Fiddlosophy

Renew With Review

Think about the word “review”. It doesn’t sound as fun and exciting as the word “new”. It sounds like maintenance, which sounds like cleaning toilets. But review can be a lot more fun than cleaning toilets (unless you are a fully enlightened being who has learned to equally love every single activity in each moment … Continued

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. Recently I went for a run. It was the normal course I usually take, but … Continued

The Four Elements of Good Sound

What does it mean to have good sound? It seems clear when something sounds bad and when something sounds good. But exactly do we mean by “good sound?” What are the components? Knowing this, how can you improve your sound? There are four elements to good sound: Tone Tuning Timing Flow Tone is the wholeness … Continued

Learning to practice practice

When you practice the fiddle, what do you practice? Scales, bowing and tunes. But you also practice something else, something more powerful. You practice practice itself. The practice of practice can carry over to all other parts of your life. You can apply the principles to any habit or skill: losing weight, meditation, learning to … Continued

Fiddling: The Magical Keystone

My quest as a music teacher is to understand help people practice better. Not only is this the key to becoming a successful musician, but it effects other behaviors and habits in your life. In Charles Duhigg’s book The Power Of Habit, he talks about “keystone habits”. These are healthy habits that have a ripple … Continued

The Entire Universe In A Fiddle Tune

  How is the music you play related to everything around you? Is it somehow connected to Kevin Bacon?   Where does it come from? Did you create the music or is it just passing through you?   Who are you? Are you sure?   Why is FiddleHed asking all these spacey questions? I don’t know.

What do you practice?

Reading time: 3 minutes When you practice the fiddle, what do you practice? Scales, bowing, tunes. But you also practice something else, something more powerful. You practice practice itself. The practice of practice can carry over to all other parts of your life. You can apply the principles to any habit or skill: losing weight, … Continued

Write Your Own Fiddle Book

When I was learning violin as a kid, I was given books of scales and page-long exercises called etudes like the one above. Once in awhile I would fight my way through the whole thing. But my attention would drift to other things. It was hard to stay engaged; I almost gave it up. My … Continued

Learn it by heart with heart

Memorization is a dry-sounding word that conjures up memories of that seventh grade world history class that you always fell asleep in. I fell asleep in history classes until 11th grade when I had a teacher named Gordy who got us to talk about history and make connections. More importantly, he taught us to think. … Continued

Practice, even if it doesn’t sound good

It’s easy to get discouraged if it doesn’t sound good. But try to become curious about the process. Experiment, fiddle around. Change your approach somehow. Try to sing what you are playing. Practice with eyes closed. Slow down. Take a short break. Go between micro-practice (analyzing, learning) and macro-practice (making connections, playing with flow). Even if … Continued