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Please note this is an archived topic, so it is locked and unable to be replied to. You may, however, start a new topic and refer to this topic with a link: http://www.banjohangout.org/archive/180673
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Dock Jekel - Posted - 06/15/2010: 17:56:35
I'm a teacher. So, I got a few weeks off on my hands, now that it's summer. I've got lots of interests, but I love playing the banjo. When the day is done, I play the banjo almost every evening. The banjo is my instrument, but, I'm wondering. How will it improve my banjo playing if I take up learning the basics of fiddle playing this summer? I've got some time. Would it make a big difference in my banjo playing? Any opinions?
switzforge - Posted - 06/15/2010: 18:02:21
I picked up the fiddle about a month ago and am really enjoying it. I still play the banjo more, but I think the fiddle will really help me understand the music better.
BANJOJUDY - Posted - 06/15/2010: 18:47:35
quote:
Originally posted by switzforge
I picked up the fiddle about a month ago and am really enjoying it. I still play the banjo more, but I think the fiddle will really help me understand the music better.
Voyageur - Posted - 06/15/2010: 18:58:40
I played fiddle for almost 5 years before starting banjo. I expected that what I learned about music from playing the fiddle would help my banjo playing, and it did, but I was very surprised to discover that playing banjo had an immediate positive effect on my fiddle playing as well!
Don't hesitate Dock Jekel! You will love the fiddle!
Mary
J-Walk - Posted - 06/15/2010: 18:59:18
quote:
If you do play fiddle, get lessons with a good teacher who can get you started with bowing techniques and scales - cannot go wrong with starting right, now, can you?
5stringpicker2 - Posted - 06/15/2010: 19:37:25
I got my fiddle bout 6 weeks a go and find I can't seem to put it down. 40 years ago I was the same way about the Banjo.
I love my fiddle and find myself playing it more than the other 20 something instruments I have laying around.
(I )===='---<::)
Dock Jekel - Posted - 06/15/2010: 20:26:33
Just had my first lesson... Feels kind of awkward in my hands, so far. I think it will be fun!
oldwoodchuckb - Posted - 06/15/2010: 21:03:42
I hated the sounds I was making with the bow so I put the fiddle on the wall until my wife got it back down. Now WE play fiddle and banjo together and I'm happy. Just remember "Bowing is Everything".
BANJOJUDY - Posted - 06/15/2010: 21:28:55
quote:
Originally posted by J-Walkquote:
If you do play fiddle, get lessons with a good teacher who can get you started with bowing techniques and scales - cannot go wrong with starting right, now, can you?
That's one opinion. But I chose to just pick it up and see if I could make any music with it. I do everything wrong, but I don't even care. I can scratch out a few tunes, and I'm definitely slightly better at it than I was two years ago.
I have no plans to be a good fiddler, but I think it's done some good for my banjo playing. I think the real advantage is that it gives a banjo player an appreciation for what a good fiddler does. And you learn about various tunings, etc.
Edited by - BANJOJUDY on 06/15/2010 21:30:12
Couchie - Posted - 06/16/2010: 01:34:38
I'll join in a say what everyone else is saying. Playing the fiddle has only helped my banjo playing. It has really helped my sight reading and the endless stream of tunes will keep me busy forever. They are my constant companions......
GreasyCreek - Posted - 06/16/2010: 04:31:12
I've been at the fiddle for about two months now, and agree with most everything everyone has said above. The only big threat is to your future banjo practice time! but that's more than made up for, for me anyway, by the increased appreciation of the fiddle itself.
mandolin123 - Posted - 06/16/2010: 05:01:57
No Greasy No! I used to dabble withe the fiddle a good bit, I have my great great grandpa's fiddle, an old German one that really sings. Coming from the mandolin background, the fingering is the same. The biggest thing to figure out was the stick.
quote:
Originally posted by GreasyCreek
I've been at the fiddle for about two months now, and agree with most everything everyone has said above. The only big threat is to your future banjo practice time! but that's more than made up for, for me anyway, by the increased appreciation of the fiddle itself.
jamesd - Posted - 06/16/2010: 07:51:58
Dock, I am glad you brought the subject of the fiddle. I have been playing CH for a few years now and have thought off and on about trying the fiddle.
My concern has been, if a good fiddle costs as much as my banjos, then there is no way I can begin the fiddle playing........... Can someone advise if fiddles are as expensive as banjos? I would love to give it a try...
James
GreasyCreek - Posted - 06/16/2010: 09:02:31
You can get decent fiddles and bows for learning cheaper than banjos, from what I can tell. I spent $275 for an old Hopf and an adequate bow from a local fiddler who has a shop that sets up fiddles for students. He has quite a few fiddles in the $100 to $400 range. As with guitars, there's a big influx now of reasonably high quality Asian (and Romanian) imports. It's probably a little harder to know, though, whether the low-end fiddle you are getting is going to cost you a lot of time or money in setup and repair, compared to the low-end banjos you might get, especially for older fiddles. I'd recommend either going through a reputable dealer or going with an experienced player to pick out your first one. Also, from what I can tell, Fiddle Acquisition Syndrome is not as virulent at Banjo Acquisition Syndrome. At least I hope not.
But hey, Don, if you don't need that old german family fiddle any more, I'd be more than happy to take it off your hands.....
ekistl - Posted - 06/16/2010: 09:39:49
Had a growing desire to play fiddle. Got a mandolin first to learn fingerings. That gives a great head start. Got a violin in March, and it is too much fun. There is a whole lot of physics that goes into making a tone with the bow.
Its true: bowing is everything. Making a sound is a feat in itself. Once you have that down, the syncopated patterns are where the music really comes to life. Just got back from a workshop with Alan Jabbour last weekend, and it completely revolutionized my playing.
I say don't worry about inexpensive fiddles as a beginner. Just make sure the basics are there: straight neck, proper setup, etc. Get good strings and upgrade the bow and you will be just fine. It is FIDDLE music after all, and you probably don't want to be caught with your $$XX,000 fiddle in a torrential rain at a festival.
I have a Knilling Perfection 1. I paid less than $90 for it at Musician's Friend because the chin rest was broken (a very cheap and easy fix). It plays beautifully, is well constructed, looks very nice, and the geared tuners are awesome. The higher level Knilling Perfections are probably even better. I am very happy with it and highly recommend it as a starter.
HolyGrass - Posted - 06/16/2010: 12:32:48
learning the fiddle goes hand in hand with clawhammer banjo, in my opinion..
i forget which old timer, maybe Tommy Jarrell, but someone said if you're gonna play old time banjo, you should learn fiddle too and vice versa
i just bought an old handmade fiddle not too long ago; made in Natural Bridge Station Va in 84. it came with a rattlesnake rattle inside; which i thought was pretty awesome! sounds absolutely beautiful. i noticed a dramatic improvement over my playing when i upgraded from my Palatino violin. as far as i can tell, the difference in a fiddle and violin is not only the way you play, but how it is set up. violins tend to have a more curved bridge, and fiddles a much, much flatter bridge; makes double stops tons easier.
and it was only 50$ more than i paid for the Palatino (150$)!
get yourself some nice Prim strings if you plan on cross-tuning; they can withstand the extended tension and they last forever! sound awesome too =)
ScottK - Posted - 06/16/2010: 14:37:06
I'm almost three years into learning old time fiddle. It's coming pretty slow, 'cause I've kept up a lot of banjo playing during that time and so don't have as much time for fiddle practice as I would like. But it's coming along and I enjoy it. I'm just getting to the point where I'm starting to play fiddle with others which is fun. It's interesting to be on the other side of the fiddle banjo duet sometimes now. Don't know that it's improving my banjo playing, but it's nice to be more versatile in a jam and able to play fiddle, banjo, or guitar as the need arises. And to be able to learn tunes on fiddle that catch my ear rather than try to get a fiddler friend to learn them so we can play them together.
In case folk don't know, there is a fiddle track at American Banjo Camp in Port Townsend, Washington, in September. Greg Canote will be leading five old time fiddling workshops and Adam Hurt and Bruce Molsky will each lead one fiddle workshop.
Scott
bluemule_77 - Posted - 06/16/2010: 17:00:57
I played it first -- pre banjo, since about 2000. Had no real lessons beyond "this is how you rosin the bow and this is about how tight it oughter be." Never practiced scales or bowings... might be a fine thing to do, but it's more fun to find all that stuff by playing tunes, I think. I'm no Jarrell or Fraley or Jabbour... but I get by.
As for it helping with banjo playing? Clearly, it did for me -- but as I'd learned it first I had dozens of tunes already in my head, and while I hadn't played with any banjo players (locally, guitar and (when possible) piano are the standard fiddle accompaniment) 'til about 5 years ago I got to do enough of it to understand what clawhammer sounded like (loved it!) when being played alongside my tunes. Your situation is different, but I think ANYTHING a person does musically is going to help them overall.
Brian
mandolin123 - Posted - 06/16/2010: 17:54:40
Blasphemy! I still get it out and smell it every now and then. It's got a rattle in it that has about twelve buttons on it. I would have hated to come across that snake. I had it up at the folk school when we were there, you should have been looking.
quote:
Originally posted by GreasyCreek
You can get decent fiddles and bows for learning cheaper than banjos, from what I can tell. I spent $275 for an old Hopf and an adequate bow from a local fiddler who has a shop that sets up fiddles for students. He has quite a few fiddles in the $100 to $400 range. As with guitars, there's a big influx now of reasonably high quality Asian (and Romanian) imports. It's probably a little harder to know, though, whether the low-end fiddle you are getting is going to cost you a lot of time or money in setup and repair, compared to the low-end banjos you might get, especially for older fiddles. I'd recommend either going through a reputable dealer or going with an experienced player to pick out your first one. Also, from what I can tell, Fiddle Acquisition Syndrome is not as virulent at Banjo Acquisition Syndrome. At least I hope not.
But hey, Don, if you don't need that old german family fiddle any more, I'd be more than happy to take it off your hands.....
Edited by - mandolin123 on 06/16/2010 17:57:32
thecowpokepicker - Posted - 06/16/2010: 19:19:24
I play about six instruments or so, and fiddle seems to be easier than banjo for me. I love it, but banjo is still my favorite. Go for it. Break bowhairs.
notserp89m - Posted - 06/16/2010: 19:24:14
I have a friends fiddles at my house I pick up every now and again and I really enjoy it. I hate to say it but I think fiddle is the "better" instrument or at least the one I am drawn to more. And hell, we play pretty much to back it up so might as well get a feel for the fiddle and then be able to really know how to rock out those fiddle tunes (90% of the Old Time repertoire). Good luck on the bowing hand!!!
notserp89m - Posted - 06/16/2010: 19:26:21
and btw, don't worry about a nice fiddle for now. Just something to get the feel for it. If your anything like me, you will jump the boat soon enough and go back to the good ol' frat and fingers feel of the banjo.
janolov - Posted - 06/16/2010: 23:50:59
I got an old fiddle (or is it a violin?) a few month ago, and I have just started to find out the fingering. Banjo will remain my major instrument, but since I play a lot of fiddle tunes on the banjo, I think playing a little fiddle will help me know the tunes better.
As HolyGrass said above, there is a strong connection between fiddle and banjo, and there are a lot of old-timers that were playing both banjo and fiddle: Wade Ward, Tommy Jarrell, Frankling George, Mike Seeger (tell what instrument he didn't play), Henry Reed etc.
LyleK - Posted - 06/17/2010: 00:10:40
Couldn't hurt (except other peoples' ears, initially) and it is a gateway to other types of banjos (specifically, banjolin and tenor banjo).
ekistl - Posted - 06/17/2010: 06:31:56
quote:
Originally posted by janolov
I got an old fiddle (or is it a violin?)
dlc - Posted - 06/17/2010: 07:08:28
LOVE that fiddle! It's tricky to learn, but it can be really addictive to play.
(And I'm not sure if the rattlesnake rattles really help the tone or not, but they're traditional and I definitely wouldn't be without them.)
Penel - Posted - 06/17/2010: 09:27:46
An eye opener for me was over the years at Midwest Banjo Camp how many of the clawhammer banjo teachers pulled out their fiddle when the evening faculty presentations and the late night jams (despite the presence of Musos) were too top heavy with banjos.
I can't say I've seen the BG oriented faculty there do the same.
A frustration for me as a student of fiddle coming to banjo has been being tethered to frets. I miss the luscious wild notes I know of tunes played on a fiddle.
I've tried to comfort myself that that's just a banjo quaintness I need to get used to but just the same, I can imagine a fretless banjo is in my future.
Dock Jekel - Posted - 06/17/2010: 12:13:02
I am now about 3 practice sessions into fiddle after my first lesson. Since I have been playing and listening heavily to old time fiddle music for longer than just about anyone can remember (1979), actually playing the darn thing is kind of powerful! It's like holding a "light-saber" or something- very fun. I'm playing cripple creek (my first banjo tune), and so far, it sounds horrible. I am going with my instincts and I think someday it might sound OK. Thanks for the feed back everyone. I hear ya!, the music is definitely in the bowing.
vrteach - Posted - 06/17/2010: 12:53:40
I'm about 3 years into the fiddle (this time) and at home I play it more than other instruments. Out in public, not so much. I'm able to gain other people's good will with the banjo, and I can then expend that good will with the fiddle. I got to a point a bit over a year ago where playing the fiddle was fun, not work. My goal is to make it fun, not pain, for other people too.
But I really like picking up new instruments. I've also just started ukulele, and that's fun.
dlc - Posted - 06/17/2010: 15:20:41
vrteach, have you ever considered taking up the tiple? (Most Americans pronounce it "tippel," though the original pronouncement was more like "teep-lay."
They were a little 10-string guitar-shaped instrument popular in the 1920s, and a few players in Old Time bands are beginning to use them again (the late Rev. Grady Nutt, from the old Hee Haw series, played tiple very, very well). The tiple strings were laid out in two double courses on the outside sets and two triple courses in the middle sets. The original instruments are getting old, and they can be kinda expensive when you find them, but there are always a few at eBay. The new South American-made 12-string versions are cheaper and work okay, especially if you remove two strings from the outer courses.
They get a jangly old-fashioned sound that's different from other instruments, and right now it's nowhere near a crowded field - there aren't a lot of other tiple players around, so it's unlikely you'll run into any other tiples at jam sessions and festivals.
You might be interested in checking it out.
gailg64 - Posted - 06/17/2010: 18:43:47
Nothing new under the sun dept: Humphrey Bate's Possum Hunters had a tiple.
G
quote:
Originally posted by dlc
vrteach, have you ever considered taking up the tiple? (Most Americans pronounce it "tippel," though the original pronouncement was more like "teep-lay."
They were a little 10-string guitar-shaped instrument popular in the 1920s, and a few players in Old Time bands are beginning to use them again (the late Rev. Grady Nutt, from the old Hee Haw series, played tiple very, very well). The tiple strings were laid out in two double courses on the outside sets and two triple courses in the middle sets. The original instruments are getting old, and they can be kinda expensive when you find them, but there are always a few at eBay. The new South American-made 12-string versions are cheaper and work okay, especially if you remove two strings from the outer courses.
They get a jangly old-fashioned sound that's different from other instruments, and right now it's nowhere near a crowded field - there aren't a lot of other tiple players around, so it's unlikely you'll run into any other tiples at jam sessions and festivals.
You might be interested in checking it out.
banjopogo - Posted - 06/17/2010: 19:18:19
I started on clawhammer at 18, and fiddle at 19 an a half, and I got REALLY close to being an EX-banjo player.
Fiddle is such a complex, fascinating instrument, that it can really pull you in.
Since most fiddle tunes are played in the first position (near the nut),
and the fiddle is tuned in 5ths, you have a LOT of notes right under your fingers,
and I think that's why fiddle tunes tend to be kind of notey.
I decided for myself, that I wasn't going to try and duplicate tunes on fiddle and banjo.
It made more sense to me to focus on very banjo-y stuff on banjo.
Stuff like Coo-Coo Bird.
(however, when you are starting, I understand it's natural to play the tunes
you know on banjo on fiddle)
I also shifted my drop thumb from more of a melodic emphasis,
to more of a rhythmic emphasis, with a simpler melody line.
I haven't had much of a chance recently to play banjo with another fiddler,
but if I did, I think it would work just fine. I did some multitracking that way
and posted the results on ezfolk.com.
When I perform, I usually start on fiddle and do fiddle tunes and waltzes,
then I shift to banjo, start with minstrel era tunes and shift to some classic mountain banjo songs.
I recommend getting a mandolin and using as a stepping stone, at least if you play guitar
and already can use a flatpick a little. Since the fingering is the same (at least in standard tuning)
it can make things easier if you learn the fingering first on mandolin, then pick up the fiddle and concentrate
on your bowing and intonation.
One little trick I noticed:
2 C's tuning capo'ed to 2 D's has a LOT of similarities with standard fiddle tuning or even "high bass" ADAE tuning.
The top three strings in both fiddle tunings are DAE, and 2 C's capoed just adds an extra D for aDADE.
So stuff played on the 1st string is very similar, and stuff played on the D and A strings is very similar.
lecrack - Posted - 06/17/2010: 23:23:24
I've been a mandolin player for a while and took up the fiddle a year & 1/2 ago. It was addicting and coming from the mando I had all the fingerings right there - but yes - the bowing is harsh medicine. Also, I found I had to keep on it everyday to keep playing 'in tune' otherwise I go away for a week and come back, & it's pretty rough. My biggest issue (beside playing in tune & w/rhythm :) was comfort. No matter how many positions & techniques I tried (I went to instructors as well) and different bowing grips - everything just hurt. I'd get G*d awful cramps in my wrist and my neck/back would get sore too. In the end...it's just so much easier for me to sit back with the mandolin or banjo. I get 2-3 tunes in on the fiddle and I start stiffening up again. I still whip it out every once in a while though. It's fun to play backup with it because it adds a really nice fill in that people aren't used to hearing at my local BG jams where a fiddler is rare.
SPLogDog - Posted - 06/18/2010: 00:41:21
I started off on classical violin a long time ago, and started playing fiddle music a few years ago. My advice would be to watch your form-it's easy to form bad habits. Some say do whatever works for you, but I think that works great for a small group of people. Don't worry about going fast, take it slow and keep good form, and don't forget to practice scales! (Major, minor, pentatonic)
A good setup goes a long way, but a "good" violin is more dependent on skill level in my opinion. And I just about cry when I have to shell out money for new strings. I like D Addario Pro Arte, or maybe their Helicore when you improve.
lecrack-I agree, theres some cool rhythm stuff Darol Anger teaches on a Homespun DVD I like to do every once in a while.
ChuckJo - Posted - 06/18/2010: 03:50:10
If you are a clawhammer player who likes to play with fidlers, learning the fiddle is one of the BEST things you can do to improve your banjo playing.
The logic of the fiddle is very close to that of the banjo, particularly in the keys of D and A (when you are crossed-tuned on the fiddle). The fiddle teaches what notes are essential to the melody, and what notes are part of the rhythmic structure. The fiddle can also teach you how to look at the fiddler's fingers to guide you on where to place your fingers on the banjo.
To get the most out of the fiddle, it is critical to learn the instrument from someone who knows how to play, and especially how to bow. The "Nashville Shuffle' (Long-short-short) is the equivalent to "Bum ditty" on the banjo.
From playing the fiddle, I learned that the second string on the banjo can often be regarded as a drone string!
At this point in my playing, if I want to learn how to play a new tune on the banjo, I typically learn it on the fiddle first.
Fiddle is its own world, with its own deep well of mystery. Exploring this mystery will inform you about the banjo. In a certain way, they can be viewed as the same intrument.
Tackhead - Posted - 06/18/2010: 06:46:56
quote:Agreed. Even a weekend workshop opened some doors and windows for me.
Originally posted by ChuckJo
To get the most out of the fiddle, it is critical to learn the instrument from someone who knows how to play, and especially how to bow. The "Nashville Shuffle' (Long-short-short) is the equivalent to "Bum ditty" on the banjo.
quote:I gotta' ponder this one later in the morning--after the caffeine has kicked in
Originally posted by ChuckJoFiddle is its own world, with its own deep well of mystery. Exploring this mystery will inform you about the banjo. In a certain way, they can be viewed as the same intrument.
Couchie - Posted - 06/18/2010: 06:58:13
Well, after learning Ducks on the Millpond on the banjo this past weekend I had an overwhelming urge to play it on the fiddle this morning. Wow, its very demanding but totaly addicting and liberating at the same time. Here's what I know for sure, clawhammer and fiddles are meant for each other.
BANJOJUDY - Posted - 06/18/2010: 07:40:36
Nothing is getting done around this house. The yard is neglected. THe cleaning is neglected. Work is neglected. Even the banjos are being neglected.
The only thing that matters is the fiddle.
It is the most totally addictive thing I've ever encountered.
Glad I am not alone - appears as though the rest of this group are feeling the same way.
Can we support a FIDDLER'S Support Group for Banjo Players? Then we wouldn't have to go to the Fiddler's Hangout.
Penel - Posted - 06/18/2010: 08:02:25
I realize a lot of people play both mandolin and fiddle but I've found I can't cross back and forth between those two instruments as easily as I can between clawhammer banjo and fiddle.
I got a mandolin for the times (at my age) when playing fiddle was too physically strenuous yet I still wanted to keep left hand muscle memory going for the tunes.
The right hand, using a pick was a no brainer for me for some reason. It just happened
but curiously, it messed with my bowing.
I found I had to just about totally relearn tunes on the fiddle that I'd picked up while playing mandolin because working out the bowing is such a big part of the dynamics of the fiddle.
Tackhead - Posted - 06/18/2010: 08:02:29
quote:I'm not quite there, but I'm working on it
Originally posted by BANJOJUDY
Nothing is getting done around this house. The yard is neglected. THe cleaning is neglected. Work is neglected. Even the banjos are being neglected.
The only thing that matters is the fiddle.
It is the most totally addictive thing I've ever encountered.
Glad I am not alone - appears as though the rest of this group are feeling the same way.
Can we support a FIDDLER'S Support Group for Banjo Players? Then we wouldn't have to go to the Fiddler's Hangout.
Can we have a special t-shirt or cap?abbey - Posted - 06/18/2010: 08:30:40
I have talked myself out of trying to learn fiddle over and over again because I don't want to take away from my banjo practice time.
After reading with this thread, I'm caving in. I think I'll call later today and schedule some lessons.....
kingfisher500 - Posted - 06/18/2010: 14:04:44
I've also been thinking about trying the fiddle for some time. I am, however, one of the oldest novices here. I read on some other site (Fiddler's Hangout?) that it takes about two years to get past the "sounding like a screeching alley cat" stage. While it might be fun to learn, I don't think that I have the time to get to the "sounds somewhat like music" stage.
How are you beginners progressing?
Sassafrassa - Posted - 06/18/2010: 14:20:51
Add me to the list. Just bought a fiddle today. Well...I bought one on eBay about 10 days ago, but it was a 3/4 size, and it was too small for me to play so I had to buy a full size instrument. It's a middle of the road student fiddle, and it was the one with the prettiest sound--at least that I could afford. I'm excited to get home and play around with it!
GreasyCreek - Posted - 06/18/2010: 15:44:45
Hey Kingfisher,
that was the sort of thought that was keeping me from trying fiddle, too...what I've found after a couple of months is that I can make very personally satisfying sounds just finding my way through tunes I already know, or playing the few tunes I've taken lessons on (which have more interesting bowing and ornaments than I could have dreamed up with my skeletal/banjoistic approach to tunes). Of course, to anyone else, it might sound like screeching cats. Come to think of it, maybe that's why my dogs seem to like my fiddling more than my banjo playing...but anyway, the surprise to me (and for others, as reflected in a lot of comments in this thread) is that I personally enjoy and get a kick out of my playing already. Not that I think I'll be playing out any time soon--probably that two years is right for heading to a jam and doing anything other than rhythm or skeletal melody--but it's not at all been just "screech screech" for weeks on end. Plus, there are plenty of great fiddlers who actively work on keeping a degree of "noise" and "slightly off perfect intonation" in their playing...so you can always just say you're working hard to maintain that "archaic style."
Dock Jekel - Posted - 06/18/2010: 18:48:56
I'm seven or eight practice sessions into this, with a couple of lessons. Awesome! I sound horrible, and holding a fiddle correctly is wrong on the wrist and elbow, but am learning pretty fast- I understand the music like the palm of my hand! I figure it will take all summer, but you know, after a few months, I think I'll sound O.K.! Not ready to join fiddle hangout. The support group for banjo players sounds about right, Judy!
doc.COM - Posted - 06/18/2010: 19:01:41
Hi Dock Jekel and all new fiddle players. Go for it I say! My banjo teacher, Craig Woodward plays a fine old time fiddle when he calls the tunes at his weekly sessions at the Lomond Pub in Melbourne. Actually, the last thing I was thinking of was learning the fiddle, but after playing banjo at these sessions for a couple of months I felt that the fiddle and the banjo were sympatico and as a result I took the plunge and ordered a student fiddle off the internet. I have had my first 3 lessons from Maggie Duncan, a very fine fiddle player of Old Time, Appalachian, and Celtic tunes. I love it and I'm grateful that such an experienced player is willing to take on this beginner.
quote:
Originally posted by Dock Jekel
I'm a teacher. So, I got a few weeks off on my hands, now that it's summer. I've got lots of interests, but I love playing the banjo. When the day is done, I play the banjo almost every evening. The banjo is my instrument, but, I'm wondering. How will it improve my banjo playing if I take up learning the basics of fiddle playing this summer? I've got some time. Would it make a big difference in my banjo playing? Any opinions?
witty banjo related username - Posted - 06/19/2010: 04:43:24
quote:
Originally posted by gailg64
Nothing new under the sun dept: Humphrey Bate's Possum Hunters had a tiple.
G
kingfisher500 - Posted - 06/19/2010: 04:57:05
quote:
Originally posted by GreasyCreek
Plus, there are plenty of great fiddlers who actively work on keeping a degree of "noise" and "slightly off perfect intonation" in their playing...so you can always just say you're working hard to maintain that "archaic style."
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