Fiddlosophy

What is a G clef? Is it the same as treble clef?

A FiddleHed named Malik asked “Can you explain for me what a G-Clef is?” The fancy scroll with a tail that appears at the beginning of fiddle music is called the treble clef. The other name for it is called “G clef” and if you look closely, it does look like a stylized G. Different instruments … Continued

Oh Resistance! Your power is strong, but I will keep going!

I’ve been reading The War of Art, which is about overcoming resistance in creative work. Though I’ve been making things my whole life, I still have to do battle with Resistance. For example, I’ve been writing and practicing tunes for an album with the working title “Fiddle Stories.” I’m exploring ways of re-inventing these tunes … Continued

Groundhog other version: Lisa Loeb

Here’s a take on this tune as a children’s song, performed by Lisa Loeb and Elizabeth Mitchell. I just made lessons for this tune on FiddleHed (basic and Round Peak variation).   Take it here: https://fiddlehed.co/GroundhogBasic https://fiddlehed.co/GroundhogRoundPeakVariation  

Groundhog other version: Doc Watson

Always good to hear Doc Watson! Here’s his version of Groundhog.   I just made a lesson for this tune on FiddleHed (basic and Round Peak variation). Take it here: https://fiddlehed.co/GroundhogBasic https://fiddlehed.co/GroundhogRoundPeakVariation  

Frailin’ with Folk Legend Obrah Ramsey

Here’s a cool YouTube documentary on a banjo player named Obray Ramsey. Obray Ramsey was a total boss on the banjo and a major player in the world of folk music. Born in North Carolina in 1926, he started playing the banjo at a young age and quickly developed a unique style that mixed traditional … Continued

A little lesson on Little Lift

The practice of Little Lift will help you to place your left-hand fingers on the fiddle with greater ease. It will also help you to play better in tune and faster. Further learning Continuously alternate between focus on purely physical practice and other things, like scales, tunes, and techniques. This will help you in Overcoming … Continued

Playing an online duet with Jong Madaliday

Super fun to play some back up fiddle with this amazing singer named @jongmadaliday from the Philippines who I found on TikTok 😻. I’m kind of a noob at this, so still totally amazed that with a little bit of effort I was able to collaborate with somebody on the other side of the planet. … Continued

Should I get my bow re-haired?

Have you been playing for a while and noticed that the hair on your bow has a case of “bed head” and isn’t quite falling into line anymore? Or maybe a bow was gifted to you, but the hair has more gaps than strands. It’s time to get it rehaired! Getting new hair on a … Continued

Fun with the FiddleHed Network

I just re-organize the main menu, and added some tabs for the FiddleHed community. Watch this short video for more detail.   You can now post audio, images and text directly to this feed. If you’d like to post video, first post video to YouTube and then post a link. Here’s a tutorial on that How … Continued

Mix Up Your Music Practice With Interleaving

Interleaving is alternating between different skills as you practice. Instead of pounding away at a difficult scale for an entire session, a difficult bowing in another session, and then a hard tune in still another session, alternate between each skill multiple times in a single session.   If you find you’re getting extremely frustrated doing … Continued