Fiddlosophy

Lonesome Fiddle Blues – performance

Here’s a simple version of a classic bluegrass tune called “Lonesome Fiddle Blues”. This tune was created by one of my favorite fiddlers, Vassar Clements. I played it on “The Fiddle That Michael Gave Away” which was handmade by a FiddleHed subscriber. We’re giving it away in a contest. Click here to enter.  The A … Continued

Today’s Request: Lark In The Morning

Here’s a performance of an Irish Jig called “Lark In The Morning” requested by. I played it on the “Fiddle That Michael Gave Away.” We’re giving it away in a contest. Click here to enter. I take a 3-stage fiddle journey using a D drone. I start with a free-time statement of the melody (like … Continued

Today’s Request: Tam Lin

A FiddleHed subscriber named Michael made this violin. We’re giving it away in a contest. Click here to enter. I’m taking requests for tunes. Other requests coming over the next few days: “Lark In The Morning” and “Do You Realize??”   The tune is an Irish reel called Tam Lin. This tune was the basis … Continued

The Fun Fiddle Practice Of Chaining

Here’s a practice technique called “Chaining”. The basic idea is to incrementally add to what you are practicing. You can slowly piece together notes to create scales and tune phrases. Then you can piece together tune phrases to build out tunes. You can even chain tunes to create sets and medleys. <span data-mce-type=”bookmark” style=”display: inline-block; … Continued

Lucy Farr’s – Performance

Here’s a fiddle raga version of Lucy Farr’s. I made some brief liner notes about what I did in each section of the performance. Fiddle raga is my term for an improvisational interpretation of a fiddle tune. It explores variations which go beyond traditional Irish embellishments (though it can include those too). The fiddle raga … Continued

Take An Intermediate Step

When practicing something difficult, see if you can break it down into a series of small, intermediate steps. I’ve been learning bluegrass solos from a book by a great fiddler named Annie Staninec. It’s been fun and challenging. It’s good because I feel like I’m working at the edge of ability. I’m currently working on the … Continued

Fun With Pedal Patterns

Here’s something fun you can do on the fiddle.  Alternate between a constant note and other changing notes, always alternating back to open D. This is called a “pedal pattern”.   Here’s a basic pedal pattern: D1-0-2-0-3-0-2-0 . Here’s a variation in which we move down the scale notes and then jump back up: D3-0-2-0-1-0  You can … Continued

17 Ways To Practice Jenny Lynn

In this lesson, I demonstrate 17 ways to practice the tune Jenny Lynn. This will make your sessions fun and productive. You’ll learn the tune at a deep level as you improve various aspects of your technique. Before we get started, here are lessons I’ve made on this: Jenny Lynn – Basic Jenny Lynn – … Continued

Creative work takes time

Last weekend I finished a recording session with my old friend Joe Rut. Overall, it went well. We did six tunes in about two and a half days. Three of these are long form “fiddle raga” pieces, while the other three are shorter, more composed pieces. Here’s what I learned…   It’s hard to predict … Continued

The Jenny Lynn demo

Here’s a bluegrass tune by Bill Monroe called “Jenny Lynn.” I just made a lesson for this along with the Round Peak variation.