Fiddle Workshop Free PDF: 7 Ways to Practise a Fiddle Tune

“Think ten times and play once” Franz Lizst

I have completely rethought everything I ever thought about practice.

Becoming obsessed with fiddle music from Old Time, Bluegrass and Scottish traditions I have been exploring ways of “getting inside” a piece of music. Fiddle tunes may seem simple to someone sightreading the 16 bars of quavers from a book of tunes. But reading notes and expressing musicality are totally different things. These notes are a starting point for something individually expressive and creative. Just listen to what someone like Darol Anger or Chris Thile do with a simple fiddle tune, or how Heifetz was famous for not picking up a piece of sheet music before he had it memorised.

So I’m working on an “ultimate way to learn a fiddle tune”, synthesising things I’ve learned on fiddle camps, read in jazz improvisation books and explored myself in the practice room.

I’m presenting this for the first time tomorrow, leading a fiddle workshop at 1pm in the Newport Scout Hall for the Newport Folk Festival.

But for you dear blog readers, I have provided a link to the PDF I’ll be basing the workshop on with all my hints, tips and apps. Plus I’ve attached my simple transcription of the Bill Monroe tune Old Ebenezer which we’ll be applying all these ideas to in the workshop.

Enjoy!

7 WAYS TO PRACTISE A FIDDLE TUNE

Old Ebeneezer (1)