Fiddlosophy

Re-post: Fortnite Dance – Step It Up

My friend and student Toby and I recently made a lesson on Fortnite Dance – Step It Up. Click here to take the lesson. The melody is actually just the B part to Swallowtail Jig.    I recently updated an older post on this called Fortnite Dance – Step It Up. Thanks for reading, and … Continued

Again

“That’s the idea. Just play it again.” “Tune up your first finger…now do it again.” “Good! Again…” I say the word “again” a lot during lessons. I’ll say it again right now. I’ve noticed a certain tendency in most students: Once they can make it through something, they stop playing and wait for the next … Continued

Re-post: Dueling Banjos and the Great Folk Process

My friend and student Toby and I recently made a lesson on how to play the Fortnite song “Hootenanny”. Click here to take the lesson. The melody is also known as “Dueling Banjos”, also known as Yankee Doodle, which came from a medieval Dutch song with the lyrics, “Yanker, didel, doodle down, Diddle, dudel, lanther, … Continued

Document Your Fiddle Journey

🎯 What You’ll Learn Feeling stuck or unsure if you’re improving? This lesson introduces a simple, powerful practice: recording yourself. By creating short “video capsules” of your playing, you’ll gain insight into your real progress and reconnect with your motivation to keep learning. We’ll walk through easy ways to get started and how to use … Continued

Re-post: Play-practice

Someone wrote me yesterday with questions about the new subscription setup. In a post-script she said, “I spend 2-3 hours almost every evening playing “” sounds more fun than ‘practicing’. And I love it.”   I recently updated an older post on this called Play-practice. Thanks for reading, and thanks for making music…

Lauren Learning the Orange Blossom Special

I’m currently creating five-lesson series on the OBS. This is a super-challenging tune that I’ve resisted teaching. I now see this as a great journey which allows you to hone many fiddle techniques: Advanced string crossing Tricky rhythms Challenging double stops Sliding Here’s a sneak peek of FiddleHed Lauren learning the first step: the basic … Continued

Re-post: Everything Is Unfinished

A lot of you have written me saying that you are frustrated. You can’t get a good sound, you struggle to play in tune or you can’t figure out how to play a certain song. You want to get to the point in which your dog won’t leave the room when you start practicing…   … Continued

Fiddling with friends online

Meeting with other students online can help to you going with your fiddle practice. In the quarantine era, all social interactions are more limited. But limitations lead to creative solutions. How can we stay connected in this strange time? Bernadette, Kay, and Deborah met through the FiddleHed forum. Now they meet on zoom each week … Continued

Re-post: Going Backwards

Going backwards seems like a bad thing. We all want to go forward. Progress and accomplishment! Going backwards means you’re getting worse, right? But wait. What does it really mean to go backwards? It’s really just a change of direction.   I recently updated an older post on this called Going Backwards. Thanks for reading, and … Continued

Student Story: Katrina

Katrina from Australia shares her story… This was taken while my husband and I were traveling and camping around New Zealand in February. I take my fiddle everywhere because I want to play every day. As Fiddlehed is online, it doesn’t matter where I am, I have access to the music lessons. Your fiddlosophy has … Continued