Getting ready to take the fiddle plunge

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Beginning and Novice Fiddlers

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I am going to try and post things that have helped me along the way and I hope others do the same.

158 Members, Created 7/1/2011 -

Administrators: brya31 (owner)

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From EricBluegrassFiddle on 2/5/2014 2:33:23 PM

Just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Eric and I'm originally from the US but happily married here in Argentina with my wife and 1 year old boy. Most of my family is from Kentucky so fiddle is in my family line ( my great great grandfather was a well known dance fiddler in the area of Kentucky around where my family lives.

I also play fretless banjo and Mandolin pretty well....so i thought fiddle would be next. I'm really looking forward to picking up any tips and pointers that I can. can anyone point me towards any really good beginner videos, tabs, tutorials? I'm in Argentina and all the instructors here teach classical violin...I'm not in the least interested in that. I want to play old-time fiddle, nuthin really fancy, but be able to build up a good repertoire of fiddle tunes and play at jams and even dances in the future if I can reach that point. I'll be 40 this year so it's a big leap, however I have a good ear and I can already find notes on the fiddle pretty easily....it's just the notes are so cramped on that tiny fingerboard ( and of course the bow )

Anyways glad to make everyones aquaintance and thanks for the tips!

5 Comments
	somarmd says: 2/5/2014 3:12:10 PM Hi Eric, welcome to the cite and fiddle. It's a shame no teachers in your area. I have only been learning to play for 1 year this month. I have been joining in on group lessons as well as some individual. However when I started I chose to learn from on line. I found that watching while the fingering was explained and listening to how the notes are suppose to sound worked very well for me. Here's the cites I used as resources: Academy of Bluegrass with Darol Anger. A very cool concept of learning by videoing yourself for Darol to review and send you feedback via video. I have also purchased video from HomeSpun. I chose Jim Wood. I like his style of teaching. I'm sure heres lots more to choose from. What's important is to find someone you are comfortable with and that you can understand. Makes learning much easier in my opinion. Good luck with your journey. By the way I play a little banjo too. Mostly focussed on claw hammer style. Haven't quite found the sound I like yet though. Dave
	EricBluegrassFiddle says: 2/7/2014 7:17:20 AM Thanks for the tips...I've been eyeing a few cool methods. I already have plenty of clawhammer tab books but I'd like to have a good fiddle tab book that's simple to learn tunes from and helps with the bowing.
	EricBluegrassFiddle says: 2/19/2014 2:25:20 PM they have group lessons here? how do you join to learn and watch?
	paulinefiddle says: 5/22/2014 3:08:45 PM Some of us teach by Skype. Just check the list on this site. My favorite book and DVD, and that of many of my students, as well, is the American Fiddle Method by Brian Wicklund. He is a very good teacher, and his songs and ornaments for the beginner are fun, too. There are a lot of good teachers online, including fiddlerman.com and Beth Lackerbie at violinlab.com. Welcome and have fun.
	EricBluegrassFiddle says: 7/1/2014 1:54:10 PM Thanks everyone!
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