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Thursday, February 2, 2012

Learning new tricks.



Hubby and I have purchased violins, tuning mechanisms, books, cases, and have signed up for fiddle classes. After three lessons, we can safely state that fiddling is great!

A real joy to listen to!
A coordinated effort of ear, memory, hand, arm, fingers, shoulder and foot tamping.

So far, we have learned the following:

1. Tune your instrument every time you play.

2. Keep your instrument in a case, carefully stored in the perfect temperature.

3. If you leave your fiddle in the car overnight, or play it when it is too drafty, the instrument will go out of tune!

4. Forget nails. Keep them trimmed, because if you  don't, you can't use your fingers to make notes.

5. Fiddling is more forgiving in style than violin playing.

6. You can join a fiddling group and just keep the rhythm if you don't know the tune.

7. There are many ways to play, to hold the bow, to STYLE!

8. Fiddling has long roots, in Europe, in Appalachia, in camps.

9. Have fiddle, and improvise. That's how new tunes are created.

10. You learn to play mostly by ear; listen and repeat.

Our wonderful teacher is Port Orford's own Diane Cassel, who taught in our school district for years before retiring.
Her daughter, Hanneke Cassel is a famous fiddle player. If you hear her just once, you want to go and learn to play the fiddle!



30 comments:

Diane said...

Sounds like great fun :) Diane

Catalina Aldridge said...

Next time you're playing a tune... record it & post it. Would love to hear your musical skills. :)

JeannetteLS said...

My nephew is taking the violin, learning classical violin. BUT, he has a teacher who is not some sort of violin snob, and she has encouraged him to, yes, style. And to PLAY as well as play. Adam dances with his fiddle--it is his partner in the dance. I gasped when I watched him last recital. It was Mozart in the tune, but it was a boy one with his instrument to watch.

I took him to a jam where there were some bluegrass fiddlers. He watched them in a trance.

What a wonderful thing you both are doing for yourselves. Adam hopes one day to play well enough to do bluegrass, or to improvise. I'm going to let him know that age is no factor--just the love of music, musicians, and his instrument.

Maggie May said...

That is wonderful news. Keep fiddling and enjoy it.
Maggie X

Nuts in May

Joani said...

That sounds so interesting. I have often thought about playing the guitar. Of course, I always say that in my other life I must have been a drummer cuz I'm always keeping a beat on something. Hugs. Thanks for visiting me btw.

The Broad said...

I'm 'gob-smacked'! And ever so impressed! Good for you both and what joy it will bring you! Can you please explain, though -- what is the difference between a 'fiddle' and a 'violin'?

Linda Myers said...

Wow! Taking up the fiddle! I'm impressed - and tempted.

Journeyin' Lady... said...

Now, THAT sounds like so much fun! Enjoy!

Karen said...

Rosaria, good for you!! I think that's great.

Unknown said...

Wow! Good for you! Sounds like you could have lots of fun with it!

Rob-bear said...

Good grief! Fiddling around in your old age. What will come next?

Oh, and congratulations on your discovery. I hope you have a wonderful time. (Our son and his children are also learning to play the violin.)

I'm of a mind to buy myself a new (or newer) five-stringed banjo, and start terrorizing the tenants in our apartment building.

dianefaith said...

Good for you! Google the Rosin Sisters, a trio of 60-year-old, fiddle-playing women. They can fiddle! One of them, Barbara, is an old friend.

Brian Miller said...

i think learning the violin would be so much fun...i love the sound it makes...

Suz said...

Oh Rosaria...that is wonderful!
I love the sound of the fiddle too
happy music

Rosaria Williams said...

Fiddle and violin are the same instruments.It's how you play them that distinguishes their sound.

Kitty Cat:No Way! I'm learning to move my bow up and down; learning to find the notes with my other hand/fingers and telling myself all along that Yes I Can!

Unspoken said...

Good for you! I miss playing an instrument. It's fun and good for the brain!

yaya said...

This sounds like a ton of fun! I love to hear a fiddle play. How can you not smile when the music starts? How can you not want to dance? Plus you get to share a new talent with your honey!

Rubye Jack said...

All I have to say is this is so very terribly cool Rosaria! I can really think of nothing better to be doing.

#1Nana said...

Wow! You are adventurous. I bet you have many hours of fun ahead.

Cloudia said...

VERRRY COOL!



Warm Aloha from Hawaii
Comfort Spiral

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ellen abbott said...

how cool is that. I love the fiddle!

Lydia said...

I took a three-day adult fiddle workshop here in Silverton over six years ago. It was co-taught by a "swamp-rock" fiddler, Kelly Thibodeaux and a violin teacher in the school system here. I loved it and purchased my own violin afterward. But. I have not done a thing with it. I don't know how to tune it. I do have some DVDs that I am sure would be helpful if I would just play the darn things with fiddle in hand. You are inspiring me to get my friend out of its case!

Man of Roma said...

Ciao Rosaria, che bella idea!
Wonderful thing, to turn to music, at any age.

Fiddling is more forgiving in style than violin playing. I wonder what you mean. I play all kind of music on my guitar, from pop to jazz to classical, and I am following jazz guitar lessons from a Italian whose origins are in Apulia and who studied jazz in Los Angeles for a while. Great music, jazz, based on improvisation!

[And yes, I often forget to put my guitar in a case]

Ruth said...

Oh I admire you! This sounds like great fun. And to do it together, learn together, is so very rich!

lortsa said...

Have fun with the fiddles! I can related to your endeavor. Having played the fiddle for many years, I got my first mandolin for Christmas and am really enjoying the learning experience. This keeps us young!!

Cad said...

I've always wanted to play a fiddle - rather than only being ON the fiddle! LOL

rjerdee said...

How fun!!! Fiddling around.

Vera said...

Good luck with the fiddle playing. Fiddling is fun, as is playing any instrument, as is getting involved with any form of music making.

Jenny Woolf said...

Oh well done to take up this new skill. It must be so great to be able to break into a tune, but it must take forever to learn! hope you record it and put it on the blog!

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Rosaria .. that does sound one lot of fun .. which I could keep the rhythm .. then I might give it a go - but sadly it's not one of my attributes.

So I totally admire you - such a fun thing to do together .. and what lovely comments you've got ..

Cheers - Hilary