fancy yourself fiddling?

By Sean Kenan, 2008. Q. Am I too old to learn?Fiddle playing is a motor-skill activity and whilst children generally are quick learners there are many adults these days who have sucessfully taught themselves to play fiddle. Ernie Gruner teaches the instrument in Melbourne and he says,“I actually think a motivated adult has got a better chance of getting where they want to get to. Their aims are realistic and they know why they are doing it. I think a lot of kids are told they must practice.” Q. Do I need talent?The Japanese violin educator Shinichi Suzuki said, “I have held that there is no such thing as an innate aptitude for music. I believe the same for other cultural skills. I have insisted that it is a mistake to think that hereditary aptitudes exist for literature or mathematics.” He goes on to say, “Musical ability is not an inborn talent but an ability that can be developed.”

QUOTE: “Time rather than talent is the deciding factor in progress on the fiddle” Sean Kenan

Q. How much do I need to practice?Suzuki recommends children put in daily the same amount of time they spend at their weekly lesson. This is also a good guide for adults. A half hour weekly lesson means half an hour’s practice each day. Progress has a lot to do with the hours put in and many repetitions are needed to make the actions ‘automatic.’ To a non-musician the number of these repetitions can appear staggering. It is quite normal to repeat a difficult phrase fifty times at one sitting or to play tunes ten times through without a pause. These long periods of repeated activity are essential to enable the actions to be repeated in an effortless and controlled manner. Shinichi Suzuki also told his students they didn’t have to practice on any day they didn’t eat.

Q. What should I look for when choosing an instrument?The fiddle and the violin are basically the same instrument. If the instrument does not have fine tuners, get a tailpiece fitted with these included. Most classical violinists only use a fine tuner on the E string but fiddlers use them on all strings. They make tuning a lot easier.

Photo above: Tailpiece with fine tuners.

Q. How do I tune the fiddle?The good old Aussie greeting “G’dae!” (goodday) is an easy way to remember the tuning. The bass or thickest string is G followed by D and A and the thinnest string is E. For major adjustments the wooden pegs at the scroll end of the fiddle are used. The fine tuners at the tailpiece controlthe minor variations in pitch. Electronic tuners are highly recommended and are available at low cost. Their compact size means they can fit inside the fiddle case. It is vital that the instrument is tuned up before and kept in tune during all playing periods. It only takes a short playing period or a slight change in atmosphere to put the instrument out of tune. Q. What should I do every time I pick up the instrument?Tune up! Then after the playing session relax the bow hair by releasing the tension with the screw at the end of the bow. The bow will warp if thepressure is not released after playing.

w w w . s e a n k e n a n . c o m

Starting Out on Fiddle1.

fancy yourself fiddling?

By Sean Kenan, 2008.

Photo above: Kevin Burke’s bow hold.

The BowQ. How much do I tighten the bow?Enough to allow a pencil to be passed betweenthe hair and stick. Make sure you release thepressure after playing. Avoid touching the hair as this will cause ‘dead’ spots while bowing due togrease from the fingers. Q. How much rosin should I use?A new bow will require a good load. Try fiftyrubbings down and up the whole bow length. For short practice sessions ten rubs should do. Q. How often should I get the bow re-haired?Kevin Burke is a professional player and hechanges his strings every two months and gets his bow re-haired every six to nine months. Mostfiddlers would get away with a re-hair every one ortwo years, sometimes for longer periods.

Photo above: Avoid playing with a crooked bow. Draw the bow in a parallel line between the bridge and fingerboard.

Q. How do I hold the fiddle?Most players these days use a device called a shoulder rest. These fittings are quite a recent invention and have only been available commercially for about 70 years.The famous classical violinist Yehudi Menuhin detestedshoulder rests even though there is one brand for sale bearing his name. Kevin Burke prefers a small cushion attached with an elastic band. Other players hold the fiddle in the original manner, the instrument resting directly on their shoulder. The main thing is to try to ‘balance’ the instrument lightly on the shoulder rather than clamping the fiddle tightly between the chin and shoulder.

Photo above: Left hand finger exercise. Try holding down the four fingers approximately in the above shape. This will develop strength and finger independence.

Q. How do I bow the string?Start off with long slow bows on open strings. Aim for smooth long strokes with a minimum of scratching. Gently stroke the string to get it‘spinning’ and play very lightly with a smoothcontinuous tone all the way from one end of thebow to the other. You will need to support a lot ofthe bow’s weight as you near the lower half or youwill scratch. Aim for 30 seconds per bow stroke. Sean Kenan teaches fiddle in Melbourne at the Fancy Yourself Fiddling music school and produces the monthly newsletter, Fiddle News. Tune downloads, quotes and Fiddle News archives are available online at www.seankenan.com

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Starting Out on Fiddle2.

fancy yourself fiddling?

By Sean Kenan, 2008.

Above: Keep L.H. fingers clear of open strings. Left Hand TechniqueCan you play two strings without the fleshy bit ofone finger interfering with the string underneath?You will need to create a clear tunnel underneaththe playing finger so the string underneath is‘alive’. This is most important for double stoppingor chordal playing and also will allow you to use‘crossbowing’ where the bow circles back and forthbetween two strings.

Exercises: Top: Keep your fingers down after the notes have been played. The numbers refer to L.H. fingers and the line next to the number indicates how long the finger is held down. The open ‘A’ string should sound clearly while the fingers are down. Lower example: This is a little easier as the open ‘D’ string is on the other side of the tunnel.

Q. Can I use one finger to play across two strings?Yes. This is called the barré and is most useful as itfrees up the other fingers to be used for other tasks.

Q. How do I check I am playing in tune?Check often with open strings! When you play afingered note that corresponds to an open string,that is a G, D, A or E note, play the open string tocheck your finger’s location. These notes will beeither an octave apart or in unison when the 4thfinger is used in first position.

Also try playing a scale slowly, checking your pitchwith an electronic tuner. This takes lots of patienceand you will find that as little as a millimetre canchange the pitch. A slight roll forwards or backwards of the fingertip can bring you to the correct pitch. Of course the fiddle must be perfectly in tune to make this worthwhile. The fiddle actually resonates when it is played in tune especially with octaves, thirds and fifth intervals.

Exercises above: The numbers refer to the L.H. fingers and the zero indicates an open string. These exercises include both the barré and fourth finger unison notes played alongside open string notes to check intonation or pitch.

Sean Kenan runs the Fancy Yourself Fiddling musicschool in Melbourne and also publishes Australia’sunique monthly newsletter the Fiddle News. Tunedownloads, quotes and Fiddle News archives areavailable online at www.seankenan.com

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Starting Out on Fiddle3.

Created by trial version, http://www.pdf-convert.com

Fiddling Around by Sean Kenan

Starting Out on Fiddle No.3.

Above: Keep L.H. fingers clear of open strings.

Left Hand Technique Can you play two strings without the fleshy bit of one finger interfering with the string underneath? You will need to create a clear tunnel underneath the playing finger so the string underneath is ‘alive’. This is most important for double stopping or chordal playing and also will allow you to use ‘crossbowing’ where the bow circles back and forth between two strings.

Exercises: Top: Keep your fingers down after the notes have been played. The numbers refer to L.H. fingers and the line next to the number indicates how long the finger is held down. The open ‘A’ string should sound clearly while the fingers are down. Lower example: This is a little easier as the open ‘D’ string is on the other side of the tunnel.

Q. Can I use one finger to play across two strings?

Yes. This is called the barré and is most useful as it frees up the other fingers to be used for other tasks. Q. How do I check I am playing in tune? Check often with open strings! When you play a fingered note that corresponds to an open string, that is a G, D, A or E note, play the open string to check your finger’s location. These notes will be either an octave apart or in unison when the 4th finger is used in first position. Also try playing a scale slowly, checking your pitch with an electronic tuner. This takes lots of patience and you will find that as little as a millimetre can change the pitch. A slight roll forwards or backwards of the fingertip can bring you to the correct pitch. Of course the fiddle must be perfectly in tune to make this worthwhile. The fiddle actually resonates when it is played in tune especially with octaves, thirds and fifth intervals.

Exercises above: The numbers refer to the L.H. fingers and the zero indicates an open string. These exercises include both the barré and fourth finger unison notes played alongside open string notes to check intonation or pitch. Sean Kenan runs the Fancy Yourself Fiddling music school in Melbourne and also publishes Australia’s unique monthly newsletter the Fiddle News. Tune downloads, quotes and Fiddle News archives are available online at www.seankenan.com

Created by trial version, http://www.pdf-convert.com

Fiddling Around by Sean Kenan

Starting Out on Fiddle No.3.

Above: Keep L.H. fingers clear of open strings.

Left Hand Technique Can you play two strings without the fleshy bit of one finger interfering with the string underneath? You will need to create a clear tunnel underneath the playing finger so the string underneath is ‘alive’. This is most important for double stopping or chordal playing and also will allow you to use ‘crossbowing’ where the bow circles back and forth between two strings.

Exercises: Top: Keep your fingers down after the notes have been played. The numbers refer to L.H. fingers and the line next to the number indicates how long the finger is held down. The open ‘A’ string should sound clearly while the fingers are down. Lower example: This is a little easier as the open ‘D’ string is on the other side of the tunnel.

Q. Can I use one finger to play across two strings?

Yes. This is called the barré and is most useful as it frees up the other fingers to be used for other tasks. Q. How do I check I am playing in tune? Check often with open strings! When you play a fingered note that corresponds to an open string, that is a G, D, A or E note, play the open string to check your finger’s location. These notes will be either an octave apart or in unison when the 4th finger is used in first position. Also try playing a scale slowly, checking your pitch with an electronic tuner. This takes lots of patience and you will find that as little as a millimetre can change the pitch. A slight roll forwards or backwards of the fingertip can bring you to the correct pitch. Of course the fiddle must be perfectly in tune to make this worthwhile. The fiddle actually resonates when it is played in tune especially with octaves, thirds and fifth intervals.

Exercises above: The numbers refer to the L.H. fingers and the zero indicates an open string. These exercises include both the barré and fourth finger unison notes played alongside open string notes to check intonation or pitch. Sean Kenan runs the Fancy Yourself Fiddling music school in Melbourne and also publishes Australia’s unique monthly newsletter the Fiddle News. Tune downloads, quotes and Fiddle News archives are available online at www.seankenan.com

Created by trial version, http://www.pdf-convert.com

Fiddling Around by Sean Kenan

Starting Out on Fiddle No.3.

Above: Keep L.H. fingers clear of open strings.

Left Hand Technique Can you play two strings without the fleshy bit of one finger interfering with the string underneath? You will need to create a clear tunnel underneath the playing finger so the string underneath is ‘alive’. This is most important for double stopping or chordal playing and also will allow you to use ‘crossbowing’ where the bow circles back and forth between two strings.

Exercises: Top: Keep your fingers down after the notes have been played. The numbers refer to L.H. fingers and the line next to the number indicates how long the finger is held down. The open ‘A’ string should sound clearly while the fingers are down. Lower example: This is a little easier as the open ‘D’ string is on the other side of the tunnel.

Q. Can I use one finger to play across two strings?

Yes. This is called the barré and is most useful as it frees up the other fingers to be used for other tasks. Q. How do I check I am playing in tune? Check often with open strings! When you play a fingered note that corresponds to an open string, that is a G, D, A or E note, play the open string to check your finger’s location. These notes will be either an octave apart or in unison when the 4th finger is used in first position. Also try playing a scale slowly, checking your pitch with an electronic tuner. This takes lots of patience and you will find that as little as a millimetre can change the pitch. A slight roll forwards or backwards of the fingertip can bring you to the correct pitch. Of course the fiddle must be perfectly in tune to make this worthwhile. The fiddle actually resonates when it is played in tune especially with octaves, thirds and fifth intervals.

Exercises above: The numbers refer to the L.H. fingers and the zero indicates an open string. These exercises include both the barré and fourth finger unison notes played alongside open string notes to check intonation or pitch. Sean Kenan runs the Fancy Yourself Fiddling music school in Melbourne and also publishes Australia’s unique monthly newsletter the Fiddle News. Tune downloads, quotes and Fiddle News archives are available online at www.seankenan.com