Picking Locks with a Barlow Knife

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Posted by edkarch on Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Endif and I are both beginner fiddle freeks. We were just grinding along, Her with music books and me faking it in a bluegrass jam. She wanted to get a fiddle lesson to see if everything was being done correctly (She is an engineer, exactly right is a genetic defect of engineers. I’m an aggie we just spread on some more fertilizer). We made a connection with fiddling Dave Van Deventer over on the Shenandoah. It is 100 miles round trip and $40/hr. for the two of us together, so it isn’t a once a week trip. The first lesson is a getting to know you where we feel each other out. What level are we and can he do us any good?

The second lesson will indicate how this relationship will work out. I don’t remember what all we did for the hour it went pretty fast. The last thing he did was to have us record a song for us to take home and learn. It was Barlow Knife. This is a simple tune is in three parts A, B, and a C part. It is in D and will give you a work out on the notes in the D scale. That was four weeks ago. Results: Endif can now learn songs by ear and has done so. My randomly flailing left hand digits have settled down and are finding the notes all by themselves. I picked up four new tunes and can play them with double stops. Barlow Knife was a magic key that unlocked a bunch of problem areas for both of us.

4 comments on “Picking Locks with a Barlow Knife”

M-D Says:
Wednesday, January 20, 2010 @10:45:39 AM

How cool for you'ns! :o)

mudbug Says:
Wednesday, January 20, 2010 @12:49:24 PM

Now THAT'S a lesson! Congrats!

robinja Says:
Wednesday, January 20, 2010 @2:11:04 PM

Now you should pick out Barlow Knife in G, which is where we normally play it (unless our friend Peter is singing it.) That should give you another good workout! Good to hear about your progress!