For those of you who have been playing this instrument for a long time... What do you know now that you really wish someone had told you when you were starting to play?  The big insight that you had down the line that gave a boost to your playing, that would have been great to know or understand all along?  I know that in other skills that I've learned, there have invariably been times where I found something out after 3 years and all I could wonder was "shouldn't this be taught day one?"

Keep your left wrist straight, and away from the neck of the instrument.

All I know is that I'm now well into my second full year and I'm starting to see why my teacher was so adamant about using good form and techniques. I spend a lot of time watching great players on Youtube, and notice that have all sorts of 'flawed' styles, yet still play great. Yet I find that my own playing suffers when I allow myself to lapse into using their techniques. I find that everything gets so much easier for me when I remember the form I've been taught, and apply it properly. I attribute this attention to form as the main reason I've improved so quickly. While I think it's great that people learn without reading sheet music, and teach themselves to play without teachers, I still can't help but think how much faster they'd learn from building a good foundation first.

So, looking back at my first two years, I'd have to say I really think it's important to take some time and learn some basic form and techniques well...and practice them all the time, too. 

I taught myself to play guitar many years ago, and to this day I don't feel like I'm a very solid player. I have all sorts of sloppy habits and lazy form. But since I started playing fiddle with a good teacher and applying some discipline, I've not only become a good fiddle player, but my guitar playing has improved along with it, even though I'd been fairly stagnant as a guitar player for many years. 

Gordon Stobbe's DVD "12 Things Your Right Hand Should Know" showed me more important things about bowing than all the instructors I have had. I think bowing is the hardest part of fiddling. Starting out bowing correctly will prevent a players having to "back up" and relearning things. Relearning is frustrating and can take more time than learning correctly in the beginning.

Edited by - Dick Hauser on 08/18/2012 14:47:08

go slow and practice slow. play with recordings or others as soon as possible.

Angle the right hand to allow wrist flex, TUF hold, don't press so hard, and don't judge Prim strings until they settle in!

And find the bowing sweet spot and stay in it.  Sawshuffle and Smoothshuffle.

Edited by - fiddlepogo on 08/18/2012 15:10:39

Don't leave the bow tightened when you're not playing it. Don't let the neck slip in the space between your thumb and first finger. Don't rest your left hand anywhere! Project outward!

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Originally posted by Freischutz
 

Don't let the neck slip in the space between your thumb and first finger. 

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That's some great advice, even though it sounds so simple and obvious. Every time I'm having troubles with speed, fingering, and coordination while learning a new song, it's always because I've let the neck slip down into the 'notch' between my thumb and index finger. Once I get back to form, everything gets immediately easier. 

That it's OK to play slower, and that there's nothing "sexy" about playing fast when you really can't pull it off (read: You're probably not impressing anybody.)

That from day 1, you NEED a teacher. I read no music, and while I can appreciate what little i've learned myself, I sure can tell I'm lacking in tha many aspects of fiddlin.

GET A TEACHER. Even a bad one would be better than none at all, and one capable and adapting to your learning abilities is a plus indeed. A teacher who understands tha student and how to apply teaching technques properly to that student is better than tha most accomplished fiddler or violinest who is'nt trained in teaching same.

I had always heard from my Dad and others of that bygone generation that it would take AT LEAST 5 years to play the fiddle with even a moderate level of competence. Ok, I thougt, I'll beat this timeframe. Well, it did not happen. Then I read recently that to demonstrate mastery in any skill, it requires 10,000 hours of focused work, practice, etc. So, the insight is ----- put in the time. There are NO shortcuts. A teacher/coach can certainly help by providing basic instruction, objective feedback, support, etc., but you HAVE to put in the time. I had 11 years of classical piano when I was younger. My Mom had visions of me being the next VanCliburn. He was from Texas ... I was from Texas. So, Mom started me on lessons when I was 4 just after he won the piano competition in Russia. VanCliburn practiced every day. I practiced during during my weekly lesson. Van Cliburn had a successful career as a concert pianist. I have a successful career as a chemist.

I'm glad tat so many people said, "Get a teacher" because I am one.  

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Originally posted by bsed

That it's OK to play slower, and that there's nothing "sexy" about playing fast when you really can't pull it off (read: You're probably not impressing anybody.)

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GOOD ONE!!!

Although, when I was a young whippersnapper fiddler, I probably wasn't ready to HEAR that good advice...

I wish I had known more about music theory, scales and harmony from the start. That would have saved years.  I have always envied those who had had substantial piano or accordion lessons.

If you'd of known, on day one,  all the myriad details that it takes,  after putting in the 10,000 hours,  you might not of started.  Try to learn and improve daily.  Eventually you'll get there.  Not that you're looking for one,  but there's no magic wand,  and if there was,  being good would be meaningless to you.

​I wish I'd known that not all the instructors agree.  One will say play so the tip of your bow connects with the strings; another will say play so the bow mainly connects near the frog.  (By the way, these very instructors are incredibly talented, one playing regularly at Disneyland, the other winning numerous Texas Swing titles and now a leading Celtic fiddler.)  One instructor will say hold your bow this way ONLY; another will offer up many choices.  One instructor will say, "Don't use vibrato.  No band will hire you if you do!" whilst another instructor will vibratoize every note.  So I wish I'd known that I could pick and choose, not fret because this one instructor said, "You're holding your bow incorrectly (TUF) and it'll take you a year to learn how to do it MY way blah blah blah."  I finally learned that I could fire these folks who didn't prove helpful.  Nothing personal, of course, but it's MY fiddle path.  

Well, those instructors are just telling you what's worked for them (what they swear by), and if it was good enough for them...

I wish I had known earlier that perfect fifths don't come in glass bottles.  

I wish I had known how to bow perfectly from the start.

I can't agree that a bad teacher is better than no teacher, particularly not these days, when good teachers can be accessed many ways, including on line. I've come across a few folks recently who are offering to teach/taking students, but whose playing skills are very modest. They seem to parrot common platitudes about technique or styles w/o having put in the time it takes to understand those things deeply and make informed choices. I would not want anyone to be mimicing their playing or taking their technique as gospel! it is scary to think they may believe they play well. I would much rather work with a person whose sound I like, and who attaches well to the fiddle style or classical genre he/she is playing. I know how to listen deeply and ask questions if a player like that lacks well-defined pedagogical skills.

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Originally posted by NCarolinaFiddler

I wish I had known how to bow perfectly from the start.

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I wish I had known how to do everything perfectly from the start.  

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Originally posted by Sue B.

I can't agree that a bad teacher is better than no teacher, particularly not these days, when good teachers can be accessed many ways, including on line. I've come across a few folks recently who are offering to teach/taking students, but whose playing skills are very modest. They seem to parrot common platitudes about technique or styles w/o having put in the time it takes to understand those things deeply and make informed choices. I would not want anyone to be mimicing their playing or taking their technique as gospel! it is scary to think they may believe they play well. I would much rather work with a person whose sound I like, and who attaches well to the fiddle style or classical genre he/she is playing. I know how to listen deeply and ask questions if a player like that lacks well-defined pedagogical skills.

Speaking as a teacher, I can see that two kinds of schools are necessary to be a good teacher:  playing well and teaching well.  In order to be a good teacher, you have to do a sort of Vulcan mind meld with the student.  You've got to get inside the student's head and figure out how their mind works and teach accordingly.  Sometimes students ask good questions, and sometimes they don't.  They may feel uncomfortable asking the teacher things that they think they should understand.  Also, and especially for beginners, they might not know what to ask.  I encourage my students to ask me questions.

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Originally posted by bsed

Well, those instructors are just telling you what's worked for them (what they swear by), and if it was good enough for them...

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Actually these instructors whom I mentioned INSISTED that I do it their way.  They didn't just say, "Hey, this is what works for me, and you'd benefit from this too...."

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Originally posted by Humbled by this instrument

Actually these instructors whom I mentioned INSISTED that I do it their way. 

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I feel pretty fortunate, then. My teacher is also the local high school strings teacher, so if she has a student who's in the orchestra, she teaches them all 'by the book.' But with adult students like me, she asked me why I wanted to play, what I wanted to play and where I wanted to go with my playing, and helps me get there by keeping me focused on good technique, music theory and producing great tone. I don't feel I'd be anywhere near as far as I am without that sort of instruction. 

When I started playing cello as a kid, I had no idea that OT music and jamming existed, or that I would like to play a fiddle.  I was vaguely aware of bluegrass music.  All I knew was that cello parts in the school orchestra were dull as a dishrag, and the experience was one to be endured, not celebrated.  Nobody's fault, really.  I often wonder if I'd have taken the opportunity to play OT fiddle as a kid had it been offered.  I was kinda dumb that way, convinced that I had all the answers.  Now, as an adult, I'm aware that I don't have all the answers, but I'm expected to live as if I did.  There's irony for ya!

I wish Ida known there was 'tens of dollars to be made in folk music'.