Well, I'm *still* enthusiastic about fiddling, five months after starting, which has to be some kind of record for me! :D
But as I'm, hehe, teaching myself because I can't afford lessons being a poor student. Also, fiddle teachers seem to be few and far between and I think that classical violin lessons might be way too uptight for me. Yeah OK, I could go off to Derbyshire in search of free lessons from my mum's friend Andy, who teaches fiddle, and I may do so at some point, but not now.
It's kinda like reinventing the wheel sometimes and progress is slow. No matter, I'm happy But I'd appreciate some help with bows.
I started by borrowing my friend's full size violin and bow and then I bought a cheap violin from Ebay. When I'm rich I'll get a good one. The violin itself seems to be fullsize when compared to my friend's, but the bow is shorter, but it only just fits inside the case, my friend's doesn't fit.
I prefer the shorter bow, because I feel I have more control with it, but it is a bit tatty and rubbish, so I want a brand spanking new one.
I'm assuming there are different sizes of bows like the violins themselves, is my friends a full size maybe and mine 3/4 or something? Does it matter, especially at this embryonic stage of my fiddling development? Ha ha.
Any advice on which bow to get etc is most welcome, I'm here to learn as much as possible.
Nat, only on one occasion have I ever used a short bow. This was a couple of years ago when I was trying out an electric cello at a vendor's stall at the Chippenham Folk Festival. The only cello bow he had available was 3/4 size. I must say I rather liked using it - it was lighter, stiffer (as you'd expect) and responsive. I must try a short fiddle bow sometime, to see how appropriate it is for ITM.
Btw, I see no harm in learning a solid foundation of classical technique - you'll be taught the all-important basics of fingering and bow control which are applicable to all violinists/fiddlers, no matter what type of music they play. It's probably not necessary (for an adult at any rate) to have a lesson every week, but I think it is important to have your playing listened to occasionally by an experienced player (not your teacher) to make sure you're not inadvertently slipping into bad habits - all too easy for the unsupervised beginner! I'd also suggest you're not yet ready to make an informed decision on the choice of a bow. There's a bit of Catch-22 here - you need the experience and technique to choose a good bow, but you need a good bow to acquire a decent technique ... The answer is to get a good player (preferably also an experienced teacher) to help you choose one, in conjunction with a reliable dealer.
As regards violin teachers, have a chat with members of a local orchestra, or a local music shop, or the director of music at a local school or college - I'd be surprised if nothing comes up. It's also possible that the LEA may be running regular string workshops on Saturday mornings. If you find one, they're fun and you'll learn a lot.
My violin tutor trained at the Royal College of Music, BUT had a very open mind about music and often said she learned such a lot from her adult pupils about different styles. She was just great fun and never saw anything as 'inferior'.
I tried teaching myself and being a good self learner I had the utmost confidence. BUT at about eight months into this I realised that I was going nowhere fast.
My tutor straightened out my 'windscreen washer' of a bowing technique and got me thinking about things I could never have dreamt of. It's made me a better player. SO I recommend a teacher any time, and as Trevor said it doesn't have to be every week. I used to go once a month and that usually meant I'd made some progress and got some praise.
I can't imagine getting a few lessons on the basics could possibly be a bad thing no matter what the person's training is. The early part of technique (bow hold, finger position, etc.) are all pretty much the same. I just bought a cheap fiddle off of eBay myself and have been playing for a whole two weeks. I'm struggling with the bow, but I was taught a proper bow hold and some other things I just never would have learned on my own (scratchy sound? might be caused by moving the bow too slowly...struggled with it for a whole week and got it corrected in one short lesson). I went to my local music center that offers lessons and pay just $10 for a half hour lesson. The guy is a bluegrass fiddler and is a decent player in the genre from what I hear. But I just need the basics from him for now and he's giving them to me...it's definitely worth the $10 for each lesson!
I've heard of people playing ITM with 3/4 sized bows before...some people even use a choked bow old which takes a regular sized bow down to around 3/4 or so. I prefer having the full sized bow because I want to learn how to use the entire bow...but 3/4 might be just fine. Of course, I don't know too much about fiddle myself. Good to see someone else just starting off! How's your progress been so far? How far have you come in 5 months?
Yeah, I *will* get lessons as soon as I can afford it, sort it out etc.
I think I've come a long way in the five months, but I am getting to the stage where I'm thinking i've not come far *enough*. I guess mostly I've just been learning about music itself, how to read it etc etc, because I really was starting from scratch.
I don't have too many problems with scratchy sounds - you knw how you always see beginners on telly famously screeching? None of that. lol, I guess I was trying to mimic proper fiddlers so I just went fast from the start!
Bow query
Bow query
Well, I'm *still* enthusiastic about fiddling, five months after starting, which has to be some kind of record for me! :D
But I'd appreciate some help with bows.
But as I'm, hehe, teaching myself because I can't afford lessons being a poor student. Also, fiddle teachers seem to be few and far between and I think that classical violin lessons might be way too uptight for me. Yeah OK, I could go off to Derbyshire in search of free lessons from my mum's friend Andy, who teaches fiddle, and I may do so at some point, but not now.
It's kinda like reinventing the wheel sometimes and progress is slow. No matter, I'm happy
I started by borrowing my friend's full size violin and bow and then I bought a cheap violin from Ebay. When I'm rich I'll get a good one. The violin itself seems to be fullsize when compared to my friend's, but the bow is shorter, but it only just fits inside the case, my friend's doesn't fit.
I prefer the shorter bow, because I feel I have more control with it, but it is a bit tatty and rubbish, so I want a brand spanking new one.
I'm assuming there are different sizes of bows like the violins themselves, is my friends a full size maybe and mine 3/4 or something? Does it matter, especially at this embryonic stage of my fiddling development? Ha ha.
Any advice on which bow to get etc is most welcome, I'm here to learn as much as possible.
Nat xxx
# Posted on July 2nd 2004 by fiddlefantastic
Re: Bow query
Nat, only on one occasion have I ever used a short bow. This was a couple of years ago when I was trying out an electric cello at a vendor's stall at the Chippenham Folk Festival. The only cello bow he had available was 3/4 size. I must say I rather liked using it - it was lighter, stiffer (as you'd expect) and responsive. I must try a short fiddle bow sometime, to see how appropriate it is for ITM.
The answer is to get a good player (preferably also an experienced teacher) to help you choose one, in conjunction with a reliable dealer.
Btw, I see no harm in learning a solid foundation of classical technique - you'll be taught the all-important basics of fingering and bow control which are applicable to all violinists/fiddlers, no matter what type of music they play. It's probably not necessary (for an adult at any rate) to have a lesson every week, but I think it is important to have your playing listened to occasionally by an experienced player (not your teacher) to make sure you're not inadvertently slipping into bad habits - all too easy for the unsupervised beginner! I'd also suggest you're not yet ready to make an informed decision on the choice of a bow. There's a bit of Catch-22 here - you need the experience and technique to choose a good bow, but you need a good bow to acquire a decent technique ...
As regards violin teachers, have a chat with members of a local orchestra, or a local music shop, or the director of music at a local school or college - I'd be surprised if nothing comes up. It's also possible that the LEA may be running regular string workshops on Saturday mornings. If you find one, they're fun and you'll learn a lot.
Trevor
# Posted on July 2nd 2004 by Trevor Jennings
Re: Bow query
Nat,
My violin tutor trained at the Royal College of Music, BUT had a very open mind about music and often said she learned such a lot from her adult pupils about different styles. She was just great fun and never saw anything as 'inferior'.
I tried teaching myself and being a good self learner I had the utmost confidence. BUT at about eight months into this I realised that I was going nowhere fast.
My tutor straightened out my 'windscreen washer' of a bowing technique and got me thinking about things I could never have dreamt of. It's made me a better player. SO I recommend a teacher any time, and as Trevor said it doesn't have to be every week. I used to go once a month and that usually meant I'd made some progress and got some praise.
Keep in there
SUE
# Posted on July 3rd 2004 by Fiiddle R
Re: Bow query
I can't imagine getting a few lessons on the basics could possibly be a bad thing no matter what the person's training is. The early part of technique (bow hold, finger position, etc.) are all pretty much the same. I just bought a cheap fiddle off of eBay myself and have been playing for a whole two weeks. I'm struggling with the bow, but I was taught a proper bow hold and some other things I just never would have learned on my own (scratchy sound? might be caused by moving the bow too slowly...struggled with it for a whole week and got it corrected in one short lesson). I went to my local music center that offers lessons and pay just $10 for a half hour lesson. The guy is a bluegrass fiddler and is a decent player in the genre from what I hear. But I just need the basics from him for now and he's giving them to me...it's definitely worth the $10 for each lesson!
I've heard of people playing ITM with 3/4 sized bows before...some people even use a choked bow old which takes a regular sized bow down to around 3/4 or so. I prefer having the full sized bow because I want to learn how to use the entire bow...but 3/4 might be just fine. Of course, I don't know too much about fiddle myself. Good to see someone else just starting off! How's your progress been so far? How far have you come in 5 months?
# Posted on July 3rd 2004 by Crysania
Re: Bow query
Thanks for your replies!
Yeah, I *will* get lessons as soon as I can afford it, sort it out etc.
I think I've come a long way in the five months, but I am getting to the stage where I'm thinking i've not come far *enough*. I guess mostly I've just been learning about music itself, how to read it etc etc, because I really was starting from scratch.
I don't have too many problems with scratchy sounds - you knw how you always see beginners on telly famously screeching? None of that. lol, I guess I was trying to mimic proper fiddlers so I just went fast from the start!
It *might* help if I could tune it......
# Posted on July 3rd 2004 by fiddlefantastic