No, not really.

Though not sure if I'm interpreting question.

I do get physically tired sometimes after long session.

And there are times I'm not in the mood to play fiddle at that moment.

Yeah, I don't understand your question either. Do you mean tired OF playing your fiddle, or "does playing your fiddle ever tire you out?"
In my case, I think both at times.

quote:

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Originally posted by alaskafiddler

No, not really.

Though not sure if I'm interpreting question.

I do get physically tired sometimes after long session.

And there are times I'm not in the mood to play fiddle at that moment.

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OK, I'm thinking mood..!  

quote:

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Originally posted by DougD

Yeah, I don't understand your question either. Do you mean tired OF playing your fiddle, or "does playing your fiddle ever tire you out?"
In my case, I think both at times.

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Tired OF playing your fiddle..not being tired from playing..

I edited the topic. Sorry for the confusion..

Hmm, I am not always in the “music mood” but usually at some point of each day I’ll feel like playing a few tunes. I rarely ever skip a day. But some days I’ll just play for 15 - 20 minutes. No set schedule or anything!

I'm sure this applies not only to playing the fiddle. For me, playing the guitar often depends on my mood.

In recent years, I've not played the fiddle, solo, at home, very much. Most of my time playing fiddle is at jams. When I'm sitting around the house, I usually play the banjo. In my earlier years, I played the fiddle around home to learn new tunes, either from recordings or notations. I try and catch new tunes when playing in jams, a practice I've used ever since learning old time tunes starting in 1972. I found that I needed to play the tune to remember it and that's the reason I started to play the banjo. I could not remember tunes from just playing guitar in an old time band, I needed to work at the melody.

I'm tired of not being able to play the fiddle or anything else right now.

But I have had moods where I couldn't play an instrument...usually I had another one on hand, like if not fiddle, guitar or banjo...sometimes I just want dulcimer...not often, but at times.

I have trouble playing just fiddle because I love chords and harmonies, so multi track recording is when I absolutely love playing my fiddle, especially since I don't know anybody else who is interested in playing.

But there are times when it's all overwhelming and I just want straight up droning with a dulcimer. At times I've wished I had a Native style flute for the sine wave feeling of that, pure and simple...I know, don't correct me, it's not sine waves...I just don't know what else to call it...purity, clean...simple. Someitmes I want that but I don't have or know anything at all about it. Normally that phase doesn't last and I'm ready for fiddling again if I can have chords and harmonies.

I never get tired of music, but the simple vs more complex (I know...please don't worry, I know nothing I play is near to complex...I just mean in comparison to Native flute...lol...maybe busy would be a better word) would be the vicissitudes of my musical inclination from one moment to the next.

Now I'm on a music diet, being the only caretaker of my hubby, not knowing one iota about what I'm doing or how to keep it all together...so I'm drowning in just trying to get through each and every minute of the long days and long nights. I miss music so bad...it's the first time I've been totally deprived of playing.

Yes. I get tired of fiddle. I guess that's why I play other instruments.
My posture is poor when playing fiddle.
The most I ever go is a week. Then it feels good when I get back to it.

The short answer is "No." Also, would add that I have never gotten tired of playing music in general. I have always moved between instruments and would say that I'm a multi-instrumentalist (as many of us are) more than a fiddle player. I think that moving between instruments doesn't really give one time to get tired of one. Or, it just occurred to me, maybe I'm a multi-instrumentalist because I do get tired of one instrument though I don't think so. Different musical situations, and persons to play with, call for different instruments and different songs can also call for different instruments. If no fiddler's are available it's great to be able to carry the tune and some songs just seem to work better on specific instruments for me. And how can you sing Carter Family stuff if you don't have a guitar player. Etc. Etc.

Hmmmm... I think maybe my fiddle gets tired of me at times. I ...< sigh ... don't know ... I enjoy most times when I pick my fiddle up to play. But sometimes it feels like I am almost fighting my instrument and not playing it. So I pick up a guitar or a mandolin.... sometimes that helps, sometimes not. Insofar a physically tired, yes, after an hour or an hour and a piece of another one I am starting to fade energy wise. When playing with others I last a bit longer. By the time a second hour is approaching I am usually "done in". And that's sitting down. Alas I am no youngster anymore. I expect that may be a good part of it too. Play on people.

I don't get tired of it so much as tired of my limitations. That makes me not want to pick it up sometimes. It's a vicious circle.

The reason I asked..While I still love busking, I find that I'm not much interested in attending jam sessions and have intentionally avoided some good jams I could have attended locally...just not interested. Last summer I missed the Indiana Fiddlers Gathering because I was on vacation in Alaska..(Got to visit with Alaskafiddler, George, in Anchorage) but really didn't mind missing the festival and this year I have mixed feelings about attending..I'll jam at Larry's on Tuesdays but other than that, I have no interest in touching my fiddle between jams..Guess it is a case of 'been there, done that'????? I'm in a band with my daughter and two others and we play for the local contra dance about every three months .. that is about it..

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Originally posted by Brian Wood

I don't get tired of it so much as tired of my limitations. That makes me not want to pick it up sometimes. It's a vicious circle.

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This is me...

Never really thought about it. It's just something i do, like playing pool or doing a crossword. But yeah depending on what else i have been doing sometimes i can't get my tea to my mouth without shaking. ... Let alone play the fiddle for an hour or so. But i don't seem to get tired of trying.

Keep that fiddle out of it's case. i guarantee you will pick it up! A fiddle in a case is like a tool in a draw.

yea mine is lying out a lot, I get too lazy to go put it back in its case in the other room…

unfortunately I have a habit of playing tunes when I’m waiting / a bit bored, like twiddling my thumbs or something. So many times I have stepped out in the garage, played a tune (or 2? Or 3?) and come back in to find black smoking toast!

If I ever write a tune, I am gonna name it “Black Toast”! :-D

If I come back from a festival or a weekend event I might not play for a day or two. I think that’s just overload but then my practice routine kicks back in. Truth be told I’m not always inspired but I can always find time to move my fingers and play something. I can play tunes all day but technical practice takes mental energy and has a finite attention span that is not always consistent or predictable. It could be an hour, or ten minutes or not at all. When the head’s not engaged a switch goes off and I’m done.

I love playing the fiddle, and some (such as my wife) might say I'm overly attached to it, but ultimately I just love playing and listening to music. And now that I'm a lazy bum aka retiree, I can indulge in the indulgence with nary a guilty thought. Heck right now I'm streaming an obscure but gorgeous piece of music on my stereo -- Elsa Barraine's Symphony #2, on Idagio. I've never heard of the composer and have certainly never heard the symphony but so what? Good music. Fine fidelity through my stereo. I'm a happy guy.

That’s an excellent question!

I guess I would answer with the following:

1. I never get mentally tired of playing fiddle ( physically, yes).

2. I never get tired of talking about fiddles and fiddle players.

3. I never get tired of listening to good fiddle playing!

4. I never get tired of discovering new tunes!

Thanks for all the interesting responses!

Being multi instrument helps not being bored or stuck in a rut. Also, playing many STYLES busts the boredom. I think I;d go crazy just playing one style or genre. Usually when an interesting sounding tune comes up in my feed, I'll sit with it for awhile and break it down to learn something. Or work on my own tunes in progress - writing also busts boredom. I can understand jams not being all that interesting sometimes - usually everyone knows a finite number of tunes that get played every session. Only so many times you can play Cherokee Shuffle or Down Yonder or whatever with fresh vigor and ideas. I went to a classic rock open jam, electric!, not long ago and had a blast! Opened some eyes and ears fitting fiddle into that and was asked back, and I may even go again this Sunday. When the fiddle is not calling me, I'll sit with the concertina or bagpipes (if I'm feeling particularly sadistic) or cello or what ever I have laying around.

Neverever! But I got tired of too much fiddle materials so I sent an offer to the local music store this night with all of the items I have for sell. I also explained clearly that the old fiddle is not and never for sale. It's my fiddle journey and there is no destination in sight yet hehe. I needed this more than anything else in the entire world. It's about all noise filtered out and being recycled in my mind-  with whole my heart I play. Till my day has come to say goodbye to earth.

I remember that first year very well. Started a new band last night. But I remain patient with fiddle practice every day this week!

I do get tired of it from time to time, so I just switch to mandolin for a while. Works fine -- keeps everything fresh & fun.

Definitely! The fiddle is such “a demanding mistress “ compared to fretted instruments. If I skip the banjo for a few days, I just need to run thru my 6 versions of Cripple Creek and I’m good to go.But the same situation with the fiddle, it can take 20 minutes or more of scales and arpeggios to be ready ( compared to my standard 5 minutes routine ).

A famous violinist (Isacc Stern?) said
If I skip a day of practice, I notice.
If I skip two days, the critics notice.
If I skip three days, everyone notices.