This is the first lesson in a series on the Orange Blossom Special. It’s a challenging tune that integrates a few advanced techniques: polyrhythmic string crossing, advanced fingering, and double stops.
I’ve had a lot of requests for this but have held off. It always seemed a bit show-offy. But I recently started fiddling with it and realized that if it was broken down enough, even a beginner could start with the basic pattern.
In this lesson I’ll introduce the whole tune and then walk through each of the five lessons we’ll do:
[OBS: 1] Overview and the basic rhythmic pattern
[OBS: 2] Adding advanced fingering
[OBS: 3] Learning the double stops
[OBS: 4] Putting together the A part
[OBS: 5] Learning the B part
In this lesson, we’ll learn the basic rhythmic pattern in a simple way. It’s tricky, but I think if you are an advanced beginner you can do it. Let me know how it goes in a comment…
This lesson is part of the Art Of Fiddling course. Students with an Ultimate Subscription can access all the AOF lessons. Subscribe here. And thanks for your support. 🙏
Preparation
Here are some lessons you can take to prepare for this:
I’ve made some “Learning Chunks” to help you learn more easily. These focused exercises contain sheet music, tabs and mp3 snippets to guide you on your fiddle journey.
For those of you who read (or want to read), this tune is in A Major and 4/4 time:
This might help you practice with the Learning Chunks below.
OBS 1.1
D0-0-A0-D0-0-A0
OBS 1.2
D0-0-A0-D0-0-A1
OBS 1.3
D0-0-A0-D0-0-A1-D0-0-A0-D0-0-A1 {COUNT “3,4”}
OBS 1.4
This is the basic rhythm of the A part. Mastering this is the key that unlocks the the whole tune.
D0-0-A0-D0-0-A1-D0-0-A0-D0-0-A1-D0-0-A0-D0
OBS 1.5
The remaining learning chunks are available to paid users. Subscribe here. Thanks for your support.
OBS 1.6
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OBS 1.7
The remaining learning chunks are available to paid users. Subscribe here. Thanks for your support.
OBS 1.8
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OBS 1.9
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Sheet music
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Are you ready to begin your fiddle journey? I’ll send you some free lessons tailored to your current skill level.
Here is a quick way for you to access the essential practice tools you need. Under each tab you'll find play-along tracks, tabs and condensed teachings to help you as you practice. This is an evolving idea, so let me know in a comment below if it could be better.
Here's a newer version of the Notefinder which is based on sheet music. If you're interested in learning to read, this will be an invaluable reference. I'll be posting lessons on this in 2020.
Note: the brackets indicate notes that are the same pitch but spelled differently. For example, AH3 (D#) sounds the same as AL4 (Eb). Without going into too much teory detail here, this will be determined by the key of the tune or piece you are playing.
Notefinder table
Here's he original table version of the Notefinder. Sometimes people learn in different ways...
Sawmill tuning Notefinder
This is used to find notes in Sawmill tuning (when the G string is tuned up to A and the D string is tuned up to E). If you're a beginner...best to ignore this! Learn more about sawmill tuning in the Appalachian Fiddle course.
Here are some common scales used in fiddle tunes. Each runs through a series of variations: two bows legato, two bows staccato, four bows, tucka (4 shorts, two longs), hoedown (1 long, two shorts), throwaway bow, triplets, tremolo.
D Major
G Major, starting on D3
A Major
D Dorian
A Dorian
Practice a tune with its scale (Kerry Polka is in G major, so practice a G major scale). Practice scales before, during and after practicing tunes.
Always return to a good sound, even if it means playing quarter notes on the D string. You can do this! You just have to remember to pause on practicing the challenging thing and just get a good sound on single notes.
Why do this? Because it will bring you deep joy. And it will build your confidence which will inspire further practice.
Here are a few technical reminders to remember as you practice.
Posture reminders
Curve left-hand and right-hand fingers.
Bend right thumb.
Bend right arm and wrist.
Use minimal energy.
Left-hand fingers land on tips, not pads. This makes for more precise playing.
Bowing tips
Take time to focus on bowing during each practice session.
Get the best possible sound on single notes using long bows, throwaway bow, rhythms. Even just a few minutes of this will drastically improve your sound.
Use less bow.
This is a rule of thumb for fiddle tunes, especially for when things are difficult.
Continue to practice long bows. This will improve your overall sound.
Play in the middle of the bow. This is the sweet spot.
Use no extra energy or force for double stops.
It's more a matter of getting the bow perfectly balanced between the two strings.
Again, playing with less bow will help with this.
Left-hand fingering tips
Keep fingers down when possible.
For example, if you are rapidly playing D1-2, it is easier if you keep D1 down while fingering D2.
Practice this on scales.
Practice Little Lift
Don't lift left-hand fingers too high. Let them just hover above the string.
This allows you to play faster, better in tune and with more ease.
If you notice you are tense and not breathing evenly, simply pause on what you're currently practicing and play a single note. Make it sound nice. See if your body is more relaxed now.
If you can play a single note with a relaxed body, then try more complex things: 2-note intervals, scales, simple tune phrases, whole tunes.
Keep returning to single notes as a way to center yourself, relax and enjoy the process.
Little pauses
If you find that sound is sloppy, try adding a little pause in between the notes. This gives your fingers time to find the next note. This is especially helpful with string crossing.
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! 🙂
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
How fun this will be. By the way as soon as you said rhythm of the train it came much easier. Yes! Thank you
Great song, great lesson ——I’ll be busy for awhile on this 👍😁😁
So much fun to practice this knowing what will be coming next!
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! 🙂
Well this is one to work on – follows on very nicely from my question in the last office hours 🙂 …. Looking forward to 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