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Successful Jam to the end of a long week

Posted by fiddlebarb on Saturday, August 15, 2009

It was one of those weeks in which you wonder if it will ever end.  The work week ended yet things continued to be hetic for a good part of the day.  Old cars can be fun, especially when they decide that more than one thing start to break down.  The power steeing pump was starting to go out, so I was going to have my brother replace it for me.  On the way to his place all of a sudden the coolant system decided that it would be a perfect time to spring a leak.  After 6 hours of work a new power steering pump was installed, and a piece of heater hose no more than 3 or 4 inches long was replaced to fix the leak.  It was a long day that started of fustrating, but all of that changed in the evening when I was finally able to check out the jam that takes place near to me.  Four hours of jamming, some of it I spent playing on my hammered dulcimer, and some with my fiddle, although most of the tunes that I play  on the fiddle I didn't know, but it was a perfect chance to get some ear training in ( and lol and behold sometimes I was able to hit the right note).  There is just something about being able to play music with others and to share that experience that allows you to leave all your troubles behind for a little while and to be able to just live in the moment.

I might have hit some sour notes,crashed and burned on some tunes completly, but I was able to spend time doing something that I enjoy and being able to  do it with others who share the same passion.  The guys that where there who played fiddle where impressed with how I was doing since it has been only a month since I started playing the instrument, although I find myself to be overly critical about my playing sometimes.  I do believe that I am probably my own worst critic when playing music.  I know where I want to be and how I want things to sound, but sometimes my lack of skill keeps me from being there.  This seems to act as a driving force for me to keep at it even when I am fustrated with the way I sound or my level of playing.  Hopefully being able to get together with other people to play with on a semi consistent basis will continue to push me and encourage me to become a better musician.

 



9 comments on “Successful Jam to the end of a long week”

mudbug Says:
Sunday, August 16, 2009 @3:29:28 AM

Hey, Barb! Sounds like you had an interesting day. Yeah, I find that as a musician coming to fiddle, I'm anxious to get to the point where I want to be in my playing/sound. This instrument is sooo much different than others that I've picked up in that you have to be more patient and realise that you're in for the long haul to get good. Keep at it, be stubborn!

bj Says:
Sunday, August 16, 2009 @8:05:34 AM

Barb, just figure you're going to have to put in at least a couple years before you're even STARTING to sound okay on a fairly basic level. If you know how long it's going to take, and then just pay your dues in practice time, you'll get there. It will happen. Your first year will be the toughest. After that things will slowly but surely start to make sense. Our friend Humbled had it right when he picked his username for this site. "Humbled By This Instrument". Oh yeah, that says it all!

If this is an OT jam you're going to, they do play in one key for awhile. If, when you're learning tunes, you do them in groups in the same key, you'll find that when you go to the jam and they're playing in the key you've been learning in, it'll make it easier for you to pick out some of the notes, and sometimes even whole phrases and runs. I suggest learning tunes in blocks of half dozen or so in each key. The first one will be tough, second one will be easier, and by number six you'll find that your fingers have a much better idea of where they should be going. I still do this, though I don't play in the same key my whole practice session anymore. But that method does seem to make the learning of new tunes much easier. That and putting them on repeat play on low volume while I'm working so they're engraved into my gray matter before I pick up the fiddle to play them.

fiddlebarb Says:
Sunday, August 16, 2009 @8:27:11 AM

Hey mudbug, yes I have found the fiddle to be much different than the others I have tried to play. Although for me I do think that I had found the guitar to be more difficult because of the lack of playing melody. For me playing strictly chords I had found to be difficult, I blame it on all my years in choir. I find that instruments in which I play melody are easier for me to learn to play.

fiddlebarb Says:
Sunday, August 16, 2009 @8:50:17 AM

bj yes it is going to be awhile before it all becomes consistent, one of the biggest challenges is keeping that bow from traveling up and down which I know comes from technique. Also learning to just relax by body while playing, it is going to be awhile but I am definitly in it for the long haul.

The jam that I went too is not strictly an OT jam, although last night it had a lot of OT influence, and when I go I will be able to add to that influence. I will have to try using learning blocks of tunes in the same key. It makes sense since it has you focus on certain fingering postions. It also happens to be that 4 diffent tunes that I have been working on are all in the key of D, so the key of D it will be for the next ones when I am ready to add more.

Mandogryl Says:
Sunday, August 16, 2009 @5:37:15 PM

Sorry you had such a bummer of a time with the car.....dang. Hope it is running again.
Re; new fiddle playing at jams - at least you had the guts to attend and even impressed some of the veterans.
My ear training is poor but my sight reading is good. This is not good for jams. But I am forcing myself to leave the mandolin and guitar, two instruments I feel very confident on, home, and only bring the fiddle. How else am I going to learn. Sounds to me as if you are making very good progress. BJ was right, in that if we can stick it out now during our first one or two years, things will get better.
Keep at it. I love your attitude!

bj Says:
Sunday, August 16, 2009 @6:45:02 PM

Barb, the key to keeping the bow parallel to the strings is in bending your thumb and using the tip of it as a pivot point. Remember, your wrist pivots more than one way.

Watch Glenn's wrist in this video, and you'll very clearly see what I'm talking about re the wrist pivot. And it doesn't much matter if your thumb is under frog or on the stick, the same thing will apply with only very minor differences.

http://www.fiddlehangout.com/myhangout/videos.asp?m=d&catID=&id=1690

fiddlebarb Says:
Sunday, August 16, 2009 @10:11:11 PM

Mandogryl, car is almost running, actually it will move but is making an awful squealing noise when the alternator belt is running, the pulley on the front of the steering pump got bent while taking it off of the old pump, so the pulley needs to be replaced fortunately my parents have a car at their place that can be used for parts. Hopefully by next week it will be running like it should again.

I know where you are coming from with the ear training and sight reading. My ear training is not great, although funny thing is for me to be able to play something that I don't know I need to be able to hear it first. My sight reading is passable I am slow at it if I have to figure out the notes, and I usually cheat and write down what the notes are for ease of learning. I tend to get some weird looks, and have gotten a couple of comments when I have done this at workshops. But I figure to each their own, it doesn't matter what methods you use to learn to play a tune as long as you get there and are able to enjoy doing so. I am looking forward to being able to look back a year from now and see the progress that I have hopefully made with this instrument. I am just hoping that in the next couple of years I don't decide that I want to pick up another instrument to start learning. 4 is more than enough at this time and with my new obsession to the fiddle the other 3 have basically been left behind for the time being.

fiddlebarb Says:
Sunday, August 16, 2009 @10:29:42 PM

BJ, I was pretty sure that is my issue. I am getting better at keeping that thumb bent, changing my grip definitly helped me alot with being able to do so, and I have noticed more freedom in my wrist. Just need to keep at it to continue to improve my technique. I have noticed that if I watch how my bow is moving along the strings that I am able to keep it fairly straight, but if I look away for an extended period of time, that the bow will start to travel usually up towards the fingerboard.

Thanks for the video link watched it earlier and watched it again, one of these days I hope that the movement of my wrist will be able to look as fluid and effortless as Glenn's. Until then continual practice and awareness of what I am doing, learning to be able to completly relax and working good techniques into muscle memory.

FiddlerFaddler Says:
Monday, August 17, 2009 @9:29:52 AM

Wow, playing at a jam after only one month - I am impressed! BJ really meant that the bow should be perpendicular to the strings, not parallel. That goes to show that you can be geometrically challenged and still play the fiddle :P

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