Is it hard to learn to play fiddle?

Tony Palmer · From: St Augustine,FL

I know that's a loaded question....but, for an experienced steel player and all around musician, does it take long to learn to play fiddle?
Or is it one of these instruments that are in a class by themselves...you have to have a
natural skill for it?
Any success stories out there?

Michael Haselman · From: St. Paul

Started steel in 1978, fiddle in 1980. I reccomend Mel Bay's bluegrass fiddle books, and you won't find it too difficult, if you stay with it. Make sure you have a good bow. That can make a huge difference. If you have a decent ear for intonation, which you have to have to play steel, you'll do just fine and have a lot of fun.

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Marrs D-10, Webb 6-14E

Charles French · From: Ms.

Naw, it ain't hard to play a fiddle. The hard part is making it sound good. I know folks that have played one for 40 years and still can't play in tune.

Mel Mandville · From: Bellevue, Washington, USA

Tony,

A little advice on this one... find a teacher.
Like you I have been involved in music for a long time and I am mostly self taught. I play six instruments. Steel and fiddle are two of them.
I've been playing fiddle for 6 years now and I'm starting into advanced /intermediat material. I play bluegrass and some Irish music. While books and videos are a great resource. I wasn't making much progress till I started lessons. There is so much to know about bowing I would have never figured it out. but now I have a solid foundation and work on my own. Also a teacher can help you set up your fiddle help you pick out a good instrument. Try Jay Buckey .com. he has a lot of good istructional books complete with CD's you can play with at different tempos. i have couple and they are a lot of fun. Homespun video has a lot of good stuff also. I have a Kevin Burke irish fiddle video that's real good.
Good luck on the fiddle
It's a fun insrtument ,but can be a stubborn little bugger. I'm going home right now to do a little fiddling for lunch. It'a an obsession

Mel

John McGann · From: Boston, Massachusetts, USA * R.I.P.

In my case, it's not so much the fiddle but the bow that is difficult.

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http://www.johnmcgann.com
Info for musicians, transcribers, technique tips and fun stuff.

C Dixon · From: Duluth, GA USA

Fiddle?

I have not a clue. However, for a person aspiring to play the violin, I have heard some incredible things. Like, just the sweat on a person's finger changes the pitch. As well as pressure or slant, etc.

I assume this to be true and as a result, I cannot begin to say how much I admire a "first" violinist in a Concert orchestra. The years and hard work that must have preceeded that coveted position must be staggering.

carl

Jennings Ward · From: Edgewater, Florida, R.I.P.

No do it the easy way like i did when i was a kid..I broke my left arm playing baseball , and I wanted to play fiddle so bad I held it on my lap, almost like a Chello , Used Mel Bay mandolin book to find cords, began making noise, and of the worst kind. Had to learn over when the cast came off...

So I wrecked on a bicycle and broke it over{arm} not fiddle . had to do it all over again....Key: break left arm until you get it right.. well, not recomended, but its the truith,I really wanted to play fiddle..Now we only had fiddlers in WVa where i grew up, and I was told the would not allow violinist in GA..Is that true? Best to you, buy some ear plugs and get started....... sincerly,,, jennings

Ben Slaughter · From: Madera, California

It's been hard for me. The bowing motion is very unnatural, since I'm used to picking. Plus, my good buddy is a great fiddler and he makes me feel inadequate. But, I probably haven't given it enough attention.

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Ben
Zum D10, NV400, POD, G&L Guitars, etc, etc.

Drew Howard · From: 48854

Fiddle is the instrument dearest to my heart after steel guitar. I've been playing 4 years now, if you practice every day and push yourself you will eventually be making music. Get a teacher, learn to read notes, too. Like Mel said, it becomes an obsession.

That being said, I play for enjoyment, the world not being ready for my screechy style.

:>)

cheers,
Drew

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Drew's Website

[This message was edited by Drew Howard on 12 May 2004 at 03:54 PM.]

[This message was edited by Drew Howard on 14 May 2004 at 02:52 PM.]

Joseph V. Sapp · From: eastern shore, Md.

dont know how hard it is but trying to find some super hot steel licks can drive me totally nuts. Saw Jim Unger last fall in Bristol, and I gotta tell ya, he dont play the fiddle, (the fiddle plays him). what an outstanging musician. some of the sounds he had was beyond words. and the entire time, he was having a ball. I just hope our paths cross again sometme. God Bless.

Joe

Glenn Austin · From: Montreal, Canada

I've been trying to learn for the past year or so. The key is daily practice and doing the whole bowing, vibrato, fingering notes without thinking about it. That whole package of techniques is the real trouble maker. I just play slowly and try and make it sound good. The speed comes later. I figure if I keep at it, I'll be half way decent in a couple of years.

Jennings Ward · From: Edgewater, Florida, R.I.P.

Albert Einstein never did get it right. Did he have a hearing problem???????jennings OH yes, Break an Arm.......or leg

Kevin Hatton · From: Buffalo, N.Y.

Jeneé Fleenor · From: Nashville, TN

As far as my experience with the violin/fiddle...it is all in the training/technique, and I believe it is also important to learn this instrument at a young age (if you are wanting to 'master' this instrument).

I started playing the violin (Suzuki method) at age 3, so honestly, I can't tell you too much about my early learning experiences since it was embedded in me at such a young age. But, I have heard my mother repeat time and time again what classical lessons taught me...correct technique! I use classical techniques even though classical music is definitely not where my 'heart' is. You can usually just look at a violinist/fiddler's playing and tell if they have good or bad technique. With the violin, to get a good tone, it takes good techniques (esp. with the bow as many of you have stated).

If you are really wanting to get into it, I would definitely recommend getting a good teacher...because we all know, if you learn something wrong, it's much harder to go back and fix it, than it is to learn it right the first time.

Anyway...that's just my two cents.

~Jeneé (Keener) Fleenor

Leon Grizzard · From: Austin, Texas, USA

I agree with everyone. The fiddle is darn hard - intonation and bowing are difficult. Get a teacher to start with, to get your fundamentals down. That said, your musical knowledge gives you leg up, and it really is addicting. I play guitar in the band, but hardly touch it at home; I'm fiddling til my wings fall off.

Henry Matthews · From: Texarkana, Ark USA

I started playing fiddle in 1974 and steel guitar in 1984. The steel is probably the hardest to master, which I haven't done yet and really not many do. The fiddle is more difficult to play and make it sound good. After I had been playing steel a year or so, I could do a studio gig and make it sound fairly decent, but the fiddle in the studio takes a special talent and a really good ear. Steel playing has believe it or not helped my fiddle playing. At one time, I was very good hoedown type fiddler and won lots of contest but sorta laid it aside when I started playing steel. Now, I can hold my own on either at a live gig but still have trouble in a studio with the fiddle. Bowing is something that comes with lots of parctice and hard work. I worked one year on nothing but bowing playing 2 tunes all the time until I got them as close to perfect as I could, then worked another year on scales and went and won my first contest. One thing I can say though, the steel is alot more fun, to me anyway.---Henry

Henry Matthews · From: Texarkana, Ark USA

Hi Jennee', Didn't know you were on here. Just want to say that Jennee' is 100% right about the technique part of the fiddle or any instrument that you play. Don't learn the wrong way to do things even though the right way is harder at first. I had a friend that played pretty good lying down on a bed or couch but couldn't play standing up because that's the way he learned. (Believe it or Not)--Henry

Bill Bosler · From: Schwenksville, Pennsylvania, USA

The biggest problem with learning to play the fiddle is you can't practice quietly. I learned enough to do a half-baked version of OBS, Mountain Music and If You're Going to Play in Texas, You Gotta Have a Fiddle in the Band back when Alabama was at their peak and everybody wanted the band to play those songs.
By that time my wife had lost her patience completely and I knew it was time quit.

Leon Grizzard · From: Austin, Texas, USA

Bill - forgive me if I am insulting you by thinking you might not know this, but you can get mutes. Or have you tried them and they still don't dampen the strings enough?

Bill Bosler · From: Schwenksville, Pennsylvania, USA

Leon - Never knew they were available.
But, as the story turns out, there was a neighborhood kid who was learning to play on a fiddle he got at a flea market and I could just tell he was really going to be good at it. I gave him my fiddle and about a year later I played a gig with him and his father who sang and played flat-top guitar. When I heard the sounds coming out of that fiddle in that kid's talented hands, I knew it was the best thing I'd ever done.

Bill

[This message was edited by Bill Bosler on 13 May 2004 at 05:31 PM.]

Bill OConnor · From: Castle Rock, Washington, USA * R.I.P.

FIDDLE IS HARD UNTILL YOU LEARN THEN SOME THINGS YOU CAN PLAY WITHOUT THINKING.SMOOYH BOWING IS A MUST JUST ENOUGH PRESSURE TO GET A SMOOTH TONE PULLING A STRAIT BOW PLAY WITH LIGHT FINGER PRESSURE NEVER GRIP JUST ENOUGHT TO GET A CLEAR NOTE. FOR HOWDOWNS I PLAY WITH BOW LICKS LIKE COUNTING ONE AND A TWO AND A THREE AN A FOUR KEEPS YOU`RE TIMING ON THE MONEY AND YOU CAN PLAY AS FAST AS ANY PICKER CAN STAY WITH ME. AND I AM 75 IF YOU GET HUNG UP ON LIKE PLAYING A SUFFLE GET AWAY FROM IT A COUPLE OF MONTHS TILL YOU FORGET THE BAD HABIT OR WRONG APPROCH YOU ARE TAKING .THEN TRY IT AGAIN DON`T FIGHT IT YOU WILL NEVER PLAY GOOD UNTILL YOU RELAX AND MAKE IT FLOW. NOW I NEED TO TAKE MY OWN ADVICE AND APPLY TO THE STEEL I FIND IT WORKS THE SAME WAY ALL GOOD PICKERS JUST LET IT FLOW WITH EASE NEVER FIGHT IT. I PLAY PRETTY GOOD
FIDDLE AND ELECT BASS BUT STEEL HAS ME WORKING.I DO PLAY JOBS BUT I WOULDN`T DRIVE TO FOR TO HEAR ME PLAY STEEL

Jerry Hayes · From: Virginia Beach, Va.

I've tried to learn fiddle over the years many times. The mandolin was the first instrument I ever played and I can gig on any type of music with it but the fiddle, that's a different story. I know the notes, etc. from the mandolin as it's the same but the technique, that's where it's at. I still remember my kids when they were little running to my wife and screaming and crying "Mama, dad's playing the fiddle again, MAKE HIM STOP". I was pretty bad so I'd give it up for a while and then take it up later but with no luck. I can do stuff like "Bile them Cabbage Down" and a couple of other easy things but that's not what I want to play, I want to play pretty and in all the sharps and flats so I guess I'll just have to settle for not being a fiddle player...Have a good 'un, JH

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Livin' in the Past and the Future with a 12 string Mooney Universal tuning.

Pat Kelly · From: Wentworthville, New South Wales, Australia

Tony
I first had fiddle lessons at the age of six. I have mainly ever played Irish music with a contry splash. I have met a few people who have managed to learn violin later in life ( by that I mean over about 16 years of age) but they never got very good. That's not to say they weren't able to play...but they were never "very" good.

Don't be discouraged..... but you are asking for advice and that is mine IMHO

Best Wishes

Pat Kelly

I have just noted Bill O'Connor's contribution and as I say .,..don"t be discouraged but .. stick with the mandolin.

[This message was edited by Pat Kelly on 14 May 2004 at 07:41 AM.]

Ray Minich · From: Bradford, Pa. Frozen Tundra

About 10 yrs ago on a flight from Chicago to Los Angeles, my seatmate was a young lady from LA. She was reading sheet music and humming the tune according to the notes (something I could never do.) After a while we got to talking and I found out she played first chair violin with the L.A. Philharmonic. Neat. Then I asked her what was the difference between a violin and a fiddle (I really didn't know). She said "the way you play it...". OK, I'll buy that.

Now, the nagging question remains. Why does the same instrument go by two different names? Did the term "fiddling around" precede the instrument?

Leon Grizzard · From: Austin, Texas, USA

Ray - The instrument is the same, but fiddlers almost always use steel strings, as opposed to the gut or gut substitutes that violinists use, and the bridge on fiddles is usually a little flatter than the arch on violins. However, violinists often refer to their instruments as fiddles.

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