Posted by brya31 on Thursday, March 17, 2011
I have had to dramatically drop off my fiddle playing in the last couple months due to issues in the home, but he craziest thing is that I think it helped me. Last night was the first time I picked up my fiddle in a month. I thought, what the heck. I am going to play Soldiers Joy. I have always hated and loved this song. I love to hear others play it and I hate to hear me play it. For some reason, I played it and liked how I played it. Keep in mind, when I played every day, I totally hated the way I sounded. Last night, I seem to be more aware of how it should sound. I have made a conscious goal now to get back on track and get back in the rhythm I used to have. I think time away has helped me get out of some bad habits. : )
14 comments on “Time off actually seems to have helped me”
Cyndy Says:
Thursday, March 17, 2011 @9:17:59 AM
Hi Rob. Nice to hear from you and nice to hear that you're back fiddling better than ever. Keep that bow moving. Battleground's just around the corner.
mudbug Says:
Thursday, March 17, 2011 @12:27:02 PM
Congrats, Rob! Maybe you had no expectations and were able to tune in to the pure essesnce of the fiddle.
bj Says:
Thursday, March 17, 2011 @3:42:06 PM
Best not to take the time off, but if it helped . . . Maybe it gave you some perspective. I'm glad to see you back.
bsed55 Says:
Thursday, March 17, 2011 @7:11:27 PM
I've had the same experience where I don't play for awhile, maybe because I didn't like my sound, and then after awhile I start again and it sounds good! Who knows why?
FiddleJammer Says:
Friday, March 18, 2011 @2:07:49 AM
There's an aspect to learning to play the fiddle that has nothing to do with actually playing the fiddle. Our brains work things out, concepts dawn on us, we come to realizations that happen as a result of not playing, but thinking about playing. A way to boost this process is to listen to tunes when we can't fiddle.
I think you made an excellent discovery!
brya31 Says:
Friday, March 18, 2011 @3:58:17 AM
Bj, taking time off was not by choice. : (
Cyndy Says:
Friday, March 18, 2011 @4:35:24 AM
Sounds like hard times . . . Hope that being back to fiddling means that things are looking up. : )
Humbled by this instrument Says:
Friday, March 18, 2011 @11:19:30 AM
Okay okay, I'm gonna just quit. That way I'll be a better fiddler years from now! Okay ookay, FiddleJammer, once again, said what I would've said if only I had the sagacity she does.
bj Says:
Friday, March 18, 2011 @5:51:49 PM
Yeah, Terri does have that knack, doesn't she? If I didn't like her so dang much it would be annoying. ;-)
Sorry to hear you've been that crazy. Reminds me of a bumper sticker I saw the other day. it said "OH NO! Not another Life Lesson! RUN!"
FiddleJammer Says:
Friday, March 18, 2011 @10:34:34 PM
Teehee. i like you's guys, too! I rested my fiddle fingers all afternoon making beans and greens, and some leek soup. Put all my mp3's on shuffle and played away in my mind. :-) Cooking makes the kitchen smell better than fiddling, I guess.
Cyndy Says:
Saturday, March 19, 2011 @5:01:14 AM
How many times have I put something on the stove, picked up the fiddle, and then rushed a smoking, smelling pan out the door? Fiddles and kitchens don't mix.
FiddleJammer's right, though. Back when I was practicing piano (I don't anymore) I saw the same magic from taking time off that you've seen with fiddle.
FiddleJammer Says:
Saturday, March 19, 2011 @7:08:33 AM
FiddleJammer Says:
Sunday, March 20, 2011 @12:38:58 AM
HaHa, I left a post surrounded by carrots or whatever they're called, you know, increasing and decreasing. Well, looks like the hangout code thought it was code for don't display my comment. Which was: going to the dictionary to look up sagacity. :-)
devilsbox Says:
Sunday, March 20, 2011 @1:52:47 PM
Say what you want. I've gone months without picking up a fiddle. When I get back into it I often find myself doing things I could or did not do before. I always attributed that to listening while I wasn't playing.
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