Bill - Posted - 08/31/2008:  00:49:03

before a few days ago my creative juices were about spent. I picked up a guitar once in awhile, wiped dust off a mandolin occasionally, and fiddle? nah..... I didn't have it in me anymore.

I moved to Wisconsin a year ago from Chicago. Down there I was surrounded by the music I loved. Up here it seemed that I was lost amid the cows. Down there I played 4 hours a day...up here I drove that much back and forth to work.

Then somehow I found this site.

How or why I don't recall but this has been a true turnaround. I tuned my favorite fiddle after the first day. I did make an attempt to clean a bow or two by playing - I played and played actually...I played!

My fiancee was pleased...guess she'd been waiting for me to get out of my musical funk (or perhaps tired of all the instruments lying around untouched)

Thank you one and all for the tunes to download, the videos, the banter and suggestions, but most of all thank you for the impetus to start anew.....

"Never met a fiddle I didn''t like." anon

fiddlerdi - Posted - 08/31/2008:  09:12:05

There's lots of good people here for you. Everyone's very willing to share and help others. Sometimes all it takes is a dose of inspiration and picking up that insrument again. I saw this about WIsconsin when I looked up FIddle Associations: http://www.swotfa.com/
I bet someone there could get you hooked up with some folks in your area to play with. It's always more motivatig to practice when you have oher musicians to share it with. You might have some luck with just putting up a card saying "looking to find people to jam with" (be sure to put the kind of music you like to play) and posting it where people read the bulliten board. If you're in a rural area the feed store or the the co-op, grocery stores, or even at church. You'd be surprised at the people you might find who feel the same way you do about the music.

FiddlerDi

fiddlepogo - Posted - 08/31/2008:  09:17:54

Bill,

You're welcome!

IIRC there is at least one Wisconsin member...
and I'm having a senior moment right now...
what's his name???
Ah yes- "Midwest_Fiddler"

Seems like "bsed" is in Wisconsin, too, IIRC.
(edit- he's on your friends list- good!)

When I got a banjo again after 16 years, the Banjo Hangout filled a similar function
for me, got me inspired.

After getting started in the very active early 1970's L.A. scene,
I moved to a couple of small northern California towns, and
finding people to jam with has been hard.
And when you DO find them, sometimes they move away,
or even...

In fact, it was partly grief that caused me to stop playing fiddle
for what turned out to be 15 years!

So I do understand what you've been going through, and I'm sure
many others do too.

If you could bring yourself to busk at a local Farmer's Market or crafts fair, you would probably find some jamming partners in short order.


Michael

"It''s hard to take yourself seriously when you''re singing about chickens!"

http://www.ezfolk.com/audio/bands/1088
for mp3s, blog, and "Michael''s Old Time Fiddle & Banjo Hour" (hifi & lofi audio streams)

Edited by - fiddlepogo on 08/31/2008 09:29:46

John Gent - Posted - 08/31/2008:  11:04:53

Wow Bill, that's a great post. Inspirational, strengthening.

Thank YOU.

- John
Eugene, Oregon, USA