginner), how long has Seth been playing? Thanks!
FiddleHed Joanne made a video of this tune! It was originally posted to the Student Videos page: https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/student-video-exchange/
This is wonderful! I could not get the timing down but someone was playing Kerfunken Jig. I played with them and now I can play it. In just a few minutes.
FiddleHed Joanne made a video of this tune!
That ‘whoah Nellie’ cartoon made me smile, thank you, and the Star Wars excerpt — thank you so much!
FiddleHed just keeps getting better. The collaboration with Ruth and the scale shape lesson was excellent! I do a lot of scale practice with different rhythms and this is an addition to my routine.
Thank you Jason!
great practice lessons. learning great techniques
Thank you, that was just wonderful. Such fun! I loved exercise 7 particularly as I just love those strings so much. The resonance the violin gives my voice when I sing too was a happy surprise. Such an interesting lesson, very much appreciated.
Second day of doing these exercises, with another comment. I really like these, and will continue to do them. At the same time, some of them accelerate *very* quickly – unreasonably so, I’d say. Also, there’s a maraca-type sound in some of them that just doesn’t synch up with anything, and it’s distracting and confusing: Exercise 12 is a good example, but not the only one. These should be fixed or re-recorded. (And I say that with the benefit of past musical training; it must be even harder for someone who’s new to this.)
Uggh, you’re right. I put it on my work list. Thanks for pointing it out…
So interesting – thank you so much! Feel I am learning as much about listening as about the violin. That Soldier’s Joy really got me smiling, thank you again Jason – what an excellent course.
Listening is underrated for sure. Pause during your practice to listen…
Wow, yeah, these exercises throw some big curves. I had to stop the play-along track to focus on #3. Then #4 and #5 were pretty easy, but #6 was “track off!” again. Kind of surprised by that, but it’ll all help in the end. I actually enjoy practicing pedal patterns: they always remind me of certain Bach pieces.
That’s interesting that it reminds you of Bach. Now I want to see if I can hear this in his music…
I appreciate all the work that goes into these. I wonder if you have tabs written where there is a bowing patter for these songs? From what I understand, having the correct bowing pattern makes all the difference in the phrasing of the song.
Some of the sheet music has bowing markings. Click through to lesson pages…
Here’s a practice-flow to help you:
-Listen
-Pause
-Play it back as best you can
-Rewind and repeat until you get it
My bow vibrates/bounces when I’m in the middle third. How do I prevent that?
Practice Throwaway bow. See a lesson here: https://fiddlehed.com/beginner/start-fiddling-now-course-page/getting-a-good-sound/
I’m listening to the Call and Response exercises several times while “air-playing” with my left hand before picking up my fiddle. Then I am better able to complete the exercises. I also like a previous poster’s suggestion to close my eyes while listening and playing.
Great idea. Get the body involved whenever you play.
I really like the pentatonic scale!
I use the Wittner geared tuning pegs for the tuning pegs. Have a violin luthier install them. They make tuning a breeze.
Good idear! I’m going to look into this.
I know this is an old response, but I played a fiddle with Wittner machines not that long ago. It seemed like it made it heavy… might have been my imagination.
Found 2.8 quite difficult; will need to try again. Particularly hard to hear the chords Fm, Bflat, Cm, Am,Aminor.
Yes, keep trying.
Here’s a practice-flow to help you:
– Listen
– Pause
– Play it back as best you can
– Rewind and repeat until you get it
Good lesson! All the exercises help solidify the L2 finger position in my head as I study the neck while playing; but I think the L2-3 exercises on each string are the most useful, since that stretch is kind of hard to do consistently without getting hand cramps (at least for me)!
Hey Jason! This was great 🙂 I’d love a PDF of the Melodic Variation D Pentatonic sheet — got one?
I’ll have this soon. I’m going to make a lesson this.
I’ve found this helps with intonation, timing and string crossing. Still experimenting with different patterns with a metronome!!!
Great lesson
Awesome!!!
Yowza! Just finished this Review Set 1.6 and I am STOKED! I remembered I have a second bow, so I went through all the tunes, alternating one bow and then the other, and playing each time across all the strings (ie, transposing as much as the range of the strings would allow, which varies by tune of course). Felt very relaxed and even “in the groove” more than ever before. (Hope I don’t jinx myself saying that!) It was, in a word, FUN!
Awesome. Love your enthusiasm.
Happy to be here! And the timing is good, because I still have trouble sometimes remembering the names of some of the tunes we’ve learned. This review will help, I’m sure!
That cross and rock drill is so very helpful – thank you so much!
You’re welcome!
This one was a quick learn because of its repetition and overall structure, though I need to keep practicing to play it at more than a moderate speed. I’m laughing now as I practice it because it reminds me of “The Song That Never Ends.” I can’t wait to inflict it on my family! Lol
Sorry I missed this episode. Got the replay-very good session! Thanks for posting
How much fun is that tremolo!!? Couldn’t stop smiling, thank you.
The hardest part for me is not picking up the note’s neighbour as well. 😀
Excellent 4th finger question and exercises. Thank you for always recording these
After doing Exercise 1 on the D/G strings, I just played along again with the track, but using my G/D and A/E strings to repeat the same M6 interval. Hilarious parallel 5ths against the play-along track, just as I’d hoped! (Well, maybe you had to be there! Lol)
I savored this great lesson! Used it to really focus on improving my intonation while practicing the rhythmic variations. Videos were frosting on the cake!
Wonderful program, thank you! So much to love here – must say the cartoons delight me, and make me smile, even laugh! So much fun with your lessons, thank you!
A joy to start with these rhythms, thank you so much Jason!
Thank you so much! I broke a string tuning the instrument, but am undeterred thanks to your excellent tuition. Great starting lesson, many thanks.
Is there a way to memorize the call and response? I’m good for about 4-5 notes, but if it gets any longer, by the time I listen to the last note, I’ve already forgotten what the first few were. The exception is, if it’s a tune I already know, and I figure out that’s what you’re doing lol. But if it’s a tune I’m not familiar with, my memory loses it about the 5 note on. Suggestions?
For myself, I find just repeating the little bits I’m forgetting a few times helps it to turn out right in the end. Never Give Up! (That’s a great South African -I think… song : Bambalela!)
Great ideas and tips for learning!!!
I could stay busy on this one post for a long time .
Thanks Jason
Have only played along with the video so far, but I already love this lesson. Start with “Cripple Creek” and end up playing “Chariots of Fire” instead: yes, a great example of the pleasures of discovery when just “fiddling around”! OK, back to the exercises!
Such great suggestions, all leading to creative and inspiring practice sessions. Thanks for all the motivation to keep actively learning!
I have thoroughly enjoyed this course so far. I feel like I have learned so much in just a couple of months! I do need to work on memorizing more tunes & relying less on sheet music. Also, I apologize for not submitting any videos. The truth is, I haven’t recorded myself yet…I know I was supposed to do that a while ago but I really don’t like to watch myself and the camera makes me nervous so I’m worried that I will mess up or forget what I’m playing. Anyway, I promise I will work on that aspect of my fiddle journey!
Thank you, Jason for everything that I’ve learned so far & for making the course fun & rewarding! Looking forward to more adventures in the next modu!e!
Gail 🙂
Hey Gail, no need to apologize for not submitting video. If you do end up filming yourself, you don’t have to share. If you prefer, just make an audio recording. It’s just a way of getting feedback. At first you won’t like it, but eventually, you’ll see the value in recording…
Great stuff, Jason; thanks for the work!
In the southern U.S.A. it is HOT during the months I travel. On a recent trip (for a fiddle workshop where I met 2 other Fiddlehed students), I found myself leaving the fiddle at hotels I had checked out of, making extra trips back for it, calling around to amusement parks to see if they had indoor lockers I could rent. Is there a “travel fiddle” you could recommend? How did people keep these instruments together on their covered wagon migration with no A/C? I am tent-camping next week and even though there will be music there, I can’t figure out how to bring my fiddle.
Great lesson! Love being able to catch these on the replays if they were live in the middle of the night the other side of the Atlantic! Thanks Jason!
Had a lesson in tuning and music shops.
After a disagreement with a heifer, my husband had to have his rotator cuff repaired. I didn’t get to even pick up my fiddle for a bit over a month. It was waaay out of tune. No biggie, l thought. Got ADG almost smack on perfect. E wouldn’t budge. I did everything I knew or looked up and nothing. I must’ve given it a real cussing because when I finally put it up everything else was out and all but G refused. My grandson plays guitar and he tried, nope. I live on a ranch in the big boonies. I called a music shop in the small town we shop in. I figured as many fiddle players in this part of Texas, surely they could help. My grandson took it. I told him it should take about 3 minutes, 5 tops because I’m doing something wrong.
They made him leave it and at the end of the day they called me and said it was ready. Diagnosis “With fiddles that get played alot, like this one, the pegs get worn and need to be shaved a bit. I fixed it, plays just fine”. I didn’t argue, didn’t tell him it was a brand new Fiddlerman Concert and hadn’t been “played alot”. When my grandson got it home and I looked at it, it hadn’t been touched. $20.00 for nothing.
Had grandson take it home with him, 50+ miles away. Called a store there that I should’ve done to begin with but 100 miles is long for a tuning problem. The next day he called me and said it took about 4 minutes, charge -0-. Diagnosis- brand new strings can be squirrelly and until they finish stretching and spend time in the shape they will need to be they may cause cussing but this shall pass.
The lessons I learned are;
1. If, for whatever reason, you can’t get your fiddle in tune it doesn’t matter how far you have to go to get help.
2. Whatever you call a good fiddle fixer, they are like a good doctor, treat them right and hang on to them.
3. Don’t be afraid to look stupid. My desire to play was greater than my pride. Surprised me. I think it surprised my grandson more.
4. Grandsons and fiddle strings are alot alike. Brand new they are a pain but after a while they turn out to be good things to have.
Do experienced players ever have a strong urge to fling their fiddle across the room?
Fun tune (even if “Cripple Creek” makes me think first of The Band from back in the day)! Seems easy to play, even with some swing in there. Maybe I’m actually getting better little by little! 😅
Jason, I love the violin chord back up on the song, I tried to copy it but it sounds that you’re doing a C chord instead of a G chord when you’re doing the accompaniment chords in Part A. Can you do that because the G note is part of the C chord? Did you choose C because it sounds better? Just wondered how you came up with the chord progression that you did.
Wow, yeah, the more I play this tune the more I love it! This is a SAVORY lesson! 😅 Taking the challenge to play it on the D string wasn’t very hard, but still good practice, and I fiddled around with variations and a few simple double-stops over a D drone. Super energizing!
These are really nice additions to your site. You never cease to amaze me with your creativity.
just caught up with this lesson on the replay. I found that singing / chanting the lyrics really nailed getting the rhythm, that’s a great learning tool. I guess you can use that in other tunes even if they don’t have lyrics you can make up a rhyme to fit!
Hi Jason,
Do you have a triplet metronome?
Thanks, Deb
use 6/8 time if your MM can’t do it….
So much fun! I love using these scale lessons to really focus on my intonation and clean bowing; also to be more conscious of playing with less tension (since I tend in particular to clench my jaw!). Playing with scale variations over the drone can be exciting, too – enough to really use throwaway bowing! 😀
Your advice to either sing or hum the tune helped me with this tune. After a practice session, I returned to the tune a few days and couldn’t get the timing by reading the sheet music. Then I hummed the song and quickly figured it out. Thanks for great tips!
Wow! Like a few others, I wasn’t sure I cared much for this tune at first, but it’s definitely growing on me. I hear it as moving between A major and the relative F# minor, which seems especially clear in the course of Part A. It’s masked a bit in Part B, when it ends on the 5th degree of the relative minor (or the 3rd of the A major base key), but I ascribe that to the pentatonic character of the melody. Listening to Hillary Haas’s haunting YouTube version was icing on this cake!
Fun lesson! Alternating between singing and playing definitely helped get the tune in my head. Looking forward to more like this
Jason, I just caught up on the replay of this Mystery tune, great fun, my ear playing has improved so much over the past year of fiddlehed lessons in lockdown. Love the tune and yoga stretches just when we needed them. 🙂
In getting the sequence of skee daddle I had to do just as he suggests, take it bit by bit. Once I seem to get the overall tune of it, it seems much easier to reproduce- it truely is quite the exercise in string crossover. I am really enjoying this.
Thanks Jason, the call and response is exactly what I needed? I can read music but I’m trying to play with my bluegrass friends and I need to be able to play without the music and take a break that fits the song. These are the perfect exercises for that. Joe Ann
Hi Jason,
This was really interesting for me to watch the replay ( till it dropped out), I’m hoping to be able to join in when our clocks adjust for daylight savings later in the year.
It was so valuable to be reminded about returning to the basics when we’re dissatisfied with our sound or how our bow won’t glide the way we want it to. I thought Tom did a great job of transcribing and it was interesting to hear the background story too. This month’s focus on call and response will be very helpful for us to develop these skills further.
Last month, I skipped the lessons on reading as I can do that, but Fiddlehed has given me so much in the areas of ear training and memorisation. I used the extra time to write a harmony for Galway Bay Hornpipe and also wrote an original tune with chords and harmony. Would it be OK to send those to you? I’d really appreciate some feedback and any suggestions you have as writing is something I’d like to get into.
Cheers,
Marg.
Yes! Feel free to email me a link marg: [email protected].
Hi J, does any practice or piece you play start on a down bow please? V
This was an excellent lesson and makes total sense to me. If you can see a way to simplify the piece until you get the hang of it, it is much better than abandoning it because it seems too overwhelming.
I agree that knowing the core of the song can be helpful when playing with others. As long as you know the core tune it is still compatible with someone playing the fancy embellishments.
This is very helpful! Thank you Jason – I’m a little slow in my progress, even though I have learned to play lots of tunes , I won’t click ‘finished module ‘until I have successfully completed each one- Still ‘ fiddling around ‘ aka practicing -thanks again for your patience!:)
Is Exercise 2 third bar written correctly?. It does not seem to match what is played.
FiddleHed Seth made a video of this. It’s re-posted from the Student Videos page.
FiddleHed Seth made a video of this. It’s re-posted from the Student Videos page.
I think tremolo was hardest, but I think I did pretty well for a first time.
FiddleHed Joanne made a video of this. It’s re-posted from the Student Videos page. Here’s what they said:
I love this tune! I haven’t tried re-tuning the G down to D as Jason does in his lesson for this but instead used the D Drone to get the effect & then just did some drone double stops with A & D open strings.
I really appreciate how many times I hear you say that you can “train your ear” and these call and response practices are a “skill” you can LEARN. I most often have only heard that someone’s ear is an innate ability – sure, great, probably. But I really appreciate your voice to balance that out – It’s also something that can be learned and improved. There’s hope!
Danielle, ear-training is very much a learnable skill! I had to learn it pretty rigorously in college as a Music major, but then my career had nothing to do with music. Now that I’m retired and learning fiddle through FiddleHed, I’m delighted to be dusting off and using an old skill! I’m sure you’ll keep getting better at it the more you practice!
This is fun and challenging!! But—- If it was easy, anybody could do it!! Oh…. Anybody can do it with practice and dedication—and proper instruction.
Thank you Jason
I love this lesson! When I got to the “Whiskey Before Breakfast” phrase, my first thought was, “Wait, I haven’t even learned this song yet!” But the score’s right there and I read music, so no excuse! The fingering was a little tricky at first, but I’m getting it. Cool!
Loved learning these little tunes; makes me feel like a real fiddler! I can’t wait to learn more! Thanks for your amazing teaching techniques, Jason! 💃😀
I can’t find ‘You Are My Sunshine” or “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” among others that I found on the FiddleHed YouTube Channel.
Help
Larry Reese
Ha a little intimidating at first – but oh man that was fun! I caught the thrill of being in a band making music. Gosh I love this! I want to keep coming back to these lessons! Wooo who!
Jason, What are your tips for keeping the bow straight? Is there a lesson I can watch?
I’m still working on this myself. For what it’s worth, I started by fiddling in front of a mirror… but, that just isn’t feasible for me with every practice. Eventually, I tried the “Bow Right” which Jason lists in his Recommended Fiddle Gear section. I’m treating the bow right like training wheels. I use it some to get the feel, then I take it off and bow without it. Truth be told, I was feeling a little demoralized by my struggle with keeping the bow straight. This little device has been helpful for me.
https://fiddlehed.com/contact-help-new/recommended-gear-books-and-music/
I have a bow guide as well and it does help. I do have to practice without it so I don’t become dependent.
Hi Kate, thanks for asking and thanks for other folks’ tips also! Here’s some posts I found on Fiddlehed referring to keeping the bow parallel:
https://fiddlehed.com/?s=bow+parallel
Micro practises while watching ourselves in the mirror or on a video recording on screen can support ourselves to keep the bow parallel and feel and see what position and muscles are used to make that happen. I find as I get closer to the tip of bow when playing that I can feel a definite stretch in my outside forearm, which helps indicate to me I’m pushing my arm far enough out to get it close to parallel. Have a great time with it 🙂
Ahhhhh I can see where the metronome is becoming one with my mind and fingers.
Hi Jason, I joined you last night and already you’ve given me confidence with your frequent affirmations that if you want to do it you will succeed. I’m just learning to find where I finished last night and continue?
Great way to begin – I love the wit and humor!
I really like the tune “Chilly Winds”. However, I am having trouble learning it from the sheet music provided. Might we do a lesson going into more detail on this one or perhaps a practice journey? I found a simpler version in D minor that I like, but would love to learn your version
So I thought I had completed Module 1.5 but it shows 83% completed. How can I find out what I missed? 🤔
Like others, I’m enjoying this very much! Call & Response exercises are a pleasure because they’ve revived and strengthened my ear-training skills while helping me get more “nimble” in fingering. Wildwood Flower is a beautiful tune that I can’t stop playing, and I like the challenge of improving my jump up to the E string at the top of the melodic arc.
Thanks for sharing your reflection, Pete. Your experience of goodness is a joy to hear 🙂
Great lesson! Thanks to my past ear-training, responding wasn’t very hard per se, but these exercises are still excellent for strengthening those skills. I especially liked Exercise 4 for focusing on better intonation, and Exercise 7 for the melodic fragments and overall vibe!
The most difficult part of producing soft/;old was in maintaining a good sound. I had to be sure it wasn’t scratchy.
I agree. Changing pressure whit getting scratchy.
Still plugging along and enjoying the practice. Using practice as a way to relax with the added benefit that I might be able to play a fiddle well and maybe with other people. I am not pressuring myself for getting to be an accomplished fiddler. If that happens it’ll be in the fullness of time.
As I look through the “Tunes to review”, I recognize all of the names… a few I can hum in my head, and after a few false starts, I can play them. The further we progress through the course, the more there are to review. I just can’t seem to learn (from memory) any “new” tunes. I need sheet music. Plain and simple. I have to learn to be okay with that.
I’m equating audiation with perfect pitch and playing by ear. I hope perfect pitch–or even memorizing a few pitches (to have a reference point) soon.
I’m uncertain if there’s enough time for me to learn tunes for memory. There doesn’t seem to be enough memory in my mind for the “have to remember” and “want to remember”. It’s good if we CAN memorize… but responsibilities of home/job doesn’t lend itself to a lot of free time.
However, I am enjoying what I’m learning. 🙂 Keep up the good work, Jason 😀
I noticed this when seeing tab above the sheet music, maybe it will help those trying to go from tab to notes by giving them a little hint.
If you look at the lines the notes are written on and then think of the finger numbers in tab, when a note sits between two lines then that note is played with 0-2-4 finger. I think of it as even, not mathmatical but who cares. If the note sits with a line running through it, one line right smack across it, it is played with finger 1 or 3. It’s odd, just like me. Amazing.
Just think, all those notes, so many it’s daunting. But if a line goes through them it’s only gonna be f1 or f3. For me, it tamed the visual freeze from seeing sooooo much I don’t know. If, in just trying to familiarize yourself, you look at a piece more advanced, circle the “odd” notes. In all that confusing squiggle, hahahahaha! Only finger 1 or 3. Out of 10 fingers, only two possibles.
I’m sure there are exceptions somewhere but I’m not advanced enough, YET, to find them. Once I saw this little oddity, it pulled out of overload and reinforced this- right now, one finger at a time.
I know it’s simplistic but it helped me click.
Also, the trees I planted 10 years ago are doing pretty well, I’m more critical of my fiddle playing , since I look at video recordings of myself I find myself distracted by how grey my hair is getting, so I’m switching to audio recordings on my handheld sony digital recorder that I record lessons and tunes I want to learn on…eliminating the vanity distraction..
I’ve recorded myself playing with the webcam on my photobooth thingy on my imac. It is helpful-the video showed I’m making huge movements with my left hand instead of keeping my fingers as close to the strings as possible. Part of why I do that is that I started out playing 12 string guitar and when I play from sheet music I’m looking at the notes instead of my fingering. Watching myself on video is quite instructive… my motto this week is : The best time to take up learning a musical instrument, like the best time to plant a tree is 10 years ago…the second best time is right now.
Omg — this is ME! I love music so much that I always want to play tunes that are way beyond my ability!!! Thank you for the reminder and the encouragement. PS – It was a challenge for me play Oh Susanna that fast… but I finally got it 🙂
Having taught myself knitting, crochet & tatting, I learned that the more you look for repeats of stitch, note or rhythm, the faster it becomes a subconscious habit. They just start to jump out.
I have a question about this. In needlework, you read a graph and it feels
very much like reading music. I have a habit of, while browsing graphs, seeing a new combination of stitches and even if I have no intention of making what the graph is, I will pick out these new combinations and start doodling with my needles. Most of them are 17th & 18th century and relevant to not much else I’ll use and so I’m just playing with it. I’ll call it what it is. I’m just fartin’ around with it.
Is this a habit I should break and concentrate on learning one thing at a time? Is it ok to have some bizarrely difficult couple measures that, if I ever played at all, would be years down the line? You will probably be glad when my two weeks is up and hope I forget about this. I just find that for my particular mind, it dims frustration by reminding me “Amy, that is crazy difficult. But this is something you can do if you want to.”
Roll your eyes if you must, but I have a harder time unlearning than learning, so breaking bad habits kills me.
Thank you so, so much,
Amy
Useful lesson, Jason. I used to think that I would never be able to read music, but I’m working on it now with your guidance. Little steps!
I’ve been making index cards for the Irish tunes,as you suggested in a previous lesson. Just being able to work out the notes in the first couple of bars of a tune is enough to recognise the tune. That is so useful for when I just want to pick up the fiddle and play something.
I really want to thank you for everything you have on you tube and you allowing a free time on your site. I wish I could afford to stay but alas I am too poor.
In Scotland this tune is known as Mrs McLeod of Raasay. And as the island of Raasay was, for centuries, owned by the McLeods, the tune was almost certainly Scottish in origin and crossed the Irish sea. But of course, Gaelic fiddle tunes seem to make that journey both ways – a lot.
As a teacher myself, I’m really impressed with this whole course. It really is excellent.
This one took me by surprise; I was breezing through the previous lessons but this one was definitely a challenge! Still trying to keep up the pace….I will keep practicing though! 😅
great tune!!!! just got my main computer on line so now I can see full screen. im still playing slowly but picking up a little speed.
thanks Jason
Thanks for the fun exercises. As someone else remarked, I wish previous teachers had incorporated these drills into their pedagogy.
I”ll tell you something Jason. You really are an excellent, excellent, teacher!
Jason, I am so happy that I stuck with you! In reading all the above… there is so many valuable practice and technique tips that I needed reminding of! Also, it is good to read and I realize that I am not alone in my struggles 🙂
This is a great resource page to return to over and over again! Thank you!
Cheers,
Trish
I love the progression of notes, to bits, to quarters! This feels doable!
I just discovered the same problem in the “Full Content” play-along track that others have mentioned going back to peggydobro’s comment in Aug 2020(!): the last two bars of the B part are missing at least on some of the repetitions. This makes it hard to play along, especially as the song accelerates. Frustrating!
Hi Pete, thanks for re-mentioning this, we’ll get this working asap.
I am ready to start paying the $39 per month to get access to FiddleHed lessons. I’d like to select the ones I think I need, and go at my own pace. i am 93 years old and used to play the violin. I can’t see how to do that form the information presented as my trial subscription runs out. It wants me to set up goals, records of accomplishments, and “I-don’t-know-what-else.”
Please let me know how I can do it in this way, if that is possible. I like your method of breaking the elements of violin playing into small pieces that can be practiced separately.
Norman Crook
Hope you received a reply and are giving this a go Mr Crook! My understanding is you can indeed roam across the site and take your own approach with the direction if that suits you better. Wish you every good luck in returning to the violin, hope this endeavour brings you much pleasure.
A recurring challenge I have is to stop the D string from “ringing” when I lift my finger to shift from D2 to A0 in the first bar. I had the same problem with “Oh, Susanna” but solved it in that case by keeping my finger on D2 momentarily as I shifted to the A string. Here the rhythm and shift is a little tighter, so harder to manage – but it’s great practice for improving my fingering technique!
I’m really enjoying this course. Just as a suggestion, an excellent further practice aid both for bowing and fingering in tune is the Tabledit programme. Here’s the drill.
1) Dowload the free demo full version of Tabledit (not the player version)
2. Go to the website Banjohangout.org
3. Go to the tabs section
4. Download a few Tabledit formatted tunes (in different keys if possible)
5. Open a tune and
a) on the ‘view’ tab click on the guitar part.
b) On the ‘midi’ tab go to >midi options > mute the banjo part
6) Still in the Midi tab > open ‘relative speed’
7) Look at the guitar part and find a couple of bars where the guitar is playing a chord in g,d,a, whatever
8) Loop those bars. (you can set the speed at whatever tempo you want or increase it incrementally as well if you like)
Now you have a solid bass and guitar backup to practice bowing and fingering exercises over. I find that having the guitar playing rhythm helps me to stay both in time and in tune. Hope this is of help to someone.
Cheers,
G
Thanks for this
yes
Yes!
Jason, you have ‘hit the nail on the head’ for me here. I say ‘this is too hard’ far too many times. I am going to start talking to Doubting Delilah when she appears. Thank you for this very helpful post and good luck with your renovations and I do hope you find joy in them.
I am so happy to be learning the fiddle! I am starting to read the sheet music, enjoy the sound, and document my practice. The call and response exercises are most helpful for me. Thank you for all the effort it took to build this!
Rachel, your insights on experiencing the program is so well rounded. Really helpful to hear this 🙏🏾 Thanks for fiddling with us 🎶
The call and response practice is so fun!
Just returning to my lessons after a bit of an absence, and what a knockout, pretty
song this is to get me back into playing again. Learning this one will keep me coming
back for sure, and then playing with that whole tune version at the end… Motivating!
The timing of this post is perfect for me since my fixed mindset about learning tunes is exactly what I have been grappling for a while now.
Finding it almost impossible to submit Practice Journal entries off my Galaxy S20 smartphone. Can’t scroll down to Submit button and can’t shrink screen to get to it.
Good review! For some reason, I can’t find the button to mark it as complete.
Ah, just found it!
I finally found a bluegrass jam in my area!
I grew up going to Scottish sessions, where folk don’t take breaks… everyone plays sets of tunes together, I’m struggling to get the hang of playing accompaniment then blasting into the tune just for one round, when it takes me a couple to get into it! Any tips!?
I’d love to see a tutorial for Big Sciota (y)!!
Pretty please! Thanks Fiddlehed, I love your classes, I’m finally going to bite the bullet and join in the action!
Just caught up with this lesson and really enjoyed it, the pace was just perfect thank you! Reading up on the tune’s history as its name was adopted in rugby too! I wonder if that ties in with the tune or a player of the same name!
Very wise advice, even if easier said than done. Also very valuable for me, since I started my own fiddle journey late last year with another online fiddle course that was helpful at first, but then got too advanced too quickly, with little help on basic techniques. I’m so thankful I discovered the FiddleHed YouTube channel and then recently became a FiddleHed student. It’s lifted me out of the growing discouragement I was feeling, and has made me excited again to be learning the fiddle!
Am enjoying how Module 1.2 is helping me revive my ear-training skills from long ago! Three technical glitches I’ve encountered repeatedly that you might want to check:
1) When using the site in Night Mode, it’s almost impossible to type entries in the Practice Journal because what I type shows up as white on a very pale yellow background (both on my standard Dell PC and on my Samsung Galaxy S20 cell). In Daylight Mode, what I type shows as black on the same pale yellow or white background, so no problem in that Mode.
2) Practice Toolkit seems convenient, but sometimes I can’t get to the “Submit” button after making an entry in my Practice Journal on my laptop (ie, the screen won’t scroll down to bring the Submit button into view).
3) When I leave a comment like this one, the reCaptcha function makes me try three times (ie, I have to “backpage”) before it accepts the comment as “valid” and lets it post. Seems to happen whether I post from my laptop or my cell.
Awesome sharings Pete, your feedback helps us out alot. We will check into these situations you clearly explain.. and good to know you tried it on a couple devices. Thanks for your support and attention.
Spring practice challenge really helped! Now have a friend playing guitar on Adieu Spanish ladies with me! Thanks for the kick to keep me going!
Thanks for the replay, I couldn’t get my WiFi working during the live one! Great lesson, I really like the jigify embellishments!
Really good tool to master using it a lot.
Fantastic lesson. I love the drones more and more. I used this one to play Freres Jacques very, very slowly – almost like organum in European Medieval music – to really focus on my intonation and bowing. I can’t imagine a more enjoyable and effective way to do that.
I didn’t realize how integral drones are to practicing until taking this course 🙂 Especially when I’m learning a new tune or playing something really basic, it just doesn’t sound that great on its own, and can be a bit disheartening. Add a drone and all of a sudden I feel like I’m playing a real song with a fellow musician! And it’s been great for practicing bowing for me as well, especially slow bowing, which has always been a challenge.
Hope you’re having fun on your fiddling journey!
Great piece Jason, I see some serious practice in my future!!!!!
“Awesome” is an overused word, but that’s truly what this lesson is! Tremendously helpful for improving my intonation, and I’m delighted to finally use my ear-training again from my college Music Major days *decades* ago!
Looking forward to diving into this session! I’m a pretty strong sight-reader, and it’s been both a blessing and a curse. It affords me the opportunity to learn new tunes, but on the flip side, I’ve become to use it as a crutch. If I can’t figure out a tune by ear, I fall back to the sheet music to help me out. It may be my Achilles heel to memorizing tunes. Thanks!
Play-along tracks are really great for working on my intonation, especially at slower speeds.
home from vacation, just getting back into the “swing” of things. love this tune. I have missed my Fiddlehed community
Same issue. Last measures are omitted some of the time on the Full Play Along Track.
Hey Rachel and everyone who kindly mentioned this glitch – I see where your talking about and we will get this corrected soon. Thanks for filling us in everyone 🙂
Hi all, I usually am unable to log into the Zoom meetings due to the fact that I’m at work when they take place. I was elated that today I’d have time to do that! 12 noon EST. However, all I get is “wait for host to start this meeting” and its almost an hour later–still no meeting. How do y’all usually do the zoom practice sessions? Is it practice an hour and THEN he starts the meeting for conversation? I’m confused…
Help me out, please? thanks!
Hey Lisa, Thanks for mentioning your experience, sorry we couldn’t help you that day. May be good to email Jason for potentially a quicker response in situations like these. I checked the calendar and noticed the 9AM PT open practise was scheduled for April 18 so you may have missed it by a day. There are instances where sometimes the wrong zoom link goes out, so if it’s not automatically opening the session shortly after the scheduled time, check your email for an updated link.
To my knowledge, these practise sessions will start right around the scheduled time on Zoom with a welcome intro, then practising together where you are muted, Jason is not muted so you can either mute your own sound to fully focus on your own practise, or choose to listen/watch whats going on for him/others, and then closer to the end of the session there is a discussion together.
I hope it lines up for you to join another day.
I wish there were a way to save this as a favorite lesson. It’s so good!
Hey Rachel, good idea! I’ll put it in the suggestions 🙂
I can read music but I’m not very fast at it so tabs help me a lot. To help me, I print out the sheet music and write the tabs over each note. By viewing the notes, I can tell if I should be playing eighth notes, quarter, or half notes. After I write the tabs, I study each measure and clap out the notes to get a better sense of the timing. I like your idea of saying the notes out loud as I play.
I’m sold on this — already started my MPL! Thanks 🙂
Just what I need to help me with my string crossings! This is the most fun I’ve had playing since I’ve learned the violin 🙂
I learned a Round Peak version of this tune in a GDGD cross tuning, but it was a “crooked” tune and I never could get the rhythm down right. I like this arrangement better -it makes more sense as a waltz and playing with the backing track and sheet music helped so much.
I’m trying to leave a comment.
oops nevermind -it’s working
Good to hear Nancy, sometimes I notice it can take a little bit to post and I also sometimes accidentally hit the ‘cancel comment’ button above my reply instead of the button below it.
Due to my limited data and slow internet speed, I won’t be able to participate in zoom lessons or do much in the way of downloading and uploading but there are so many cool and useful things here that I’ll be able to benefit from. I wish I subscribed a long time ago, but hey, better late than never.
I found Fiddlehed a couple of years ago on YouTube and learned a couple of tunes from those lessons but the Jerusalem Ridge lesson is the reason I finally subscribed.
Ok. I’m in. I HAVE been playing MOST daily… am keeping a journal, and my goal is to not have any blank boxes of no music. Even if it’s a 2 minute run of scales and arpeggios of said scales. We’ll see.
Good exercises! Suggestion on the Triplets: the 4-count in for all three (D/A, G/D, and A/E string pairs) might work better as a 3-count. I also noticed two beats of rest after the second measure on the D/A and A/E pairs (but not on the G/D pair), which makes it sound like a 3/4 measure followed by a 5/4 measure. Might help us students audiate if these were re-recorded in straight 3/4 time with a 3-beat count in.
Yes Pete, thanks for sharing and working together to help make this site awesome! This makes total sense. Small changes like this is important and beneficial for all. We’ll make this adjustment soon.
This sounds amazing, I’m in! I’m a fiddler, but I really want make a point to practice guitar more. With school, orchestra, practicing violin and fiddle, and a bit too much procrastination packed into my schedule, guitar has recently fallen to the wayside. I also got a 12-string for Christmas, and have so far been too discouraged to play it enough to actually improve. For this challenge, I aim to practice for at least 25 minutes a day- some on 6-string, some on the 12. I want to strengthen my fingers enough to play the 12-string guitar a little more efficiently (using chords and scales) and maybe learn a song or two more fluently (Blackbird, or maybe something Pink Floyd). Also, I’ve heard that playing the guitar can make your finger calluses too thick to play the violin- I’ve been playing guitar for about 2 years and so far this hasn’t happened to me, but I don’t practice it nearly as much as the fiddle. Does anyone think playing the 12-string so much will interfere with my fiddling?
Haha – I love the Sruggs book tribute – repeat 1000 times!! This is a great course BTW.
Hi Jason, just to let you know that exercise 13 is missing-unlucky for some!
I think I looped (A0 A3 E1) 100 times during my practice today – only 900 more to go before I get it down with no squeaks or slides 😉
Glad to try this again! I’m in the midst of a 100-day ukulele challenge too, but I usually have time to play through a few tunes each day on the fiddle. I can’t quite figure out why my bow still squeaks after 7 or so years of learning the violin (mostly self-taught). So, for the challenge, I will focus on my bowing technique and trying to get through one or two tunes with minimal or no squeaks. I will also aim to record and post a few times as well.
I’m in! thanks, Jason. Travel threw off the first day jussstttt a bit. Trying to discretely practice in the hotel 🙂
These exercises were super helpful. I noticed when Jason plays them he does a very slight pause between each note whereas I tend to run them together. Is doing it with the pause important? I don’t know, maybe that’s a dumb question but it’s something I noticed so I wondered. Thanks!
Thanks, Jason, for the practice hour today. I made my Master List on Saturday and started reviewing and playing songs for memory. Thanks for the practice session. I loved to watch what you did, especially with the Bb scale. And I loved hearing the minor tunes. Really inspired and motivated me to learn more of those songs.
I’m in. Shooting for 40 minutes a day broken into two sessions. Working on E flat scale and an arrangement of Fairest Lord Jesus to do as a piano duet. Working on getting some old turns up to a jam speed.
Hardest of these exercises for me: Soft-Loud-Soft, particularly in executing both smooth and consistent crescendi and accelerandi at the same time. The dramatic decelerando near the end of each track was challenging while maintaining the soft-loud shift. As with the tremolo exercises, practicing soft-loud-soft on a string adjacent to the one in each track, and practicing it in double-stops, actually helped my focus and overall execution.
Love practicing tremolos. I find it’s also a great way to improve the balance of my double-stops if I do long tremolos across strings.
I’m in, thanks for setting this up
This couldn’t have come at a more perfect time! I’ve been sick as a dog and haven’t played much the last couple of weeks, so this is a great motivator to get back into the swing of things 😀
Really enjoy the Throw-away bowing practice to improve sound. I found it especially fun and effective (I think) if I play the same note as on the play-along track, but then to do it again, this time on an adjacent string, so that I’m playing a Perfect 5th apart (say, playing on the D string when the track is on the A string). It helps me actually hear myself better, while creating that nice drone effect.
Another chance for me to recommit to the fiddle! Thanks for having this challenge. : )
Glad to be a Practicipant!
This is a game changer!
Whew, that was good practice, but it almost put me in a trance by the end! 🙂 The Star Wars riff near the end of the Swing on A helped pull me back! 😀
Love this tune, thank you!
At this point I can hear that the FiddleHed musical tag is in G! 😀
Thank you Jason! Perfect timing, I have been struggling with my practices, feeling like I just jump around and get nothing accomplished. This will help me focus and make my practice time more fun! Something I’ll look forward to!
You are the greatest!
Rita Smith
Started playing about 4 months ago, but just joined FiddleHed and figured I should start at Mod 1.1. I’m sure glad I did: besides putting me in a mellow frame of mind, I learned that I’ve been placing my shoulder rest on backwards! Lol My fiddle now feels much more comfortable! 🙂
This one is a fun and simple duet. I plan to transpose the second fiddle part to bass clef because the person I play duets with plays cello. I am just learning how to find my way around on this site and keep finding little treasures, for instance: on drone central I found Swallowtail Jig transformed into Swallowtail Raga-so cool ! I love Indian music, I have a book of Ragas for violin by Candida Connolly but it is way above my level. One day I’ll take another crack at it.
So, I’ve been struggling with memorization/learning the tune. I want to be able to play without sheet music, or a guitarist leading the way lol. I realize during practice I’m so afraid that I won’t be able to get back to it because of life’s demands, so I play as much as I can, and focusing very little on keeping what I’ve played/practice.
One strategy that I’m trying is to take all the songs you use, download a version from Apple Tunes, and listen while I’m driving. If I listen to it a million times, maybe the tune will stick with me, and I’d have a better chance of playing it without sheet music. We’ll see! 😀
I didn’t know this tune and wasn’t sure if I liked it, but after many, many times playing it over, it grew on me.
I really like having the play along after doing the repeats over and over. I is a sure fire way to get it to sink in.
Thanks so much!
The tune Soldiers Joy is actually Norweigan folk dance tune – Seksmanril. You can see it in action on YouTube – It varies in that it has a 3rd part.
this tune is utter delight and just exactly ctly what i needed to practice right now. I cant thank you enough Jason!
Jason,
Really enjoyed this lesson. Thank you.
Very challenging, fun and a beautiful tune.
I’m also a fan of Kevin Burke.
Thank you, for being so helpful and supportive of what is obviously fiddlers at large,but I especially thank you for being even more helpful than I could have imagined to this was wannabe soon will be fiddler. And I am on a free trial. You are great and I appreciate the hard work you have done to help. Really get a lot out of your taking the time to email helpful advice I did not find a website with lessons I found a teacher.
Great advice!
Love this.
Love these
Still getting a 404 error on the PDF for sheet music. Thanks.
Hi Jason
Thank you for this lesson. These are really helping me to play by ear. I am surprising myself at how much I am remembering.
I think because we keep playing the sections over a few times it starts to really establish the tune in my fingers.
thanks again
I really enjoyed this and got a lot out of each part. You explain things really well. I found when I did the drone on the E I could hear the E but I could also hear a higher note which turned out to be a B. Is there something wrong with my hearing or am I supposed to hear the higher note for some reason? I only hear it with the drone.
“Part A, first half” play along track is tagged onto the end of “Play Along Track – Full Tune” around minute 8.
Hi Jason, thanks for this great tune and well paced workshop, I’m noticing how much my playing by ear has improved since I’ve been practising the Fiddlehed method. It feels good to work through sections with your guidance and knowing that there’s all those other students doing exactly the same thing.
Sorry I came in late last week, I guess the clock has gone to daylight saving in your part of the world. It’s a bit early for me now in Australia, so I’ll work from the replays for a while. I can manage the Hootenany time though, so looking forward to that next week.
Cheers,
Marg.
Any tips on how to make the 2nd quarter of the B Part sound so effortless? I can tell in your video that it’s all in the bowing…
I love the backing tracks. They really make me feel like I am playing in a jam and I like the way you speed up so slowly. It really helps.
Lovely tune. ❤️
Hello, there is a small mistake in this training For the B part first Quarter, it is not possible to train with the sound because you have put the sound of the A First quarter
Ok great Maryline, thanks for noticing this, we’ll get that switched.
This has not been corrected yet.
Hi Chris,
Thanks for following up on this. I was able to find the correct audio file for this. Please reach out anytime. Happy fiddling 🎶
I made it through the entire First part of the lessons! Things I have learned:
1) Tremolo is NOT vibrato, but it DOES add “flavor” to a tune
2) Call and response exercises are a great way to train my ear.
3) It bugs me that I can’t memorize tunes. I’ve created a playlist on Apple Music, and listen on my way to work. I can hum while it’s playing, but as soon as it’s over, I’ve forgotten from whence I’ve hummed.
4) Playing every day IS important–even just whipping through a few triads/scales. Something. Anything. Just PLAY, even on “those days” when you wonder if the whole world is against you.
Thanks Jason. This is a fun course. Thanks for making it so 🙂
Ouch! You got me. I was guilty of playing in order to “check the box”. Except for call-and-response exercise… I LOVE those, and REALLY think they help. I’ve played “I’ll Fly Away” thousands of times in different settings, so I didn’t need it for “this” tune. HOWEVER! I realize I need it for all the other gazillion tunes I’d love to have ingrained in my memory. I realize that having sheet music has always been my ‘crutch’, and having you play as I follow along in the music REALLY helps me play it correctly. However, if I don’t have the sheet music, I can’t play it. Gotta work on that.
OMG the Pentatonic scale is exactly the note in a little tune in the movie Babe. The old man sings to the pig a lovely little tune.
I would love to see “Faded Love” on your web site.
[email protected]
Faded Love is a great tune, Thanks for the idea, Lynda. I’ll add it to our recommendations 🙂
Thanks Robin for this bit of history.
My pleasure, you’re welcome!
Cool(ey)! Thanks for the info.
Absolutely!
I can’t make sense of Bow Bouncing ex. 3. Doesn’t sound as written to me.
Hello Chrissie, awesome noticing! They are different, and both good exercises to do – starting by going up and down on the D string (with 2 8th notes), then trying the whole D scale up and down. We’ll get this mix matched up. Thanks for mentioning 🙂
This was hard. Very hard. It’s like trying to rub your head and pat your belly at the same time, or vice versa. I’ll probably be visiting this many, many times.
I love, love, LOVE these call and response exercises! Two reasons: One–It really trains my ears and two–it zero’s my focusing in, making me ignore the noise (household chores and responsibilities) around me. Every once in a while, I just need to get away from “that” world and be alone in my “Music” world. Does that make sense?
Hey Lisa, totally makes sense! Glad to hear this is a great outlet for you to tune in deeply to the music 🙂
Sometimes I like to make my own up on an audio recording device for fun and to play both roles of an exercise like this one.
Thank you Jason, I am learning my way round this amazing site – blackest crow stopped me in my tracks -looked at so many other versions online- deeply moving love song.
Rosin is flammable even when dry and hard. Even more so when heated to a liquid. I would not recommend it.
Thank you Crowbar- I’ll keep it as is! 😁
Really helpful! Thanks Jason!
This was a wonderful interview/chit chat with Michael about all things fiddles. I have some broken rosin and managing to use it ok – but if it breaks further is there a way of heating it to restore form?
Thanks, I loved having the drone on and fiddling about, it helped me to just forget about trying to play and stay in the moment of just bowing.
love this Cool reel-but the PDF link isnt working
Hey Caroline, glad you enjoy and thanks for mentioning this. Can you open it now?
Thank you Jason! I’m still in practice mode !:)
Great, I think I’ll give this a try.
This drone practice gave me a huge confidence boost today. I was doubting my ear this week…but it turns out I CAN actually hear these notes. Yay!
Love the exercises. Repetition is helpful and as I pluck along I say the names of the strings in my head. The repetition also makes it easier to find where to pick up with the correct notes when I make an error. Finally, playing second fiddle to your first fiddle is good practice to hear the melody while playing my part in sync. Lots of good stuff happening here!
Great lesson thanks Jason!
How wonderful to spend the month focusing on bowing! Thank you, Jason.
Definitely appreciated this lesson. I’m still working on keeping the bowing straight too. I find I’m still go off bowing on angles
Thanks Jason! Your “Don’t Give Up!” Newsletter arrived at JUST the right time. I was beginning to despair of ever getting my string crossings to sound better, and “6 Ways of getting a Better Sound with the Bow” took me right back to basics and calmed me down. I followed that up with “How can I clean up the bow sound on the violin” and 30 minutes of nice simple exercises.
After that I felt MUCH more optimistic about getting these simple things right. I’m already looking forward to tomorrow’s practice session . . .
hi Jason, did you ever make a video with the bowing for this tune?
Hey Tammylee~ are you looking for a video that teaches bowing/slurring patterns for this tune? Thanks for inquiring.
Thanks for posting the replay!
Thank you Jason I really enjoyed that workshop, helpful and fun. There’s plenty there to keep applying to my bow practice.
this was an outstanding lesson!!!!!
Good! Let me know if you end up practicing that stuff…
Its a great way to learn the basics.
What a beautiful tune and variation. Thankyou.
There doesn’t appear to be a button to mark this section as complete
Thanks for letting us know Mary, we’ll get this added.
Hey Mary,
Module 2.2 Progress is at the bottom of the accordion tabs on that page. But I’ve been thinking of making this more obvious….thanks…
I’m afraid I can’t find the “Mark as done” either lol. I can see “Module 2.2 progress” but can’t find the “mark as done” option?
Really like Wildwood Flower and really enjoying the lessons.
Awesome Joanie!
Hello I am currently testing FiddleHed because I like your courses a lot and if after the test period I like it I would like to continue paying but I see that already after 6 days some things no longer work No way to open the journal and update it. it is Broken.
The journal is working again, i am happy now thank you.
Great to hear your checking out FiddleHed and enjoying Jason’s lessons 🙂
And awesome that the journal system is working again. Please let us know as you notice anything that could use improving, we really appreciate hearing about it.
Today I Subscribe to FiddleHed. I live in Switzerland.
I made a lot of progress in 7 days that I had never made in 1 year with the violin and I really have a lot of fun.
Yes! Fun is the goal. If you have fun, then you keep going…
I like this a lot. From an Alexander Technique teacher point of view it removes the “end-gaining” element and allows me to enjoy the “journey itself” Thank you!
I’ve been playing for about 10 years, and I play in jams with my friends. I went back and reviewed all the lessons in the beginner modules, and I’m starting in module 2 now. I took some lessons early on to learn how to hold the bow and make music come out of the instrument. I taught myself to read music with the help of my church hymnal and you tube. I’m trying to correct some of my bad habits. My main goal is improvisation and back up. I appreciate your site. It’s keeping me focused on learning and practicing new techniques.
Good to hear this Liz. I’ve been threatening to do improv lessons for some time, but it’s happening this year!!
Great workshop. The techniques were very helpful in improving tone. I will keep practicing. Thank you
Good to hear this Lisa. Approaching bowing as an exploration makes it fun…
Hi Jason. I hope this is the right place to ask for advice. I’m thinking about upgrading my bow. Do you have any suggestions on the best bows for fiddlers or does it really depend on what sounds best with my instrument? Thanks!
Hi Leanna,
I recommend going to a violin store and trying a few out. Sometimes you can take them home. If that’s not an option, Fiddlershop lets you try out instruments and has a good return policy.
Let me know if you have more questions or problems along the way: [email protected]
Thank you Jason, for continuing to grow your website and lessons. I began fiddling in 2014 at age 49. Being left handed, I turned my fiddle upside down and played backwards. Your free lessons, at the time, taught me so very much. I am so happy and to be subscribed for your lessons. You are THE BEST!
Hey Kayla,
Thanks for saying that! Messages like this keep me going…
Thanks for that, yesterday was the first day for ages that I couldn’t practise (very sick!) so this seems like a great place to pick up my fiddle again.
Some very good stuff in this lesson for timing and bowing and beat. Will be fun to incorporate into practice!
love this but can you put repeat marks in the music? It catches me every time.
Hi Mary, I will put this suggestion in, good idea!
Hey Mary, I put this on the fix list…
I feel to be making progress. Loving the course.😊👍
Good to hear this Julia!
I’m wondering if there is a general bowing pattern with slurs that makes this one easier to play faster? Thanks!
Great question Heidi~
I’d tend to slur every two 8th notes together (d2,d3 slurred, then d2,d1 slurred, then d0,d0 I’d separate) – generally playing the double open notes separately.
I’ll put this suggestion aside to possibly be written out on this/a lesson.
Another fun exercise is to see how many 8th notes you can put into one slur, keeping rhythm/speed working well for you 🙂
Thanks!
Thanks for this lesson on playing backup chords!
You’re welcome. More to come later this year on backup…
Another great idea Jason. It makes perfect sense!:)
Tunefinder not working. Page is taking ages to load and none of the hyperlink are active for me. Pl advice
Thanks Mu So. We’re working on this…
That was brilliant! I finished with a huge grin on my face. Thank you
Glad! You have to train the ear, might as well have fun doing it…
I LOVE the call and response activities! The A Pentatonic scale was a bit difficult for me, because I couldn’t decide if I was hearing the melody I was supposed to repeat, or part of the droning note. I do aim to practice more so that I CAN get it. Loving it!
Same here! I couldn’t get that one.
This lesson was extremely helpful! Thanks Jason!
I absolutely love, love, LOVE these call and response exercises! Sometimes I get anxious, because I’m used to having the security blanket called, “sheet music” lol. This is good ear training. Keep up the good work!
I love the tool kit .Thanks Mr. K
I’m still working on Module 2.1. I played all sorts of drowning to an old cd I found under the couch today. I know well and thought it would help with what was learned so far. I can do Improve and am comfortable in fun Jam sessions with other pickers when I can find them. The guys often get drug off by their ear……..girl friends or wives……very sad and without good cause, sorry girls! I know what it is to play 3 to6 hrs or more a day . Had a 74 Tele Deluxe from my Gram in !974 and a few more.I never went Pro and can still hear.LOL Had fun and went through this album 3X Took about an hour. Thanks Mr. K
I worked on module 2.1 for almost an hour. Spent time on different drone chords on the A and E string, aligning with the B drone. I finally got a place to start. Also played Yankee doodle. This lesson is very helpful. Had a great time,
Hi everyone, this is a great lesson, will be practicing along. Thank you FH
I agree with Sandra above!!
I learned two of my favorite tunes in this module! Hooray!! 🙂
Thank you for the suggestion of using Strum Machine. I’ve started using it and it both helps my timing and adds some fun to my practice. However, I have run into a problem in that not all of the fiddle music that I have has chords. Is there any “rule of thumb” that I could apply to determine what chord should be used for any given measure?
Hey tjwill, thanks for this great question. This question could go into depth as a lesson someday. Here’s a couple suggestions for now, searching the tune online with the phrase ‘sheet music’, utilizing images as search preference, could help you find a version of the tune that is similar to yours and has chords already made up for it.
Here’s an article that explains some methods for finding chords for a tune in a clear and simple way:
https://www.secretsofsongwriting.com/2012/10/05/choosing-chords-to-fit-your-song-melody/
All the best in your journey and I’ll take note of this for a future lesson/post on FiddleHed.
I can tell I am going to love your program
Another good one! I’ve never been able to play back up chords–maybe just wasn’t disciplined enough. I always immediately go to the harmony of the melody. Your backing tracks, videos, and suggestions REALLY help me to become more discipline and make my playing “stick” with me, instead of just dancing all over the place.
Thanks so much for this reflection and feedback, Lisa. Great the program is helping you in these ways.
I am really excited about participating in one of these hootenanny! Still relatively new to the subscription areas of the website. Looking forward to learning more. Jason–I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again… you are a rockstar!
Thanks for the terrific lesson, very helpful!
Great for combating stage fright!
Great suggestion!
Jason: In your video on practice journal, you said you couldn’t get the video link link in your entries to open in a new tab. The solution is to type the words “new window” (but without the quotations marks) into the field marked Target when you are creating the link. Then Submit.
Usually the target field has a couple of drop down choices, which aren’t here, so just type it in.
Love these tone building tunes – am learning and grinning as earlier this morning listening to some beautiful Celtic tunes – I could hear the sawing…
Relax and start with the bow on the string.
Loving the lessons.
Enjoying everything so far. So much to learn!
I just watched the recorded session of this workshop. I have always struggled with timing and learned a lot in this session. Extracting small portions of the song was very helpful. I’d like to see more sessions related to this topic
Thanks for your constructive feedback Ibiehl. 🙂
I’ve made note of this request for future session topics like this one. Glad this helped you out!
Exercises 1 and 2: OK I got this
Exercise 3: That escalated quickly
Hey @kellymhanson, Try to practice it without the play-along track at first.
Completed 🙂
I love, love, LOVE these call and responses–ESPECIALLY with the drones! It took a bit for me to be able to “tune in” to the audio, and I was afraid I couldn’t get it, as I’ve been hearing impaired since birth. However, closing my eyes and focusing on the sounds is very soothing and really REALLY helps me focus! I wonder if these exercises done consistently will help me focus in general? I have to be careful though–so relaxed these made me I almost fell off the stool!
Thank you for introducing me to the drones and call and response!
Hey Lisa,
For sharing that this helps you to focus. I had never really thought of that before, but now that you say this it totally rings true.
Add this to the list of why drones are useful…
What platform do you use to store your recordings? I’ve recorded a few tunes here and there on the iphone to share with FB groups, but they’re far and few in between. I get flustered because I’m all over the place with storage, and then forget where I put them.
Can anyone advise on the best format to keep all of the “fiddle stuff” together?
Thanks!
Ok, I re-read the blog…lol I see Jason uses voice memos on the app. That makes sense. I always pictured a VIDEO recording, but I guess it could be just an audio. That’s easier to do, since it could be done in my pj’s lol.
I’d still like some ideas of keeping them all consolidated.
Hi Lisab~
Great question, maybe others will chime in on this.
I use voice memos quite a bit as well and ensure I title it ASAP if I’m keeping the recording so I can find what I’m looking for later.
Google Drive can be a good platform for storing/organizing recordings.
If you use your iphone to video record, I’d suggest right clicking on the video your going to keep and adding it to an album to access more easily later.
Calling Apple support can be a great help for getting this all familiar and easy to do 🙂
Looking forward to hearing how you make out with this, a challenge we can all relate to in these times!
I practice when i get time, since i renewed for this year, i am starting as a beginner through all songs and lessons to learn as much as i can.
I do not understand how to mark lessons as completed when i finish one. thank you for your concern.Mel Fowler.
Hi Mel, Thanks for this question. When your on one of the module lessons, close to the bottom of the page are some drop down options highlighted in grey. Click on “Your Course Progress”. Within that, (3 titles down) you’ll see in bold: “Total Course Progress” and under that title you can click on the highlighted area that says “Mark as Complete”.
Let us know how that goes for you if you’d like!
I’m also noticing in the tune lessons, find the “lesson tracking” drop down tab below the play along tracks to mark the lesson complete.
I REALLY Like the “Call and Response” thing. It’s a great way to tune the old ear….
Call and response is like being there. It’s challenging but a lot of fun. The first time thru the exercise I can get about 3/4 of the way thru before it becomes too complex to follow it all the way thru. I’ll be doing it all over again tomorrow and I’m sure I’ll get it. Fun stuff!
I learned something!!! I always thought “tremolo” was to do with the left hand (or whichever hand one “notes” with) I thought the term tremolo was interchangeable with vibrato. It just dawned on me, while working through these exercises, that it has to do with the BOW hand, instead of the NOTE hand.
Knock me over with a feather!!
🙂 Thanks for sharing your experiences Lisa!
Good stuff, Jason.
I have previously attempted to play along with a metronome and after a short time became frustrated and stopped.
Your explanation and plan make much sense to me, and I will be incorporating your ideas and exercises into my practice routine.
Many thanks.
Thomas H.
This is a fantastic tune however some of the practice sound recordings don’t match the notes in the sample. So I’m not sure when practicing in parts whether to follow the music or the sounds. If I follow the music it doesn’t really work.
I am having the same problem. In the full tune recordings, there seems to be an interlude played between the repeated parts and I can’t figure out where they are or when I should come in. Anyone else get this figured out? I love the song so much!!
Hey Kathy, great point aswell. I notice the full track recording seems to skip the first bar when repeating the whole tune again. We will get this sorted. Thanks!
Thanks for noticing and bringing this up Mary, we’ll get this sorted out 🙂
This is fixed. Thanks for pointing it out.
Jason for your droning practice: are you using some kind of drawing generator that is available somewhere?
Hi there. I love your course.
One issue I’m having though is that my “last course completed” is not accurate. Every time I log in I need to find my way back to the most recent lesson and some lessons I’ve completed are still marked incomplete.
Thanks. Phoebe
thanks for saying this. we’re working on this currently. hope to have the bug fixed within a week…
I’m loving my practice❤️🎻
I love that you’re loving your practice 🤓
Thoroughly enjoying the process so far. Tomorrow I’ll be reviewing all the songs to the end of 1.3 and looking at keeping Wildwood Flower.
OK! Good. Review is one of the best things you can practice in music and life…
I like this one a lot : good fiddle playing involves playing notes in a fast speed for many tunes… Notes and fingering are easy on this one. All you need to do is to play it at your own speed at first, increase it slowly, by then you’ll know all the notes by heart: this will help in the speeding process 😉
You have the right attitude with this Jocelyne. Play it super-slow then speed up gradually.
Do you have the notation (pdf) for the 2nd and 3rd solo’s. I have the notation for the first part? (Wagon Wheel)
Hi Marcia,
Sheet music is now visible for the second and third breaks.
Thanks for pointing that out…
Ì much enjoyed this tune! But why no lesson credit????
Hey Christie, I don’t understand what you’re asking…
These are interesting exercises. I’ve been playing the fiddle for about 3 years, but I wanted to start at the beginning of this website/blog thing to see if I could pick up any tidbits I’ve missed with my F2F instructors. I never thought about practicing by plucking. It makes me slow down and think about what I’m playing. Timing has always been my downfall.
Hey Lisa,
Plucking is a great way to improve timing. It’s less forgiving than bowing.
Next month the learning theme will be timing. Stay tuned!
I’m loving this lesson. I’ve got to note that the “good shoulder rest” link routes to a Bon Musica product on Amazon–FYI, I found that Fiddlershop stocks the very same product for much less $.
Thanks fiddlefoot. I just updated the Recommended gear page with Fiddlershop links.
The sheet music video sounds like Jenny Lind.
Thanks Sandra, I removed it…
Is there an electronic tuner you recommend? There are a lot out there!
Use either a phone app or the Snark: https://amzn.to/3JjN2YV
This is so pretty, I wish there was a play along track. Any chance you can add one? 🙂
See the audio loops at the bottom…
I really like this arrangement! Thanx!
Just finishing up my first week of playing. Love the step by step lessons that also mix in a little music making and fun.
If it’s fun then you’ll keep practicing. I need to re-learn this from time to time myself…
It’s interesting over in The States you guys have a different tune for a number of these Christmas Carols than we have in the UK 😊🌲 I wonder what tune the other European & antipodean countries have…..
I didn’t know that. Maybe you can make a video of the UK version 🎥
So far so good and enjoying it. Really enjoying the play along tracks especially ‘Oh Susannah’, Jason’s singing really lifts my spirits! Thank you Jason.
You’re welcome Christine. Sing along with me!
Also, are you doing the review?
I love this! I was away from my fiddle for a few days over Thanksgiving, and came back to this beautiful tune. Thank you!!!
Yay. Let me know what it’s like to do this lesson as a replay. Trying to make these practice journeys “evergreen” lessons.
Good work Jason!!!!
Thanks for creating this valuable piece of cyberspace! I’m grateful that your space exists to help me on my fiddle journey! Happy Holidays!
Thanks Katrina. It’s been a fun journey…
You’re welcome Katrina 🤓
I enjoyed this presentation. The transposition practice and plucking practice were fun and challenging!
The transposition practice and plucking also help you to learn the tune more deeply…
Nice. Were you able to learn the tune by ear?
Thank you Jason for all you do!!!
You’re welcome
Today and everyday I’m thankful for my fiddle and the people (including Jason at Fiddlehed) that have helped me learn to play it! Thanks for sharing your gift with us Jason! Fiddling brings joy! 🎻☮️
Thank YOU 🙏
Thank you to you too Jason
Great lesson Jason, love aeolian mode and 9/8! Also your expression “mistakes become new creations ” …..that’s going on my wall.
I watched this one on replay, I don’t seem to be getting notifications any more, maybe a Gmail problem on my end. Have changed the way I practice since the workshops in the fall practice challenge. Always start with drones now and listening to improve my tone in scales and arpeggios. Have made and continuing to make index cards, memory is improving. Made a couple of videos but haven’t shared them yet, that’s a scary step to take and files are big. Practising every day has never been a problem, I’m addicted to it, but practising better now. Also signed up to Strum Machine, so easy to use and enjoyable when there’s no-one around to play with. Helps me push my tempo too. Thanks for all that you do for us, it feels very supportive to see so many others on the same journey.
Cheers,
Marg.
Good to hear this Marg! I like what you’re doing with composing your own backup tracks. You’re definitely ready to share a video or three!
I sent an email to you about the email problem.
Awesome list of tunes! Would love to have Salt Creek added too:)
OK! I’ll be slowly making more old-time/Round peak versions.
Thank you, Jason! I love that the sheet music for this tune includes the “down bow / up bow” symbols. This is super helpful. Bravo!
Glad it’s helpful. I’d like to do this for all tunes on the site but it’s a daunting task to remake all the sheet music 🤯
Yes, Jason, it sure does! My song list is getting longer and I’m still practicing them all (almost)! My technique is improving and screeching is almost gone now (most of the time ;-). I’m really enjoying your course and each day I can’t wait for fiddle and music (I play guitar too) time late in the afternoon. I have to say that lately, the fiddle time is winning out over guitar time!
Thanks, man!!!
Keith
So cool to hear this Keith. Thanks for sharing. It takes time to get to the point where your tone is good, but it’s pretty satisfying when it happens. Best to you…
I can’t seem to get to theShare your Practice page. Can you tell me how to find it? Jane
Hey Jane, it’s a forum: https://fiddlehed.com/forums/forum/share-your-practice/
Maybe I’ll put it in the Community tab… thanks
I have a question about the sheet music. The notes are correct, but the letters above them do not correspond with the notes being played or the strings, what are the letters supposed to indicate? I feel like I’m missing something really obvious …
Excellent question! Those are chords, not note names. I need to re-make this sheet music without chords so that it’s not confusing…
Wow this is really awesome you guys! I’d love to see/support more FiddleHed folks get involved in lessons.
Really digging “round peak” right now…it’s completely new to me. So thanks for this version of Old Joe Clark!
That was such a great lesson on the Butterfly last Thursday-it was the first time Id played “in front of” other people. I was so happy I was muted on zoom haha
I’ve been doing something similar with an online open mic. When you know they can’t hear you you can practice playing along, even if, like me, you’re not very experienced, without worrying you’re going to put everyone else off. 🙂
This is a great lesson. Just enjoyed it on replay. Good flow, the way scales are integrated, improv at the end, and how to add a bit of embellishment. Thanks, Jason!
Very Cool!
Thanks! A more systematic progression of lessons will be very helpful
Love this tune!!!!
love this tune, played it for years on guitar. my chord work on the fiddle is weak but getting better.
Thank you Jason
Start by making a single chord sound good. Keep on fiddling, and have fun along the way…🎻
wheres the music played through the guitar part , the back up on fiddle
Great lesson, Jason! Since you’ve encouraged us to play around with this, I’m finding that if I play G1D0 (D major), G0D0 (G major), and G1D1 (A major) it’s much easier for my alto voice to sing along with.
Good idea Leanna!
Exercise 1 is not just D0, D2, and A0! I think it has D0, D2, A0, A1, A2, and A3. This is an advantage to the video Call & Responses, because I can peek at the fingering instead of thinking I’m going crazy if something is mislabeled.
Hi again, after working on more of these and encountering more exercises that are centered around the stated notes but occasionally include others, I understand now that this is intentional to train our ears. Definitely keeps me on my toes!
Hey Kelly, Thanks for the feedback, and for catching that.
I just corrected it.
Yep … liking that one very much. Lot’s to play with and have fun with.
Good lesson Jason
I was doing pretty well so far, going along with the lesson plan. Until now, I felt this was a good way for me to learn as Jason presents the songs in manageable chunks at a slow pace that gradually speeds up. However, this version of Cabbages is way too fast for me to play along with. I learned the song (without the help of the quarterly bits as they are also way too fast) and can play it at a decent pace, but not this fast! After playing the song dozens of times a day for a week or two, If I can’t play this song at the pace presented, should I move forward? Or give up on these lessons altogether as I will not be able to keep up? I am discouraged.
Hey Sandy.
Short answer: Don’t give up
– Just find another way. Play it slow if you need to play it slow.
– Play a smaller piece. Speed that up.
– Switch gears to something else, then return the the challenging thing on a different day
Try to make it fun. And hang in there!
Indeed, sheet music would be mighty helpful- Christmas around a corner
This is such a good tune!!!!! Just love all the mixing you did with the fiddle, chords, voice, band. Would be nice to do the same thing with a set a tunes, like you suggested in your workshop: Drunken Sailor + Shady Grove & Cluck Old Hen and with YOU arranging all the backing tracks and all. My violon and I are smiling when we have other instruments/voice with us :0
Hey Jocelyne, I do this in the FiddleHed monthly hootenanny. Learn more here: https://fiddlehed.com/community/group-lesson-home-page/fiddlehed-hootenanny/
This was a very useful and fun lesson. I will practice these a bunch!!! Thanks Jason your awesome.
good to hear that Rob.
Hi, working through 1.2, when I try to go from “How to place finger tape” to “Mary had a little lamb”, it actually takes me back to “Little Lift”. A broken link I reckon. Thanks!
Keith
I just fixed this. Thanks!
This isn’t fixed for me.
I am having same problem.
Thanks. I fixed it…for realz.
Love the tune! Excellent instruction, as always!!
And I agree, your voice in the practice bits is very encouraging and always makes me smile!
Thanks!
Keith
Hi Jason, If I can already read music notation, should I bother with tabs?
Hey Bill, you probably don’t need to go deep into tabs. Having a rough understanding will be helpful at times though.
I am looking forward to this session it is a really nice way to round up the fiddle challenge.
What are the songs for 12/6? Thank you!
Third year with “FPC”. I look forward to it every year. Was great watching everyones videos. unfortunately could not make any “ZOOM” classes.
Worked on:
-“Smash the Window”
-“Tam Lin”
-“Flowers of Edinburg” G, “Red Haired Boy” A, and “St. Annes Reel” D as a medley.
-“Happy Birthday” some different variations of it.
-Technique trying to clarify notes so not so muddy. Strengthening pinky finger
Just listened to the replay because I missed the session…. love this! Love the tune, love the way you taught it… love that it was a tune I didn’t know! Thanks, Jason!
Jason,
This was a cool lesson. I plucked the entire lesson since I’m still on bowing restrictions. Loved the sound of the tune. Attempted a quick scoring of it as we went along and was fairly close.
This morning I remembered the tune and was able to add some double stops almost naturally.
Thanks for your unique style of teaching and your great patience with beginners.
Mary
I really enjoyed this session. I feel I made progress. Im not just playing open strings now. Still working on my tone.
Thanks for another great lesson Jason! I just went through it using the replay, enjoyed the methodical process and then transposition. Nice to hear the different tonal sound of new keys. Actually I think that’s a bonus of learning a tune by ear. When we listen more deeply, we can appreciate and develop the sound of our fiddle. Interleaving was also interesting, I didn’t think I would remember the new tune when I returned to it but was pleasantly surprised to find it was still there.😌
I notice when you hold your arm outstretched, the fiddle comes to the middle of your forearm. When I do it, the fiddle comes to the middle of my palm. Does this mean my fiddle is too big for me?
Ooh yes, I love this lesson😊thank you!
theres no play along in the first half of this tune you pactice down to the play along in the first half and no tune
My bowing needs a lot of work,
But I’m thinking it will come.
I played bile’em cabbage down for my wife, she was amazed.
Well I played and recorded my first time, I’m proud,
Thanks fiddlehead.
You’re Welcome!
Thanks for keeping it fun!
Hello. Are there lessons/classes on this Friday (today), Saturday, and Sunday during the Fall Practice Challenge? I don’t see any located on the calendar above. Thanks for the help. I’m loving the challenge; however, I’m not sure I’m at a beginner level that this addresses. (I need to listen and watch everything and replays as I could be wrong!) I feel like a beginning beginner. 🙂
Ginger (Virginia)
Hi! I’ve learned so much from your videos! I’m a very happy student! Now that I am trying to wake up my lazy pinkies, I have the following observations:
1. As a new beginner, roughly about 5 years ago, my pinky would lock up and so I’ve never really used them. Now, it is very apparent, that if I want to advance my fiddle playing to the next level, my pinkies need to play an important part on the finger board, and the bow as well. So, I’ve been exercising them, and trying to have the left pinky stay in position beside the ring finger instead of curling under my other fingers. It means my other fingers aren’t flying off the fretboard so much, and I’m hitting the notes better. I think this might be an important beginner lesson.
I feel like I’m getting it, my sounds are getting clearer. I hope I’m not trying to move to fast, because I really want to learn this. Thanks for making it easier to learn..
This is interesting and very useful for me. I have always used a tuner before. I guess I didn’t know where to find a drone sound.
Hmmm . . . I am into day 4 of the fall practice challenge 2021, but the website tells me I have “been unsubscribed from fall practice challenge 2021 emails”. I do not know why? I obviously need the practice! How do I get re-subscribed???
Mary Ann
Hi, I’m Molly. I live near Nelson BC. (not the only one! hey jocelyn!) I picked up fiddling this summer. I have 2 toddlers and am separating from their dad, so it seemed like a good idea. I mean, for the first time in 4 years I have occasional time to myself, and I’ve always wanted to play the fiddle. I’m having so much fun. When the kids go to sleep I play outside, it’s getting very cold. When they are at their Dads I play much more. Sometimes the kids will dance if the tune is good. They like Arkansas traveler. I love the drone tracks and my Practice Challenge goal is to play more in tune. I am playing along with the scale tracks and then playing my tunes which are all in D. I hope I can make it to a couple of the zoom classes this week. I love the student videos.
Happy to be participating and learning with all of you!
Alright!
the breakouts are a good thing; a bit of one-on-one for specific questions is extremely helpful. i figured out my drunken sailor issue: i been playing in two different keys, one for the whistle playing beside me. nonetheless, your g3-d3 suggestions were very helpful, as were the index card suggestions, if only to fingerprint the many tunes that are floating randomly throughout my brains.
I use Avery Business Card Sheets printed out in MS Word. I print on One Side and Use the blank side to enter in dates that I covered/ practiced that lesson/review card. Going to create some “manuscript” cards for FH Core and Bonus Tunes 🙂
I’m Monica from New Zealand. I’ve been learning fiddle for just on 3 years now and first signed up for Fiddlehed when the woman teaching me left to go to the US. I’ve been really enjoying learning from the videos, and do normally practice every day but for this challenge I want to focus on the scales I don’t use very often and therefore find more difficult. Bb, B, F and C. These are keys that seem to be common when I’m playing along with others, so it will help me for jam sessions. My goal is to be able to be accurate and even consistently.
This sounds like a very interesting system! I wasn’t able to attend the Zoom this evening, and look forward to watching the recording in a few days.
Hello, everyone, day 1 and 2 have already been challenging with many distractions but I have met my goal of 30 minutes practice. Working on 3 things for the practice challenge1. Use/exercise fifth finger everyday 2. Play with metronome 3. Memorize tune called Big Bear Reel by Metis fiddler John Arcand. Fiddling in Victoria, Canada
Mary in Georgia. Coming back to the fiddle after being away for about a month for some surgery.
Working on a set I call Heritage Tunes – tunes my mother remembers her grandfather, Charlie Baker, playing. I’ve been working on them for some time now and hope to polish a three or four for a mini concert for my mother’s birthday later this month.
Staying in tune, keeping consistent speed and working arpeggios.
Since I am new at this fiddle thing is it normal to have some pain in your elbow for the firs time while fingering?
Hi Everyone,
I’m Lori and this is my second year with Jason, tho you wouldn’t know it, I haven’t followed the course really so I’m committing to actually doing each week and learning whatever Jason has set up.
This challenge is perfect timing because I haven’t practiced in a few months, so I’m back at it.
If I can figure out how to post a video I’ll post something soon. (that will make people feel pretty good, coz they will be like….”at least I’m better than her!” LOL
Love these challenges! Hi Im David from NB Canada. Ill be working on improving my tone and on Tam Lin and adding variation to Turkey In The Straw.
Thank you for doing this!
Awesome that we are connecting through our daily practise. This feels like a great coming together 🙂
I’m Jocelyn, Nelson BC Canada, and I’m looking forward to working on:
Pentatonic scales
Review various practise focuses from private lesson sessions to support future lessons
Look at a poem my friend sent me and start creating accompaniment for it
Pick a tune I want to master and start simple
Thanks Jason for your efforts to help us to connect and get into healthy practise habits.
Have fun with this challenge folks~
Hey! I am also in nelson, didn’t really expect to see that in internet-land, but i guess it is a small world everywhere!
Hi Everyone,
I am so excited to do this challenge. I have been on Fiddlehed for a while, but have been lacking in my practice and have not joined any of the live events out of fear. My goal is to try that and see what happens. I’ve also set an intention to really use all of the aspects of the site to increase my skills. I struggle with reading notes on a page and placing them on the fiddle. I learned the finger positions as 1,2, 3, 4 rather than the actual note names and I really want to get that to be automatic. So, the note reading course is on my “to do” list. I have an in person teacher who is an excellent fiddle player, but I also like to have the videos and help when I am home by myself. (Swallowtail Jig and Ashoken Farewell have recently helped me a lot) I have been playing for 4 years, 3 with a teacher, but most of that is standard playing with Suzuki books, etc. My teacher likes the bluegrass fiddle stuff and I am starting to love it as well. It is a totally different style and I like how it gives me confidence when I play classical. I am really working on building confidence and I love your videos, Jason. Thank you so much!
-Carol
Hi all,
I am looking forward to the challenge and the journey! Have my Practice log filled out with my focus points, fiddle on my shoulder and bow in hand. I’m a beginning fiddler and absolutely love Jason’s teaching.
I really like the teaching methods
I’m thinking I’m gonna get this thang.
Greetings from Alaska,
Very beginner with many years of desire to discipline myself to practice. Excited to be three months into this journey. Three tidbits I strive to work on: double stop sounds, slurs in the key of G, my attitude/approach to daily practice! A bit apprehensive to attend live group lessons, but going to give it a try anyways. Thanks for the compassionate delivery of your teachings, Jason.
Cheers,
Anna
Hi Jason
Thanks for this great opportunity to practice with yourself and other aspiring fiddlers….I am a beginner and anything I have learned is from you !!!
Fell behind with my practice for several months but picked up the fiddle again last week….so encouraging to see others on their learning journeys too.
Wishing everyone on here the best of luck and lots of FUN from London.
Cecilia
based in London.UK.
Hi all,
I couldn’t do last year’s challenge, so I’m glad it’s happening again. I’m suing this two week challenge to improve my tone and bow control, improve my time-keeping (rhythm) when using slurring and develop a decent vibrato
ok I’m not suing anyone … I’m USING this challenge. Failed at the first hurdle … and now, time to tighten up the bow hairs
Hi Suzanne here, this is my first challenge and I am picking up my fiddle after a long break. Hoping I can synchronize with the time zone difference. Good to have a place to start with others
I know I have a long way to go, but I’m sure you can guide me in the right direction,
Thanks
Thanks for putting the lyrics in with the lesson of Drunken Sailor !!!!!
Hi everyone. This challenge is exactly what I need. I lost momentum in the summer after reaching over 100 days of practice in a row. Now I want to get back on track. Here are my goals:
1) Practice at least 15 minutes/day
2) Practice improvising with chords on at least one tune
3) Enjoy myself
Susan
My Goals:
(1) Dbl-Stops
(2) Scales – Pentatonics & Arpeggios over Drones
(3) Sawmill Tuning A-E-A-E
(4) Sitewide Review of Core/Bonus Tunes
Hi everyone! This is my first challenge as well. I’m going to work on a tune or two, some techniques, and recording a video. Looking forward to the challenge and getting started!
Cindy
Can’t wait to get started on these rhythms ..So glad that i found your site..
Looking forward to taking part & seeing everyone else too
Looking forward to seeing everyone’s progress. -Deb
I’m in. Will I tackle ‘Orange Blossom’, master switching from one bowing pattern to another or solidify old tunes in memory permanently? We shall see.
Try to do all of these things. “Interleaving.”
Let’s gooo I’m ready 🙂
Yes!
Hi Robert here, this will be my first challenge since i have pick up the fiddle, so looking forward to meeting others and getting a good practice routine down, so excited!!
Welcome Robert!
Agreed its a fun set of exercises
Very cool. Thanks for the lesson!
I have loved this course up until now and looking forward to tomorrow for further learning. Its been a battle this week to get in front of the computer I have too put my fiddle in my chair before the cat claims the chair! My music loving cat loves the fiddle sound and sits animated when Jason is on the screen on the videos.
I found that my hold on the bow loosend on the tremolo is this normal? Skedaddle is a challenge to be repeated tomorrow.
What is a pirate’s favourite letter??
You might think it’s an “ARRR”, but actually it be the “SEA”
I like a “modern” (by Stan Rogers in the 1970s) sea shanty called Barrett’s Privateers, that is also easy to learn.
😀 Nice Tom! I’ll put this one on request list. Thanks for the great suggestion
I’ve been learning this song, and we are going to do it as a band. Rather than play the melody, as the singer will be doing, how can I play ALONG with this song? Or should I just play the same melody as the singer?
At the end of the video I talk about how to add cords to this song. Give that a try, let me know if it helps…
I’m just so grateful for this lesson; it’s exactly what i needed. Cheers man.
Since you said you’re always looking for new stuff/feedback, are you at all familiar with the neuroscientist Andrew Huberman?? The stuff his lab has found regarding learning and neuroplasticity is fascinating, and mirrors much of what you advocate.
Thanks Jeff!
Dang, this was intense. I started off thinking I’d skip most of the exercises, but got addicted. Started naming the notes as I played. Very useful, I’ll come back to this one often.
Good for you. Have you tried 4th finger plucking? It’s a way to build strength and coordination.
Enjoyed and thanks for including chords !
Think you will like shanty “Hog Eyed Man” Martin McCarthy and Family version is very cool 😜
OK! Thanks for the suggestion 🙏
Thank you for recording and posting the lessons and workshops. A couple of the questions/answers that came up in the September 10 workshop have helped. One of these days I’m hoping my schedule allows me to participate back in the live sessions.
–Henry
Hey Henry, would be great to see you again soon. Hope you’re well, getting in some fiddle time.
Fiddlehed Marge wrote to me about an a-ha moment she had with the Mixolydian scale:
Marge: So to play D mixolydian scale, I just flatten the 7th degree of D Major (C sharp to C natural), right? Could I also think of a D Dorian scale as just flatten the 3rd (F sharp to F natural) and 7th degrees, C sharp to C natural?
My reply: Yes! That’s a way to think about Dorian scales. All the modes can be created by making similar alterations to the Major scale.
Marge: Another ‘aha’ moment I had in this lesson was when you talked about finding the parent scale. My initial response was to visualise the staff, go down 2 lines or 2 spaces to find a fifth below the Mixolydian starting note. Then the beauty of the fiddle being tuned in 5ths dawned on me! Wow you just go down to the same finger position or open string to the left!
Yes again. That’s a great alternative way to think about it. Sometimes it’s good to just notice patterns. 👍
This course is a such a blessing! I am really enjoying it.
Wow! Thanks Sandra 🙏
I’m confused.
When I look at the A scale I see the third finger on the D string is G# But is seems that you are playing a G.
How can I figure this stuff out when I’m just looking a sheet music?
Thanks!
Actually, G# on the D string is RAISED third finger.
The lower octave of A Major is G1-2-H3-D0-1-2-H3-A0.
LET ME KNOW if you still have questions…
Great lesson, I really like to use these exercises/little tunes in my warm up! Thank you Jason.
Good!
This was really helpful. I’d be eager to see a lesson on some of the other modes as well.
You got it @clifflat. I’ll be releasing a lesson on dorian mode soon.
Hey, thank you. This was really fun to practice.
Glad you enjoyed this @kitkrash
Hey Folks, If you loaded this page before 9:25, reload it so you can see the video loops.
Pinky finger finally helped me nail the 4th quarter of Dargason. Even after getting through several modules, my E0-A3-2-1-0 was herky-jerky til I figured out 4th finger. Thanks, Fiddlehed. Always a pleasure–
Good for you, there are lots of tunes that use E0 that might actually be easier with 4th finger. Thanks for pointing this out.
In general, it saves you the trip up to the E string (if you only have to hit that E note and not other notes on E string).
Thanks, Jason! You routinely knock it out of the park with each lesson! I was just thinking that I need to work on using the fourth finger more for that warmer sound and… Voila! You give me a learning path to do just that. Hoping to share my progress soon!
Good!
I have just been listening to your version of Drowsy Maggie in the lesson, and I really like the slides and slurs you add.
this is awesome
Great Lesson Jason Just what I need to play along with others ‘Thankyou
How do you download the tunes?
Pam
click the red, down arrow to the right of the audio player
Great practice buddy👌👍
wow this is such a great practice lesson, I love the video loops that you can practice over an over with. Thanks so much!
You’re welcome Misha
I love this new feature! Could you also create a track that goes from slower to faster? This is great! I can download and listen to these tunes anytime. Listening is practice, too.
good idea. I think some folks like the short and sweet version. I might include on this page the “full mixes” that slowly speed up.
Thank you for the fantastic lesson. I’m wondering if you could elaborate a bit about the “chordal scale” idea you mentioned?
Hey really enjoyed yesterday’s hootenanny!
I thoroughly enjoy these sessions. I learn a lot, and feel very connected to everyone. I am thankful.
Loved the backup chord play along!
This is the order I’ve been learning Part 1 of Wagon Wheel (and when learning a tune I will be applying this same order to other songs on your platform)…
1. Learn Notes and Intonation
2. Memorize Notes
3. Add Bowing Patterns
4. Add Double Stops
Or would you recommend practicing in a different order? Or, should anything go together? For example…
1 (notes and intonation) and 3 (bowing patterns) happen at the same time?
I’m just trying to find the most efficient way to practice and learn tunes.
Thanks! I love your videos, sheet music, and practice tracks!
I just LOVE this tune! And all of the lessons I’ve taken so far. Thanks for making learning the fiddle accessible and FUN!
PS During a group lesson last week, I met a neighbor who lives two streets away from me in Pittsburgh! Maybe duets are in our future….
I’ma D G and A all over these tunes 🙂
I’m 67 years old. This one ran off and left me behind. Do you think I can do it????
Yes you can do it. Age has nothing to do with it. However, you may not be ready to play the whole tune.
Start with the basic version. Memorize and master it. Transpose it to other strings. Then try the first bar of this version. Then the second. If you take this to heart, you can learn anything.
Jason,
I noticed that as you played the jig, rather than up – down bowing, you slurred some notes. How do you know when to slur or use the up-down bowing?
Thanks.
Larry
You’re puttin down some cool stuff Jason, I love it. I find myself practicing more technique and fundamentals than songs. However, when I work on a song the bowing comes easier.
Thank you for breaking it down, chunk by chunk and slowly.
Thank, that was useful and good.
This was a good workshop!!!! Slur practice helps with string crossing and bow controll too,
Thanks Jason
When you do D, E, F#, G, A, F# Do you leave D1,D2 and D3 pressed down when you play the A or you lift all fingers? I am asking because I would much rather leave the fingers pressing on the D string notes but if I do that, my fingers do touch the A string and it sounds ugly. So it is safer to lift them but it is also risky as you may not bring them down in the same place.
Good question. It’s situational.
It’s good to be able to hold down 1st, 2nd and 3rd finger on the D string while playing open A (A0). But when actually playing a tune, it may make sense to lift the fingers in certain situations.
When in doubt, try it both ways. See if you can do it either way. Even if one way wins out, you become a more flexible fiddler by trying.
Jason,
In this lesson you give the D major Chordal Scale and name each chord. Could you name the chords for the G Major and A Major?
Owen O
Good question @Owen. I just updated each step in the lesson text. I probably owe more explanation on why some chords can be major or minor…
I like how this video has the different parts marked on the timelineso it is easy to go back and review the part on the video over and over.
Glad you found this useful. Right now we’re going through a phase of updating the site and hope to add this throughout the site.
Thank you for the figure 8 bowing. The exercises are so helpful. I love how you start slow
and then speed up with all the exercises. Your “slow down” mantra has already improved
my playing!
Glad you’re taking that to heart Judy. I need to remember it too. It’s funny how there’s a natural tendency to speed things up.
I’ll do it after I make a coffee with my la pavoni machine in the morning
whats hardest for me? Two slurs turns into three, three turns into four. HaaHaa
Jason,
Thank you very much! I feel like I am finally making progress!
Larry
Ah brilliant! Thank you Jason, I’ll look forward to this 😊
can we get some words to the songs that don t have Jason so we can print them. thankyou
Thanks for this suggestion, Kathy. It’s a great idea. 🙂
Just found this woooo whooooo!!!!
This helps with intonation plus beat patterns.
This is just what I’m looking for to help improve my reading skills. The combination of 8th and 16th really helps!
Jason, thank you for offering this group practice session, however I live in the central time zoon and it conflicts with my work schedule. My plan is to review the material and learn it slowly so that i can incorporate it into my playing.
Take Care, be well!
Rich, This lesson has 2 times that it is live. I hope both don’t fall within your workday. Live lessons add a bit more but the replay will be there too. Good travels on your fiddle journey
fun stuff
what i took away…was the pizzacato over the neck rather than the belly…sounds better and good to be clear…about that
Jason,
I’m not sure about focusing my practice, but you do present ideas for ways to practice a song to learn it and some variations. I especially loved the chordal and bluesy variations.
Thanks, Cindy
Took me a minute to understand that when you say “tuning” or “in tune” you’re not talking about the instrument being in tune string to string; you’re talking about intonation in the placement of fingers on the strings and fingerboard. Great lesson!
This was fun and I think does help with both technique and remembering tunes. I really enjoy your style of teaching
Love the drones, thanks
I love this tune, love your rendition. thanks
Thanks Jason, I had started to practice with changing the key, changing between scale and piece and other piece, something easy some thing difficult. It has made practice more interesting, can’t wait to play whenever I can. I will incorporate all of these ways into my practices from tomorrow, attempt some of the more difficult things, will start to keep a practice journal also and see what happens. Excellent tools! Thank you!
So excited for you! 🕺🏾
Just keep playing every day…
Yes! Does it feel good to be able to play a few tunes now?
I happy you made it this far! It’s no small feat 🏔
Nice lessons! Great info! Thanks!
Thanks Russ. Let me know how it goes with your practice journey…
Great material, my practice time has become more focused.
Good to hear that. I sometimes worry that these “15 ways to play a tune” lessons make people less focused…
Great video! I still need to make a few adjustments to the shoulder rest.
I understand using double stops in the key of D, can I use the same principal when playing in A?
Short answer: yes if playing the upper octave of the A major scale: A0-1-2-3-E0-1-2-3.
The lower octave requires two-fingered double stops.
I guess it’s a mark of how much fiddling really goes on in the heart of the mother that the cows hung around instead of running off at the first note. In my experience cows can be skittish about sudden noise like that. 😂😂
🐮
Music is in the air and water…
This is great stuff !!!! You should write a book!!!!
Thanks @crowbar47. I probably have enough material. But I still have a lot to learn about teaching…
I didn’t know that you were doing different timing for the lessons.That’s great,,, now for the Hootenays on different time zones too!
I’m hoping to do group lessons at two different times: 12 and 6 PM PST. That way people all around the world can tune in at a convenient time. Now training a fiddle tutor to help with this. 🤓
I believe you are correct cmck
Hey all, if you see this… that C# and the F# are both notes you shift up to play. Especially that F#! If you strain to reach notes like that you can injure your tendons. Move your forearm, wrist and first finger altogether up to the A note on the E string, placing that first finger on the note. Now you are in third position and the C# will be easy to play with your 3rd finger. Yes you can stretch for it if you want, but you can’t stretch for that next one, so shifting up most of the way already is a big help. That F# next is actually meant to be played while in 5th position. You can just move your hand up higher and it will be accessible. Technically, your first finger would be anchored on where that C# is. Learning a bit about shifting and doing it smoothly will help a lot. At least get familiar with shifting to third… you can use that position often enough in fiddle music if you want to. 🙂 Cheers!
Good practice strategy. Helps with string arising too!!!
BTW—- love the wallpaper
Hi, I’ve been practicing nearly everyday since the beginning of the year. I progressed from Britches with Stitches to the Ashokan Farewell mainly because I like the tune. I have no background in music. I’m 67. I’ve wanted to play the fiddle for years. This year is when I really knuckled down to it. But progress is slow. Even so I want to keep going.
My main issue is my bowing technique. I focus so much on my fingers on the notes that I ignore the bow.
Hey Willie, It’s good that you realize where you can improve. Continue to improve your sound on single open strings, then single fingered notes, then two-note intervals, like D1-2. Fundamentals are never mastered!
This is starting to be so much fun! The singing part is excellent! Thank you!
Hey Deb, glad you’re trying that out!
Excellent lesson. Thank you. …Bumbed my schedule has been too crazy for lessons and office hours.
Hey Henry…just keep practicing. I’m hoping to do group lessons at two different times: 12 and 6 PM PST. That way people all around the world can tune in at a convenient time. Now training a fiddle tutor to help with this. 🤓
This is great practice track! However, the omission of the second half of the b part during alternate repetitions is a bit frustrating. This glitch has been pointed out by other students several times over the past year, and it would be great to have it fixed.
Thanks so much!
I just added audio for B part second half ✅
Hi Jason! I’m so excited that you replied to my request. However, I was referring to the audio of the Full Content Full Play Along Track. It still seems glitchy. Every second time through the tune, the audio for measures 7 & 8 are missing: the repeat begins after measure 6. It’s actually fun to improvise and make a round out of it…or something.
All the best,
Rachael
Exciting territory— lots of ground to over .
Do u hav a traditional height bridge.
Yes, I haven’t modified my fiddle…
Tried this today. It does help !!!!!!
Thanks, Jason, It’s like you got into my head! I get impatient and zoom ahead to tunes that are too advanced for me. And then I get discouraged that I sound so bad and feel like I’ll “never be any good.” It’s tricky talking myself into continuing to practice, but these strategies will help a lot!
Thanks, Jason, It’s like you got into my head! I get impatient and zoom ahead to tunes that are too advanced for me. And then I get discouraged that I sound so bad and feel like I’ll “never be any good.” It’s tricky talking myself into continuing to practice, but these strategies will help a lot! 🙂
Thanks again for a great video! I would like to know where the print/painting of the boy playing fiddle that is on your wall comes from.
It looks like an illustration from a child’s book, I love it!
Would love a beginners lesson on this with play along tracks and sheet music 🙂
Fun to connect for these lessons folks! My power went out part way through first lesson so it was great to have the second opportunity 🙂 Great to see a good show of us at both.
I learned a simpler version this afternoon (when looking at how other folks are teaching) that may be helpful:
A 1st Q: D0-0-0-1-3-A0-1
A 3rd Q: D0-0-0-1-3-A0-1 (holding last note for 2 counts… instead of adding A2-1)
B 3rd Q: D3-3-3-E0-D3-L2-1 (holding last note for 2 counts… instead of adding A2-1)
It’s nice with the accents we learned. Above being an option to take out accents.. temporarily 🙂
Thanks for the lesson, Jason! Loved it!!
Thanks for doing the early session for us. I liked the strumming app too!
Thank you Jason,
That was a great lesson. I enjoy learning from call and response. I especially wanted to thank you for posting the audio on the lesson preparation page. I did my listening homework before the lesson and it really helped. I also liked playing along with that new app you used, it was very helpful to keep the rhythm when you stopped playing. Great fun, thanks again
Enjoy your visit! Michigan is wonderful in the summer. We live southeast of Ludington
Looking forward to the 12 noon class. Thanks for having 2 classes. See you then!
Thanks for posting the replay. I always seem to miss something and the relay makes it possible to catch up.
You’re a good student!
Jason’s best advice is “Do it 1000 times.” He’s not kidding. Create muscle memory.
When is the lesson?
Have fun – see you tomorrow (p.s. – it’s threw 😉 )
Where is the video of Mairi’s Wedding?
Thanks Jason for doing this extra lesson, I really enjoyed it and found the extra repeats and transpositions helped me remember the whole tune this time.
I like your way better than mine. I always forget about my posture and I usually start by looking at sheet music. I’m making a post-it of your 1-3 tips and placing it on my music stand until I remember each time. Thanks!
The video is 51 seconds long and has distorted, low volume.
I did re-boot my computer and other audio sources work.
audio is now working better. ???
Jason, Thank you for the tips you send out. They are so helpful. I love how easy they are to apply to my fiddling!
Great video Jason. When I’m playing the Dmajor scale, I have no problem putting my fingers on the strings in the right position.
BUT when I try to play the scale with double-stops, the fingers on the D string want to touch the A string so it is impossible to maintain A0.
Hmmm…..
Hey @davidsbrown –
You have to place your finger so it doesn’t touch the A0. So a cheat is to place it in between the D and G strings. That way there’s plenty of clearance. Give it a try and let me know in a comment how it goes.
Thanks for your question. I’m sure lots of other folks have the same problem…
Great lesson—- I have struggled with this for a very long time
Haha love it. Great and easy tune to learn.
Thanks everyone for feedback. We WILL do an additional session at noon. It will be on the calendar later today.
Hi Jason
I would also like to attend the 12pm lesson for Mairi’s Wedding.. Thanks !
Wow! I love how these sound! They are so much more clear and melodic than regular scales.
I love the beginning improv, also! Looking forward to more!
All these things are true, and I’ve broken every rule. I bought a violin about 5 years ago with the intent of being the musician I’ve always wanted to be. After 5 years of hit & miss practice, excuses & procrastinating I’ve probably accumulated a total of 6 months practice time. I never thought of myself as a musician, always the wannabe.
Many years ago a physician friend gave me this advise when I was thinking about going to the University for a degree in Nursing. (paraphrasing) Five years will go by regardless of what you do. In five years you’ll either be still thinking about and probably regretting it or you will have completed it and be a RN. I went to school and finished my nursing degree. It was a critical turning point in my life and everything I am today is directly related to that decision.
Today I’m committing to this fiddle journey. I have the tools & the time, no more excuses.
I’m on board for another attempt. I tried before and fell by the wayside in a puddle of self pity and feelings of the most putrid form of failure. I blamed it on being too busy but that was a cop out. This time I will find a partner to establish accountability. Thanks for this lesson Jason
Yes, me too. Accountability .I ha e a hard time practicing alone since my husband died.
Hi Jason, I’d love to attend a 12pm version of this lesson please if you get enough interest!
Love these scales and this lesson. I’m looking forward to more! so much here to learn!
I would attend the 12pm class if offered. Thanks!
Thanks for the Tutorial. I appreciate it. I wasn’t sure at where I needed to start and your tutorial helps. I started with the Suzuki lesson book 1 with my instructor back in November 2020. Since then, I have purchased several fiddle books and play daily. My instructor suggested the FiddleHed site to further advance my learning.
Thanks again!
TheresaB
Thanks for today’s hootenanny Jason. This was my first, having only joined a couple of weeks ago. I really liked the gentle pace and progression of both tunes and tempo, plus intermittent pauses to refocus on tone. The perfect balance.
I missed a little of the dialogue in the beginning while I was switching from inbuilt computer speaker to plugging in an external one. I think you were asking if the time suited people. For me, today’s time was perfect as I’m in Australia which made it 11am Tuesday, but if your workshops are at other times and recorded, I can always catch up that way.
Cheers,
Marg.
Thank you, Jason, for the best directions for the bow hold I have found. I have watched other teaching videos but I knew my hold was too tight because it made my fingers ache. Your explanation really helped. I also feel like I learned a lot playing with the different tones and rhythms.
Fun scale warm ups!
Where can we find the sheet music?
Love it!
Love it,
Hi Jason,
I would attend a 12 p.m. lesson on Mairi’s Wedding on July 14. The 6 p.m. lesson is a little too late for me (and my neighbors!).
Thanks!
Hi Jason, I can’t seem to find the tune list for the June 28 Hootenanny.
That’s a bouncy little tune … fun to learn I think. Fantastic thing to do, giving away that very pretty fiddle. Good job Michael 👏👏
Loving me some Wabbit … definitely one for the list. Great setting too 😁🎻
I love the experimenting! Gives me ideas of my own for future playing.
Need a good lesson on big eyed rabbit my little buddies would be hoppin on this one lol
Can you do a lesson on big eyed rabbit a basic and variation to learn the song so I can play it to the little guys in the barn lol
I can’t wait for the lesson
I would love to feel confident enough to play outside- where others might hear me🥺
Love that tune——- lesson please!!!!!
I want to play this !
Aw, what a sweet tune! Its always a joy to listen to you play.
You are absolutely glowing! Love the tune.
This was so fun. I love the play along track. Forces you to use your ear and get it. My family likes hearing me play it. I recorded it and its not half bad!! I wish I could play it as fast as you, Jason!
Music always sounds better out in nature. Thanks for posting.
Pretty cool to just take the ole fiddle to the park and make some music … hopefully be me one day. Bravo
Really looking forward to this one!
The bird call imitation….amazing! and beautiful fun rhythms, uplifting, thankyou!
Wow!
David
Wow! This is all the stuff that would have been really helpful when I started out playing!
Excellent!
Hi Jason,
I missed the workshop I’m afraid, but the links on here don’t work for me. Each one I click just refreshes the page
Mike
I’m having fun playing this tune and am proud that it kind of sounds like music! I start out sounding good but by the end of the tune my bow is wandering back to the bridge. I’m sure it’s like patting your head and rubbing your tummy, I just need to concentrate on bow, strings and sound all at the same time. Thanks for making the lessons fun and easy to understand for a “senior” beginner like me!
What a beautiful, haunting tune! Jason I’m loving your teaching style, and it’s really working for me to develop my playing by ear.
I only subscribed about a week ago, and decided to work through from the beginning. When I pick up my fiddle and log in to fiddlehed each day, it’s like a gift to myself. It’s fun too, playing along with the drones and backing tracks.
Just wondering if Leave Her Johnny will be available as a pdf? I’ve been collecting the pdf’s from the lessons as I work through as a back up reference.
Thanks for all your work,
Cheers,
Marg.
I loved this lesson! And I love learning by ear and especially adding in the vocals! Really wonderful! The only problems I experienced had to do with my technology…..I was coming to the lessons for the first time with an iPad and the volume was not loud enough to overcome my own fiddle in my ear. The drone was too loud for me, likely because of the iPad volume problem. Because of this, the transpositions came too fast for me. I was always playing catch up. But the call and response to learning a tune by ear is wonderful. And this is such a wonderful tune!
I look forward to more sea shanties. And the link you provided to the choir singing this song??? It was wonderful!
Thanks again for a creative session. ~~Cindy
Cindy, I use ear buds with only a bud in my right ear. Much easier to hear the iPad and myself.
I just got to this archived group lesson. I learned so much and it was FUN!!! I’ve never thought of myself as “musical”, but this made me feel like a musician. Thanks for the great lesson!
It was a GREAT lesson learning by ear. I’m so glad I subscribed. The lessons work better for me then me learning completely on my own. I jam w/bluegrassers and am quick at playing by ear even for songs I don’t know, but those chop chords. UGH. Is it possible to add chords to your music sheets too? We did call & response games on instruments for fun when we were kids. It really helps develop you “ear.”
Good idea. We have chords for lots of other lessons. This one was thrown together a bit hastily though. just so you know, chords are G, C, D. I’m off for the weekend, but will try to add this next week…
I tried to access the video for this tune but it says “Video is unavailable. This video is private.”
Hmmm….
I’m logged in and as far as I know, I’m paid up.
Any suggestions?
Should work now…
The YouTube versions were great! Both really interesting and so different.
Loved the lesson Jason. I learned some great tricks to spice up this tune 🙂
the klezmer way is totally cool
Amazing!
Some day. Just as fun trying.
I really enjoyed this lesson thanks Jason! I hadn’t realised how much I rewind the video though when learning a new tune. I think I have one part, move onto the next & then immediately forget the previous! Needless to say when I woke this morning I can’t remember any of it!! I’ll print the sheet music & write out the tabs & it’ll hopefully stick!
I had fun with this lesson because it’s ‘live’ , the call and respnse is challenging and seems that playing is “off the cuff” – not knowing the tune at all. Was great to be a part of the making of a lesson ! Thanks, Jason
That was a lot of fun! More sea shanties!
Love all these suggestions! Have done a lot of them, but I need to practice playing things way over there in the minor key more.
I’m sure you talk about this somewhere else, but I also love to swing the beat when I’m trying to wrap my head around a new tune… sometimes I just like them better that way anyway.
Way cool !!!
Terrific
Holding the bow is the hardest for me, especially since I’m double jointed and the knuckle joint of my pinky finger keeps collapsing.
sounds lovely! love that fiddle and Tam Lin. Good luck everybody
Beautiful. Love the speed variation and the ornaments. I’ve been working on this tune. It’s kicking my a**, but getting better incrementally.
Thanks so much!! Some of these things I’ve done, but not all! I love your lessons!!
Very nice !!!! , really enjoyed hearing this .
Great lesson makes thing fun and makes the mind wonder into new music and growth…
Well I couldn’t get up at 4.30am for this hootenanny but I really enjoyed replaying the zoom – it was almost as good as being there!
I’d like to ask about the chords you played in the last part of the zoom – Do you play in the hoe down bow style and just change chords where it has the A or D above the notes on the Soldier’s Joy Level Two tune?
cheers
Maggie
Awesomeness
Jason, You are awesome, and you make learning fiddle fun, and this video made me smile. Timing is my biggest challenge, so I will try the metronome…. Thank you! 🙂
Great tone from that beautiful fiddle.
Next lesson d interval is a broken link on 6-10-2021
Chandler, thanks very much for this, should be fixed now.
Something folks may already know… can type the title in search engine on Fiddlehed (Introduction to Intervals), and access the lesson, if another method isn’t working.
Thanks for helping Fiddlehed be as user friendly as possible~
I love this approach to developing audiation. I found practising with the drones almost meditative and it allows me to really get ‘inside’ the sound of the fiddle.
Thanks for putting so much into these lessons Jason.
thankyou!
your music link doesn’t go to the dance of the sugar plum fairy, cheers
Play along track for 6.1,6.2 and 6.3 is not matching
Sorry I had to miss this one ☹️
I heard there’s a special birthday present in the works for you 🥰
Striking!
6pm PT
Fun to listen to. Looking forward to learning a bit of improv
Is there a link somewhere for this? I assume it’s via zoom?
D you lift your fingers when doing staccato, or just stop the bow?
The only time I lift my finger during staccato is if I’m transitioning to a different note. Stopping the bow with the finger on the string helps dampen vibration of the note, which helps create the moment of silence between the staccato notes. Lifting the finger will create string movement, which can result in some very quiet sounds. If this doesn’t make sense, let me know!
Farrrrrr our!!!!!!! Great job,,,, I guess I just dated myself😎
What time? 12 PT? (3 pm EST)
I just watched the replay as live workshop times are a bit tricky in Australia. I thought it was great. Really loved the scaffolding of using the pentatonic to build up to improv. I have learned a lot from you in recent months and look forward to learning more.
I get a 404 file not found when trying to download the pdf for this song. Thanks!
Sounds like fun—- gotta get in on this one!!!!
did you ever get a response as to what time?
Is there a link for the replay of this if we missed it? TIA
Nice job Jason. I really liked your performance and the Martin Hayes version also. I liked the harmonics at the end.
These are great ways to practice. I have fallen off the horse a few times but I seem to get back up and try again. Always trying, always learning!!!
It’s not how many times you fall off the wagon, it’s how fast you can get back on! 🙂
This was absolutely awesome. Thank you Jason, for yet another well-planned, interesting and useful lesson. I learned quite a bit from the part where we played the tune, improvised and then returned to the tune. The repetition helped me to fit the improv into the tune and know when I was supposed to be done. . . had I been playing with a group and doing a solo.
I have a ‘design game’ which is useful for developing woven textile designs and I may try with my practice. By selecting, randomly, two or more cards – say a tune and a technique or two. Then using only those in the practice session. It is a fun spontaneous way of getting the brain juices re organised and energised for the task…maybe.
Let me know how it works for you!!!! That’s a great idea. I sounds sort of like how I meal plan my dinners 😂. I have receipe cards…but I also have cards that have an ingredient on them and then a list of recipes. Sort of a “20 ways to use ground beef” sort of thing. I was so inspired by this session that I have on my list to sit down with my fiddle cards and make them better, and maybe even add in a few technique cards like you are describing.
Really like the index card idea for tunes and techniques as it would be more grounding for me than the current one note system on my laptop and seems more immediate and tactile. My problem is very like Mary’s! I’m attracted to every tune in the universe.
I think the tactile thing is what works for me with the cards too. I’m a very tech loving person….but there are certain things that I still need the pencil and paper tactile thing for my brain to be happy. Tunes, cookbooks, and my bullet journal planner seem to be the things that my brain is unwilling to digitalize.
I really want to do a whole office hours session devoted to organization of note card systems now. But that’s probably my obsessive squirrel brain giving me bad ideas. I should do a blog post instead of how I organize my cards! And then we can all discuss in the comments and the forums and swap ideas.
where is the version with embellishments////i saw it on youtube
Hi
I noticed the interval scale F major exercise plays the D major recording…would be great to get the F major recording (esp since that key gives me grief). Also if you can double check the recordings for the B parts of Bonaparte Crossing the Rockies. Thanks!
Wow! What a gorgeous tune and performance! Awesome! ~~Cindy
Damn, I missed it! And I’d been looking forward to it. I guess I’ll have to make do with the recording. I hope you’ll do more improv stuff soon.
We’ll do it again for sure! Stay tuned for the replay.
Thanks. Very cool. The question I wanted to ask (had I been there) was what you do in a song like O Susannah that changes key. Would you go into the G pentatonic?
I’m limbering my fingers for a great improvisation workshop. Who’s ready?
Mary Reid from sunny, hot Georgia.
Very helpful- although in uk we call the note values by very unhelpful names. I find it hard to count to keep time.
Audio still cuts out at one stage that’s a shame.
Very helpful- although in uk we call the note values by very unhelpful names. I find it hard to count to keep time.
These sound really cool.
I think that there’s an error in the tab on A Part 2nd Quarter–shouldn’t it be D3-3-A1-3-1-E0-A1-A3-1-0-1-D3? With A1 rather than E1 after the E0? I’m trying to figure out how I’m going wrong here and picking my way through the written music vs tabs. Please tell me if I’m nuts.
Greetings Darcy~
Your right, good find. It’s exactly how you said. Thanks very much for noticing and speaking up. Together we can help enhance and balance it all out 🙂
Aw, this course has brought me so much pleasure and joy! I just bought a second year and am starting the Irish Journey.
The hardest part of bowing so far for me is keeping the bow straight and I have trouble crossing the A & E strings. I feel pretty relaxed with the bow hold so either I’m getting it or doing it wrong! Lol
Keeping the bow straight is a very tough thing to do! My advice is to focus on it for a few minutes every practice session, and then spot check yourself periodically during the rest of your session without being obsessive about it. In my experience, a bow traveling crooked over the strings (ie not parallel to the bridge) has a LOT to do with what my ELBOW (and my wrist) is doing (or not doing). Playing in front of a mirror to see if you are holding either of those joints stiff and using your shoulder to move the bow may help you trouble shoot this. 🙂
Just finished watching the video. Excellent suggestions! Even though I’ve been playing flute, piano for decades (teach and perform both), practicing does seem like ‘work’ sometimes, especially now when we can’t play with live people -although we’re starting to see a light at the end… Yay! Now I’m going to try them out.🎶😊
Hey @hmk,
You can apply this creative practice approach to any instrument. Have fun 🕺🏾
I definitely would like a lesson on variations. I do a different version but would really enjoy going farther. Thanks 😊
Good lesson. Interesting how my ear can kind of hear which notes belong though I lose count
FiddleHed Group 1 Intermediate ( 3 members created during the first breakout group session) are practicing this tune, some suggested variants, and / eventually the variations with double stops, etc. It is quite fun and quite challenging! We are going to continue next week.
Thanks, Jason and team!!!!!
Nice @sarahb,
I wanna hear what you guys come up with 🎻
Check out the Whiskey Deaf Facebook page. Annie and
John play every Thursday. You don’t need to have a Facebook
account to watch the older shows.
My new all time favorite to play!
Thank you for posting this and others. It’s great support and a huge blessing to be able to see the things we missed. I am one who needs all the information I can get.
In the UK we call the notes by different names that do not help at all in working out rhythms.a whole note is a semibreve , a half note is a minim, a quarter note is a crotchet, an eight note is a quaver and a sixteenth note is a semi quaver.
The USA system at least tells you the value of the note. I wonder what the names are in other countries. Very useful. I can understand why you use “tucka” as a word to show the timing but do not know why you use hoe-down- Is that the rhythm if a hoe down dance?
Getting there!
Good exercise!!! Good for intonation practice too.
This song is sooo cool. The variation video is awesome. Makes me want to frolic 😉
I’ve started using these techniques in my practice. Please consider doing a lesson on transposing to a minor key. I need some help with that one!
Good idea @debhill
Here’s a quickie lesson on how to do it.
-Play a major key tune.
-Play its major scale.
-Play the minor (Aeolian) scale (lower the third, sixth, seventh steps)
-Sub out those notes as they fall in the tune.
Have fun…
Thanks for the help with the minor key transposition.
Mary
Thanks for your help!
Loving the new sheet music, breaking out the quarters and halfs… and the bowing. Very helpful!
Good tune. I was listening to Bill when I was maybe five yrs old.
Help! There’s no sound on the first video! It’s not my system; I checked and the next video plays just fine.
The hardest part is that sometimes the bow starts to bounce. It seems to happen more on the E and A strings. Other times it doesn’t happen at all. I have not yet figured out what I’m doing differently when it bounces and when it doesn’t.
Hey @dalevancleef,
Try shortening your both trucks on the E and A strings. Also try to use throwaway bars on each string both down bow and up bow.
Probably the most important thing is to just keep practicing this. Give extra Luv to the E and A strings. Eventually your body will figure this out.
That is awesome.
Tanks 🤓
THANK YOU SO MUCH for putting the bowing in there!!!!
Are you going to put Melinda’s office hours in the archives so we can catch whatever we weren’t able to get live? Thanks
Hi @grannyfiddler, I just added this under “Archived Office Hours.”
Cheers…
Thanks 😊
I have never heard this tune before and wasn’t sure that I liked it at all. Then I listened to lots of versions on YouTube and it got into my head- yes! I love it now that I am in the groove! Many of the tunes on this site are not at all familiar to me so I have to work hard to get them into my mind so that I can learn them. Very pleased to have achieved this.
I find Saying (This Is Not A Per i diddle) instead of Skedaddle a bit more helpfull
Whatever works! I love that you took this a little pattern and found a way to make sense of it on your own.
Hi Jason, what a lovely relaxed vibe. It’s unmistakably you; light fiddle and drone/indian music drone box thingy. It’s a hit!
Thanks @ear_eim_ear_eim 🙏
I am having so much fun with this! Thank you <3
Good!
Beautiful! Thanks for sharing with us.
You’re welcome Grace 🙂
They make an E string that doesn’t squeak. It almost looks like a spring which becomes straight when tightened/tuned. It does work!! But the string requires much tension which can warp the bridge if you don’t keep up with watching it and straightening it.
Very, very pretty song ” To You (and everyone else wandering in the world.)”
thanks Owen 🙂
The clip of your song is quite nice. Thank goodness you moved through or around the roadblocks to its creation and completion.
Jason, I love the sound of the new tune “To You….” very hypnotic it reminds me a bit of Sigur Ros.
Thanks @joanneiles
I’m a big fan of Sigur Ros.
Glad to hear you guys are doing this!!!
Great tune to develop skill in low/high finger positions.
That is beautiful, exotic….love it! I want to learn to play it :).
Does one naturally assign one bow stroke to each note or is that up to the fiddler?
14 speed challenge day 1: Give the Fiddler a Dram. Played at 80 bpm which felt fine for tempo but it sounded pitchy as I missed the L2 positions, need to work on getting the switches to AL2 and also DL2 before I speed it up just yet.
Day 2: no metronome practice, played each section very s..l..o..w..l..y.. I identified my trouble is crossing EO to AL2 so worked on that a lot. Practised some more string crossing exercises (module 2.5), played other tunes then came back to it & played to the play along track, sounding better!
Day 3: I played my difficult sections 1st & 3rd quarter of the B part and then tried them with my metronome which increases by 4bpm not 5 for some reason😁 managed to keep a good sound up to 88bpm & played the whole tune through a few times.
Day 4: managed to play the whole tune today at 92bpm using the G drone to keep me in tune. I keep playing with the different rhythm patterns on beat central & have a few tunes I like to play to the waltz, bodhran & mpc beats. Funny how some ancient reels sound funky with that MPC beat!
Day 5: speeded up again to 96bpm & managed the tune with no issues. It’s interesting just playing around with it I found my limit is now the string crossing on the A- part the earlier issues I had with the low 2nd position are now fine as I have the sound of the tune in my head.
Day 6: Broke the 100bpm barrier! I played just the string crossings in the A part first with the metronome until I could stay with the beat. It’s that little fiddly bit A0-A1-D3-A0 which takes some training for my fingers! Once I got that the rest felt comfortable at that speed & the tune sounds better overall.
Day 7: I’ve reached my current limit with the A part so have followed the wax on approach and slowed it way down. Played it almost just one note at a time then with a little more flow. Keep practicing A0-A1-D3-A0 in amongst playing different tunes & some scales with variations.
Day 8: and wax off….increased back up to 108bpm and felt I could probably notch up the metronome a bit more now. The more I play, the more interesting I find these different techniques especially slowing stuff down to play it faster really works. I have some issues with my fiddle we’ve got some big temperature swings in the UK right now overnight and 2 strings had gone sharp and 2 flat plus my micro tuner on the E string has broke & is spinning freely so a bit of maintenance required today!
Day 9: after sorting out & re-tuning my fiddle again, I managed to increase the bpm up to 116 & played through a few times. Still feels quite comfortable at hat speed now so I think I’ll be up to 120bpm+ in the next days. That’s 40bpm faster than when I started, can’t believe that improvement so quickly what a great challenge to do. Travelling to a non wifi location for the next 3 days so will post one update for days 10 to 13 when I can!
Days 10 to 13: travelling in our motorhome but still managed to keep up the playing and increased to 120 no trouble then up to 126bpm-I’ve stayed at it for the last 2 days as I struggled a bit at first but again slowed down then brought it all back up to speed. Still struggling more with the tempo on the A part rather than the B part which flows OK now
Day 14: increased up to 138bpm! I was struggling at 132 and next stop on the metronome was 6beats higher so thought I’d give it a go thinking that when I dropped back to 132 it would feel easier. As it turned out after a couple of attempts I could play it at the faster speed! I’ll post the start & finish videos to the forum! What a great challenge thank you Jason!
Nice Joanne…The speed challenge is quite satisfying when you do it on a regular basis.
It certainly is, I’ll try it on other tunes and incorporate it in my daily playing & practice.
love this jason! i liked the conversations about it being too weird for fiddlers and too normal for the experimental lovers. I guess a better way to look at it is its the best of both worlds, and hopefully for everyone. it sounds like a shuti box! have you ever heard or used one? I’ve been really wanting one for a long time. i love drone music which is why i first got interested in violin. anyway i wanted to share this video with you if i can. its my favorite shuti box performance I’ve ever seen. beautiful, and maybe an inspiration in there somewhere for fiddlers? i don’t know.
wow! That was beautiful! is this song in the library? I’m going to look 🙂
Jason, you’ve touched so many lives through FiddleHed. You’re doing the right thing.
Hi from British Columbia! See you soon.
Hi from south England, looking forward to the lesson!
Tuning up for this one!
Hi, thanks for another motivator to practice. I hope to be there for the beats and practice later.
what pitch should I set my tuner to please? it has a setting marked as A4.
A4 is the fourth octave A on the standard piano and the A string on a violin/viola. It’s frequency is 440 Hertz. The current standard pitch for tuning is a 440 A. Some tuners allow adjustment from 440. The old baroque pitch was 432 Hz.
Was wondering when you’ll add new songs to the playlist.
You read my shortcomings when you put this together. My friends will love you if it actually penetrates. Thank you.
Yay! Boy howdy, do I need this!!! See ya’ll tomorrow!
wish this was a little later for the downunder crew!
if the examples playing E Dorian scale is done by starting on second note in the D scale thus D1 etc.
and if hen if the C scale is G3 DO D1 D2 D3 A0 A1 A2
and if D dorian starts on second note of this C scale which is D0
does this makes it seem like D Dorian is same as D major?? I must be missing something.
Also in 1.7 (the lesson I’m currently on)the D Dorian is taught as starting on D and G Dorian as starting on G? Is that just a simplified introduction version maybe?
Michael, I think what you’re missing is the key signature, and that makes all the difference. By the way, Jason did a fantastic Practice Journey on this topic in December 2020, called Road to Lisdoonvarna, found under the Community, Group Lessons links.
My own little framework for deciphering modes is to think of a parent-child relationship, and the child will always possess the parent’s characteristics. Dorian is the second note, and the parent is the first. E Dorian’s parent is D, and has the characteristics (key signature) of the D major scale: two sharps, F and C. When you play an E Dorian scale, you will begin playing on the note E and play all the way up to the E an octave higher, BUT you will play this scale with the characteristics, the key signature, of parent D major, i.e. the two sharps.
When you play the D Dorian scale, first look at the parent’s characteristic key signature. Parent C major has no sharps and no flats. When you play the D Dorian scale, you would play D to D, but this time with no sharps.
Thank you for this fantastic lesson! So many possibilities with this technique!
Wow! I can actually play this song! I am learning so much. Thank you – the drone practice is so darn magical.
Good lesson. This should help eliminate some of the scratchys when starting a bow stroke.
Thank you
Love this! Thank you so much for this!
Love the raga blend!
Just ordered this book. Looking forward to a good read.
E dorian was hard(impossible) without knowing what notes are in E dorian (hasnt been talked about in any lessons before this.) Or what triads are( though that one was easy to figure out)
Hey Michael, thanks for pointing that out. Here’s tabs for E dorian.
D1-2-3-A0-1-2-3-E0
The E Dorian scale is built from the D major scale. To make an E Dorian scale, start on the second step of the D major scale.
Also added this to the call-and-response exercise.
thanks Jason, and i just moved up to 1.7 which was all about the Dorian scale so i see now this was kind of a preview 🙂
Cool. I like hearing about your evolution 🙂
Okay, Let’s do this, Angeline the baker.
Mary
I plan to be there. Just scratching my way through the variations!
This is the best practice system I’ve seen!!! I’m still on the first couple of legs of the trip but it gets better as you go
Yes! Thanks for sharing your journey with this 😁
I not only hear the notes but I can really feel them when it sounds in tune, great little exercises thanks.
Peace, Cory
Here’s hoping work cooperates tomorrow. I’ve been missing the sessions.
Just below the link to the upcoming lesson is another link to “Archived Practice Journeys.” You can find the recordings there.
Hey Jason do you record these somewhere I am always at work for these workshops and missing out on some good stuff
Just below the link to the upcoming lesson is another link to “Archived Practice Journeys.” You can find the recordings there.
I’ve playing another version , not Jason’s, for awhile but am now practicing putting in his slurs……cool !
He’s playing the banjo 2 finger style which really surprised me when I saw him playing it in person years ago in CA.
Looking forward to this as always…. love the variation on this old standby!!
The hardest part is making sure my bow is perpendicular to the strings and not slipping toward the bridge with the down stroke. 🙂
I am wondering if you might offer a bit more expansion on this tune with more chords to make it sound a bit richer. The Round Peak variation seems a bit intimidating. Perhaps something in between. An idea for a Group lesson???
Thanks. I did enjoy the tune
Tabs in 2nd quarter A part do not match the tabs in the full song.
I noticed this also.
Great catch, Brandon and Iona. Thanks for helping out. 🙂
hi , was just part of Jason’s Student Hangout and Jason asked me to share my notes from our group meet. I keep notes to remind me of tunes, tips and when we will meet again. The following is a sample of my notes. It was another fun hangout,( Thanks Jason) I have met so many nice fiddlers!
Student Hangout
Saturday Apr. 3 @ 12 PT
Spoke as a large group with Jason before breaking off into smaller groups
-Jason will be having Student Hangout about once a month to share ideas and for anyone new to meet other fiddlers.
Group two: Mary, Karen, Charlie, Sue
– Introduced ourselves
– We each played a tune:
• Britches Full of Stitches
• Shortnin’ Bread
• Ashokan Farewell
• Sheguiandah Bay
-Jason popped in- we asked how to play sets or medleys- he sent a link to his lesson- How to make sets
Shared as a group:
-Karen helped with B Flat Scale- easier to play in 2nd position
-Jerusalem Ridge – a tune that uses 2nd position
– duets work well with zoom groups
-Mary suggested to get Jason’s Cheat Sheet – to help remember tunes
– Scale formula: whole- whole- ½- whole- whole- whole -½
-learn to read sheet music- practice writing what the notes are over and over/ say the note out loud while playing and reading music
-Each going to play a 2nd tune when the zoom Ended.
Didn’t get a chance to say good bye… it was nice to meet you Karen and Charlie
See you soon Mary
Thanks. Great to have the notes.
Sunny Georgia here on April 3, 2021.
I am confused. The breakdown notation for the first quarter ends on a D1, but the sheet music and watching your fingering and listening to it seems to end on a D3.
Nice tune and song!
You’re correct. I noticed the same thing.
Just a mistake in graphics.
Good ear!
This looks like a challenging bit of fun tune ! Thanks. Will begin and see how it goes….
Play along track needs a count in or something. When I hit play it is already into song. Don’t have any time to grab the bow and fiddle lol
I just got an old style metronome— with the little post that swings to and fro. For me it’s easier to use than the electronic kind since I can see the movement. Timing has always been my nemesis so I’m really looking forward to this practice journey!!!
Looking for to some time with the timing. Yeup, went with that bad joke there! See y’all tomorrow
HI! Sweet tune! You mention on this one and several other video lessons that you will be following up with how to add variation and expression. I am looking forward to those videos…..ready to go beyond the basic versions. When will those new videos be available?
Great old time tune. Looking forward to the practice session.
That’s way cool!! My biggest goal in fiddling us to play along with a picker/singer enviornment.
How do I find your videos that come after the initial one?
Love you easy method – hoping to see more and new songs added for me to continue with my membership.
Thanks
Lynda
[email protected]
Jason, how do we hear what you did? I don’t have access to anything except your lessons.
Cindy
Wait…. never mind, I found it.
i think i need two bows then! one for back up while replacing? I have never done this!
I think this is what I am understanding I struggled with most with taking Suzuki as an adult. I felt very rushed by my instructor into learning the next tune, and my sound was awful!! I feel now that I am starting to get a very good sound. My F# still needs some more practice though 🙂
Hey Megan: It’s unfortunate that so many people had a similar negative experience with music. Consider yourself lucky that you were able to find it again. A lot of other folks might have just written off music forever. And for the record, I think the Suzuki books are actually pretty good…
I’m havin Fun!! Thanks to You
You’re welcome Scott!
The mothers on the Youtube video are the best! Polyvalent mothers: Playing and baby sitting at the same time ! Woh, what an immersive experience for the kids ! I love it…
Love this tune Thank You! There’s also a version without fiddle but great vocals on YouTube by Norma Waterson & Eliza Carthy from their album Gift that’s well worth a listen.
Not to take away from Fiddlehed, but, Matt Cranitch’s book covers this nicely, too! Cranitch uses the tune Kildare Fancy. I use this pattern in the second half of Planxty Drury.
Nice job, Jason!
Thanks much @Paul. Are you talking about The Irish Fiddle Book?
I don’t think I’m getting the newsletters. I am getting the emails.
I can’t imagine the tremendous amount of work u put into this practice journey but I find it overwhelming…any suggestions. I was looking for a tune just now but could not find the page with the learning chunks…tks.
Pity I didn’t know you’d changed time in Ca … ah well
I go to most of these, but was very happy to miss this one today. I was able to get a Jab rather than play a Jig! Catch ya on the reruns.
just want to say thank you Jason for all the great lessons so far. I’m doing the year subscription and its honestly the best thing I’ve ever bought 🙂
I’m not sure at what point I can say, “I know how to play”. after a song? or a number of songs? or a number of notes learned? who knows. but no matter what status I am at, my current 1.6, I’m looking forward to keep moving forward. And luckily for me, your lessons are making that possible. Thanks again!
Great lesson! The first time I’ve been able to join. Learned some things, and had a great time. Thanks!
Deb Swanson
This was a great lesson thanks, I wasn’t sure where to fit in the rolls & mordant in a tune and you answered it
Tom here in British Columbia.
Hi All,
Joanne here in southern England!
Let’s do this Irish thing!
Mary
Hi Jason,
Im still at the beginner stage but would like to watch and enjoy the music and be part of St Patricks Day celebrations!!
I may be watching mostly, too.
See you there- thanks!
I will be there with the wearin O the Green
I’ll be there !
Jason, are you barring across the strings when it goes from E1 to A1? That seems to be the only way to avoid it sounding choppy there.
Excelent!
Really wish I wasn’t missing this one. Happy St Patrick’s day !
Working on the lesson prep. Planning on being there!
Looking forward to it
See you there!
Yay, thanks for this lesson. Felt like I was there with you all, even though on the other side of the world and a week later. Now I’m going to check out the other lessons.
I’ll be there!!
Count me in- thanks
Rank beginner. Thought I should do this to improve. Get raked over coals. Family has been brutal 🤣😹.
Not sure where to post? 1st time.
I dig your practice space Chuck 👍
Jason is it possible to learn “Follow me up to Carlow”? I’m learning quite a lot from this coarse. Thanks
I would have stopped playing the fiddle at the start if I had to struggle only with the sheet music version of the note I guess. The tab is the tool that “hooked” me first.
Hey @julien, thanks much! I’ll continue to produce separate tabs for tunes.
I think part of the added value of your blog comes also from the tab approach? It is less ‘beginner repellent’ for a beginner with no musical culture / background.
Jason I don’t know about suppressing the snippets with the tab, I found them useful before to learn more quickly. It is cool to have:
– the fingering
– the slurs
– the tabs on the video when you play the part
– the looping tool and slowing tool
– the tab including the musical snippets (the one you suppressed) : as I have more difficulties to get the basic rythm from only the video.
With this option you give the learner the opportunity to chose when he knoes enough with the tab to jump to the note reading version and stop using the tab.
I understand it’s more work for you but that would be my favourite option.
Cool work you are doing there on the blog Jason much appreciated.
I don’t know if there is a need to redo all the slurring for the past sheet music, may be for the future only will do great 😉
In addition to the note above……I just used the picture in picture feature and LOVE IT!!!! Just what I was hoping for.
Now I can see and hear Jason, but also scroll through the whole lesson, sheet music, etc. at the same time.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, JASON !!!!
I have just started the basic and advanced versions of this lesson and appreciate the subtleties in each.
BUT, what I really like is the humor dispersed through each lesson. Thanks, Jason.
Hi, not feeling too well today, so just popping in to watch and see what these are about.
Looking forward to today’s student hangout and lessons! See you there….. Cindy
Looking forward to today’s gathering!
I noticed that during the last practice journey (Ballydesmond) there were quite of few people from my state. Is it possible that that could be the case in numerous states, or even small countries? It wouldn’t work in many cases, but Fiddleheds in a particular state or region might decide to have a fiddle “get together”, now that it’s getting close, weather-wise to make that feasible.I don’t know if there is a list of fiddleheds, showing location but……..just an idea.
I’ll be there. Looking forward to it!
The fingering is a great addition. It supplants the ‘tab’ and since I always try to learn a tune from the sheet music as quickly as possible after looking at the tab, because of the note timings, this will help to not refer to the tab early on.
Thanks for letting me know @nick. What if there was no tab, only detailed fingerings above the sheet music?
It is not a bad idea to let some notes without the fingering as it will train me to trust my reading. It might well be the winning combination to enhance gradually our note reading skills !
Great change keep it for the future Jason !
Adding the slurs is a cool thing you did too !
Hi Jason,
Thank you so much for adding the fingering, this will save me some time really! MUCH APPRECIATED
Cool, thanks for letting me know @julien. I’ll be adding slurs to all future lessons to. Somewhat intimidated about updating all sheet music though 😳
Planning on being there!
Sorry to miss it. Traveling. I’m looking forward to viewing the lesson later.
I would love to see this sheet music stationary. I need to learn it slowly before I jog along with the tempo. 🤪
@grannyfiddler Hello, thanks for providing this valuable feedback. Sorry for delay in reply. Could you explain what you mean by stationary sheet music for this tune? Has the sheet music been added since you made this comment? Thank you kindly. Happy fiddling 🎻
Thanks for this tune, it is really beautiful!
Our intermediate group will be practicing these tunes/duet tomorrow. Can’t wait!
The fiddle patterns of legends, these are the very foundations to practice until automatic.
That moment when your bow knows where the string is versus bowing at the string area, hahaha. Eureka!
I agree with Julia
I really enjoyed this practice journey. I just learned this tune for this lesson so didnt know it very well. I was really surprised how much this practice helped me. I was playing it so much better by the end of the lesson. Thanks Jason, looking forward to Saturday’s town hall.
Great lesson. I enjoyed adding the Dorian scales and transposing.
I am feeling more encouraged. Looking FORWARD to tomorrow’s practice! (UNBELIEVABLE!)
See you then
hi everyone! Checking in from the Lowcountry of SC!
Cindy
hello all!
Hello from Idaho. I am Amy. See ya soon!
Happy March 10th everyone!
Hey from Georgia. Beautiful spring day here. Lots of sunshine and blue skies.
Ready to hit it on Ballydesmond Polka. Been practicing three polks together – Ballydesmond, Kerry and Britches Full of Stitches. Trying to play each a 1000 times. In two weeks.
Mary
Hello! Beautiful day here. Tuning up!
David McClain ,In Loveland,Colorado big storm coming in Friday evening The forcast now is in feet not inches,I will have plenty of time to practice over the weekend.Ballydesmond Polka will be my Focus
Sunny noon in beautiful New Westminster, British Columbia
I’m from NE Oregon early level intermediate. Hi everybody see you soon
Looking forward to playing later, the plan to take part in the upcoming lesson has given me the motivation I’m lacking to just start playing…Thank you!
Hi from beautiful Florida on a lovely day! Happy that Jason’s holding this Group Lesson today. I’m posting this early greeting so that the Zoom sign in will go a little smoother.
Hello. I’m Patrice, and looking forward to being there at 12noon pacific time ( 8pm here in Lancaster, England )
Here’s hoping work stays clear. Been missing these classes. –Henry
Hello can’t wait
Hello
Hi there. See you tomorrow at 12:00 Pacific Time (correct?).
See you then
See you then
Fun but. Sheesh. Can’t figure out how to hit that high e4 when staying in first position. Not happening yet I think my fingers are too short.
I have really small hands and short fingers too so I feel your pain. It will get there. Your hand flexibility will improve over time. I do find that most of the time I cheat. I can’t keep my first and second fingers down and still hit the fourth finger accurately most of the time…..so I pick up fingers 1 and 2, anchor with the 3, and then play the fourth fine. Because of some arthritis pain in my first finger on my left hand I find I pick up that finger a lot unless it’s actually needed to finger a note.
One thing that helps in this song is that the fourth finger on the E plays B flat (low fourth) instead of having to reach all the way to play the full B!
Ready to practice with my peeps. Been working on two Irish jigs and Tn. Waltz – tried some double stops!
The clouds have cleared and it’s sunny.
Mary
Fun duets, enjoyed the sounds and your singing along. This lesson left me feeling very upbeat that fiddle can be made simple enough to learn small steps that later will be solid to build upon.
All tuned up, ready to go!
Just starting, very happy to have found your lessons. I love bagpipes with fiddle. There is a bagpipe app and I thought it was so cool. What’s even more exciting is that you offer DRONES!! I am giddy that the drones play as I tune up and practice. Such an incentive and the Two Minute Rule goes along with so many tasks adults have to drudge thru daily. Two Minute Dishwasher unload, lol.
I’m in. See you then.
Thank you for getting us through this first module of lessons. You are an excellent teacher and encourager.
I’ll be there March 6
I’ll be there with the other Strung Alongs!!! 🙂 (Our “band” name courtesy of Owen) 🙂
Can’t wait for this lesson!!!
Very disappointed that I missed last week but am really looking forward to joining with whoever will take me.
I’m in.
Hi Jason. I’m trying to learn the duet. The tabs and sheet music don’t match, I usually play by ear and I couldn’t use the play along track and tabs together. the 4th quarter in both A and B are different from what you are playing.
This is what I hear:
A part 4th quarter: D0 -0-G1-D1-D0-0-G1-1
B part 4th quarter: D0-0-G1-D1-0
I’m starting to read sheet music but not very good at it. Which one is correct?
This song is too much fun! Trying to speed learn a few before vaccines in case all I get to do for a bit is listen practice!
I have succeeded in making a sandwich while holding my fiddle. …. my kids worry about my sanity, …. but what’s new about that… 😉
Wow I thought my fingertips were pretty hardened from daily playing but these exercises really make them sting! I wonder if I’m pressing too hard, I guess you don’t need to apply any more pressure than normal?
The hardest part for me so far is getting my pinky to be relaxed on my bow. I’ve had this issue even when I took lessons. It is very difficult! Today was also my first time learning tremolo! I thought this was difficult as well, but also you made it enjoyable at the same time.
Wasn’t expecting 4th finger 🙂 Nice surprise 🙂 Will take a bit to get used to it!
Hello Jason, Thank you for this lesson:
– two questions:
a) What can be done to avoid moving the violin while trying the vibrato?
b) My second finger when trying the vibrato is sometimes moving closer to the bridge… when I guess it should not. Any idea to counter that?
Best,
Julien
I’m pretty good at calling up tunes and their names, but I’m struggling with some of the Irish ones. I’m sure it’s because so many of them are new to me and they aren’t in the proper parts of my brain yet. I’ve been thinking of a good way to get the tunes in the courses in one place so I can play them in the background, check on their names, maybe play along, like on an mp3 so it can be on my device. I’ve thought of going out and buying them one by one, though right now I’d prefer them to match up closer to what I’m learning than say, at breakneck speed, or in medleys. Is there a plan perhaps to put learning mp3s on the site? Or are they there and I haven’t found them yet?
I heard Mike talk about his difficulty with vibrato whereby he can manage the hand movement in guitar position but not in fiddle position. I have exactly the same issue. I can’t fix it (yet) but It seems that when I move to fiddle position my left index finger creeps in and touches the neck of the fiddle. For me at least, I think this is the difference which makes it so hard. It seems as though I need to reposition my left hand so that I’m not touching the neck other than on the thumb. Definitely a work in progress but I’d be interested in Mike’s take on this idea.
Signing in for a practice session from overcast, foggy Georgia.
Mary
Three of us gals formed a group. We’ve had 2 sessions already! It is really good to see, hear and play with others. We’re on Zoom for 40 minutes each Friday. I know I’m encouraged to learn and play better.
checkin in!!!
Looking forward to this. It has helped to play for others.
Oops
I am so glad that you posted the video in archives so I can review often. It helped me see positioning my left hand better and not supporting violin with the left hand as much. Also, kudos to you all brave enough to speak out! You actually asked several of the questions that I had on my mind.
I am so glad that you posted the video in archives so I can review often. It helped me see positioning my left hand better and not supporting violin with the left hand as much. Also, kudos to you all brave enough to speak out! You actually asked several of the questions that I had on my mind,;
I learned a lot from the session. It will take practice for me, as the motion takes some getting used to. Getting first finger off of fingerboard is also a great tip. Also, thanks for posting each session you, (errr… we ) do in the archives so that we can review as often as we want !
Hi Jason and WyoBob. I wear a hearing aid too and find that I play better without it.
Something is drastically wrong with the D Dorian scale. It seems like D major but even then the intonation is off.
will you post a video of this lesson?
Fairy Dance was a lot of fun to pluck along to! Really enjoying this 😊
Thanks for extending the lesson 15 minutes. For me the obstacle is getting my left hand free enough to move. I partially support the neck of the violin between my thumb and pointer finger.
Glad I caught you for a few minutes, even for the oopsie typo noon time. It was the perfect fiddle 5 minute lunch break.
thanks
bernie
Great lesson,!
I’m listening. May be too advanced for me but I’m gonna listen. I’m at 2.2
Mary
hello, mike here. getting ready to learn some vibrato
Hello there! I’m going to listen to this workshop while I’m at work.
Having fun with Fiddlehed!!!
Hi, Carolyn here in Florida. Happy to be in this session!
Hello! This is Jane from SC. Looking forward to learning how to learn this technique!
Looking forward to the lesson! Patty
Hi, I’m Joanne in England, UK. Looking forward to the lesson
Howdy from Wyoming! I’m just getting into the vibrato lessons… so excited to finally be working on this! Looking forward to the session today,
Patty
Hello looking forward to this. I am defeated by the vibrato 🙁
Debbie in Virginia. I’ve been working on this for a while.
As pointed out by peggydobro and PBattler above, there is a problem with the second half of the B part having been chopped off on every other run through the song on the full playalong track. Would be great if that could be rectified.
Hello! Tom here from British Columbia. Looking forward to tomorrow’s session!
Hi Tom. I’m originally from B.C. – born and raised in New West. Whereabouts are you?
Jason, will you be doing a vibrato lesson for beginners?
Hello all!
New Fiddlehead member here. I started playing the violin when I was in elementary school all the way up until 8th grade! Still don’t think I was all that great. I played on my great, great uncle’s 70+ year old violin my mother got refurbished.
15 years later I decided to pick up the violin again as my husband plays a musical instrument and I want to be able to jam with him and his friends. I started taking lessons with an instructor, but sadly 2 months in covid struck. I stopped playing until about a week ago the spark finally came back 😊
Excited to start this journey!
enjoying learning this tune, open to joint practice if anyone wants to
This is useful, I have the same problem with the 2nd quarter of Kesh Jig in the A part. I’ll try the exercises given here & also the tip on the bow angle, thank you for sharing!
Something by Ole Bull
Jason, thank you for this wonderful series!
looove this!!
I like the recommendation to sing, are the words to the songs somewhere on your site?
Great idea, Amy. We’ll work on adding lyrics
Thought the sandwich video was hilarious!! I use an app on my phone called Cleartune to help tune my fiddle, another good one is n-Track Tuner 😊
Jason, could you change it so that the latest posts are at the top please? Or does everyone like it this way?
Good idea @babsnicolson. I just asked our developer to change this.
Thank you Bernadette and Jason for the town hall meeting today and for helping us connect in groups.
I apologize for any distraction, as I was on a double fiddle mission this afternoon. I had already planned to attend the local county fair in Florida to see an inspiring fiddler, and when the Town Hall came up I figured I’d multi-task and Zoom into that from the fairgrounds on my iPad.
It was halfway through the meeting before I realized that the camera on the back of the iPad is not in the same location as the camera on the front of the iPad. So I thought I had my finger over the camera but there were probably a lot of weird scenes instead… the ground, the pigs, the ducks, the stage. My apologies!
At least now I understand those strange news stories about people who accidentally broadcast inappropriate content during Zoom meetings and classes.
I’m Grace, 85 and forgetful. I missed the town hall and am very upset with myself. I hope it gets rerun like the other sessions. I’m going to start putting these FH dates in my reminders with high alerts so I don’t miss any more. I’m in central NY and very much want to join a group. Our jam group hasn’t met for almost a full year and I miss it terribly. I’ve had my violin for a little over 3 years and would have lost my mind during this isolation without it. I sew but not nearly as much as I used to and love gardening and birding. I’m set up to see the feeder from my fiddle corner. Best of both worlds.
I’m Terry from New Mexico . I’m signed in as Nick, for reasons too boring to explain, but I do show up as Terry, with a blank screen , on Jason’s Zoom lessons and can receive audio and video okay but am still working on getting my old desk top computer to be capable of showing my own audio/video. Until then I can’t participate in any type of Zoom but always watch the lessons. I’m considering buying a new lap top to solve the problem.
I signed up with Jason’s lessons last June when I first picked up the fiddle. Have been playing 5 string banjo longer than most of you have been alive, lol, and mandolin much later. The fiddle inspired me to learn to read music, irrelevant for the banjo, not too necessary for the mandolin. I listen mostly to old time music but the fiddle has inspired me to delve into Irish and presently working on Road to Lisdoonvarna and Swalow Tail Jig. I find intonation to be one of the two things most necessary for me to practice, the other being able to hold the bow straight while still observing the ‘relaxed right hand ‘ dictate.
For intonation practice I find the Intonia app to be very helpful. Intonia.com. Free for the phone, Google store, $25 one-time fee for the computer version with record/playback capabilities and other advanced features. I see online that several Classical teachers also recommend it.
Hi – Cindy here from outside of Charleston SC.
I’ve been playing under 2 years, but it feels like the first year twice. I’ve been working on Hector and Ashokan Farewell, as well as reviewing playing the songs I learned over the first year. I also play mandolin, guitar, and dulcimer and am learning banjo now as well as Native American flute. Not much else going on during this pandemic time. I used to jam with my guitar and mandolin, but haven’t been to a jam in a year. I’m looking forward to finding people to practice and play with.
Hi Cindy!
My son and his wife live in Charleston, I’m in Columbia. Glad to see you on FiddleHed. Maybe we can meet at a music festival around Charleston when this pandemic retreats. Sounds like you are very fluent in a variety of instruments.
Later- Jane
Thank you for doing this!!!!!
I’m Nigel from Wales, UK. I’ve been playing for about 12 months after coming across an old fiddle by accident and getting it working again. I learned to read music many years ago but stopped doing anything musical other than listen for 50 years. I thought it was time to get back to it and it’s quite surprising what you can remember learning as a child. The Irish/Celtic tunes from Jason I find really enjoyable but I’m happy to learn to play just about anything.
I started playing in third grade. I’m 36 now, so somewhere around 27 or 28 years now. I play a lot of different instruments but fiddle was always my first love and the one I play most as an adult. Grew up at bluegrass festivals, played old time with my mom (who is also on fiddlehed now. Lol). Mostly self taught after a year in third grade of the Suzuki method. In college I scraped together enough money for a couple years of occasional private lessons with a well known bluegrass fiddler that corrected enough of my habits that I made it through my first fiddle contest. That was about fifteen years ago. Now I mostly play by myself and occasionally in small jams. I have a lot of doubt in myself and my playing and feel stuck most of the time, mostly because other than learning tune after tune, I don’t feel like I’ve actually improved my playing in over a decade. I’ve been using fiddlehed resources (the free ones) for years and years….and decided to go all in and support Jason’s work, which I believe in, and try to push through some walls this year and learn some techniques I’ve failed at and avoided over the years like vibrato. I’m hoping to support less experienced fiddlers, stay inspired, and learn some new things.
Apparently Jason said we are supposed to put some other things we are in to. I’m an ultra runner and love the outdoors. I’m a writer and regularly try to pack way too much into my day. Fiddling is my meditation.
Tom here in British Columbia, Canada. I made my first fiddle note (sound – likely not a note) in 2018 at age 60, after I retired from a career in civil engineering and local government administration. My previous musical instrument was clarinet in school band MANY years ago. Though there is really nothing in common with the two instruments, I have retained a basic knowledge of music theory and can read sheet music. After flailing around for a few months on the fiddle, I joined FiddleHeds about 2 years ago in early 2019. I am not doing lessons in a linear approach, so I am currently dabbling in several modules ranging from 1.10 to 2.9 and have touched on a few lessons in the Irish Fiddle Journeys module.
On past trips to Ireland, Scotland and Nova Scotia, I fell in love with Celtic and maritime fiddle music, which launched my personal fiddle journey. Other than fiddle and travel (hopefully again soon) I am usually active in community theatre (directing, acting and set construction)
which is also on hold with Covid 🙁
Hi! Nancy here. Live in KY and I started playing last spring. I have worked through the course and I am just starting module 2.1. I can read music but never had touched a violin before. Really enjoy playing! FiddleHed is a great course and resource.
Hi, Debbie in Virginia. I’ve been playing for about 3 years. For 2 years I had an in person teacher once a month. I’ve since done online and settled on fiddlehed a few months ago. It’s been great!
Hi Debbie…where are you in VA…its a big state! Im in SW VA…Va Tech.
Hi, Mike here. I’ve been building /making violins for about six years. I’ve been learning to play for four or five years. Been a fiddlehed for a long time. I live in southwestern Va. A little shy on motivation due to not being able to get together with others to play some music.
Oh Hi Mike…where in SW VA are you? I am a Fiddlehed member for 1. 5 years and live in Blacksburg. Very shy to play with others…
Hi Karen here in Iowa. Played since 4th grade. 50 years I guess. Just into fiddling. Had some fiddle lessons 40 years ago. Looking for motivation to keep at it and willing to share support to newer players.
My mom and grandparents are from Iowa, little town of Alta near Storm Lake. Fond memories of Iowa.
That’s little!!!
LOL… yes it is
My name is Jack Ryan, I’ve always wanted to play the fiddle but with career, family and all, kept putting it off. I inherited my grandfathers violin several years ago and spent much effort and capital restoring it to its original grandeur. All of a sudden it seemed that maybe I could learn to play on some level. My only regret is not taking the first step sooner. I’ve traveled the road of various online instruction as well as private teachers. Thankfully I found Jason and his FiddleHed site. I knew I had found a home. Jason is an awesome teacher with exceptional talent. I have no illusions of ever being exceptional but the progress FiddleHed has provided me is beyond satisfying.
Hi, my name is Christie. I took lessons for 10 years, then got kind of burned out, but never quit playing. Now I am trying to improve again & get inspired like I used to be
My name is Penny Lormand and I have a little knowledge of the fiddle. I’m78 years old and started learning to play a fiddle at the age of 68 when I retired. I played for a little while then haven’t picked up my fiddle in years. So I want to get back into learning. I’m also learning to play the mandolin. I’m from Lafayette, Louisiana.
Practice while walking the dog.
There were no office hours for Jan. and Feb. of 2012?
There were no office hours for Jan. and Feb. of 2012?
Correction — 2021
Hi. Please note that the in Miss McCleod’s – Basic Lesson, Full TABS, Part B, 3rd quarter is incorrect. Looks like it was copied from Part B, 2nd quarter. Got thrown off playing with the play along track and noticed it. Really enjoy the Irish lessons!
What a great article. Just what I needed to not sell all my violins! I will just enjoy playing fiddle tunes to my best ability, probably much slower that how others play, but at 71 (and playing for only 6 years) I am going to just enjoy the music I can make. I so enjoy fiddlehed, Jason. You make the songs fun to play.
It was nice to have an evening practice option. I’m still working during the Covid pandemic (thankfully), but wanted to say I appreciate this site immensely! I have somewhere to go and learn as little, or as much as I want. Now that I say it “out loud”, a little doesn’t seem like the best choice. I practiced for an hour today before the lesson. It felt great to enjoy my instrument again and to cherish the sounds we make together (before the old strings misbehaved). I have improved leaps and bounds-taking back what I lost for the years not playing. 1000 Thank you’s for all the hard work that goes into this gentle place of learning to play again!
Loved the improv part of the lesson jason thanks for doing the lesson with us
Hey lost my signal sorry breakout room
Hello, from wintry NM! I just started learning to play in November- and this tune today- so I did not feel prepared for part b, yet. Learning one of the polkas on module 1…and I don’t have time for other hobbies right now but when it’s not a pandemic I love to contra dance. Part of the reason for learning to play the fiddle now!
Rebecca signing in from MO
Hi Just found put about this!
Hi. I’m Lisa
I’ve only made it one group practice, and I’m excited to get to join another!
I live in Tacoma, have many hobbies – I spin yarn, knit, and do lots of other fun “old time hobbies”. I’m currently learning to turn wood, and am looking forward to having creating a woodworking space.
My fiddle keeps coming out of tune (I think it’s the big temperature changes or I need new strings)….so I’m hoping for the best.
Signing in for lesson. Judy
Where are you from?
New Westminster, BC Canada
What are you currently learning?
Hector the Hero, Ashoka Farewell, Blackest Crow variations, Big Scioty, Angeline the Baker
What hobbies or other fun stuff are you into right now?
Clawhammer banjo, paying for a renovation on my condo
love this tune, long walks, naps, books on rainy days and finding folks to fiddle with. see ya there
Signing on as Karen
In Iowa, freezing. Sewing in free time
Played violin forever. Just starting to fiddle
Good to see some folks signing in already!
Sitting in tonight,first session learning to Navigate the system. ,I am from Loveland ,Colorado and yes it is cold here tonite.I am working on the Kerry Polka. I guess I am into my Irish roots learning Irish language .Fiddelhed has changed my Motivation to learn and practice .
Learning Kerry Polka also!
Hi! This lesson will be a stretch for me. I just started playing fiddle at the beginning of January but I do read music because I played piano and clarinet as a kid and young adult. I’m about to move on to beginner module 1.3 but last night I checked it out and I can play some of it so we’ll see. At least I’ll get to connect with some other fiddlers. I live in Ohio but I’m from Massachusetts. We’re getting a killer ice and snow storm tonight so hopefully I won’t lose power. I’m a hospice chaplain. Along with music I enjoy hiking and camping and my dogs. Looking forward to meeting everyone.
Looking forward to this!
looking forward to it. Thanks for the reminder to do the time conversion- I will be joining at 9 pm local time, and presumably in the middle of a nice big snowstorm. Local is mid-NH, right on the VT border. We have a lively traditional music scene in these parts.
I have been fiddling about ten years (doesn’t feel like it!- or seem like it results wise). Currently working on Shandon Bells- for my local group class, although lately I’ve been really loving playing Indian point, and learning the Fiddlehed Wagon Wheel breaks. Wagon Wheel one of the main reasons I started, but never really made any headway learning it until now.
Tune request for future: OCMS’s James’ River Blues, or any other more “modern” music.
I am going to make this lesson tonight. I’ve always wanted to join in, but the timing never seemed to work out. I am so excited to try this format, I hope I can figure out the tech part of it. I’m from Missouri. 😁
I hope to make the lesson tonight!
Finally memorized (mostly) the Blackest Crow. Undecided whether I will continue memorizing tunes. I am sure it is good for me(nearly 70). We’ll see…..
Just listened really closely to the recording and realized what is written isn’t exactly as played. What is played is just like the the first ending with the last eighth note of the shuffle pattern becoming part of the up bow pick up into the B part.
I would like to see more tunes with advanced variations. Ideas breed new ideas. Learning different variations often kick start self creativity. I find myself searching other sites for tunes with fiddlin flair. Maybe some tunes with specific hoedown variations that I can apply elsewhere in my music. Just my thoughts.
Can’t believe I picked up a fiddle for the first time 5 days ago and today I played a tune. Loving it!
I really enjoyed the lesson on Wednesday. It was my first group lesson. I plan to repeat the lesson on Monday evening. I hope we can do some more work on variations! From Columbia, SC!
I’m really looking forward to these group lessons, but would it be possible to record them so that we can go back to them later? Or are they already available to members and I just don’t know where to find them?
Did you find it, Heidi? They are posted as ‘archived practice journeys’ at the lower part of ‘Let’s learn together’. It took me a while to realize they’re there. It takes a bit of time for Jason to process the latest lesson and get it posted but he’s doing a great job on them. I hope you’re ahead of me on this but if not, I also hope this helps.
LOL. I knew that would make you happy, Jason.
Thanks for this! Now, my son on guitar and I can play a duet he will enjoy!
Hi Betty, I just saw this. It’s been sitting here unanswered for a while and you probably already figured it out, but if not:
If you’re playing in the Key of D Major (2 sharps, F# and C#), yes the song would be built generally using the notes of the D major scale.
Does it mean every note you play in that song will be found in the D major scale? Often, but not always. That’s a guideline that can be broken with an “accidental”, and accidentals often bring a striking and beautiful twist to a melody. A good example comes about 3/4 of the way through Ashokan Farewell played in D major. There is a dramatic C natural held for for a long duration, and it feels like the climax of the song. The C natural is an accidental here, and of course the D major scale contains a C sharp, not a C natural.
Well, it’s been a long time, but this morning I finally started working on the 2nd article in this series. It will cover Old Time Fiddle history. Stay tuned!
Yay 😀
I only started learning this tune yesterday & thought it sounded familiar from somewhere/sometime. My husband looked it up here & it’s only the music I walked down the aisle to!! Oops! 🤣🤣
Amazing!
That is SO cool that this is the first lesson you posted to YouTube!! I saw it the other day and then found this lesson here. I did think the look of the video and your teaching were quite different, but I didn’t know it was the first lesson ever. Way cool.
I missed it this morning! Will I be able to watch it later?
What a wonderful tune with so much to learn here! I didn’t stay because I hadn’t learned the tune yet, but will work on it now that I have seen the lesson. Thanks for introducing Hector!! Now I have to find out the origins of this lovely tune!
Hi from Oliver BC
Hi, Sarah B…… excited about lesson!
Hello from Snowy Cold Wyoming!
Good afternoon from sunny Georgia today. Feels like spring here.
Mary
Steeeretch little pinky!! You can do it!
Sorry I will miss this. I’ll be driving then. Looking forward to vibrato!
Completed!4
Did you notice the video starts with suggesting play the D major scale but the tune is actually in G major. Any particular reason for this?
I made a mistake in the video. It’s G major. Sorry for the confusion…
Completed!
The link to the PDF version is broken.
Yes! I enjoyed the drone module, will try some more!
I love this! I can’t play it without laughing, it may become my signature tune I think! Thank you 😊
Super goofy question, but I feel like I missed this when I started, and months later I don’t know what the various color codes mean in the tabs. ??
When a line is the same colour as another line it means the notes are the same. Therefore in Part A the 1st and 3rd quarters are red because they are the same pattern, exactly the same notes. The 2nd quarter is a different colour, and the 4th should be a different colour (though in my light they look the same!)
The Part B shows 1st and 3rd quarters the same colour green – therefore the same notes. In the 2nd and 4th quarters the first parts are blue are the same notes but change colour to show there is a variation to the pattern at the end. Hope that helps!
I find it helpful because I can see at a glance the pattern, which makes it quicker to learn when you realise the parts that are repeated and it helps ‘fingerprint’ or memorise the song.
I do struggle with long slow notes so I’m thinking the OMB exercise should help with this but it sounds terrible 🤣🤣🤣
the d dorian scale seems like a d major scale when you listen to it- something is very wrong there, of course- perhaps with me?
yes-in the B flat scale, somewhere halfway through, the F’s get a bit sharp- not like an F#, just a bit sharp- and some of the notes right after.
Check what appears when you Google ‘string violin chart’. There is a diagram recapitulating the qualities of different strings. When the strings do not resonate after you have been playing them, you can start thinking about changing them (dead sound tone referred to by Jason).
It would be helpful, if the lessons and the library included the words. I don’t know the words by heart, and have to look them up. To have them printed with the music would be a big help. Thanks. Angela
I was on the road and completely missed this, but maybe next time. Sounds like fun! Thanks for your dedication Jason!
I always wanted to play the fiddle but with family and career always put it off. When I retired I picked up a fiddle and never looked back. Actually I surprise myself with my progress. I play everyday and love the way Jason teaches.
The Battle of the Somme is another Scottish Lament that goes quit well with Hector the Hero. You can find it on the website:https://thesession.org/tunes/2923
Here is a Youtube
The midi file on The Session plays it way too fast. It should be a slow lament, the way it is performed on the YouTube video
I have a copy of the music with bowings in pdf if anyone wants it
I missed the session also. Sounds like fun. I don’t have audio/video output capability from my old computer but can watch the zoom sessions. I may be one of the oldest players here, retired from the Air Force, aircraft mechanic, then retired from the computer industry, electrical engineer, and now vow to stay retired ! Play clawhammer banjo, off and on, for 57 years !, mandolin for about 10 years and now am in my ‘fiddle journey’ for 8 months, so of course still sound pretty bad, but Jason’s lessons and tunes are a real help. Currently working on Road to Lisdoonvarna, and Swallowtail Jig. I’ll Fly Away and Angeline the Baker , among others that I have ‘brought over’ from the mandolin. After I’ve been playing for a year or so I’ll tackle vibrato, most teaches say to wait at least that long before attempting it. As an aside, the best tool I’ve found for practicing intonation is a phone app called Intonia. Free to download from Google store. There is also a computer version with more features but the phone version is really all you need and is THE best intonation tool I’ve found.
So decided to review Hector. Haven’t done it in a long while. Then decided I would attempt to play some harmonies along with the play-along track. REALLY enjoyed that. I don’t know much about theory but hear harmony and know chords. So it was crazy fun. Will try that again on an older tune that I already know well.
Hi Jason, just a heads up, the play along track on 6.1 and a few of the others aren’t matching up with the music it says it should be. The lessons are so awesome though.
Pentatonic scale introduction link not working
https://fiddlehed.com/beginner/1-5-how-to-love-your-sound/pentatonic-scales-introduction/
So far, the hardest part of bowing is that I tense up my right elbow when the speed picks up–I just keep checking in with myself to relax my arms and shoulders. I definitely hold my breath too (in all aspects of life—not just fiddling haha!), so I need to be conscious of that as well.
I’m Grace in a small village in central New York and I missed today’s session! I somehow didn’t know this was happening or had a senior moment and am really disappointed with myself for not being part of it. I hope this has some sort of recording so I can at least watch after the fact. I tripped onto it two hours too late. I hope it’s a running thing that I can do another time. The group sessions I’ve been able to join have been a tremendous lift from Covid lockdown. A huge thank you Jason. You are putting a tremendous amount of time and effort into your teaching. I’m working very hard on Hector the Hero adding variation and the first couple OBS lessons along with steady review of many of the pieces in the lessons I’ve worked my way through and my Bluegrass Gospel book. I also sew, and garden when it’s warm enough.
Hi, I’m Ed from Aptos, Ca. I’m replying after the session. Really enjoyed today’s hangout. Will do more. From today’s session inspired to learn more tunes(I’ll Fly Away, Flop Eared Mule, Kerfunkin(spelling?) Gig) Currently working on Lover’s Waltz. I also have simple versions of the following in my very limited repertoire: Red Haired Boy, Wind that Shakes the Barley, Drowsy Maggie, Solder’s Joy, Ashokan Farewell, June Apple, Boatsman, Tennessee Waltz, and Amazing Grace. I need to play with other folks, work on my timing, note reading, vibrato for sure, in short…everything:>).
Look forward to the next session.
I am Barbara from North Devon in SW England. I love anything to do with the sea and art. It was good to meet you all. It’s certainly a journey playing violin. It helps to take my mind off of the crazy world at the moment. Who can think about Covid when you have to get your fingers, bow, strings and arm in the right place to be able to make a half decent sound?
I was late to the group hangout today but really enjoyed it. Thanks to Group 3 .. the best group ever 🙂
Hi,I’m Sarah from Pittsburgh….I’m starting my second year with FiddleHed. Playing with all of you has helped me to feel more comfortable playing for others, and a nudge to keep practices going so that I really know the tunes I’m playing. I wanted to say that the call-and-response exercises really help me to learn where the notes are (on the fiddle), so if then listening to new tunes, I can play along. Thanks again to my group and to you, Jason.
really enjoyed this thank you and nice to meet my group too
Thanks to my group folks! It was great hearing you all!
Mary, been playing about a year and half. Working on Module 2.2. fourth finger, separate 1 slur. working on Flop Eared Mule and Kesh Jig. I write when I’m not fiddling.
Hi, I’m Jeannette, from Nottingham, England. I’ve just been playing for 4 months now so am a real beginner. Working on Hector the Hero and trying to use my 4th finger … in tune!! As well as the fiddle, I play the Saxophone … also badly! I love to crochet, ride motorbikes and would normally be in the Alps at this time of year, skiing. I’m quite good at all of those. My aim is to be as good on the fiddle!
Hi my name is Maggie. Im learning Irish tunes. My other interest is using leaves and flowers to naturally dye material and paper. I live in a rural area 2and a half hours from Melbourne Victoria Australia
Hi!, I’m Carolyn, from Redding California. I’m working on Kerfunken, Off to Ca, Banshee.
I play Old Time Clawhammer Banjo, and I’m a home brewer.
Hi I’m Joanne from the new forest in england. i’ve been playing about 18months currently working on 4th finger & crossing. current tunes are tam lin and harvest home, swallowtail. i sold my triathlon business a couple of years ago so trying out retirement. i still love cycling and running
It was good to meet you
And you too Barbara! It’s funny we are so close we spend a lot of time in North Devon around Woolacombe!
Maybe we could practise together sometime? Do you cold water swim?
Hi, I’m Carol. I’m working on I’ll Fly Away.
I’m studying to be a melitologist, which is learning about bees and so I volunteer with the Oregon Bee Atlas tracking wild bee populations. I live outside Portland Oregon.
Hi, I’m Debbie. I am currently working on Rights of Man. I’m a retired art teacher/gallery employee. I have been playing for 3 years. For 2 years I saw a teacher once a month. I have been doing online and FH for a couple of months. I live in Suffolk VA.
Love that!!
Hi my name is Eimear, and I hope to join the student hangout this Jan 31st.
I am working on Orange Blossom, finding it very challenging. It’s a work in progress as is everything. Recently learned Flop Eared Mule and House of the Rising Sun. Trying to be relaxed when I play and experiment with double-stopping and improvisation.
Living in the west of Ireland. Work in admin. My hobbies include drawing/ making things (recently made half an igloo with my 4 year old with the bit of snow that fell last weekend). Musically, I would love to reach a ‘stage’ where I feel comfortable playing with groups:-)
Hi everyone, I’m Kenni Hamp. I’m fairly new at fiddling, so please forgive my squeaks. I’m currently working on Kerry Polka and Bile em Cabbage Down with variations. I have also learned Rocky Top and Swallowtail Jig even though they are a bit hard for me. I just love the tunes. I am still learning the basics. I am decent at slurs and just doing my best to practice as much as possible!
I have always loved the fiddle because I grew up as an Irish dancer. Now, I do taekwondo and I am a junior high teacher. I live in Edmonton, AB… Only a few short hours from the Rockies where I love to spend weekends. Edmonton has an old time fiddle group that meets once a week for a jam (during non covid times) and my goal is to get comfortable enough to play with them by my one year fiddle-iversary in December 2021.
My name is Tom Szalay. Looking forward to the hangout session!
I recently been working on variations to Hector the Hero, but I’ll save that for the online group lesson scheduled on Feb 10. Otherwise, today I dusted off an old waltz from 1918, “Til We Meet again”, by Richard Whiting, which also goes by the title “Smile the While”. It tells the story of a young soldier saying goodbye to his sweetheart as he heeds out to fight in The Great War. The music has some accidentals and some sweet slides built into the basic version. It is written in D major, played mostly on the A and E strings, which is how I learned it. Now I am mellowing it out by transposing down to G major.
I live in Oliver, BC, Canada, about 400 km drive inland from Vancouver and about 25 km north of the USA border, at Oroville, WA. Besides fiddle, my hobbies include community theatre (acting, directing and set construction), photography, poster design and cycling.
it was good to meet you.
You too.. Take care and keep fiddling!
this is a really good exercise- except the audio files are titled with the name of the tune- spoiler alert!
Hi, I’m Sharlene, I hope I can join the student hangout session Jan 31. One of my goals this year was to play with people so thanks for being here guys. I am relatively new to FiddleHed, I have been roaming around the site and am currently working on double stops and the tune St. Anne’s Reel.
I also am learning acoustic guitar with Tony Polecastro online in case there are any TAC members out there, hey!
I live in Boulder City, NV which is in the Las Vegas area. If anyone else is around here, I would love to figure out how to jam together, safely of course 😉
Completely agree with Melissa Rice above. My hoedown sounds a bit boring, yours has a great groove to it. I suspect the magic is in loosening up my wrist more, but no amount of practice seems to be getting me there (I’m not a beginner). Any pointers as to how to unlock one’s wrist would be greatly appreciated.
My other concern is ,My volume on video is not loud enough .I hear very well, other lessons come in ,sometimes to loud . Volume is set at 100%.,What can i do to increase volume?
Thanks @moonshadows, @reevo, @taggart405, @fiddlinphil.
It will be interesting to see how this evolves as you and other FiddleHeds offer feedback…
Like the new setup, Jason!
So now I’m part of a genuine Fiddle community … how cool is that?
Thanks Jason and the team … great job!
Mike
Can’t wait to check these out!
28 Jan 2021- Previous Lesson > D Major Scale Variations is a broken link
Thanks Maggie, it’s helpful to know these things for us to fix. Enjoy the fiddle journey~
I like the speed change for practice . When you put chart in right corner , should be able to see this more than once when trying to follow
Would also like to be able to loop certain sections of lesson without stopping and starting video i’m trying to learn by playing by ear cannot read music. some one told me once that if I could read music, I’d be dangerous ha ha !
I’m liking the changes!
Last month I was messing around with ways to turn to Silent Night into a fiddle tune..
Just a note:: In the first quarter of the B Part (Bars 10 and 11 on the sheet music) there is a discrepancy in Bar 10:
– The sheet music and the tabs for bar 10 go E4-L2-4-4-L2-4 (B-G-B-B-G-B)
– In the video lesson you play this as E4-L2-4-4-3-L2 (B-G-B-B-A-G)
– Then in the “Play Along Track- Full Tune” audio snippet, it is played as E4-L2-4-4-L2-4 (B-G-B-B-G-B) again.
I guess this just proves your point that there is no “correct” way to play these traditional jigs. I prefer the video lesson version. Sounds better to me, and as a bonus, there is one less stretch up to E4 🙂
Reference to Bar 10… should be Bar 11
second exercise shows G- A instead of A- G
Literally (in a totally literal sense) in awe of how easy you just made this. I’ve been working at getting vibrato for a few months and now I’m get it. Like REALLY get it. (Aha moment, little kensho, shazam!)
So happy right now.
Hey @jameseke, glad to hear this. I never know how useful a lesson or course is until it’s released.
Keep me posted on your progress with vibrato.
Six years ago I bought a Becker 1000 violin at a thrift store for $150. I absolutely love this instrument. I added a new bridge – Paititi – and added Dominant 135B medium strings. The sound was significantly improved. What a joy to play!
The first fiddle I bought cost $15 new on Ebay, including shipping. I bought a Mel Bay book, ” You Too Can Play The Fiddle!” .For over a year I played with the strings tuned in reverse. Sounded OK at the time – even played at open mike nights. Thankfully, a lot of alcohol was flowing…..
Ray White
Spring Hill , Florida
FYI. Looks like the sound loops for 1.4, 1.5 and 1.6 don’t match the score and are more advanced. Maybe the next lesson?
I don’t think 1.1, 1.2. 1.2 match the sound loops. Any chance they could be fixed?
Absolutely love this tune, thank you!
Hi Jason!
Just wanted to tell you that you are a shining light in these pandemic times. When I am feeling low you are always there with your silly sense of humor while teaching something I LOVE partaking in. And you are really good at it! Thank you so so much!!!
With fiddle love,
Gail
Yay! Love this. Perfect level of challenge and beautiful tune.
Why is there not an (A2-3) at the beginning of first quarter A part but I hear it in the play along track?
Gwych. Diolch.
Thanks, I have sung this song in a choir for years, but never tried it on the fiddle. Now I am learning to play by ear it is great to play it as well as sing it.
Thank you, thank you, thank you —— I’ve been waiting for this. This is soooo fine !!!!!!!
I looked at Fiddlershop, and while they ship free to USA, their shipping cost to Canada would have been crazy expensive. I bought my electric fiddle from Kennedy Violins in Vancouver WA and was happy with the product and the personal, on the phone service answering all my questions before I bought. Same idea as Fiddlershop: made overseas and set up in their Vancouver shop. They also offer free in-home trials for the cost of shipping.
They are at: https://kennedyviolins.com/collections/all-violins
For acoustics, I purchased from http://www.fiddleheads.ca/. Rihannon was very helpful. She ships worldwide from Canada (Kamloops, BC). My purchase was craft made in china and set up by a local Luthier.
I think you should have played the first ending slower on the b part.
Ok Jason, I’m ready to get started. I choose you because you answered all my questions. I need to learn bluegrass songs. I know how to tune my violin/fiddle. I know amazing grace, how great tho art, I’ll fly away etc….where should I begin, beginners or intermediate? Just not sure! I need to chose the right lesson for my money! Thanks!
Ps: I also know how to play guitar, some banjo and piano.
Caught this lesson on the replay. I really feel like I could better “feel the music”. Thank you! You are a wonderful teacher!! FUN!!!
My main acoustics are a Modified 1999 Franz Werner S800 Violin and a Yamaha V3
My electrics are a Fender FV1 (White) & FV3 (Sunburst)
is there a way to get past 89% ? I finished reflections and fiddle fiddle little star, but stays at 89
I am not able to do most of the “classes” but really appreciate that you post them and I can still work through them on my own. It is so much fun, and that is what we need right now!
Dear Jason,
This video is really cool. Thank you for sharing this beautiful atmosphere and revisiting this tune with such creativity. By watching it I got the feeling that the characteristic “Indian vibes/sound” is creating by sliding to go from one note to another on a more systematic basis and by using the different positions on the same string instead of playing the same notes on different strings without sliding? Is that correct?
I will try it on my fiddle and see what comes out of it… Lets’ try and fear not…
I guess that my question also relates to the characteristics of Indian violin playing, and maybe further to a certain form of philosophy / ways of thinking music/ the world behind?
To get from a note to another one does not erase/skip the physical travel that leads to the second note (=sliding process) and reveals it to the listener? The transition from one state/note to another suddenly becomes audible and acquires an existence and value of its own?
I would love to have some kind of post from you on your experience with indian music or what you have learned on some of its characteristics? What makes it different/special for you and what you think is “underneath” (a specific “weltanschauung” to use big words). Hope it makes sense…
No drug taking here involved 😉
Thanks for posting lessons for those of us who weren’t able to see it live. I’m sure there are others who appreciate it as much as I do. I really get a lot out of your diversity in things to try, too.
Yes, could probably benefit from a tutorial on the member list, and searching for particular members, such as those in the same zoom lesson. The search seems to demand correct spelling and there so many members. Maybe after the lesson, a list of names of those who participated might be good.
How long do breakout groups last? I’m pretty tired after the lesson but would like to participate.
I’ve participated in a few breakouts, which turn out to be 3 or 4 people/group. We usually take a turn playing what we’re currently working on and then just chat… sometimes about fiddling and sometimes just about stuff. When random group members come from different states/provinces, countries and continents, there are a lot of topic options…. travel, local interests, music in general, etc, etc.
The breakout groups I have been part of seem to last about 30 to 45 minutes, depending on the participants and how chatty they are. If you have to go, you don’t have to stay until the end.
That’s really lovely.
“PICK UP” !!
Mark, how about this. At the end of the A part, last measure turn the c# quarter note into 2 eighths. So you have 3 c# eighths in a row and the bow is ready to go into b part the way it is comfortable for you.
Transition from A to B part, following the notation I always get to the prick up on an up bow, slur c to b and then have my ‘down’ start to the shuffle one note ahead of as written … mine doesn’t quite have the same feel?? Any ideas on how to conquer this please?
Really enjoyed the lesson and your varied techniques for giving us new ideas for playing. I’ve been searching the site for where/how to link with others interested in connecting and I’m having no success in locating the information. How do we do that? Thanks
Really fun lesson. Bailed on the practice session because arm getting numb lol.
OK, this is really wild… two unlikely worlds collide: has anybody else ever noticed that Flop Eared Mule, B part, First Quarter, and a couple bars of Pachabel’s Canon in D are for the most part identical with the slight difference that the run in Mule is descending and the run in Pachabel is ascending.
Yes, Pacabel’s Canon in D is the perfect warm up for Flop Eared Mule! 😂
I learn something new from you everyday, Jason. Never would have gained this perspective if I hadn’t been playing your practice loops.
I think you might appreciate this
The Pachelbel Rant
That’s hysterical, thanks for sharing! But it may have ruined the Canon for me; I don’t think it can ever sound the same after that. 🙂
So my pet peeve is misinformation on the internet, thus I must correct. Yes, the correct spelling is “Pachelbel” and at some point I knew that. But, but, I checked my spelling before I posted! Yes, couldn’t remember if there was an “e” or an “a” in the middle, and I grabbed my Classics for hammered dulcimer book off the music stand to check. Right there on the sheet music page is “Pachabel”! However, I now notice that the book’s index does list “Pachelbel” correctly. Being a dulcimer book, perhaps Pachabel is Pachelbel’s folksy alter ego, and is indeed a great warm up for Flop Eared Mule. 😉
These call and respond exercises, 1-9, helped me alot. Thanks Jason, this was a great help for a weak area in my journey.
Carl S
Beautiful just beautiful 🙂
Really enjoyed this useful lesson! I’m ok on the fiddle but useless at zoom & couldn’t access the chat feed on my pad so couldn’t say thank you at the time!
I loved the group lesson today! Would someone be so kind as to direct me to where I can find the sheet music for Wildwood Flower? Thank you so much! 💖
On the Fiddlehed site main menu, go to LIBRARY | TUNES | ALL TUNES. it is listed there in alphabetical order.
Thanks for helping out @tom
Please cancel my subscription of $25.00 per month. I had a stroke 2 years ago and are unable to continue this course. Thank you. Bruce Petersen [email protected]
The first measure of “Whiskey Before Breakfast” is tucka. Right? I now realize that songs are made up of these bowing patterns and hence the importance of learning them now.
you didn’t mention about tightness of bow or rosen…how tight should it be?
There should always be a bow in your bow and that curve should just be a lesser curve than when the bow is not tightened. After that it is personal preference. Rosen when things slip and slide. If things are really dusty and you sound super scratchy, it’s probably too much rosen.
Great lesson, love this tune.
Thanks Jason
Love this song!!!
Just noticed your drone section…I am checking it out now, Tks.
I’m enjoying practice with this wonderful song. I’m not sure about the play along drone tracks. Is there a lesson about how to use thes properly? I can’t really hear when/ if it changes. You did give us the info for the drones so I do have these and am trying to put some in. All good. I enjoyed your recent lengthy email. It has so much great info I will do my best with it! ( no worries , I realize you have a wide range of students).
At the end of a spectacularly crazy year. This was the best fun I have had in a very long time 😁
Love the play along track! It’s a lot of fun and a great way to practice chords while you sing!
Me too! I love the play along track. This practice was so fun!
The hardest part is knowing how much pressure to exert on the string from the hand holding the bow. I had heard from an expert that the pressure should be the weight from the bow resting on the string and no more.
I enjoyed this so much! I hope you will add the sheet music to this lesson, as well as the “D” part, War Is Over…………and I think the cords could be included!
Happy New Year!!!!!
Sarah B
What a catchy little tune. So fun to play with the play along track. At first when I heard it, I didnt even want to bother learning it, but forced myself because I’m trying to do all core songs from the lessons. It only took about 30 minutes to nail it because it is so repetitive, and so fun to play, plus it’s giving me the practice I need on e string. I’m always catching my bow on side of violin trying to switch from E string to A string quickly.
loving it already had it for ten minutes. its awesome!!.
What shoulder rest do you recommend? Thank you!
Hey can you add your double stops to the sheet music?
Really enjoyed this version of Office Hours!
Mary, I have the same thoughts. Often my playing does not sound like music, but just a string of notes. I was inspired by your playing of Wildwood Flower to start learning it myself!
Jason, to build upon Mary’s segment, I also got a lot out of the segment about what goes on in your head when learning a new tune. At the times when I do “let go” and stop thinking about notes, finger positions, etc. and just “feel” a tune, even if just for a brief moment, is when I am most pleased and my playing sounds like music.
Is anyone having a problem being in tune with Jason’s violin? I’m tuned to 440Hz, which seems a bit sharp in comparison. I’m assuming that he is tuned to 445, maybe?
I love this song!!
Thanks, Jason, for the explanation. It was as helpful to see how you think about your practice as finding a way to use Evernote. I think I would like the recording feature of it. Seems that with Evernote, you can combine all the different ways to document what you do.
I’m a fan of paper journals, but being able to make the journal multi-media appeals to me.
~Cindy
Muchas Gracias! It was fun trying to play along. Thank you again for making learning enjoyable.
Good lesson , interesting how that E scale plays into the melody.
Thanks Jason
No choice here, I live in a condo and I hear every step and shuffle my upstairs neighbors take (and who knew cats were SO loud?!). Since I put up with them I don’t feel *too* bad about playing, but I figure it’s definitely nicer to use the mute! I do think my sound without it is a bit harsh though, so I’m looking forward to moving in the spring to a place where I can play without it. I do find it useful when I’m trying to listen and play along, as it’s much easier to hear the track when using the mute.
thanks for sharing this Jason. What fun!
Good question Tara – I just bought a mute and was wondering the same thing 🙂
This is amazing!
When I saw Mary had a little lamb as a core tune, I’ll be honest, I skipped it. But then I saw the 5 different ways you played it and heard it morph into the different styles, I went back and practised it and now this version has taken it to another level! Thanks for the inspiration, Jason. I’m really enjoying being one of your FiddleHed students. Kat 🙂
You have so many videos posted it’s hard to choose what ones to learn from as a beginner/intermediate player could you organize them in a way that wouldn’ t be as confusing bowing techniques,scales to learn vibrato and all the fiddle technique
If you’re playing a song in the D major scale, does that mean you’re playing in the Key of D? And does it mean every note you play in that song will be found in the D major scale?
Do you not have the sheet music for this song? I do best reading music.
Ps love your lessons!!
Unfortunately I can’t even open the first lesson! 😞
On the quarter note bowing exercises at the beginning are you down bowing only?
I subscribed but now seem locked in a repeating cycle asking me to subscribe.
What do I do?
Thank you
Jim Hogan
Wow, just discovered these. So fun and I think helpful!
The last couple of weeks I’ve been pretty sad so though I’m practicing it seems pretty lackluster and doesn’t sound lovely. So one of the things I’m doing is just free practicing with drones. Sometimes tunes or parts of tunes or scales or just making up phrases that sound nice. I think just freeing myself for now from the expectation of correctly playing of a tune is right for this period of time and still exercises fingers, bowing and playing by ear. Thanks Jason for encouraging us👍🏽
This takes some practice !!!! It’ll be worth it
Hi there,on the music sheet, is the line over the 2 notes a slur?
I would like to know this as well.
Yes those are slurs, always optional. Thanks for asking, Yolanda. And bringing this back to our attention, Iona. 🙂
Love it. Going to try this!
Thank you Jason, the fingering and rhythm exercises helped a lot. It gave me some good tools for cleaning up another tune I’ve been working on that has some string crossing rhythms that have been fuzzy at times. Sonny’s Mazurka, fun tune with a chance to try the crossing going up and down the scale. Thanks for all your great lessons.
Bernie
Really enjoyed the Two Minute Rule. Lots of great information to ponder. For me, 10 am seems to be the time I want to practice.
Eureka moment! It all makes sense now, thank you so much this is so helpful.
I’m wont to return my fiddle. (I know people who want to have a fiddle tuned to a different scale own multiple instruments.)
My fiddle really likes being tuned to G-D-A-E and has asked me never to change it.
I picked up the basic tune of Oh Christmas Tree very quickly but double-stops continue to elude me.
Still, this is an excellent lesson to follow when learning to play double-stops.
Thanks Jason!
re-tune! Where’s the Edit button?
Such a fun tune ..will work on this with my banjo playing partner for our virtual Christmas! Thank you 🤗🤗🤗
Do you know the Appalachian tradition of breakin’ up Christmas? My Kentucky cousins tell me that on Christmas night musicians would travel around the countryside playing music and having house dances. Everyone would dance all night, eat some food and probably drink some moonshine. Then sleep it off in the barn. Only to do it again the next night. It lasted 12 nights until Old Christmas celebrated on Jan. 6. The party traveled from house to house each night.
Wouldn’t that be something today?
It’ll be a while before I will attempt Breakin’ Up Christmas but looking forward to it.
Mary
Hi @dayolaw,
I am the person who developed the looper. Was wondering … in your comment on 3 Dec. are you looking for a feature, like a button that starts a loop from where it’s playing? Then it loops is forward or backward a certain interval. Thanks for the great feedback!
Hi Stephen
what i was thinking was when you play the fiddlehead video the slider would follow the time code then when you get to a part you want to loop the video and looper would stop in the same place
Damian
So that the left slider moves with the progress of the video?
Nam-myo-ho-renge-kyo!
I’m a 66-year-old beginner fiddler, and of course I often ‘don’t have time’. So I really like the idea of leaving my fiddle on a stand rather than in its case, and I’ve noted the point above about humidity. My question is about temperature though – my house is old and the temperature goes up and down quite a bit – will that harm my fiddle?
Thanks in advance for any answers – I really *want* to keep it out of my case [I’ll pick it up far more], but just need to be sure that’s ok!
Well, I will definitely try this. My data plan is both very expensive and low on data capacity. I live in a rural area where there is neither cable or sufficient cell coverage, but it may work. Either that, or may just a group of us who can just do a “group audiate session;” only KIDDING! Yup, I’m game.
Going through this for a second, third and fourth time its sinking in. Playing by ear is easier than doing the math when it goes above or below two steps. Great lesson.
Carl S
And my dogs have stopped hiding in the bathroom and will sit near me. Now that’s improvement!
Hi ,this is Dave McPherson. [email protected]. I tried to renew my account on 11-23-2020 and my Visa was billed $228 but I don’t seem to have access.I get the message to sign up to a paid account. Would you ask someone to lo look into my account to see what happened?
Thanks,
Dave
Thanks, Jason! I’m going to add this to the Christmas songs I am working on.
i been using it mostly for learning one piece at at time but the beauty for me is TUNING for me its so much easier the keep the fiddle in tune with you and know when you are slipping out of tune Also i love trying to play along with you when you first play the tune at normal tempo i loop that and try get the feel and tempo of the tune if you could slow down the video that would be good as i find when your learning the pieces of the tune slowly you you tend to get very robotic in your playing
Love your lessons and style of teaching and your attention to your students
Hi @dayolaw,
Here’s a tutorial on how to change the speed of a video: https://fiddlehed.com/how-to-change-the-speed-of-a-video/
You can do this in conjunction with the practice master looper to optimize your practice sessions.
Let me know how it goes…
It would be great if the slider paused in line with the video so it would mark your first loop point
Example is [A Part, First Quarter]…from 1:14 to 1:45 on the video
Find the starting and end point times on the video for any section you want to practice in the video.
For this example, Stop the video and Set-up the start/stop times or “loop points” on the slider app dots.
(When the mouse hovers over a dot it gives you the time signature)
When both dots are set up…the left dot to 1:14 and right dot to 1:45 then turn on the slider.
You are now in the Looping Mode!
Hope this helps 🙂
Or,
Once you set the right most dot it starts the loop
Hey @markus,
Do you think the Practice Master could be improved in any way?
Thanks for helping others with your comment…
Hi Jason, it might be my ears or WiFi, but exercise 10 sounds as though it’s got a bit scrambled?!
All the rest are good & challenging fun,thanks 😊
I think your C drone is actually C#????
The Looping tool is excellent I find it great for playing in tune and remembering to tune
Awesome @dayolaw. Could you tell me more about how you used it?
I like both-learning is easier for me with the different tempos and then when I know the song sort of, I like the single tempo
Good lesson. Good tune. I’ll be practicing
Single tempo is best for learning. Or being able to loop on slower tempo.
True! Once you’ve learned something, playing it faster will help you remember it.
Thank you, Jason, for being such a proficient and friendly teacher!
Hi, this is Melvin, I’m going to be 70 years old December 1, I had an old fiddle I bought back in the late sixties from a person that was selling an accordion, fiddle was 15 dollars extra. I ended up selling accordion when I was in the Marine corp,came out of service did nothing with violin until 2013 , started going to square dance for recreation , heard people saying they are going to need fiddle player so I listened to the music and started to learn to play some square dance songs. don’t have any idea how to read music subscribed to fiddle head because of the song orange blossom special. I’m starting to get the bowing, would like to know the finger positions for the chords, Also, would like you to teach the hi- low Schottish, a dance song quite often done at the square dance facility. ( not good with computers)
Thank you Mel Fowler
I don’t think it loaded? cannot seem to play!
Great Wedsite for beginners! Thanks for helping me with my dreams of fiddling…..
We loved the fiddle ragga. It tells me that I have the right to try new things, to dare, to be. That it is worth exploring, for exploration’s own sake.
Thank you for sharing this moment !
A3-3-3-E0-1-A1-1-1-1-0-1 This is copied directly from “Full Tabs, B Part, First Quarter” of the Kerfunken Jig. Maybe this is a note test as that is where I concluded the correction (as well as listening to you playing it), but there are four “B” notes (A1) instead of three. Do I win a prize for that score. (pun intended) 🙂
Such a haunting tune… still one of my favorites!
One funny thing….I was hearing odd ‘squalling’ behind my playing. It was my cat. She ranges from about G to B most of the time, FWIW>
Very relevant tips right now for me because I’m trying to optimize my practicing in all necessary areas, and related to that I have just discovered this app, amazing and useful for practicing intonation.
Intonia.com
Free download from the Google app store for Android and iphone.
Jason thank you for FiddleHed! Keep all the fiddling goodness coming 🙂 Many blessings to you and yours.
I’m interested in the group lessons. How do i go about doing them? Is there any schedule per se? Thank you.
I like the backing track for this one with the guitar + fiddle alternating with just guitar.
I see there is a difference in how you play this in the lesson, and how the music is notated. In the first measure you play the third note as a dotted quarter note, and then4 th as an eight. However, the sheet music shows all 4 notes as quarter notes.the second measure (sheet music) is how you play the first measur. Am I correct? ( I am really trying to learn how to read music!)
This is a fun lesson! The gaps are tight but if you make a mistake just go with it then repeat the whole thing to get it right and then they are plenty long enough. It’s a good challenge to just listen and try not to look! Thank you! Looking forward to the follow-up.
I’m a FiddleHed subscriber but I can’t access OBS2 and on? Is that an error or do I have to take out some higher level of subscription?
I had the same problem accessing OBS2. I had to up my subscription to All Access.
Well this is one to work on – follows on very nicely from my question in the last office hours 🙂 …. Looking forward to this
I love this tune. Thank you for playing it so beautifully
great idea!!!
This lesson came just at the right time for me. Although I’m enjoying the enhancements mostly I’m playing the basic version with drone. I’m at this point of playing tunes with tolerable accuracy but I feel as though I really need to work on “feel” and the tempo and mood of this tune is perfect for that. Until I have feel I’m not willing to share my music with others because frankly, sounds terrible to me even if in tune. Thanks for bringing this one to our attention.
Can’t wait to get started on orange blossom special on the new fiddle I have coming fiddlerman concert series hope it is what the reviews say it is keep the good lessons coming enjoy them very much. Thanks Jeff
How are you liking your fiddle @jdmoody?
Love these scales exercises! Makes the process so enjoyable!
Thank-you
Not clear about how I am to share a video; where to put it, so I am going to try posting it here on the Fall Challenge page.
Great job on a great tune. Love the variations
That short melody was beautiful. Thank you
Really wonderful office lesson and kudos to all who demonstrated your issues because I learn from it too. I think one of the most difficult things to learn online is bow position And how we are holding the fiddle! It’s hard to gauge it looking in the mirror for sure!
I love this tune. I finally got the hang of the rhythm & after a week & lots of practice, played along with the backing track…woohoo! Having a celebratory beer! Cheers Jason!
…just trying to understand, it says this is in d major but the preparation section is in a major. Which key is it actually in? To me it seems to be a major..sorry if this is a stupid question.
I noticed that, too. I think the “D” in the title is an error.
I love this lesson, really therapeutic! Helps on those pitchy 2nd & 3rd finger positions, thank you!
I think in the final audio example, walking up to the fourth finger, it should be a low 2, but I could be mishearing it?!
There’s a great description of the tune and its history on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_Blossom_Special_(song). Love the quote, “For a long time no fiddle player would be hired for a bluegrass band unless he could play it.” Challenge accepted! 🙂
Hi Jason….I was really hoping I could learn to fiddle with tabs but I’m going to give learning note reading a chance. It does seem a bit over whelming though.
One thing I learned maybe a million years ago is you can use a regular olde #2 yellow hexagonal pencil as a spacer gauge to set the hair tension. Tighten the bow hair some, then try to slide the pencil in between the stick and the hair so the pencil is perpendicular to the bow. Hold the pencil kinda loosely and if the pencil is loose in there between stick and hair, i.e. tries to slide/fall out, the hair is too tight. If the hair drags the pencil, it’s too loose. For me, I set the hair tension so the pencil juuuust baaaareeeely kinda drags the hair when you try to move the pencil along the hair and stick, i.e. if you hold the bow at maybe 45 degree angle, then almost let go of the pencil, it will maybe just try to start sliding. This way the hair tension is set exactly the same way, every time you play, and there’s no guessing. This method gives you enough tension as a really good starting point. Then you can go up and down from there as needed. One pencil width’s worth of tension works well for waltzes and airs. If you need more “mustard”, tighten the hair a little more. The pencil will now fall out because the hair is tighter. Note that your bow and hair may have a different shape than mine so it might a little different, but I was taught this along with nine gazillion other students 🙂 so it must be OK. This way you are always starting from the same place, every time. We call that ‘repeatability’. A Good Thing in fiddle playing. 🙂 Hope this helps!
To relax and concentrate again : try some soufi music or japanese traditional music or gregorian songs. Soulful music. And then go back to work…
Heya,
Playing fiddle during the day as a break from work is a great thing if you can. It helps me releasing stress at work and getting back to work while being happy. It is a better habit than eating a snack as I see it. And some powerful energy comes out of it (transforming stress into an energetic version of a tune?).
The only book I have read about the violin is a mind-blowing book called “Le violon intérieur” (in French, by Dominique Hoppenot). It analyses what helps a violinist to sound good, how to concentrate and find natural body positioning, where stress comes from, and how to release the fear of playing in public. I have not found any English version yet. I will keep reading it as every time I read it I understand new parts of the book as I am learning to fiddle.
I agree that the book atomic habits helped me in anchoring my habit of playing the fiddle every day: defining a preexisting habit and anchor your fiddle playing routine to this old habit. And as Jason says it: PLAY EVERY DAY !
I think Wyobobs suggestion was excellent.
Really had a great time in the November 11 lesson. So much fun. Best for my playing was that during the playing with you live I seemed to have found my feel. Which is absolutely fantastic and well needed and I think something I was not getting on the pre recorded lessons. THANK YOU
Jason, there’s no way to mark the “Saints” lesson as being “completed”.
Does anyone know how to change that weird angry-faced emoji that comes up next to my name? Thanks.
Was sorry to miss this online lesson today. Will you post a video link for those of us who couldn’t make it?
Please and Thank you! ☮️
Second this–a posting for those of us who sadly had to miss it would be fantastic. Thanks!
Here’s the link to the youtube video:
Thanks for the lesson today, Jason. I enjoyed learning more about the modes, in this case to G Major. I can see you trying to “free us up,” with a bit of improv. Just as we were wrapping up, I suddenly lost Zoom, so never got to say goodbye to anyone. Well onwards and upwards!
Owen O.
Did anyone have audio problems? Hopefully, it was just a problem for me.
The volume level fluctuated a bit off and on through the whole hour but the main problem for me was during the drone tracks. I had sounds similar to “sqeeching” rubber balloons. You know, like when you used to make balloon animals for your kids?
WyoBob
Thanks for saying this Bob. One solution might be for everyone to use their own drone tracks instead of listening to mine. Maybe next time I’ll ask you all in advance to open up the lesson page, and then to play your own drones. I think it will be a good experiment for finding out the best way to do these group lessons.
I will be posting a replay with better quality audio.
Hi Jason, Just finished the intermediate group lesson. An idea to help with the time issue – shorten the warm up. In the email that precedes the lesson, let people know ahead of time how you want us to warm up specifically, and then once the lesson begins you can run us through a few scales but then segue more quickly into what you want us to learn. Thanks for the lesson, it was a different way to look at modes for me, and coming at them from a new angle was helpful in giving me a stronger grasp.
Kathleen
This is a good idea Kathleen. I will cut to the chase more quickly next time. Cheers!
What a great class!! I was wondering how those modes work in playing the blues?
Good question. A great first step for playing with blues scales, is to master the pentatonic scales. Then you learn to add flatted notes.
Good idea for a future class!
Jason,
Is it possible to get a schedule? I would love to attend but need to book it in between consulting gigs so I need a little more advanced notice.
Thanks,
Bob C
Sorry to miss you all today. These sessions have been a highlight of the month! I’ll watch the recording, and look forward to seeing you all next time. Thank you Jason for your efforts. It’s hugely appreciated
My pleasure! See you next time.
I think the hardest part of bowing for me is fatigue in my shoulder from just holding my arm out. I’m not tense just not a position I’m used to. I feel like 1,000 tremolos will do as good as hitting the gym from the way I feel after a minute of it. I should say I’m currently in physical therapy for back problems so I know that it’s all connected. I figure give it time and things will work themselves out. Thanks for the lessons I’m really enjoying them.
LOVE!
Hello, I am currently subscribed annually which expires in January, I DO NOT WANT to renew !! I followed the instructions about Canceling but can find NO link to do this. Please let me know specifically how I can cancel my subscription. I am not able to use this subscription any more.
Thanks you in advance,
Best Regards,
John Nourse
Heya Jason,
I have music playing truly *all* the time at home–except when I practice 😊 (I have no TV)– and also at work where I’m away from civilization for 3 weeks–( a remote area of Alaska but I can stream music). My job is stressful and, I tell ya, music is everything to me! I will work up to 18 hours a day and I will just at least pick up the fiddle and play open strings in the mirror to get my bow placement correct.
I also listen to music working out in the morning–cardio and weights (I’ve been listening to Natalie MacMaster’s fiddling again, to allow me to hear rhythms).
When I decide to work on a tune (like Swallowtail Jig), I download it and will listen to it throughout the day to “get it in my bones.”
A book I find helpful for developing habits to cultivate is THE POWER OF HABITS and ATOMIC HABITS which can be applied to anything including practicing my fiddle.
I would be honored to be part of your experiment! 😊
Thanks again, for all you do!
-Dina
Yes! I would like to take part in this experiment! 🙂
I’m really struggling with understanding the Kerry Polka Duet. Is there a video walkthrough? There is a lot of extra sounds in this track and its really hard for me to hear the plucking.
I agree with Alan here.. I didn’t get that one at all but got all the others. They were great!
Thanks for mentioning this Alan and Janna, yes it’s definitely a complex range of sounds in that audio.
I will put it in a suggestion to dive further into the details of this duet to help folks learn it. 🙂
If I understood it correctly, the G0 and D0 in the third measure are half notes (held for two counts- hold for a count of “one and two and” for the G and “three and four and” for the D) and all the others are quarter notes (hold for a count of “1 and”, “2 and”, “3 and”, “4 and”). Hope that helps!
Holy Koto! Mind blowing, so cool
Great Lesson…little gains here and there! Ive always tried to stay to a fixed practice schedule. Sometimes dedicated…other times not so. This idea is great…fits right into any schedule! 🙂
I love this idea! Actually I do this too. I have always used music–both listening to it and playing it–as a way to relax, so if I get too stressed out, reaching for my guitar or fiddle is way way way better than going online when I’m feeling the need to procrastinate. I need to do more of this!
Surely excited to try!! In this rural area, I’m 50/50 when it comes to success in zoom sessions. But, I will be there trying! Thanks for the opportunity!
I am enjoying this and for that I thank you Jason. I struggle with some issues from the military and it has been years since I have had any joy in doing anything. This plucking and the way you teach is giving me joy in doing something. It is nice to be only a few days into my journey and making music. It is definitely a huge motivator to keep going and pushing, which brings me to my biggest struggle which is trying to move along too quickly in the lessons. Trying to remind myself I have to do each thing 1000 times before I master it. Thanks again for what you’ve done here.
this is a great little tune I love working on this and all the information about the D scale and the E dorian is great, love learning these things… you are a good teacher Jason your love for music is catching!
So following Jason’s advice about improvising on a scale I played around with the E dorian scale. Just making up a tune as I went alone. Then I realized it was very close to the tune God rest ye Merry gentlemen, The Christmas Carol. So then I was able to pick out the whole tune for God rest you Merry gentlemen. I’ve been trying to train my ear more and I think this is a result of that. I’m so super excited.
Mary
Modes give it the Moods
Hello Fiddlehed!
Jason — I am excited to be an official subscriber – I’ve enjoyed your online lessons for awhile now.
Curious to know if you have the tablature for Wagon Wheel available for download.
Thank you,
J.D. Spinner
Sorry to have missed the group lessons this week. Work related Zoom meeting. Since I was hosting it, I figured I shouldn’t skip out for another Zoom 🙂 Looking forward to the next round of group lessons.
Thanks for these group lessons, Jason. Please keep them coming!
Got my days mixed up and missed the zoom lesson. Hopefully I can make the next one.
So much fun to practice this knowing what will be coming next!
Looking forward to this session
Zoom session was excellent. Sorry I had to leave early, I’ll plan better next time
Mike
Yeah this is darned cool. Thanks!
Any advice on crossings between strings that are 2 or 3 strings apart? E.g., G to A, D to E, G to E? I can’t seem to accomplish this without the bow slightly grazing the middle string(s). Is the idea to completely lift the bow to cross from one string to the other?
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Great job!
I think you have a typo in the description of
Ionian. It’s built on the first degree of the scale, isn’t it?
Yes. You don’t hear the term “Ionian” much because it just refers to the basic major scale.
I just corrected the typo. Thanks Vera. 🙏
Hi Jason,
I look forward to taking part in this group lesson. Thank you so much for doing this.
See you in November
linda
Jason has a way of making you fall in love with EVERY song for which he creates tutorials! So, this is my new favorite….whether played “haunting” or “jolly.” 😂
Hi Jason,
I am excited about joining a group lesson and wanted to ask if you could do one at a later time than 11 a.m. PT. That is 2:00 ET, and I will be at work. If you could schedule a lesson at 2:00 or 3:00 PT on a weekday, then I could make it! I will try to do the Veterans’ Day lesson, since it’s a holiday. But in general I cannot make a weekday lesson before 4:00 ET.
Thanks!
Oh so love!
I feel like I just had a private concert! Very privileged. Thanks!
I’m curious about something that applies to a lot of songs, this one included. So, Kerry Polka is in the key of G, but since it consists only of notes that G major shares with D major (specifically no C or C#) it’s kind of also in D major isn’t it? Is there something about the sound that makes it more Gish? I noticed when I played it with a G drone it sounded well, but not as much when I played with a D drone, but I can’t pinpoint why and maybe I’m just thinking that because I know it’s meant to be in G.
It happens not to have any C notes, so the C# does not come into play, but that does not matter.
The song ends on G note and is a “happy” tune without any suspense or tension. Two clues: (1) ends on G, so it is written in key of G (this is almost always the case in that the final, closing note of the song is usually its tonic or key note); and (2) happy, so it is a major key — therefore, G Major.
Hot diggity dog….this was so helpful. Glad Emily asked this questions. I actually was “naturally’ slurring a few times on a beginner song to play it faster, not knowing what I was doing.
Hey Jason, loving your style and humor thus far, just wanted to drop a line that all of the demonstration videos on this particular lesson page appear to be broken!
and suddenly they aren’t. disregard plz
Is Norwegian Wood in here?
I have always liked bile em cabbage down and love the variation.Was very tough to do but at least it gives me something to work at and help build up speed slowly. I think I will add this variation every time I practice.
Tuning exercises and drones bring me buckets of joy! 🤗 🌸 ☀️ 🤗 It’s magical how I can now differentiate notes–well, no, not magic, but it’s super cool 😎
Where do I find the follow on “more advanced ” version you referred to?
You probably found this by now, but I found it in Tune Finder
Great song, great lesson ——I’ll be busy for awhile on this 👍😁😁
Jason you have a lot of videos on how to learn the fiddle that being said my question is after going thru all of the material for beginners the modules that is ok now in what order of the rest of the videos that you have posted would a person want to start learning my Problem is I need something in front of me to go by and follow a road map so to speak can you help me have been playing for around a year now Starting feel at a loss please help thanks Jeff
First, congrats on the new wondrous journey with your daughter.
Here’s some fun feedback. I barely got started on the fiddle when I had a shoulder replacement in January. I can’t play my fiddle yet, so taking the opportunity to ear train by humming, tapping and audiation. Your program is a gift because my untrained ear has been a pitfall in past attempts.
Now I got a piano keyboard and it is so fun and usefull for doing the exercises and memorizing tunes. I know this will pay off big time when I can pick up fiddle again.
Right now, when I’m repeating patterns and learning to distinguish between notes, it’s actually helpful not to also be paying attention to finger placement and bowing. It’s kind of like a pre-program to the program. When I can fiddle next month, I’m going to start at beginning again.
Anyone out there who was told to “mouth the words” as a child (there are hundreds, if not thousands of us) take heart. You can learn to hear and play, even sing, in tune.
Thank you Jason for this incredible program and your constant encouragement. Your spiritual path shines through and resonates.
As above, keeping the bow straight is difficult. I THINK it’s straight, then I look in the mirror and it’s sliding a bit. Any suggestions as to how to keep this from happening?
Hey fiddle folks!
I live in Los Angeles and want to find people to play with. But when I type in “looking for someone to fiddle with” in to the Craigslist I get something very different…..
Where do I find folks?
Talk soon!
Chase
Really good ideas, Jason. I find that I get especially frustrated and down on myself when I go away from the fiddle tunes and try to jam with others on folk/rock/Americana type tunes. It seems like all of the years of practice kind of go out the window when I try to improvise or do fills and I end up with chopping a simple melody at best, with a poor sound. Your suggestions – and those of others – should be helpful for being more casual and positive about my playing.
How fun this will be. By the way as soon as you said rhythm of the train it came much easier. Yes! Thank you
what does the mark before the first note mean?
Hi, Joey B, that little arc means slide onto the note. It’s not much of a slide, you can barely hear it in the lesson video.
Keep tuned, keep well.
Oops… you can barely hear it in the practice track…
Keeping the bow straight at faster speeds.
All good ideas…. I do a couple of things; 1. Deciding if the tune is ‘over my head’ at the moment, and putting it aside for awhile.
2. Noting if the problem lies in just a small part of the tune, maybe only a measure or two. If so, then practice that portion until the ‘cows come home’. That can help, but if not a ‘cure all, then on to ….
3. Look around on the ‘net to see if there are other versions, videos, tutorials, simpler sheet versions, etc. Try those…I’m in the process of doing that with Sandy River Belle, and just found a tutorial for the theme for Outlander which looks doable.
Yes I needed this today. Sometimes I get really tense when my housemate tells me my bowing wasn’t that good that day or I played the wrong notes so I get tense trying not to make mistakes and of course play quietly. Thank you!
I suffer from should/back pain as well, but it is getting better. I have to watch 3 things…
1. Like Jason said…BREATHE
2. I have to make sure I am not holding my fiddle too high…with the scroll pointed up too high. This creates a lot of tension for me. Not only because it makes me lift my shoulder too high, but it tends to make me “press” down more on my chin rest. I try to hold my fiddle parallel to the floor or even lower. It helps.
3. I have to remember to not hold my fiddle out right in front of me, but more closely to a 45 degree angle from the front of my body. I have a tendency to want to look at my fingering on the strings. I think this may be because I kept finger tapes on too long, and still want to look at where I am placing my fingers rather than trusting my ear more.
Note: I did try the Bonmusica shoulder rest, but I could not get used to it no matter how many adjustments I made. I think the Bonmusica is better suited to folks who have longer necks. My neck is short. I finally found a shoulder rest that I am very pleased with…the Mach One. It comes in a number of models. I am using the MO7 model. If you have a shorter neck, you might want to check it out. It is not real expensive at about $24 depending on where you buy it, so it is worth the experimentation if you have a shorter neck..
I did buy a Bonmusic shoulder rest and it has improved my ability to hold the violin in a standard position, whereas before it was always slipping off my shoulder. I tend to round my shoulders forward when I’m concentrating hard on practicing, and this is what causes the pain. I’m working on a shoulder rehabilitation program, and that is now helping a lot – precisionmovement.coach – basically I’m retraining my spine and shoulder girdle into a better habit.
found lesson 1
Definitely didn’t know what I was doing. How do I find lesson 1?
Signed up again and got in. Don’t know why it didn’t work the first time. I’ll have to practice the above and hope I’m caught up. I find this exciting.
I finished! And I really enjoyed it too. Although I’ve been able to practise reasonably well before, this gave me a bit more discipline to practise what I was actually trying to improve rather than what I like to play. Anyway, I did improve what I set out so that’s great.
I was seriously distracted by some of you other fiddlers though as I heard so many great new tunes. I really enjoyed JuliaG’s King of the Fairies and I added it to more practise list, sorry Jason, I know I’m not supposed to do that! I’ve managed to learn the A part so far so maybe next year I’ll use it for the challenge. JuliaG’s progress was really good and i was really impressed by the Irish ‘twiddles’!
Another wonderful tune was Abee’s Peacock Rag and again this showed excellent progress over the challenge.
Overall, it was really inspiring both learning about myself and the other fiddlers trials and tribulations. I
I hope we can all do it again next year.
Many thanks to Jason for getting it all together.
A really cool way to check if your D1 and D3 are in tune:
Do they ring?
You see, D1 is E and you have an E string. Play a D1 with with a throw away (fly away?) bow. You should hear a ring. That’s from the E string!
If you aren’t playing D1 in tune, you won’t hear E ring.
The same concept works for D3. If you are in tune, you’ll hear your G string ring.
This works for every note you have an open string for.
Even after 22 years of playing (mostly classical…hence why I’m here…I’m never to accomplished to learn from the basics) I still use this trick.
Hope you can use this trick to centre yourself.
I just finished the Challenge, averaged 2 1/4 hours a day of practice. Practiced all my usual, long bow with metronome, scales, string crossing. Started learning double stops. Practiced my ‘old’ tunes, I’ll Fly Away, This Land is your Land, Keep On The Sunny Side. Learning two new ones, Waltzing Matilda and Arkansas Traveler. Made progress on everything…..’progress’ on double stops is yet to happen, lol.
Next up, after usual practice, is learning Sandy River Belle. It’s not on Jason’s tune list but I found a version online as well as the ones in The Fiddlers Fake Book. Picked it because I like it ( the main requirement for any tune) and can play it in two different tunings on the banjo.
I practised every day for two weeks, and here’s the same tune I played on Day 1, which I have been practising a LOT. And yet I could continue practising it for months more, probably, before it comes out slick and beautiful. But it is definitely better than Day 1. Better rhythm, better fingering, possibly slightly better tone. Now I’m thinking of getting a proper old-fashioned wooden clockwork metronome.
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It’s very nice! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Very Nice Julia!! Love this tune.
Wasn’t that pretty!! Thanks, Julia; your work has paid off..Congratulations.
Owen
Very nice Julia! What is the name of this tune?
Julia, I listened to your day one practice of “King of the Fairies” and your latest version and can say that you are right. I thought your performance on Day One went really well, but your timing, clarity, and Irish embellishment was excellent on your latest recording. I practiced every day for the challenge and saw big improvements as well. Thanks so much for your videos. You are becoming an excellent musician!
Thank you Jason!
It’s Karen here. I asked the question about the 4th finger reach. I couldn’t attend the live office hours session, but have reviewed the live stream and all written notes. Sooooo helpful! It’s great that you ask for other related questions too..more for me to work on building that pinky!
So much fun. Finally recorded “Hector the Hero”, a lovely waltz that was fun to learn. Look forward to the zoom practice tomorrow
Nice work with the triplets! I have such a hard time with them.
Thank you, triplets are not a challenge to get to sound good, so it did take some practice. It’s a fun tune to learn.
Rita, very nice job! You have improved a lot since day one. Love your song Hector the Hero.🙂
Rita, I liked that Waltz very much. Thank you.
Owen
Fun stuff, enjoyed that one! Fun slurring that many votes at once.
While doing my practice for the fall practice challenge, I started doing this cool scale variation. Basically you can take a simple major scale, play at 13 notes up and then go backwards for a total of 24 notes in a cycle. What this allows you to do is practice slurring 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 24, and…gulp…48 notes per bow. The 48-note version was inspired by an office hours question about the one-minute bow.
Give ‘er a try.
And have fun with the last few day’s of the FPC 🐸
Thanks Jason,
I’ll have to give this excercise a try. Should help me with a slur series I’ve been working on with “Blackberry Blossom”. Which is played in key of G major.
I can see that this would be a great exercise for improving my fingering speed too. Completed the 14- day challenge today and have seen a lot of improvement.
Thanks Jason! 😁
Thats pretty fun even at slooowww speed. Thanks Jason!
More inspirational writing .
Thanks for your help and sound advice Jason.
OK, so I must admit to only practicing about every other day, but I have been learning to be more disciplined, really practicing the basics so I improve technique and quality instead of just running quickly through a tune. I was on the Renew with Review page, and discovered the tune Hava Negilah which I am now excited to learn.
Today:
Did you delete it Agnese? I got ‘not found’ message.
Found it! I just realised you posted both links joined together.
Lovely tone!
some problems when loading the comments! Thanks :-*
Hi! here two video from my last days of practice: Yesterday:
You are playing so well. Very inspiring for what is possible with data ly practice. Enjoyed your videos so much. Thank you.
Susan, you are very nice and encouraging! Thank you!
What song is that? Your notes are nice and clear. I always end up with a squeak somewhere
It’s O’Keefe’s Slide 🙂
I taped myself playing Eliza Jane with double stops and I sounded GODAWFUL BAD. Made me realize that I can’t rush ahead of myself and try for fancy stuff. Also I’m playing a borrowed lousy violin which may account for a teensy bit of why I sounded bad, or at least that is what I am telling myself.
Note to self…..slow down.
Practicing here on Day 13 (I think it’s Day 13, right?) I can’t believe I have played every day of the Challenge after not playing for so long. In addition to brushing up on tunes I’ve already learned, I am having fun with “Prairie Spring”. I can get through the entire tune now with few mistakes. I feel like I have accomplished something during this Challenge. Thanks, Jason and everyone else! It’s so nice to see, and hear, from so many others during the Challenge. It doesn’t make me feel as “alone” as I try to move forward with my fiddling. It would be nice if we all could continue posting regularly in the forum even after the Challenge. I think we all could benefit from it.
Am I the only person who gets ridiculous joy from the fact that the funds slowly speed up?
Funds= tunes
Makes me smile each time!
Ohhhh, I’m having so much fun! Your tips and variations are great. This will definitely get me through a rainy, dark Portland winter.
I didn’t record because half the time my dog starts barking because he gets happy with fiddle practice. He stops but no one needs to hear that. So I’m working on only one tune at this point which is cool because usually I move on after a week. I still don’t play it with flow but I’m improving. Certain things I’m learning. Play the micro practice slower. I didn’t have a good bow grip. Learning. Cross strings are improving and triplets come easier as time goes on. (I’m playing harvest home) Given that I have arthritis I’ve learned to stop and do exercises. Day practice is 25 to 30 minutes. Night practice is for noodling and I’m trying to compose a tune. Night practice is sometimes cancelled out by calls from folk who need grief counseling but if I can I’ll just play open strings. Also noticing I rush so have started using metronome. Lastly I found that my shoulder rest was too high ha. So in conclusion the fall practice has taught me not to rush, spend more time on scales and to pick a challenging tune and stick with it even though I’d rather play something new. This has been a great journey and Love everyone’s comments! Thank you
Check this out
Very cool, thanks for sharing. Interesting the position of holding the fiddle – it actually looks a lot more comfortable!
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tremolo! I get really tense!
I played in youth orchestra as a teen and we used it, but it’s different when I’m not in a group of 20 violinists. I can’t just blend into the crowd….I actually have to sound good!
I’m finding the fiddle bow hold easier now, but my elbow really wants to go sky high as I tense up.
Does everyone keep all their fingers on the bow when they get faster? I find I’m turning my palm away from my body and lifting all but the thumb and index finger off the bow.
Would love to he at what ‘s working for you. (Other than playing it 1000 times)
It’s Bow Boot Camp!
I started strong, fell off the wagon. The first group practice got me back on. Did great, then I had a chance to tear off and replace a Small roof. So I am too stiff to play today, but shall be back at it tomorrow.
My goal was to toughen up my finger pads. Strengthen my Fingers too. Got pretty into “Rights of Man”. Worked on Orange Blossom double stops. Getting the stretch in tune consistently has always been a challenge.
Congrats to all who met or exceeded their goals. Off to a new challenge!
Hey folks,
I made a short tutorial on how to upload and EMBED video directly to a comment:
Here’s the main gist. You’ve all been copying and pasting normal links that look this:
But you need to copy and paste an “embed” link. This cannot be done easily from mobile devices. If you made the film on a mobile device, upload to Youtube and then go to a desktop computer to paste the embed link in a comment.
Sorry that this is not easier…
For the next videos you post, please give this a try. If it’s too much hassle, then don’t worry about it. Cheers!
Sorry Jason but I can’t see how you are right. I have repeatedly copied and pasted the ’embed’ link from YouTube and it doesn’t embed. There is no other way, except maybe as the moderator you have a different kind of access to your page.
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Hi Julia,
Thanks for trying to embed your videos (and for making them), and thanks for your message. I logged into your account and pasted the embed video. You are right. It does not work for users at this time.
I will ask our developer to fix this.
Cheers,
Jason
Great job Toby!
Hokey dinah! I’m a classically trained violinist. I studied seriously for ten years but dear goooooooodness did that swing track throw me for a loop. With this new bow hold. My elbow just wants to creep up!
It tells you that you are never too accomplished to learn the basics!
Any advice on how to make the G string swing rhythm sound like the recording? I know my strings are old, but my up stroke squeaks as I try to catch up so I don’t run off the tip. I don’t have this issue with the other strings.
I did find it worked better if I played closer to the frog, but I’m not sure that’s proper.
Thanks y’all!
Just want to say that I have done my half hour every day, although it’s getting harder to make myself. This morning we took the dog out for a long walk, and then it was lunch, and then it was other stuff, and then… finally I did my practice last thing before bed. It’s much better to do it in the morning. I wonder if on the final day of the fortnight I will heave a sigh of relief and stop… or will I carry on? You wouldn’t think half an hour was so difficult to achieve. I remember hearing an interview with Sting, who was talking about having just taken up the mandolin, I think it was. When asked how much he was having to practise, he said ‘Oh not much, only three hours a day’!
I get it. I’ve been in those funks too.
You got to keep picking up that fiddle. Instead of dreading a half-hour practice, try Jason’s “1 Tune, 1 Scale, 10 Minutes.”
10 minutes is easy to commit to if you’re worried about breathing a sigh of relief when this challenge is over.
On the days when I just don’t want to, I try to use that approach. I can do one scale and I can do one song and I can play for ten minutes. I often find myself playing much longer.
I find if I don’t pick up my fiddle early in the morning, there’s a good chance I won’t pick it up at all…life seems to take over.
Following the two-minute philosophy has helped me. I even picked up it up and just tucked it under my chin while answering email to practice the hold. Usually leads to another 15 minutes of bowing or such.
Hey Julia,
I hope you can find inspiration to carry on. I have enjoyed watching your videos. I found Jason’s video on how to use the metronome after you mentioned giving it a go. I am going to work on using the metronome much more now. Thank you for inspiring me to do that. Keep your fiddle easily accessible. If you see it you’ll want to play it.
Also try using metronome when running through scales. I’ve found it much more enjoyable and not so boring. One beat per note. It has really opened my eyes to the benefits of using a metronome. I tried playing a song with it but to difficult right now. So I had to back off and keep it simple until I can get more used to it. I plan on finding a song that has just quarter notes and half notes eventually. Hope this helps.
Metronome for scales – that’s a great idea. Not that I am attracted by the idea of doing lots of scales, but then, when I see Jason doing a scale for about ten minutes, I think, if he can do it, then I should too!
I also have a harder time if I don’t play during the day. It’s a lesson I’m slow to learn. But that’s what’s good about doing the Challenge. You learn about your habits.
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“Tennessee Wagoner” Just started on double shuffle which is towards the end but i had to slow down double shuffle or i get extra bow strokes thrown into it.
Hey Folks, Great job with all the videos!
DON’T DELETE THEM AFTER THE CHALLENGE!!!!
When you do the challenge next year, you can make another video of the same tune and compare. This will give you a perspective on your progress: what’s improved, what still needs work. Chances are, you’ll feel encouraged.
Also: it’s super-nice to see all the kind responses.
Alrighty…Day 10!
Copying a question on this page……
One response to “Call-and-response Exercises 1.7”
[email protected] says:
January 16, 2020 at 7:18 am
I am learning more and more every day, and am motivated to practice every day by the amazing lessons in this course.
It bothers me that I can’t “mark complete” each section that I complete. Some have “mark complete” at the bottom, and some don’t, or maybe I don’t understand how it all works. Sometimes it takes me days of practice to complete a task (i.e. call and response has taken me a week to complete off and on, and today, as I finally complete it, there isn’t a “mark complete” at the bottom). Any advice or explanation to help me out on this?
I am forever grateful for having stumbled across Fiddlehed on the internet! It is an amazing course, and well worth the price of the lessons!
Happy down in Sweet Home Alabama!
Vic
From Sarah-You did respond to a question like this by me, but my next question is this: are all of the percents of each lesson section in the “core lesson”, or do you have to go to other sections like note reading, bonus lessons, etc. to get the 100% in each section ( 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, etc.) or is there no 100%? Thanks, Sarah
Oh, also, my hat’s off to all of you taking the challenge, and I have really enjoyed watching the videos you have shared!
Well, I’ve practiced every day so far during the challenge, and it feels real good to get back to my fiddle after the past few sporadic months. I am “brushing up” on tunes I already know like “Annie Laurie”, “Hard Times Come Again No More”, “Jessica’s Waltz” and a few others, and have been working on Jay Ungar’s “Prairie Spring”.
That was me. I was on a two-week funk when Jason emailed about the challenge. I didn’t really enter it with an agenda except to pick up that fiddle and practice. It worked! I just love Jay Ungar…I must look up this Prairie Spring. I haven’t heard it!
It’s a beautiful waltz. It starts off slowly and then picks up.
Another real nice version is here:
Wow, thanks for sharing that video on U tube. It was out of this world beautiful and really touched my soul. I’ve been working on Ashokan Farewell. I’m 66 and just started playing a little over a year ago. My mom was from Harlan, Kentucky so I think my love for Appalachian music is genetic plus my genetic heritage is 90 percent English and Irish. Love both styles. Getting ready to listen to other video you posted. 😊
That song is amazing! Yes, thank you for sharing it.
I wonder if I’ll ever be able to make my fiddle just sing like that. Right now, I feel like a toddler belting out B I N G O after hearing that….LMAO.
It’s a heck of a journey we are on isn’t it? 🙂
If either of you use Tabs, I have it tabbed out. If you want a copy, send me an email to: jim (at) moonshadowsfarm (dot) com
Beautiful! Thanks for sharing! Would live the tabs. You can send to
[email protected]
I would love to have the tabs as well. Please send to [email protected]. THANKS AGAIN.
Thanks Owneee61! It’s a lot of fun to play. Yep. I live in Lakeside. If you ever come out to visit, maybe we can play together!
I’ve been working so hard on the Chromatic scale and sliding. I could slide into a note almost from day 1. This is different though. This is more controlled, more poised, more deliberate, and it’s a lot more difficult than I realized it is. (For me anyways…)
There are so many half-steps in this tune. Trying to get them in the right place and which goes where. Then there is that one note, that says in the tab is a L2, but I swear I am hearing a 2….and my fingers have decided to play it in the middle which is absolutely not what I want them to do. (Gosh fingers and ears. Pick a note already and stick with it.)
So. With that in a nutshell, I am having a ball learning this tune, hahahaha…and I am delighted with my progress.
I discovered Fiddlehed because I was really struggling to learn Whiskey Before Breakfast. With Jason’s learning techniques and my practice, a song that eluded me for months has now turned into a simple warm-up tune for me to help get loosened up. Do I dare to dream, that one day, this might be a warm-up tune? 😀
I really like that song, Abee, and how you play it. I’m finding that a lot of people are posting themselves playing tunes I’d love to play as well.
Would be great if the practice pieces to follow started slower and built up like so many of your others do. This one is very fast to follow when first learning!
Well done Abee. Lots of difficult fingering there. I could tell when you got in the groove, and it all got easier. Never played a rag before. Been busy all day here in Virginia.Need to go practice now. You are in San Diego? That’s where my son, daughter-in-law and two grandkids are!
Day 9. New Video.
The Beagle has learned when I pick up my fiddle, she gets to go into the big back yard. (She’s not allowed unsupervised, she has her own play area.) She is very excited! It’s cool to have somebody excited when I pick up my fiddle. 😀
I have a much better sense of this little tune now. I see improvement in some areas, but after watching both videos, I see I need to slow down and get better control .. Yay!!! Five more days to really apply some work and do that! When I started this, I thought this tune was well out of my reach. It had a lot of techniques I have really been working hard on though and I wanted to see if I could apply any of it.
I can. Wow!
I’ve been pretty busy. I haven’t been on here much, and I’ve actually forgotten to mark a couple of X’s. I danged sure have picked up my fiddle and put my time in though. 🙂
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Well done Abee. Lots of difficult fingering there. I could tell when you got in the groove, and it all got easier. Never played a rag before. Been busy all day here in Virginia.Need to go practice now. You are in San Diego? That’s where my son, daughter-in-law and two grandkids are!
Hey ABEE you’re coming along nicely with “Peacock Rag”! I like the Ragtime sound.
Nice. And nice schoolhouse rock shirt 🙂
Would like to learn theme music from Lord of The Rings (request)
Me too!
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You are sounding great. I enjoyed watching your video. I am much too shy to do that but feel very encouraged by your performance. Thank you.
Nice playing Owen…
I am 80 and continue to learn everyday. I started classical violin when I was 66 and switched to fiddle four years ago. I love it! Thank you everyone for your welcoming words. And thank you, Jason, for your wisdom, patience and humor. You do make it fun!
Looking forward to it. Question posted. See you tomorrow!
I think I am proud of being able to post this video, more so than of how well it came out. Live in a rural area and high speed is by satellite only, so this video may be pretty poor quality. So many posts on this page; the FH community is surely growing. Hope Jason has gotten good at speed reading! Owen. [youtube]
That was great! Thanks for posting video. I agree this thread is getting really long.
Oh my gosh I love this video. Don’t knock the bad quality, with the deep undertones of the song you are playing, it almost looks and sounds like you are playing inside of a dream and it’s a right cool effect.
You sound great! I like the tune! Can’t wait to hear more!
Funny you mention this, because i just learned the concept of making a new habit “20 seconds easier” and making mini goals.
I started by leaving my violin in its case on my bed. Then i made the mini goal of practicing 5 minutes a day.
I found I liked out even better to get my violin (excuse me, fiddle) ready to play and leave it on the bed. No matter how tired i am, I can pick it up and play for five minutes….which usually becomes 20 minutes or two hours.
What a difference!
Jason is now my guru. Dude, I hope you like me, because I’m going to be around for a LLOOOOOONNNNNNNNNGGGGGGG time.
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This is “Lonesome John”. Another Appalachian tune with even more slides and drones.
Great stuff, man! I love that Appalachian sound….
Loved your videos. I also like your wall display of instruments and noticed your piano. Do you play those as well? You seem to be a natural on that fiddle!
Mostly the guitar. too focused on fiddle right now so not much time to to play mandolin or the guitar. My kids love to play on the piano.
Thanks! I like this tune and the way you play it.
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Appalachian tune “Home with the Girls in the Morning”. Lots of slides and drones. The hardest part is getting the first slide to sound right going from G# to A.
I’ve really enjoyed watching everyones videos and reading posts. It has really inspired me to make a couple videos and keep practicing.
Like the smooth double stops!
Jason
Do we sign up just before or is there a link I should follow to sign up. Thanks for all you do and the joy it brings! We need it now more than ever
Bob C
Did you get an answer?
I am in the process of choosing a new violin. I am so excited. The shop that I am working with is sending me several violins and bows to explore via FedEx ( due to Covid). I live on the East coast. I have been playing for a little over 5 years (almost 3 years with Fiddlehed combined with in person lessons)and now I can appreciate a more expensive instrument. WHAT A DIFFERENCE. I grew attached to my student violin, and felt sad trading it in, but now I know!!! It is worth it for the wonderful resonance. Haven’t picked yet, but I am leaning towards a Franz Pecha, 1933, it is sooooo mellow. ( and,yup, it is used) Thank you for all your wonderful encouragement- you kept me going
Day 7 – Learned the Tennessee Waltz this week. Today I’m working on putting ornamental and grace notes to pretty it up.
I’m trying to get back up to speed on Smash The Windows, Devil’s Dream and Ste-Anne’s.
Thank you so much for organizing the group practice session. It helped me focus while someone else was playing and I, Canadian, met an Irish fiddler. It was awesome!
Thank you Jason. Happy fiddling this week!
Kim
Thanks so much for the kind words. I appreciate it! -Dylan
Sorry, here is ‘Mallai Chroch Shli,” actually following Jason’s instructions:
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Love that song Dylan! It’s soothing and haunting at the same time. That drone in the background really brings it alive.
I don’t know enough to give you any tips, but I do want you to know, I coulda listened to that all day. I hope you put up more videos.
Nice tone and timing. Well done!
Wow. Loved it. I have been playing for about the same amount of time. You definitely have talent and I loved your song selection.
Oh! Here it is!! Wow! Good job! I can’t believe you’ve only been playing less than a year! Keep on fiddling!
That’s nice Dylan!
Hello everybody. I started playing fiddle in November 2019. Here is a video from earlier today of me playing ‘Mallai Chroch Shli.” I believe it is an Irish tune, but I am trying to play it with Scottish ornamentations. I am certainly open to comments on how I can make it better! -Dylan
Hi Dylan, for some reason your video won’t come up. Just FYI – you might need to post again!
Greetings all. Coincidentally, my friends challenged me to learn DWDTG during this challenge. Friends play in several different bands and we had an out door fest where they played. I present my day 6 challenge video. Much I can learn from playing this and watching the video. –Had a blast. …first time doing anything with a band other than watching. lol Starts about 45 seconds in. Cheers to Jason and the Fiddlehed crew.
That’s awesome to start with DWDTG with a band! I’ve only played with a banjo player and a buddy of mine who plays guitar and mandolin. Looked like everyone was having a good time and well done remembering the lyrics. Keep up the good work.
thank you much. Was a great time. much help and support from a good crew of friends too. cheers to picking up and jamming with your buddy.
Day 6 I worked on a couple of double stop, boil ’em cabbage down versions. Also, went over a number of songs that I’ve memorized, but haven’t played in a while(black velvet band, smile a while and rubber dolly). Ill have to write them down, bc sometimes I forget about how many songs I’ve memorized. When I record myself, it’s obvious that the songs I’ve memorized sound much better than the ones I need to play off a finger chart or sheet music.
Hope to make it to today’s zoom, but it falls on Thanksgiving dinner. Today, I’m very thankful for this fiddle challenge because it’s gotten me back into the habit of playing every day. Happy Thanksgiving!
Ok guys. I’m throwing up my first video….just so’s I can cringe when I see it again. Ugh!
I’m working on the Peacock Rag. It’s so hard.. I am barely beginning to get to where I can almost hear a song for a little while, then I lose it again. I am hoping I will be able to look back and see improvement. It can’t get much worse…
(Oh it can.. I can make sounds that can split atoms. I have that special ability.)
I almost always play with a mute. I pulled it off to record a video. It always startles me when I realize how loud my instrument is…and it always throws me off a bit. I can see it definitely did here. I wish I had given it a few moments to get used to the sound again. (Note to self for next time.)
Still. At the beginning of this challenge, I couldn’t play three notes of this song. Maybe. One day. 🙂
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Hi Abee,
You will be playing the song through in no time, and you’ll be so pleased. Keep up the good work!
linda
Hey Hey! Gotta Slow myself down to play accurately…my habit is to try playing at tempo from the beginning….and losing bow position on the prime string playing spot.
See you Sunday on the Zoom practice!
Likewise, I am beginning to practice counting note values with the metronome and tapping my foot, which I do on the banjo for many years and it becomes second nature to keep correct time. But on the fiddle I must work with an entirely different ‘feel’ since the bowing and fitting the note/time values within a given length of bow stroke is quite different than the right hand motion on the banjo……if I’m making sense….lol.
Good living is all about knowing yourself. Such an inspiring story, thank you Jason! You artfully weave good living into learning to play the fiddle, this is key to playing from the heart and enjoying the journey.
I love hearing about your group lessons and hope to sign up for one in November!
Today I practised playing to the metronome. Previously I always found it too difficult, but now I’m getting into it. have to stop being in so much of a hurry! My video for today:
Good for you practicing with the metronome, Julia.
Love the tunes you’re playing. Kudos to trying to use the metronome. I need to try the metronome to help with timing. I love your explanations of your thought process while playing
Julia, I think if you had a, (what do they call it?) a Blog…..I would tune in everyday. Good determination with the “kinky” pinky, and nice playing as well.
Love kinky pinky, Julia, and hearing how and what you are working on.
I’m loving these videos. I need to make one tomorrow. I need to make lots. I started this challenge with nothing really more in mind than getting into a better practice habit and out of the rut I had found myself in for a couple of weeks. I had just found the Chromatic Scale and fell in love with it, so I wanted to work on that some more and make it sound like I know how to play it….lol.
I listened to that song Peacock Rag which compliments that scale…and I chuckled.
“Intermediate he said…” Hahaha. Yeah, sure Jason.
I would no more be able to play that song than I was going to rise and fly to the moon tomorrow. Chuckle again… “Intermediate.” I can play intermediate, but there is no way I was going to be able to play that song.
Here we are.
I have some semblance to a song and it actually almost sounds like the Peacock Rag. I am astounded that I am moving my fingers and they are giving me back something I would have never believed possible.
I still can’t play it.. but I know I am going to be able to by the end of this challenge. I so wish I had videoed my first attempt at playing the
3d line to Peacock Rag, because, well, wow. I’ve come a long way in a short time.
Exercise 7 is titled “G string”, but is actually G and D strings
Got this changed, thanks for your help Steve. Enjoy
Day 5 Kudos to everyone for their videos. I still haven’t worked up to that yet. I’m sure you will inspire me. 2hrs. practice I am trying to play Gavotte-Mignon with piano accompaniment. But I am not quite there yet so continued with micro practice on Measures 7;35;37-38; 39-40. trying something new by breaking up with G Maj. scale. It is so hard to get from the micro practice to playing along and this piece is especially challenging with piano accompaniment. Is that last stage always going to be so hard? I always struggle with the first week of a new piece and then getting it to the play through . Any suggestions. Still working on Wagon Wheel. Played through Wildwood Flower and Greensleeves for fun and easier sight reading. I haven’t missed a day. You all are making this so much fun. I got in some Tennis with my husband too. I think the fiddling is improving my tennis!
Day 5 has been great. I have been playing today and having so much fun. Doing videos and watching is a good teaching tool. It’s just important to have fun, retired and mature and starting to play the violin as a mature adult should just be fun! Today’s recording is a lovely waltz, “The Skye Boat Song” I am working on “Hector The Hero”, it is not ready to share yet. Hope this works!
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Lovely, thank you Rita!
I’m trying to work on my play list. And speed up abit, as long as I can keep good sound. Also working on double stops. Having a bit of a time with them, but I just keep trying.
Keeping to my daily practice…..30 minutes a day. My grand baby is my most appreciative audience. I tell him what I am playing, and he most especially loves Oh Susannah, with slides in there. He doesn’t talk yet, but he says “Hmm”, when I ask him if he wants more. He’s not crying, so I figure that means yes. He isn’t walking yet either, but bounces on his feet to the music. I’m onto something, I think.
That’s lovely – and it’s important to give babies an appreciation of music while they are young.
I am working on making sure I am practicing 20 minutes each day…double stops with fingering…intonation…swallowtail jig. Need to get accustomed to using the metronome…my biggest challenge is accuracy and a clean clear sound…my husband and daughter know about the challenge. I am thankful for fiddlehed…Jason.. You are very informative and encouraging!!!!
Hello Jason, Happy October to you and yours, I just signed on for the Fall Fiddle Challenge and hope to be able to work on a tune without the sheet music that I am learning along with my fiddle group. And then transposing it one note up, and then possibly the next note up.
As always, thank you so much for all you do!
Cheers,
Linda
Trying to post my recording…., how do I do that
Hello. Not sure if you had an answer on this. If you have a sign-in for youtube you, “create /upload the video ” there then copy/paste the link here. I leave my videos as shareable but unpublished in youtube
Been working on some Klezmer tunes (only been playing since January). Really like this Berdichiever Khosid. Well maybe not mine but the song.
I love Klezmer tunes 🙂
Me too
Very nice. Didn’t notice any strange facial expressions. I appreciate everyone who has posted their practices. You are doing very well with your playing and timing.
Thank you!
Love that song. I tried it but am not skilled enough yet. Keep posting your practices. Very inspiring.
You are nicely in tune with that, and it is a lovely tune too.
First off “Baby Yoda”! Can hardly wait for next season of “Mandolorian”. I’m not too familiar with Klezmer. Nice tone!
Hello all. A bit late with joining in on the progress, but think this is great and did join in on the challenge. I look forward to spending some time checking back over the progress of all. This hit at a great time. My friends know I picked up the fiddle, and even knowing my beginner status, put it out to learn DWDTG to play along with a jam band for 10/10. Using the “breaking it down” philosophy along with Jason’s earlier videos on DWDTG it’s giving me a good point along with a focus for practicing the main skills I want to focus on: Clean and better tone playing and 4th finger work. Will continue through the challenge with this song but breaking it down even more. Have video but still need to post for viewing. I say cheers to all with a thank you out to Jason for organizing this. I’ve been having a blast. — Henry
Never posted on the internet before. Working on Angelina the Baker. One tune I’ve learned (sort of) that my jam group does occasionally.
Mary
Well posted – the internet is such a great resource. Nice to have a jam group, how did you start with that?
Local concert venue has jam session outside every Friday. Never know who or how many. Very welcoming group. I mostly sit in back and play backup chords. Last night I attempted angelina the baker. Very different playing with people. I’m in west georgia area usa.
Good for you, Mary. I had been playing with a jam group also, until the Pandemic, and it is fun, and scary (a little.)
Lovely,
Mary
Today I practiced for 30 minutes, just working on string crossings and testing my pitch against the electronic tuner. Isolated problem spots in Ashokan Farewell and broke them down into tiny exercises, repeating over and over again and testing intonation against the tuner.
I have been playing for a little over a month and I usually play anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours each day. Lately I have had a bursitis-like pain in my shoulder and neck that goes all the way down my elbow to my wrist. Has anyone else experienced this? Is it to do with the way I am holding the fiddle in my left hand? Just wondering if I need to correct posture and/or do any physical therapy for this.
Figured out that the right chair makes all the difference! Today I practiced scales, intonation and long notes sitting in an upright chair rather than the sort of slouchy armchair I’d been using and focusing on not letting the fiddle sort of drop down in my left hand and it’s made all the difference; no back pain! Like everything else, it just takes practice. 🙂
Maybe try standing up to practice. As soon as you feel a pain STOP. Wait for it to go away. Take fiddle off your shoulder. Maybe walk around. Wiggle a bit. Shouldn’t be very long. Maybe a minute and then go back to playing. Repeat if pain comes back.
If your shoulder rest is digging into your shoulder that can be a problem. Or if it is sitting funny on your collar bone.
If you are tensing at the shoulder And pulling the shoulder forward liking trying to grip the fiddle, it may also cause that pain.
Working on Cantina Band Theme again today(it’s a fast one), trying to memorize it and Jingle Bells. It’s cold enough here today to start thinking of Christmas…2C this morning in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. This is our Thanksgiving weekend.
Someone posted a video of playing while singing. That would be a great idea for a new lesson. 🙂
Btw, I’m don’t know how to log onto the forum either.
Started learning a new waltz today called “Hector The Hero.” It is a lovely Celtic waltz and fun to play adding grace notes and trills. Even playing it without ornaments is lovely.
Hey everyone i am working on ‘when a child is born ‘ It’s a simple tune but i need to learn the correct timing its my moms favourite Christmas song so hoping these two weeks will make me focus. Congrats to all.
PS i am trying to get into the forum says i am logged in but i cannot find anybody hints?
Ok, I caved and made a video 😖 AND posted it to YouTube 😳 AND instagram!! 😱 I’m learning lavenders blue out of the Mel bay beginner violin book by Craig Duncan. Every day before I play a song I practice playing blind on all my first position notes.
Bare with me, I shake really bad as soon as that video button is pushed. I REALLY REALLY HATE being recorded. 😣
Day 4 was the hardest for me so I appreciated the email encouragement. I worked on module 2.8. Also did some call and response Exercises. Completed 1 hr. 15 min. By timing 15 min. Increments.
Well done Yvonne, keep posting, you’re doing good!
My video for Friday. Keeping going, so far so good!
Is there an Orange Blossom Special lesson coming out?
Yes!
I just practiced for an hour and twenty minutes. Better late than never.
-Scales in G and A; 2-4-3-1 melodic variation in different ways, working on speed.
-Reviewed “Have you ever seen the rain.”
-Started a new song called “Do You Realize??” by the Flaming Lips.
So fun!
Love the Flaming Lips! Do a video
Yea! Flaming Lips! Cool
I really enjoyed the group lesson today. The improvisation was challenging and fun. Meeting other FiddleHed-ers in the classrooms was the icing on the cake! Thank you Jason.
Can’t wait for the next lesson !
I’m being mindful to NOT sound like I’m “sawing a log” ~ the pressure on the strings, the weight of the bow. I guess I need to go over the lessons on musicality. You are all awesome! Thank you so much for making this FUN.
On the D string, the first exercise, I’m having trouble remembering the pattern played in a couple of the calls. For example, the one that starts at 2:07, and another that starts about 2:43. I start to play my response, but I just can’t seem to remember the rhythm that got played. I’ve tried it several times (not 1000 yet).
I’ve tried counting, but it hasn’t helped me. Is there a secret? I’d write it down, but that seems to defeat the purpose of the exercise.
Hey Steve, writing it down could be a good way to learn something that’s continuing to be challenging. How about tapping the rhythm to the pattern first, then try singing it, then trying to play on fiddle. Working one’s way towards the goal by learning the various skills separately first. 🙂
omg, this week! I was so happy to have a challenge presenting to me at the beginning of what I hoped was the beginning of a 2-week+ vacation (during which I will go nowhere, because…obvious). Had a very relaxing day 1, discovered practice challenge and decided Yes! this is for me (even though Day 1 was a bit taken over by Trump leaving hospital)!
Day 2…tuned my fiddle, which has been neglected for months, made sounds that weren’t horrible with my fiddle. End of day 2, housemate comes home with sore throat and fatigue.
Day 3, housemate stays home from work due to symptoms, household in kinda chaos, figure out how to create a “clean space” that includes kitchen and quarantine housemate in north sector of house, housemate goes for Coronavirus test. Forget about fiddling entirely.
Day 4, I’m now cooking and delivering meals to housemate 3 times a day waiting for coronavirus test result which, according to Kaiser, will come in anything from 3 to 7 days. This is the third time we’ve had to go through this since July. Hello vacation! CBD gummies and wine are my friends. I take some “me time” and decide that darn it, I’m doing this practice challenge! Actually get 30+ minutes in. I’m reminded how much I need to practice 😉
And here I am, a beginner fiddle player in the age of coronoavirus doing the best I can. Y’all are inspiring, thank you for being out there and keeping me going this week!
Great post!
Hope all is well for you!
Arkansas Traveler, Focusing on tunes in key of D this week. Practicing the key to play more accurately in tune. Using a tuner app that I installed on my phone.
Well played. I enjoyed that!!
Lovely! It’s really nice to hear a tune played at a pace where one can follow it. Your tone is beautiful.
Beautiful!
It’s cool to see so many posts and so many people practicing. I don’t know anyone personally that plays so it’s nice to know I’m not alone. So it’s day 4, tho only day 3 for me and I am REALLY struggling with this song I’m focusing on. Out on the Ocean. I’m too much a beginner for it, but I’m determined to at least memorize it in hopes then I can play a little more in tune. I’ll keep at it. In the end I hope to share a video but there are way too many blunders at this point.
I already practice 60-90 minutes per day. In fact, since the pandemic erupted, I pretty much gave up the guitar and singing. Each day, it’s the fiddle… Such satisfaction! I have been working on cajun music – thank you, Jason….Fais Do Do. But recently I’ve been working on the Cajun standard, ” Lovebridge Waltz” Each practice session I practice the A and D scale using the drones….What a help!
I started out on a cheap Ebay fiddle (complete setup $15 including shipping). For over a year I tuned it in reverse: E D A G. I even played ” Danny Boy” at my mothers’s memorial wake – nobody knew the difference. The fiddle I have now is a Becker from a thrift store – such a sweet girl. Good luck to everyone….I loves Fiddlehed!
Hey Jason, Thanks for the Fall Practice Challenge. I didn’t realize how serious I was taking myself until I video taped myself playing a tune (first time to video tape myself playing). After watching the video, I’ve decided to lighten up and just have fun. So what if I don’t sound great or good, I’m having fun now. It is also great to see all the great responses on the Fall Practice Challenge page. I’m practicing every day for about an hour and having a blast.
Thanks again and Fiddle On!
Hi Jason! I’m on board!
I’m from Argentina. So far, I’m practicing every day.
I decided to practice 1 hour each day. I’ll be focusing on improving my vibrato and interpretation on “El día que me quieras”, a tango by Carlos Gardel. And I’m trying to get better at Allemande, a violin transcription from Cello Suite 1 by Bach!
I do the same thing with terrible expressions, not even aware that I do it until I watch the video. But I did not notice any terrible expressions when you played, and you play very well! I also copied the embedded link and did not work as expected.
Trying once again. “Hobart’s Transformation” (not Transgressions.)
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Day 4: I learned the other part and improved the rest. but I don’t understand why when I’m concentrated on playing I make those terrible expressions, I can’t look at myself 😮 does that happen to you too?
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P.S. I copy the embedded link but it doesn’t work as expected, what should I do?
I loved that performance! Your expressions are quite normal compared to what I do when I’m trying too hard… Also, I don’t think it’s possible for us to embed videos, I think Jason has to do it, because I am having the same problem no matter what I do, the code isn’t interpreted right.
Thanks Julia <3
I love the sound of your fiddle! You play so smoothly! Very nice!
Thanks! 🙂
I think you look fantastic and sound great
Thank you 🙂
I think you look like you are having fun
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Trying to post my video playing Hobart’s Transgressions.
Trying to post my video playing Hobart’s Transgressions.
Nice! The first few bars of that remind me of a tune I think I know but just can’t remember. It wasn’t called Hobart’s Transgressions though. Isn’t it annoying when that happens! I think it might have been one from Aly Bain.
Thank you, Julia.
Very nice. Didn’t notice any strange facial expressions. I appreciate everyone who has posted their practices. You are doing very well with your playing and timing.
I can’t join the meeting because I live in Lafayette LA and we’re preparing for hurricane right down our throats. Pray it’s not too bad. Will view when I can. Love the lessons and videos. Great job!!!!
having hard time! had lots of mini strokes .can’t seem yo get brain to work. been practicing
I’ve had a lot of mini strokes and it seems hard to figure this out ! what is free and what cost a fee?
Hi @racer41x,
Group lessons are open to all paid users.
Please let me know if you have more questions or problems.
Jason
Hey guys and Jason, looks great and thanks. Here’s my plan for the 14 days:
– Long whole bows, open strings, speed = 77. Focusing HARD on maintaining sound point and drawing parallel bows. 5 minutes
– 4th finger tone quality. 3 min.
– Cmaj scale, 2 octaves, 1st and 3rd pos, separate bows, whole, half quarter, 8th notes, speed = 77. 7 minutes.
– 1st finger to 4th finger descending string crossing lower half of bow esp. at frog. Example: A1 to D4. 5 minutes.
– Spiccato. Trying to get rid of the clicky-clicky sound. Using Kreutzer 2 and Mozart Rondo for this. 10 minutes. Long, uphill battle.
– Tune: The Glen Road to Carrick. Trying to learn the Irish triplets. 10 minutes
– Double stop scale, 3rds, in Cmaj. This is a very challenging drill for shifting. 10 min. Another long uphill battle.
– Sevcik Op. 2 #29. 5 min
– Tunes: Whiskey Before Breakfast, St. Anne’s Reel, Cold Frosty Morning, Kitchen Girl, Lonesome Moonlight Waltz. 5 min.
Thanks guys! Pete in Bikersfield
This is just the motivation I needed. Recording myself (😏) but also reviewing old favorites and picking out new tunes (Snowden’s Jig). Great to see all the inspiration on this site.
Jeff here doing well on practice not getting bogged down enjoying it working on scales,rythms and bowing technique to make tunes sound better I put my mute on the strings and jam away. And Jason thanks for encouragement and lessons.
Still working on Blackberry Blossom, the 4th finger isn’t a problem but I realized that I didn’t have the tune in my ‘audio memory’ as firmly as I thought which causes me problems in the B part so will listen to more recordings/videos to get it ‘fixed’ better. Jason’s lesson is invaluable too. Still have plenty of time to practice, 3 hours yesterday which included Jason’s beginner Zoom session. I don’t have video recording capability on my desk top, yet, so will work on getting a camera.
Hello fellow Fiddlehed’s, I’ll be practicing 1 hour each day, from 10-11am which works out well for me. My focus will be on playing in tune and hitting the notes the first time, can’t get enough of that. My 3rd finger is usually sharp on the A string and flat on the D string so I’m working on consistently finding that sweet spot. It’s a struggle. I’ve audio recorded a few of my practices but the video/YouTube part is more of a challenge. Seem to spend more valuable time trying to figure out how to do that when I’d rather play. I hope to accomplish that task soon.
I’ve been a student of Jason’s on Fiddlehed since May of 2020 and really enjoy his style of teaching. He is a godsend and a real motivator! I’ve recently started lesson 1.8, The High Road and the Low Road and am enjoying the section on Dorian scales, replaying the earlier tunes like O’Keefe’s Slide, Ballydesmond Polka, Cluck Old Hen, and a new tune called Road to Lisdonvern. Love that one! I work the scales for 10-15mins just to get my left hand and my ears calibrated. I also enjoy the challenge of the Pedal Exercises II a fun, zoned-in workout shifting between the naturals and the sharps. Wow! Plenty to work on!! I’m on the injured list with a bad case of tendonitis in the left elbow, but working through it. It only hurts when I try to put the fiddle down. 😊
I’ve told my very patient and supportive wife about the FPC and my neighbor/fellow musician down the street who is still on the fence whether to pick up the fiddle again.
Thanks Jason for all you do for us!!!
Brett
A little late to post, but I did start on Monday. Here’s what I’m up to,
Oh well, that didn’t entirely work!
– Using my little finger
– Sluring with string crossing
– Getting more of a syncopated sound
– tune of the week: Hobart’s Transformation
I am working on bowing, flexible wrist, getting a strong sound and double stops. Thanks to the FPC for getting me back to music. It’s been hard to play since Covid because I miss the personal contacts of my teacher and fellow fiddle club members. 3days of practicing about 1 hour a day! I got this!
Thanks for the kick in the pants! Caregiving for my mom in a different state has me away from my usual routine and only playing when my group, Sheltering In Place, gets together. This challenge is the reset and encouragement I needed to play every day. Working on tunes, intonation, and bowing. Remembering to take some time to listen, too. Singing the tunes definitely helps to get them in my ear and into my fingers.
Well, it’s day four and after watching other people’s inspiring videos, I finally summoned up the courage to submit one of my own.
I won’t go into listing the faults but it’s a work in progress and I’m really enjoying the journey.
Best wishes to all learners out there sharing the challenge. It’s a great idea!
That’s for sharing. Keep up the good work.
Mary
Thanks @ffwrnais for sharing your version of Margaret’s Waltz.
Nice job! Keep on fiddling!
Thank you – you’re doing well!
That’s lovely! Thank you for posting!
Very nice! Thanks for the video.
Only waltz i know is “Rye Whiskey”
I’m on day 3 of playing blindfolded and it’s not as intimidating as you would think. I’ve been playing for 3 years on and off again though, so I have a little bit of muscle memory going for me. When you play scales or finger positions blindfolded, you really get a clear idea of your sound. You train your ear to hear when your off pitch vary quickly.
Sounds like a really smart idea! Will have to try that.
I don’t see a handy list of tunes to practice. Am I missing something?
There is a list of G tunes here: https://fiddlehed.com/practice-tools/tunes-listed-by-root-note/tunes-in-g-major/
You get there by going to Library > Tunes > Dronopoly Game > Dronopoly in G
Even before this challenge started I was playing off and on all throughout the day, and evening. I keep my case opened up on the table, along with the mandolin that I am trying to learn. (my fingers are so sore but that callus is getting there 🙂 But, signing up for this challenge has motivated me to be specific in learning scales correctly. I have had them written down and knew a little bit of a couple scales. But I want to learn them all and know where the notes are without having to think about it. I thought playing by ear you didn’t really have to know notes, keys, scales etc. but I am finding out that by learning them, opens me up to a whole new level of playing the fiddle. Which in turn is also helping me to play the mandolin. I have learned so much by watching fiddlehed, and I tell everyone I can about it. Thank you so much.
Even on days when you’re tired or not feeling your best and practice doesn’t go well, it’s a learning experience.
Practicing playing long notes while singing, plus playing a short lead on this song. Singing plus playing long notes–a good incentive to keep working on intonation, ha ha! Eventually hoping to add double stops to lead. [youtube]
Here’s a video of us performing the same song with guitar, mandolin and cello, just for reference. [youtube]
Lovely,
Mary
Thank you Mary!
Beautiful song, thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Rita!
Thanks for sharing Rebecca. Sweet song, and sweet voice!
Aw, thank you Jason! I don’t know why my embed code didn’t work; I must have done something wrong. I’ll keep trying! The song is one I wrote and I usually play guitar on it but hopefully I can manage the fiddle part at some point. In any case it is a good exercise to work on. 🙂
Wow, that’s a brilliant idea, to sing against a drone and play with different harmonies! I might steal that. I couldn’t embed either, I think we don’t have access as guests, that’s my conclusion. Looking forward to more of your songs!
Thank you Julia! It is really fun to do any kind of drone work; I am enjoying it and it’s so helpful.
Beautiful song!
Thank you Jill!
I’m trying to play every day, healing from a frozen shoulder, but it’s getting there!
I’ve been working on Si bheag Si mhor, not ready to post a vid yet…
Hi from Saint John, NB. These fiddle challenges are a great idea! I’m working on improving my sound by concentrating more on each note. Been working on St. Anns Reel, which I use as my cellphone ringtone. The recording idea really shows the difference practice makes, over time. Also working on Cantina Band theme, You’ve got a Friend in Me, Waltzing Matilda and playing along to other random music…which I dont find easy to do well.
Thank you very much for your interest and for everything you have done and continue to do, in regards to sharing your fiddle knowledge! 🙂
My video of the day
[youtube]
It’s just not embedding. Sorry again!
Thanks for sharing @juliag, and for trying to embed. It can be done easily from a desktop computer…
Nicely done!
Hey Y’all from Big Island Hawaii… Feeling well inspired by you all and the Challenge! Been delighted with progress on Pretty Little Dog & Ashokan Farewell.
Scared to record myself? Naw—but scared to listen to it!
Aloha for now—Forrest & FiddleHedSandra
Tell you what, just record it and upload without listening!
Jason, I fully appreciated the pace, and the giving, nurturing nature of your teaching.. For me slowing down was just what I needed to remind me to focus on sound. And I loved the throw away bow, letting it go! Everything I’ve been learning lately has been over my head so it felt good to be able to keep up and feel confident playing along. I also appreciated the interaction in the breakout group, and the fact that you paired me with a nice man from Ireland (Damien) who taught me how to really pronounce my Irish maiden name! Perfect! I look forward to more group lessons. Love your style of teaching. I’m a big fan! 👍☮️🎻💟
Jason, I fully appreciated the pace. For me slowing down was just what I needed to remind me to focus on sound. And I loved the throw away bow! Everything I’ve been learning lately has been over my head so it felt good to be able to keep up and feel confident playing along. I also appreciated the interaction in the breakout group, and the fact that you paired me with a nice man from Ireland (Damien) who taught me how to really pronounce my Irish maiden name! Perfect! I look forward to more group lessons. Love your style of teaching. I’m a big fan! 👍☮️🎻💟
Will this be viewable afterward like your on line sessions are? I’m not going to be home tomorrow but would really like to see the lesson. And I very much like the scale exercises you did in the video I just watched, especially the way you worked up into 3rd position. All truly great suggestions. Thanks.
This was awesome! I really enjoyed playing along with y’all after the fact. Thanks so much for sharing the lesson! I was too scared to join for fear of how bad I sound but maybe someday 😊
I have been playing for a while, and I bought a new fiddle. I didn’t put tape frets on this one. I want to make sure I am playing the notes correctly, so I look at the Pano Tuner app in my phone while I play scales to make sure I have accurate finger placement. When I play a song, I am starting to be able to immediately hear when the note I’m playing is too high or too low and adjust my finger placement without looking at the tuner. In addition to scales, I am also learning “Coleraine.” I try to play for an hour a day.
Love this Wagon Wheel lesson – where can I find the 2nd and 3rd breaks?
Thanks!
One of the songs I’m trying to learn to play on is a song I wrote. I usually play guitar on it, but now that I’m *trying* to learn fiddle I’ve set myself the goal of learning the mandolin part that my husband usually plays. There are also some long notes during the verses that I’d have to sing over, which is super hard and makes me really want to do some more work on intonation because it’s so easy to get thrown if the fiddle is even slightly off. Usually this song would have guitar on it, but here it is just with fiddle. This is my Day 2 practice. I’m working on the tuning during the verses and I hope to add double stops to the lead someday. Baby steps! I’ve embedded my practice video below, and also here’s a link to a performance of the song with a cello player, so you can hear more of what it’s supposed to sound like, ha ha!
[youtube]
Instead of being one minute early I was 59 minutes late / Jason your problem child is not just computer challenged he is just flat challenged / I will look for a on line math class & try to be on time next time
I am navigating the site better thanks for your help / I hope your late breakfast was great !!!!
Blessings Ken
Hey @hogjaws, no sweat. See you next time…
Hi Jason
Sue from Niagara-on -the Lake, Ontario Canada. Thank you so much for these group lessons. I really think that it will help me a great deal. And I almost felt I got a private lesson from you, thank you for the tip on how to improve my sound, I’ll work on that , it’s added to the list of things to focus on for the practice challenge.
You asked us to comment on whether we thought the lesson was too slow. It definitely was not too slow for me. I don’t mind slowing down and taking a few steps back because I feel it really helps me to listen to what I’m playing. I was very nervous playing for you but I also think that that is part of the next steps I need to take to become a better fiddler (playing with others)
I have a question, do you think that going back and doing all of the beginner lessons would help me? That really has not been my focus since joining Fiddlehed but I’m wondering if it should be.
Thank you again, you are a wonderful teacher .
Thanks for the inspiration. I split my practice into two sessions a day. I’m doing 25 in late morning. Musical scales, open string bowing double stop bowing and then working on a new tune for me with lots of micro practice( Harvest Home because it’s challenging and has lots of cross string). Late night is pick a major scale. Open bowing. Trying to make Ashokan Farewell flow. And then an improvised tune I made up with Klezmer scale. I love to practice. I’m having trouble all of a sudden with keeping my bow straight so it’s my primary focus on all the practice. Night practice 20 to 25 minutes. Fiddling is important for relaxing. When I’m fiddling anxiety goes away.👍🏽
Well I made it to Day 2 – didn’t expect to play today as I’d had to start work at 5 am and thought I’d be too dopy to do anything this evening. So I told myself I’d just do 10 minutes …. which became 45! I didn’t have a clear plan, so I went back to the Blackest Crow lesson Jason sent as a try-out and then moved onto the drone exercises. That was completely new to me and seems like a good starting point as when I played as a kid I was never too sure whether I was in tune or not (probably not most of the time LOL!).
Thanks for sharing @jools2005. Your story is a great example of the “Two-Minute Rule”. https://fiddlehed.com/the-two-minute-rule/
If you commit to playing two minutes a day, you’ll probably do more once you get started…
Yesterday I practiced for an hour. Happy to do it in the middle of the day instead of at 11pm in a state of half-sleep…
The call and response really helps me get too know my fiddle!
Totally, Chuvi! 😊 Same here. And I love when Jason says “Good job” or sayings something funny! There are hidden gems in some of the Call and Response Tracks. lol! 😂
Did not get signed up until this morning. But I did practice the first 2 days of the challenge. I am going to be working on intonation. I am impressed with the people who have posted a recording of themselves! I am in a trio (Oyster Crackers) we sing songs of hope and inspiration; an eclectic mix of Americana, Celtic and original music. Some of our repertoire is a cappella, we also accompany ourselves on guitar, fiddle and mandolin. We did a recording at the Columbia Theater in Longview, WA last week which will live stream probably in November. The videographer will edit the concert, thank goodness. I need this practice challenge these days and I need all the incentive I can find! Thank you Jason for your wonderful site and this practice challenge!
My practice summary for Day 3:
[youtube]
Didn’t embed properly! [youtube]
Don’t know what I’m doing wrong, sorry Jason! I appear to be missing the last bit of the code for some reason.
sorry to be annoying, I am trying copying via a different browser to see if that works: [youtube]
Giving up!
Hi @juliag,
Don’t sweat this too much. What did you use to film yourself?
I just noticed that on the YouTube phone app, there is not an option to post the embed share link. However on a desktop computer, if you go to your video on YouTube, you can copy what’s known as an embed link there.
I’m using an old iMac to video and edit. But I’m using my Macbook Air to log in to your page here. It is the YouTube embed link that I’m pasting, but it seems to come out half baked, somehow. Technology, eh. Cant live with it, can’t live without it!
It’s great that you’re filming every day. Try to keep going if you can…
Hellloooo everyone! I’ve been starting and stopping with the fiddle for a few years now as life events kind of take over and I was just about to stop subscribing to Fiddle Hed when I logged on and saw the practice challenge! I decided to give it a go again and I’m happy to say I loved making some noise with my fiddle which I haven’t touched since coronavirus landed. Thanks Jason! I’m looking forward to re-committing to practicing! I’ve told my son (who’s a great banjo player and was my inspiration for picking up the fiddle in the first place) and my cousin. Intending to practice 30 minutes a day!
I echo what LisaB said! That’s cool though! I like people to go over the top to pull me a bit more. I appreciate you, Jason.
With working 16+ hours a day and working out, getting in 5 -10 minutes of practice consistently this month is grand for me!
Just working in my oversll sound, D scales and Swallowtail Jig. 🎻💚😁
“I like people to go over the top to pull me a bit more.” EXACTLY! Need a little “boost up the hill” so to speak.
Just recently learned that if you are doing the ‘chop” on the fiddle, it’s supposed to be on the syncopated (or upbeat). That;s so H-A-R-D! lol
Off to practice!
I exceeded my goal of 40 min. I played Long Long Ago and Wildwood Flower for warm up and fun. I used the play along in 1.3 D major scale and also 2 octave exercise for 3rd position from an exercise book I’m assigned. Also worked on 3 problem areas from a piece I am working on for lessons. My husband plays guitar so I am starting the first fiddle break for Wagon Wheel. I really love Jason’s video lessons on that. It was a great second day!
These are fantastic!!! I have so much stuff to practice and these are going to help me along the way. I’m working some sort of these into daily practice for now on.
Hi everyone,
I am planning to at least 30 -60 minutes a day . Lots of scales, but working on double stops, duets, ( which I am in love with) and some new tunes. i have shared with my best friend and my husband ( also my best friend). Right now I love love love the Swallowtail Jig duet, and also Planxty Irwin. Gotta go…it’s late and I have to get my fiddle on….
Hi Jason, I love your work!
I plan to practise at least 30 minutes a day, comprising 10 minutes technique, 10 minutes new tune and 10 minutes revision. I am also hoping to be able to play the basic version of Ashokan Farewell by ear at the end of 2 weeks.
Thank you for all your great resources.
Best wishes, Peter W
Wow! That’s dedication! I tried having an outline of consistency; but family didn’t share my passion for practice. The thing I’m liking about this challenge, is that it’s self paced. One day, I hope to get back to intense and consistency.
You’re a WONDERFUL inspiration to us!
I tend to go overboard with outlines…don’t feel obligated to do this. Even if you take note of a few tunes you’re working on, that might be enough…it’s personal. What works for you?
Thanks, Jason 🙂
What works for me? I honestly don’t know. My time is not my own 🙁 Part of my downfall is–and I’m not whining, just making observances about myself–but I give so much to my work (Elementary school teacher), then my family… at the end of the day, I have nothing left to give myself. I’m hoping… HOPING that this challenge will change that.
So, what works for me? We’ll see. Hopefully it’ll come to me.
I will be practicing 1) A Long way home.
2) Thanksgiving Waltz.
3) Carry me back to Ole VA
Other stuff for about 2 hrs a day I hope.
This post is as good as it gets, and a lesson to always keep in the back (or front) of one’s head. Thank you for it.
from my man Tagore:
“My poet, is it thy delight to see thy creation through my eyes
and to stand at the portals of my ears silently to listen to thine own
eternal harmony?”
I’ll be learning “Wayfaring Stranger” for the challenge and focusing on smooth transitions with the bow when I cross strings. I still hear some squeaking when I try to play any tune fast, so I need to work on slowing things down. I plan to practice 30 minutes a day. My goal is to get as far as being able to sing while playing background chords. If I focus on one song for the challenge, I know I can do it.
I love Wayfering Stranger! I’ve never attempted to sing and play background chords, would love to hear it!
Hello, I’ll try to play John Ryan Polka with more confidence, good sound and rapidity. I learn also the begining of the Canon of Pachelbel, scales and rythm.
I’m french speaking. I play since one year, +/- 1hour /pro week.
I’m still in module 1.1, completing the string crossing exercises. I’ve told my wife, and plan to keep at it to be able to play with my bluegrass band someday!
I’m working on scales, double stops, exercise to build up to (hopefully) vibrato (someday), really into Klezmer lately and playing Hava Nagila and starting Berdichiever Khosid.
I’ve only been playing since January but practice and hour or two a day.
I love it so much.
I really like Klezmer too and love both of those songs.
I love Hava Naglia. It is so much fun.
Day two and I’m motivated and excited. I plan to work on double stops, improving my tone and honing a few select tunes. I’ve been playing a lot of songs from The Waltz Book by Bill Matthieson (highly recommend – there are several volumes and with wonderful, varied collections of waltzes) and plan to focus on a few of those.
Love this site and Jason’s approach, tips and inspiration. Thank you, Jason!
Working on some blues and double stops! And the never ending quest to get that 4 th finger sound clear!
Hi Jason,
I missed the first day of practice but I will add an extra day to the end.
– I’m a renewed newbie
– I going to work on scales, simple exercises, bowing and chords.
– I’d like to be able to play Marie’s Wedding and The Road to Lisdonvarna at the end of two weeks as a newbie. And hopefully continue practicing so that after 3months I’ll be able to do those songs some justice.
– I’m telling you folks in this group about my intention to: Practice for 15 to 30 minutes everyday.
I wish everyone good luck and happy fiddling ☺️🎻
I am working on a few songs that I really love and hope to be able to play with beautiful intonation and flow eventually: Ashokan Farewell, Danny Boy and Lovers Waltz. I told my family about this practice commitment of 30 minutes a day so they will keep me honest. I did a video but am too ashamed to post it. I saw the day 1 posted above and it was just beautiful! Maybe later I’ll be able to do one without swearing, lol! Thanks so much for keeping us motivated, you are the best!
I am working on Billy in the Lowground, which is a challenge since it’s in the key of C. I’m standing up as much as possible while I play, just to be different. I plan to practice at least 15 minutes every day during the FPC. Thanks for motivating me, Jason!
Oh yeah! Billy in the Lowground” is awesome! Have fun with it!
Hi! My goal is to practice for 30 minutes per day. Ten minutes will be to work on a new song, ten minutes will be dedicated to technique (such as chords and scales), and ten minutes will be spent playing songs I know and just having fun. I’m shy, but do hope to post something online. I’ve enjoyed viewing videos from those of you who have posted already. I found Fiddlehed from watching videos at lunch. I struggle with chords and found Jason’s 4 videos on chording very helpful.
Only got in an hour, 45 min. practice yesterday. 2 hours is my usual goal, will do it today. Same sched., long bowing, intonation (I slide up from flat, eyes closed) then look at my tuner to see how close I came, now pretty close ! Scales, including F now. Decided to learn Waltzing Matilda, it looks fairly simple. My scheme for learning new tunes is; I must know what it sounds like beforehand, and I must like the tune. Near term goal is to work on playing various note values using the metronome. I have trouble coordinating bow movement/sustain with metronome, compared to doing it on the banjo where it is easier to coordinate with foot tapping, my usual technique.
I am working on slurs,rythms,timeing and scales And adding bow technique broken down into a 30 to 45 minute time period
My goal with this challenge is to practice 20-30 minutes a day, working more on scales and bowing techniques, and focusing more on memorizing tunes. I told my husband that I am doing this, so hopefully, that makes me stick to it:)
I have been playing for 9 months. I am trying to practice for 20 mins per day. Hoping to improve my tone, which is inconsistent at the moment, by playing tunes. Working on the Cradle Song by Calum Scott Skinner and trying the harmony line for this. Have found trying to loop short sections very useful. I know this will take time.
I haven’t played regularly for the past two years and so my first focus for the FPC is to practice for 20 minutes every day. I know if I tune the fiddle and play for at least 20 minutes, I’ll likely play for longer. For a few days I’ll work on scales (I especially love the pentatonic scales you’ve taught), then I’ll add in an Irish tune to work on as well.
My goal is to practice 20 minutes every day. I am focusing on just working through the D scale and G scale with good sound. I keep thinking if I can enjoy the path and focus on my sound that I will play notes ten thousand times and start to sound good without so much effort!
I am just a beginner, on Mod. 1.6, and I like discipline and order so this challenge will help me, I hope. I am having difficulties playing the “Bile em Cabbage Down” fast enough. I am hoping to get this on down! I am also trying to make my bowing more precise – I tend to hit other strings, particularly when I cross strings. I am totally enjoying learning to play!!!
Hello. As a 2 year now beginner I will hopefully moving forward to the next stage by focusing more on technique.
I am also working on If I Ever Leave this World Alive by Flogging Molly in the hopes of performing with my friends. I have started recording myself and hope to submit a video of my progress🥴
Sandy
I signed up for the practice challenge to improve my sound. I have been playing scales and arpeggios. I want to eventually be able to shift from 1st to 3rd position and play a 3 octave scales. I enjoy playing and watching your lesson videos. Thanks!
Hi, I am working on low first and second finger, tone quality and getting that chromatic scale down and adding another song to my list. I am dedicating 30 minutes a day to these particular goals .
Hi everyone! I am signing on more to force myself to be social about my (attempts at) playing.
I will practice between 30 and 60 minutes each day. (sometimes it will be in bits).
And my list of what to primarily focus on is way too long to call it primary- . So I’m not going to mention playing in tune or string crossings or trying to start vibrato etc. etc.
Instead, I’m going to take a song I’ve wanted to learn and focus on that. It is Out on the Ocean. I’m an ocean swimmer (just did a 10k last week) and want to play everything with Ocean or water in the title LOL! I’m more a beginner than and intermediate but I’m going to give it a shot.
Working on my pitch and finger positions. With drones, and scales…wooot woooooot
Great fun everyone ! Personally I’m going back to the basics – bow hold, volume control, speed control, technical stuff that is not much fun but I know will help me in the long run. (also – Cherokee Shuffle, June Apple, and Top of Cork Road cause Fiddlin’ is FUN above all !!)
My goal is to get in 30-45 minutes a day, and to make sure I am breaking down the songs I practice into smaller pieces. I tend to just play them straight through every time, which means I don’t really work on the tricky bits or on sound quality for specific notes.
One of my goals is to improve my playing on Ashokan Farewell, one of the tunes I’m currently learning. Here’s my day 1 video; trying to be brave by posting here! 🙂 I’m working on intonation, flow, and trying to use more of the bow. It was helpful for me to see this video because I can see here that I am only using a teeny tiny bit of the bow closer to the frog. Also I feel like my string crossings are way clunky, so I’m trying to work on smoothing that out. Obviously I need a lot of work on intonation as well. I have been playing since late August 2020 and I absolutely love the Fiddlehed site and YouTube channel!
Great start to “Ashokan Farewell”! Thanks for posting video.
Thanks for posting @rebeccahungrytown-net !
The video will show up on THIS PAGE if you copy the embed link from Youtube.
Here’s a tutorial on FiddleHed: https://wp.me/P8OLq8-boB
Ah, got it now; thanks so much!
Great! Thanks for sharing your practice! 🙂
Thank you Agnese!
That’s 20 minutes a day!
I’m planning to practice at least 20 minutes. It’s not much but way better than nothing! I’m working on the Swallowtail Gig, which I love. I’ve told my husband, and a flute-playing friend. I videoed the tune yesterday and will do it again in a week or so.
Ha! I love the sandwich video!
I’ve played for 1 1/2 yrs now off and on. These past few months have been tough getting any motivation. But I like this challenge because I think it will give me a boost again. I love the violin but sometimes more on the box than playing. I’ve trying to practice 30mins a day and working on a small but loaded piece from the essentials for strings book. Thank you so much for doing the awesome kick start challenge. 🙂
I have a new to me fiddle. I’m learning it. It feels very different from my rental one. I am working on getting a good sound on all the strings. I’m practicing intervals scales in G and C. I am also memorizing Angelina the Baker (the one fiddle tune my jam group plays that I have somewhat learned). I intend to practice twice daily for 20 minutes. I’m telling you and I’m sharing with a young fiddler in Indiana via Facebook.
Mary Reid
I liked this the last time. I was practicing anyway, but it made me focus better.
I particularly like your phrase- “if you play every day, then you are a musician.”
Everybody wants to be in that club.
No assertions are made regarding the quality of the musician, but we’re getting to that, day by day.
The sense of a community of dedicated players, studying in parallel, is encouraging in this strange time.
Setting my goal at 15 minutes a day. Yesterday was scale warmups, then Swallowtail Jig and Arran Boat Song.Today was scale warmups, then Swallowtail Jig, then playing descending G scale along with Friend of the Devil 😀
Nice @tanru. Love the stormtrooper avatar 👍
This is my practice video for yesterday. I studied the first part, today I am going to study the other. Have a nice practice day 🙂
DAY 1:
Very nice! Wonderful tone and timing. I love “Ashokan Farewell”. This song is on my todo list. Thanks for posting video.
Thanks! It is to improve, my goal for these days 🙂
Thanks for posting! The video will show up on THIS PAGE if you copy the embed link from Youtube.
Here’s a tutorial on FiddleHed: https://wp.me/P8OLq8-boB
And nice playing 👍
Thanks 🙂
I’also working on this beautiful tune as a very new fiddler. You sound wonderful
Thanks We can try to play together at the end of the practice 🙂
Very good timing and I like that you used some vibrato technique. Keep up your excellent playing. Very encouraging!
I always try to use vibrato, sometimes it goes out in some way 🙂
I am working through some of Jason’s intermediate and “Adding Variation” videos again.
Hi all, I’ve been playing for 2 yrs. I haven’t played much due to injuring my arm. I have been working on building strength in my arm and it’s getting better. So with that being said I will start off with practicing for 30minutes. Work on being more relaxed while playing. Practice my scales. Learn 1 song tll it’s embedded in my head (I have a hard time memorizing)
hope the arm keeps improving. is it your bowing arm?
I am again playing blindfolded to work on my finger placement and bowing.
Hello. Interesting practice thoughts. Does that help with training the ear? –Henry
Hi everyone, I’m a day late but excited to join! Practicing at least 20 minutes a day, I want to improve tone, tuning, and string crossing. I also want to just find some good consistent ways of practicing, as I have a tendency to just play a tune through and not really *practice* it to improve. Another goal is to make some fiddle friends!
I start with scale warm up, then variations on scale rhythm for about ten minutes. Next I’m trying to do double stop scales -very challenging. Also playing over chord progressions and drones. I’ve told my wife. Don’t see much of anyone else currently.
Thanks for this Jason.
I will mainly be practicing G major D major and D pentatonic scales.
Tunes little liza jane, Danny boy, ode to joy and Maggie in the woods.
Paying attention to being relaxed and making as good a sound as possible with accurate left hand finger positioning. Most importantly enjoying the time.
Only you and my wife know about the challenge.
I will practice about one and a half hours each day in 15 to 20 minute chunks.
Good luck to everyone one x
What song is “Maggie in the Woods”? Is it the same as “Drowsy Maggie”? I’d like to hear it if you get a chance to do a video.
Thanks to everyone who commented, it’s so nice to have a little community like this! My practice video for today is here:
That’s for sharing your video. I love that tune. Keep up the great work.
WOW ! That was just great !! Thanks for sharing – that took a lot of courage, but honestly helped me so much to watch and listen to your work. I love the tune. I did have to look up what “fortnight” means but now I know haha ! Thanks again !
Thanks for posting! What’s the tune called again?
The video will show up on THIS PAGE if you copy the embed link from Youtube.
Here’s a tutorial on FiddleHed: https://wp.me/P8OLq8-boB
Thanks so much for sharing. 👏👏👏
You are an excellent fiddler. You sound quite good. I do not hear the squeaks you speak of. Your rolls are super excellent. Very authentic. I want to do rolls like that.
A thought might be that you are not getting an even pressure on the string from your bow. Doing long slow bow strokes keeping the tone even from tip to frog And watching to see that the bow is relatively straight might help.
Good insight, thank you!
Tune is ‘Clark’s Cases’
Lovely tune. Sounds fun to play.
Julia, you had my feet tapping; pretty much in time, too. Thanks.
Good morning, 72 yo new fiddle player here in the UK. Started playing five months ago as a pandemic lockdown project. I already play the banjo and mandolin so had a fund of tunes to go at, but using a bow is something else!
I intend to practice for at least 30 mins every day, concentrating on my intonation and bowing technique, in particular double stops and learn at least one old timey tune a week.
Thanks Jason for your all your work and enthusiasm,
Hardest part – Not getting tight/tired muscles in my neck or behind my right shoulder blade!
Question, when playing 1/4 and 1/8 notes, doe sit help tone to travel across the same length of bow, only faster, or use less bow, or does that depend on the quality of sound/piece you are playing?
Such fun, THANK YOU!
I will study and practice Ashokan farewell and try to improve a part of ” Firth of fitfh “.
Greetings! Loving this course! Finally feeling like a have a path rather than loving on my instrument only to get quickly stumped as for what to do next!
Alas, I’m struggling with plucking the Kerry Polka Duet as I think the recording plays a an extra G on the 2nd and 4th line in several of the rounds, yes?
Ahh, is that just the second part that begins the “duet” section of the song, then? Please help clarify for this beginner mind. : )
Since the early days of the pandemic, I’ve been meeting with a couple friends twice a week and we jam under a bridge next to a creek where we can distance from one another, be outside, and take advantage of the good acoustics. We’ve been concentrating on several fiddle tunes, so this week I’m practicing Soldiers Joy – trying the be more precise, adding variations, and trying to increase the tempo.
Day 2. During the challenge I hope to: 1) develop a more disciplined approach to practicing, which will include keeping a record of what I have done and intend to do. 2) Work on playing scales in different ways so I enjoy them and learn the names of different scales. 3) Learn two new songs and polish old favourites. To do all this I need to break my nervousness about videoing/recording myself so will also attempt that. I hope to practice a minimum of 30 minutes a day but hope to do two lot of 30 minute practice one in the morning and one in the evening.
Well I do practice every day but I am going to try and be more disciplined and work on good sound and better string crossing. I tend to just play tune after tune and speed through tough bits.
FiddleHed Gayle here from Central Oregon. Pledged to 30 minutes a day, learning a new tune each week (just started on the bonus Irish tune, Over the Ocean, from module 2.3) as well as cleaning up my bowing techniques and working on double stops, and told my husband, my 98-year-old mom (who always got me to practice my accordion lessons as a kid), and now you guys. Happy to be part of this enthusiastic group!
Ok, here we go. Every day for 2 weeks. That alone is a challenge since I have to stuff my fiddle into a 737 cockpit as rip around the country. But I’m looking forward to it. I think i will try to revisit the tunes I once knew and have lost.
This is perfect timing for me because I am meeting my Dad and his jamming group in December and I want to play with joy not fear. Practicing will help me be ready!
So i’m going to be camping in the desert over the weekend and its not practical to take my fiddle with me… but figure it will still help me be consistent the rest of the days!
This challenge came at the perfect time for me! I was playing regularly for several months and then life got in the way. We are preparing to move, so are packing, showing the house and also house-hunting, Between that stress and the news, I realized I have not been taking good enough care of myself and have been feeling on edge. Playing my fiddle is part of my self-care, and I am ready to get back to it!
This scale has quickly become my favorite. It’s so fun to play and watch my fingers more across that neck in ways I haven’t seen them do before. It forces me to slide down, which is still awkward for me, but… I am working on it! Being able to play this actually gave me the confidence to try that Peacock Rag you posted. I found I can play the first two bars. It’s so intimidating, but breaking things down really helps. I know I’ll be here for quite a while. 🙂
This lesson was huge for me Jason. When I realized as you were playing that I can already break it up and play those notes cleanly on separate strings, it allowed me to focus and see exactly where the problem was.
I did have to start on the rabbit hole with my hand on the fiddle and not on the neck and make sure I could hit those two strings together from any angle no matter what I was playing. Once I had that down, figuring out the problem with my fingering was easy after you broke it down. These micro lessons are bomb…and this particular one gave me great strides.
I am going to be playing scales and first position fingerings blindfolded for 14 days for the challenge. I’ve herd that’s a great way to master intonation. I agree, but I’ve never tried it. I figured it’s a perfect challenge for this.
That’s a great idea! I may give that a try!
It’s not as hard as I thought it would be. I’ve also discovered that I need to work on my Bowing. 😖 It’s impressive how much sound you pick up when you can’t see and only listen👂
I am looking forward to finishing up Module 1.5 and starting the next. Also, anxiously waiting to pick up my new “old” fiddle from a luthier who is getting it set up for me. I have been borrowing one from a dear friend. Thanks for holding the FPC! Great idea!
I practice every day anyway but I’ll do the challenge anytime. I am still a beginner. I would also like to join an on line practice group. I am in Mooresville, NC. If anyone is near me I would love to meet and get together for live practice. My name is Doug
I am in! thanks everyone glad to see so many people trying to learn an instrument, inspirational!
Okay, I’m in. I truly hope I can stick with it without “life” hindering me. My goal: consistency in timing. I find that I’m good for a couple of measures, and then I just fall all over the place.
Good luck everyone!
My first YouTube video! Looking forward to the fall challenge! I retired this year and my goal was to fiddle more! Jason is an amazing instructor!
Oops! Forgot to mention what I’m working on the next two weeks. I’m a new student to Fiddlehed (I took lessons years ago back in the 80’s but haven’t done much with it since then, now that I’m retired I’m ready to fiddle!! My main focus, besides becoming a better fiddler, is old time hymns and my goal is to play in a gospel band) Jason has soooo many lessons, it’s hard to choose. I need to learn scales, so I decided to stick with the Key of D. I need to focus on playing in tune, so I started today looking at his “Playing in Tune” video. I will be practicing with drones and using a tuner I downloaded on my phone. I will practice tunes that are in the Key of D, like Arkansas Traveler, Bile-em-Cabbage Down and Ashokan Farewell. Got any other tunes in mind for key of D? Please let me know in comments below!
Thanks for posting @jillo529 !
The video will show up on THIS PAGE if you copy the embed link from Youtube.
Here’s a tutorial on FiddleHed: https://wp.me/P8OLq8-boB
Very nice!! I like the little flourishes!
I went out and bought a small sound system to help with practice today – I think it will help to learn how to play into a microphone, and it will also help with making my back-up tracks loud enough to use effectively. A new direction seems to motivate me more. Thanks, Jason!
I will be experimenting with my Electric Violin, Effects and Looper. Goal is to practice 4 Tunes for a New Set List!.
Focusing on technique, intonation, some improvisational variations. Basically trying to incorporate things learned to this point.
Will be using pentatonics, modes, arpeggios, some slides, embellishments, 4th finger use and positions. Here are “The Tunes”.
1. Have a Cigar – Pink Floyd / To play over a backtrack with some FX
2. In the Light (Intro) – Led Zeppelin / To play over a Cello Drone in A with Delay+Reverb
3. Innisheer / Play Acoustic Fiddle over my own Acoustic Guitar Backtrack.
4. Ashoken Farewell / Play on Acoustic Fiddle
After a little over 3 months my cat doesn’t (always) leave the room when I practice. Practicing 2-3 hours a day, now working on clean string crossing, scales, long smooth bowing with metronome and 3 tunes; This Land is Your Land, I’ll Fly Away, Keep On The Sunny Side, and just started on Blackberry Blossom as a 4th finger exercise. Have worked through the beginner exercises and concentrate on the ones that need work. Slurs come easy, clean string crossing not so much. Just recorded the above 3 tunes and will see how much improvement after the Challenge.
In the last minute -i’m also inn!
I just bought an electric violin, and boy is it different than my acoustic… feel like I’m starting all over again.. but i have made a commitment to my band to learn 4 new songs with it, so, i am accepting this practice challenge to keep me on track
First day. I was more disciplined in my practice and spent quite a bit of time on scales and my sound. Then played some tunes I like. I realise I tend to the slower tunes so need to add faster ones to my repertoire !
Just what I needed…a practice challenge. I put my instrument down in April due to lack of fun in person jam sessions. I went camping this past weekend with my bluegrass buddies, fiddled lots and swore when I got back yesterday that I would start playing daily even if it was only for a few minutes and this morning I received the challenge email. PERFECT TIMING! Thanks for motivating us!
I’m all in. I’m working on the chromatic scale, cleaner more natural sounding doublestops, but mostly, just picking up that fiddle and making sure I play every day. Good luck everybody. Let’s stay Motivated, Dedicated, and All Fired Up.
After a long time of jumping around and only using the site as it would let me Jason told me how to start from the beginning and that’s what I’m doing half of the time it would not let me on as a member and the other half I didn’t know how to navigate / I will learn to play more scales With some flow and try to learn the second half of the Tennessee waltz with correct intonation
I signed up! Going to also use your evernote method to track my progress!
Nice @sarahnatsumi. Let me know how it works for you. I’m constantly fidlding with how I take notes on practice…so you might discover something cool to share…
I made my first video:
Hi
Julia, impressed with your video. Do you use a camera to make videos? I think it woukd help my practice to video myself (even if the thought makes me cringe a bit!😱)
Love the video. Love that song you’re playing! I need to do this tomorrow. I hope to see more of your videos!
Thanks – I actually used an old iMac for this. I am surprised by how helpful it is to just watch yourself and notice, being your own teacher as Jason says. I always try to be too ambitious and overlook the details.
Thanks Felicity – I used an old iMac for the video but you can use a smartphone or a camera. The nice thing about the iMac is you can play it back easily.
Thanks Julia. Might try my iPhone. Enjoyed your video. It’s made me be bolder about recording myself. I look forward to seeing your next video!
Love your tunes! Thanks for the video post. I only know “Irish Washerwoman” and “ Flowers of Edinburgh”. I’d love to learn “King of Fairies” and “Clark’s Case” eventually.
That is awesome
I enjoyed your video very much. Very encouraging. I’m a 66 year old grandma living in Maryland. You have a lot of courage to post your video as I won’t even let my husband listen to me yet. Playing through FiddleHed for a little over a year. Its been such a blessing to have this learning experience during this dreadful pandemic. Thank you. (Susan)
I know what you mean. For ages I practiced with my windows closed so I wouldn’t upset my neighbours!😆😆
I enjoyed that! Thanks for posting .
Nice work, thanks for sharing!
So sad that I’m away from the fiddle until Thursday, so can’t join in. Make music people … I’m with you in spirit.
Mike (aka Frank’s Fiddle)
Join late! We know you are out there Mike!
I forgot to post that I started learning how to play a fiddle when I retired at 68 and now it’s ten years later and I’m starting again. I joined a strings group in my church and I’m loving it….. Here we go…..
I don’t know if I should reply, but I am. I took up the fiddle when I retired also, that was 6 years ago and I am still at it. Nice to see someone my age here (73) Pam
Super. It’s fun learning new things in these late years. Keeps our minds sharp. Thanks for the reply…..
Hi, Pam:
I always loved banjo and played it a bit off and on. Same as you, retirement gave me the opportunity to pursue music so I started fiddle 18 months ago and I love it! Never too late to follow your passions. Last year here I met a 2 fellow fiddlers and we get together on Zoom almost weekly. You might want to consider that for support and fun.
best of luck,
Kay
That sounds like a great idea!!!
Penny
I’m looking forward to the practice every day time because I’ve slacked off completely. I took lessons for a couple of years but played cajun songs that I didn’t know, thus it made it hard for me to practice and learn. Now, I’ll learn English songs that I know how to sing and that will make the learning much easier. Thanks for the help and encouragement.
Hi! can you suggest me an easy piece to start my practice?
I started my 3rd year of violin in July. Recently my inner critic has made me wonder if I will get this. I recorded myself with video and saw my arm ,wrist and fingers looked stiff. So I went back to recording some back to basics of open string bowing. And tried to watch form and flexibility. I hope this works!
Thanks for the great suggestions and pointers.
My first step is to get the poor old fiddle out of its case and see if I can remember any tunes from those I gave up on rather a long time ago. Then see if I can track down the most recent tune I thought (about nine months ago) it would be fun to learn, and spend a fortnight learning and practising it. I need technique but I’m going to incorporate it into the tune practise by repeating little segments in different ways.
Fell off the fiddle wagon with massive face mask-making and too many Zooms. Hopping back on with “Pretty girl milking her cow” and focusing esp. on intonation and 3/4 time bowing.
time to get practising again. been a bit lax lately working 6 days a week and with other things. will need to start with bowing practice and string crossings
Working on “Tennessee Wagoner” has a double shuffle part. Also 2 Appalachian songs “Home With the Girls in the Morning” and “Lonesome John” strung together. Quite a few slides, double stops, and slurs. Will be a lot of fun!
I’m looking forward to participating, and have decided to simplify my goals. I will practice Jason’s Tuning Exercises (found in the Library, Call and Response Central) on a couple of strings every single day. I will practice at least one and a half hour per day. Plus, I will get back on track with keeping logs in the practice journal— I let the journal slip when time got scarce, even though I continued to play everyday. I’ve worked hard on intonation and it’s there 99% of the time. However, when I work on the Tuning Exercises (usually twice a week), the following day I find that every single pitch is effortlessly precise. Can’t wait to hear the results after two weeks of intensive training!
Pretty sure I already set too many goals for myself for these two weeks, but here they are:
Ashokan Farewell: work on intonation and flow. Video to see where I need to improve.
Arran Boat Song: Continue to work on intonation and flow. Video to see where I need to improve
I’ll Fly Away: Work on adding variation and smoothing it out. I always feel so clunky when I try to add rhythmic variation!
Falling Star (a song I wrote). Work on playing the long notes during verses while singing, also practice lead. Video to make sure it’s in tune, ha ha!
Hi Rebecca, i was looking for a piece to practice and searching among the comments I choose ashokan farewell 🙂 Thanks for the advise!
It’s such a beautiful piece! I hope to be able to play it properly someday. 🙂
Who else is working in Jerusalem Ridge? I got most of the first couple of parts but have been resisting (been lazy) with moving forward with the rest. And always working on Orange Blossom Special (over a year now). Two challenging songs I know but helps with a lot of skills.
I’ve been working on Jerusalem Ridge too. I can play with the practice track just fine, all the way to the end. I sure can’t get that rhythm though. Something is just missing and I can’t figure it out.
You’re working on the OBS? I dare to dream. 😀
OBS is one of those songs that takes a long time to sound good. I “know how” to play it, which is a bit different than playing it well. Has helped to improve my double stops.
Jerusalem Ridge is taking a bit more patience than I expected. With all the different parts it’s like learning about 5 or 6 different songs all at once.
LOVE Jerusalem Ridge. I’ve got a simplified version in a Fake Fiddler’s book. OBS? Only in my dreams lol
yes i’m in. looking forward to it.
I’ve only been playing for a few months, so this sounds scary but with encouragement from my husband I signed up! I think I did it correctly, I entered my email and name and hit subscribe. It that it?
I think the 20 minutes might be good! I tend to practice too long! And then my shoulders hurt. But I don’t want to put it down haha. Discipline !
I hope this helps me get on a consistent path to reaching small and eventually larger goals. I get frustrated easily. I’ll try to stay motivated.
I totally understand. You got this! Two days worth so far. All good?
i need more structure to my practice as I’ve been too easygoing with it. Although i play just for pleasure, i think if i don’t feel as though I’m progressing my efforts will tail off so I’m keen to try this. Let’s go!
Thank you for organizing this Jason.
I have many challenges on the go, workout 5am, knit 8pm, read 10pm, fiddle 6h30pm! I got this!
Goal is to warm up with scales and a couple of tunes, learn a new tune on the Monday and practise until Sunday. I should have two new tunes learned by the end of the challenge!
Kimberley
Hey Kimberly! Same here! I workout with weights when I get up at 1 and work 16 to 18 hours outdoors. We can do this!
My goals are to get better at the D scale, complete 3 more lessons and play Swallowtail Jig all the way through. 🎻😎😁
Wow!! 16 to 18 hours! How do you have time to fiddle?
I’m doing a 90 day challenge workout program.
I am working on Smash the Windows. I would like to play it with more rhythm and improve my bowing.
I am learning The Tennessee Waltz and would like to play it with a few grace and ornamental notes by Saturday.
My practices are 45min to an hour.
Good luck with Swallowtail Jig! It’s on my list to learn.
I want to learn how to post a video I love The Tennessee Waltz / mine needs some help I would love to hear your TW
Work and health issues have kept me from practicing daily, but I’m set to use the Fall Challenge to get back on track!
Nice @moonshadows, good to have you on board. Do what you can…
Yes! All signed up for the practice challenge and I’m looking forward to it!
I’m in! Excited for this and to participate with my fellow Fiddleheds. My goals: improve my intonation to the point where my cat doesn’t leave the room when I practice. 🤣
That’s funny! I had a dog that howled at me!
LOL!
LOL! Poor cat. So… goal reached? Maybe almost? Either way, I hope it was fun! 😀
This is awesome! Jason, love what you do and exited to be feeling like I’m not standing alone in a room driving the dogs insane with my fiddle…even though that is exactly what I do.
Another UK fiddler signed in! Looking forward to getting going – great start to retirement! 🙂
Whoa! Super cool!! Look at all these musicians signing up! Glad Jason started this so we can connect! I’m @mini_moose_ak on Instagram, which I recently joined, if anyone wants to follow me there.
👍🏽🎻 😎
Glad to have you @mini_moose
I am ready to give this a whirl and hello Jason and everyone else around let’s fiddle.
Hello to you too @jdmoody 🙂
Hey y’all, I just got my fiddle 3 days ago. Let’s do it 🎻
Good for you! Have fun…
I’m in! Looking forward to it!
Hi guys, iv been practicing 6 days a week for 5 months now and started to lose my way, so im hoping this will help focus me. I’m based in the UK
Awesome, glad you’re taking part.
It’s SO easy to do that. There is A TON of things to work on. Getting lost in all of it is a given. I have to remind myself this all the time. Sometimes I feel like I’m not getting better because I’m all over the place to much, so that’s when I step back and focus on one thing or one song for a few days.
Signed up and looking forward to it. Some unexpected life problems have stopped me practicing for the last two two weeks. This will kick start me into playing again.
Good to have you on board!
Hey Y’all…from Big Island of Hawaii… very cool Challenge! Love all your comments.
I’m fiddling on Pretty Little Dog, Ashokan Farewell, Ark Traveller with ultimate goal Amarillo By Morning…
all with the goal of relaxed fluency & tone….and slowing DOWN the practice!
Also been blessed to be working with bluegrass guitar for 4 yrs with Jack Tottle…the founder of the Bluegrass Program at EastTennStateU (so lucky to have him as our Big Island neighbor!
Let’s have a go at it !!!’nn
All In 🎻
I think I signed up correctly but let me know if I missed something
Right on, Misha! Let’s do this! 🎻🎶👊🏾😎
And i have a Son called Sammy…… alot of Supernatural connections here 😀
Say Hey, Jason
Almost time for me to sign up for my fourth year! I have been playing daily, 40min-1 1/2 hrs. or longer each day. The longer sessions are just because it’s fun. I am retired from the phone Co. now but still work part-time at the Y and I care for our 5 Acres which was once full of horses. I also try to keep my 71 yo body going by exercising and swimming at the Y. No more jamming at the local breweries presently. Besides doing FiddleHed Play-Alongs, I also play along with YouTube videos of other instruments playing fiddle songs, until jams re-open.
Sorry for the mini-bio! But the Simple to Complex is the theory which beckons FUN. I have learned finally a bit what you have taught all along; make it fun and then you won’t quit.
Battles with bad sound, poor bowing, arthritis in the fingers (wonder thumb helps), difficulty in audiating a tune……..whatever, Back to something simple and relax. It’s working. Thanks.
Owen O’Malley
The post onTTTF makes practice and what to practice make a little more since to me JDM
Ha!! The faucet concert was brilliant! This is exactly the thing I love to do❤️. Also! Klezmer is my favorite style! Yes to me my fiddle playing is a spiritual journey thank you so much for teaching us🙏🏽Blessings.
First time enjoying a play along track. I really liked the increasing speed!
This tune sounds like it might be one to practice slides with.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=11&v=0yG-p7yEBrk&feature=emb_logo
I have the standard notation for it and it doesn’t look too complicated.
Is measure two counted like this?
1e and,ah,two,e and 3,4
This is a great lesson. You make it so simple thanx.
GREAT lesson, lot’s of fun ! Thank you Jason this is super easy to follow and catch, could not be better !
Timing has been a tremendous challenge for me and since the loss of my weekly jams it’s really failed me. I went digging for help and, bless your heart, here are the play along tracks for my workouts. I can’t thank you enough. I’m doing them with double stops to enhance them, too. Is that what you call double dipping? These are my sit down breaks during my day.
I’ve thought about making my fiddle more accessible by leaving it out of the case. Are there any special instructions for the care of the fiddle this way? Should I still loosen the bow. Do I need to worry about the humidity or anything?
Troy
I’ve kept my fuddle on a stand and loosen the bow before hanging it up. I’ve been doing this for a year and have had no difficulty with humidity etc.
Wow…wow…wow… this is sooo much fun! I finally went to this duets lesson and have been having a great time. Cannot wait to play a duet with another person.
Thanks so much.
I just love this catchy tune. My 9-year-old was playing this on the piano and I wanted to play along with him. Of course, FiddleHed would have a tutorial on “Oh Susanna”! You seem to have every tune I have ever wanted to play. Thank you for making learning so easy and fun.
Hey @RiverLotus, glad you like this tune. It comes up over and over again throughout the course.
Hi Jason, does the variation that plays at the end of the playalong track come up in the course? I’d love to play it but I’m afraid my ear is not yet developed enough to learn from the audio!
@Tom points out:
In your sheet music on the lesson page for Pretty Little Dog, the key signature is blank, indicating a C major or A minor scale. In the video at around 3:25, you suggest warming up with an A Dorian scale and your fingering on the video is indeed A Dorian: A, B, C, D, E, F#, G, A. However, going by the key signature in the sheet music, we should be warming up with and playing A Minor; that is, using F instead of F#.
Since the song does not actually have any F or F# in it anywhere, perhaps it doesn’t matter in the song, but the scale on the sheet music does not match the scale you use for warmup in the video.
Please help calm my OCD with some clarification 🙂
Jason’s response:
Good point @Tom.
You are right. Technically speaking, the scale mode would be A Aeolian and have an F natural. For anyone else reading this, A Aeolian is based on C Major. Basically you play the notes of C major but start and end on A instead of C. This magically creates a minor mode.
For the purposes of warming up, you could use either the A Dorian or A Aeolian scale (as Tom points out). For this reason, I won’t re-make the video just yet 🙂
love this tune!;-)
Ditto to all of these comments. Somedays I wonder what I’m doing and others it’s pure joy. Thanks for the encouragement.
Mary
How much for monthly membership?
I thought i had signed up for free lessons for 1 week and you were going to ask me questions and determine where i should start. I have not seen free download for free book and questions. Did I do something wrong? Looked for a way to email you, don’t know how to communicate with you. How much is it to subscribe for lessons?
I tried both the Wonder Thumb and the Bow Right. I didn’t care for either of them, and didn’t find them that helpful. I also tried the Bonmusica Shoulder Rest, but it wasn’t for me. I am now using the Mach One Shoulder Rest (Model M07) and really like it. I also bought a Wonder Bow which I really like. It is like bowing with a feather it is so light.
This is such a great question! I will practice this– and you even chose the D string as an example. My fingering on D 1, 2, and 3 CONSISTENTLY sound awful. Here’s another question: when do you know you need new strings?
-Sandra from Hawaii
Hi Sandra,
Isolate D1, D2, D3 fingerings. See if you can make each one sound better on its own, then in simple combinations.
At a certain point the strings will be dull and not as loud. You may also notice rosin buildup and skipping from that. If you’re in doubt, just get some new strings: Helicore or Dominants are reliable.
Great lesson! Just what I needed to hear right now. Why rush? Enjoy the challenge and improve. Metronome is the foundation to build on. Great idea!!
Thank you Obi-Wan Jason!
Brett
You’re welcome Brett. It’s a lesson I’m still learning in various aspects of life.
The recap is wonderful! Not only can I review the answer and suggestions you gave for my question but also get to benefit from everyone else’s questions too! Thanks Jason and all! What great team work.
I may never truly master any of these but I’m trying things I didn’t believe I would ever even come close to attempting and having a great time doing it. Thanks Jason!
Oh, man! How cool is this! Thanks for posting the recap, Jason. I can’t make the next session, but I sure appreciate all this super cool information and the great questions my fellow FiddleHed students asked! 😊
Jason would be great at reading children’s books! I can just hear him reading, “Green Eggs and Ham” already! 😂
Ha! Well, I did make a children’s album a few years ago…
https://soundcloud.com/jkleinberg/01-apple
So bummed I missed this. Silly job. Thanks for continuing to support our journey!
The hardest part so far is holding the bow correctly and making a consistent sound.(either loud or soft.)
I am loving this! Just signed up today. However when exploring, When I try to use the workbook I get a message that I don’t have an account?
Intermediate question
When I’m playing double stops, and I’m new to it, and I bow Either GD or DA strings, it always seems like the D string is louder. Is this normal or just an unbalanced bow?
Hello Jason, My question is not in playing so much as it is posture. I seem to raise my shoulders, especially the right one, as I progress through my practice. It gets very tense and sore. My string crossings then get sloppy. I am continuously monitoring and relaxing my shoulder now-and wonder if there are tricks and tips to learn. I prefer sitting to play ( arthritic senior issues, haha).
Sarah from the burgh
I plan to join in but I won’t be able to stay the whole time because I Will have to pick up kids from School. I don’t really have a specific question either but will just enjoy listening in.
Krista from Georgia
What do you use for the drones in the practice library? Is it an app, software program or an actual device or machine?
I’ve been trying to find a good drone app but none are as good as yours and simple drones and easy to use.
Will try to zoom in if all goes well.
Thanks for your question 🙏
My question (Cindi from Blacksburg) I am working on playing double stops and find I can play open D open G together fairly easily and play up the scale on the D string while doing double stops on D and G but when I try to go up the scale on the G string while playing double stops it I cannot make a clear sound on open D. The same applies to doing double stops on A and D and on E and A. Do you have any recommendations as to how to correct this? I feel like I can’t arch my fingers high enough over the upper string so it lays on the upper string and just makes a scratchy sound .
Finally a way to not hate scales! 😁
Here’s my question: What are you covering in the beginner and intermediate group lessons? What were the sessions like… playing together, or a lesson format? Thanks, Carolyn from USA
By the way, I love everything about FiddleHed and the way you teach! I’m making steady and rapid progress by following what you say religiously. Thank you for your monumental efforts!
I’ll be there !! I don’t have a question but I always learn something new and helpful.
I’m going to do my best to join this.
I’m in.
Wow….I’ve just starting to be able to figure and read rhythms, and this lesson was SSOOO HELPFULL..because the notes written and the sound make visual and audible sense… I first listened, then plucked, and then bowed the written exercises—but on the A or E string so that I could also hear your notation at the same time. I also enjoy the call and response exercises.
Thank you for this (and all) of your lessons. You are terrific, Jason !!!!!
I will be there. Looking forward to it.
I will be there 🙂 Here is my question (Tara from North Carolina): Sometimes I need to use a mute when I practice. I’m wondering if the mute “interferes” with double stops in any way? Since there’s such a small margin trying to hit the exact bow angle for a DS, do you think the mute might slightly adjust the height of the string, so hitting the proper angle with a mute is different than hitting it without?
I’m REALLY pleased with these recent lessons you have done. It’s things I’ve been digging through books and other videos looking for and you are making it so easy and helpful. It’s taking some of the sting out of loosing my jam group to COVID lockdown. I have never stopped playing but this is putting some fun and adventure into it again. Thank you! My next want is to catch one of your group lessons.
I plan to be there! I don’t have a question at the moment but will add a comment if one comes up.
Thanks so much, Jason for this AWESOME lesson. It opens a whole new world. I have been playing trying various slides and sounds for 5 minutes with my violin combining slides and grace notes, amazing things coming out of the violin, totally destructured but very cool.
Learning dynamic alive creative fiddling is definitely the way to go!
Indian (Carnatic) violinists are always sliding notes and sounds as if there was a different philosophy of sound behind it, opening a whole new world of violin. Nothing seems to be as stable as our relatively fixed notes. If you find info or explanation on that I would be glad to hear it from you. A future post on how to sound Indian or transform a well-known melody the Indian way by sliding or else could be cool as apparently you have been going to learn violin in India lately?
Hi Folks,
I just corrected the zoom invitation. It was mistakenly set for Tuesday though the session will happen Wednesday. If you added it to your calendar already, please change it. Thanks…jason
I intend to be there but at the moment the link to find my local number isn’t working. This:
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kefi9TSVfd
My ‘local number ‘ being for New Mexico, I assume ?
Hey @nick, Will you have internet access? Just use a laptop, phone or tablet to log in to the meeting. The number is used when you don’t have internet access.
Thanks, I have internet. Zoom is new to me.
I am hoping to attend though we are on a road trip right now and may be on a ferry when the office hours are on. So possibly no fiddle, but looking forward to Q and A
Follow up….Unfortunately, I will not have internet access for most of today so I will have to pass on this one. See you next time.
I’ll be there. Can’t wait.
Hey @abee, please leave your question in a comment.
It seems to me that you would be a very good person to have as a friend / I miss the kitty purrs / I won’t ever give up !!!!!!
There is enough good to love & it will get better
I downloaded Zoom and I am hoping I can find my way to this meeting
Blessings Ken Thiel
Hey @hogjaws, please leave your question in a comment.
Way cool! Thanks for the hand up 👍🏽
Great job guys !!!’n
I’m in
Bettina from San Francisco. Fiddling since lockdown in March. I don’t have any questions at this time; am looking forward to the lesson. Hope to have time to prepare, but efforts hampered by getting out of town to avoid heat and smoke. Note to self: put fiddle near your “Go Bag”!
Oh I’m looking forward to this. I don’t have any questions, but I am off to go learn that jig!
Same here
I’m looking forward to this lesson and meeting in a group again . I share some of the questions/difficulties already mentioned. My question at the moment is about knowing when to move on to new techniques eg double stops ,or adding variation etc – should I spend longer trying to play existing learnt tunes better before moving on? I’ve learnt 28 tunes and practice a lot of them at each daily( nearly daily) practice and try to get to practising them all over a couple of weeks . How much better should i try to get before moving on and what are the markers. Some days it seems to sound ok and can feel more fluid and other days it defintely doesn’t !
Thank you. Looking forward to it.
Dang! Wish I could take part but there is no cell coverage where we will be camping. I’ll be sure to pick up my fiddle and play the Kerfunken Jig that evening.
Hello all…..I love this tune. However, in the ‘Play Along Track-Full Tune’ — I cannot hear any of the notes “B” and above ( C#,D,E,F# ) in the” B Part “—especially when I am playing along. I’m not sure if it is drowned out by the drone and it’s instruments..or just not played loud enough. (Or maybe it’s me, haha.)
I do really like the”Sheet Music Video”, as it helps me see the timing with this tunes’ tricky notation. After a few loops, I could anticipate the rhythm more easily.
Thank you Jason, for all of your wonderful lessons.
Sincerely, Sarah B from the burgh.
Will you be teaching a tune by ear as part of the lesson?
😀oh my gosh! Feel like this is a special lesson for me! Thanks so much and this is FUN to study.
I’m not sure I’m skilled enough to be in intermediate. Can play those tunes ok but still having issues with my Bowing at times. Are there tips for keeping that bow in the right position on the strings?
One of my favorites to listen to. Thank you for sharing and I can not wait for all the lessons. I never thought I would be able to play it.
Is there a tune or technique we should have somewhat prepared for the lesson time?
For Sept 8, Jason had asked that we learn or review Kerfunken Jig.
https://fiddlehed.com/beginner/1-4-more-scales-more-tunes-more-fun-more-or-less/kerfunken-jig/
Hitting a wall trying to play pieces at full speed, even when i know them pretty well when slowed dow. How do i get through this?
There is a trick I was taught where you play the passage in the rhythm of short long, short long. The short note is at the speed you want to achieve. Then play it long short, long short. So In essence you have played each note at the speed you are trying to achieve.
Now play as written all up to speed.
Do this in small chunks, like 2 measures at a time.
I love that you started with plucking. Thats a nice easy starting point.
Amazing little 10 fiddle player! Thanks for sharing the video and your thoughts regarding frustrations and accepting limitations with regard to our playing progress. Your classes include so so many resources, touching on every element of learning to play this tricky instrument. I appreciate them so much, and they have helped me out immensely. When I find myself getting overly frustrated, I check right back into the very welcoming Fiddlehed!
Thanks for sharing Lauren and Jason. yay….there is hope for us all 🙂
Cheers,
linda
Just getting back to double stops. Thanks so much, Jason
linda
Oh my Good Lord this is cool. This is my favorite Christmas song. I’ve been working on double-stops hard. I can do simple slides, but nothing drastic or in a difficult spot of the tune for me. If I start working on this now….maybe? Maybe I could learn it by Christmas? 2021?
The more I hear this, the more I have to try. 🙂
Peggy, I’ve been reviewing and replaying the exercises and tunes in Module 1.3 today and during the past few days. No problem here, unless I’m seeing a cached page. I see the full module plus all of the Bonus tunes and exercises, etc., as always. I’m working from an i-Pad. Hope the helps with the diagnosis.
What happened to the rest of Module 1.3? It only goes through Little Liza Jane, and I know there’s lots more there! Help!!!!!
Peggy
Yes! I just feel bad that my husband has to hear the same phrases over and over! Such inspirational advice though because sometimes I think others make it look so easy😀
Wow, now I want an accordian! Love this!
Love the note game idea !
I find it soooooo helpful
I liked this concept. I especially enjoy the call and response exercises.
Great idea. Love the sample progress video. She made amazing progress in 2 years!
I recommend close ups of both hands from different angles to check hand position. This is one of the most inexpensive practice aid you can have.
Oh, this is great and fun! And Im one who has a difficult time having fun. Looking forward to the rest of the lessons. I will be working on this one. It is short and simple and will have it down pat when the next lesson comes out. Thanks jason for all you do!
I really enjoyed your fiddle with friends. This Covid thing has stopped the group jam and for quite some time I kept up my playing. Recently I’ve been heavy into home repairs which never would have interfered but somehow it has now. I feel like I’m loosing ground instead of gaining with my fiddling. A friends group would be great to keep things rolling. It’s a fantastic idea. Thanks to all of you for sharing.
Been busy with some distractions as well and tired from helping with grandchild but I feel so much better about my fiddling now than when the video was made LOL. It just takes time and friends who are learning are a big help for your Covid social life and music morale boost. I have used a FB group to learn a couple new tunes and model from as well. But, yes, I think it’s great to meet new fiddlers through Jason’s site. He has alot of material that keep us beginners busy! It was my gateway to a great fiddler friendship with folks across the country. One of the things I enjoy most is hearing different fiddles. I have only played one other than my own. Each seems to be unique.
Hey Jason,
I think I get it! As a kid I did this also; throwing balls high in the air till I learned how to catch them and hitting crab apples with a broomstick handle till my hand-eye coordination got better. I did it, however, for fun. I am learning, slowly to do the same with my fiddle journey. My body is much older than when I was swinging at crab apples; but fun is fun!
Owen
I’m Bettina Steffen, based in San Francisco, CA. I have been learning with FiddleHed since the March Shelter-in-Place, so approximately 5 months. I have played the piano and clarinet as a kid into my 20’s, but ALWAYS wanted to learn the fiddle. I want to develop my playing-by-ear skills, learn to harmonize, and be able to play along with other instruments.
Music has been one of our family’s saving graces during the pandemic.
I have to thank my teenage son, who 3 years ago inspired me to do this by picking up a guitar and learning at first by internet tutorials.
This is Patrice- and I’ve already said hi , but just adding a bit more detail- I’m English ( well half French, half English) , living in North of England- so it will be 7pm for me when we met up for this group lesson . I’ve been learning the fiddle for 8 months now and the last 2 of them with fiddlehed. I’ve been skipping the note reading as I only play by ear
Looking forward to meeting fellow students
Hey, someone else from the UK – hello! I’m down in the south though.
It was good to meet two other people from UK even if we come different parts!😆
Yay Lauren for putting yourself out there!! Inspiring : )
Hi Mary Reid,
You might be pressing too hard on the strings but that’s just a guess. You really don’t have to press hard to get the notes to ring. Slowly increase and decrease the pressure on a string while bowing or plucking it until the note rings clear. This helped me find the right amount of pressure needed in the beginning though I never got callouses.
Playing my acoustic guitar with .013 gauge strings makes callouses. 😉
Hope that helps,
Jim
Hello everyone,
I’m Mary and I’ve been playing the fiddle for about a year now. Have played piano and sung for as long as I can remember.
Just purchase my first fiddle (I’ve been renting one) and bow. I think the bow needs to be re-haired.
Anyone else have sore fingertips from playing? I have callouses but they still hurt.
Looking forward to the lesson tomorrow.
Mary
My first fiddle was a (very) homemade (1949) freebie. I put synthetic core strings on it and, as it had low action, it was very easy to note and prompted me to order a new fiddle outfit. I’ve played the banjo for 8 years but mostly with nylon strings so didn’t have much for calluses.
The new fiddle had extremely high action at the nut and scoop and came with steel strings. That hurt. I ordered a fiddle from someone who knew what they were doing when setting up a fiddle and the action was perfect and very easy to play. I modified the first fiddle to copy the second one and it worked out great.
I have steel strings (Prim mediums) on both fiddles and some calluses on my finger tips (mainly left index??) and no comfort problems. Concentrating on minimum finger pressures has helped a bit, too.
If I do ‘t practice every day my fingers feel it! Joined FiddleHed a year ago.
Actually posting that comment helped…I can now convert the tome difference…using the time on the comment😆
I’m looking forward to meeting other students.
Loving this tune and the various speeds we can choose to practice with it until we can get it right! Also love the variations we can view from others to get some ideas of where we are heading in the future.. much thanks for the great ways you break it down to learn easily and not get frustrated! Keep it up!
Super fun to see regular folks working through songs… thanks to Lauren for sharing!
Hi,
On the b-part second quarter, I think the tab is missing an A (A0)? As in: E0-1-0-A2-1-0-D2.
Thanks.
Agree! Fun tune though!
Thank you for pointing out tab error, John. I keep thinking I hadn’t been listening well. Practicing over and over. Then I read your note. 😉
Thanks to you both for bringing this up Iona,Brandon and John, it’s now been updated. Your help means alot 🙂
I’d love to, but I can’t at that time this week.
Carolyn
I am all in.
Hey everyone. This sounds like an exciting thing to try out. Thanks Jason!
Woo hoo!!
Yay. Sounds like you have a good group here…🙂
Yes I’m looking forward to trying this out and meeting you all
Yes, I’m looking forward to trying this out and meeting you all
That would be great. Looking forward to it!
This will be great. looking forward to tuesday.
Hello,
I’m going to try my best to cut out of work early to join this.
I need this. Haven’t played in front of anyone yet.
Mistakes,.. indeed.
Thanks!!
Ha! I’m so there! Just play in front of my dog and he likes it. Biased audience😬
Really looking forward to giving this a try!
Looking forward to Thursday’s group lesson. Thank you for the invite.
Correction.. Tuesday”s lesson. …oh boy. 🙂
That sounds great. Count me in for the trial run!
Making mistakes?
I’m in!
Right on! Looking forward to the lesson! Thank you for doing this!
Can’t get the A drone to download 🙁
HI ,
I’m just new at this. When I click on the link that says “ introduction to intervals” it tells me that the page doesn’t exist .
Hey Tania, your right! It was a broken link. Thanks for helping us be aware of this. The search engine at the top of the Fiddlehed page can be helpful to search the name of something that isn’t working. We should have it fixed now on this lesson, thanks to all of You. 🙂
This was a touching read, that applies to my writing as it no doubt will about fiddling (for which my bar is low, I have always been judged as not having a musical ear and I guess I’m at a stage in my life where I think, to hell with that).
I feel creative time is never totally linear. I can write more on some half hours than I do on other entire evenings and I think when it comes to picking up violin skills the same will apply. The thing is: when you don’t spend time trying, you never get better. And being inventive in making trying fun is important too.
The pandemic has stolen lots of fun out of this year and replaced it with worry for my family, so finding this site that allows me to practice something new has been important. Something to remember 2020 by.
Thanks for all the effort that you and your team put into it. It’s a truly inspirational discovery, FiddleHed.
I also, like bsteffen above, love the duets. So much better than just hearing my own beginner sounds. I also like that we’re learning often
heard patterns- that we can eventually incorporate. And it’s better than just playing the open strings in a plain way.
I’m using a mute on my fiddle so that I’m not too loud as I begin. Is that OK?
At 68, my fingers are not so nimble. And especially with this “shimmering” my arms tire. But I’m stoked, have some time to do this,
and am enjoying your teaching. Better than in person I think cos’ I can just rewind on those kind of days.
Thanks for this, especially giving people the opportunity to take the first lessons free in order to find if it’s a good fit.
This was great. Thank you for the helpful words! Now, off to my fiddle!
Wow Lauren! I can’t even imagine playing the OBS yet. It’s like when I was a little kid thinking, “One day, I will be able to drive a car,” but that just seems forevers away.
But maybe? Just maybe? With the way you teach Jason, I think it might can be done. I can play that piece there in the video…lol.
Twice.
I’m a little excited and still kinda daunted by it.
gets your brain humming!
Wonderful! Bravo Lauren !
For me, reading is the quickest way to learn new music. I like to sight read through the whole piece, but slowly. This helps me learn the tune (if I don’t know it) and also learn to play it at the same time. If I find any particular measures hard I isolate those and loop until they are smoother, then I go back to working on the whole piece. It’s sort of a back and forth between macro and micro practice.
Once I can hear the piece in my head pretty well I alternate between playing with and without seeing the sheet music and playing without and without the backup track. For me these are all useful modes of practice. Playing without the sheet music or backup track helps me learn the piece by heart. Playing along with the backup track helps me to learn the piece by ear and also keeps my timing and rhythm honest and shows up places that need some extra work. Playing with the sheet music lets me hear the piece before I have learned it by heart which, for me, is faster than learning a totally new piece in segments, which I find hard because I don’t have the tune in my head yet so I have a hard time hearing how the segments go together.
Once I’ve learned the piece I like to play it with a drone to keep my intonation clean.
So, for me, fiddlehed has all the components I need to do this: the sheet music, the back-up tracks, drones, etc. It makes learning a real pleasure. Thanks!
Also, I’m thinking this idea of simplifying music also gives ideas of how to embellish by reversing the process! I’m looking forward to learning to embellish after I get a little further along…
Thanks for a great site!
Excellent tune! A classic and a real challenge but what a fun lesson!
Well done getting through all the variants verbally and explaining the changes of the tune. Wow!
I’m very familiar with the song which helps a great deal, and couldn’t help but laugh out loud after finishing the first play-along session. Fiddling! It’s a gas!
Thanks Jason! You the Man!
Completed
Completed
On many of the run throughs of the tune on the full play along track, the second part of the b part isn’t played, which is disorienting!
Yes. It’s kind of frustrating.
Yes, many months later still no B part.
That was fun!!! Finally got my bow arm into a steady hoedown mode. Slowly, with lots of looping, but it felt good and sounded better than single bows….after many reps. Not quite a 1000, but I’ll pick it up again. Starting to develop a touch of ‘tennis elbow’ in my left arm. It’s the supinator muscle than needs a break and some deep muscle therapy. This is a great lesson to build on what we’ve learned so far! Thanks Jason!
An excellent post Jason. As a beginning player (very) I experience the frustrations of getting things right, (clean string crossing…gah!) but also I know from experiences learning other instruments over the years, that eventually things improve and your various suggestions on how to practice are invaluable.
If only I had known them way back….yes, my cat runs outside whenever the E string is ‘featured’….her loss, lol.
Hi, Ive just subscribed and I am very excited 🙂
Xxx
Tania from Oz ( Australia )
You are an excellent teacher and motivator. My daily struggle lately is playing D1 without my finger muting A0 or D anything and AO or ……… Sometimes I want to do the fiddle like golfers do their putter—but I worked too hard to get it so I keep trying. You’ve worked too hard for fiddlehed to quit now
Super good advice! I picked three early on to work on. Sometimes I will play a new tune just for curiosity but I always go back to my three to actually practice with intent to make them sound nice. Generally it’s those three tunes and scales or learning new techniques as they are offered sequentially. When I can play with flow I’ll add in learning new one for real.
This may be a dumb question, but how do I bookmark where I am when I end for the day so I can just go back to it? Is there an easy way? I have been starting at a lesson I’ve done, like Twinkle, then going to my course progress and getting to where I want to be. There must be a more direct way, no?
I love this tune too!!!
Love this. I know it’s intermediate and I’m a beginner, but I’ve had good luck learning a few songs now with your learning chunks. I really wish this had recorded learning chunks along with the tabs.
Do you have a video on creating a bass line?
Not yet, but thank you for the suggestion! We’ll keep it in mind.
Thanks guys! I’ve now started playing with the local ukulele club, trying to do some little fills and chord/bass back up. Really challenging because I have to work out what key it’s in by looking at the chords they are playing. So I’ve been learning the circle of 5ths, scales and the make up of chords. Even though I’ve played other instruments (not very well) this is the first time I’ve actually understood and seen a reason to learn. Nothing better than someone saying ‘that sounded good’!
I am excited about coming events with fiddlehed. I think you’re moving in the right direction. I’m expecting a week or so of down time(bypass surgery ), but Dr says I can fiddle during recovery as long as it does no hurt. Recovery time will include some “deliberate practice)!!!
Had to revisit this. Had some down time and pinky has gotten lazy
I had a hard time using this play-along track because it is hard to know where to start on the part with just backup. There is no count-in or other clue as to where to start. And there are no chords notated on the sheet music to so when the backup chords change unexpectedly I’m not sure where I’m supposed to be, I just know I’m in the wrong place because what I’m playing doesn’t sound right with the chord change.
It would help if there the backup section started with a couple pickup notes or other clues and if the sheet music had the chords notated. I can see the use of learning where to come in but when playing with people in person one has at least some visual cues or something.
Thanks!
Oh, also, the playback doesn’t honor the repeat signs….
Ok, it starts in the key of A on the 1 chord and stays there till measure 4 when it goes to V and back to 1, similarly in measure 8. Then the B part modulates to the key of D with the same chord progression but in D….
Ok, the parts with back start immediately after the parts with fiddle (no measures of rest)…
yikes…. so lost
Don’t worry! It takes a lot of practice to get all of these essentials down, but soon you’ll recognize them instantaneously.
That’s for providing the videos at the end of each song so we can hear it in a full professional version. It really helps in knowing the song better and see where we could be heading!
Yes I like the interleaving. I have one note I play which frequently sounds awful. So intermittently I just play that note over and over until it sounds good. I might have to practice it again the next day though.
I don’t use interleaving too much, I prefer to set blocks of time, with a timer, and do that one practice, scales, string crossing, whatever, then do another timed block, reading music, etc., then another timed block, learning a new tune. With the latter I often practice the new tune later at night after my normal practice times. This helps ‘separating my mind’ from the other learning tasks, if that makes sense. I don’t log the later practice times so as not to obligate me to always practice later.
It’s great that you’ve found something that works for you @nick. How long are the blocks of time?
I have work on the 12th during the lesson will it be available later online?
Yes, for paid subscribers. Do you have a question you want answered during the webinar?
simple as this is – one of the best fun things I’ve done. Really just enjoyed tooling around with the C and G scales and zipping back and forth. Gonna try it with the drone now … hey, wait a minute …. am I making music?
Novice fiddler Mike 🙂
You’re onto something amazing, Mike!
Completed!
Music seems so complicated when it’s explained doesn’t it? Looking forward to getting my fiddle on later.
Thanks Jason
Novice fiddler Mike (aka Frank’s Fiddle) 😁🎻
Ok crazy question. Is it ok to use my first finger to play low 2 notes? I have tiny hands and tiny fingers and find it hard to reach from low 2 to 3rd for example. When I use my first finger it works! Is this taboo in the world of fiddle?
Hi, taggart405! I think I can answer that question. Although that’s not really taboo, it is a little discouraged, because it might create bad habits. However, I can offer a solution to your problem! I’ve been playing fiddle for about ten years now, and I’ve found that with time and practice, your hand will stretch out to accommodate the fingerboard! In addition, you can adjust and move your arm to get your fingers in the right position if need be!
Heck yeah! What fun! The drone is primo😀
In your demo, you slur some of the notes together in a phrase but not in other phrases. Why? And where should I slur or not slur?
I have some advice, so, fiddling is a lot of expression and doing what you think helps the song feel better. Slurring is just one of the more decorative pieces to add on! Here’s a video by Jason to explain it a little more: https://fiddlehed.com/library/quick-tip-videos/how-important-is-it-to-always-use-consistent-bowing-throughout-a-tune/ It can be found under student questions in the library link!
Very nicely structured lesson. Rhythms 11 & 12 were challenging. I had to clap & count them out which was a good exercise.
Thanks Jason, I love this tune and the movie, O Brother Where Art Thou, sure put this music back on the map. I love the whole soundtrack to the movie, and it opened my ears to yet another genre of music to love.
Thanks again for all you do,
linda
Oh, my heavens. Just took off the tape to mark positions on my fiddle a few days ago. I picked it up to practice Fire o the Mountain which I have been working on for several days. I decided to record it. Oh my, how bad it sounded. Could not find any of the notes. Went ahead and recorded. The next time will have to sound better.
So I stepped back and worked with the mp3 recording – listening to the intonation and trying to match it tone for tone. What a genius, you are, Jason! Playing along with the mp3 really helped me focus on the correct pitch.
I will keep it. Although today’s practice was a struggle, I will confess.
Mary Reid
The dotted notes now make sense the way you explained and demonstrated. Thank you for clarifying.
Enjoyed this. Helpful for remembering chords. Please expand on this!! Thanks
Well said, Katrina!! Sounds great to be traveling (with a fiddle); way to “walk the walk., “fiddle goes where you go. i am the same way. Forward!
Owen O.
A nice story Katrina. Congrats on your success. I have only been at it for about 5 weeks so the “excruciating beginner sound” is still a factor..lol. But from my banjo and mandolin experience I know that it is a slow and gradual process and I have plenty of time to pursue. Jason’s lessons are the only practical way to progress without an in-person teacher in my opinion. One difference in my learning is that I am taking the time to learn to read standard notation something I never needed to do on the banjo (impractical even if I had wanted to, and never bothered with it on the mandolin.) But there is so much standard notation available for the fiddle that it ‘opens doors’ for learning. But memorization will still be the way I will play. It works fine on the banjo and mandolin and obviously on the fiddle also.
jas
Thanks, jas, I’d love to learn banjo and mandolin! But violin is going to keep me busy for a long time. Good luck with the reading of notation. I still need to improve reading music!
the fiddle is very low in the mix
Hi Jason – I am maybe an advanced beginner and now sticking with easy tunes as I do some of the note reading course. Question – on the sheet music, why are there letters over notes that are not actually the note letters? For example in the second bar of Twinkle there is a G over the note that is an E and a D over the note that is an A. Next bar the D is over the F and an A is over an F. So confusing!
These letters are for guitar and piano chords in case anyone would like to play along! Sorry for the confusion, there is a small note in the description, but we can enlarge that! Thanks for the heads up, and keep practicing!
I wondered same…
Thanks so much, Jason…..Great advice and yes, listening has definitely been a different experience after learning an instrument. Number one for me, listening has increased my appreciation of all music in every genre so so much, knowing what it takes to become proficient in an instrument to even have to opportunity to play in a group. And number two, I am able to hear the individual parts on their own and in the whole. To get the chance to play a small part in a bigger piece of music, is pure joy. Has brought a tear to my eye from time to time,
Thanks again,
linda
It’s strange being asked that question as I commented to a friend a couple of days ago that since I’ve started to practice the fiddle, I was hearing other music differently. I started to hear components of music that I’d been unaware of previously. I started hearing individual instruments rather than just a single sound. It’s mostly classical music that I listen to so it’s quite an odd experience shutting off some parts and just tuning into some others. When I made my comments, I wasn’t sure whether this was a good thing or not. Maybe I was losing the ability to listen to the whole thing. On reflection, I think it’s a good thing as you can listen to music and tune in just as you can eat good food and savour the individual flavours that you experience if you concentrate.
I use your play along tracks quite a lot which I find really helpful but continue to have trouble getting the volume balance with my fiddle right. I’ve tried headphones and speakers but I’m still working on it. More practice needed!
OMG! this is so helpful!
That’s great! Happy to be of help! Keep Fiddlin’
Great to hear from you Jim! Great job!!
Dan’s story is very inspiring. I really like the teaching videos. I like the focus on bowing in this lesson. Thanks for putting this out there for us.
Yes, I was looking for the page about playing in tune with the drone and it’s not there! Where is it?? It would be very helpful!
Good morning,
The pdf link to the Swallowtail Jig isn’t working….404 Error.
Great tune!
Thanks,
Brett
great stuff at fiddlehed!!!
I love these videos! Great Inspiration! Thank you Dan and Jason!
Awesome job Jim!!! I’m working my way to that. Great inspiration!!!
I’m learning the same piece! This was really helpful and encouraging, micro practice is definitely key!
Oooooh, I danced to all this stuff in my younger days. So excited to learn to play it
This makes things way more fun, thanks.
Thank you Jason! What a great way to have fun and not be so serious about practicing. I can put music to all the funny things people say. My grandson loves this ” game” and I dont feel like I’m practicing at all!
This lesson was very helpful! I am always looking for ways to harmoniously back up other musicians, and creating a bass line is a great way to do that. I also went to the backup chords lesson for Kesh Jig and will practice those more next time. 🙂
That moment when you realize that something is off on a song you learned so long ago, and you haven’t looked at the notes since. There is some low fingering in there that I never realized existed. I can play them easily now, but re-training that brain and muscle memory to do it is turning out to be quite the adventure…Hahahaha..
Not sure if I should be pleased at how much progress I’ve made since learning this and that I can play those notes easily now, or if I should be displeased at my not hearing this until now.
I’m choosing progress. 🙂 End on that positive note.
Thanks for sharing, I’m inspired to go play my fiddle!
Great advice, Jason. I’ve been trying to do this and it really helps to keep me going and look forward to practicing tomorrow!
Yes, longer pauses would be helpful!
Thanks Jason. I have been working on learning variations of Irish Fiddle tunes.
Going back to the basic tune and other tunes that I am comfortable with is encouraging.
Very inspiring !!!! You set an example for all of us.
Well said, Reevo…..Ditto all that. :). Way to go Dan!
Love it … what an inspiration Dan is and what a teacher you are
Good double-stop practice tune! A real work out!
Thanks Jason!
This is brilliant, so encouraging. You’ve made me see this is a process and a journey, to be grateful and never take one note for granted. Thank you so much Jason for such wonderful insight.
Love this! Great ear training. It’s really helping me associate the sound of the note with where my finger has to go. I’m getting to where my finger just goes to the right place when I hear the note! Thanks.
Never mind. You ARE an incredible teacher! Thank you.
Thanks Jason! This is good advice.
Interesting reading the comments above. I started learning just on 3 years ago, learning by ear, but am now working on learning how to read music because the tunes are starting to get jumbled in my head.
I’m ok once I have the first few notes and the rhythm of the ones I’ve learned, but sometimes 2 will get mixed together in my head, especially if they are a similar beat, start on the same note, and/or I learned them around the same time. I’m hoping that learning to read will enable me to refresh my memory when I go to play something I haven’t played for a while so I can get started without muddling things up.
Something others might find useful; I’ve found Musescore quite handy as I can either type the notes in, or import the sheet music, then play along while watching where I’m up to. They also have quite a bit of sheet music already there. You can slow the speed while learning and set it to loop sections like Jason does when teaching. It’s free software.
Good idea @monicab. I use Sibelius for notation, but I want to look at Musescore. It might be a good way for FiddleHed students to practice writing notation.
I just bought my violin and the end of the tuning pegs are not quite flush with the head. Is this normal? It holds tune just fine, but the pegs are slightly recessed. It looks like Jason’s are flush with the headstock.
Normal. Overtime as the wood expands and contracts and frequent tuning wears off some of the wood, the pegs will ‘stick out’ more. If they begin slipping, then its time to either get thicker pegs or have the holes filled and re-drilled. All normal violin maintenance.
OK, this is great, especially tone building. Coming along, but how do I stop having the bow bounce on the strings when I start a note?
Relax and start with the bow on the string.
Thank you. These technical reminders are really helpful!
I have found that I always end a session playing the same tune. I know I can play it and I’m messing around with tempo and tone and at the end I can just play it once through slowly and as well as I can and it ends the session on a high, however bad it’s gone in the hour or so before that 🙂
Thanks for all you’ve done so far to help m,e learn to play this wooden box Jason – one day, hopefully in the not too dim and distant future, I’ll actually consider myself a bit of a fiddle player 🙂
Keeping motivated to play is key right now for me. Thank you for your suggestions!
Your advice is always great. I take to heart everything you say. Sometimes I realize I’m trying to tune that is way too hard for me so I stop and go back to the easier tunes that I know really well. I also go back and try to slow down and do the lessons that lead up to the tune that I want to learn how to play. And as you have advised if it’s really awful I’ll just go back to scales and just trying to play each note properly.
I’ve decided to learn note reading because the fiddle tab is too ‘basic’ and doesn’t provide rhythm and note time/duration values unlike banjo tab which has evolved into a more sophisticated form over the years. So I will devote a portion of my daily practice to note reading.
I’m replying again just coz I want a lesson 😉 I think this is great advice esp. for those of us who beat ourselves up. Maybe do this after listening to a song you just recorded and can’t believe how amazingly bad you are. lol
This is a great tip when you are frustrated and there have been many times that I felt like giving up but your lessons inspire me! I will always remember to end my lessons on a high note!
I love the variation you put into the play along track! It makes practice fun! Really loved to hear you sing, felt like I was in a band and made it even more FUN!!!!
I notice that you have positiion tapes on the fret board and I beleive I also saw two in your Bow……where do you review that? Enjoying this!
I’m starting to get to the stage (7 months in) that I find I would like to start reading the notes on the page as well as the tab version, but I don’t want to halt my progress with playing. Should I wait a little longer before I start trying to get to grips with the notes, or should I dive in and risk stepping back a stage or two?
Always feels better to end with a tune you know well.
Thanks for the follow up on this Jason. It’s finally coming together! That tip on practicing with the stop down and going back and forth between the strings has done it for me. It was almost instant, (but not quite.) I knew I could play cleanly while keeping fingers down on the D and switching strings to the A for a note or two. So why couldn’t I do it on two strings?
It turned out I needed a much more fundamental practice in the beginning. When I took my fingers off the neck of my fiddle and played open strings for two weeks, I got to where I could find those strings at any angle and play two at one time. This is where my problem lay the most. I just didn’t realize it. Yet, even after I gained confidence in playing on two strings no matter what or where, when I started putting just one stop on the D, it was like every single thing I had ever learned about playing got thrown out the window and I was doing something weird and unnatural.
Now I’m playing scales droning the D and A, with all my stops on the D string, but I bounce back and forth to the open strings (both G and A) in between every note. I can see what I’m doing, I know exactly where to practice and the sound is so much better. I struggle with that third finger too. It will come. In the meantime, I’ve started trying to work in just a simple drone here or there on songs I can play fairly well.
Newest breakthrough. I can play the 4th finger E and open E notes in the beginning of Elzic’s Farewell. I can’t slide into them yet.. but I can danged sure hit those notes on a pretty consistent basis now. It’s HUGE for me.
Ending on a high note is a great strategy. I love the drones, too. They put me in a state of mindful meditation, and the relaxation follows. I always play more beautifully when I’m relaxed! Thanks, Jason!
The micro practice was so important for me today. I also was working on Swallowtail jig. Though I committed it to memory and played it a lot, today it sounded timid and boxy as you said. Really glad you mentioned the throwaway bow. I’ll do that last thing tonight just so I can end on a high note as you said earlier.
My brain is on overload. The explanation is good; it just take me a bit to process.
Jason,
Thank you for all your insight on all aspects of utilizing practice time.
You have been a great inspiration to me since day one. From the first time i put my hands on a violin, you were the one to guide me in the right direction.
I find you teaching technique a real treat. The way you present the information is very clear and fun!!!!!
Thank you for all your great advice and can’t wait to see more.
Best Regards,
Joe Licari
My favorite high note is playing around with variations on Jambalaya, a simple tune from Hank Williams that reminds me of fish fries with my cousins in Louisiana a long time ago 😉 As I learn more this little tune gets more and more fun to embellish. It feels like my encore, thank you thank you thank you very much LOL. Gotta have fun with it.
Audio cuts out at 16:05 and comes back on at 19:02.
So glad to get some guidance about “tethering,” as I have experienced this issue—playing a tune from sheet music just fine, but being unable to look away from the music and play it from memory. Thanks, Jason!
Agreed! I learned to sight read as a kid – but haven’t played in 30 + years.
Now that I’m diving in – I’m way to dependent on sheet music to help me remember tunes. Great feedback!
It was going well up until about 16 minutes in when it became silent!
I tried plucking out the melody as well. It does help!!!!
Thank you so much. Got back from chores a little too late for live so I appreciate the recording of it. Lots of good questions and answers. I would be interested in zoom! Private lesson give away is awesome as well. I went back to more making notes sound good instead of hurry to learn more tunes! Trying to make the strings resonate lets me know I’m not always hitting the strings with my fingertips. That’s hard. 😀
I couldn’t get the 1st quarter of the b part for the life of me until I plucked it and heard ‘Shave and a Haircut’ and that did the trick. Except that now I sometimes feel tempted to play ‘two bits’ instead of going on to the next measure.
Hello Jason, I am so thankful for all your amazing Work on this site. I especially love the drones, as they are helping me to finally get a sound/ tone that I can live with.And now when I jump from a D on the A string to G on the D string, I have confidence. I am learning to nail the landing, just like a gymnast.Rather than jumping and hoping to Land somewhere close to in tune. I also really enjoy your humility and goofy sense of humor.
Sincerely,
Paloma from Sonoma County
Ps. I just watched your Office hours, and you touched on many topics that are relevant for me at this stage in my Fiddle playing. Regarding your question about practice since the Shelter in place began… I find myself practicing more consistently than I ever have in my life, (with the exception of the last week before any big gig.)I look forward to it and I need it more. Times are tough, I’m an RN . There is a great deal of suffering going on all around me during my work day and playing the fiddle frees me up from worrying about all that suffering. I am a musician, fairly new to the fiddle at age 61.Being able to play Lazy John along with Bruce Molsky after your online lesson? ,man, that is tip top in my book. The worries just melt away .You deserve some major hugs of appreciation( While wearing full PPE, but of course.)
Thanks Jason. Great words of encouragement! You know exactly what I going through and now it seems to be a normal progression of progress. Some days are good, other days not so good; so I’ll except that and just finish on a high note. Going to go fiddle with it now!
Love this!
Any chance you could add the B part to this? I think it is:
E0-A3-1-1-D3-A0-D3-A0
E0-A3-1-1-A3-E0
E0-A3-1-1-D3-A0-D3-A0
A1-0-D3-1-1-0-3
Hi Jason,
I have been playing for one year now. I started with your courses about 9 months ago. So the best compliment to you and your course came from my daughter just yesterday. She is home visiting from Colorado. She is a accomplished Irish and blue grass fiddler who also teaches and plays in a band. I have been playing for her and I am able to play some tunes with her…which is awesome! I asked for her advice – she said “ keep up whatever you are doing…these lessons are working well for you”. Nuff said. Thanks so much!
This is the second phase of learning a tune…
Oops! You gave it way on the listening component because of the file name. It was still fun to play though!
Time to apply the 2-Minute Rule for me is now!
Can’t wait to play a real fiddle tune! I like the attitude adjuster from “I have to practice” to “I can hardly wait to practice.” That is my first objective to complete in the goal of playing the fiddle.
So far, so good, Jason, and thanks! Looking forward to moving on. Any advice about how much to tighten the bow?
Just got A CHEAP fiddle off Amazon. (Don’t have a lot of dough) never played before but always wanted to… 50 yrs old seems like as good a time as any. Looking forward to more lessons… Gonna have to save, but seems worth it.
I like the string crossing exercise
Thanks @nancybrown. I want to create a rhythm of daily lessons for people. Some of these might be just little reminders.
This is great advice and I really laughed out loud about the Tam Lin comment because it’s one of my goals. However, I don’t dwell there. I just practice a micro on it every other day. One thing I discovered yesterday while playing along with a music video Is that there are some latent instinctive skills hidden in my dna and they can find notes and flow along without stopping or struggling. Beyond my current skill set. So once a week I’ll try to play along with a tune like that and add it to the scales. I have the problem of Quitting practice for the day but must do or I get sore. This is a really good suggestion with alternating scales and tunes and I will be more mindful of that as I go along. Thank you Jason.
I like that you have a problem not quitting a practice session. Good problem to have! But worth paying attention to. Take little breaks throughout a session to stretch, breath deeply and walk a bit.
Thanks for Re-posting. I like the idea of re-posting even more.
I feel like i’ll be able to keep up better and play better. Repetition, right?
Have a great day.
Nancy Brown 🙂
oops….That’s ” plain” sight. And I might add, when I first started playing, I was a little discouraged because I wanted to sound just like the people I heard on records and Cd….lol. But now, after some time and practice, playing everyday, I can actually play along with some of those same records and Cds that I first listened too.
Thanks again,
linda
It takes a small leap of faith to learn a new instrument. But it if you practice consistently and practice well, you’ll start to gather evidence which shows that you can do it.
Jason,
Since I have listened and learned from you, my favorite bit of advice on progress is “play everyday”. That has made such a difference in my playing, I can’t even tell you. I have my fiddle out in plan sight, the only time I put “ronafiona” in her case, is when I go to class or play in a concert.
Thank you for all you do,
linda
Play every day is such a simple but powerful practice philosophy. If you can just establish a good daily practice, then you will naturally gravitate towards practicing well.
Enjoyed the article! It is inspiring to know how fiddle was so integrated into our history. Thank you!
Glad you liked the article. It was by another fiddlehead subscriber name Jim. He’s working on a series of articles in this vein. Send a message to @moonshadows to encourage him…
What I got out of this lesson is that combining all of these practices, playing, reading, singing, etc. in small snippets, helps to make things more “automatic” and “connected”, and eventually that can be expanded in to larger segments, and eventually whole tunes.
So, instead of “mechanically” having to “translate” or having to “think” about note to a sound on the fiddle or visa-versa, it becomes more internalized and kind of second nature. (Or the note and the execution of it becomes one in the same…not two separate entities.) Kind of like when we learn a new language, we first have to translate our native language to the new language before we can speak it. Eventually, we can speak the new language without “thinking” in our native language. The new language becomes more natural.
Hope this makes some sense. It does in my head, but it is hard to explain…most likely because I am still learning it!
I think you got the idea. It’s all about trying to internalize the music. When you read a book, you’re not thinking about the rules of grammar. In the same way, do you want to eventually be able to look at some sheet music and hear what it sounds like.
Then, I’m on the right track.
This is good advise all around. A while back a fellow fiddle player was watching me try to playa fast piece and commented “you need to relax your wrist”. I’m still trying.
Do the bow motion without holding the bow. Just try to play with your wrist.
Great lesson!
Love this subject. I am constantly working on my wrist and fingers. One of the people I admire who I think has a great flexible wrist and fingers is Bruce Molsky, and check out this kids wrist…a study of flexible wrist fiddle playing!
And, of course, Bruce Molsky.
Both have such “economy of bow” as I call it.
I also work on “pulling” the bow in both directions. Never “push” the bow. Learn to pull it in both directions makes you have to bend the wrist.
Playing long bows is a good way to get the wrist involved. Really exaggerate the motion on each end of the bow.
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.
Great tune!
I love your shout outs near the end…”keep going, we’re almost done”. It’s very encouraging! 🙂
And the “thanks for practicing “. Very cool!
Keep on fiddling!!!
Thanks, Brett
Ha ha! Glad you like the Bob Wills style shouting. It’s not on most of the backing tracks, but I thought it was a fun idea.
Like the variation but for sure I need to get totally familiar with the basic first!!’
I loved this! Lots of fun to play! I feel like I am getting the hang of this. Thanks for the mystery tune lesson.
This works for me!!!! My note reading Is fairly accurate but slow.
Love the way you teach and loving my Irish fiddle course that I bought ♥️
I swear that sheet music is a little off. First, it doesn’t show the long three-beat notes at the end of every quarter.
Then the last quarter’s timing sounds completely different in the playalong track. I don’t know the best way to type this out but the playalong track sounds more like:
D2- 2- 1- 2- A0- D2- 1- 2- 1- 0
long-short-short-short-long-short-long-short-short-loooong (3 beats at end)
Instead of:
D2- 2- 1- 2- A0- D2- 1- 2- 1- 0
long-short-short-long-short-short-long-short-short-loooong
Am I crazy?
By the way, I am loving this song! I didn’t know it before this. It feels like the first “real” fiddle song I’m learning that isn’t a nursery rhyme (although I get that those are useful for beginners!). It’s so pretty.
You’re not crazy! Or we both are. Anyway, I agree it’s a slightly different rhythm and I think your description is accurate. Even though I have the melody memorized, I rewrote sheet music to match the playalong because I find I can concentrate on getting my timing right if I read the music instead of playing from memory.
Hey Jason, totally off-topic, but b/c of your clarinet/piano recommended song i thought you might dig this tune:
sorry, wrong version
interlude video is set to private
Jason, thanks for posting this office hours video and notes. I get a lot out of these sessions even if I can’t “attend” them when you are doing them live.
Richard at 58:44. You asked about fiddle brands, and Jason recommended Fiddlershop. I own a Fiddlerman Artist violin and it is a quality instrument for the price. I can also recommend it.
I really loved this video Jason, it was almost as if you recorded it just for me. I might have taken some things a little differently, to apply them where I need it most. I too have written you, almost those exact same words. I can play almost any song I come across on your site fairly easily, with just the tab and listening to it a few times to get the song in my head. I can play cleanly on one string on a decent intermediate level. I’ve enjoyed the site because there are so many songs I don’t know which are now finding their way into my head and fingers.
I can’t play on two strings.
I’ve tried.
I can make sounds that will split atoms when I try to play on two strings. Sounds that would put Capt. Kirk on full red alert.
I will immediately forget every note of every song when I split those atoms.
Right now, I struggle on the throw-away bow on regular scales and I work on that constantly. I play the warm-up scales you suggest on most songs, but I admit. I’m just not into it. I also live in an RV. Walking from my kitchen to my bedroom is only a few steps…hahahaha. Forget the bathroom. I can barely wash my hair in there.
Now I think it’s time to concentrate on two strings… and having to get over the fact that I need to start at square one, take my fingers off the neck, place them firmly on the fiddle, and learn to get a decent sound on two strings before I work on stops.
One day at a time.
I took a look at the lessons there on doublestops. I’m going to need that first full week just to pull a decent sound without stops…lol. Maybe a true concentrated effort with this, combined with your Evernote to keep notes on what I’m practicing and taking video. Maybe one day… I’ll be able to pull that sound on two strings as easily as I can with one.
Maybe I can learn this suspicious little mordent that I like the sound of so much. 🙂
Thanks for all you do Jason. I’m glad you found your way to become a fiddle teacher.. it’s what you are meant to do.
Keeping the bow in the center on the E string, but it has improved noticeably with these exercises. No problem with the bow hold, using Jason’s method. Picking up the fiddle for the first time ever, but having played the banjo for many years i know these first few months require the greatest perseverance to get through, what I call ‘dog work’, no offense to dogs. lol.
I remember when I first found you Jason, Whiskey Before Breakfast was my nemesis.
I had been trying to learn that and Flop Eared Mule for quite some time. Studying your videos, remember to just stop and listen when I’m discouraged, finding those notes in the difficult parts.
When I want to turn my fiddle into toothpicks, I try to just bring it down to 1 Note, 1 Tune 10 Minutes. Loop it…Loop it…Loop it…Loop it..Loop it…
It’s all working together to keep me going. Now when I look back, I’m pleased. Whiskey Before Breakfast is one of my favorite songs to play and I often use it as a warm-up or as a base to try new tricks. (I can play that darned ole Flop Eared Mule too)
I wish there was a way to stop your full play audio and loop it where I need it in there. Playing by myself to practice a loop, then getting that little hard spot in time to play with you or others is proving to be harder at times than I care to admit. I’m working hard though…and dreaming big.
I know I’m getting there because now my computer now pulls up your page when I type an “F” before it pulls up “Facebook.”
Hells yeah!
Jason, you are right on the mark! Thanks for sending this bundle of encouragement to all of us. Always good to hear positivity and knowing I’m not alone on this journey. There are improvements and my recordings are a testimony; painful to listen to, but there is improvement.
Like we use to say….Keep on truck’n!
Got nothing to lose.
Thanks for all you do for us!
Brett
Great lesson, looping A part first and second Quarters now
This is perfect for me today!
During practice my bow kept wandering and I was disappointed. Not so smooth. I just played scales and one of the easy pieces. The angels are always depicted playing harps and the devil with a fiddle. I said to myself, if you’re going to dance with the devil always pick the music! I will never give up searching for the good sound. Thanks Jason👍🏽
Jason,
Really like the post on faith. Yesterday was one of those days when practice was not coming easy at all, Remembering your teaching, I eventually let it go for the day, as I left for my part time job at the Y. I have been keeping a journal, but stalled on it two weeks ago. Thanks for the reminder to “keep it up.” Arthritis in my hands is an added disadvantage, but even that, at this point I can work thru. I have progressed quite a bit in 2 1/2 years with your instruction.
I suppose faith works at all ages, all conditions and my “fiddle journey” is real and still brings me joy, with a little “sting” of doubt.
Thanks for the lessons. Working on “Win That Shakes The Barley”, Triplet Scales and “Club Ceili” currently.
Owen O’Malley
Nice email. Thanks for your frequent communications to encourage this learning community. In your last office hours, I related to the “Make friends with the E string” comment. Recently I am working on Hector the Hero. When I first watched that video months ago I thought it was way too challenging for me. Now, it’s that beautiful tune waltz practice that is helping me slow down and get more bow control, pulling it all the way smoothly for those 1/2 notes and just enjoying the tone as well as note reading practice. (I am curious though about a couple separate measures in the sheet music that don’t seem to have 3 beats as in the 3/4 time.)
When I record tunes I have worked on previously it sounds so much better now than it did 6 months ago. This takes patience and practice but it is very rewarding. I just started learning Banshee and I am doing alot of micro practice on that to get the rhythm and accent beats.
I have been doing a little self-recording in the form of sending my grandkids a tune for the day. Good or not so good, they get a big kick out of it (they are 13 & 14 yrs old). Sometimes I’ll re-name a tune to relate to them in some way. It’s fun for me, makes me listen to my own progress, and often I get a “Good job, Grandma, or….this one I love. “getting better….”
Thanks for all you do for us, Jason
linda
Thank you so much for this informative article on the History of the Fiddle. Learned a lot from this!
Thank you! Micro practice and scales are my friends. Self recording is good (wince) and sends me back to scales! Lovely message thank you👍🏽
Self-recording is hard for everyone at first. The great thing about that practice is that when you listen to these recordings later you’ll realize that you’ve actually made progress 📈
I love this compassionate note. The very idea of perfection is immobilizing. I am an artist, a painter and I deal with a lack of confidence with many of my paintings, (despite evidence to the contrary). Doubt sits on my shoulder and if I listen to it my life becomes hard. The suggestion of actually having fun! and forgiving yourself for being human is greatly appreciated! And also, I have noticed, in my violin practice and my painting, that improvement does not follow a strait upward line. Seems more like a roller coaster ride!
Hey @Lori,
Lots of good things in what you said. When you practice every day you often can’t even notice any progress. It’s like trying to see the moon move across the sky. You can’t actually see it move in the moment, but if you look away for an hour, you clearly see a difference…
Good is better than perfect!
That was excellent. Thank you!
It’s so interesting to consider how history is reflected in music and culture. And at the same time, how music transcends our normal barriers.
Good stuff!!!!’
I currently use a nice looking book, but that gives me problems when I travel and I don’t want to lug it with me. Will give Evernote a try. Can you tell me which template you use? Seems like there’s a lot to choose from.
Hey @stephatsea,
I don’t use any particular template. I just start listing things I’m working on using bullet points. You could do this and lots of other online journaling apps like Google docs. And then for things that I might forget, I make audio recordings or add images of sheet music.
I’m also a big fan of paper journals. Throughout my life I’ve gone back-and-forth between electronic and paper journals. Right now I use paper journals to quickly write down ideas as well as mapping out ideas.
Thanks so much Mr. Guinn, for writing this very interesting article on the early days of American fiddling. I enjoyed it very much. I love knowing how and when a tune came about, the great stories behind them and those who loved writing and playing them.
Thanks again,
linda
thanks so much for adding the bowing lesson!!!
You’re welcome @tammylee
Thanks @crowbar47 and @markus
I really like reading about fiddle history, so I wrote this article and Jason decided to post it. I plan to write others about American Fiddling.
Hi Jason,
Really enjoying your brilliant lessons, you play all the tunes so sweetly I am impatient and want to learn everything at once ,so I will try to take your advice to slow down and concentrate on tone and tuning.
Many Thanks,
Sam
Hey @[email protected]
It’s such a cliché music teacher thing to say: slow down. But it’s what all beginners need to here…
Thanks
Shows how we are standing on the shoulders of Past Fiddlers…how we as Fiddlers today are part of something wonderful and carry on its history, traditions and sound!
Reading is practice! This Fiddle History really shows how important the Fiddle was in the past.
Interesting and informative !!!! Thanks for a well written article
Hi Jason,
I’ve just started your beginners course. Your music is very healing right now
Hi Eileen, Thanks for saying this. Best to you with the course and your fiddling…
Nice!
Any chance you could come up with Fiddlehed versions of Carrickfergus and Ragland Road for us?
Thanks.
Dave
Thanks for a beautifully mournful tune for these turbulent times. Music will help get us through as it always does. Thank you for helping me play the music!
Yes that is awesome ❤️
Beutiful. I like it.
Hey there jason! Just had a question/idea for ya’ll: think there’s any way to take some of the notes you’ve already recorded, allow them to be randomized, and make a kind of ‘online note generator’?
I LOVE the thought of old-school call and response (think many do), but it’s just not really commonplace these days. And double for these covid-y times. Doing the random part, I think would better allow one to exercise their ear, as opposed to having knowledge of the notes beforehand. Plus it’d be funner.
I’m not a full-fledged member (cheap, cheap bastard here), but i guarantee something like this would get me to join. I’ve searched, and there’s nothing at all on the internet in this regard (violin).
Cheers man!
Hey @tritoned, I love this idea and would love to do it. Right now Ihave a lot of other fish to fry. In the meantime, check out this series of call-and-response games I have on the site: https://fiddlehed.com/how-to-play-in-tune/call-and-response-central/
Hey Jason, totally understand. Many thanks for the response. cheers, jeff
Hi Jason,
Thanks for placing this one on the site. I have been working on part A, so far this week; trying to get G# third finger right and fourth finger E as well. Almost there. Really enjoying the bowing the slurs encourage.
Owen O.
Hey @owneee61, you’re making great progress. Remember to use drone tracks to practice raised third and low fourth notes, do simple exercises like G2-H3…
It’s like Miles Davis’s “Sketches of Spain” procreated with a Scottish lament. Love it.
High compliment! Miles has been one of my heroes since I began.
This jig is beyond my skill level (beginner) but I’m having a blast trying it anyway! Trying to hurry before week is up haha. You know though, I’m starting to get it just by singing it first. Naturally I will up my sub as soon as I get beyond beginner! Thank you dear Jason, definitely good for the heart!
Love the wonderfully expressive and atypical sounds you make with this. Seems not only mournful but also inspiring. It suggests new ways of listening and creating, something desperately needed to get through our current times.
Thanks for sharing this. Speaks to my heart as music can when words are insufficient.
Lovely Jason. You are an amazing musician and human being. Thank you for sharing.
#BlackLivesMatter
Deep and beautiful. You are not only incredibly talented, you have great depth of character. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for that lesson. The new format is super fun (you on the framebox camera commenting).
Good stuff. Adding this one to my tune book. Thx.
Really splendid, Jason. Thanks, as always, for all you do; and for being such a good spirit in the world.
Also, your quote above made me think of this other one:
“Awe is the salve
that will heal our eyes.
And keen, constant listening.”
Thank you for posting, so beautiful !
Love it Jason!
Thanks, linda
Haunting. Makes you think.
True that @chirodoc. This is a chaotic time of change. If we can work this out (which we can) then life will ultimately be better for more people.
Thank you for the lovely Tune. The time will come (hopefully) when everybody will realize that all human beings has the same colour of blood.
How do I sign up for lessons? I tried the free lesson and nothing happened. How much does it cost to join your instruction? I enjoy your lessons on Youtube and would like to learn much more. I’m sure I have over looked some key to punch to join your classes so, I need help. Also, are you able to select the type of music and lessons. Is there an index of songs to select from? Your attention to this matter is much appreciated.
Jim Brannan
2400 Pisgah Rd. 32347
Perry, Fl. 32347
850-295-1539
Thank you Jason
Thanks for listening @lewis
Mystical beauty, transcending, very healing 👼❤️
Thanks 🙏
Hi Jason,
A deeply thoughtful melody for today. We all need to listen more in every sense.
Well said @ffwrnais. Listening is what makes music a spiritual experience.
Jason, thank you. Music still heals. Tough out there right now. I appreciate your response
Thanks Blucy! and thanks for letting me sit in on your zoom fiddle group.
Thank you. We’re all in this together. Peace.
Peace to you to Ginny, and everyone else.
Hi Jason,
Beautiful mournful tune. You stay safe and may we all help to find a cure for the hate virus….lv
Thanks @linda…this melody just came out of the ether…
LOVE the drone practice!!!! This is like relaxation after a tough gym workout!!
I love that you have this lesson. I have wondered about how hard to press the strings. When playing mountain dulcimer the string needs to be pressed down to the wood of the fret board or it doesn’t sound correctly. I have been trying out using a lighter touch on the fiddle and it seems to work okay. Is that really true when playing fiddle? Oh, and another quick question: How much rosin should be used on the bow? Thanks!
Hey Nan~ glad the lesson jives so well with You!
Yea it seems that coming from a state and focus of relaxed/lightness with the fingerboard hand/arm can really support us in playing.. and moving from that, trying various ways to create the sound we really enjoy. Mountain Dulcimer sounds like an interesting song to play with and find the balance of sound you like. Be great to hear how you’ve made out with playing it since you commented.
As for the rosin question, have you seen Jason’s rosin post yet?
https://fiddlehed.com/library/quick-tip-videos/how-often-do-i-need-to-use-rosin-on-my-bow-can-there-be-too-much-rosin/
Thanks for sharing your experiences and inquiries!
Finding this a great aid to self discipline, great for pick and mix practice to keep momentum going.
An advice on not so good tone 3rd finger on D!!!
Hi, What do the parentheses mean in the tablature?
I should not have jumped ahead to the songs! The parenthesis are nicely explained in the lesson.
Hi Jason,
Thank you for breaking this down so well…I actually understand it! One question….why on some notes the stem (stick thing attached to note) point up and sometimes it points down?
Thanks again,
Cindi
With a few exceptions, the stems usually point down for notes on the middle line or higher, and up for those below
This is exactly what I’ve been looking for! You’re a mind-reader Jason or at least very adept at recognizing ways to build one’s fiddling skills besides just showing up at a bluegrass jam sesh and looking like I don’t know what the heck I’m doing. Thanks for making these challenges very approachable!
The drones are very useful to me for tuning. Also I like the metronome beats! I used both to do the exercises my in-person teacher assigned. They seem much more do-able and I can see progress! 🙂
This one is so fun to play! Looking forward to adding variation next.
Getting a good sound on the E string
Another good lesson, Jason. Thanks! I’m a bit behind right now and haven’t been practicing the past few days because of bursitis in my left shoulder, but I got a cortisone shot yesterday, so I should be playing again soon.
Hi Jason,
I think( I may be incorrect) but this second quarter should read:
D3-A0-1-L2-3-1-D3-A1-0-0 D3-A0-L2-1-0 instead of
Second quarter: D3-A0-1-L2-3-1-D3-1 0-0-D3-A0-L2-1-0
I am only starting to take your reading music course, but the recording and the sheet music do not match what you have tabbed.
Just wondering!! Thanks for all your fabulous lessons…I am learning SOOOOO much!!
Good stuff, Jason. In the video, you said you will cover dotted notes in next lesson. Could you please also add triplets to that lesson? I know what they are, but some counting help would be appreciated.
Thanks
Good idea @tszalay. I was just working on the dotted notes lesson. It seems like an excellent point to also introduce triplets. Cheers.
These passages are ALL SO GREAT. Such inspiration.💕
You rock, Fiona! Thank you for showing us the possibilities! By the way, I LOVE your name. I have the cutest little border collie and I named her Fiona!
Awesome idea @melissarice. You are actually practicing audiation when you do this exercise. I think i want to point this out in the lesson text. I’ve learned everything from good students like you!
I already can sight read music notation but I want to learn audiation. That is, I want to be able to hear how the music sounds just from reading the sheet music. This lesson seems like it would be helpful for that purpose as well. Thanks!
I find myself naturally slurring notes as I find the rhythm to this tune. Would you like to address this in any way? If it makes any difference, I am returning to fiddle after an absence of approx. 1 year due to a major life event (won’t do that again!) I had been playing for five years prior, mostly fiddle tunes. I decided to start at the beginning since my intonation was so horrible and I could barely read music anymore. I’m glad I did as the intonation is rapidly improving and I am loving your method of teaching.
These lessons are well worth the cost of this course. Thank you so much for your help. I feel that I may one day be a true Irish fiddler!
To be able to pick up any sheet music and play the song as written by the creator is choice and brings hours of enjoyment! I find practicing from hymnal books I find at thrift stores is rewarding. Most of the music is fairly easy to learn and builds up the Eye to Hand Coordination.
Good idea @Markus. One of the main principles of the Note-Reading For Fiddlers course is to star with melodies you know well.
Perfect – even though I really feel I ought to know this, I honestly don’t know it well enough to read and play – so for me, you can’t make this too simple. Thank you for taking the time to do something so basic. I know many people will really appreciate this Jason – I certainly do.
Keep on doing whatcha doing teach
Novice Fiddler Mike 🙂
Thanks for the feedback @Reevo
Thank you,, my goal is to lead tunes and build confidence to play solo in public!!!!
Keeping safe, and making good use of this unforseen. “Me and my fiddle time” 💟
My 11 year old son who is all sports no music was mesmerized by this and wanted to try it. So, I showed him the strings, gave him instruction and off he went. I could tell by his face he enjoyed the beautiful sound he was making, I might make a musician out of him yet!
hi Jason, struggled with the Blackest crow, rythm, but loved this as I knew the tune and also play a lot of Irish at folk sessions, looking forward to pop this one out of the blue, You are the best Utube fiddle guide, so so much fun.
Hi Jason,
Digging things so far – thanks! In some pictures you have stickers for the finger positioning but it seems as though you’re recommending we follow our ear to train finger positioning. I read somewhere else that many beginners use stickers for the first 2 years but that we shouldn’t over-rely on them. I’ve got a pretty decent ear through playing other instruments but just curious if you recommend using stickers or not for your course.
Thanks again,
Joe
Wildwood Flower
Yes! Good going…
Definitely interested, decided to take a break from classical lessons, (they are suspended for now-C19). Would like to learn more about fidding techniques anyway.
I am getting my violin tomorrow. I have been listening to the beginning lessons now for 3 days now. Can`t wait until sat Thank you..
Lesson 15.2 doesn’t open anything new. It just reopens 15.1.
Sooo… what is the name of the mystery tune ????
Thanks for noticing this @tszalay, just fixed it.
Thanks.
I have this annoying thing where one day a slow song sounds lousy but a faster tune sounds good, then, maybe next day it flips on me the other way.
I’m going back through these early lessons because i picked up basics on YouTube and taught myself several tunes by ear. It’s good to remember that when hubby brought Lily (fiddle) home last fall, she only had 3 strings, one strung wrong, the bridge turned wrong with no notched, and, I’d never picked up a bow in my life (am 59)…..now about 6 months later we can belt out Down By the Riverside, mostly, and wail a decent Danny Boy, sort of…..and others, mostly hymns, all by ear, but, some days just don’t sound as well as others, and, yes, i know, I’m breaking the rule of learning too much too fast…..but in my defense, I’m making up for lost time. 👵 ANYway….thanks!
Jason,
I just discovered your website by chance.
I’ve been playing piano now for about 3-4 years and loving every bit of it. The other day I woke up having the urge to play violin. Having not a clue where to begin, I started searching YouTube for information on playing the violin.
I bought a violin online based on advice given for starting out. While waiting for the Violin to arrive, I started to do my homework on every aspect of what’s involved in playing.
I then came across your website and subscribed to your site and started listening to your introduction. I instantly knew this is where I wanted to be. I now have my violin and because of your clear and concise direction, I’ve become real comfortable with it. I’ve learned so much just from the last few sessions.
I’m going to sign up for your monthly membership to learn more.
Although I do intend on eventually plan on playing classical, I know that the advise and direction Of yours will open a whole new world for me.
Thank you Jason,
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
yup. need to share video
Video unavailable
This video is private.
Looks like you were having fun doing this lesson. 🙂 And, I like the FiddleHed collage background. The exercises at the end of the lesson are very helpful because they challenge me…rather than just going up and down D E F# G and then G F# E D. Are you going to have a dedicated area in the top menu to store all of these note reading lessons in order? I think that would be helpful before they start disappearing off the list of 10 most recent Fiddlosophy posts and get harder to find…just in case we want to go back and look at a particular lesson again.
Hey, good idea. Here is the note reading for fiddlers course outline: https://wp.me/P8OLq8-aFN
And though this series of lessons is somewhat abstract and theoretical, my goal is for you guys to have fun 🎻
congrats on marriage, the most significant thing i heard and held onto and it works under all conditions is “Love is a choice”. I still keep getting message about subscriotion problems, tried fixing it. i only need 1 subscription.
How does the key signature work?
I see there is an Fsharp in the example. Why does it not apply to all the notes?
Instead of D, E, F# , G? Why would it not be D# , E#, F# etc?
Bob C
That single sharp in the key signature is just for F#. This is pretty much always the case when you see a single sharp symbol in the key signature. I don’t think I answered your question well. But just know that a single sharp in the key signature is the convention for F sharp.
If you’re patient with this stuff, it will slowly makes sense. Thanks for your question.
Yes, I’m interested to learn what benefits you are getting from this and how to do it. Thanks!
So glad I’m not going crazy with those tukka exercises.
Wow, this is such a well laid out, thoughtful, organized way of learning, I am so impressed. The tune is lovely, haunting. Are all the lessons like this? I am still on my free trial, am wondering if I should expect this level of detail with all lessons. Thank you Jason!
I appreciate the kind words @taggart405 🙏
Hi Jason,
So far I’m really enjoying your lessons and style of teaching. I have had my fiddle now for about two years and after trying to learn on my own with books and stopping many times (books were boring), I look forward to these lessons and have the inspiration to keep learning and trying.
I have one comment on this duet lesson. In the previous set of practice drills you had the actual notes on the page, here it is the just the strings to play and the timing of the notes is a little hard to follow i.e. quarter or eighth notes. For me at least it makes it more difficult to follow along. Would it be possible to put both styles on the page?
Thank you,
Jason
P.S. I’m both a Jason, and I have a clone of your cat!! Maybe soon I’ll be able to call myself a fiddler too 🙂
I’m on it. Better late than never…
Yes look forward to it. I have seen that done with a light on the bow.
Oh no, my first challenge playing fiddle!!!
Yes! Also interested in that bowing technique. Thanks!
I have wanted to play the violin or fiddle ever since the third grade when I signed myself up to be measured for an instrument at school. Unfortunately my family was unable to afford the program at the time, so this is a lifelong dream. Thank you for such a great program.
Bowing – In general, the hardest is relaxing my wrist and forearm. Specifically, I find getting a good tone on the E string the hardest – still playing around with pressure on the strings from the bow and position to avoid the “squeaks”. I find the D and the A strings very forgiving in that sense.
I may have missed it, but did not see any discussion yet about the tension of the bow. I’ve been playing around with that a bit but don’t seem to find a sweetspot.
I’m enjoying the lessons, breaking each piece down and exploring the instrument before jumping into playing songs. I also find great joy in playing the duets at the end of each module. Thank you so much for this!
Interested! Thanks!
Thanks for the great lesson! Your presentation is precisely how our brains tie image with a word. Here, with a sound instead of a spoken word….. the language of music! It seems so much easier now. You are a gifted teacher.
*** —-Congratulations on your wedding!!! Many Blessings!
This course has brought me so much joy and pleasure; it’s worth every penny and then some. I never would have imagined I could play a sweet song like this. Thanks, Jason.
You’re welcome! Sorry for the late reply.
Happy wedding and hope you both are staying safe and sound in the craziest of times. I’m feeling for you all in the States. We have to all take responsibility for our health – and as fiddlers we know the best place to be is at home on our fiddles!
Awesome! I have just done an afternoon obsessively practising the note game. I started with the beginning of the song ‘Scotland the Brave’ in D major to do a loop on. I’ve a very weak scratchy voice (sort of matches my violin skill!) so it sounds awful, but I was really trying to train my ear to ‘know’ the notes that I’m playing. So I did a loop, building on the first few notes of the song and then naming them as I attempted to sing and play Part A. Next I built on this to try and remember the notes out of order from the song, to see if I could say and sing them then play them – that was a really good challenge. I then decided just to try it with the open notes; GDAE playing them, singing them and then naming them. Then tested myself trying to sing them and name them first before playing. I recorded myself doing it (hilariously bad) but I actually started to improve faster than I thought. I’m even tempted to go and test myself again!
Just read your email. CONGRATULATIONS on getting married tomorrow. I wish the best for you and Mrs. FiddleHed!
PDF not working. Need to see the whole song to play smoothly.
I would also be very interest in this lesson topic. Bowing is where I need the most help and this looks like it would be very useful. Big congrats on your marriage. How exciting!
Great lesson! I just watched the video following along with you. It makes so much sense the way you explain it, and it IS very clear! I also like the format with your video following the segments of the lesson. Now, to keep practicing it before the next installment.
Will you eventually put this mini-course into one area of the FiddleHed website? i.e. A new heading in The Art of Fiddling or another area?
Like your “enchanted forest”, but you need to “FiddHed” it up like your apartment in SF! 🙂
Yupper!
Yep, I enjoyed it in the office hours and would like to pursue.
Thanks, Jason.
Definitely interested in a lesson on this technique . Thanks Jason, keep up the good work!!!
Thanks,
You must be an incredible teacher!
This has been challenging. I have to listen close so I play the correct note. Definitely good advice to try and recognize patterns.
This sheet music is really helpful! I have studied classical music for years and really struggling picking up by the ear but… working hard 🙂 thank you
I’m a visual learner too and I lean heavily on the sheet music while playing with the play along tracks to develop my ear. It’s hard! I don’t process sound very well without visual cues. The thing I have learned is how to use the sheet music to help myself get started with the tune and then switch to playing with the tracks without the music as fast as possible. Good luck in your fiddle journey and find what works with your brain and what keeps it fun 🙂
I am finding the string crossing drills to be very helpful!
Right, Jay?! Me, too! JASON IS FANTASTIC! 💕
I love this site. It is awesome and so helpful for a beginner like me. Love Blackest Crow and so much more.
I hate auto spell””” Helps to remember them too!!!!!!!”
This is good stuff. It brings it down to a simpler way of learning notes. Helps remember thff Ed m too
This is my favorite Christmas song. It’s always been out of my reach. I love this version, I can play it. Thank you!
Hi Jason,
I’m a little frustrated because there a number of places where you’re playing something different than the sheet music. I’m not great at reading music but it sounds to me that in Part A, first quarter, second measure you’re playing 1 3 +, rather than 1 + 3. There’s a quarter note at the end of the measure rather than an eighth note. So should I play it like you do or like it’s written.
Please correct me if I’m missing something. I’m really enjoying this lesson and learning a lot from it.
Thanks,
-Chip
There are two main areas I feel are the hardest: 1) making sure of my bowing technique/form, and 2) trying not to hit other strings when playing.
This is a really great thing you are doing. I already read music well but want to be able to identify a note by ear and be able to go to it quickly on the fiddle. That is mind boggling to me. Any suggestions?
Fantastic! I have started to learn how to read sheet music a number of times, but always give up finding it so boring. Your games always are a big help for me. So, I am looking forward to the “Note Reading for Fiddlers” series and finally learning this once and for all. I had let my subscription lapse, and have been catching your lessons for free when you first publish them until they get locked behind the membership wall, but right after I post this, I’m going to renew my subscription for another year. This time I am going to learn how to read sheet music with Fiddlehed! Thanks, Jason.
There is obviously so much work put into creating this lesson for just one song! This is my first song lesson as a subscriber. Thank you for all the effort. You’ve structured this in such a way that I can learn so much more than just the song when practicing.
B Part 1st Quarter second measure you’re playing a different rhythm than the sheet music but you probably put that there to see if the students are paying attention. 🙂 It also seems like players take some liberties when playing these old tunes. You’ve made me so much more interested in practicing.
Love the drone s for playing in tune practice Good now I have room I can go to practice. !!!
These are so cool and so helpful!
Before I even watched the video I started playing with your drone sounds and it is so easy to zone out into a place where you focus on the quality of the sound and the accuracy of the pitch. Even though I wasn’t doing anything complicated, it was musical and hypnotic. Fun stuff just happens.
This is so true, I have been a perpetual beginning for 20 years. I think not practicing is the biggest obstacle to becoming better, but this is obvious.
My excuse was I don’t have 30 minutes, or I can do it tomorrow. Also I find that totally conquering a piece of music is more satisfying than just skipping around a lot. When I get discouraged, I play that one piece that sounds great. Thanks for the 2 minute rule.
Thanks for this lesson, Jason. Great learning tool and fun!
Thanks @moonshadows 🙂
By the way, i haven’t forgotten your advice for the forum. It seems we have successfully migrated the site to a more stable host, so now I can turn my attention to setting up the form in a better way. Of course it’ll probably take a long time because everything takes longer than you think it will. Anyway I hope you are well and finding some peace in this time.
Looping video is really good. It covered s lot of ground I had not thought of
Thank you 🎻🎻🎻🎻
Now you gotta try it…
Wow! This is quite a stretch. I’ve finally nailed the first half, but never played a tune before that ranges fro G1 to EL2. Good thing I don’t have a 5-string fiddle.
Hey @davidsbrown, what tune are you talking about?
I’m all for the looping strategy, it certainly works for me anyway. I also find that plucking can get me out of a rut when I can’t quite get something right.
I am running up agains one problem though and would welcome anyone’s thoughts. I sometimes find that the transitions between the quarters become the problem. It’s particularly so when a tune may have 2 different endings. Ideally, I’d like a loop that goes over each of the ‘joins’. I’m getting special problems with joining parts 3 and 4 B in the Peacock Rag as an example.
I’m finding it difficult to work out in my head what I’m supposed to be playing and thus I’m unable to make my fingers learn it. Hope this makes sense.
Thanks for pointing this out. You can create loops to practice anything. So you could create a big loop of the third and fourth quarters of Peacock.
But you could also create and practice a smaller loop, something like:
A3-E0-A2 | A3-3
A3-E0-A2 | A3-1-0-D3-2-0-1-2-0
Does that make sense?
That’s exactly what I needed! Thanks. I was getting really frustrated with those transitions. Strange it looks quite simple written down like that!
This is great exersize ,very helful
Thank you!
Same here. Thanks
I always heard this in sessions growing up and now I can play it! Can’t believe it. thanks Jason 🙂
In the full tabs, there appears to be an extra note on the first quarter–shouldn’t it end on D2? I’m loving this song!
Hi – yes I think the last note should be D2 but only if you are done playing and not repeating. That appears to be how Jaso’n plays it in the video. I do struggle with how to “end” the song without it sounding like you are left hanging, so thanks for pointing this out! D2 sounds like a good note to end on.
Good call @fiddlefoot and @kellymhanson. I’ll update the tabs…
I’m not able to download the PDF When The Saints Go Marching In. Reason? Thank you!
Great tips!!! However with no jams happening now I wonder if apps like face book, Skype , or Zoom etc could be used for an on line type of gathering/jam session. I’m not computer savvy so just an idea??????
Yess!………., after a week and a half intensive study I can play the whole melody in the slowest version!
nice exercise: in the beginning it is a surprise when i am on the wright place.
Before the corona virus I had three terrible family tragedies. In the middle of grief I bought an old cracked and repaired fiddle from a friend. Now social isolation and you can bet I’m practicing an hour a day! I love your teaching and will be one who goes beyond the free week! Don’t forget me! Even though I accidentally Unsubbed and logged right back in. Thank you! Please send more! Stay safe everyone??
Thank you!!! Great song and awesome lesson!
I have been playing and singing for most of my life. Piano for the most part and I’ve heard been encouraged to memorize music except for recital pieces. Maybe it was just a teacher choice but now my violin teacher (of yesterday) and you are encouraging me to memorize the tunes. I took lessons from her for about 4 months and then she said Play it from memory. She had never before mentioned memorizing the Suzuki pieces from the book.
Will do, Jason. I’ll start memorizing.
Mary
It will not only gear you towards practice, but chances are once you pick up the fiddle for “two minutes”, you’ll keep playing past the two minutes to 10, 20 or maybe even 30 minutes! Sometimes it’s all about start-up inertia. Once you get moving, chances are you’ll continue.
Nice, easy waltz to get started. I love that you provide sheet music as well as tabs. The cat blooper was pretty funny too!
This lesson is definitely a challenge. I will continue with it until I get the hang of it.
I can see the lesson video for Fisherman’s Blues but I can’t see a link for the sheet music. Same for Kerry Polka.
Hi Jason,
The drones are great because at this point I am pretty much on my own so this serves to keep me on track and improve my ear for tuning. It did take getting used to but well worth it! Thanks!
Not able to mark this as “complete” for the learning modules, unfortunately; good info, nonetheless.
Double stops are my nemesis ???. One finger always wants to touch the adjacent string. Must practice
Just found this——good stuff here !!!!
Is this the Irish Variations course I purchased? or is this the week free subscription?
Hi … could really do with play along tracks for full A and B parts as well as the full track to help nail them down perhaps
I just e mailed asking about a drone app then realized there are drones all on fiddlehead site/ duhhhhhh. Thanks Jason, great lesson
C-note seems to be correct. D2-A0 audio play repeated in second quarter.
I wore green, made corned beef and cabbage, and took another FiddleHed Intermediate lesson on St. Patrick’s Day. Will that be enough to bring me the Luck o’ th’ Irish???
I entered in the giveaway, and will be hoping the Irish in me helps bring me luck!!
I saw I have to have up-bow when I start second and third quarter by the way.
Finally, after several hours dealing with the rhythm… Thanks for the videochat yesterday. Awesome inspiration you give people Jason.
Same problem as c-note. Exercise 7 labeled as G string but plays as G and D string.
Thanks for your feedback Jeff, we’ll look into adding more time for responses, and I fixed the exercise 7 label. We appreciate folks voicing their suggestions for improvement 🙂
Not hitting adjacent strings when I’m playing “A”
This was a good lesson to help with tone.
Mandolin playing has helped me find the notes, so I know where the fingers go. You’re style of teaching has made it a very fun way to help with bowing and overall love for the instrument. These kinds of things help bunches. Telling others where to go to learn this wonderful music maker.
Just wanted to add some things here…. I would like to learn these different rhythms….I like the Irish fiddle music and the challenge is the 6/8 timing and the jigs. I also play other instruments, but want to be able to translate this to dulcimer. It’s a natural fit.
I watched the first lesson in Lilting Banshee…loved the tune and see how the rhythm is a great start. I also worked on Irish Washer Woman, also the rhythm that I would like to learn.
In general, I love subscribing to Fiddlehed. I’m hoping all your Irish stuff will come with the annual subscription!!
I’m in, Jason!
The drones have really seemed to help me out.
This is a super-beginner question, but do you bow up and down with each note? Or does it depend?
Ugh, I’ve let myself become dependent on my tuner. I love the idea of interval scales with eyes closed, I think that’s going to help a lot!
Hi Jason and fellow Fiddleheds,
Re: “Too old to play fiddle”
First of all I want to thank you Jason for being so generous with your time and providing the “office hours” for your students. This was my first time participating and I came away feeling quite disappointed because my question was taken the wrong way and while everyone was being so reactive, my point was completely missed.
I am not ashamed of my age. Aging is not a disease. My question was, what kind of warm up would be helpful to gain flexibility in my fingers that do not have the same flexibility that they had when I was twenty and a piano performance major in college.
I never said nor implied that anyone was too old to play fiddle. I picked up the fiddle when I was 34 and three decades later I am still learning and playing.
Re:string action. There is a static measurement for string height at the nut and end of the fingerboard. This is a starting point. Every one plays differently so any competent repairman can adjust this to suit the player. Proper action will enhance your playing and your fingers will love you!!!!!!
I watched an interview with Charlie Daniels. He was asked if he ever got tired of playing The Devil Went Down To Georgia. His answer was, no, because I have never played it perfect! Every time I play it, I play it better but I’ve never played it perfect.
Jason, your rhythmic scale variations are a perfect example of this… just going up and down the D scale is fun! fun! fun! when you add rhythms : )
It is definitely a challenge to stick with a steady beat….Thanks, Jason
Cheers,
linda
I meant to say “along with ‘you’ on that list”. Thanks again…linda
Thanks so much, Jason. Love this tune and thanks for posting Martin Hayes’ version as well as Kevin Burke’s version. Two of my favorite musicians along with on that list.
linda
One note is amazing….I love that, Jason.
Thank you,
linda
Good,solid advice!!!!!! I agree it should be read daily
This is a great post and one every FiddleHedder should read often in my humble opinion. I’ve been rethinking my own approach to my fiddling and this reinforces some decisions I’ve made.
Excellent Jason. Thank you
Mike (Frank’s Fiddle)
Thanks Jason. Many teachers recommend using a metronome but I find it too easy to over-ride/ignore. I’d need a metronome that beats me over the head. I often play along to backing tracks using music speed changer app to increase or reduce the bpm, or play along with a guitarist. Is that sufficient? Does a metronome add anything more?
I like this type of practising as makes me more precise in my finger placements and on my bow angles. Returning to drone central, is a good routine for me.
All useful food for thought because I certainly get these off days. I find changing something is the way to go, usually just playing really slowly for a bit seems to help. One thing that I also find useful is to swap fiddles. I have one quite old, battered and worn and a second more modern one. The older one sounds more woody and mellow but is harder to get the intonation as I’d like it while the newer one is rather crisper and precise but lacks the magical musical tone of the old one. I find that when I get frustrated, a swap of instrument can be positive. This also works when I begin to get tired and ready to stop. Swap fiddle and I’m ready to go again.
Curiously, it doesn’t seem to work with bows.
Thanks for sharing.
Great exercise for learning to add variations. When you first play the tune, and especially at around 6:08 minutes on the video, it has a stronger hoedown sound which I think has to do with subtleties of timing (a bit of swing?) and maybe which beats are stressed. Can you please give us pointers on how to work up to getting that kind of sound? Maybe a little exercise or something? Playing it straight just doesn’t have the same cool sound. Thanks!
I am wondering why I cannot seem to check this song off as complete as two prior to it. I’m a check and complete kind of gal. It gives me more motivation when I need it which is sadly most of the time.
I ENJOYED and RELATED to every word, Jason. Thank you so much.
Last year a bunch of friends put together a memorial for a friend who was a musician.
My beginning dulcimer friend and I wanted to participate, so we learned Bile em Cabbage, Wildwood Flower and May the Circle Be Unbroken.
We made songsheets for everyone to sing along, practiced with the band, and felt great by picking tunes we could learn and have fun playing. You can imagine a whole group of people and musicians rockin’ on Bile em Cabbage. Yes, simple and fun and the BEST! Thanks for all your inspiration.
I love this song. Just took my fiddle with me to NZ on a holiday and didn’t get to practice as much as I liked – a little bit self conscious when camping in campgrounds. Instead I used it like a guitar and practised my fingering that way. Now home and bowing again, I find that my tone/sound has improved. Very happy! Thanks, Jason for your excellent lessons and words of wisdom in your blogs. You’re style of teaching is just perfect for me. I want to play everyday and no longer want to throw my violin across the room in frustration when it sounds terrible. Using your tips, I Am improving, and love it!
Jason
Love the Carter family. What an amazing story they have.
Bob C
A lot to absorb on day one! Fortunately I play mandolin and guitar and can read standard notation and tab. Also have a fairly good ear. Have sung choral music for 60 years.
I love playing this song! It has such a nice funky sound to it. Thank you!
Maybe you deal with this issue later–I can pretty quickly find a note by ear, but how will I be able to find the note/finger placement again when I’m playing without sliding my fingers around to find it?
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.
This is really fun! I am SO stoked!
Love this song! Can’t believe I’ve never heard it. Such a great practice tune. Really dig singing in between each part, great recommendation!
I feel like the unicorn was absolutely necessary. I think more of that would be helpful in my learning
Also Perhaps the scripture in Numbers 23:22 will shine more light on us (parenthesis added for flavor)
22 God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn (when playing his fiddle).
Sorry not turn the key, turn the pegs 🙂 Linda.
Hi Jason, you make tuning look so simple, i am so terrified to use the key to tighten the string, i have broken many strings doing this especially the E string which is so thin. How do we keep the keys from unwinding. I have not played for some time, (my glass fusing keeps me busy), but i would like to practise and the strings are very loose. I once had that powder chalk stuff put on but that locked the keys so hard i could not even move them. Thanks so much, i absolutely love your videos. All the best Linda – Port Alfred, East Cape, South Africa.
Thanks for this, Jason. I always get frustrated when trying to use a metronome, but I usually just jump right in, and before you know it, I turn the metronome off. I think I need to take some of your suggestions here, like…
-Start with simple things: single notes, intervals and scales
-Move on to phrases from simple tunes and eventually full tunes.
-Before starting to play, listen to the beat for 10-30 seconds. Feel it in your body.
I love this. I feel like a mockingbird.
Perfect! Exactly what I have been working on in my private fiddle lessons. Thanks!
Good system for practice—it does work.
Thanks Jason
Excellent lesson, challenging and fun. Thank you !!!!!???
… actually – just added Sailor’s Hornpipe to the bucket list 🙂
Thanks Jason! this is an excellent lesson I’m loving it! My family are happy for me to practice in the lounge now… thanks to awesome lessons like this I understand now how I can improve & my love for playing has grown twofold ??
If I’m honest I don’t ever see myself playing any kind of advanced fiddle tunes; I simply don’t have the dexterity and I doubt I ever will – so my bucket list is probably very lame compared to others with more skill and ambition.
However, the reason I began this at the end of last year was because I inherited my Father-in-Laws violin when he passed away and I kind of committed myself to learning to play one really good tune well before his birthday at the end of October, which bizarrely is the same date as the day he died. His name was Frank and I’ve called my instrument Frank’s Fiddle, after discovering that fiddle playing is what I want to do rather than violin playing.
I found a tune called Frank’s reel, which is (to my ear anyway) phenomenally complicated and well above anything I’ll probably ever play, but as it’s a bucket list, I suppose Frank’s Reel is my bucket list tune.
In reality, I’d be happy to play any number of tunes in a fiddle style and as yet, just over a month in to my fiddle playing career, I don’t have any others on my list to play 🙂
Novice fiddler Mike
Great Lesson, Jason.
Thanks so much,
linda
Farewell Kitty, May you and Jason meet again in another dimension in another time….Keep on a meowing.
linda
Just what I needed. I was so frustrated with my sound. Thank you
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
The three things that have helped me improve my sound the most are (1) use more bow (2) use more pressure (3) even out your bow speed. You can use more pressure than you think. You get more pressure either by rotating your wrist or your whole arm, not by “pushing down” the whole arm. For me, I have to rotate from my wrist because if I rotate the arm it kicks off my shoulder impingement especially on G string. Ouch.
Also make sure you are playing maybe 1/3 the way down from the bridge (in the space between bridge and fingerboard).
It is much better to get a bit of a crunch from more pressure than it is to get a thin creaky scratchy sound from not enough pressure. A bit of a crunch means you are on the right path.
Jason’s open string sound is wonderful advice. For a warmup, at start of practice I always spend 3-4 minutes playing open strings, whole bow, slow, 4 counts to the bow, maybe 70 beats per minute. This gets my mind and body in ‘the zone’. You can download a free metronome app for your phone and set that at 70 beats. Then draw your whole bows, tip to frog, open string. Keep your eyes on the bridge to make sure you are drawing the bow straight parallel. Watch yourself in a mirror to help with the parallel. It takes a long time to leanr to do this. Remember, this is a marathon, not a sprint. Rotate arm a little to get some pressure, draw bow and think about the sound and don’t forget to BREATHE and RELAX. If you stick with it, good things will come! “Wax on, wax off. Don’t forget to breathe. Very important!” – Mr. Miyagi 🙂
Thanks for your thoughts Pete. And thanks for the Mr. Miyagi quote. “Wax on, wax off” is one of those clichés that are very true and useful. Breathing too!
Remember, this is a marathon, not a sprint.
Also good advice!
I can’t get the lessons to play.
Sorry we didn’t help you with this in a timely manner, are they working for you now?
Loved it when playing along .. then when I tried it with the drone I got all Yehudi Manure-urin on myself and lost all timing … Thought my fingers were faster than they are .. or my brain is faster … great fun, although I can’t see when I will ever be able to play hoe down at any kind of hoe down speed.. I’ll stick to hoe down for seniors perhaps 😉
very pleasantly surprised at how un-scratchy that became. I know it’s very simple, but the cross sting from A to D string gets the claws out every time … this time a little less 🙂
Love the Soldiers Joy and Fairy Dance Duets. My wife says they are great to listen to. The ability to play with the backup track really is a lot of fun and definitely makes me want to practice. The only drawback is that tune gets stuck in your head ! Which is actually probably a good thing. I wish we could loop just the medium and fast tempo parts separately.
Thanks for all the great content thus far.
Bob C
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.
Hello, the 4 and 8 note exercises are missing.
thank you! love this site.
Learning and having fun. Thanks Jason
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!
There is more to be learned from this lesson than just variation on a classic melody . I’ve just started working with this lesson and already I see things that can be applied to I other tunes.
Good job Jason
I’ve tried for years to play with the bow parallel to the bridge but, no matter what, the bow swayed from side-to-side. Recently, after watching me play, a banjo-playing friend suggested that I keep my right shoulder back. The result was instantaneous: the bow traveled relatively straight and the tone was much improved with none of that irritating scratchy sound you get when the bow moves side-to-side along the strings.
Yes. Bravo. Best thing I have learned recently is slowing down and listening closer and enjoying the parts to whole process.
Biggest challenge in bowing? Unlearning sloppy habits from when I tried to learn the fiddle several years ago. I had an old-time bluegrass fiddler as my teacher and he was amazing. Problem was that our lessons became so social that he didn’t correct my bow hold, bowing – we just played together. I could have learned so much from him if I had been a more advanced fiddler. I put the fiddle down for 10 plus years and am trying to learn better technique and not jump into playing tunes. Really enjoying your site so far!
Great format for the follow-up on your part Jason! I really appreciate being able to quickly find info that didn’t sink in while watching live. Thank-you.
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.
This is good, because even though i got the idea of slurs, I didn’t feel the need to use them in previous songs for the flow.
This song starts off much faster than the other songs seemed to get even at max speed, which is a good way of forcing yourself to start using the slurs (because even if you could bow that fast doing single bows, it wouldnt sound very clean)
I really enjoyed Office Hours, even though I couldn’t be there “live”. It bumped up my excitement about playing. Thank you!
Thanks for posting this, Jason. I completely forgot about it! 🙁
Thank you Jason … enjoyed the session and paid my subscription today ??
Thanks for the support Reevo 🙂
??
Love me some Fiddlehed!
I just lost my little doggy girl back in August. This broke my heart again man.
Who knew I’d already be playing Mozart on the fiddle? In your face André Rieu
great having options
thanks for variations and the 3 parts
would love more on positions 1 2 3
I wish the sound tracks didn’t shrink back again when I hit pause. I want to be able to play the track and read the music but I can’t scroll fast enough or have the track ready in the right place to do that.
Very sight dependent when playing along even if I get it memorized without playing along. Open to suggestions on how to do this better. I really like the varied speed tracks to start slowly and progress the speed. I find I often speed up in the middle so these are helpful if I can start at the same time as the track
Hi Blucy, once a track is playing, try hitting the space bar on your keyboard to pause it. Press the space bar again (without clicking anywhere else) to resume the track where you paused it. I struggled with the same thing!
Got through Lesson 1; now onto bowing at which I am terrible!!
Wondering what your subscription is and where should I start. Have had maybe 7 lessons when I go to Florida but would like to do more.
Lou
Hi again. The last tune in the fourth quarter sound for me like a D, Can it be correct?
When I first heard you play it I thought I wouldn’t be able to get it, but the way you have it broken down was great. I have the first part comfortably and will work on the second tomorrow. I will be buying a membership next week. Cheaper than private lessons and better than any that I’ve had.
Thanks Jason
Very nice. I enjoyed that, but it is above my pay grade right now. 🙂
Thanks that was fun
This is also very fast for me, but it’s challenging me to learn to use slurs and bow changes, and the pedal exercises help.
Great lesson ????
I was very sorry to read that Kitty is no longer with you. It’s sad that he’s not here anymore, but his story is a very happy one. He was homeless, and you took him from your friend’s doorstep and gave him a wonderful, permanent, loving home. He had a great life because you. Thank you for sharing your beautiful tribute to him with us.
Enjoyed playing the exercises and the songs. The clearness of my notes seems to be getting better much of the time.
Hi, enjoying your lessons and have a suggestion. Maybe you have done this with other tunes but I would LOVE to have a lesson on dressing up a song once the basics are mastered. I bet this song lends itself to a bunch of double stops and a few extra notes here and there. thanks for all you do!
Jason, I liked him because he was so vocal…what a very good cat…w
I’m getting the bow bouncing when I start playing a string. I really have to concentrate to try and stop this.
I saw this in the corner of my eye over the past few days in emails and on my Facebook feed, but waited until today
to read the full story and watch your video tribute because I knew it would be emotional. Then later, after practicing for a couple of hours, all I could think of was Kitty and the lessons Kitty has been teaching us all along; play with passion (drooling pics), play with attitude (campy/attitude pics), have fun playing (Kitty camping it up in the background of your lessons) and take breaks (lots of sleeping pics). Made lots of breakthroughs today and everyday thanks to you and your passion for teaching. Kitty will live on in the minds and hearts of a great many.
Thanks! Perfect timing for this lesson. I’ve been practicing Cotton-Eyed Joe (8notes.com version). Tons of slur twos and several triplets across all strings. My bowing felt sluggish. Needed to get a little bounce and lighten it up. This lesson should help.
It’s so hard to lose a close friend. You sure gave him an awesome life. Your video was sad but so cool because the bond between you and Kitty is so obvious. Thanks for sharing that. Sorry about your loss. Take care. And thanks for the great lessons on fiddle…
<3
My heart goes out to you in the loss of Kitty. He had become a part of my life in a small way as I watched for him in each of your videos. I thank you for sharing Kitty along with your amazing talents and love of music.
One of my favorite versions of this song, thought I’d share.
Thank you for sharing Kitty with us. He will be missed.
I have the same problem as c-note … the response time is way too short on all but the first one for me. I just couldn’t keep up and pausing every time isn’t feasible. Good exercises though, but I’ll never be able to mark this one as complete I think
Hey Reevo, I ended up just speeding up the responses to fit into the space. When you “know” what to play, you can kinda speed it up anyway.
Thanks for expressing your experience with this Mike, we will update this when we can and add in more space for the responses.
this is what I’v been looking for. Thanks glad I joined!
I’m really enjoying the lessons and practice. although getting trickier! Just looking for some tips – I’m getting a nice full sound bowing on open strings but the sound becomes much weaker when I then do the D-string left hand fingering – I think I’m pressing hard enough with finger tips but the sound is weak compared to when I play open strings – any thoughts? Thank you and I’ll be subscribing to the whole course soon.
I feel the same way, Esther! The finger notes just sound “dull” in comparison to the big beautiful open notes!
Jason, I am so sorry for your loss. Our pets provide such a warm and happy spot in our lives. Losing one is painful. Your tribute was beautiful. I will still look forward to seeing Kitty in your wonderful videos, as I have been viewing them repeatedly. Thank you so much for sharing your talents and love with us.
Very sorry to hear about Kitty, Jason. I always enjoyed seeing him in your videos. He’ll live on in them too of course, which is nice. Our fella curls up in the fiddle case when I’m practising. (I took a picture of him and use it as my Facebook profile pic). I don’t mind except it means the case is always full of cat hairs. We run a B&B and I always pretend to the guests that I think he’s a pain in the neck. Which he is sometimes, but it would be hard to imagine life without him. Thanks for all the videos. I only took up the fiddle a few years ago, at the age of 67. I’m not very good, but that’s OK. I love it, and it’s already given me so much enjoyment. Last year I went across the border to Burlington, Vermont to see my favourite fiddle player, Martin Hayes, from County Clare. A small venue, maybe about 50 people, and a workshop the next morning in the local music store. You’ve been a big part of the pleasure I’ve got from all this, and at least writing to you about Kitty is a chance to let you know how much I appreciate it.
I’m very sorry to hear that you lost your dear friend. It made me smile when I seen you chatting with kitty. Take it easy
Sorry for your loss Jason.We’re all going to miss Kitty.It was pretty obvious from your videos how much you cared for her.
Thanks for sharing that with us.
I will also miss Kitty in your videos. Thanks for sharing not just your joys but your sorrows with us.
thank you for sharing Kitty in life and death. I enjoyed a surrogate friend as a human unable to take pets.
Beautiful video and tune. We are stardust. ????❤??????????????
Thanks everyone ?
I appreciate all the kind words.
I hope the video wasn’t too sad…
Yes, it was sad. But all loss is sad…As a veterinarian, I truly understand since I accompany my clients in their losses almost daily.
It is sad but also a privilege to be able to hold their hands and hopefully ease their pain.
I will miss Kitty in your videos…I starting looking for him every time I viewed your lessons.
I’m sure heaven has a “Kitty” door. With sympathy.
Hello Jason,
Although I’m a fairly new student of yours, I feel like I lost a member of my own family. Thank you for sharing your life and love a very special cat and part of the Fiddlehed family. I’m so sorry for your loss!!!!
Warmest regards,
Steven from Long Island New York
That was a very touching tribute Jason. I’m so sorry for your loss. I certainly could feel the love. Sincerely, Cheryl
Very sad to hear about Kitty, Jason. In your videos, I was always looking to see whether he would come through your door. And if he didn’t, the videos always had that thumbnail! Your memorial video was very nice! I enjoyed seeing the Life of Kitty….. Best, Cindy
Jason,I’m so sad for you and Kitty and your video made me cry…I always lived with lot of cats in my house and I understand your sadness…When there is one who dies I try to console myself remembering all the good time we had together and I tell myself I did everything to make him happy…With the time your pain will be less hard but you’ll never forget Kitty…We’ll miss him,us all the Fiddlehed’s fans who use to see him in your videos…Courage Jason…
Sorry to hear about the loss of Kitty. He brought so much joy to my daughters life while she was learning the fundamentals of fiddling. She always waited until the very end of the video to see him purring or barging through his pet door. She always had a big smile on her face after she saw him. Now that she is an accomplished fiddle player and winning competions, perhaps there is a part of him inside of her that lives on. My sincerest sympathies. Jim
Jason,
I’m so sorry for your loss, having had two awesome black and white “kitties” I loved seeing Kitty everywhere on FiddleHed…your “memorial” was beautiful the song you wrote beautiful and I loved the purring in the end….can’t help feeling sad knowing what it’s like to lose a buddy.
Though, it feels good to be sad, let go and let be ?
Amy
Sorry Jason, he was a pretty cute kitty. I will miss him interrupting your lessons to remind you to feed him.
Jason, I am deeply sad for your loss. Sometimes cats can feel like children to us. I know you were so close with Kitty. That is one reason I subscribed to your lessons, because I saw how kind you were to include a Kitty. We are all connected by the love of our pets. Just know you are supported through this sad time in your life. Peace ☮️
Thank you Jason for sharing your tribute to Kitty. I know you miss him a lot.
Jason,
RIP Kitty. We got a new cat upon moving to Va. 20 years ago. Her name, also, Kitty. We lost her about 5 years ago. I have two cats now, and a dog. None of them really cared for my “new” music at first; but they’re OK with it now. Sorry for your loss.
O
Sorry to hear about your loss. Jason. It is hard to lose a faithful pet. Three years ago, I lost my first dog, Rosie. We had her for almost 15 years, and when we had to put her down, I mourned and cried more than I have ever done for a fellow human being. I think the death of a pet strikes us to the core because of their innocence and unconditional love for us. Glad you expressed yourself in your reminiscences, music, pictures and drawings of your friend.
I’ve only just found you (and Kitty) here on the internets, but could plainly see how special your Kitty is to you ❤️ I’m so sorry for your loss. Clearly his spirit will still be present to many, thanks for being a good human for this sweet cat!
I especially enjoy the “other versions on YouTube” that you include in the lessons. “Cluck Old Hen” by the Hillbillies was hilarious to me and fun to watch. 🙂
I am learning more and more every day, and am motivated to practice every day by the amazing lessons in this course.
It bothers me that I can’t “mark complete” each section that I complete. Some have “mark complete” at the bottom, and some don’t, or maybe I don’t understand how it all works. Sometimes it takes me days of practice to complete a task (i.e. call and response has taken me a week to complete off and on, and today, as I finally complete it, there isn’t a “mark complete” at the bottom). Any advice or explanation to help me out on this?
I am forever grateful for having stumbled across Fiddlehed on the internet! It is an amazing course, and well worth the price of the lessons!
Happy down in Sweet Home Alabama!
Vic
Hi FiddleHed.
I can not download this PDF. Any idea how to solve this issue?
Regards, P
Great lesson! On your fourth and eight note exercises the one that’s D2-1-0-3 should be D2-1-2-0
and the one that is D2-1-2-0 should be D2-1-0-3.
Some glad morning when this life is o’er
I’ll fly away
To that home on God’s celestial shore
I’ll fly away
I’ll fly away, oh glory, I’ll fly away
When I die, Hallelujah, by and by
I’ll fly away
Just a few more weary days and then
I’ll fly away
To that land where joy will never end
I’ll fly away
I’ll fly away, oh glory, I’ll fly away
When I…
Very Cool!
Thanks
Last October my father-in-law passed away. He had a violin, which I’ll call a fiddle out of respect for where I am 🙂 … it was a cheap violin, the kind that comes in a set, but he could never play it … in fact it’s his second violin because he gave up and sold the first, before deciding he wouldn’t be beaten and buying another. Sadly he died before he got even a note out of it and I asked for the violin, sorry fiddle, from the family … which I now have.
I had never played a fiddle, never even touched one in my 60 years of being alive, but I determined to learn to play something .. anything really, for his sake. So far I am getting notes out of it … which is progress … but most of all I’m actually enjoying it. There are any number of sites and youtube lessons … and my wife bought me Violin for Dummies for Christmas – thanks Babe! … but actually it’s a really good book … then I saw a video by Jason when I was trawling youtube yesterday and thought, “yep, that’s the one” … so here I am … now 61 and still not at the ‘putting my fingers on the fingerboard’ stage yet … although I did have a go last night and it was dreadful.
Just my story so far … we all have one and that’s mine 🙂
Cheers,
Reevo
Keep going Reevo, it’ll sound better soon!
Very helpful!! Thank you.
This is right where I’m at. The patterned rhythms are very satisfying. I’d like more of these in other keys, and patterns and rhythms. I liked the supplementary bit. Not up to slur 8 so much beyond open strings, much less 16, other than for laughs. But I think a mix of quarter and 8th notes for example, or some similar mix of what a hoe down or georgia shuffle or other rhythmic pattern would be would be a great challenge and a big help to jumping into new tunes because you already have skill at moving around in a key with a particular rhythm. Which is to say, thanks again.
This is excellent !!!! I’ve been trying a really unstructured version of this for some time but you have put it into a system that is truly usable.
Thank you !!!!!!!’
What a great way to improve string crossing and have fun at the same time.
Nice tune. Thanks for sharing. Can’t wait to hear what’s next.
In the “ Fingering with Plucking – Exercises” all of the “tucka” rhythms are single note exercises, not transitional exercises as stated.
Just lettin ya know 😉 and thank you for these lessons by the way, I’m very grateful and excited to learn more!
This is a great post, and it’s a perfect one to recycle as we start the new year of 2020. I hadn’t seen it before, since I began to play in May of 2018. Love how you described the relief you felt when you stopped comparing yourself with others and saw your actions in light of your original purpose. Back to basics is almost always good advice!!
Keeping the right thumb bent and fingers relaxed!
Good day! I absolutely love your lessons and how many tunes can learn! I started playing this year and try to practise everyday. I have tried a few teachers and I find that your way is so fun and exciting! It’s the songs with the play along that enjoy so much. One question I have is which brand of fiddle do you recommend? Thank you Heather
1) Strive for progress not perfection
2) I still have a long way to go but I am already so far from where I used to be and I am proud of that
A couple of quotes that a fellow student at a fiddle school I attended had on cards inside her violin case. Nicely written post.
I’m really enjoying learning these songs and this one is so beautiful ! Love it !
Thanks for your words of encouragement Jason. On most days I sound pretty good, not perfect and not great, but I keep right on practicing. Some days, when I pick up the fiddle…it sounds like to two cats scratching on a blackboard, but when I pick it up the next day it sounds pretty good. So, as you like to say “small steps, good is better than perfect and practice every day.”
Fiddle On and have fun!
Please can you add the notes for the swing pattern
Just so you know… after 3 days of the “Bile ’em Cabage Down” Variation 1, I am leaving it for awhile. I was never able to play along at speed, so I just took comfort in being able to play it at my own speed, and to avoid total frustration, I’m leaving it for now. I can always return later, right? 🙂
No way I am giving up! I may not be progressing as fast as I would like to, and may not be as good as I want to be, but I am making baby steps. I am one of those folks who wants to be able to play some songs and tunes while sitting outside on my porch, for my enjoyment and anyone else’s who might care to listen. My motto since I started is “play some and have fun”. My biggest problem is I can’t seem to practice more than a few minutes before I have to put my fiddle down because of the pain (arthritis) in my hands. I also have trigger finger in one of the fingers on my left hand that acts up from time to time. I find that very frustrating, but like I said, I keep taking baby steps. Thanks for all you do, Jason!
After a hectic and stressful (in a good way) end of year I’d been letting my practice slip so it was good to get this reminder. I was impressed by how good the Autumn challenge had made me feel so I intend to go back to that good feeling! Happy New Year to you all at FiddleHed! Enjoy the music!
I doubled my speed today, which was very encouraging. 🙂 Who knows what tomorrow holds, right?
Vic
The sun is shining and this tune is gorgeous like a rainbow. My post polar bear plunge endorphins are lifting me up from the darkness we’ve had for days now in the PNW. And I really appreciate this message. Happy New Year fiddlers. Time to play today!
Reading these words with my first coffee of the year, about to practice the first hour of 2020… Thank you!
I love the old time sound of this tune and as always your teaching style is encouraging and make me want to keep persevering. This is a tune I’m going to be working on, thanks. Even with all the technical troubles your website is fantastic! Happy new year!
Happy New Year. Thanks for the words of encouragement.
Now that was absolutely quite a challenge! I finally made it through the whole music sheet of “Bile ’em Cabbage Down” Variation 1….. I’m not discouraged, but exhausted! I’ll have to come back to this one, and practice, practice, practice in order to get up to speed. I’m not even going to let myself think negatively… I’m just going to be thankful I made it through once, and know that it will get easier and easier if I stick with it. 🙂
Vic
Yay!!! AWESOME! Creativity as a process. ?
Thanks for sharing! Now get back to work and fix the site or you’re fired! I’ll just stand behind you and hover over while you fix it, over the entire weekend. And remember to fill out your TPS report. Thaaaaaanks. (Hoping that knocks those crazy thoughts about the easy corporate tech job out of you. I used to work in tech, had a boss that took credit for my work and literally called me 7 times at nights when I was home sick so I could come in and fix something he couldn’t do, but took credit for. Love the drawing!)
Hardest part of bowing? Getting a clean sound on the D string without squeaks or clipping G and A strings
Using my week off to spend time developing confidence with bow, with sound, with hearing myself. Jason – I love the gentle pace you take things at and how you break everything down into manages bits. Makes me feel that playing well is achievable. Huge Thankyous!
Always great tips, techniques, and new things to try as a way to improve. How do you do it????
opps…”Thanks again for all you do”
Hi Ya Jason,
Thanks so much for Breaking Up Christmas. What a fun tune & love Tommy Jarrell’s playing….wow….And Molsky’s as well. I guess I’ll have to play 1000 times and then a 1000 more to get up to speed.
Thanks again for all you, and Happy New Year to you and yours….linda
What tune(s) do you recommend for beginning Sawmill Tuning?
I’m going to retune an old fiddle I got to Sawmill. It already has a cool old sound so should be fun to A-E-A-E!
YaY! Love this! Thanx! and Happiest New Year, Jason 🙂
Hi empancer and Jason.
I’m not having any trouble at all going back or forward to other lessons after I’ve log in. P
Some times my wife says “ya know honey, that’s not the worst thing I’ve ever heard”
I guess you could say ill be playing the pry in no time! all thanks to fiddle hed!!!!!
I love it!!!!
I meant to say the opry!!!
Have a blessed Christmas Day kitties!!
Well done!!!!’ Thanks for a great year of lessons . Have a happy and blessed new year
Hi Jason,
I don’t seem to be able to get into any of the lessons after I’ve logged in. I only seem to be able to get to the most recent lessons using the “search” button. Am I doing something wrong?
Mark
Thanks again! How do I send you your Christmas gift?
Send me an email when you have a moment.
Hello there, you can contact us at [email protected]. Thanks so much for your kindness.
Wow, this really opens a lot of musical doors!!!! Thank you Jason
Hi Again Jason,
Amazing….I did it! Of course, I need more practice, but I get it and I love it. Thanks for making this video. It is so helpful, and believe it not, simplifies the whole idea of transposing so much for me and I’m sure others as well.
Thanks again,
linda
I like these different modules (naughty me for not finding them sooner) but now I understand why I haven’t been able to slow down so many lessons. I went on line just to see if changing the speed is part of vimeo and it appears that it should be. You may be ahead of me but if not, I think it would be worth inquiring about it. It would be incredibly handy for practicing so many of your lessons. The sound tracks are nice but I have trouble hearing them while I play. Right now I’m using the printout of the lesson and a metronome. The more I study under you the more I marvel at what a great teacher you are. Thanks so very much.
I have backed off a bit from learning tunes to work on technique,bow controll etc. To slow down is challenging to say the least. Makes for a good practice session!!!!!
You are a genius! I’ve looped small segments of this until I’m loopy (I’m talking hours and hours!) and I have the Kickoff until I return it after a tedious work through the first segment, actually getting it if I leave off the double stops and get back to the Kickoff and, without the slightest effort, no matter how slow I go, I’m doing reverse shuffle. One can only laugh. I won’t quit but I’m certainly more of a realist than when I first heard you play it. Lets say- it is going to keep me humble. VERY humble. I still think it’s cool. Have a wonderful Christmas and productive New Year. Keep up the good work. And the same to the rest of you out there-
These are really helpful. I like running through these to warm up! Keep up the good work!
@oldtimeshepherd @brendanrogers @roserock123yahoo-com @leesalew @owneee61 @pgross3956 @lewis @pintosixty @moonshadows
Thank you all for the kind words ?
Just so you know, I’m not seriously thinking of giving this up. I’m loving the work. I felt like sharing this doubtful thought because I think it’s the same process that plagues people whenever they embark on any challenging venture, be that learning the fiddle or starting a website.
It’s good for teachers to also be students. And i find sharing our stories helps us relate to each other.
I’m excited to make this site run better and to make new things for you ??
FWIW, I haven’t even noticed any issues with the site, though I’m only working in the 1.1 and practice areas. I’m running this in the Opera browser.
Hi Jason….I’m having trouble with double stops and making them sound good….I know….practice, practice….practice.
So we’re talking about different keys. That is confusing me. So why is it key of D starting on E1, G on A1, or C on D1? Where can I find that lesson? I don’t recall a thorough explanation.
All menus and everything else has been working great.
Thanks,
Peter
The hoedown version of Mary Had a Little Lamb (module 1.7) Full Play Along Track only has measures 10 -16 in it’s looping section that gradually speeds up.
When learning new songs, I usually think of old time fiddle tunes but being it’s the season, it’s fun learning Christmas tunes as well. You’re a great teacher and I’m thoroughly enjoying my lessons. Thank you Jason!
I love the play along tracks set at a particular speed because it allows for me to get into the rhythm and cadence of the song much more, and if I miss a note or stuff up the fingering I can join in again easier. I prefer to increase my speed gradually using the play alongs which are set at a BPM rather than use One track which has all the versions. Thanks for your awesome site. I’m sounding better and learning more everyday!
Glad you all are digging this. It was fun coming up with it. And there’s a surprise follow-up coming in about a week…
Great arrangement! Thanks for the fiddle gift!
Ditto on above. Happy Holidays to all!
great fun trying out all these techniques I’ve started dabbling with in the last couple months, on a fun familiar tune. Wiggling my way into intermediate mode
Thanks, keep the good stuff coming
b
Thanks so much, Jason for making this tune even more fun to sing and to play, and yet another challenge in fiddling! Love it…..From another ol’ lady out here in cyber land! Have a great Holiday Season and the Best is here, right- now- New year.
Thanks again for all you do
linda
Old Time “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town”. Now, that was good!
Jason, This is soooo cool. I love curve balls! You can bet I’m ignoring the house work right now and diving into this. I hope I can master it and blast the gang at our Christmas get together. Just being an old woman starter isn’t enough, I love to do the unexpected and you are setting me up great for it. Thanks so very much! Yes, I’m already fairly proficient with the Christmas music so I have the basic head start! Your lessons are never dry. You have a special knack of being personable. Keep it up! You leave me playing with a great big smile on my face and a glow in my heart.
Ha! Housework Schmousework.
I caught some of your videos on Youtube whilst I was doing the ironing at home while my wife was at the gym. (yeah, I know…) I have been trying to sign up for the course and as yet have been defeated by a combination of your site, my incompetence and lack of patience. However, The content and style and clarity of your teaching means that I will persist no matter what
Thanks Brendan. Please email
me at [email protected]. I’d like to help you with that.
Hi Jason. I appreciate what you’re saying, and it’s one of the reasons I like you so much as a teacher. You use the strengths we all want to develop in our day to day lives, to the challenges we face with learning the violin. You bring acceptance and humor and encouragement to the lessons. If you love teaching us, please don’t stop. I can deal with the site going down. There is plenty of practice to do without the site for those occasions when it happens to go down when I was going to use it. Thank you for the fun, easy-going style you teach with! Ginny
Dear Jason,
It is YOU we are here for! You are a wonderful teacher, fiddler, and human being! Hang in there as the site catches up with you 😉
Jason,
There is not a day that problems with the site keep me from playing. And it is the lesson that you teach that keeps me going; “when playing feels difficult, or parts of a tune don’t sound right; go back to something that is doable and sounds pretty.” I am on the sight most every day. Merry Christmas and keep on, if it pleases you! I hope so; you are a fine fiddle teacher.
Thanks @owneee61 !
Very encouraging to hear this…
P. S. Everything has been working correctly for over a week now except today when I tried to login using Firefox but it seems to be fine using Google.
OK, thanks much @pgross3956 ?
Kerry Polka is helpful for starting to figure out a nice tone. It’s cool that the back up track is starting to move away from straight rhythm on the 1234 and hitting the “ands”, etc. That’s definitely hard and extremely helpful for me.
Jason: The menu crashing does not deter me. You have done great work and are an excellent teacher. Fiddle on.
@lewis, that’s incredibly kind of you to say. Thanks ?
Jason I’m one of those updating you of problems on the site. I too had ? frustrated but usually could find a work around.
Mainy this comment is to support you and Fiddlehed. Please hang in there. Your site is the best that I have found looking for several years of trying others. Please don’t give up. You might remember my conversation and some other comments or emails. Being old and retired and being alone I have found purpose in life, that being learning the fiddle.
I have looked back to the other sites that I had either subscribed to or did a trial. As I see it yours is the best that is why I have been patient and pray you’ll straighten the problems to your satisfaction.
I could go on and on praising you but you should have the idea.
I would like to help in any way I can. Take heed of PintoSixty. He wants to help!
Merry Christmas Jason!
Peter
Jason…Hang in there. We understand the site is giving you fits.
In case any of these were overlooked, some things to consider with WordPress…
1. Is your theme up to date?
2. Have you contacted your theme developer for help?
3. Are all your plugins up to date?
4. Did you install any new plugins and/or features around the time these problems started? If you did, there could be a conflict.
5. Are all your server settings the latest? (PHP, modules, SQL server, etc.) Contact your hosting company.
Jim
Thanks @moonshadows.
1. It’s a customized theme. We did recently update the WordPress software.
2. I have a developer helping.
3. Will check on updating plugins.
4. Yes. We removed one recently installed plugin called rtmedia (which allowed users to upload video and audio directly to the site).
5. I don’t know. I’ll ask the developer.
It’s a tricky problem because it is intermittent. Please let me know if you see the menus crash again so I can reset them but also let the developer know.
Thanks much…
Hello, the hardest part about bowing for me is that my right forearm and shoulder get really tired.
P.s.s. – I just noticed that your newsletter is a WordPress product. So, would I be correct in assuming that you use WordPress for the site?
Yes, WordPress. Thanks much for your reply.
We are currently experimenting with removing some plugins to see if that remedies the problem.
I don’t understand this: p.s. – Because your text is written in first person, the demands on you for updating the site are increased. I could explain further, if you’d like.
It’s a tricky problem because it is intermittent. Please let me know if you see the menus crash again so I can reset them but also let the developer know.
Thanks much…
Jason, I design websites. What the heck is the problem?? What software/app are you using to design your site? Or, have you coded the whole thing in something like Dreamweaver? I’d like to help, if you’d be open to a helping hand. Simply let me know by what means your site has been created and I can do some research. (I’m sure you and some friends have fully investigated this problem, but, as the maxim goes, “a fresh set of eyes, blah, blah, blah …”.
p.s. – Because your text is written in first person, the demands on you for updating the site are increased. I could explain further, if you’d like.
YIPEE-KI-A
Excellent lesson, explained really well. I do struggle with timing and I think this will help.
Thank you !!!!!!
I’m finding that with these drills, and with the tremolo work, my bow strongly wants to wander up the strings so I’m bowing farther and farther up the finger board in a diagonal fashion. It isn’t an issue with the previous drills, I’m trying to figure out what’s different. Is this a posture issue or a bowing hand issue? Which part of your bowing hand keeps the bow in line, parallel to the bridge?
I’m just reviewing these drills after some time and wanted to say that at some point in working up to the 1.2 practices this problem went away. I think I have a much more relaxed and loose right hand now without locking my pinky. I also have choked up on the bow a little bit which might have helped get everything relaxed. I had the hardest time keeping my thumb bent for some reason, but now I can and the feeling of tension leaving is noticeable when I do. I must have just needed to work those muscles into shape.
Thanks for the lesson, Jason. I’ve been working on a few traditional Christmas songs. This will be a nice contemporary addition.
“happy sad” positively perfect. Thanks
also under second quarter maybe something there isn’t right? it says D1-2 But the audio is D2-A0
Please forgive me if I’m the one at fault. On a different note I LOVE FIDDLEHEAD!!!!
looks like the first exercise is labelled wrong under first quarter D1-2 The Audio that is there is actually D2-A0
But I’m new I could just be doing it wrong
This makes so much sense. I’ve been guilty of zooming through the songs. Your lessons have taught me so much already – I’ve gone back to the beginning because it is all helping me. Love the slow scale too – it has helped develop my ear and tuning.
Kate,
I’ve been finding going back to the beginning, too! Love finding solidarity in this community focused on building a strong violin foundation 🙂
Interesting piece. Not one I know and I had to listen a few times to get my head around the rhythm. It has an intriguing end. I think this will be a tune which will get better and better the more you play it, with potential for variations and embellishments as I get better!
Wow just want to play more …feeling the joy!!! Your encouragement and caution that to move through every step of the way is golden.Thanks
Tremolo is hard. You are great at it!
This lesson was really challenging. Is it just me or do the recordings need two more seconds for the response? It seems like I’m finishing and the call is starting already
Thanks for mentioning this, I’ll add it to the suggestions for updating this lesson!
Really fun and helpful exercice, thank you Jason! As someone said, sometimes I too needed to rush because there wasn’t enough time for me between the bits, but it’s also great because you have to think fast and get it right! I enjoyed the lesson!
Glad to hear it. Happy fiddling!
@lesdoigtstordus, thanks for the feedback. Just do the exercise multiple times until you start to hear it.
I don’t see Mary had a little lamb on this lesson
Love this song and have just mastered it, would like to learn the bass part but PDF link is not working – it just goes back to home page.
Hi Kate,
I just fixed this. Thanks for pointing it out.
I noticed with the finger plucking exercises all tucka (D0D1 D1D2 D2D3) the recording stays on just D0 !
“Ode to Joy” was fun!!!!! I really enjoyed playing along with the “orchestra”….
Play on!??
I have just completed the bowing and string crossing lesson..have learned so much about the right arm’s role and trying to keep relaxed. I discovered that if I do not look at the strings but ahead , my bowing arm is learning the feel and angle for each string…make sense? Look forward to the next lesson..
Your arms are with the flow it sounds like?
The “Little Lift” lesson was the best tip ever! That is a BIG plus for me today. I have been pushing down the strings so hard, and I didn’t realize you could balance out the sound by adjusting the pressure on the bow and not pressing down on the strings so hard! This lesson made me soooo happy!
Sometimes it’s the little things that help out practice the most! Hurrah!
Wow, I love the lessons and this tune is great! Thank you!
We like it too!??
My wife said “Honey, that almost sounds like something. Good job!”
Small steps, small wins folks!
Sounds like a win! Keep it up!
I finally guts-ed up to tuning my fiddle to sawmill. The video at 12:30-12:33 has the right words, “1-0” but the notation all says D2-1 which I think should be D1-0. As in F#-E, which is what the micro part/B1 says in sheet music. . . Looking at the beginner version in G major all the B parts end in the same interval-ish, so D1-0 fits with all 4 quarters for this one. Sounds better anyway. unless I missed the point somewhere. ?? maybe?
good problem to have. great fun here thanks
I was terrified to even let my fiddle teacher hear me play. It was a real problem. What did I do to conquer this fear?
– I joined a jam class that is a “safe space” for new musicians to sound bad, but hopefully improve. Look up the Wernick Method. It is in many states across the US
– I developed the “hey I’m new but listen to this cool song” attitude. It puts the focus on the music and not on you.I might butcher it, but I’m excited to learn and that is very appealing to most people. They tend not to judge you.
– In my experience, many people will appreciate your efforts and focus on that rather than the quality…and most times, I hear lots of stories of how people have always wanted to play and instrument but never did. You may inspire other musicians!!!! Go for it!
We all seem to go through our own timing and practice methodology, and everyone in music should be empathetic towards everyone else’s struggles! Keep up the great work!
I, too, am trying to learn how to jam with other players. I’m fine when I play alone, but when other players are right there, my fingers get all tangled up! It doesn’t help that they’re all professionals. Well, I guess it’s just a matter of time and LOTS of practice. I’m gonna just keep trying because that’s all I can do – I’m too far into it to give up now! Happy Holidays to all!
We all learn in our different ways and at different stages in our life. As long as we push through, keep it up!
My goal for 2020! Learning to play for and with others.
Awesome!!?
Good timing. My local teacher wants me to do Christmas carols with his other students at a nursing home in December. I said, sure. For a few weeks all of the songs have sounded fine. Tonight everything sounded awful! Every mistake you can think of. All I could think of was, what if I sound this awful in a few weeks? With all those more advanced students who are just kids. It only made things worse. Finally, we moved on to other things. I am blaming after work stress and traffic tension. But calm and home now, I think the audience will give some perspective– aging is hard. Maybe some will not have good memories, and will appreciate a few familiar tunes. Breathing now. thanks for the tips
All in the practice and patience! Keep up the great work!!
I am a beginner fiddler. I just performed for a coworker and made some mistakes. She still appreciated my performance.
I perform Irish dances. I make my errors and keep smiling.
I find that I have to go through with these performances and get through this period of making some errors. It just seems the process I have to go through.
Congratulations on getting asked to perform.
All about the practice, we all start somewhere! Keep up the fantastic work!
Yup,
Those all seem like great ideas!
Last night, however, I took part in a monthly jam here in Virginia. Normally, I play back-up chords to as many songs as I can. But last night I just jumped in and played “Whiskey Before Breakfast;” very poorly, even though I could normally play much better. But, the point here is that everyone really wanted me to succeed. A mandolin player and a guitarist urged me on and I did calm down. Jason, you are right; I don’t know if all jam groups are so friendly, but this one was. Anyways, I felt great afterwards.
Owen O
Sounds like an awesome beginning jamming experience! All the more power to you!
Working great for me. Now I want to learn to play like at the end of that play-along track!
Great! Go for the gold!
Awesome
??????????
Great
I play fine when I’m alone, but when I get to a jam my brain goes blank. I’m going to try playing along with tracks and CDs to see if that will help. I’ve really been struggling with this for awhile now, so having someone else who’s experiencing it, too, gives me hope. thank you!
Solidarity is a potent ammunition for creativity! Keep it up!
I have same problem. I find that trying to mentally shut out one or two people before I’m due to play and concentrating on my music- yes, I use music, – I finger over it slowly before I have to play. It seems to help me tremendously. I’m elderly- that’s being kind to myself- and have only been playing a little over two years, so I have given up on trying to memorize the music. It comes when it comes. I’m in it for pleasure and socialization. Anyway, if you memorize, do it mentally a few times through before you have to play it openly. I hope this helps. It’s not the end all for me but certainly has been beneficial.
Jason,
Wanted to say this post is right on. I find it very difficult to listen and follow along with either a video of a guitar playing a fiddle tune or a fellow jammer at a bluegrass jam. It is great practice to search for guitar or mandolin videos of tunes and then try to play along; but oh so hard to listen and follow. Luckily, i find that some of these videos have a little “gear” speed control in then bottom margin, and thus I can slow the video till I can “catch up”
Thanks!!!
Owen
Glad you are finding your own “rhythm” in your own practice! Keep it up!
Where is the sheet music? 🙁
Where is the sheet music?
The play along track posted for second quarter of A part (above) is not correct. It is actually a repeat or another version of the first quarter.
Thanks for the article. Nice to be reminded to relax and have fun.
Always a good reminder!
Thank you for this, I was really struggling with the self doubt demon, because trying to get the timing of Gypsy Hora had me pinned against the wall. As this letter reached my inbox, it reinforced the fact that by simply going back to the enjoyment of playing is the reason of having a fiddle in the first place. Thank again Jason.
Always have fun!
Great lesson!!! Tommy Jarrell was from Mt Airy NC about 40 mi from where I live. I never met him but my instructor in violin building class knew him. Tommy is quite a legend around here.
Wow! What a cool 6th degree!
I think it’s obvious that doubts are self inflicted. I struggle with good sound so the exercise mentioned above really helpful. A fellow player told me you just have to play thru the rough spots and keep fiddling, it will get better. So I go back and work on the hard parts until they sound better. If it was easy there would be more fiddlers than guitar players so that makes us kind of a special lot.
Thanks Jason for the encouragement .
Just keep playing, as Dory says! Sometimes we have to just keep going forward, thank you for the insights!
Oh wow! Talk about coincidence, I was just reading this morning about the Round Peak style and Tommy Jarrell and Fred Cockeham
Great tune! I also like the way you have started putting references to the different parts right under the video and the different parts of learning the tune into drop downs. A lot less guessing where to refer back on the video and trying to find the parts on the lesson page. Hope this make sense. It helps!
We’re glad you like it! Never hesitate to let us know if we can improve anything!
I think demons are present in just about everything we do. I have a name for my demon; I call him “Mr. Self Doubter.” Some times, he gets the better of me, but as I get older, I seem to get better at taking back the upper hand with my friend, “Mr. Intro Spection.” Now, when new things come along, like the fiddle, he seems to get a new strength or hold over me. That’s when I have to dig down deep and try to resist him. And, sites like FiddleHed help an awful lot with all the encouragement I find here. Lately, I noticed I am making a transition to remembering more of the accomplishments of my practice and not so much the mistakes or failures. Mr. Self Doubter may slow me down at times, but he is not going to hold me back. Happy Halloween to you and Kitty.
Wonderful insight thank you! Happy Halloween!
Most helpful exercise. Challenging in places…just what I need to stretch my playing. Thanks for the stretch.
Glad to oblige! We could all use a little loosening here and there!
Still had a problem with site again, could not navigate only get front page.
Also today could not get play slings to start, again, again, again!!! Have to reboot to get it to work.
Hi Jason, I just signed up yesterday, and am really appreciating your lessons and teaching style. Was going to do the practice challenge a few days ago, but didn’t receive my fiddle in time. Wanted to let you know of a strange occurrence… On the eighth note exercises, the audio clip for the E string is not the right one. It contains a more complex pattern on the G string and then ends the pattern on the D string. 🙂
Thanks for doing what you do. I think I will learn a lot on your site, and enjoy the process!
P. S. Just looked back and saw someone else already told you about that exercise. Oops!
We were able to just now fix this! Thanks for pointing it out!
Merci Jason, les choses appalachiens sont brilliants! …. ^..^
Hi Jason,
Another excellent lesson.
Hi Jason,
your instruction was a great help to me, I haven’t mastered the steady bowing without wandering. As always you keep it fun, keep up the great work. You might make a fiddler out of me yet. Yeah
That is great to hear that you have the volition to improve (which is half the battle). Keep up the great work!
Really appreciate this lesson. Amazing how that little move really gives an old timey sound. Yes, a 1000 times…at least! I appreciate anything you teach in relation to OT fiddle music. Don’t forget to let Kitty out of the closet.
Old times is always a favorite. Glad you are having a blast!
Hi Jason, it took me awhile to get use to drones…..love it
Ok I have come to a conclusion.
If I sign out then in the buttons do not work, unless, I do a “Restart” of my Moto Z Droid Android version 8.0.0 then it works!
Also I have to check off “remember me” so it automatically signs me in on the restarts or cold starts.
Go figure…
Sorry for the hassle! We have been experiencing some technical issues with our site recently so hopefully this will be resolved soon! Please let us know if you have any more questions!
Maybe it’s me. I just did a second reboot and now it’s working again. However what I did different I checked off “keep me logged in”! I’ll play with that and see and let you know if I find any conclusions!
Sorry!
I concur with Rasygirl.
Also same problems occured with track buttons are again not working. They were fine all day today as well as last night, now broken again.
Very frustrating!
From someone from the Keystone State, thank you for this article on keystone habits. One thing I do to try and make practice a keystone habit is to keep my fiddles close. I practice in my home office. I keep one fiddle in a display case above my desk so it is always visible and easily accessible, and the other on a violin hanger on the side of the bookshelf behind my office chair. No matter which way I turn, I always see one of my two fiddles. This has helped me. I can pick up the fiddle at anytime and practice a bit, and often do throughout the day.
In your sight, in your mind! Wonderful that you are so focused and close to your practice??
I spend a lot of time listening to different versions of the same tune so I can find the ones that fit my style of playing. Sometimes, players add so many grace notes that it makes it really hard to hear the basic melody to learn from. I stay away from those versions since I’m a beginner.
The Amazing Slow Downer is one of my best tools, and I’d be lost without it! I’ve tried learning from recordings, but now I just tape them onto my tablet and run them through the ASD to learn slowly and it has made all the difference to me! Fiddlehed is a Godsend though – I would have probably quit had I not found Ja’son and his perfect teaching style. Gotta go now – time to practice!
Thanks so much for the kind words! Discovering a solid foundation for your your practice style is invigorating and important!
I wasn’t getting any error message. When I would tap on the button to play a track it merely would flash the perimeter. It wouldn’t extend nor play.
I rebooted my phone, closed the browser, signed out, etc. to know avail.
However, it works right now this Saturday morning Oct 19.
Jason, this is a great lesson! I always like to watch your new lessons; they ground me. I, and I think a lot of others, get discouraged if I don’t progress on a new tune as fast as I think I should. Your encouragement to just get “10%” better, is something I have been keeping in mind during this Fall Challenge, and it has really helped keep me ENCORAGED, and I’ve seen progress in myself…rather than getting discouraged when I can’t be “perfect” with a tune. Thanks!
Now no sound tracks are working!
What type of error messages are you getting? This may helps us to determine the right solution.
who is Amber Thompson? also, is there an easy way to know the key of a tune without having to either play the last note or memorizing the key it’s in?
Hey @BuffaloGal,
Amber is a kind person who’s helping me to keep up with messages from all the Fiddleheds who are diligently practicing and have questions.
Good question about the key. I started writing a post which I’ll publish later but share with you now. Hope it helps:
Know your scales
I’d start by saying learn the essential fiddle scales REALLY WELL:
G, D, A major; E, D, A minor (Dorian)
And then these: C, F, B flat, E major
If you alternate between scale and tune with tunes you know, you’ll more quickly and intuitively be able to figure out the key for tunes you don’tknow. That’s why I always suggest that you first play the scale of a tune and then continue to return to the scale.
More on this:
What are the best scales to learn on the fiddle?
Are scales really necessary?
Drone on
If you’re trying to figure out the key and scale of a recorded tune, start by finding the root note (first note of the scale). This is often (but not always) the first and/or last note of the tune.
Play your best guess of what the root is as the recording plays. One note should sound the most “resolved.” For most (but not all!) fiddle tunes, there is one main root. And the most common root notes are listed above. It’s like you’re being the drone.
Wait, what the heck is a drone?Find out here:
Drone tuning the notes on the D string
Drone Practice
Drone Central
—
Once you find the root note, play a major or minor scale (Dorian, Aeolian modes) and see if it sounds good over the recorded tune.
Try this with each of these examples:
Arkansas Traveller A part starts and ends on D. Yes! It’s in D major.
Lazy Johnstarts on A (after pickup notes) but ends on G. Which is it?
Swallowtail Jigstarts on G but ends on E. It’s in E dorian. How do you know if it’s a major or Dorian scale?Start by knowing your scales well (sorry if repeating this is annoying). Dorian scales are minor modes of major scales. Without going too deep into theory right now, minor scales have a “darker” more “haunting” feel.
Finding the key from sheet music
Look up the sheet music on the interwebs and use the “key signature.”
This is a more precise method. In fact, you don’t need to know how to read, just use this handy legend:
No sharps or flats: C major
—
1 sharp: G major, A dorian
—
2 sharps: D major, E dorian
—
3 sharps: A major, B dorian
—
4 sharps: E major, F# dorian
—
1 flat: F major, G dorian
2 flats: B flat major, dorian
Warning: the recording may not be in the key of the sheet music! If that happens…more trial and error.
Use technology ?
There are apps that can figure this out. I haven’t tried them, but here are a few:
AudioKeyChain: https://www.audiokeychain.com
Chordec: https://apps.apple.com/us/wp-content/chordec/id649000766
Tunebat: https://tunebat.com/Analyzer
If you try one of these apps (or find another one), please come back to this article and leave a comment on how it worked. We learn together…Thanks!
Interesting approach. 10:00 pm here in SW Virginia but it’s on my list for tomorrows practice time. BTW, I really like that tune
Indeed an excellent tune! Keep up the great work!
This really does work. Works better the more you work at it (practice). What you get out of a lesson Is directly proportional(sp)to what you put into it.
I’ve been having a good time working with this tune. I’ve mastered the A part, now getting comfortable with the B part.
I think this video is emblematic of Jason’s great teaching method.
As a beginner, I haven’t yet been introduced to the vibrato technique (not that I remember anyway). If you watch closely in this video, usually Jason plays Hector without vibrato – but sometimes his finger just can’t resist wiggling a bit!
I’m thinking that if I follow this video: the vibrato will begin to sneak in for me just like it does for Jason.
I hope I’m not jumping ahead here. Comments are welcome…
Jason, I’d like to start from the beginning again. I am pretty proficient in first position but I’d like to go through all the basics again. I’ve been away from my fiddle too long.
Thanks, Cynthia Tuck
I-I-I-I-I-I-I R-r-r-r-r-e-e-e-a-a-a-a-l-l-l-l-l-l-y-y-y-y-y L-L-L-Ll-i-i-i-i-k-k-k-k-k-t-t-t-t-t th-th-th-th-th-th-i-i-i-i-i-s-s-s-s-s-s w-w-w-w-w-o-o-o-o-o-n-n-n-n……… ;D
Aaawwewsomme!!!
Great advice, I’m trying some of your technics, going slow.
For me a little difficult. But I’ll Get it.
I’m lucky, I’m retired and can practice as much as I want. I normally practice 4-5 times a day, usually 5minutes on the key of the song.
Forwards and backwards. Then work on the suggested parts.
Really like the tune, and found easy to play.
great success. love ho-down
Jason,
I’ve purchased a 4/4 full size Cecillo violin (fiddle), cost about $200.00 dollars. Came with two bows, extra bridge, Rosin, Shoulder rest.
Good deal???
Hi Jason,
What do I say. You so many things well and with clarity, it’s hard to point out any one thing. I do play a few instruments, guitar, bass, piano, some banjo. I know I’m in the right place to learn fiddling. I’ve previewed some of the song lessons, and impressed how your teaching method makes it fun and easy. Of course, I’ve tried a few basic songs and progressed through them fairly well.I know the final results depends on my comment to dedicated practice, as with any instrument. I’ve previewed some of the easier basic songs and surprised how I progressed with your teaching method. I can read music. An added benefit .
I like casual Fridays! Plus, the moon is so beautiful tonight, I can’t help but be relaxed. Good practice time, yay!
Sounds lovely!
How ’bout creating a Practice Challenge Category on your website, Jason? I’m loving this and not getting lost like I often do on the site. Each day you have a topic and the links throughout it are more related somehow and it’s all making alot more sense. Maybe I don’t have as many choices to make and it feels like I’m grounded on a path within each day of the challenge. I really appreciate that every day doesn’t get harder – like today having “Casual Friday” as another player called it. There isn’t the dread I sometimes feel following the “Lessons” on the site because every day I DON’T always get better so can’t advance or end up skipping around for something easier and fell lost in the maize. The Challenges are like workshops…smaller bites and tasty too. Of course it’s awesome to do the FPC with everyone involved and messaged from you, but there is so much good thought and process in this challenge, I recommend a Category that this thoughtfully curated content should live in. It could have another name than Challenge, it’s more like your theory of learning in intervals, only expanded over a period of days. Thanks!
Yep, it’s casual Friday. I was trying to be kind even though I thought I sounded more scratchy and hit more off notes than usual tonight. So I reverted to Oh When the Saints, which is the first tune I learned on the piano from my mom 47 years ago. Just the memory of her sweet words telling me to curl my fingers like little shrimp helped get the tone going better (sooo Louisiana, but good for fiddle too those curled yummy shrimp fingers). It helped me soften my left hand, which then sounded better. So Yep, this lesson is right on for me tonight too. Also, the pizza’s here. So Yay, I did it (over an hour), and I’m done for the night. Looking forward to a mute-free practice tomorrow somewhere nice. Maybe take a ferry to get there.
That sounds lovely! Nostalgia can make it a cathartic experience. Enjoy what you do!
Day 5 of 2019 Fall Practice Challenge and today I felt that the more I practiced the worse my sound was. Feeling disgruntled I went to check in and found this bit of wisdom on the day 5 page. Talk about appropriate! I am having a tea break and then I’m going to go back to my practice and be casual!
All in good time, patience is key in practice!
I think this tune is A Stack of Rye.
Thanks for linking the song names together, Cat~
It’s helpful to know the various names to a song to support finding more folks who posted videos/articles to this song under that title.
Thanks for this post, Jason. I like to just work on tunes, but I know scales are important to my learning, so try to do both. What has kept me playing scales are all you scale variations. They help to take away the boredom and make the scales much more fun.
Sometimes, I make up silly 8 word (or 8 syllable) “songs” that I sing as I do my scales. i.e. “To-day is go-ing to be great” or “Scales are fun to prac-tice each day” or “I can’t scratch my nose when I play” or “Ja-son is a sil-ly teach-er”. I sing them up and then back down the scale. Then when I bring in variations, it gets a bit crazy. i.e. triplets…I-don’t-know | what-to-do | when-I-go | to-the-zoo | should-I-free | all-I-see | so-there-can | be-care-free. Yes! A little crazy, but fun.
That’s great @moonshadows. I’ve suggested that for tunes (without lyrics) as a way to remember them. Singing is a great practice if you’re a fiddler because it develops your ear.
Newsflash: this morning, before reading these comments, I trimmed my beard.
Also, I can’t emphasize enough that i LOVE scales. Really. Some days i just play scales with a drone.
But what works for me doesn’t work for everyone. There may be some jaw-dropping old-time fiddler who learned to play by mastering tunes and who didn’t really play scales.
But if you can find a way to make scales interesting and fun, they accelerate your learning. They help you make connections between tunes. They help your fingers, ears and brain map out new tunes.
How can you make scale practice fun?
Hello from near Saint John, NB, Canada! Played fiddle for the first time around 2011 and am having a great time with it. Been learning techniques and songs from Fiddlehed for years now. What a huge help! Working on improving my sound with double stops and focus on hitting those notes right…also working on backup chords and memorizing songs and adding variation.
Excellent road map to a successful practice!
Love the melodic variation patterns part of this lesson. I went on to the next two to learn more. So much fun! I’m having so much fun!!! Fiddle on!
Fantastic! So happy you are finding your “rhythm” with practicing!
I play scales every morning for half hour before starting real practice on tunes, bow strokes etc. scales make you more versatile in any type of music I think. Good way to work on bow strokes And different rhythms.
Wonderful insight, thank you!
RE: Playing with a drone.
Darol Anger has a cd of shruti box drones in all the keys. As I was not happy with my intonation, I practiced by setting one of the tracks for one of the keys on repeat and for a full hour did nothing but play the notes in the scale and listening to the interval between the drone and what I was playing. I’ve done this in the major keys for fiddle tunes: G, D, and A.
The best exercise I’ve ever done for intonation.
Excellent practice technique!
Hey @skylerkat,
Glad you are enjoying drone practice. A good technique for tuning is to use individual drones to tune each note. I teach the process in this lesson: /beginner/start-fiddling-now-course-page/finger-dance/
Have fun…
Working on double stop scales past two days .
Keep up the great work!
Yesterday was a rough one work-wise, but I still made sure I got a few minutes of practice in…even, if it was only 10 minutes. Usually, on such a day, I wouldn’t practice, but I am determined to practice every day of the challenge.
Awesome determination! Sometimes it can help to have a goal to get us through!
Day 3 Fall Challenge: Eyes Closed is Fun! So here’s me with eyes closed on D Major. Yes I cheat a few times. I challenge everyone to post a video of playing something eyes closed, even something short and easy. And challenge yourself to figure out how to post. I get it about half the time 😉
[youtube]
Excellent! Great video!
Day 3
Whiskey BB, played at 96 bpm; notes and then chords. Some G and D scale patterns, listening for correctness. Double stop scales D and G, much better tonight.
Keep up the great work!
Great job, Richard!!! I don’t even know how to record onto You Tube. I think Jason did an instructional video or something on that. I will check. Nice going!
Owen
I followed instructions put up by jason to post that !!
I’ve been trying to incorporate 2 songs into one This is oh Susanna and boil em cabbage down having fun with the fall challenge!!
Thanks FiddleHed dude
I really start to enjoy this Drones. With the few notes i wanna play i start imagine a Melody and it becomes absolutely epic in my Head.
Let your imagination go wild!
Hello everyone from Jacksonville Florida. I plan on improving my double stops, playing in tune, and having smooth string Crossings. Good luck to everyone
Hello from Oregon. Thanks for the practice challenge Jason!
So glad you liked it!
As I didn’t record yesterday, i did so today on both Whiskey Before Breakfast and Blackberry Blossom; one song in D, the other in G. Played Whiskey BB with a guitar video both as a lead and with back-up chords. Neither song sounded great on record; just didn’t have it today, I think. Played for 1 hr. Great idea this group chat!
I’m french 😉
Thank you for all you do Jason
I will try Kerfunken Jig 😉
Très bien! Merci!
Yesterday I concentrated on scales, variations that held my attention while I traveled up and down.
Today (Day 2) I looped Hector The Hero Part A over and over and over so now (hopefully) it is really stuck in my brain.
Tomorrow I’m planning to attack the B part. Jason has a nice lesson on this great tune.
Great strategy, keep up the great work!
Thanks for the motivation! This is a great resource and it helps me to stay focused.
Excellent! Keep up the great work!
Hello fellow “Fiddleheads”! Im a Fiddlehed Student from the NJ Shore. My Fall challenge goal is to brush up on the Core & Bonus Songs from 1.1-1.5, targeting weaknesses in each song, and adding variations to ones I feel comfortable with. I am a singer/songwriter. Been a singer, play acoustic rock guitar, bass and keys, since I was 7. Started lessons with Jason on May 15, and also have taken up Mandolin (G-D-A-E tuning). Im open to practice or jam with other students on the Jersey Shore between GSP 82 and 117. Good luck everyone with the Fall Challenge!!
Good luck! Glad to have you with us!
Wow! Great to see so many taking the challenge! It feels good to know there are others out there, and I am not alone. It actually is comforting and motivating. Don’t forget to stop by the new forum group Jason created: Fall Practice Challenge Participants: /groups/fall-practice-challenge-practicipants/forum/
Let’s stick together and help each other out!
Jim
Love it!!! Grandma in Maine!
Hello from Scotland! Thanks for the challenge, Jason. I like practicing, but I’m lazy about working on hard stuff, and that’s holding me back. So I think I’ll commit to spending 5 minutes of my practice on things that are harder for me, like those darn Sevcik fingering exercises. The rest of my practice will be the reward!
Wow Scotland. I’ve been there once and loved it. Just recently I saw the Sevcik exercises online and they looked very helpful. I like your 5 minutes of hard stuff approach. Might borrow that. I also do 5 minutes of really easy stuff (at least) to produce good sound. cheers
Glad you like the lessons!! If you feel inclined we would love to add more testimonials and share your experience with our users. If it is t too much, send us a video or written statement saying why you like Fiddle Hed. No worries if not! Thanks again for fiddling with us!
Whatever works for you! Keep up the great work!
I’m in! (from southern CA.) I first picked up a fiddle about 17 months ago. I found Ja’son’s site through a google search trying to figure out how to hold the bow! ? His was the only explanation that made sense to me. I subscribed soon after and have been loving every minute!
I’m a piano teacher and sometimes challenge my students with “Who can practice the most this week, me on the fiddle or you on the piano?”
I’m going to work on “Old Rugged Cross“ for my challenge. It’s my dad’s favorite. He’s on hospice, so I want to learn it for him while I can. I’m picking it out by ear. I’ll probably also work on “Danny Boy” just because I really like it.?
Also, I’m a lefty. Any other left handed fiddlers out there?
That is great that you were able to find a learning technique right for you in the lessons! Thank you so much for fiddling with us and finding the love in bring music to others. We trust your father will be thrilled!
Hi everyone, Richie from near Valley Forge PA. Play every day and getting better ! Starting my 3rd year. I like to play on the boardwalk in wildwood nj. Trying to work up the nerve to sit in with bluegrass jams that happen in the bars around. I’ll be working on my D major scale and d pentatonic, trying to make a beautiful noise ! I’m also going to work on the song Tam Lin for my G scale work Good luck to all !!
Excellent
Hi Richie…I thought I recognized you user name. Good to see you taking the challenge. Jim
Thanks
Hi Richie,
Sounds great to play on the boardwalk in N.J.!
After practicing back-up chords on Fiddlehed and learning I,IV,V progression chords I was able to sit in on jams and play back-up chords on many songs, especially if someone shouted out the key the song was in. I stayed outside the circle till I gathered more confidence. I was lucky to find a jam where the people were friendly and forgiving!! Good luck!!
Thanks dude !
You are so welcome!
Here in Virginia, I pretty much play each day; but this social forum seems like a good idea. Hello everyone! I began to attend local bluegrass jams (very popular in downtown Richmond) 6 months ago; thanks to Fiddlehed lessons on playing back-up chords. But, leading a song is another story. To this point I have deferred to play lead on any song. So, I will take this challenge and see if I can get my timing down (as well as other things) and try leading Whiskey Before Breakfast. Normally at jams this is played very fast, so I am looking for some guitar videos, or mandolin videos that I can practice playing with.
Hi ownee.
Sitting in on a jam is a goal of mine
One of my goals, too.
Sounds good. Alternate between Whiskey and other tunes. This will strengthen your memory of the tune…
Hello from Wyoming! So glad to be a part of the challenge! I’m hoping to get better at the third part of a tune I’ve been taught at a fiddle camp called Leslie’s March. The is a quick arpeggio section on high notes that has given me trouble since I was introduced to it and it’s driving me bonkers! Glad to have a chance to really focus in on it. I had my husband record me playing (wow – that’s nerve-wracking in and of itself!) so hopefully I can post that in the forum. Happy fiddling everyone!
Hello from London! I’ve just picked up the violin again after 26 years, with the intent to play some free jazz and blues improvisations, and to escape from the daily grind. I discovered jason’s ‘Klezmer tunes’ on YouTube last week, which I have found very clear to follow. I have thus far learnt to play ‘Khosid Wedding Dance’ and ‘Hava Negilah’. My challenge for the next 14 days is to add more variation to Hava Negilah, and play slower/faster, until fluent. I’m also going to work on some vibrato…
Hi Seraphina,
Welcome to the Challenge. Sounds like you’re going to do some fun stuff…
I’m ready from Wisconsin! Just started fiddling 16 months ago after retiring from teaching. I love to practice (almost daily), but I look forward to using this time to focus on improving some fundamentals. Thanks Jason!!
I’m in,too. Up to my eyebrows. Tomorrow I head for Great Camp Sagamore for a Road Scholar ‘ Mountain Music and Dance’ program where this all started two years ago. This is my third fall trip up there and I’m looking forward to seeing my original motivators/instructors once again. To play daily is no challenge but it’s very upsetting when something happens to limit my time. Arthur Itis is doing its best to hamper awkward double stops and vibrato but the biggest challenge of all is timing. The new old fashioned metronome came today and is going with me…note to Tom above..have a ball! I got mine for myself for my 82nd birthday present and thank God for it all the time. Just invested in an upgrade and love it! It definitely outshines me. And, Yes, Fiddlehed has been a fantastic learning tool. For this Challenge aim to list my most persistent difficulties and designate set periods of time for each. My overall playing time each day is very liberal but not as well addressed at certain issues as it should be. Thanks Jason and Amber! Great motivator!
Practicing every day is my biggest failure! Hoping this will help. Thanks Jason!
I’m in, except perhaps for Oct 21 which is shaping up to be very busy.
I’m in Oliver, BC, Canada. Picked up fiddle for the first time about 13 months ago as a “turning 60” challenge to myself and signed up for Fiddleheds lessons shortly after that. Thanks for all the resources and encouraging approach to your on-line training!
Check out the new Group in the forum Jason created for those taking the Fall Practice Challenge. Let’s work together to support one another!
Fall Practice Challenge Participants: /groups/fall-practice-challenge-practicipants/forum/
Thanks for pointing this out Jim ?
My pleasure, Jason. I really think this Fall Challenge (how about one in the Winter, Spring and Summer as well?) is a good opportunity for all of us to increase motivation and support one another. I hope folks will make use of this new group.
Excellent! Us too!
Hi, all: When not traveling I already play every day but usually not with specific goals. So, for the next 2 weeks I plan to (1) spend time on scales, (2) get a smoother sound on the E string 4th finger B part in The Butterfly (3) work on string crossing in Fisher’s Hornpipe and (4) after hearing Fiachra O’Reagan play Uilleann pipes this afternoon, I am going to start using Jason’s drone tracks! I also plan to re-play some tunes I have “learned” more slowly to work on tone quality. I will record something each day as well. If there’s time left over LOL I hope to learn Morrison’s Jig. Anyone have the tab?
Here’s to playing every day!! Thanks for the challenge!!!?
I’m in. Here is the email that I sent to.a fellow fiddler:
You are the other fiddler “practicipant” whom I’m telling about my “taking the challenge”.
I’m going to work on double stop scales with alternating single string melody lines with syncopations, creating variations on Oh Susanna and Arkansas Traveller, and reviewing Stobbe books one and two. I will also record my playing at the start and the end of the “challenge”.
What are you up to these days on the fiddle/ violin?
I already practice every day, but I want to get better since I’m only 4 1/2 years into the fiddle thing! All my musician friends are professionals – so I have A LOT of catching up to do! Happy Fiddling from Arizona high country!
I’m in!!!! Looking for better fiddlin???
I’m in and up for the challenge!
This Jersey girl is looking forward to another fun challenge. Thank you Jason.
Yay! We hope you enjoy it!
Hi from a former Jersey girl now residing – and fiddling – in Central Oregon.
Hi, Bernie here in the Pacific Northwest. I hope to work out a humorous “Cheaters” set list to play with a friend, to include Tennessee Waltz and Your Cheatin’ Heart for starters. Might try come up with Jolene, and The Pines, for beginners by playing by ear, you tube slowdown/searching and writing up the tab that works. Then I want to be able to play through the set with only short breaks. Ambitious! Tone and string crossing will be critical. I will be happy with any and all progress achievable during the challenge.
That sounds like a wonderful strategy! Please let me ya know how it goes!
will do. In the Pines started shaping last night
I’m in Montana. My neighbors have urged me to do this.
Excellent!
This is something I’m really working on. I notice that when I am comfortable with a piece of music I can do it but with new music or if I’m trying to play too fast my fingers take on a life of their own and leap around like manic spiders!
Practice, practice, practice!
I am in!! Ready to giver….Hopefully make some new friends at the same time 🙂
From Alberta Canada
Wonderful!
Love your online name! Third Rock from the Sun was a great show! Third Rock from the Sun is a great song, too.
I’m looking forward to this. Thanks for the challenge! I’ll be practicing and Having fun in England!
Thanks, Jas’on! I am in! And ready to be bowing along ~ Heartfelt Greetings to All from New Mexico ~
I will!? I can’t guarantee the monster showing up though!?
I usually play most things more than twice but I do find that sometimes I’ll end up getting careless if I repeat too often and start making mistakes. I’m not sure why. Lately I was travelling in Scotland in my Motorhome with my sister and she brought her guitar along. Then I could play many repeats without a mistake which means that playing with someone else really helps!? ( I had just seen your video about students uploading themselves playing and I really wanted to video us by Loch Ness practicing! But it rained when we were going to do it and the lighting in the Motorhome wasn’t too good! Maybe next time!)
Next time please! We would love to see that!
On the 2nd quarter of the tabs the last 3 notes show open string assuming on “D” but sound like “A” string and, not that I know much about reading music, where I think it appears as an “A” or AO.
You were right about the missing A-string (AO-O-O) notes in the second quarter and it was never corrected to this day. O’ well at least we know to correct it.
Thank you for noticing this, Pat, and revisiting this comment about it, bringing it to our attention. I will adjust those tabs now. We really appreciate your feedback to help improve the program 🙏🏿
Well done Jocelyn. Thank you for your quick response.
Cheers – Pat
When I play along with the play along track, should I be imitating the fiddle or playing what was taught in the lesson? Also, I can’t tell a difference between the full track and the low fiddle track. Is there a difference?
sheet music missing again here 🙁 I won’t keep doing this but You get the picture– Sheet music is really handy for some of us… maybe many of us. I can’t possibly be the only one who needs it.
thanks
The link for Lesson: How to Play in Tune with Drone Notes, is an empty page!
Thanks pgross for mentioning. Looks like it got resolved now if you haven’t checked it out yet 🙂
PS: It did it again at about the 18:45 mark. Guess good things are worth repeating – LOL!
Hey, Jaso’n. In case it hasn’t already been brought to your attention, this learning video abruptly stopped and then started over again at about the 8:20 mark. Otherwise, it’s yet another great song to add to my ever-growing fiddle repertoire. Thanks for all the work you put into these and for the upbeat presentation. I have shared your website info with my “OLFIG” (Old Ladies Fiddle Instruction Group) friends. Hope they subscribe! – Gayle
Super helpful lesson on using slow down and other tools on Youtube to learn tunes, thank you! I am accidentally becoming more tech savvy as I learn fiddle. Hidden bonus. Haven’t tried yet, but I think pitch correction will be really great with friends who want to use keys other than g, d, or a. This website makes me wish I’d started playing a long time ago so I could imagine learning all the content here. But that’s a great problem to have.
All in good time and glad you are fiddling now! Utilizing all of our tools really helps us level up! Keep it up!
Thanks Blucy. Let me know how it goes. I’m always trying to think of ways to help people learn on their own…
Jason, I noticed that I have, in fact, been tense with the left hand and now that I’m aware it’s actually taking constant attention to relax, and I do notice the level of pain nearly gone when relaxed.
I’m so pleased to hear you’re working on the OBS. FYI – why that song is so important to me is I used to work for the “Nitty Gritty Dirt Band” for a couple of years with their transportation
in the 70’s and so impressed with John McCuen and his fiddle playing the OBS that that was when I was bitten.
So I’ll leave the OBS alone for awhile until you’ve trained me to be able to reach, at least, the 4th finger on the “G” string!
Thanks.
And thanks Kay for your response. I glad you got a smile from me. Carson Peters also says a purpose of his playing is “to make people smile. He’s about 15 now started at 3 1/2, check him out! I have to listen to him every day.
Practice, practice! That is great you have history with this tune, it is wonderful when we really connect with songs- it makes it that much better to play! Keep it up!
So cool that you toured with NGDB. I’d love to hear more about that.
I’ve outline the OBS lessons and made sheet music, but have a lot on my plate. Thanks in advance for your patience…
Had fun thinking about this today in terms of language. I love to learn languages. But it has taken a while for the old cliche that music is a language to ring true with the fiddle for me. (insert 80s pop song. . . Music is a language can’t you read? Smiths?) anyway. Today the slurs, scales, and pedals felt like like learning verb declensions. I may not be ready to navigate the trains without getting lost, but I think I can order from the menu. Looking forward to getting lost on the fiddle train and leveraging my language skills. thanks. We should get you a conductor hat.
Such a great analogy and insight! Keep up the deciphering and you will be fluent soon enough!
One way you can leverage language skills is to look for repeating patterns. sometimes a single phrase is repeated 3-4 times in a tune. Once you learn the first quarter, scan forward to see if it’s repeated.
So True
Jason..thank you so much for singing along to the play along video. It helps me to keep the melody in my head all day. I really appreciate it! w
This really does work !!!
I have been enrolled in another online course by a certified Suzuki teacher. I got a bit bored because my want is fiddle not violin. That’s why I’m trying Fiddlehed.
So far I I find this to actually be fun!
My goal is to play the Orange Blossom Special properly. Don’t know if I’ll live long enough to play it at speed or even properly before I die(I’m 75 1/2) but I’m having fun learning. I played the trumpet in elementary school but there weren’t lessons available when my family moved. I loved it and was good enough to be competitive.
Learning to play the fiddle has relived me from boredom after retirement and given me purpose! However it’s become a passion.
The fiddle sits next to my lounge chair so I pick it up for bursts all day long.
The previous course has been all “A” and “E” strings so now Fiddlehed will have me fingering on all strings. Because I’ve been trying to learn snippets of the OBS I have a pain at the bottom of the left thumb. What should I do?
My main question is will I be able to finger everything someday? Fortunately I have no or little arthritis is the left hand unless that’s why my thumb hurts when I strain to the “G”, I can make it all fingers down but with some pain. I’ve been using Blue-Emu!!! It definitely helps but not the thumb base.
Sorry I have the gift to grab. But I’ve been so excited about the fiddle and now even more since I discovered Fiddlehed.
BTW – I’m getting pretty good a rehairing my bows.
Thanks folks, I’ll keep you posted in the future how things are going.
Peter
Hey Peter,
First of all, congrats on beginning your fiddle journey.
I recommend holding off on OB special for now. Get the fundamentals down. And by that time, I’ll have my 4-part lesson series on OBS done (for reals).
Try to relax your left hand. Just play a single note and see how soft you can make it…
Your post made me smile since I also have become “addicted” to fiddle ‘playing’. Same deal here – music area has piano, loveseat, banjo & fiddle. The fiddle wins every day. Retirement has a new meaning. I get little else done, e.g., postponing mowing the grass and myriad other chores. I recently wondered about re-bowing needs. I am losing not just head hairs but horsehairs too. Loving my journey. Not enough hours in the day. Hoping to find a fiddle friend soon to help me. I also checked out several other online instructional venues. Jason’s is the best. IMHO.
Cheers,
Kay
What wonderful words, thank you Kay! Retirement is another journey nonetheless and it is fantastic you are filling your time with music! The world needs more of it in IOHO. Keep it up!
As I read the posts before me, I start to believe I’m in the right place here! Hello to all you Good People. I subscribed today after about a week of taking in the YouTube videos. Your method is logical, flexible, appealing, easy-going and direct. The real kicker to get me in is the variety of genres and styles you cover. I’m 55 and a life-long musician, recently retired from 30 years in public safety. Music has always been my happy place of refuge from life’s storms. Though I play several instruments in a few groups, the fiddle has always been my Holy Grail and I think now it’s time to seriously commit to this quest. I have been a novice violin student (day one, lesson one) about a half dozen times over the past 32 years! I have no foolish notions this will be easy or fast. You do, however, make it seem at least possible for me to someday reach a level I can enjoy playing with others. That is my goal. Thanks.
That is fabulous to hear that we can have such an influence in your fiddling! We are happy to have you join us!
Hey FrostyMac,
What other instruments do you play?
As you may know, if you focus on a good daily process, you will be able to do this.
One pitfall for people who’ve already learned other instruments is that they tend to rush through whatever course they take. I recommend you make something sound good every time you play. If you build a good foundation, than you will be in a your learning will naturally accelerate.
Very Cool. Thanks.
https://images.app.goo.gl/VPM4a8sRxhPferNXA
Twice the flavor. Twice the fun.
😉 😉
Enjoing it immensely…starting to sound like music… how this for a fun practice… play a verse tucka and the next hoedown then back to tucka etc….give it a go big fun
Thanks for the suggestion!! Playing is necessary when learning anything new!
Hi Jason and Amber! Thanks so much for all of the brilliant material – I’ve found it all so helpful. I found this new style a bit awkward to begin with but now I’ve got the hang of it and its definitely an improvement – the interlude is a useful reminder to focus on the sound also. The sheet music bits don’t always load very quickly – actually only the fourth quarter of part A – all the others were fine.
Hi Suze,
We love your kind words! We’re sorry you’re having trouble downloading the sheet music, though sometimes it has do to with internet connection and /or the specific browser you are using to access the site.
If it is not too much trouble we would love to use your words for future testimonials to be featured on Fiddlehed.com! We appreciate all feedback, and would love to let others know how you feel about Fiddle Hed!
Thanks Suze ?
I’ve been enjoying this lesson series so much! However, I’m noticing especially in this exercise that the sound of my fiddle becomes increasingly strangled and buzzy as I move up the scale with fingering. I also find myself accidentally hitting adjacent strings much more often with fingering than I ever did on open strings. I’ll admit that I’m not working with top of the line equipment and the tone problems may have something to do with that, but is there something I can practice to help keep a robust sound even on those F sharps and Gs?
Hi myArmCanFly,
Do you have finger tape on the fiddle? If so, that can cause buzzing with plucking.
If that’s not the case, then try to isolate each note to see if you can work out the kinks. Then play intervals like D1-2, D2-3.
The pdf link to the Swallowtail Jig easy duet doesn’t seem to work…
Hey Buckyboy,
I just checked it in chrome and the sound works for me. And no one else has mentioned it. Maybe check your sound settings, volume, etc. Let me know if it still doesn’t work.
Hey Buckyboy,
I just checked it in chrome and the sound works for me. And no one else has mentioned it. Maybe check your sound settings, volume, etc. Let me know if ut still doesn’t work.
Hey Jason,
The format is better and easier to navigate. Anxious to see if I can get friendly with downloading videos.
Owen O.
Thanks for the feedback Owen. If you have a decent internet connection, then downloading videos (the ones that are available) shouldn’t involve more than clicking the “Download this video” link.
Let me know how it goes…
I like the pluses that you can open for more content, but I’d like them even better if the minus signs would close the content to shrink the volume of material on the page again. This is a great improvement idea. If you allow them to pop back into the minus sign, then I can see tab and play tracks with less mad dashing to scroll to the right place before the man on the track says. . . 1, 2, 3 FOUR
Maybe I should memorize before I use the track, so feel free to keep that a bit challenging. But yes, like. And yet, seems it should work both ways.
Hey Blucy,
Right now there is always exactly one tab open, no more no less. What I think you are saying is that you want to be able to close ALL tabs in the accordion table, right?
Thanks for the feedback…
I love your lessons and love learning from you, but I find this “accordion style” difficult to work with. A lot of stopping and starting and trying to find my way. But thanks for asking for our input, and for trying new ways of teaching! It could just be me…
We always appreciate input! So thank you!
Thanks Roserock. I appreciate the feedback. This format might be weird at first.
If you don’t mind, please keep playing with it. Then let me know if it’s still awkward.
Thanks much,
I have kept working with it and am getting used to it now! Thanks. Like things broken down on to little bits. Family hanging in there with my practice. Only the dog is completely honest. And he doesn’t always leave the room.
Hang in there with them! And give the dog more treats because they sound like a good dogo!
sound does not work in chrome
I do at least 15-20 min of scales each morning before practicing what ever tune I’m working on. It helps with intonation and is a great way to warm up. My next scale challenge is chordal scales. I’m weak on the double stops.
15-20 minutes is good. How long is your average practice session?
This was great to play as a round!
Good idea Felicity.
Hey Jason,
This lesson fits right into my practices now. I am playing with “making scales fun”, and chordal scales ( to make double stops easier). I would like to be able to pick out the key of music I am listening to at jams…..so this lesson is timely for me. After I practice tuning and scales, I pick out some tunes and work on timing and rhythm.
Want you to know, Jason, that after caring for my wife (who had been diagnosed in 2010 with a rare spatial/visual dementia at age 52) for 7 yrs.; she passed to a better place July 18. The fiddle is much fun for me and somehow very necessary for my life on-going. y wife was a champion Equine rider (Reining) and always encouraged my playing. So thanks to . you for all you do. I will play in another jam on Sept. 8!
Sorry to hear that. Glad to hear that you’re still playing music. Probably the best thing you can do…
thanks again Sharlyn 🙂
Thanks Sharlyn for all your hard work!!
This is so much fun! Thanks for this super-current piece.
Glad you like it!
I’ve been taking videos of myself playing to see progress and it really helps a lot. On some other songs, like Kerfunken Jig and I Saw The Light I’ve used GarageBand on my phone to record my own accompaniment track on the guitar to play along with and I’ve found that helps make it more personal and encourages more practice.
It is a unique perspective that can help with profound learning. Keep it up!
Awesome AJ. This is great because you can really personalize the backing tracks.
Transposing this *up* to G Major was a lot of fun (and let’s it flow into Kesh Jig nicely)
Variations are a blast to “fiddling” with ?
Good idea. Try adding Swallowtail jig to the set.
This has been one of my flashmobs for sometime!
Wonderful! That sounds like so much fun!
This sorta reminds me of what happened to me last weekend: I invited some musician friends over to jam because I usually only play alone.(I live way out in the country, so getting together with other players is difficult.) I bribed them with freshly smoked salmon. Anyway, I wanted to play “Whiskey Before Breakfast” when it was my turn since I recently started learning it from Jaso’n online. After I began to play it, one of the other fiddle players stopped me and said he couldn’t play it that slow! If you really know the tune, I would think it would be easier to play it slower and relaxed. I guess not!
So, I am very grateful for Jaso’n for teaching us to take it slow, because I never want to be that person. Besides, sometimes the tunes ARE prettier when you can really hear each note and they’re not at lightning speed. I understand the need for speed under certain circumstances, but I don’t feel the necessity to determine who can play it the fastest. It’s too bad some people do.
Hey Buffalo Gal. Yeah the tunes are sweet when slow. But some fiddlers just don’t want to go that slow. You might want to seek out slow player groups if possible.
And eventually, you can have fun incrementally speeding up a tune…
Thank you for once again helping me feel okay about slowing down and enjoying where i’m at. I’ve been playing almost 6 months, and because I found you one month into it, I’m still loving the process. Thank you thank you thank you. I doubt if I’d be playing if it weren’t for you.
What kind words, we would love to use your words in our testimonials! If this is alright please let us know, but it’s fine if not!
Going with your own pace and patience is key, keep it up!
Nice! Thanks for letting us know.
It was helpful to be reminded to not lift finger too high from string.
Little lift is a great habit to develop now. Also try to finger with a light touch. Best to you…
Takin’ a trip down the “Old Town Road” with FH!
muchos gracias
De nada
Thank you for giving me some basics that I have missed along the way.
You’re very welcome!
Glad to have you T.Shaw
For me, the hardest part of bowing is staying on the string without touching the one next do it, especially on the A string without touching the E string. Or the D string without touching the G or A.
Hi Sy. Try using very short bows in the middle of the bow. Let me know how that goes…
B Part. . . drum roll 😉 (not active yet)
You’ve got it!
Love that looping. I tend to learn better by repetition.
That is great that you can hone in on what works best for you. Keep it up!
Really enjoyed the rhythms on Ida Red on the play along track “Low Fiddle Mix” at the faster pace (once I got the slower paced notes to happen). Not part of basic lesson but fun to attempt the sounds happening there.
Nice. Do you like having the low fiddle mix?
Yes
It works for me as a check on whether I know the song and a way to get all of it in my ear(head) if I don’t. I’ve not downloaded these tracks yet. Is that usually available a couple weeks as well? Might be helpful as travel practice cues for less device memory space (sound cloud?)
Hi Blucy. Audio tracks are always available for download for
Paid users.
Cheers…j
I see now. It was a phone vs computer/tablet issue. I get the arrows for download on my larger devices by not my phone. thx
Jason- really enjoying the lessons and your systematic approach to teaching so far. Apologies if this info is somewhere and I’ve missed it, but something that could be helpful to us beginners would be tips around setting up the bow ready to play. For example, how much tension to put on the hairs (and how to judge this), also how to apply rosin- how much, how often etc. Thanks in advance.
Just at the end of a ‘practice that does not sound good today’ came an incredibly beautiful sound from the E cord that suddenly appeared when I bowed it. It was a loosy session but something incredible happened at the end. It seems the good sounding of the E chord hasn’t disappeared until that day. Do not despair !
The light at the tunnel, or the silver lining to the dark cloud can appear at any moment. Just keep going!
I play guitar and piano. 50 yrs I’ve played Folk Rock/Rock in bands and solo. Dedicated myself to study/play Old Time and Bluegrass. The first Fiddlehed video I saw inspired me to start up! Great teaching method Jason. I am also learning Mandolin at the same time, due to compatible strings (G-D-A-E). What I learn for fiddle I apply to the Mandolin! Slow and Steady 🙂
What an arsenal of talents! Good on you to keep with such a variety of musical journeys.
We are happy you got what you needed from our videos to start you fiddlin’! If you are open to it, we would love to use your words as a testimonial to let others know about the joys of fiddling with us! No worries if not, but we are grateful you’re fiddling with us any way!
Hi Markus,
As a person who has already learned other instruments, what is the biggest challenge about learning fiddle?
It’s nice how it’s relatively easy to play Mando once you can play fiddle.
Thanks for the kind words…
Oh yes!! Very cool and interesting, Thank you for sharing your solo and the approach to it. Drones have become my most favorite thing, helps me so much to tune and find inspiration for improvising among the practice. That’s how I’ve found the coolest things 🙂 And great to discover that it can be used on gigs as well!
Also the music video looks super!! Great job!
Thank you!! The drone is a gift that keeps giving with fiddle music. We are happy you are using it to it’s full potential! Keep up the great work, and thanks for choosing to fiddle with us!
Thanks Reetou. Glad you are practicing with drones. Have you tied playing different tunes along with the same drone?
/practice-tools/tunes-listed-by-root-note/tunes-in-d-major/
jason this is br459 I,am new to the pc I,am trying to get free trial
lesson I want to subscribe to fiddle but I need to know the price
Thank you
I took violin lessons for about two years to learn fundamentals, all the while watching fiddlehed videos to learn what I really wanted to play. My instructor took pneumonia and went on to her final recital so I’m fiddling regularly with fiddlehed Fiddle lessons. Great lessons and tune selection
Glad you are feeling confident with our lessons! You can never have too many teachers, as long as you are getting something out of it!
The hardest part is maintaining awareness moment-to-moment of my stance, how I’m holding the violin, moving the bow, and the sound. It’s beautiful when all the thoughts disappear and the sound is just happening. Tremolo is suspenseful – made me think of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons! I spent quite awhile playing soft-loud-soft just for the fun of listening to all the changing moods.
Yes. In the beginning, you have to move your attention around a lot. It’s some serious multi-tasking. But then at a certain magical point, it all flows and becomes a single activity. It’s easier to get to that state if you work on a very small thing: a single note, a 3-6 note bit. If you can get this sense of moving from multi to single-tasking on a small piece, you’ll be able to this on other pieces and eventually on bigger pieces.
Glad to hear you have moments when you can just play without distracting thoughts.
Jason, I want to say how much I appreciate the Call and Response lessons you do! It really helps me LISTEN to the notes and I hope someday to play by ear. I think Call and Response will really help that. I also hope to be able to hear a note and identify it. Now, I can usually guess which string it’s on but I don’t always get the correct note.
I have a question about playing with a drone note. I just don’t get how it is supposed to help you play in tune. Do you have a quick explanation or a lesson that explains that?
Thanks!
“I have a question about playing with a drone note. I just don’t get how it is supposed to help you play in tune. Do you have a quick explanation or a lesson that explains that?”
I second this…I have a problem with this too. I don’t quite understand how the drone helps you play in tune. Further explanation would be helpful.
Thanks for asking this.
Drones function as a reference tone. If you hear a G drone while playing D3, your brain will over time get better at syncing with that tone. I can’t explain the exact neurophysiology of it, but it happens.
There is a precise method for tuning with drones that I use with students. Tune each note with it’s drone; D1 with E, D2 with F#, D3 with G, etc. I teach this with play-along tracks here:
/beginner/1-2-getting-plucky/drone-tuning-the-notes-on-the-d-string/
/beginner/1-4-the-d-major-scale/drone-tuning-the-notes-on-the-a-string/
/beginner/1-5-more-scales-more-tunes-more-fun-more-or-less/drone-tuning-the-notes-on-the-g-string/
/beginner/1-6-how-to-love-your-sound/drone-tuning-the-notes-on-the-e-string/
Check it out and Let me know if this makes sense…
Thanks, Jason…will check it out!
Jason, I have only been playing fiddle for about 6 months. I ended on-one-one Suzuki violin lessons and went with my heart to your site. Speaking of frustration, it seems like I focus only on how far I have to go, and not on how far I have come. Most recently I have been using the drone and call-and-response practice sections and they give me an unexpected feeling of peace. I have sometimes been able to close my eyes and repeat back the sequence of notes you have played. Just that simple action and the feeling I get reminds that I’m doing just fine, that music is a part of me and has always been, and for that I am so grateful. I love your sense of humor and words of encouragement. Speaking as a beginner, I’m so glad that you start at the basics and then show us how to progress. I especially love your hand drawn doodles! Thanks for all you do!–Regina
Hey Regina,
First of all thanks for your kind words.
Suzuki’s not a bad method, but not for everyone. And a good teacher still makes a difference with that.
I also love the peace that comes with playing with drones. It’s a good way to sink into a certain tune or scale.
Anyway, keep on fiddling…
There’s no absolute wrong. See the photos and demo videos for how I hold the bow. This is based on a classical hold. A lot of old-time fiddlers hold it differently which is fine and works for them.
Today’s symphony: Shakespeare in the park actors (and I’m sure they love the rest haha), seagulls chasing an Eagle over head, kids screaming and the slosh of a waterfall when the giant water park bucket topples over, barbequers chattering and small airplane day overhead. Oh then the train. and the ferry and the bus and the cars. I live in a musical place. This site is such a gift for keeping my head and heart in the right place to play. Can’t say thanks enough.
Thanks for sharing. Very encouraging to me to hear this…
Consistency.
I began violin lessons Aug ’18. Somehow I never felt comfortable with a bowhold. Teacher had trouble accepting a doublejointed/locking pinkie that produced probs after a few minutes. I finally compromised bending it with the top of finger resting on bow. That really did not produce stability or consistency of movement of bow or sound. Tried beginner hold (awkward), a “fiddlehold” (felt overheld), Russian Bowhold (felt ok but teacher had coronary with my bent/relaxed moments of wrist), FrancoBelgian, and whatever else i could come up with. One guy on youtube said he used combo of FB & Russian.
It has been frustrating.
Ps also love your cat!
Pps. Wanted to play violin for years & finally found one last year. Am 66. In spite of a few things, has been very enjoyable & satisfying.
Finding your own technique and specialty is half the journey. Your effort and determination are commendable!
I teach a certain bow hold based on a classical hold. But, as you’ve mentioned, this is not the only way to do it.
It should be comfortable and relaxed and flexible. Fingers should have a natural curve. Keep experimenting and studying.
j
That’s been my problem exactly! My pinkie joint wanting to straighten and catch in that position. Feeling very stiff. I have to really concentration to keep it relaxed and bent with the tip just resting on the bow. Glad it’s not just me.
It takes time! Be patient with yourself and you will more easily accomplish hard tasks!
I fixed Fairy Dance. Thanks everyone for letting me know ?
I have been playing with my thumb more touching the pad than the “tip” like lodged between the tip and the under side of my thumbnail. I need to correct this to move forward? It’s for sure wrong, if I understand correctly.
The recording for Fairy Dance is Fais Do Do
You are such an awesome Teacher!!! So happy to be moving out of full time work so I can now take the DEEP Dive into fiddling.
I love to go to a Fiddle Camp – especially if YOU were teaching it.
Have you ever considered?
Hi Jason amazin what you explain, i made the same program 3 weeks ago . just by myself , becouse i wants to go fast , and fastervprogress are made going slowly …and it works .. only one handicap .. BREATHING .. when i am too concentrate in something complicate i stop breathing and choke ..i have to menage it .. i have to concentrate hard because i am a little dislexic so i put before what is supposed to be after.. and also keeping the instrument on the right place end the bow not sideways ..too many contraints at the same time .. we will survive
Thanks for sharing. It’s a simple but powerful practice to just pause and catch your breath. Then see if you can do that while playing something simple.
Cool!
Jason, thank you. I liked the opportunity to reflect on fiddle playing and develop a mindfulness about it. I put some cool gel packs on my arm after work and hit play. Very pleasant prep for a short, happy practice today.
How do the gel packs help?
The cold gel packs are for the soreness I feel after playing sometimes, which comes after lifting and running after little tigers with special needs all day, Fiddling is my treat to myself, but my 50+ muscles and joints talk to me. Always working on listening better. I tried putting my back/upper arm at the wall, after seeing your tip in the webinar to keep the bow from slipping around. It helps. Stability above = less strain lower in the arm and a nicer tone. Win win. Working the balance, thanks.
Icing is always key for stained muscles, so keep it up! Keep doing what works best for you, but we’re happy you’re fiddling with us!
Thanks, Jas’on, for the useful reminders. Not only have they improved my fiddle experience, but I’ve passed them on to my husband, who has been learning to play the mandolin. We have both inproved our practice habits and are enjoying tackling new tunes with increased confidence. The only downfall is that we travel a lot and are off grid for days at a time, so I can’t log in for my next lesson! But at least I have something new to look forward to when we get back home. 😉
Oh cool, good to hear that. Have you tried printing lesson material or downloading mp3s for when you don’t have internet?
Hi Jason,
Just revisited Call-and-Response! Love it, so much fun and challenging to my ear .
As always, thanks for all you do….linda
Hi Jason,
I really smiled when I read your latest email as I was just that day listening and watching a video of Mark and many other amazing fiddlers including Vassar and Charlie D play Arkansas Traveler. Just the day before yesterday I was saying to my practice buddy who is also my husband and has played guitar professionally with very advanced and some famous fiddlers in NY and NJ) that I don’t expect to be able to play like Mark and there will always be great fiddlers like Mark (but never another Vassar (: but when I play every day, I know I have improved so much since I completed the Fiddlehed course (now I am more than halfway through the Irish Fiddle course). I am grateful for the tunes I’ve learned and eager to master the variations. When I see my husband smiling and tapping his foot while we are playing tunes together, I know I am playing well and my ears tell me it sounds good.
Occasionally, I must confess, I do suffer from fiddle frustration but I never give up because I love music too much. Thank you Jason for your thoughtful, challenging and most important, fun lessons.
Hey Diane,
I truly appreciate hearing all this. Also glad to hear you’re working through the Irish course. It sounds like you have a healthy mindset, content with where you are but not complacent. Keep on playing…
My fiddle was delivered today and I’ve been really enjoying this teaching method!
Good! Let me know if you have questions.
This is great. I have been frustrated lately, because I can’t seem to play as fast as needed in my fiddle class. I love the podcast idea, because I can listen to it in my car! Thanks for all you do! ?
Hey Daisy,
Maybe you can find some people who are into playing slow and meet separately with them.
It’s important to not rush into playing fast. Use a metronome to gradually increase your speed.
Jason, this is superb!!! I think I have learned all these things from you in the almost 6 months I have been a member, and use them when I think of them…which doesn’t always happen, but it is great to have them here, all together, in one place. You don’t know how many times these pointers have saved me during a really difficult, frustrating or discouraging practice session, and kept me coming back to my fiddle the next day. No one else online teachers like you do! May I make a suggestion? I think this Fiddlosophy article would be fitting for the Practice Toolkit area.
Thanks Mr. MoonShadows 🙂 Glad this is useful.
Sorry the practice toolkit is not up and running yet. I need some help on the coding.
I’m talking about this page: /practice-routine-hover-boxes/
Right. I just added the Practice Toolkit to the menu under “Library”. Do you think it might be worth putting in the main menu, maybe after “Intermediate”? I’ll work on adding more coaching to the toolkit. Thanks…
Thanks for this email, Jason. It is what I need to get me back to practicing my fiddle. I often sit down to play but get distracted by something and might end up playing only a few minutes, getting bored, and giving up. I am printing this and I will re-read it whenever I feel I need a boost to play.
Mary
What do you get distracted with Mary? Internet? If so, try to close all windows except your lesson.
Focusing on playing is a work in progress. It took me a LONG time to learn this.
Hi there! Really enjoying the course; what you’ve done here is amazing! I think the recording under Fairy Dance is actually a recording of Fais Do Do Duet. Would love to try out Fairy Dance; please upload. Thanks!
– Roma
I don’t believe at this point that I will ever be nimble fingered enough to do true Irish fiddling but I love to watch various techniques, at least tinker with your lessons and absorb anything I can. It’s all bliss.
Playing within your abilities can be empowering in its self! Keep up the great work!
I have been taking violin lessons for a couple of years. My instructor is on maternity leave so thought I would try my hand at fiddle lessons . Thx for being here. I love your tutorial on Long Black Veil, That is what got me interested
We’re glad you found us too! That is great that you are branching out of your norm and learning new things!
Have fun fiddling!
I started to learn the violin at age 70 and am now 82 and still love the instrument. The only violin I ever heard as a youth was a Strat at a church concert at age 15 when we held a concert toget money for our choir, of which I was a member. Then nothing until age 68 when I was a member on the Orlando ,fl old time fiddle group playing a chelo as a bass. I secided tto get a cheap violin from China, after I started I loved the fiddle and still do and play with a group of old timers in Saint Cloud , fla.every Friday evening.
Nice. Keep on fiddling ??
Backing tracks are great!!!!!! My goal is to play with a guitar player and this simulates that on a level I can work with
So great to hear! Keep up the awesome work!
I like the long drones. I plucked a bit and then called it good with a cool gel pack on my right elbow crook and meditated the rest of the 20 minutes. 20 minutes is a long set for my 3rd finger, but 18 is perfect for grounding with soft relaxed wrists. Really very nice drone stuff, thanks. This site is awesome
Whee hooo!
I like playing drones as prep to play with steadiness. And listening is good grounding, between the earthquake this morning, and a hurricane on its way to friends and family. ‘Between the devil and the deep blue sea’ ..calm in the eye of the storm…
Glad you are using drones. It’s a simple and powerful way to practice.
8th Note E track is actually a track of Gnotes transitioning to D note in a funky rhthym of 123 1234 with D on the final 4. cool. what’s it called?
re the 8th notes on E for 1.1 Beginning Bowing Exercises, that is really G and D. If you do the track (not the E notes) are you up or down bowing on the D. tricky going fast but fun
This is a mistake. Thank you for catching it ?
Was drawn to fiddle music all my life. Finally got a fiddle 4 months ago and started learning at 58. I now know I should listen to that voice inside when it speaks. Going slow, and loving it.
Go for it! It can be so uplifting to start learning something new, no matter where you are in life!
I play a few other things but have always been interested in fiddle too… finally dove in a few months ago at age 60. Never too late, but what I tell others who say they want to take it up when they retire? I say why put it off? Get on in there now! Time’s a wastin’!
For sure!
All of the FiddleHed material has been very helpful in my taking up the fiddle once again. For a long time (many years) I have not played due to chronic pain from an injury to my neck and right shoulder. I decided to give the fiddle a try and see if playing would worsen my problem. Somewhat to my surprise I found that this type of “exercise” seems to help my situation.
I find all of the lessons and posts to be very encouraging and presented in a real down to earth and easy to understand format.
This is a great site!
Hey thanks Tom. Glad to hear you can play again. Just keep paying attention to your body, taking breaks and stretching.
Have been away from fiddling for a couple of weeks. Picking it up again and appreciated your post. I’m still less than two years into it and realizing I really love it in spite of myself.
As long as you are coming back to it, time and time again it will work it’s magic on us!
I too played in grade school – badly. I find so much enjoyment now in practicing.
It is amazing as humans how we evolve into different tastes through out our lives. So glad you’re choosing to fiddle with us at this point in your life!
That’s awesome Katharine. Keep that flame burning with regular practice. Let me know if you have questions or if you get stuck…
Please reply. Tell me how to advance to the next lesson!!!!
Can you go back to main page for lessons and click a new one from the drop down menus?
You can find the next lesson in the drop down window, just remember what lesson you were on before hand! Let us know if you are still having trouble!!
Thanks, not sure even what this originally meant, but the navigation is pretty easy now that I’ve looked around more.
Good to hear! Happy fiddling!
I can not get my computer to advance to the next lesson.
When I complete one lesson, how do I advance to the next lesson?
somehow got baffled in Soldier’s Joy and Fairy Dream on what I hear vs what I see on the noted D0/A0/G0 guide, re: rhythms.
Are all the tunes, even these simple things in sheet music too?
Still finding my way around here. Feel free to ignore a few days as I look around. I’ll re comment if I find it or figure it out.
Helpful for me to note it here.
Yes I am talking to myself again because it helps.
b
Exercise 6 and 9 are the same and exercise 8 includes 3 strings vs just the 2 listed.
Hey rmwest87,
Thanks for letting me know. I cut the extra exercise and correctly labeled #8.
What did you think of these? Were they challenging? Fun? Could it be better?
Lots of fun! I like that it takes something that could get very boring and makes it engaging to keep playing.
I’m finding morning sessions better for learning and I’m working on new methods by
watching a variety of lessons, even those way out of my league- not to learn the piece but observe techniques and experiment with them. Relaxes the self inflicted tension of learning the music/tune and lets the various moves and ideas settle in. I’m hoping that once I’m more comfortable with them I will find putting it all together will come along more easily on the pieces I’m not familiar with. —
Maybe it’s geriatric slow learning but whatever works– :-]
Whatever works for you is fantastic! That sounds like a wonderful way to get the full picture, and to guide yourself to your desired outcome with fiddling!
I’ve Practiced all of this!
Fantastic! Keep up the good work!
I had to come back to the beginning to brush up on some fundamentals. Excellent lessons !!!
Thank you
You’re on the right track @crowbar47. If you can enjoy playing the FUNdamentals, then you’ll establish a good sound for everything else.
When I was much younger (43 years ago), my mom wanted me to play the fiddle. I played from 7th-10th grade. I was super bad. I think the orchestra teacher kicked me out because I was so bad. Now, a year after my Mom passed away, I’m playing again. Actually, I’m practicing @4 hrs a day. I love it! It’s like, “wow, I actually am playing and playing with my heart and soul”. I know my Mom is loving not hearing the squeaks. She’s probably telling everyone in heaven that I’m actually making progress!
That is a fabulous story, and wonderful motivation to play the fiddle like you’ve never played before. I am sure you are making your mother smile just by giving it a chance!
I play a few instruments and before my mom passed away late last year, I whispered to her something that has been true my whole life… I said to her “every note I’ve ever played was for you” and I couldn’t have said it out loud without crying, but I could whisper it, so I did. It made her tear up (me too) but truer words never spoken, for sure.
Amazing. Did this help and inspire you to learn music?
I’m having trouble with my bow wandering. I’ve worked doing slow bowing, scales with various bowing patterns. I choose tunes with a wide range of tempos to challenge myself but try as I might, my bow wanders. Yes, I’ve done the mirror and selfies of me playing. It gets really bad when I’m tired. Do you have any other suggestions as to how I might master this? Of course, when the bow wanders the tone tanks. Thanks.
I believe reviews are like basking in Moms homemade roast beef dinners. You just don’t remember it all until you’re enjoying it again. Refreshing, isn’t it? There’s always stuff that fades and going there again brings out the best. Thanks
Thais is a great way to put it! Perfect sensory comparison! Thank you!
Very interesting and helpful. Thanks for the reminder that the drones are there for us.
You’re welcome Bonnie-over-the-sea. (Nice handle!)
I use drones all the time when I practice.
Hello Jason,
I also warm-up using Drone Central, and since that time I have to say, my intonation has improved so so much (and I thought I had a pretty good ear to begin with…but it is way better now!). Thanks so much for all you do and for all of your encouragement……LInda
You’re welcome. Glad you are using the drone approach, it’s fun and truly helps people play in tune.
Hello. I am just getting back into fiddling after a wrist injury. I have played for 2 years, not very good. What path should I take for future improvement?
[email protected]
Loved this…what a moving version of Danny Boy…on drones, Sensei Jason has never steered me wrong with his “wax on, wax off” advice. When he urges to play scales back by drones (and real pieces also) it has an amazing effect on improving your intonation i.e. hitting the notes right and in tune. I warm up daily on Drone Central and it then carries into everything else I play in practice. On to learning the Kesh Jig and how to foot stomp and fiddle at the same time…
Being able to utilize the tools in your tool belt is a great feeling! Thank you for the kind words and the insight into your practice. Keep it up!
Most Excellent! Enjoyed both videos (Wow—Kings of Vibration vid!) and your “making of” post. -New & Aspiring Fiddlehed Lisa
Fabulous Lisa! Thank you so much!
That’s very good. I’ve recently started through my list of known tunes stopping on each one and getting it up to “full speed” before moving on to the next one.
Here’s what I really do. I have all my tunes that I know or want to know right now written down on small cards in a stack. I shuffled them well, and started through the stack. If I knew a tune, I practiced it with the metronome, working on getting backing tracks for all of them, recording the fastest speed I could play the tune well. I have about 5 of these that I work on at a time. Once a tune reaches “full speed” I move it to just after the group I’m currently working on.
The whole stack is sorted with the current working group on top, the group that I’ve mastered next. All the tunes I haven’t gotten to yet below that and at the end is where I move all the tunes I haven’t ever learned.
That is a great technique. I may have to share this in a lesson one day. Thank you!
I like how this makes practice into a bit of a game, introducing some randomness.
I’m a bit confused about one part. You start with a random shuffling of the tune cards. When you know a tune well you move it further back in the deck? Does that mean you don’t re-shuffle the deck until you’ve learned all the tunes well?
Thanks for sharing…
wow. finally retired & lots more time to play 🙂
That is fabulous to hear! Keep up the good work!!
Very good lesson, I would think this would help in playing or jamming with others 🙂
We hope so too! Thank you for the kind words!
Thanks Jason— From what I’ve seen, this is one of the many things that sets you apart and makes you a great teacher and for great learning on our part.
Thank you so much for the kind words!
Excellent! 🙂 & Thank you!
can we get a lesson on this sometime? would be great to learn how to play this. I will attempt try to listen and see what I can come up with but a lesson would be cool.
It is ok the requests list! Stay tuned!
Thank you very much for these call and response exercises! I am trying to wake up my 70 year old “ear” after many years of reading music…this is a great help. I keep trying to remember NEVER TOO OLD!
Keep it up! It’s great to hear you are enjoying it!
I played 4th, 5th, and 6th grade then stopped. So it’s been a challenge to get these 57 yo fingers to move without pain but it gets better all the time! Loved this exercise!
Keep on fiddling!!
Thank you Jason! I love those nice exercises, also because this is such a playful way to learn and improve.Not as dry as scales would be. I found them easy. You said that you plan those for more tunes and techniques. Perhaps for the intermediate fiddlers longer sequences or faster tempo could be interesting and help be more ready for fiddle camps, which are fun but challenging for learning tunes where they teach by ear only and in a fast pace. Or scales like minor, Mixolydian or chords by using a tune?
Anyhow – this is way fun!
That is a great suggestion! Thank you so much for the kind words!
Good advice, Jason, that I need to adhere to. I have a tendency to semi-learn the first part, then move on. When I try to put the two parts together, I haven’t learned either well. I think that is human nature. I have to fight this human nature and adopt violin nature!
It’s all a learning process and you must have patience and forgiveness for yourself, just don’t give up!!
Did you write this advice just for me? LOL When I have a day like this, and it’s not getting better, I usually do one of those things you mentioned. If I still sounds awful, I will walk away, but not put my fiddle away. After a while, I will come back and just do a few scales, so I can end the day on a high note. Another thing I do is play a song I already know, and even if it doesn’t sound good, I’ll go back and listen to the recording I made when I first learned it or when I last recorded it. Invariably, I notice that even though I sound terrible on that given day, I can hear the improvement from when I last recorded it. That’s progress! And, I don’t end the day feeling bad.
So glad you’re getting a lot out of this! Progress is a rollercoaster but we must learn to trust our own learning process! Just keep it up!
So I learned this song this AM ! My kids say I need a you tube site. Not bad I guess for a beginner. Thanks for all your help. Variations here I come
You can do anything you put your mind to! Thanks for fiddling with us!
Nice going.
Just curious, what do you need a YouTube for? Sharing videos of you playing? Who would you share with?
I ask because I am seeking easy ways for online students to share videos for feedback…
Thanks
Anyone can add video like Rstrukey. You just need to copy “embed code” from Youtube. Here is a tutorial on how to do it: https://wp.me/P8OLq8-7B9
Jason…Why are two bows easier than one bow? I noticed that weeks ago, and it is still the case for me. One bow never sounds as good as two bows, three bows, tucka, hoe down, etc.
Sometimes the difference in sound can be the factor- this excites our ears! Alas, to each their own.
I love the call and response lessons. I can see how they lead into being able to do some improv. This is fun!! Thank you!
Glad you are enjoying it!
enjoyed this lesson
It might amuse you to know that the tune is also known as the Glasgow Reel. Glasgow being the biggest industrial city on Scotland. Mind you the beautiful countryside isn’t too far away. ?
Beautiful song beautifully played !
Thank you!
I love your yogic approach, Jason. One thing that came to mind as I read this is something I learned from my yoga instructors: “Confusion is a natural part of the learning process.”
If I can remember that, then I can surrender to the confusion, knowing that I’m learning something!
And by the way, good on you for learning to surf. I tried it and it was really hard. Plus it scared me.
Thank you for the kind words! Being scared is part of life, so we might as well enjoy it!
Confusion is humbling. These days I’m a lot more curious because I’m not afraid to appear ignorant about something. I ask a lot more dumb questions 🙂
Great lesson, Jason. I left a rather lengthy response where you premiered the video on YouTube (), so I won’t take up space and repeat it here, but I found this type of lesson very helpful.
This is very helpful. A second or two longer for response would help, as I had to rush sometimes.
Keep on keeping on!
Bagus sekali!
You have the wrong recording for the fourth step. And could you put up recordings for all if the stuff ib the sheet music. please?
I LOVE that you did this! It reinvigorated my fiddle practice and motivation! Thank you!
I’ve been practicing the scales with variations since you created the Tool Kit. I start off my practice with them every day (first 1/3 of practice), and I have noticed a definite improvement in my intonation, string crossing and fingering when I move to onto playing the few tunes I have learned (second 1/3 of practice), and then go on to the next tune that I am presently learning (final 1/3 of practice). I love practicing; it never seems boring; some days are better than others, but I have noticed a lot has to do with how physically ready I am on any given day, but even more importantly, where my head is at when I sit down to practice. Best part is I am seeing progress, slowly, and I am having a grand time!
I really love this one. Need help/tips for barring/landing the c/g Sounds anemic and I keep “just missing” one or the other Any guidance other than practice?
Thank you for all you do.
I got an email announcing this new lesson. When I saw a profile picture different from yours and the name “Tam Lin”, I thought, huh, Jason must have other artists posting on his site now. So, I guess you can tell I never heard of Tam Lin the character or heard ballad or reel of the same name! What a beautiful tune, above my playing level right now, but I can enjoy the fiddle playing. I pictured riding a white horse through the beautiful Scottish countryside with the wind blowing in my hair (what’s left of it!) and warm sun against my face. Now, back to the Pocono Mountain winter, but thanks for the escape, albeit short.
ohlala sorry Jason my english is not very good I made a mistake I wanted to say “a man Full of good sense ” etc…Sorry !
Dear Jason,
thank you very much for this new lesson !
Like usually it’s not just a lesson to play fiddle it’s a lesson of life…Since I’m listening to your advices, not only have I made progress in music but also in my everyday life ! You’re a man empty of good sense and unpretentiousness,who gives a lot positif around him…
Just a technical remark, could you specify the bows (simple or attached) in your lessons? I try to spot them but it is not always easy !
Thank you !
Good point Karine. I don’t go into bowing with as much detail as I could, and am trying to do that more.
In the meantime, you can practice slur patterns on scales: slur 2, slur 3, slur 4, slur 2-separate 2…
Best to you…
Today is my birthday day. !! I’ve been playing for 18 ish months. Just started doing variations well trying to and it really ups the challenge and joy of playing thanks FiddleHed dude !!
You’re welcome Rsturkey, and a belated happy birthday to you ?
very, very cool Jason. loved it
Thanks Sam…working on an album of these tunes…
This is really helpful. I’m fairly good at the first 2 phases, it’s the 3rd one that has given me trouble. Now I have some exercises to help me smooth that part out. Looking forward to applying it to tunes I already know!
The first two phases are the most important. Each phase depends on the previous one. Have fun…
I really like this toolkit idea. It’s nice to have everything in one area, especially the practice routines. I’ve been a bit overwhelmed with where to start since joining and this will give me a good road map to follow. Not sure how much I’ll use the Metronome, but Drones are also nice to have all in one place.
Thanks!
Hey Geni,
How long have you been playing? Can you play major scales? What tunes have you learned?
This Tool Kit is really handy. he metronomes will be good for practicing “slowing down” and I love having the variety of scales handy. This is really something to go through regularly at the beginning of practice. Good work and thanks for providing these tools!
Hey good buddy the tool kit is an absolute winner. It can raise the level of practice to a new and more fun level
Oh cool. Thanks RayK. I’m going to fiddle with it ? more before adding it to all pages.
Fantastic idea having this toolkit at the bottom of each lesson. These are exercises that need to be visited and re-visited often. This helps not having to find them again (when I forget where they are on the site). Having the toolkit at the bottom of each lesson is also a “reminder” to practice them and a handy quick reference. At this point in my progress, I don’t know if I can suggest adding to the toolkit, but I might be able to make future suggestions. Thanks!
Hey, thanks a lot @MoonShadows!
I appreciate the feedback.
Hey FiddleHed dude !! I’m gonna be 55 this week and have been playing fiddle for 18 months. I’ve never played a musical instrument. The first month or so I played in secret. I found your lessons on Utube and started getting serious.
I work 12 hr days as an ER nurse so I always have a string of days off. I afford myself now at least 2-3 hrs s day when I’m off to practice first thing in the morning I have developed a LOVE to practice. It’s like when I was a kid and took my baseball glove to bed with me anticipating playing ball the next day
Your demeanor style and guidance have exceeded my expectations. My love for the sounds that I make and the songs I’m learning are like when I was a kid partying and really getting into the songs of Led Zeppelin and all. I’m really enjoying listening and learning
I’m not in a rush. I have my whole life to enjoy this.
I really enjoy the Irish music lessons and songs and my goal is to play on an open Mike night at a coffee shop in my neighborhood around st pattis day.
Thanks a lot
Great stuff, I gotta get busy ???
Your lesson style is so entertaining. I especially like your cat’s purr notes. Great job making it all fun!
That’s great. I listened to the Freakanomics podcast the other day and am probably going to order Peak. I wrote a post on my blog about deliberate practice and posted in the blog post a YouTube video of another interview that he did with The Musicality Podcast that was aimed more towards learning music. Here’s the link to that interview if you want to listen to it: It was obvious to me after I stumbled upon Ericsson that you were familiar with him from the way you shape your lessons…and probably why I am making progress following your lessons. His deliberate practice is definitely something I want to practice in learning the fiddle, and learning just about any new skill.
Jason,
Are you familiar with K Anders Ericsson and what he calls “deliberate practice”? How you teach your lessons are so in line with what he espouses.
Purposeful practice has specific and well-defined goals.
Purposeful practice is about planning out and putting a bunch of micro steps together to achieve a well-defined goal. If I have a goal of learning a new tune, how do I get from point A to point Z? What are the little steps, or elements of the whole, I need to accomplish? I need to map these out before I begin. I then work on each step, one step at a time, joining the steps together, one by one, until I can join all the steps together and accomplish my goal, to be able to play the new tune.
Purposeful practice is focused.
Deliberate, purposeful practice is hard mental work. I need to get rid of as many distractions that may impede my focus and concentration. No distracting noises, turn off the phone, be hydrated and nourished and as physically comfortable as possible are just a few examples. Additionally, I need to realize when I have reached the point of diminishing returns and take a break and do something totally unrelated. I need to relax and then come back to the task I am trying to learn with a renewed energy and focus.
Purposeful practice involves feedback.
How do I know I am doing something right? Where are my mistakes? What is causing them? Depending on the practice situation, feedback can vary. Listening carefully, using a mirror to watch myself, audio and/or video recording for playback so I can hear/see what I am doing, submitting a recording for peer review, meeting with a teacher are examples of feedback. Without feedback, either from myself or others, I cannot figure out what I need to improve on or how close I am to achieving my goal.
Purposeful practice requires getting out of my comfort zone.
Pushing myself is probably the most important principle here. Unless the seed pushes through the soil, it will never grow into a flower. Pushing myself beyond what was familiar and comfortable is crucial to making progress. If I never push myself beyond my comfort zone, I will never improve. Moving beyond my comfort zone means trying to do something I have never done before. Finding ways to solving new challenges is a key to deliberate and purposeful practice.
Yes! I had been doing and teaching a flawed form of deliberate practice on my own for a long time. And then I head Andersson on the Freakanomics podcast. He clarified a lot of what I was doing and thinking and thinking about. Then I read his book Peak. It’s one of those books I’ll keep coming back to.
More and more, I’m trying to integrate this philosophy into fiddleHed and my own life.
Just tried chordal scale in D-Major. This is going to be very useful in learning chords, in general; as well as I-IV-V in songs. What a great lesson!
“Velocitating” – never verified this – Josie Quick, a professional Denver, CO fiddler who teaches in the area – claims that the tendency to speed up when we are nervous is because we use our heartbeats to calculate rhythm and when our heart races we track with it. But that’s just nerves (I bow shake, ha ha!) – on Irish tunes, I velocitate on purpose as it builds intensity and lots of super awesome fiddlers do it – its like feeling the groove and just busting out, ha ha. I also like the rebelliousness of velocitating – its funner to do it because I’m not supposed to do it. And people seem to like it, so there. I’m doin’ it. Jazzy style: Learn the rules and then break ’em.
It sure is great to play something that I’ve been hearing on the radio, thank you! Would you be willing to share the tabs for the part in the song where the “oh-oh-ohs ” are? I hear it in your cover of the song and will try to pick it out on my own, that could take me a while though. Thanks again.
Alright – here’s what I think the tabs for the “oh – oh- ohs” are, in case this helps anyone else is eager to try playing along with the cover
D2-2-3-2-1
D2-2-A1-D3-3-1-A1
D2-2-3-2-3-A1-A1
oops – for the second line :
D2-2-A1-D3-2-1-A1
Thank you !!! This is way cool ??
where is the link for the play along track ???
I couldn’t find that one either? hmmm?
“I noticed that I tend to speed up while working on a challenging thing.”
Even in my first month, I’ve noticed I do this, too. I have to consciously remind myself to slow down. I figured it was just a “beginner’s thing”.
Then there was the time I drove down Rt 95 to Florida. A few minutes after I got off the highway, a trooper pulled me over for speeding. I was doing 71 in a 55mph zone and didn’t even realize it. I told the trooper I had a velocitation disorder, but he didn’t buy it. I paid the ticket!
I am so enjoying Fiddlehed, am learning, practicing, and glad I joined. Thanks, Jason.
I love all this. This is the end of my first month of starting to learn fiddle and I love it. Mornings are for meditation and yoga, evenings are for fiddle practice and other fun. As a bonus, my rescue dog has been cured of her separation anxiety. Every time she sees me pull out the fiddle, she gets up and goes into another room ?
Hey Beth,
Your dog will be sitting at you feet in a year if you keep practicing 🙂
Unreal, what a great training idea!
Video is not available…is there a simple fix? Thanks, this is great stuff and want to play this in sequence if possible with the other variations. Kind regards.
Among the many things I am thankful for, I have now added finding Fiddlehed.
I have a bunch of numbers on my list from Grapelli, and Baker, and Clemmons as well as a bunch of Old Time Tunes. Crossing genres I know.
But one of the gems is Jerusalem Ridge.
Yes, one of my favorite tunes.
Hi Ya Jason, Congratulations on your surfing lessons in Bali, a lovely place where you can surf/play everyday. Of all the wonderful things in your lessons on fiddling, I love the “play every day” direction the best… and it is the one thing I have been able to accomplish. It has made me so much more confident in my practice, playing alone and playing with others. So, thanks so much!
Learning new things is, in my opinion, one of the most important things in life. I just recently enrolled in a Tai Chi class, something I have never done, but think it is so beautiful that I just had to try. It’s seemingly simple and slow movement is so much more difficult than I had anticipated. Will keep you posted on my progress, if you’d like. In the meantime, thanks again for all of your words of wisdom, lessons in fiddling, and last but not least your cheerful encouragement .
Most of all, enjoy your own journey of learning and living life to the fullest.
Peace,
linda
Thanks Linda. Grateful to be doing creative work and teaching, interacting with good students…
I started three years ago . Im 71 now so this is really encouraging. Thank you all, and thank you Jason
How amazing! So many people would’ve said “I’m too old for that.” Congrats.
Hey Jason,
This is awesome! Glad you’re having a rich, fun trip. Look forward to seeing you upon your return and continue to enjoy in the meantime!
Jim
Ya, I know what that’s like. I surfed the white water after the waves broke too-baby waves. I was afraid that a big wave would crash on me and take me under. Then you have to protect your head from the board hitting you in the head. When I did catch a wave at the HB pier all the other surfers cut me off and I had to knee board it so as to not hit another surfer. One guy broke his neck surfing at the pier when they crashed into each other and broke his board. Then I moved to the cliffs where it wasn’t crowded but the surf had a current and took me way down from where I started! Very cool you are getting back into it!
It gets intense out there! You have to be humble in the ocean…
I love the Pogues and Fairy Tale of New York is my favourite. Your You-tube video prompted me to sign up for your lessons. However, I can’t find anything on the very opening riff, which is also the transition from the beginning two verses (4/4) and and the jig melody (6/8).
I think it’s something like: (A0)-1-D3-A2-3-0-D0-3-2-1-0-0 … it contains probably the most nimble transition in the song, for me anyway (A1-D3-A2). Do you have a video section on that?
sweet!
So nice you are enjoying your life in Ireland. Now I hope everything is beautiful for you in Mali. All the best for health and happiness in 2019! Now I’ll get back to fiddling a bit.
I too enjoyed my trip to Dublin some years ago. I never played any kind of music and I still can’t sing. I visited the pub where I stayed and the sound of the music captivated me. Folks started ask me questions and I told them my ancestors were from Ireland that most of them played the fiddle even to my own old Dad. His ear was perfect and no lessons. So I was offered the fiddle to play and had a hard time to convince the folks that I had no idea how to play the instrument but loved their music. Needless to say quite by accident a friend here in Canada offered me a fiddle which I promised to try to learn about 25 years after my Dad passed away.. I think that my Dad and Mom are smiling down at me now. Here I am still trying to learn to fiddle without any talent but some determination is helping me along. I would like to get better at fiddling before my 80th birthday. Wish me luck and thanks for your help. Ann
The above video amazes me. How does she do that and what is it called? Ok, I know it’s Irish celtic stuff but what’s it called? thanks. P.S. I enjoy hearing about your trips and of course fiddling. I’m interested in Irish music but I think that was left back in Northern Ireland where all my fiddling ancestors came from. Love Fiddlehed course although I don’t know many of the tunes that I hear played here in Canada such as Ragtime Annie and The Lighthouse Keeper. Just cannot get past a mental block when comes to Ragtime Annie!! I’ll keep watching your interesting life. Have fun and all the best for your future.
Ann
Thanks Ann. Try to master each part of Ragtime Annie before doing the whole thing. Spend more time on the hardest parts.
Thank you so much!!!!! This helps me tremendously!!!!!
Jason
It’s so wonderful to hear about your travels. I have always wanted to travel and see different countries but haven’t taken that leap yet.Thank you for the inspiration Happy Trails.
Hi Jason,
Enjoy your Bali journey experiences. So happy for you! And thank you for sharing your world travel with us all!
linda
Hi Jason, I found the “learning success sequence and “low-fiddle” mix very very useful. And thank you so much for finding and posting the Dance Discover dancing Dargason. I love ii….makes me want to try the tune on the whistle 🙂
Thanks again,
linda
Awesome. Thanks for letting me know. I’m going to keep experimenting with this in new lessons. Cheers…
thanks Jason. you always express kind and gentle thoughts. makes it easier to be kind and gentle with ourselves and each other….and that what this world needs.
hey thanks! I like to learn in phrases….it makes more sense to me, I can get the tune in my head and I can get the rhythm better than note by note.
Thanks for letting me know. I’m going to keep experimenting with this in new lessons.
Thank you for thoughtful thoughts. I have many of those same thoughts. I don’t do New Year’s resolutions but I do take seven or eight major categories in my life and plot a path to follow. So for example one path is to continue to improve my fiddle playing. I have ideas of practicing every day maybe twice a day and all the other things that would come with improving my skill level. But I don’t think of it as strict rules to follow but a path that will take me where I want to go. And I don’t look for the path I look for the edges and as long as I don’t fall off the edges I know I’m on the path. Does that make sense? So for example if I don’t practice to days in a row I’m off the path. One day of not practicing I call “that’s life” but two days of not practicing I’m off the path. So my goal is no longer to strive to follow rules but to find a path that I want to follow and look for the markers to tell me when I’m off that path.
Thanks for letting me share and thank you for sharing all of your fiddle knowledge and your attitude and is it meditation great!
Hi Ya Jason….Wishing you and all your staff, a very Happy New Year filled with many many “just do this” moments!
I loved this article, and I can certainly relate, as I find myself jumping from one thing to another. I like to call it getting “sidetracked” and I smile as I write this. I gave up making too many resolutions for the year long time ago. I just wake up each day, say thanks, and get going to the first thing that strikes my mind, which is usually and good ol’ cup of coffee for my sweet husband and myself.
I did do every exercise on this page, using the D drone and found myself playing Lord of the Dance. I had heard it last night as I was watching a concert on T.V…I guess it just stuck in my head. Anyway I loved the sound and the idea that I could actually play it along with the drone and be creative in the moment.
I flipped over to Dargason, (loved it on your album, by the way) as I have to learn it for an up-coming spring concert, as it is part of The St. Paul’s Suite for Strings, by Gustav Holst, as I’m sure you already know.
You should know that because of your lessons I have accomplished much more than I ever thought possible, playing music I never dreamed I would be able to even attempt. So Thank You So Much….linda
What a great tune! Thanks! ANd Merry Christmas!
Thank you for this great reminder. I learned it as, “to be present in the moment.” It is so hard for a multi-tasker like me!
Your fiddle ragas take me somewhere else.Hopefully I’ll be able to get there by myself some day. Thanks for sharing!
I love these lessons !! You are so encouraging and I have no argument with practice so thankyou !!
Bernadette
Thanks, Jason for all your wonderful tips. They have helped me to learn some pieces of music I never thought I would ever learn to play. Low and behold, tonight was our concert and I learned to play those difficult tunes, thanks to your encouragement and practice tips.
Music always,
linda
Thank you, Jason….I think I will go fiddle with that.
Peace,
linda
Love this 🙂
And to mis quote a Zen koan
‘Sweet hearted one, meditate on knowing and not knowing
Then leave those aside…..and go play some tunes 🙂
This is a sweet misquote. Thanks Jimmy 🙂
Hi Jason!
I am looking forward to audio on this lesson too.
Jumping around to other pages is too confusing so I gave up.
Thanks,
Jessica
hey toby what is your gamer tag it would be cool to play fortnite with you
I love the ragas!! It reminds me of Brittany Haas doing grigsbys hornpipe. Thank you!!
I just renewed my subscription and owe everything to you for getting me started. I am now in a weekly jam in an macmurphys Irish bar in Ridgewood New Jersey . I also ventured into NYC and played at a jam at Paddy Reilly’s music bar at 29 and2nd. I went to saint johns Newfoundland Canada where my relatives originated and played at two Irish bars. There is a huge bluegrass scene along the east coast of Newfoundland
Great post. When I hit a rut, I like to set a small goal that focuses on one aspect: 3 times through on that measure, tune, scale, whatever, with good bowing (but not being picky about intonation) or the other way around. Very important to read that this happens to everyone; so easy to get discouraged if working on your own.
Hi Ya Jason,
Thanks so much for the mp3. (and I do love your rambling and yammering :))
linda
I love this post, Jaso’n. It’s so important right now to really look for positives in our lives.
I give thanks for this reminder. What a lovely way to remember how giving thanks brings us so much joy. I’m thankful that tomorrow I start my first PT appointment for an injured shoulder due to too much heavy lifting on the farm this summer…which has left me unable to practice violin for the past week. I’m thankful for a teacher who taught me “listening is practice too!” because that’s how I’m practicing right now. Yay for gratitude. Yay for music in our lives.
Oops. I meant add examples like skedaddle, perididdle, throw away, string crossing.
Thanks Richard. It might be good to put some audio directly on this page. I’m going to be doing a bunch of maintenance work next week and do it then.
Cheers
j
Hello crowbar
Can I suggest that you you drop in a few of the words used in this lesson into the (very good) search box at the top of the page? This will reveal the videos detailing bowing techniques. Good hunting.
Could not get any audio on this one. I could be doing something wrong ??
Hey Crowbar, the video is more of a visual timer then a lesson with audio. This could be more clear…
And thanks for a new take on Mary Had a Little Lamb…..love it
linda
Wow, incredible, I love the unconventional. I’ve just taken the plunge and opted for a five string violin, so I’m going to have a play with this tuning. You are amazing!
Love the videos too.
really beautiful.
Great to hear!
Glad to hear that. Let me know how it goes if you do the conversion…
Having fun learning the Irish variations to Hector the Hero.
Thanks
Awesome 🙂
Super Jason. I really enjoyed listening to this unconventional approach to an Irish piece. Wonderful sounds and very soothing. I am inspired! Keep these musical gems coming, whether they be conventional or unconventional.
Peter
Thanks Peter! As much as I love creating the fiddle ragas, I’m a bit insecure about the whole thing. So your support is appreciated!
Yes, practicing. Yes, enjoying, Yes, thankful Yes, remembering fondly Lake Willbegon
Great you commenting on what you are working on — knowing that the journey is long and that we can make it what we want. I love ragas and India and old time! Can’t wait to hear what you come up with!
It’s all about the journey sometimes! We will keep you posted on what’s coming up! Thanks for fiddling with us!!
nice little diddy, thanks toby!
Thanks Jason. we play this quite often in our sessions, so it will be good to learn some variations to make me sound more interesting to the punters !!
So soothing. I was going to put 1/8 size cello strings on a viola but have not yet. I am again motivated! Thanks
Jason,
When you have a moment, hoped you might fix the embedded vid so that we can pause and go back…one of my favorite tunes, want to work on this. Thanks–great stuff! Doug
Hey there,
You might try a different browser as the video is supported by YouTube. If you are still having problems, please let us know at [email protected].
I am a new subscriber. I have shelves full of fiddle books and useful software like “Printmusic” and “Amazing Slow Downer”. I am sometime having problems with terminologies. For me, the “Old Time” bowing is referred to as the “Nashville Shuffle” – 1 long bow and 2 short bows. I will be trying to work out practice material by adapting what you recommend to notation and sound files that will let me practice something regularly to improve intonation and speed.
I see posting in the forum mentioning “Pentatonic Scales”. I learned the format for major pentatonic, minor pentatonic, and blue scale. But very little is said about applying these scales. A banjo book taught me more about using minor pentatonic scales than my fiddle/violin books ever did.
One last things. At the end of the technique videos, having musical notation for exercises would be great. I would use it to develop notation and sound files for practicing what you are teaching.
I am curious about something. What is your policy on using slurs ? In tunes like “Whisky Before Breakfast” you probably use slurs, but I don’t see any in the notation. Using different slurring patterns are a big help when adding some variety to a version of a tune. I am always interesting in different slurring patterns, especially in tunes like “Leather Britches”.
Visit Quebec. I really like the French Canadian fiddling. Same with Canadian fiddling from the Maritime provinces.
Maybe having some of those tunes will interest fiddlers in Canada.
Lovely tune, Jason…..Thanks so much
linda
I enjoy playing this song! Thanks for presenting your variations.
For different sounds “chopping”?
Loving your brain! These lessons and posts are deep but doable Thank you!
What a great compliment: Loving your brain. Thanks!
Very, very cool Jason. Love that drone and the cross tuning.
Thanks so much, Jason. I find everything you offer very very useful. I’ll try experimenting with different tunings soon.
Cheers,
linda
Thanks Linda 🙂
I learned a long time ago that when something doesn’t seem to be fitting well, there’s no sense in hammering away at it. I just put it down, do something else for a while, then come back to it when I have renewed spirit and energy. Just like you Jason said!
Sometimes, while I’m mowing the lawn or doing something unrelated to my fiddle, a tune will jump into my head. I do as Jason suggests to just hum along with it (humming is practice too!) and often I can imagine the fingering with the left hand that apparently is embedded in my brain. When that task is done and I return to my instrument, I often find that my practice has taken a big leap forward.
Jason may be a scruffy dude, but he’s smart!
Jason- would love to hear where you went in Eire…. Clare- Ennis – Doolin? Yvonne Casey is a friend. Spent months
all over the island back in the mid 70’s & have been “foddlin’ ( fiddle noodling) ever since. Sure there’s some tales to be told.
My poor technique holds me back and glad I found you!
Slainté agus Go Raibh Maith Agat! johnny
This is great. Tonight I recorded everything I’m work on tune-wise.
I have to laugh! Luckily I’m enjoying 🙂
Tomorrow is a travel day but don’t need to leave for the airport til 7:30am
So fingers crossed I’ll get a good practice in!
I’ll be back Sunday in plenty of time too.
Otherwise, I bought a funky travel fiddle from an ole’ timer which I really love too.
Happy practicing fellow fiddlers! Thanks, Jaso’n <3
Lafferty’s Reel
Enjoying your “style” – Slainte!
Great stuff. It helps to see your process too. Thank you for everything. Your work is appreciated!!!
Hey I’m here – audio recorded on Monday 15th- catching up first few days!
Hi yep just starting on the challenge – have printed the worksheet, aim to work on shifting positions and improving my tone practicing the Ashokan Farewell – Thankyou for your steer Jason – looking forward to committing to 30 minutes a day for the next two weeks in this challenge!
I had one of those “just don’t feel like playing” days yesterday, so will try to power through that feeling in the future ?. Sometimes life gets in the way…
That said, I did find that videoing on day 1 showed me that I was bowing at a slant to the strings instead of perpendicular. So going to be working through that issue as well.
Day two….Great lesson! Thanks I love that D drone
Thanks Jason,
linda
Thank you. Love your lessons… they are simple and easy to understand.
Thanks for hosting this fiddlehed!
Looking forward to much improvement at the end of this challenge. I have picked my challenge and secondary challenge tunes, taped myself, listened to what I need to work on (everything ….lol )and put in my practice time, which was very much fun by the way. Thanks so much and good luck to everyone.
Cheers,
linda
Thanks for today’s tip, Jason!. I tried and it is a very nice way to begin daily playing.
Cheers,
linda
Oh – I hope the webmaster can update the FB link to 2018.
I’d love to share <3
Thanks, Jaso’n! I’m in with everyone else 🙂
that’s awsome ?
I like this! Inspires me to try some improv myself:)
I cany hear anything ??
thanks for all you do for us!!!
Thanks for all your efforts to keep us fiddling!
Awesome Jason! Was that done with your electric fiddle? No way I can get sounds like that out of mine.
Hey Robert, It was done on an acoustic fiddle tuned DADA. Thanks for the kind words…
Count me in! 🙂
This is perfect timing for me. I’ve learned so many new songs and working on my sound has been in my thoughts for the past couple of weeks. I love how this you seem to intuitively know what your students need, no matter how far away we are! Thank you for this.
This is perfect timing for me. I’ve learned so many new songs and working on my sound has been in my thoughts for the past couple of weeks. I love how this you seem to intuitively know what your students need, no matter how far away we are! Thank you for this.
Excited and I know nothing good comes easy. Looking forward to improving
Looking forward to a new journey to enjoy.
Maybe this is what I need to get back into it.
Looking forward to this !!!!!
Hey Jaso’n,
You need to update the dates for the FB Event. It is showing the 2017 challenge.
All my best,
Lily
Thank you for letting us know! We’re looking into it now!
Jason, you are a great teacher! I’m looking forward to adding variation to Tam Lin.
Hi Ya Jason, Thanks for all the good tips. I have been trying to learn a complicated (to me) section of music called “Jig” from St. Paul’s Suite,
that has lots of accidentals in it. I have really been struggling with it, and fighting it along the way. I took your advice from “What to do when you’re stuck” and “Play it casual” Casually I took that piece of sheet music over to the piano and played it on the piano, hummed along with it, and then back to my fiddle to work out the fingering as I plucked each note. Those accidentals didn’t seem so bad after all. Yay, I’m conquering the hard part….:)
Thank you so much,
Cheers,
linda
amber please put links to the scale play-along tracks so we can do this.
Best would be to put the links on the page.
Come on, have mercy on us, we are beginners!
Jessica
Hi Ya Jason,
Love the Fiddle Ragas, offering the opportunity for very personal creativity to take place. I think maybe meditatively moving comes to my mind. Thank you for teaching and sharing them with us all.
There are a two tunes I like to “try” drones to. Maybe you would enjoy them also. The first one is called “Freedom/Saoirse” from Martin Haye’s band, album called The Gloaming. I think you can see them on youtube. And the other tune is called “My Mind Will Never Be Easy” also Martin Hayes (Quartet) on the album called The Blue Room. This tune not so much for droning, more hypnotic.
Cheers,
linda
Hey Linda,
I just discovered the Blue Room. So nice!
I’m a long time Martin Hayes fan.
Listening to that song now…
I also could not get audio.
These do not have sound on purpose. The concept is that this is a kind of practice timer. It guides you through different phases of practicing.
I should probably make this more clear on the page.
For scale play-along tracks try scale central.
Sorry for the confusion!
Amber
Love this tune, Jason….Thanks for teaching it!
Cheers,
Linda
This was fun and I enjoyed the exercise .. thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh cool, glad you liked this!
Couldn’t get audio either but the text info is great stuff .
Friday, mid-morning. I hear the happy gurgling of the water filter in the tank where my wife’s pet frog, Prince, dwells. Sounds like a little fountain. Oh, and the ice maker just dropped a load of ice in the freezer!
I also can not get any audio for this lesson. So sad . . .
I could not get this to play 🙁
This is ne of the things that has really helped my playing. When I learned to play as a kid it was here is the tune, piece, what have you that you need to learn to play by next week.
No one ever taught me how to learn a piece.
I use a metronome app to force myself to play slower. Once I’ve learned a tune are the slow speed I gradually increase the speed. If I start struggling then I need to slow back down.
This is a great lesson.
Thank you very much! Slowing down is a challenge sometimes when you get excited by what you’re playing, which is easy to do!
Technology can be a useful tool when it comes to learning to play an instrument. We’re glad you are enjoying the process of fiddling!
I love this idea! I will carry my fiddle around with me for a period and try to talk to myself with it at least! Then when I get a little better, carry it around and talk to others!!
Thanks for the lesson as always!!
Carry it everywhere I say!
Is it possible to re-activate this video?
Hey Beth, have you come back to this lesson since the video has been re-activated? Thanks for sharing what you found. This is a great video lesson in rural Ireland 🙂
Is it possible to re-activate this video? It’s never been available here maybe because it was removed from youtube?
Oh rapture!! Bit fast for me yet..but I’m on it.
It’s a journey, enjoy where your at until your ready to move on.
Just keep fiddling!
I liked this one!
This was a great little lesson to learn! After 26 years of being stagnant with my fiddle, I have decided to pick it up. To my surprise, the couple a years of fiddle lessons came back and I played a scale right off the bat! It took me longer to tune my fiddle and rosin my bow! Which now will come easier.
Now I am ready to practice, practice, practice. And my hubby just said to me, it is really something that you just picked it up and played anything. Remember that! Those that get frustrated, that frustration is all part of the journey!
I am so excited to keep going! Baby steps turn into Big people steps eventually!!
Thanks for this uplifting message!
That is lovely!
It sounds like you’ll be a pro in no time!
The challenge for me now is going from 1st to 3rd position. And this week I have been doing that incrementally, and it is working….yay…Thanks!
linda 🙂
Slow but steady! Keep up the good work??
I play Ashokan Farewell very simply. I’d like to “fancy it up”.
What a great tune! Never heard this one before and am excited to learn it.
It’s joyous.
Can’t wait to try this one!
Nice 🙂
Love, love, love this! Thank you for sharing! Going on my list to learn!
Yes!
Im sure I should stay on track with this more than I do– I went on into my own music choices and am loving it but not getting all the technique I would if I stayed with you. I already knew how to read music so when I got my bearings with fingering I just went off into my own space…. I know, not really what I should do but I’m loving it and having fun. I keep coming back and digging out the things I realize I am falling short on. I’m know I’m loosing/wasting valuable lesson time.
No time is wasted if you’re playing, paying attention and finding some joy in the process…
Toby did a great job. This was fun to play along with. I like the lay-out for practicing and also the catchy tunes. Great job!
Thanks for saying that. It was super-fun having a guest teacher. I want to do that more soon…
Jason,
Any chance you can do a lesson on Dueling Banjos for the fiddle? Thank you for everything
Here you go: /lessons-taught-by-student-teachers/fortnite-dances-hootenanny-dueling-banjos/
Wise words from a wonderful teacher,
If I can become good enough at fiddling to get the music that I hear in my head straight to my fiddle without floundering around for the notes then I’ll be so proud of myself. ?
Thanks Thanks,
linda
Hi J,
In reading the comments it seems many of us are anxious when learning something new.
I tell you. This last year has been a struggle for me. Not only learning the fiddle but keeping myself motivated so I don’t get too down on myself.
I just noticed this week that I am able to actually hear the notes to play in tune. I thought there was something wrong with me, I just couldn’t decipher weather I was playing in tune or not. I was giving up at one point but forged on.
Now I’m over that struggle lol
Thanks so much for all your encouragement, it really makes a difference when I’m struggling.
Mar
Love your “play everyday video”, Jason. Looping technique has really been helpful! And I have focused on incremental learning as well….very helpful.
So thanks again,
Cheers,
linda
Helpful bits of knowledge from a fine teacher!
I like ‘Lament for Limerick’ – Martin Hayes version.
You are a natural encourager!!! SO VERY GRATEFUL for you!!!
You cause me to stick with it and celebrate any results as progress……and it works!
Just a passing note of thanks…….. gotta go bow up on my swallowtail jig now 🙂 #proudMama #proudfiddler
My dog sings (howls) along with me when I practice scales, and I swear he changes his pitch as I move up and down the strings. Makes practicing more fun!
Lol, I love the 60s theme you can practice anything video.
So both dogs and my cat run from the room when I pull out my fiddle…Glad I’m not the only one!!!
Beautiful and applies to everything in life!
Simply lovely. Thank you for the reminder. And thank you for all that you are doing, it has helped me a lot! 🙂 Cheers!
Ah, yes. My favorite is “I don’t have to do this, I get to do this!” I can apply that sentiment to all of my most meaningful work (wife, mother, farm worker, teacher, and amateur fiddle player. Lately, the ‘this’ wrt fiddling is immersing myself in the D maj scale and developing my ear, and playing the same few songs over and over. Sometimes, I hear my family humming Kerry Polka, Will The Circle Be Unbroken, or Kerfunken Jig, and I realize that however dissatisfied I am with my playing, I sound good enough to please the people around me. Even if my timing is way off and my e string rattles and my b natural is somehow always slightly flat (except for sometimes when it’s sharp enough to approach c natural…)
+1 for Kefunken and Star of the County Down.
If I had to pick just one I’d say The Road to Lisdoonvarna. It’s one of the few tunes I have confidence enough to play through down the pub (even after a few pints) so I suppose it’s about time I try and take it up a notch!
That’s a sweet tune. Try making a set with Swallowtail jig or Lilting banshee.
Beautiful. ❤️
Thanks for putting this together. I always ask for tune names at the local sessions, hoping to do as lhume says and start absorbing by osmosis while I’m sat at work. But it’s a lot of effort trying to find a decent recording and get organised with a playlist.
The other problem I have is that if I ever stray outside of my regular sessions I find I don’t know anything they’re playing. So it’s always nice to hear other people’s takes on a “recommended Irish” playlist and fill in more gaps. Actually having said that, I reckon I’m already familiar with a good 3/4 of this list, so it’s quite nice to think that maybe I’m on the way to turning up a random session and having enough of a shared repertoire to play into the early hours!
The reason I joined fiddlehed was to knock some things off my “bucket list.”
I will be moving to an island in the northern part of Lake Michigan, populated by a bunch of people of Irish decent (me too), when I retire. I found myself saying, “When I retire I’m going to…” Much of it centering around music and fiddling.
Then I decided, why wait? So I did some exploring and found Fiddlehed.
I’m really looking forward to Irish variations. One one day I will join open mic night at the Shamrock Irish Pub.
I want to go to sessions at local pub, bring my violin, and be brave enough to play it. Soon would be good. I’m getting old(er) and may be running out of time.
Not sure if this is the answer you want but… I love Celtic music but my main goal is to perform for a group of senior citizens. Normally I host parties for them and I would like to try and have a little concert for them. Thankfully this goal has motivated me to practice more. Not sounding any better but I am practicing almost every day! LOL!
I would like to be able to jam
Play back up with a group
Thanks
Love your videos and lessons
I noticed that one of your suggested books was written by Deborah Greenblatt
I took a few lessons from her years ago in Omaha before she moved to the old schoolhouse in rural Nebraska
I remember entering their house by just stepping through the screen door because the screen was missing.
I took the lessons in the living room while her husband walked in and through the room
She was a great teacher but I was self conscious and shy and they were both accomplished musicians and I felt out of place
Most people start out feeling self-conscious, even around kind teachers. Just keep playing, try playing with others who are friendly. Small acts of bravery will see you through.
Thank you very much for another thought provoking video.
If I could play “The Pretty Girl (Maid) Milking Her Cow” I would love to add a variation
simply because I could spend more time with the tune. I have been learning to play the fiddle for
about a year. So, perhaps you may conjure up a beginner friendly version of “The Pretty Girl…”
someday?
I added that tune to the request list.
If you learn the process of variation you can add it to any tune.
Some mighty good stuff there laddie, seems I need to practice more to be able to this that stuff…
I like the shuffle bow variation. Being from Appalachia it strikes home.
Kerfunkin jig is becoming a new favorite and challenge. Your e mails are motivating. Thank you for all you do
Thanks for the kind words 🙂 It means a lot to me that this means something to you!
Kerfunken is one of my faves too. And I teach it a lot…
I like to practice scales with a drone. Working on the F Major scale at the moment. Even started to play outside, with a mute on…. I played my scale with all the long bow,short bow, triplets etc. To be honest I know I don’t practice scales enough. Played around with arpeggios. Started to make my own little tunes up. I’ve been playing for 4 years now following you all the way. When I heard you playing against a drone something connected with me. I’ve even put some of my musings on my own YouTube channel called Ghost Within. I’d love you to check it out and tell me what you think. Thanks Jason
The other night we were playing the 3/4 waltz version of Star of the County Down and one of the group felt we were plodding through it. Some of the sadder tunes, as someone commented above, might use just a slight lilt with some variation.
Try speeding it up a bit to change the emotional quality.
how lovely! I’m drawn to the celtic airs, they are poignant…melodic and lively and what a nice blending of instruments and harmony
If I were choosing a tune to add variation to, it would be Jessica’s Polka. It is one I know by heart and it just goes on and on….could use a little variation. And also Midnight on the Water … maybe that’s a little off Irish … but a cool tune.
Thanks again for these appetizers and I think I’m gonna go get a snack right now, also
Cheers,
linda
You can apply Irish variation to Midnight on the water…
All of the tunes I’m learning. LOL!
If I had to pick one I’d say “Kerfunkin Jig”
Cool. I’ll be releasing a variation on Kerfunken in the next few months…
I want to add variation to Ashokan Farewell. As a simple melody it’s plaintive and sad – which is beautiful – but I’d maybe like to lighten it up sometimes.
Speeding it up a little will brighten the emotion a bit…
I like Amelias waltz. In the second fraise the melody drops to a pretty minor. The way I learned the notes, the rhythm wouldn’t lend to dancing the waltz, so Ive learned to add my version of a swing, as though the dance was the lead for the rhythm. One recording Ive heard is done by Natalia MacMaster. This recording is filled with lovely variations, and a real joy to listen to.
Listening to Amelia’s waltz now. Thanks for sharing…
B part reminds me of Pachelbel canon.
descending and ascending, slow, fast, soft, loud, rhythms like tucka tucka, hoedown, perididdle, periwinkle, saw bow, Nashville shuffle, slides, throw away, broken thirds, trills, Irish rolls, double stops, chops, pulse the note with bow, variations of long and short bows, strathspey, arpeggios, slurring, jig bowings, blues scales in all the variations, long bows, playing standing up and outside. I only use the tuner now to get my open strings in tune and am playing by ear. I use the keyboard for intonation and song recordings and backing tracks and recording myself and I see where I am weak and hesitate in my playing.
Sounds like your practice is fun and productive. You’ve got some good habits!
My scales routine:
-Slowly. Work on finger placement and bowing making sure I get them just right. 2x
-Jig Bowing. Long, short, short. Allows me to work on my bowing. 2x
-Triplets. 2x
-Slurring the notes.
-Vibrato. I still have not mastered it. I try to get through the scale. 1x.
When I first started learning I did triplets slowly the increased it each round until I was going too fast. It was fun and the closet thing to Irish music that I could do.
Cool. It’s fun to see how triplets are similar to the swing rhythm (Long-short).
Settling into the scales with each of your suggested ways highlighted areas where my technique is weaker. Where my wrist shakes in the middle of a long bow, or my string crossing gets messy, or the quality of tone slips with the change of bow direction or my bow drifts one way or the other. It feels revolutionary to strip away the melody and order of the notes in a tune to be able to catch these simple parts of technique, to focus on smoothing out that quality in those moments, repeating that section of the scale until the tone deepens, or the long bow is steady for the whole stretch. Long-bow-slow versus long-bow-fast requires a different awareness of the pressure on the strings. I also started to gain awareness of the path of my bow hand through the air, which in turn changed the quality of the tone in the instrument. All that in just 20 minutes.I could really sink into each note and could see how I could spend a lot more time right there in the scale.
I was then excited to turn to a challenging section of a tune I’ve been struggling with and apply the same study of transition while looping that section – slow, long, short, quiet, loud, bow path until I was getting the tone I was looking for, to match the tone I was able to get with easier sections of the tune. I hadn’t quite figured out how to fix that phrase yet. So cool!
Additional variations: Stiff/relaxed, Still/moving, staccato, accented, even, smooth.
Sounds like you’re on the right track. You’re practicing with a high degree of awareness. Keep it up.
Try throwaway bow for the shaky bow…
What a treasure to hear this! Thank you!
You’re welcome Hikerchic 🙂
I practice about five of these daily. It really helps to get the sounds into my brain. Then I can use the ones I want to improvise. I’m trying to play with a guitar player. At first I was terrible, now I’m merely not good. That’s real progress for me!!!!!!
You’re improving while staying humble. And keeping your sense of humor! The idea with variations is that you’ll practice things more just because it’s interesting.
Great for listening while I work at my paying job. Hopefully learning by osmosis. 😉
Osmosis + practice
Thanks for searching out all of these excellent examples of Irish music. I enjoyed each and everyone one of them and will go back and listen again and again. I love how some start out slow and get faster and faster…so fast, I think it must be a miracle to be able to do that. :). Love John Galway & Matt Malloy playing together. Makes me want to get my tin whistle back out….. And Sinead O’Connor’s lovely performance of Danny Boy.
Thanks again for all the time and effort you put into these lessons,
linda
You’re welcome Linda 🙂
You can also start slow and play faster. Perhaps not as fast as these videos yet, though you can still do that NOW to some extent.
Hi Jason, here’s my answer. I have all these written up and pick a few ideas out when I practice. You’ll be pleased to hear that I got a lot of these ideas from your lessons. Cheers.
– melodic: changing note order in groups of 2 or 3, doubling notes, tripling notes
– rhythmic: straight, hornpipe, strathspey
– bow: long, short, hard, soft, split movement into 1/3s, split into 1/4s etc, moving towards and away from bridge in 1/2 bows, 1/3 bows, etc, using different string crossing bowings, only use up or down bows
– speed
– arpeggios of each scale, pentatonic
– ornaments: rolls, bow triplets, cuts, slides, vibrato
– double-stopped
– misc: saying the note names as I play, reading the sheet music as I play, adding an extra note at the top of the scale
Nice going James. What style are you mainly interested in? Do you also add many of these variations to tunes?
Hi, mainly focused on English, Scottish and Irish but only because that’s what people play in the sessions I go to (here in Yorkshire). I’ve only ever dabbled in simple variations with ornaments (cuts, rolls, bow triplets). Definitely interested in learning more melodic and rhythmic variations.
When I practice my scales I use to start improvising, playing the notes disorderly, randomly, so that I have infinite possibilities of variations …
But should I stay disciplined and really just play the scale from bottom to top and top to bottom?
And I like to go to my bathroom, the sound is stunning there and what I play seem so brilliant then ! I would like this sound and freedom when I play a tune, which often seems boring and dull. But I feel you can help me to achieve that Jason, cause you are so great !
Ps : I’m french and I hope my english is correct
Good question.
I recommend starting by playing the scale up and down, with and without variation.
It’s good that you improvise!
I recommend returning to the scale before moving on to other things. This is nice closure.
Thanks for sharing…
Hmm,, well omitting the obvious and striking quickly out of the box, You can play a scale in tune or not in tune…
One of the elements that keeps me going is using bits and pieces of Jason’s sage advice, like ” want to play, and listen to the voice inside honestly “, but beyond all the lists of technical expression, I’ve been getting closer and closer to the feel of the the fiddle, the vibrations, the various harmonic reflexes my instrument gives me, and the quiet in between them. Its nice to learn new songs, and nice to get quicker, and nice to learn new to learn new tricks, variations, etc. but I have learned to to enjoy the bond I’m building with the instrument. Like, for example, my fiddle wakes up about as quick as my fingers, ( not immediately ), and once it is awake, It shares unpredictably its secret past, like a budding romance, revealing in time some hidden secrets. I imagine it has been played well before, perhaps has either shared or produced tears, joyful and sad, and so has a heart and as sure as the metaphor i’m juggling here could be a dear friend.
Well said Steve. Use the same poetry when making music…
I just noticed that Kerfunken is in a different key in the first video: G major. I teach it in D major. Maybe they play it in G because Kesh jig is also in G…
How many different ways to play scales….humm….I must admit I haven’t done them very much…but that is about to change. I love the idea of fast, slow, rhythmically, in a different room, standing and sitting. I’m going to try them all. Thanks for those tips.
So many times I have listened to Irish music and wondered “just how do they do that”, getting all those little nuances that I have always thought you had to be born with. I think Martin Hayes is my favorite of all the Irish fiddlers ( And there are so many more I love, as well)
This is a little off Irish, but I have read this book twice already, called The Music Lesson by Victor Wooten, who is a bass player in the jazz/pop/every other genre world, that I share with you, for your enjoyment.
Wel,l on to the many ways to play scales & thanks again,
linda
Hey Linda,
Just go into scale variation with a sense of curiosity and fun.
Martin Hayes might be my favorite Irish fiddler too. I love the way he has re-invented the music.
My bandmates have read the Victor Wooten book and liked it. I wanna get to it soon. Thanks for the recommendation.
Thanks so much. I will definitely play with scales with a sense of wonder and playfulness. Wonderful to read how others tackle each step.
Cheers,
linda
Hi Jaso’n, I just watched your appetizer video and read your post. I guess I’ll give it a try, although I do think scales are boring. I’ll try to do like you said, think of them as just short songs. I like the sound of a hammer-on and pull-off so I will add that to practicing scales. Gotta tell you, your drawings really kill me! Okay, off to play scales all kinds of ways!
lukidog (Mary)
Hammer-on and pull-off is a good idea. Are you a guitarist?
Challenge yourself to make it cool and interesting.
Ascending, descending, slur, hoedown, fast, slow, short bow, long bow…that’s about it for now.
Nice. That actually covers a lot of bases…
I have no idea how many different ways I can play a scale. I’ve not tried them all out yet. One day at a time.
I’ve been at this violin thing for less than a year. Every day, my first task is whatever tune I’m going to play, I play that scale. Long slow bows. In thirds, working up the length of the bow and back down again, down the scale and back up again. Then, play my scales to the tempo of the tune I want to play. Then I add in the rhythm. Everything I have to do in the tune, I do with the scales first. It takes me twenty minutes before I’m ready for the tune I want to learn. If I get myself into a fankle and can’t do it. I go back to just open string bows across all four, then my scales and use things like you teach. Tuka, Hoe down, throw-aways, to reset my brain and fingers.
If I’m not in the mood, or just don’t have much time. to do much tune practice then I’ll do simple scale variations like A-A-B-A-A-B-B-C-B-B-C-C-D…I don’t do that so much as a daily routine because I’m trying to train my ears and be done with tuner.
Hey Mary,
“A-A-B-A-A-B-B-C-B-B-C-C-D-C-C” is actually a pretty interesting. It’s a 5-note pattern. Just don’t get yourself in too much of a fankle!!
Hello Jaso’n,
I tried this technique today with a tune called The Orphan and it worked for me. Thank you for all of these very useful tips.
Tapping myself is a revelation, and I laugh as I write this having hope that it can only get better.
I did discover the result of playing a loop over and over again until it becomes second nature, and I love that.
I also tried playing a tune for ten minutes straight with a tune called Jessica’s Polka, and I realized I can play something from memory. That also gives me hope for many more tunes in the future.
I had to laugh at the idea that what I’m playing now is better than it was six months ago…because as of today, I’ve only been playing for three months. (Haven’t missed a day of practicing yet!) I’ve been recording weekly and then monthly “Marco Polo” app videos of my progress and sending them to my daughter in law in another state. It’s a good thing she loves me….because there’s a whole lotta screeching going on! ??
But it’s getting better. Slowly. ? I agree, recording is a really good idea. It shows me what I need to work on, and gives me some encouragement that I am, in fact, improving. I wonder what I’ll sound like six months from now??
I think asking people to take a survey and then sharing the results is a great way to do surveys. Thanks!
Hi
How do you find out when your subscription ends?
I am so impressed with all you have done! I have not kept up with my lessons and think a practice/buddy group sounds like a great motivator!! (Kind of like going to exercise classes even though I have unused equipment at home!)
Wonderful to find someone as committed as you to helping people learn to play and enjoy fiddling! Very glad I found out about you and thank you very much!
I decided to try the micro practice sheet but I had some trouble downloading it. I looked and the link and noticed it was a concatenation of the same link twice, see below.
/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/micro-macro-worksheet.pdf/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/micro-macro-worksheet.pdf
I tried just using the first half (below) and it downloaded just fine, so i thought I would post here in case anyone was having similar issues.
/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/micro-macro-worksheet.pdf
Really enjoying the site. Thanks
Also, it was the link on the download page, not the link on this page, sorry. This page is fine.
Thank you for letting us know! We appreciate any feedback and will be working on reviewing the error.
Jaso’n
Hey Jason,
Ran into a busy week, this one. But pretty much practice every day, sometimes multiple times. I am a full-time caregiver for my wife, with hired help. Most time she will enjoy my scales or melodic rhythms, while I feed her dinner. The fiddle has become a large part of my life. I love learning the chords; learning to play in tune; working on tone. I have recently found a local place where there may be jams. Shortly, I will garner the courage to hiire someone to watch my dear one, while I go make a fool of myself. When do I renew my annual lessons?
Yours,
Owen O’Malley
Hey Owen,
Your yearly membership ends on November 28, 2018. And you should be notified before it expires.
It is a true blessing to give the gift of our music to our loved ones. I am happy to hear your life, and the lives around you, are benefiting from the joys of the fiddle.
Thank you for being apart of FiddleHed!
Jaso’n
I used to love listening to my sister’s folk group recordings and picking out her voice. When my sisters sing together I am always amazed at how different in style our voices all are. Beautiful breathy and low Becca, pitch pure and high El, gentle but clear Catherine. I’ve always wished I had an accent to give my voice character but I guess even my sound adds to the spectrum.:-)
About that “practice every day” thing….not a problem. I’ve had my fiddle for two months now and have not yet missed a day of practice. Sometimes I play twice a day. OK, I confess, sometimes three times a day… If this keeps up, I may need to find a good 12 step program….fiddler’s anonymous? ??
Thanks for the great website and lessons!
Ok will try again. PS really enjoying the course!
For a while there, I was dedicating 30 minutes each practice session to scales, arpeggios, etc., before trying some of my favorite Irish tunes. Then, I tried to incorporate my pinkie. It threw me for a loop and into a downward (practice) spiral. I’m back on the horse now, but my “music” still sounds like someone stabbed the bagpipes.
My new T-shirt will read, “Play like no one is listening (and hope they’re not).”
P.S. If you ever want to clear a park, whip out the (beginner) violin. 🙂
Great advice. It’s like the Four Horsemen of Music. For me tone is the most elusive; the others are a little more mechanical. To make good music you need all four
Well said! I can see the Four Horsemen riding over the hill…
this was great. Thanks Jaso’n and Fiona…it is good to see the benefits of being an older student. For some of us, it is a bit humbling to be a beginner again at something..I love fiona’s approach….stealing! xoxo w
I’m 56 and want to get good enough on the fiddle to be able to do my own fiddle tracks so I dont have to keep paying fiddlers and trying to convey what I want. I’m delighted that the mando is tuned the same way as I often think, hmm mando doing this or that there would be cool.
Right now I’m trying to “perfect” the 12 bar blues bass walk in G (first string).
I’m very proficient at electric lead guitar but this instrument of humility is giving me a run for my money. Especially the C part.
I feel it’s going to be good to be able to get that down as it causes me to have to fret a lot in different fret positions.
Yes I have frets on my fiddle. Acoustic guitar geared tuners too.
I’m not so sure as a beginning fiddler that it’s is good to / for other people.
Even my dog who thinks I’m the best because I can open doors and the fridge looks at me with my fiddle with that must you? look.
You just solved my problem, thank you! I was struggling with all the possibilities that music offers and I like too many styles too. Becoming so stressed not to be able to make up my mind wich style to choose. Now you made me see that its allright, I don’t have to make a choice, Jay!!! Because its not my goal to become master in one style, I am allowed to be happy playing all kind of styles and it doesn’t have to be perfect!
The problem is that other people cannot handle it when they cannot put you in a certain box, they become frustrated: “What is your style? Make up your mind!” Now I can tell them: that’s not my goal, and that’s a choice too, and it’s allright! Jay!!!
hi Jason’s
, english is not my mothertongue .. first of all i wish to undestand the real synonim of ” drone scales or playing or whatever attached to the Drone word ..”
second ,full understand your system of work that it looks quite logic and similar to my point of wiew
everyday practice is a goal
unfortunately not always possible as , i guess , neurones have to adapt to the inputs,assimilate or otherwise after a while is the reject the little burn out .. of course it is always relative to our age ..
teke care theo
As an adult learner, the benefits of fiddling are so vast! I get to be a beginner at something again. I am learning to be kind and patient with myself for sounding awful (a lot!) and sometimes my playing just flows and sounds great. This is amazing to me. Right now, playing the fiddle gets to be the one thing in my life that is just for me, but at some point is see how it will connect me to others and be a gift I can share. It has also taught me more about listening to music…melody and tempo, not just how it makes me feel.
Lin, yes my intonation became very good when I had a very picky teacher. Playing with others helps greatly if you are listening AND they play in tune too.
I learned that the violin has many G#s some a tad higher and some a tad lower depending on the mood of the piece and if playing with others.
Note: playing something imprecisely 1000 times but with good tone and bowing technique still creates positive results.
How beautifully, truthfully and succinctly put Tangora. Your words I make my own ?.
Thank you Fiddlehed !
I am 67 and I just started this past February. Thank you all for making me realize I’m not alone! I fell in love with the violin years ago, but never had the confidence to try. But when I heard Taylor Davis play – I knew that I wanted to “Play” … and I will ! And Jason, you’re the greatest … you make it fun!
Thanks for the kind words ?
Super-glad you’re having fun.
Hi I’m new to the course, but so far I love everything I have seen! Your play-along practice tracks are just what I have been looking for – and I even like your sense o humor! I anticipate being with you a long time!
Buck
Hi Jason,
Do you have a specific lesson on grace notes? Thanks.
Cheers.
On the way! Stay tuned for the Irish Variation course.
Excellent advice. I play scales for about an hour every morning-still chasing better intonation and the elusive beautiful tone
Nice. Check out the How to Play in Tune course.
Jason .. thank you .. you are so sharing and inspirational.
You’re welcome ?
I know this sounds a bit immature, but i bought a bunch of rainbow, stars, and heart stickers…some are bigger than others. I printed the awesome fiddlehed calendar and for everyday I practice, I put a sticker in the box..if it was a long practice day 45 mins or more…I put a big rainbow sticker in there..it makes me happy to see so many stickers at the end of the month and motivates me to “earn my sticker”…if I don’t feel like practicing on the occasional day, i give myself permission to intentionally not practice that day, instead of just “forgetting” or “putting it off”..when I do that, it reminds me that commitment to an instrument is my CHOICE and i seem to be anxious to play the next day. Just my 2 cents, and probably worth as much as you paid for it..LOL. Jason thank you for your amazing work on Fiddlehed and keeping us excited! This program is really great. I love it. Wendy
I ♥️ stickers. Good idea. I want to make some for students.
Sorry messed up my txting! I often go back and practice my basics, ie, string crossings, full bowings
Good !
At this point i’m just trying to learn theory of music and anything related to violin. I often go backback
Wednesday Night Waltz as performed by Clark Kessinger….my whole reason for learning to play.
Nice. Did you put it on the request list forum?
I love the encouragement as a middle-aged beginner!! I’ve tinkered with fiddle once or twice over the years, but never seriously until now. The FiddleHed lessons give me structure, a huge variety of tunes to choose from, “someone” to play with (the backing tracks), and great entertainment. Sometimes I listen to FiddleHed YouTube videos for fun while I’m driving.
Although this is harder than any instrument I’ve learned, it’s also the most rewarding to accomplish. I’m more proud of calling myself a fiddler than I ever was during years of piano and professional guitar playing.
Sure, my brain and fingers aren’t as fast as they once were. My hearing is changing. My right wrist has begun to hurt from playing. I’m constantly reminded that adults can’t master violin. But I’m having too much fun to let any of this stop me now. With FiddleHed I might really make it this time!
Just keep playing. It sounds sounds ridiculously simple, but it’s so important ?
For me it is hearing something that I want to make my own.
I really appreciate your step by step encouraging philosophy to learning to play music. The “How to play In Tune” course has been very helpful and the time goes by quickly while I am practicing with your suggested techniques! Thanks! Tunes are sounding better too!
You have the gift to explain things to those of us who struggle with learning. We all have anxiety, I believe, although we hide it well .. it feels good to read that it is part of a normal learning process. You are very humble and honest. I love all kinds of music and always have music playing, especially when I am gardening. Indian music is the best for the plants to grow, the vibrations of this music has shown this to be the best also the peaceful Hangdrum. There are many sites that show the science of music and plants. I’ve just signed up and look forward to many happy hours of practise!
Thanks for the wise words, graybird! I’m 65 and trying to learn. Some days seem to go smoothly and I’m sounding ok while others I wonder why I’m doing this. I keep trying to maintain what the Buddhists call the beginners mind. I’m trying to stay focused on the present as opposed to wondering why I’m not at the future yet. I sometimes battle with my need to get it right. Daily practice is really helping me to get better little by little. Thanks Jason. You are awesome.
Thank you graybyrd, I’m 56 started learning the fiddle in Feb, I so times think I haven’t made much progress, but I started to record myself every couple of weeks and realise that it does sound better on the open strings, not so much on scales, but your post really cheered me up, all the best to you and your wee wife from scotland
I too started the viola at age 58 … it’s been 6 months and I am so glad I took the plunge and went forward with it. Fiddlehead is a fantastic resource of learning methods and encouragement !
Could you post the tabs for Galway Girl? I’m having a hard time following the video and really want to learn this song.
Thanks!
I agree the tabs would be very helpful. Also Mairi’s wedding might be a fun easy one to do as well. Thanks and it’s a great website.
Good idea. Mairi’s wedding would be fun. Thanks for the request…
I looking for the first week free where is it
I am 57 and truly trying to learn something new, both for the synaps (?) firing and my own piece of mind. Loving the process and totally loving you Mr. ‘Fiddlehed’! Fun. alone. making some scary sounds and alot of good ones too! I truly look forward each day to my practice! Had childhood music and lifelong love of listening. Hoping this whole thing carries me toward the next 20+ years of playing, having fun and listening more!
Thanks. That was very useful.
This is very encouraging. I’m going to start memorizing all my favorite pieces. I have a few memorized but not all of them, so I’ll make it a goal. I’ve always felt a little overwhelmed by the prospect of memorization, but now that you said it, it makes sense that it would help me focus on and improve other parts of the tune, if it’s already memorized. Thanks for writing this! ??❤️
Thank you Jason for posting this article and thank you graybyrd for your inspiring words. I had a rough practice session today so this was a EXCELLENT pick me up to read. Keep on making that fiddle talk, keep on makin that fiddle sing graybyrd!
I think Orange Blossom Special is the Holy Grail. I’m struggling with Tam Lin right now but I know it will come together eventually with practice.
Jas’n loved your fusion of east and west in the jig, as a scot, I’m used to scandi-scots-Irish, but this is new to me,blown away,more please
You Rock!
I like to “get in the zone” almost a meditation with the drone. I start each practice that way and it just feels good. The tunes I learn or the progress I make are secondary – I think the the fiddle is very much a soul instrument, like a drum. In fact,the drum is the only other instrument that has that quality of meditation for me. But the fiddle goes beyond with the melody and takes me to yet another place. So I do it for joy, but also for relaxation, for peace, for escape and for playing some of the coolest fiddle tunes! So I play almost everyday, but I don’t have to force. If I miss a practice, it is very much missed – I feel longing for the next time I get to play. It is truly something I love. Thanks for your help on the journey.
I love that Graybyrd… No one stops walking after a stumble. Pick yourself up.
Your insights amaze me; obviously, you’ve been there.
I’m 77, 78 in July. Time is short. I’m trying to learn the fiddle. I’m also retoughening my guitar-chording callouses after years and years away from it. At the same time, I’m making a deliberate effort to learn finger-picking on my guitar. Too often my fingers won’t obey and I fumble on the guitar, and the fiddle will sound dull and lifeless. But I know that it will sing with more care and effort. An hour later I can play a cascading series of finger-plucked guitar notes, and the fiddle will again sing. My wife in her sewing room compliments me: “it sounds good,” she says.
After more than three-quarters of a century, I can truthfully advise: the most terrible agony is regret. Don’t let failure to perservere be yet another regret. No one stops walking after a stumble. Pick it up and take another step.
Tearing up as I read this. “The most terrible agony is regret”. Thanks for saying this; very helpful to hear it…
Love the attitude!
If not now, when? I started playing a year and a half ago. I’m 62. Keep on fiddling!
Thank you graybyrd!
You inspire us fellow beginners! I’m in my mid-40s, and am trying not to listen to the voices whispering that only people who started as children will ever be able to play well. I dont need to turn pro to be satisfied, but it would be nice to get good enough to play Irish Washerwoman some night with a little Irish ensemble at the local coffee house, or to learn enough double stops to play along at a Bluegrass festival parking lot jam session.
And I, too, cannot bear regret. I’m old enough now to have had some. It is a most hateful, ugly thing, and I do anything possible to avoid it. Thank you for the reminder that I don’t want to create another one by giving up on this music that would make me so happy!
Very best wishes!
Well said, my fiddling friend!!
Love this! for anybody! So I shared the exercise with my FB friends, none of which are musicians. ?
I love this!!! My friends often play old time tunes so fast and with so many double stops and embellishments that I cannot even figure out what key they are in, much less the melody. I have been toying with the fiddle for years but gave up as often as I tried to learn it. So glad to have FiddleHed to learn from at my own pace!
I’m a terrible person with timing- always have been but this sounds like something I just might be able to pull off. Great suggestion. Thanks.
Man, there was like zero equivocation in that article/response to a question; you were totally honest. Thanks for sharing.
I’m having to learn to read music in a violin class and I find that if I get the first 2-3 measures down it helps me get a sense of the tune and the rest goes a bit easier. Great advice as always -thank you
Jason.you are more than a jack of all trades,you are a master teacher, I was born visually impaired and have always loved the nuanced sounds of the violin, and in Scotland ceildhs are part of the fabric,my birthday is even on Burns Night and every year I say I wish I could his wonderful songs,Auld lanng Syne is one of his and you have that as a beginner tune,I digress, I am waiting for the trad fiddle music lessons to begin,te tutor also takes the Scottish youth fiddle orchestra and won’t be available for a couple of weeks,so I liked on you tube for a stop gap and found you,not a sop gap any more,Have learned so much from you,even though I can’t see the strings,no problem,stop and rock,learn scales everything,vision not required,you have given me so much more than lessons,just the sheer joy of learning to make the open string sound good,I am totally in love with learning the different sounds ,It’s a queer thing but it has added such a rich ness to my life,beautiful tapestryof sound,I love your lessons,Love jane
Excellent suggestions. I’m doing micro practice but double stops give me a bad time,Especially fingered double stops. One finger always seems to get in the way.
I’ve always loved fiddle music but thought it must be too difficult for a person like me to learn. I couldn’t even read music-I can still only decipher notes with careful study and it will be a long time before I’ll be able to play from sheet music. But last December I got a student fiddle and started Fiddlehed lessons. I turned 60 at the end of January and want to be able to fiddle with a group by the time I retire. My goals are to practice daily and develop better sound until someday I can play without embarrassment. Thanks Jason for your efforts.
Ten years ago, at the age of 43, during my first fun mid-life crisis I borrowed my sisters old grade school violin and attempted to learn a few drinking songs and maybe a waltz or two to entertain my buddies…. with no music knowledge, instruction, or plan. I simply tried to gut my way through it as has actually worked for me in so many other areas of my life. I wrote my own tabulature for Ashokin Farewell (yeah, my starting song) and spent oodles of time trying to make it work. Fear or shame of failure is what kept me going. Completely idiotic, completely un-fun. And completely failed, of course.
Now, ten years later, and several more “mid” life crisis’s later(don’t get me wrong-I enjoy them), I have again picked up the fiddle to give it another go about four weeks ago. But this time I am embracing the patience required. I have completely surrendered to the FiddleHed gameplan/syllabus. So so so much better. It is actually fun and without pressure. And my progress is actually faster…by taking it slower. Imagine that. Magic.
Thanks FiddleHed guy… for reminding me to keep the fun in what is meant to be fun. I still may fail, but I will have a better time getting there.
Cheers.
Fiddle is like icing on a cake—-too much and the cake gets lost. When it’s just right it makes the whole thing better.
The account of life on the road reads exactly like some biographies of famous performers I’ve read. All bling and glory on stage; grim and gory in the backstage reality. Good mates hanging together, plus the ecstacy of the magic when it all comes together, the sum is far, far greater than the parts. Joseph Campbell said it best, in the “Hero’s Journey” … follow your bliss. Today it seems tough; tomorrow, looking back, it looks better. Years from now, off the road, it will be a long-lost treasure. I’m 77; 78 in July where I’ll be attending the state Old Time Fiddler workshops to get back my guitar groove (and hang around the good fiddlers with my new (old) fiddle you’re teaching me to play in hand). The only true Hell is regret. You can’t go back and do a damned thing over. So hang in there. You’re touching a lot of lives, and that’s pretty rare in this life.
Speaking of buskers, we live on an island. Across the salty strait is the magical town of Port Townsend. Buskers abound. Somebody might get a smile out of this photo I took last summer during a walk-about along the town’s waterfront street:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/graybyrd/35219935714/in/dateposted-public/
Like Skitter, keeping my fiddle out of the case is key to practicing. I’m not as focused and goal oriented as I should be to progress at a steadier pace, but the fiddle and bow hang on a hook on a beam in my timber frame home unless I’m taking it somewhere.Not only does the fiddle look way cool, it invites me to play.
A lot of people I meet want to play an instrument, most want to wake up one morning playing their instrument of choice. Daily practice depend more on discipline than motivation. Sometimes it’s work, sometimes it’s fun. It is always rewarding. The series of lessons about melodic variations in playing scales makes scales fun. Not an easy task, but if you play more you sound better. When you sound better you play more.
Motivation: I’m super goal-oriented, so I have mini-goals (learn these X tunes to play in beginner/intermediate session) and an overarching goal (be able to eventually play Irish tunes at full speed in a pub session). Each tune is like a puzzle, and when I solve one, it makes me want to learn more. It’s like a feedback loop!
The other thing that drives me to practice is often a matter of pure habit/discipline, and a sort of “reward system”. I usually play around the same time each day, and I have a tracker graph in my planner in which I color in a square for each day I practice — my goal is to have no empty squares at the end of a month. Also, I just started a dedicated practice journal in which I plan ahead what I’m going to do for practice the next day (broken into three categories: technique, new tune(s), review). Finally, I make sure my fiddle is easily accessible: I have a hanger on my music stand for both fiddle and bow, and I have a clip-on tuner there as well, so all I have to do is pick up my instrument and tune up and play; the only time my fiddle is in its case is when I’m taking it somewhere.
Good thoughts, and spot on. I used to think I shouldn’t even waste my time trying to play anything at all because I’m not dedicated to music and have little to no native talent. But I love music, and I love making music (or, at least, trying to!) so I do it anyhow. You’re obviously a talented musician and teacher, but you also ventured into the unknown and I’m glad you shared your doubts here. I think a lot of amateurs and adult learners are held back by the idea that we should only pursue something if we’re both dedicated and talented. Hogwash, I say! I used to feel guilty about my old student violin mouldering in the closet and then I found fiddlehed on youtube. I’ve played nearly every day since then. Not particularly well, but not always horribly either. And it’s made my days happier.
Jason,
As ever, you pour your mind and soul out for us and I, for one, am very grateful to hear it. Cate said it also, but what you are giving to the musical world is positive and wonderful. Your musings came to a great point- it isn’t your path to spend a life time learning Indian music, and to admit that is not anathema- you are no imposter, only someone open to learning and hopefully you were humble in your approach to do so.
I hope you enjoyed your trip- I really do. I hope it was a relaxing experience and that you didn’t get caught up in a mentality of stressful learning and I hope this doubt that plagued you was only temporary, because you deserved some true peace…
I actually ran out of good words to say right about here, so please just, like, feel some positive vibes and continue on, knowing that you are helping so many people, and that is a path that is MORE THAN worthy of praise.
Respectfully,
Max
Of the tunes that I’ve played, there are many that I find I can’t hum in the shower by just remembering the name of the tune. I have to play a note or two, and then can remember at least a good part of the tune, but maybe not the name of it! I wonder why?? I can hum “Take me out to the ballgame,”and “Yesterday,” by the Beatles. Is it not enough repetition? I can not sit down and say, “now I am going to play Bill Cheatham.
Look forward to learning some classical Indian songs. Would like to play something with our friends when staying in Sri Lanka this summer.
Thank you for this honest, thoughtful comment, Jason. It really helps a lot. While I am an intermediate player, learning and playing for four years now, I still have tremendous bouts of doubt from time to time. I feel I am not where I should be, etc. Fiddle playing is hard; it is a tough instrument to master for sure. Your words are so honest and encouraging, and just hearing you speak of doubt in someone who’s been playing as long as you have and what a professional you are, really helps us learners who are struggling with intonation, double stops, keeping the bow straight, etc. Thank you so much for all you do!!
Ha ha!!! Double stops uneven??? Ha! I wonder why my doublestops don’t even sound like doublestops!!!
This was a good description of what happens to me (and probably everybody), not just with music but with career, hobbies and important life choices, like to marry or not, have kids or not, and just about anything and everything.
Here’s 2 things I thought of right away that you have taught that have helped me with my doubting regarding fiddle:
1. Play every day. Even I can do that! I might sound like crap (The Bassett hound cries when I play) but I always remember to play every day.
2. Looping. Sounds almost obvious, but I sure did not do that or even think of it before Fiddlehed. Looping has helped a lot – to get started on a new piece and then to navigate through harder parts that just don’t seem to sound right.
Thanks for sharing your experience! It helps this newbie to know that even a smooth fiddler has these struggles. Kind of a good example of how we all need each other, too.
My beloved Lab, Lola, got up and left the room when I starting playing 4 years ago. We said goodbye to Lola in November, at the age of 13+, and in her last couple years she had become quite a fan of my playing. Not only did she stop leaving the room, she moved closer to me. Over time I discovered that she truly liked certain tunes better than others, I became her mama iPod.
I think what you’re doing with your life is sharing the gift of music by posting lessons,tips and advice. I’m taking classical violin lessons to learn solid foundation and fundamentals. I don’t wish to play classical music. I study some old time tunes but don’t wish to play about boiling cabbage. My goal is to play with a guitar player or small group and a couple of your videos are the only place I’ve seen information on this anywhere. So thank you for doing this with your life.
Nailed it again! As ever you are SO encouraging. Am loving my beginners lessons – thank you.
Awesome account! Thanks for sharing. 🙂 Made me thankful for my day job.
Always love your approach Jason. Have you read “Effortless Mastery” by the Jazz pianist Kenny Werner? He talks at length about letting go of the outcome (and our ego attachments that go with this) and to fully engage in the present moment of making music. And he really emphasizes the joy of mastering the fundamental skills and not being all urgent and relentlessly impatient toward some future achievement. His ideas apply to anything not just learning music. It’s really about getting out of our own way and allowing the music that is within us all to arise and unfold. Thank you Jason for all that you do. I feel blessed to have discovered Fiddlehed and am enjoying learning from you immensely!
Thanks for the recommendation. That book sounds right up my alley. Best to you…
The worst part of being a musician is starving on the street from busking. LOL just kidding
This is all such good stuff. Thank you guys for sharing real with me. Writing about what is hard and what is encouraging is real stuff. i am grateful for you who play because you have music in you. that’s why we do it, right? Thank you guys. you rock.
good advice as always Jason
but also one must beware of making the same mistake every time unto the 1000th you practice (you dont see the wood for the trees if you judge yourself). I thought I had mastered “Coleraine” and was feeling pretty chuffed with myself for getting it. But then, when playing in a little jam session with friends, I noticed one of them looking at me quizzically, and I thought “I bet he will say how good I am getting” , but when he spoke he actually said “you know you should be playing G#, not G in that B part” !!!!!!
I was most upset, until I realised he was actually right, and I went home and have worked on better intonation in more of my tunes, so I am grateful for that reminder of continually checking oneself critically, and repeat the same mistake every time.
Pride cometh before a fall they say 🙂
Thank you for this reminder, Jason. I’m a yoga instructor, and it is often said that “With practice, all is coming.” (That’s a quote from K Pattabhi Jois, a well-known yogi.) And so it is with everything. I like to think that every bow stroke I take has moved me one more bow stroke forward.
Best wishes for the process!
I’m feeling very encouraged by you. If I practice everyday, that makes me a musician! and the fantasy in my head is just to play increasingly better music…..and if I play on my front porch and someone walks by, that they will be pleasantly surprised. So I’m hopeful!
Thank you for this inspiration.
I appreciate your fiddle instruction, but also the flow into general life encouragement.
I’m feeling even better about deciding to pick up and learn to fiddle…..all the good stuff!!!
Enjoy India! I’m sure a blast!
You can sound like a hippie if you want to! I think today more and more people are experiencing things in a more spiritual light, but are hesitant to talk about it. But that is changing. Just feel it, say it, play it!
I really like your specifics about practice. I guess I would be considered an intermediate player, but being mostly self-taught, there are huge gaps in my technique and the understanding of how to go about improving. My practice has been a mish-mash, confused, hit or miss affair. I really appreciate your detailed instructions on how and what to practice, broken into easy segments.
I chose to subscribe to you over several other teachers I considered online, but I had no idea just how much you had on offer. I took one online course, a couple of years ago, which was very good, but I didn’t finish it because the lessons took you through specifc tunes, half of which I didn’t like! If you didn’t learn the tunes in order, you missed out on instruction for the next step. What’s great about your set up is that you have a long tune list and a student can choose tunes he likes and choose what things he wants to work on. This is a rich site. I am so pleased—and excited!
My projects this winter are learning 15 lively tunes that would have been played in the 1870’s, for reenactments in Lincoln NM this summer, and to make a foot-operated Jig-doll as a rhythm instrument. I have 7 tunes now that I’m sticking with for awhile until they sound good. I have until the July event to perfect another 7 or 8 tunes. Jig-dolls, sometimes called limberjacks, are jointed wood toys that dance on a board as you tap your foot. They’ve been around since the 1600s. I stumbled onto buskers using them on youtube. They are fascinating to watch. Since I am self-conscious about playing fiddle publicly, the jig-doll will keep the focus off me and on the dancing doll.
Fiddleflyboy—love your duet with the electric toothbrush!
Glad you liked it Minsky, but I’m not that good a fiddler! I found the video on YouTube and cut and pasted it??
Thanks for posting the the harmony part video for Swallowtail Jig. I am 52 years old and have a 10 year old daughter who has just started violin. I decided to purchase two violins, one for each of us so that we can both learn together. I thought that the progression of her school lesson program was way too slow for her ability so I began teaching her songs that would challenge her. I started to teach her Swallowtail when I happened across your site. Since I have been playing guitar for 35 years, I have a good grasp of music theory and tend to design alto parts for simple carols like wish you a merry christmas and then play them with my daughter while my 9 year old son plays background keys. I thought I could write a harmony part to Swallowtail but you already had one worked out. Saved me a ton of time. Looking forward to what your site has to offer. Thanks again. Jim
I wish you’d been around when I was in my 60’s when I started learning to play fiddle. Over the past 20 plus years (I’m 83 now) if I hadn’t made such hard work of it and given up, I’d be a fair fiddler by now. But no regrets—every day is a new beginning! I appreciate your reminding us to make the process of practice fun and the encouragement in your blogs on taking the time to enjoy experimenting with a tune instead of racing to learn a passel of new ones—as I use to without learning them well.
Great to hear that you learning and having fun with fiddling 🙂
And you’re right, every day is a new beginning. Helpful to hear that now.
Cheers…
Not much to do with the topic. I just wanted to see if I could post a YouTube vid in here. The link above is a good example of playing along with a drone 😉
This is good advice.
I’d like to thank you for the inspiration you have given me. You have so many fantastic tunes on your site and I want to learn them.
However, I have resisted your charms.
I have been laying for just 4 months, using the Scottish Folk Fiddle Tutor book. I’m about to learn the G Major scale and the songs that follow, but I’ve decided to stop where I am for now, sticking with just learning to play the G scale. The songs can wait a while.
I can play the earlier tunes pretty well and revise them all every week – I just accept Twinkle Twinkle is the price I have to pay to learn this instrument. There are some songs I’ve learned from the book, that to me are important. Jeely Piece Song (that’s a jam sandwich for non-Scots), Coulter’s Candy, Lovely Stornoway and Fairy Lullaby. The first two are childhood songs we all learn in Scotland Matt McGinn videos of these songs are on youtube if anybody wants to go and listen. The other two I hadn’t heard before; I blew myself away with them, so I played around with them and polished them and polished them more. I play the long notes much longer than the note length in the book. I just make it feel right and move on to the next note.
Just before Christmas I plucked up the courage to take my violin around to my mum – she’s in her 80s – and play for her. When I’d finished those two songs and looked up, she had a tear running down her face. “Oh, lassie! I don’t know why I’m crying. I just am, they’re beautiful. Play them again for me”. I was shocked, but that’s music, that’s what it sometimes does if you play it with polish. And I’d played them. She said Lovely Stornoway makes her feel like she’s at a rocky sea shore with her feet in the sea being gently lapped by the waves, and Fairy Lullaby makes her feel like she’s falling asleep in front of a coal fire with the snow falling down outside.
I’ve got a lot of learning and polishing to do and one day, I’ll be able to play her some of your tunes. She might get up and dance! Or Coorie Doon if she feels like another dreammy snooze snuggled up in front of a dreamy fire.
So I know the advice here is very good advice and it’s nice to have someone who knows their stuff say it.
Thank you Jason, thank you so much.
Dear Mary,
I chuckled about you resisting Jason’s charms!
Such a lovely story about your Mum. Thank you for sharing.
I’m very new at this, but trying to take in all good advice! I Love it!
Sandra
Exactly what I was thinking. I picked up the fiddle 2 years ago at the age of 40, just for my own amusement, after spending many years regretting not learning a musical instrument from my father, a folk musician. I found I could play passable versions of tunes quite quickly but then I’d move on to another one without trying to get really good at the ones I already learned. Putting the brakes on now and returning to the basics to try and get the foundation right.
In response to, “Hey play us a tune”! Where “is” the appropriate place on the Fiddlehed site to cut and paste fiddle recordings we post on YouTune? Also, I think it would be a wonderful idea to establish a free Google Fiddlehed Chat Room where Fiddleheders could gather to share ideas as is done on BanjoHangOut/FiddleHangOut.
Good advice. I have been fiddlin’ for 2 years as of 10 Jan. Over this time I learned over 60 tunes. Most I learned from Fiddlehed on YouTube. Some I learned from other instructors, and several I learned by just listening. As with David McGowan I recently put on the brakes and am now focusing on quality over quantity. Applying vibrato, slurring, and drones to tunes I know and like. Jason’s advice and approach resonates with me. Listening is practice!
Hi Jason,
I’ve been trying to play double stops and have them sound good for some time now. Actually the very first lesson I watched from Fiddlehed last year was on double stops and I became a big fan of your teaching ever since. Anyhow I’ve been working on Midnight on the Water with double stops and got the A part down pretty well, but had trouble with the E and A string double stop so I took it a part in the true Fiddlehed way and voila’ ! even my mom (who is almost 95) was impressed. Thank you Jason for your thoughtful and fun lessons.
You’re welcome 🙂
By the way, micro-lesson on double stops coming soon.
excellent advice, as always
I believe this is why so many people like your teaching style, you are so down to earth and practical, but fun too
Thanks 🙂
Thanks for the kind words ?
This gives me a lot to look forward to as I can keep finding ways to make my tunes evole and sound better.❤️?☺️?
Yes!
Excellent recommendations! Well thought out. Organized and succinct. Usable insight. A nice page to go back to for reminders and focus. Thank you. A peaceful 2018 to all.
Whenever you are in College Station, Texas you can stay with me. You are guaranteed a bed and a place to practice. My five cat will leave you alone?
Cheryl
?
I’ve decided to stop learning new tunes recently (until you posted Fairytale of New York) and really work on and enjoy a handful of tunes I already know. Get these to a point where I REALLY know them. The goal is for someone to say ” hay Dave bring you’re Fiddle over here and regale us with that tune, Kerfunken Jig”…. Not oh no he’s picked that Fiddle thing up again….
Hello Jason, Just wanted to let you know that I continue to progress and have gained so much more confidence. I am finishing 1.5 and the lessons that you teach in getting a better sound is amazing and helped me a lot.
Thanks Again
Keep up the Great work Teach.
Maryann
You are AWESOME, Jason. You make everything easy to understand and that is just what I need. No Complicated lecture on all the ways to do it right.. You make it short sweet and to the point. I will definitely use this approach going forward in my journey. I have been trying to do too much and I am in too big of a hurry. I appreciate everything you do. It is very helpful.
Glad to hear that!
That’s a nice quote. I am going to post that in my office now.
What quote?
I play with a group of three other adult fiddlers once a week. I met them through a bluegrass jam but we play all kinds of fiddle tunes when we get together. Playing with others is a whole new skill. You have to listen as well as pay attention to what you are playing. We play off of sheet music but we also play from memory the tunes we know well. This can be challenging because we may have learned different versions of the same tune. We are also starting to work on some duets where we are not playing the tune in unison. We all struggle with certain things and we all mess up here and there, especially the first time we go through a tune. We’ll go through a song a few times and when it goes well it’s a beautiful thing. If I could play with them several times a week my progress would be so much faster, but in the meantime I play along with recordings, which is not as good as playing with real people but still helpful.
I appreciate your comments. Playing with people on a regular basis combined with your own practice is a surefire way to develop confidence.
Absolutely loved the video application…and Diego’s sound fantastic.
Given me another boost to try harder!
If only more could share their talent with the universe
Keep trying, but remember to somehow find joy in the music and the learning…
Thanks I needed that! I have become somewhat negative about my progress. I’ve been playing for over a year now and was hoping to sound better by now. I hear so many little mistakes as I play and I suppose that’s a good thing, but I want perfection! Another thing… I am always so nervous when playing with others. How can I overcome this?
I would start by getting together with one other friendly person. Do it regularly until it starts to feel like a normal thing. Than ask someone else to join. Best to you…
I’ve been an Air Marshal for 10 years, actually started learning to play fiddle because I’m bored in the hotel room overseas at 3 in the morning, you can imagine how happy the other guests must be. Everyone is excited and interested in how great it must be to travel to a different country every week and all the great things I get to do and see. It does have it moments but hard to enjoy when your exhausted from being a professional commuter. I have learned that no matter what the job is, it is just that, a job. There are always good things but overall I would be happier hanging out in the country side riding a horse, fixing fences or doing some manual labor and learning to play my fiddle better. I guess, hope, that’s way retirement is for. Keep up the good work. I have enjoyed learning from you.
Thanks for your thoughts. I’m pretty grateful to be doing what i do, but I was asked to write about the Worst part of being a musician, and that’s what came out. Cheers…
Wow … touring sounds tough. I have been in photography for 20 + years … it’s also not as glamorous a lifestyle as one would think. ? People will say, “Oh you take pictures for a living, that must be a great job and really fun.” I just smile and think, “well that’s a long story.” … Life is such a balancing act and following a path of creativity can be a bumpy and winding road. ?
For sure. I hope it didn’t sound like a complaint. I’m grateful every day for what I get to do.
Not at all. I thought what you wrote was insightful and real. Following the creative path can be sometimes amazing, sometimes tough, but most always truly rewarding. I always chose that path and I’m really glad you did too. You shine in all you do. I enjoyed your post. ❤??
Wow- impressed by the sheer variety of music you play. Hope you continue to teach of The Fiddlehed sight and share your love of music with us!
Thanks. Got a lot of good stuff planned for 2018.
I have a plaque in my music room/office and it says, “The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away. Pablo Picasso”. Everyone has to make a living and pay rent, etc. and you need to get paid for your work to survive and as you said, to be able to create more … and we all benefit from that. 🙂 Teaching is one of the most generous professions out there and it is a true gift. I’m glad you’re teaching and I’m sure all of the FiddleHed students are as well. When I was looking for a teacher, I really couldn’t find anyone that taught and played the kind of music that I loved. So, I took some classical lessons, that I don’t regret at all; I learned how to read music and play reasonably well. I’d faithfully practice my half hour and call it a day. Since I’ve been taking lessons at FiddleHed.com, it’s like a switch has flipped on and my passion for music has been reignited. Practice is like a train I can’t get off and I don’t want to, as I’m having so much fun. I love the way you teach and the music we play. My logical side usually ends up thinking, I should probably stop now and give my fingers and brain a break but my creative side doesn’t want to stop. 🙂 Lastly, how cool is it that I can say, “look, here’s my teacher, he plays in an awesome band. – check out his video.” I am really glad you’re teaching and sharing your talent with the universe. Thank you! 🙂
Thanks Emmie! Glad you are playing again…
Emmie, thanks for the thoughtful reply and the Pablo Picasso quote. That’s helpful!
I really hope you do get into the class, thank you for sharing so much of this journey….your gentle playful spirit always comes thru your videos, I smiled thru the whole thing and am still smiling…I bet they will be smiling too!
As beginner, this is the kind of tune that keeps me feeling inspired to keep plugging away, slow and steady. Thank you!
You’re welcome! It’s a good beginner tune if you’d like to try it out.
I agree totally with the ‘never too late’ theme. Just turned 66 and started trying to play my fiddle in my mid-40’s when my kids were driving me crazy playing ‘Twinkle Twinkle’ for Suzuki lessons on our piano. I actually started playing along (in a remote room) with my fiddle from time to time – that was my start. A friend of mine had graduated up to the fiddle and we went back-and-forth sharing tunes and discoveries. We grew up together doing much the same thing with guitar playing. He spent a lot more time than I did musically and as a result pulled quite a ways ahead of me in playing ability, and I eventually put down the fiddle thinking I’d never get anywhere much with it. Focused on learning the mandolin for quite a while, which I discovered wasn’t a bad switch for wanna-be fiddle player having a parallel with tuning and fingerings – the frets give a late-learner a break on tone compared to the fiddle.
About 2 years ago I sincerely picked up my fiddle again. The mandolin playing was a leg up, but the biggest plus this time around is all the available videos and software a person can use for like personal lessons, or breaking a favorite or tough song down in speed to ‘aha’ the tricky parts. I spent a little money for these lessons and software the past two years, but the payoff has been very wonderful, and surprising. Key things I found were the 1) practice every day, 2) play with confidence and be positive, 3)recognize your weak areas (and strong ones) and find a way to work them over (or utilize them), 4) keep an open mind for new ideas/techniques, 5)know your limitations and know there likely is a way around them, so go find it.
So play as much as you can. There is ample time to dedicate when you start looking for it. My biggest hurdle is making myself ‘slow down’ and be more accurate and clear to start with and then build speed. Think that is probably a symptom of being older and knowing there is less of a time window to accomplish things. Have to say, every time I’ve gone for clarity and accuracy first, I have been able to progress faster than I thought I was going to be able to. Jason is so right about that.
Thanks, Jason (Fiddlehed) and all my fellow fiddlers (and late-bloomers) for this great world of music!
I took up fiddle when I retired three years ago. Now I’ll probably never become a professional classical violinist, but that was never my goal. I’m having a great time jamming with friends, and at Bluegrass festival campouts. I can hear and feel improvement and that’s really my goal. And I’m having a great time and meeting new people. I’m using my brain and keeping active. My husband recently started learning to play guitar and sing.
I’ll add my agreement. I started the fiddle a couple of years ago when I was 57. Teaching myself, I really struggled until I found Fiddlehed, then came on in leaps and bounds. Jason, your tunes are fun and simple without being childish, you teach at just the right pace, and I often feel as though you’re there in the room with me. In my younger years I played recorder, guitar and flute but always imagined the violin would be beyond me. I appreciate you showing me the light. ?
Hi,
I believe also that anyone who is physically able can learn the violin at any age. I started on 10th November this year 2017, and I am 80 years young. I am taking your free lessons and appreciate you Jason for taking it slowly and getting to show a student the correct procedures
many thanks
TW
I agree, too. I’m 62 and will have been playing for 2 years in Feb. When I was taking piano as a girl, it killed me to practice for a half hour. Now I practice twice a day and can easily do it for an hour or longer, just because I love playing the fiddle so much. I have an in-person teacher, but I kind of like Fiddlehed better.
I too had a teacher but got away from her after a year and a half. I really enjoy FiddleHed and it’s always there, accessible to play and practice as long as I please . I am 65 and started two years ago.
I agree it is never too late to start. I am 69 and began lessons last May. I keep wondering if my aging brain is slowing me down and keeping me from remembering where to put those left fingers and to keep my bow perpendicular. But I have always loved the fiddle. I wish I had begun this years ago, but I am very happy I began now. In spite of my mistakes, it is so enjoyable learning and it is a joy when I can make a tune sound like the tune.
Thank you for this online tutoring experience. It is a valuable supplement to my in person lessons.
Good lesson – I really like this approach.
Merci 🙂
I love the title and the message of this article. The more familiar, the slower and the simpler the song, the more I have to practice to achieve the sound, I wish to be heard. I simply love the selection you have for your students to learn. Thank you, I am having so much fun learning something old, yet new, each day!
Glad you are enjoying music!
Last night i tried playing old susanah to every different beat on the beat central. It was fun and a great way for beginners to get used to new rythyms. I probably wouldn’t have been able to keep up using an unfamiliar song.
Oh cool, glad you tried that!
Well, I am finding the old fiddle tunes to be wonderful. They are mostly new to me. Like a whole new world. I find them fun to play. Plus you don’t have to worry about copyright infringement if you want to post a video online. Most are probably way beyond worrying about.
Actually you can post a video of yourself playing any song, even if it’s copyright protected. Youtube has an algorithm that will find it and add an ad which is how the owner of the song will get paid…
Well said!!! I have been at jams, where there was a hierarchy of tunes, and the “old” ones were treated as boring and beginner….I myself have heard some amazing versions of Angelina Baker. The old, familiar tunes I love for their communal nature, bringing people together. Amy
Indeed! It’s a common language…
Thanks for all the motivational tips you give for all of us that have to “be our own teacher”. I’ve learned alot from your online course. It is true when you practice in front of a mirrror i realized where i wasn’t bowing as straight as i thought. Also when i record myself it is “glaringly obvious” what i need to work on. Little by little i’m improving. Thankyou for offering these courses.
You’re welcome ?
Makes sense to me! …and practicing both ways means there is absolutely no time during the day when I cannot practice.
Jim Ford
Very busy this past week, AND the computer caught a virus….New computer, new email. Not sure how to convey that, so I will give it here, hoping that it gets recorded: [email protected].
I think I will stay with Fiddlehed and find people to play with (I may have to pay them!).
Peace,
from Virginia
You’ve probably touched on this before, and I apologize for missing it (I’m new). Regarding bowing: if a person can make a satisfactory sound with his or her own version of up/down/slur or no slur, are they harming themselves? To clarify, I’ve watched orchestras and ensembles of strings — it appears they all are moving their bows in unison. So I figure that means there’s a right way and a wrong way. Personally, I would be happy to be able to play “Orange Blossom Special” in my own way, even if it meant arthritis in later years. But I would like to know if there is some general method to bowing. Thanks.
Avoid that arthritis! Try to relax muscles and breathe. Orchestras coordinate their bowing for a particular sound, but also because it looks good. Fiddlers don’t do that.
Once again thanks for this great advice, plus my grandchildren would love these tunes. By any chance, would you have lessons for some Christmas tunes to play on the fiddle?
Mar
Hey Mar,
Check out this youtube playlist of my holiday tune lessons: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxBODKswvJcMi8QpUCK3e3EAc58epJblk
More coming soon…
I find this happens to me.
To help, I have found that I should forget about the piece for a few mins and slowly play a couple of scales in the key that the piece is in, concentrating on bowing and the sound of each note.
Then go back to the piece and play the wretched bit that was tripping me up – slowly once or twice.
Then I can have a go at the whole piece again and it is back to sounding at least as good as it was the day before.
Another problem I have is that I can’t just pick up the violin and play a tune at someone’s behest. It is really frustrating, as I really do need to warm up before I get going and it isn’t always convenient to warm up – eg if you are playing a tune at an open mic in the pub and you have to wait your turn. Maybe I’ll make a new post to ask for tips on this…
Oh My Darling Clementine
Red River Valley
Kumbaya
A popular piece given for beginners in the old tutorials was Bluebells of Scotland in the scale of G.
Good ideas.
Red river valley lesson: https://wp.me/P8OLq8-Ou
Thank you for this post.
Just completed day 4 of my 5 min challenge.
It is so weird, the bars look simple enough but they were catching me out every time when I tried to play the piece quickly, which is why I chose them. I am so glad I did choose them, as they are still tricky to get right even after all the practice I have done.
I have found myself trying to analyse why I find them difficult and trying different ways of playing each bit eg leave one finger down whilst playing on the other string to help when I come back to it, also moving my elbow up when coming across to the A string form the E.
I have even watched myself in the mirror and found that I was tilting my bow back so wasn’t playing on the flat bow ie less hair pulling the string. It wasn’t relevant to the fingering but I hadn’t realized I was doing it.
Some of the problems I have include making the notes sound nice, not touching other strings inadvertently and keeping my finger (positioned on the D string) clear of the A string when I’m rocking from G (on D string) to open A.
It is amazing how much you start thinking about a few simple notes when you are playing them over and over again!
I really hope I can complete this challenge as it can only be good for my playing I’m sure. I have also found myself noticing other single bars in other music I’m practicing. I am sighing as I think I could usefully use this approach on a lot more bars than just the couple I have chosen…I have a feeling that once I have done this challenge I will be following it up with another similar challenge. There could be no end to this!
Loved the Practice Challenge Jason – helped with the motivation knowing I was participating with lots of other folk!~ Looks like it was a great success.
Thanks for taking the challenge with us!
Dear Jason, that is fab well done setting the challenge for everyone. I am sorry that I missed it. (I didn’t see it)
I am a member of an online forum (a professional body) where the hosts award “prizes” to its members by awarding “stickers” and these accumulate and build up over time into a certificate (I think 10 stickers where you have contributed to a discussion on a topic give you a certificate). Once you have a certificate it is automatically pinned as a background to your photo, so whenever you chat or create posts on the forum other people can see the latest “certificate” you have been awarded. It is fun!
I’m on day 3 of the 1000 hours practice on 2 bars of music (5 mins at a time for each bar) – which actually is having the effect of getting me to practice every day as well. Once I have started on those bars I always find myself wanting to carry on with some other bits. I keep my violin out of its box as much as I can as it is much more conducive to picking it up when its just sitting there. (only use the box when travelling with it).
I’m not active on twitter although I do have an account.
Would your forum be able to host a chat page for your members and a place they can post vids – perhaps even for a short time ? I am not very tech savvy I’m afraid. I use FB and that is where I usually pick up your posts, which I really love. I think you are amazing, thank you very much for being so motivating and making your knowledge and experience available to us all.
You would like to have a live chat page to talk to other users?
I’m going to look into ways to post video.
Just did my first 5 mins on two bars and it was quite illuminating. In fact I ended up breaking it down into half a bar at a time for some of the time. Astonishingly, I can’t wait to do another 5 minutes on it! (but I am going to save it for later as a treat to myself! haha)
..and I have even written down the plan (marking it as a 2 week challenge until 13 November) and listed the planned sessions ready to tick off – just about to make my first tick – yaaay! Thank you Jason and especially for Fiddlehed.
Hey Ajs. Glad you tried this and thanks for the comment. It’s such a simple but powerful idea. I’m glad you were able to break through to the point that you ENJOYED playing one thing a lot. Best to you…
crikey – that sounds really interesting – I think I might give it a go. I am trying to play “The Peelers away with my daughter” with a local folk workshop type of group I have just joined (they meet monthly). I struggle playing at the speed I need, especially in a couple of the bars (in fact two lots of two bars) – so I’m going to just play those 4 bars over and over – for 10 mins a day – split into two 5 min sessions possibly as it might e too much otherwise (I’ll see how it goes).
That will be on top of my other practicing. Fingers crossed and my struggle with them might become a thing of the past within 2 weeks!
Thank you for the suggestion. I will let you know in 2 weeks time. Wish me luck 🙂
PS I’m going to diarise my practicing as well I think, which is another of your really fabulous tips. So I should see these sets of 5 mins ticked off each day for the next two weeks at least. What a challenge, and it’s not even new year!
I like it very much. Thankyou. This piece reminds me of a stream in upstate NY my husband and i canoed and it literally did branch out. Sometimes it ended in dead ends and we paddled back to the main stream. It was lovely.
I hear Ireland in it….very nice piece; thanks
David
Thanks for this post. I thought it was only me. Nice encouragement. ??
It’s frustrating to have a bad practice but I always, always find that if it’s bad one day, it’s invariably good the next. Somehow stuff is sinking in, even if it doesn’t feel or sound like it. So I think your best advice – although these are all good ideas – is “accept.” Have faith that practicing works and muscle memory is real. I’m just an intermediate beginner, not an expert, and it’s reassuring to know that someone who has been playing for 40 years experiences this, too.
RE: “Play it with single bows, and then with two bows.”
I have done this on some tunes.
Another thing I do to simplify a new tune I am learning, to get the rhythms right, is to play all notes as eighths (or sixteenths if that’s the shortest value note), and set the metronome to a somewhat slow tempo. So for example, if I the shortest note value in the piece is eighths, then I play two eighth notes when I see a quarter note, three eighth notes when I see a dotted quarter, and so on. That way you know just how long to hold the note. After a few times through you can “tie” together the longer notes, and then you have it. Once this is all worked out then you can add the “swing” to the tune.
That’s a really good idea Kiirmit. I want to try to integrate that into my in-person as well as online lessons. Thanks…
Actually I am a classroom teacher but am blessed to teach a just for fun ukulele club after school which has made my day. I have kids who have never picked up an instrument and kids who are with me for year 2. Music should be FUN!!!
I’m a classroom teacher as well–5 periods with 7/8 graders and the two classes of bluegrass music are the last two periods. I love it that you are doing an after-school ukulele club!
i just listened – so interesting! I am excited to try and work it out . . . . sitar sound/India . . . thanks – you’re inspirational. I relish the accessibility of your work.
Funny I just read this BLOG entry…. I have not picked up my fiddle since school started [I’m a 4th grade teacher]. The beginning of the year is chaotic and there was no time for my fiddle. I maintained my twice a day ukulele practice but could not focus enough on my fiddle. I’m a real newbie…I taught myself [with your help] to play fiddle in May of this year. This summer I spent an hour a day plus on both instruments with emphasis on fiddle. By end of summer I had some cool tunes under my belt and I felt pretty good about my playing. I signed up for your subscription……and then school started. End of fiddle 🙁 But today…. I sat down and tuned my fiddle friend and away we went. Good times! I was amazed at how easily it flowed back…Ok sure there were some ugly squawks, but my point is the “vacation”while perhaps too long really opened me up to my fiddle practice. So it’s back to my twice a days with both instruments.Thanks for being here when I was ready to return.
ann
@Ann, I could have written your comment–I’m a teacher, too, and ever since September 5 I can barely find time for my own music. Luckily I get to teach two classes of bluegrass music grades 7-12, so I’m getting something in the way of playing strings. Hang in there! ~connie
For sure! Keep the music flowing…
I love to hear something that I’ve never heard before and make see what my first impression is, and for this one, I like it a lot! I’ll try it soon.
Thank you Jason, Very nice, even if you don’t have the speed to follow you easily just drone along and it sounds great.
Beautiful!!! Intervals transformed. Thanks Jason!
thanks Anita. It’s always fun when there’s a good tune to learn a particular thing.
Love the sound and feel the drone creates. It’s not just in the background but part of the tune.
Thanks David. I’m working on ideas for an album in which the drone evolves along with the tune…
Recording is painful, but very beneficial. Slightest misplacement of a finger and the note is flat or sharp! I’m using scales in Dmajor, 1-2-3-3-2-1 and Kesh Jig, Bill Cheatham and Foggy Dew as my practice tunes.
I find recording my playing to be very helpful. I have been doing that since I started playing a year and a half ago. I hear sooo much improvement. At first I was very slow and very scratchy. My pitch wasn’t very good either. I still hear things I need to improve, so know where to focus my attention. I am learning to play without the aid of an in-person teacher, so am using all the tools I can find.
Great advice! I would add that I like to use the slow down feature available on YouTube videos. This can be found by clicking the gear symbol on the YouTube page. Fifty percent and 75% work well. Twenty five percent slowdown may or may not work depending on your internet speed. I like YouTube because it gives you a visual look at the hands to help you get started, and understand the fiddler’s technique.
I might be able to handle that. I couldn’t figure out how to use the app for slow play lite. I was going to request a computer lesson LOL. Jason, I remember a video of yours in which you were at the computer and using the slow play features and thought that is what I need, but I didn’t even know how to put my songs on the page. Hoping this You Tube feature works for me. Thanks to both of you.
How do we get that cat graphic for our calendar??
I have an inexpensive essay book, the kind you use for school, in which I keep a list of what I’ve practiced every day. I write the date, then note:
*what scales I practiced
*what tunes I practiced and whether it’s a new tune* or a tune I’m playing from memory
(* I write whose version or what book I learned it from because it sometimes makes a difference when I get together with other players)
*What techniques (usually applied to a specific tune): double stops, bowing, crossings, positions, etc
*if I went to an irish session, fiddle camp or bluegrass jam that day –and what tunes I did there if I can remember them all!
*if I played along with the radio, youtube or playalong tracks — melodies, fills or improv
*if I transcribed any tunes I heard into EasyABC for future reference
I’ll be on vacation in Asheville, NC from October 17 to October 23. Here’s some things I think I can do to keep participating.
– Start early
– Keep watching videos
– Keep listening to fiddle players
– Go see good blue grass open mike
– Visit a luthier
– Visit this Exhibit – The Luthier’s Craft: Instrument Making Traditions of the Blue Ridge @ Smith-McDowell House Museum
– Get tickets to see An Evening with Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas, October 22, 2017 @ Isis Music Hall !
– Listen to recordings of my playing and imagine how I’d adjust it.
I’m not bringing my instrument…but I can do all these things 🙂
I never heard this tune before …It’s a fantastic discovery ,many thanks to you ! I bought the cd yesterday,now I’ll try to play it ! I love it !
I loved hearing your story. Each musician has a unique start and journey. Your rendition of Whiskey Before Breakfast was great. I started piano at 4 yrs old and was taught in the strictest classical manner. Taking the violin (fiddle) up in my 50’s was a challenge. It took me awhile to realize I could hear the music. At the start, I was amazed how people knew when to change keys. Now I, am one of them. Thank you for your interactive and fun approach to music. I’m still struggling with fills.
I’m gonna meditate now.
What an experience to see how music lives in Ireland. The audience is multi-generational and how the audience loves to sing. You likely won’t get a place to sit, smoking is allowed, and food is not served. It is all about music.
LOVE THE RAGA! For intermediates gunning for advanced… any tips or maybe even a separate blog post for intermediates who do practice slow (not sure how to define slow – guessing it is where you can deliberately think about each note – or say put the tune to half time and stay on it perfect at half time)… but the thing is, after learning it slow and going for speed to liven it up, I can be surprised at how the bowing feels: completely different (have to lighten up for one). Seems you have to go in circles (and do lots of simpler bowing drills on related patterns at speed)? Signed: going in circles.
Great tune, great album,great times. What a band. They released a box set of all the demos, out takes that didn’t make the cut. Absolute gold for a fan. There is also the first time Mike Scott introduced Fisherman Blues to the band, calling out chords etc. You’ve made my day Mr Fiddlehed……
I absolutely love these, Thank You for the listen
When I was learning Scruggs’ Style 5-string banjo, “the slow down to play fast” rule really applied! Good advice along with “play it clean”!
Aww this song brings back memories for me too. Raggle Taggle gypsy-o was a favorite of my little daughters back then! Can’t wait to check out your version of Fisherman blues.
Thanks Jason
Enjoyed the tunes Jason. As a child of the 60’s, they reminded me of that great musical era!?
Hey Jaso’n. Hope you are doing well. I love the idea of your app but can you say who wrote it or published it? there’s a zillion out there. Some are obviously not the one you have.
question about the little fiddlehed tune book, 1.1 is not supposed to be in it? want to make sure i didn’t screw up the pdf.
Here’s a link for iTunes App Store.
Momentum Habit Tracker – Routines, Goals & Rituals by Mathias Maehlum
Not sure about Android.
Hi Jason,
I was practicing with my metronome last night and decided to take your advice and play slow, I am learning Wildwood Flower this week. I noticed that when I practiced with the metronome at 50 I sounded terrible, it was too slow and my bow was not making the connection I needed it to, for some odd reason. then I put it up to 60 and I did better.Yes, practicing slow definitely helped me learn the note sequence better.
Thank You
Mar
Nice, thanks for trying that. Extremely slow is extremely hard; something you have to work towards.
Tunes that I will play someday:
Brilliancy, Black Mountain Rag, Mule Skinner Blues, Hurricane (Bob Dylan tune), Back Up and Push, and Foggy Mountain Breakdown.
I am years away from most of those, though I can play a few bits and pieces of all of them.
Sounds good! I have a lesson for Peacock Rag which can prepare you for Black Mountain Rag: /level2/2-9-chromatic-scale/peacock-rag/
Thanks! I’ve already been working on your peacock rag lesson. It’s great!
I thought at first I was listening to Ravi Shankar! Interesting rendition of Swallowtail. Thanks!
Quite a high compliment. Thanks 🙂
I agree, this really sounded like you were playing a sitar, beautiful. now I cant wait to learn the swallowtail jig lol.
I’ll say music is in my blood. My mother was from a little steel mill town, West Aliquippa, PA. She told me how her brothers would play music out on their porch and Henry Mancini would be there too. She married my guitar playing dad in NY. My brother got lessons and plays everything. I got chord organ lessons and went no where with it. It was stuffy and confining to me. I like to be more portable. Many years ago my daughter played violin in school. She grew up and the violin was stored in her possession. One day I asked her if I could borrow it. I was beginning to like hearing the tunes on you tube and I was picking them up by ear. I didn’t want to spend the time reading the music. After about 6 months, my granddaughter wanted the violin back, even though it was to big for her, so I returned it and eventually she started playing with her school and is doing so well, about 4 years now, and I can’t play what she plays…beautiful classical music. Anyway Christmas came and my husband surprised me with my own violin. Most of my learning is from you tube still and I’m comfortable with that. Almost 70 years old now and I play a little, cook a little,back to playing, do a little Fitbit competing with the grandkids and back to playing…loving life!
I’ve only been playing for a year now, but I have not missed a day. Sometimes it’s just 5 minutes, sometimes an hour x 2, but I play every day — because I love it. The progress is painfully slow at this age, but it’s there — I can feel the improvement for the every effort I put in. I love the feeling.
I feel bad for CorrinRadd; my husband is very supportive of my learning, and he even drives me to the lesson (I can’t drive right now as my leg is in a brace) and patiently sits in the room and observes. My son memorizes the tune I am playing and hums along. I am so lucky! CorrinRadd: don’t give up!
I wasn’t playing every day until I bought a String Swing and mounted it on the wall. Now I pick it up and play several times a day – even if just 15 to 20 minutes at a time (in addition to my regular practice time). Accessibility is definitely the key to practicing more. I also agree that playing a decent instrument does make a serious difference. That doesn’t mean you have to buy brand new either. I found a perfectly good instrument at a pawn shop that normally retailed for $1000 for $300 (take a knowledgable person along to look it over if you’re unsure). I am thoroughly enjoying learning fiddle music!
I practiced once or twice a week until I got a String Swing. Now I play everyday. Accessibility is a huge factor.
Twinkle, twinkle… is a great sound starting out.
Then, “I am a fine musician” and I’m ready for scales…
Thanks, Fiddlehed!
I play most days. My wife has a rare dementia that originally just involved “warped” optic nerves and spatial problems. She continued to ride horse from age 52-56, when she lost depth perception entirely. She rode all her life and was rated sixth in the US in 1998. I toyed with the violin when younger, but never put my heart in it. Now I am a full time caregiver (with help). I know my wife wants me to grasp this art, as she had grasped her equine skills. I am very, very busy, as you can imagine; but I always have 30min-1hr. to play in the evening. Children are all out of the house now and I play in the family room, behind closed doors far from the bedroom my wife is sleeping in. I write this just to express how precious this opportunity is for me. Hope it doesn’t sound “sappy;” it is real life. I am 68, my wife 59.
Owneee61, I can relate to your comment. My wife has dementia that was caused by viral encephalitis over 12 years ago. I first took up the banjo “scruggs’ style” and taught myself using YouTube videos. About a year and a half ago I did the same with the fiddle mainly using Fiddlehed videos. It is very rare for me not to play every day. In my banjo adventure I was “Banjoflyboy” and now “Fiddleflyboy”. The fiddle has captured my soul and I really enjoy playing!
Fiddleflyboy,
Thanks, appreciate your comment
I am so glad to be able to be a part of your fiddling and I hope you will continue. How wonderful that you and your wife support each other. Life is real but you are faced with something that is very difficult. I hope the fiddling helps you both. Your age? Google “Fiddlin’ Phil May with Darling Nellie Gray”. Let him be your inspiration. Fiddlers are never too old. Will keep you and your wife in my thoughts. Thank you for your candor. You inspire me.
I play daily. I have missed two days in four months. Some days, I don’t feel like it, but as soon as I start I get lost in it – and I know this, so I always start. On days when I do a lot of ‘drills’ (scales, arpeggios, bowing exercises) and then songs, I feel great afterward. I had a mute on through the summer, because I practice late at night and didn’t want to offend the neighbors, but now that the weather is getting cooler and windows closed, I took it off. The sound is so much more engulfing and rich without a mute, that it makes me look forward to playing more.
I’m interested in “Own a halfway decent fiddle” and what are the characteristics of a halfway decent fiddle. I frequently lapse into the thought that if I only had a better fiddle I’d play better. But then think my deficiencies have more to do with the fiddlers and not the fiddle. I’ve been playing about a year, with a teacher for the first 3 months. I do play every day and I am getting better, although oh, soooo slowly!
You should try a better fiddle and see how it goes. Rent a nice one for a month. It can actually make a huge difference, not only in your sound, but in your motivation.
Thanks for this suggestion! I had seen on Johnston Strings that I could rent a fiddle and was thinking that might be a good idea. They give a little bit of guidance on choosing one to rent. I live in a small town with limited choices, so that might work well. My husband had surprised me with my current fiddle that he bought via the internet. Good intentions, but I don’t think its much better than the student fiddle I already had, although a but more expensive (about $425). Patience is a virtue!
Sometimes a setup by a good violin tech makes all the difference. I’m a guitarist, but I was struggling with keeping the fiddle in tune. I grew to despise friction pegs. I had Wittner geared pegs installed and also had my tailpiece swapped out for a better one. He made adjustments to the bridge. The last step was to check the soundpost. At this point, he adjusted the intonation. Honestly I can’t be happier. It was $200 well spent. It might seem like a lot of money to spend on a $600 Barcus Berry fiddle, but it is a nice fiddle made in Romania. I’ll probably bring it back yearly to have the setup adjusted.
I play every day. I’ve only been playing for a year so my motivation is that it is a ridiculously fun and challenging instrument and that I have so much to learn that I have no trouble finding new things to play and practice that interest me.
I have young children so finding time to play is a challenge, and also my wife HATES to hear me play. I race home after work to get a few minutes of unmuted playing in before I go pick up the kids and my wife gets home. Also, my wife won’t even let me play in the house with a heavy mute on, so I play muted outside during the day if the kids are napping or in the garage muted at night after the kids are asleep. Even with these challenges I still usually get in at least an hour a day. Unfortunately, I almost never get to play unmuted.
Man, you need to get a new wife. Seriously.
Sounds like you just have a natural gift for playing music which is wonderful. For me the piano was painful as a kid, and after 9 years I just couldn’t take it anymore. I wasn’t progressing and for some reason had immense problems reading chords. BUT I have always loved music of all genres and was envious of those who played instruments.
Now that I have young children, they are my motivators. In addition the violin just seemed to click with me. It’s emotional to watch people playing and honestly I never thought I would be a violin student at my age, but here I am, ready to take on the lessons and learn everything I possibly can. It’s relaxing and fun and after a hard day at work, I just grab my violin and practice, it soothes me and I’m so happy I started this venture.
Very sweet tune! Thank you, allows for adult beginners like myself to look forward to actually knowing the hard work and practice does pay off!
I’ll be 70 next month and determined to learn this at least to the point that I could play in front of someone besides my dog. That drives me to practice every day.
If it was easy anyone could do it. Fiddlehed is the best !!!!!!
Well I say a very happy Birthday to crowbar47! I hear you my dog can probably understand the various out of range noises that inadvertently
occur during practice, so he’s patient and will stay with me. One thing I have noticed is I get extremely nervous in front of people, even myself (while attempting to video my bowing). The first month I just said to myself all the squeaking and bow hopping will stop by the next month. So here I am three months into my experience and I am still not where I want to be. When I came upon this website I was so excited because Fiddlehed believes in baby steps, which is so crucial due to the steep learning curve. So I started completely over, not playing till I thought I got it perfect, playing for the sheer joy of playing and trying to make each note sound better then yesterday. Before I knew it, I worked my way up to two hours/day (and that’s not every single day) which was easy since I focus on scales, finger exercises and simple tunes I learned here. I make practice my “free time” and yes even 10 minutes are better then nothing. I also bought two wall hooks that allow me and my kids to place our violins within site and reach. That’s been the biggest motivator having your instrument right there.
I still flop in front on my instructor, but I’m sure that’s a matter of being confident, and that also comes with practice. Good luck to you!
Fiona, very strong and beautiful tune. The B part really developes nicely – and lots of tunes don’t have a B part that does that so well as yours. Such a well rounded tune is an inspiration. Keep on fiddling.
Sounds great Fiona!
your tune sounds very good Fiona – very inspirational
you are so lucky being able to have personal tuition with Jason
I dont yet feel like a fiddler, but I think that after 5 years I have reached the end of the beginning 🙂
I love the statement, “This makes me feel like I’m a fiddler.” I don’t feel like a fiddler very often in practice, but when I do, its powerful! I wasn’t sure of what I was feeling until I saw those words here.
Thanks for sharing this very organized plan! Its inspiring!
Well done Fiona. Enjoyed that….
Good advice to “play it clear” and I would add that sometimes “less is more”. Interesting to note that the two fiddlers in the pic above are holding the bow and the fiddle in the same way.
Well done, Fiona! You must be pleased with your tune. Lovely!
Very nice Fiona!
I take lessons at Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago. I’ve kept the lessons pretty much a secret until now. “Fiddle lessons” becomes “violin lessons”. “Violin lessons” becomes “ballet lessons”. Now I am proud of my fiddling and was surprised how cool my friends think it is. Great website
Jack, I have been a student there as well. I love that place!
Small steps make long runs. Many thanks!
I’ve been a PGA teaching professional for 28 years, and I’m really keen on the biomechanics of what ever motor skill I’m teaching or learning. I’ve also had THREE carpel tunnel surgeries, so I’ve got bad hands. But why is the thumb of the bow hand supposed to be curved?
Thanks!
Ram
Oh BTW. Jason, how can I contact you personally? I have a couple of questions.
Thanks
Ram
I’ve been putting off learning the fiddle for years because it’s so difficult, but this program might get me over the hump.
My main issue is it’s so freaking loud and obnoxious when a novice is learning to play. I fabricated my own mute, so as to keep my bride out of my colonic aperture while I’m practicing she’s home.
I’ve played guitar and bass since I was 12, and I started on mando about 3 years ago, how long do you think it will take for me to become proficient? I’m going to join a Pete Wernick class in Evanston this fall, but do you know of my good instructors in Chicago? How about at the Old Town School?
Thanks
Ram
Yes! Thank you!
Yes, Thanks for sharing your story.
This is a great story, thanks for sharing. We don’t know what always motivates us, what does matter is that we got
motivated!
Small steps are good!!!! Helps me remember.
I’m new here, but you have already mentioned several of my favourite things: Ireland, sessions in Ennis, and Douglas Adams. Don’t panic and take a towel! 🙂
Clare
Another life rule: Jump in the water if you can.
So long and thanks for all the fish!
This is actually a relief! Thanks!
You’re welcome.
As an avid skill collector (hoarder?) I totally relate to this. I’m always learning or wanting to learn how to do something new. But it’s usually visual or tied to a piece of art I want to make. Or a skill I must learn to keep the wheels on the cart so I can do the other fun things. (I’m looking at you, business skills.) More welding and blacksmiting are on my to do list. And fiddle of course!
I actually bought my fiddle right down the street from the Galway Girl video! That was in July this year (almost 2 months ago) and I haven’t put it down since. I’ve played guitar since I was a kid but I never REALLY practiced (just more interested in using it for rhythm and chords) and I’ve always wanted to learn violin. So before my wife and I went to Ireland, I decided that I’d get a fiddle from there and actually try to learn this time haha. Galway is an awesome, lively place. Looking at this post has me wanting to go back! Hope you enjoyed it and thanks for this song!
Keep Galway in your heart when you play!
I am all for playing it clear and believe sometimes that playing too many notes actually gets in the way of a good melody. But— maybe when time is right you can suggest techniques for improvising when maybe I don’t actually know the melody well enough to play it clear.
Thanks.
Dave
I’m going to start working on a beginning improv module after I finish the Irish fiddling module.
Before I became a Fiddlehed I knew what I wanted but had no direction or path to follow. Looking back everything seemed to be to quick. Get this tune done, now the next,next,next.
I thought I new how to play Kerfunken Jig until I played it for a week with real concentration, now I know I can play it. And play it well. Take you’re time,small steps…. Follow the modules. Even if you think you know the tune.
Thanks for the direction and path Fiddlehed
You’re welcome. I still practice this way; I stay with a tune a good long time. Mainly because I find it enjoyable, but also it sinks in better…
nice
I get a bit of a rush when the music was speeds up, and up! Fast and clear works for me. 🙂
Thanks for the great advice.this tune sounds much akin to “the 8th of January(Battle of New Orleans)” to me.
Interesting. Listening to 8th of January now…
Hi Jason,
I’m spending the entire month of October all over Ireland. Besides Galway, did you hear or play in any sessions in other pubs that you can recommend?
Thanks!!
Jill
Go to Ennis and Doolin! Also the Cobblestone in Dublin.
I can’t speak for the rest of Ireland, but there’s music everywhere.
Have fun…
Having such fun learning my way with you, and love the advice “play it clear”.
Your advice to not start “sliding” too early was good too. I have been doing that and it is obviously why I am having trouble playing the notes correctly…must walk before I run!
Cheers, DrLesley
Glad that helped, and glad you’re having fun…
Haha Foxy is amazing!! Come to Sweden and learn some spooky Swedish fiddle tunes Jason!
Sweden and Scandinavian fiddling are definitely on my list of places for Fiddle Around The World. Are there any good folk festivals?
Fabulous…..this is one of my favorite Steve Earl Songs! What an adventure and thanks for sharing the places you visited!
You’re welcome…
Jason – such good advice from yet again “play it clear” “listening is practice too” “loop it” thank you so much for all you do, it is a great help
Sounds like you had a great time in Ireland – so pleased – you deserve it!!
Lin
It was a good trip!
Super fun tune! ?♂️??
Jason what kind of shoulder rest are you using in the Galway Girl lesson?
Bonmusica. It’s great…
Love this tune and the scenery.
Jason, something you might want to pass along to the Fiddleheds is how to use the gear symbol “settings” at the bottom of the YouTube videos. They can slow down the video to 75 or 50%. 25% is shown but doesn’t seem to work. Sure makes it easy to play along!!
Good idea. Audio quality is not so hot, but it still is very helpful…
That looks like Fergal in that video you posted of the town of Galway.
Oh yeah!
Cool stuff Jason! I’ve learned quite a few of your Irish tunes. I’ll learn this one. Did you meet Fergal Scahill “theirishfiddle”? Keep up the good work!
No, I didn’t. But I tried! I sent him a FB message because my airbnb host had heard of him. Maybe next time…
Loved sharing the fun….everybody so happy and energetic!
Thank you Maureen to share your experience and to give me advices,that encourages me a lot !
Karine
I like that,but when……
Thanks for that little thought.
….Does it get worse sometimes before it gets better? Cause I think I’m on a “worse” roll right now. 🙂
It may feel like you’re getting worse. But if you keep practicing and pay attention to HOW you practice, you’re sure to get better.
Practice makes perfect, yes, but I guess I’m lacking something in the “HOW” part that you mentioned. That’s very interesting….How?
I’m probably pushing too hard, choking up, and don’t realise I’m doing that.
Thanks for the insight.
By “How you practice” I don’t mean techniques like bowing, but are you doing things efficiently. Are you working on the hard parts of a tune or do you just play the whole thing through each time? Are you working on your sound? Do you practice with looping and/or drones? What is the quality of practice?
I do practice the hard parts and I do play with the play along tracks practising looping and drones.
…I have not been faithfully using a weekly planner.
I took your questions seriously and found myself back under the “How To Practice Fiddling” tab. How can I have efficient, quality practice if there is no order/structure to it? How will I know any improvements I’ve might have made when I can’t remember how I played any particular thing at the beginning of the week, let alone what I practised yesterday? That’s what I asked myself. And answered. Use the planner everyday and worse to better will probably come a lot sooner! 🙂
You have 13 steps under “How To Learn And Practice A Fiddle Tune” that I’ve printed out to put in the front of my planner. This is something I’m sure going to want to have handy.
I can’t thank you enough for this site!
I like the band scan because i do it all the time. Especially to annoy my husband. LOL Over the years i got pretty good at it, even picking out Roy clark and buck owens. LOL But you can’t miss the greats, eric clapton, ally bain, michael bouchet(sp?) mark knofler, Eddy Van Halen,
Chet Atkins. and so many others. Andrew, i think his name is, in Buckwheat Zydeco was great always on the accordian. I saw him last year. He was so frail. And that little chic playing the base with jeff beck, blew me away the first time i saw here. and roger in Queen, so many over the years. Yoyo Ma have you seen him play with different genre people. I think he once played with Carolina chocolate drops with Rhianon on fiddle of course. Well I better stop.
well, i finally picked up the violin again which i have been trying to learn for 10 years, well i haven’t touched it in 4. I though that i may learn something now after i saw how you structured your videos now. I had one teacher and it was not a good experience.Today is my 65 birthday and i am starting all over again. Thanx Jason.
Happy (belated) birthday 🙂
Hello Jason, Im new to Fiddlehed and fiddling, I am totally enjoying my learning experience here on Fiddlehed. I have hed 3 teachers since I started last November and I did not learn as fast as I am learning with you. Thank You. I agree about always learning. I have been doing hatha yoga since 1999, but, have just started to learn Kundalini and I love it. I do feel like I play better when I dont think too hard about what I am doing, If that makes sense at all. lol.
Glad to hear you’re having fun. You gotta think things through a bit, and then you just have to play…
Hello !
in fact I realized I’ve been like Maureen,I always wanted to learn more and more tunes …without never play one very well !
The other problem for me is to play when people are looking at me…It gives me a lot of stress and I’m starting to play not well and as I hear it’s not good,it stresses me even more it’s without solution…Even to play in front of a mirror and to look at me gives me stress ! It’s horrible,may be I’ve to meet a psychologist !!!
Ps and for the moment my cats continue to leave the room when I’m playing !
Karine,
I got over my “stage fright” quickly after some friends asked me to get together weekly with them to play music. I am not even a very good keyboard player, but I am now a better, and a much more confident player because of that. I was a bundle of nerves in the beginning, but gradually that feeling went away and now it is all fun!
And now with learning the fiddle, and being a beginner, I take my fiddle everywhere I go & I practice using a fiddle mute while sitting around with family and friends. I am not playing for them. I am simply practising scales, looping,intervals, fingering, etc. fiddling my heart out in the background while hanging out with other people. It is very comfortable and this way I’ll be playing songs for them soon and they won’t even know it! 😀
If you are nervous even playing in front the mirror, then keep practising in front of the mirror every day until your nervousness goes away….because it will.
It is the same as your fiddle practice. You need repetition to be better.
Have fun with it and enjoy yourself!
Well, don’t worry about playing in front of people yet. When you get interested in that I can suggest some things to help…Maureen had some good ideas…
I agree, Jason, always be learning is a good rule of life. I am learning to play the piano right now, and it is not as easy as people make it look when they play! I’m totally engaged with the learning and understanding more of music theory this way. As always, I practice the fiddle daily and am learning both classical pieces as well as fiddle pieces. I must admit, though, that I like the fiddle pieces better–they’re just more fun!
I was learning piano for awhile until my life got taken over by FiddleHed. I love it!
Hello…pick me! I’ve been guilty of over eagerly learning too many songs far too quickly and not concentrating on learning to play any one of them well. I gobble it all up without savoring the music because I want to be a pretty darned good fiddler…like yesterday! Happy to say that I have mellowed out since starting your course. Thank-you for that. 🙂
I’ve recorded myself singing, in the past, and that was surprisingly helpful. I struggle with accepting, and believing any compliments on my voice because of how I sound to myself in my own head and with being my own worst critique. So I have an idea recording is going to do my playing wonders. The only promising sign I’ve had so far is that the cat doesn’t leave the room anymore when I play. 🙂
Thanks for the most helpful blog post!
You’re welcome 🙂
Right now I am listening to a symphony called “Rainy Summer Night Next to the Fan”. What I hear is an oscelating fan set on medium speed. My window is open and there is a steady drip from a light shower outside. I am in a rocking chair that creaks occasionally as I find it impossible to sit still. I also hear the far off sounds of cars down on main street, probably going faster than the speed limit. Now my cat, impatient with me just sitting here tapping away at this silly box that isn’t a very good cheek scratcher, meows at me to get up and give him a snack before bed. Off I go!
This is just the kind of information I need to keep me going without it getting boring. So simple but NOW I just have to do it!!
Recording is a good, actionable practice. It will give you feedback on your playing so you can focus on what’s difficult for you.
Right now, I have the symphony of an old XP computer, which crashes a lot but I keep it around because it runs Photoshop 7. I’d never noticed the sound of that XP computer before. . . . My Mac Mini is quiet; no symphony there.
But at night, its a different story. I walk with 2 dogs up the hill and the cat follows. The symphony up there is always exciting – birds and other far-off dogs mostly, but after a while, we usually we hear the deer in the woods – they stomp and snort – I love that sound! Sometimes we also get treated to another symphony after the cat eats a bunch of grass, and uh oh, here comes the hairball! If one or both dogs needs to go out in the middle of the night (frequently, usually around 3am), the symphony is of crickets and is particularly superb!
Sitting in my garden I can hear my wind chimes, birds singing, a lady singing a strange operatic fashion, crickets and someone cutting the grass. I like my garden. Soon if you listen very carefully you will hear someone putting the kettle on. I hope….Symphony of my garden…….
He was magic. The recording is just the tip of the emotional iceberg.
Love Foxys song, especially the way the musicians join in as the song moves along. Beautiful, thanks for sharing. (You were foxed, but did the lock get fixed?)
Hahah lovely story Jason. Are you sure you should be out by yourself ?????
No, I probably need a professional “handler”.
On second thought, I think your title is best, “The Key is Already Broken”
The zen of fiddling ?
Ha Ha! That experience would make a good title for a fiddle tune. “The Lock is Broke”, “Walk Don’t Run”,……..
Listening: The Symphony of my place! This certainly is a gift. Oops! I need to feed the puppy. Thanks!
Symphony of Needing to Feed The Puppy ?
Glad you enjoyed Ireland. I’m jealous. Ive never been…and I’m just across the water in Scotland!
I might see you in Scotland one of these days…
I am certainly not where I want to be yet, but I think I have made great strides, thanks in large part to access to your teaching when I make time to, day-to-day. I am so happy you have lessons laid out as you do now, and that you provide the various tracks to practice the songs piece by piece. Thank you!!
I’m loving practicing the Ballydesmond Polka. Doesn’t exactly sound cheerful yet -more like a dirge at this point but I hope to get up to speed soon. I’m enjoying the play along track. I’m also practicing using my pinkie which has its own will. Thanks for the lessons!
Nice. Don’t be in a hurry to play fast. Focus on good sound.
Sounds like an amazing adventure, a great journey in self exploration as well as enjoying new dimensions in fiddling and working. Enjoy every moment – how long are you in beautiful Ireland for? Where are you heading after Ireland? Will you be visiting England?
I’ve been here just over two weeks. Leaving tomorrow. Not going to England…
Love it! Just printed your awesome calendar!
Oh good. Let me know how it goes.
Great ! I’m gonna play every morning and bear the music in me all day long.