Well it has been one month now. Here is where I stand. I have no problem with Mary had a little lamb, I have no problem with the first verse of Bile them cabbage down. I still screw up a bit on Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, but not too bad. I am now working on the second verse of Bile them cabbage down and Liza Jane. I dont know if there are advanced versions of any of these songs, but right now I am primarily using the A and E string. For Bile them Cabbage and Mary had a Little Lamb, I also play them on the D major scale for practice. I stil havent touched the G string much at all, but with some practice I at least am able to get all three fingers to the G string, this was a major struggle early on. My biggest struggle right now is trying to bow straight. I keep slidding across the strings and this makes one darn awful sound. Here is what I have done to try and solve this issue. My instructor taught me to hold the frog with the thumb under the frog, but this seems to make me want to pull the bow in a big arc. When I started using my thumb under the stick "I think you call this the classical violin way?" I am able to get a better rhythm and use my wrist a bit more. I am really trying to follow Jims excercises on fiddlehub. I think they are the key to helping me bow straight. I havent met with my instructor for a couple weeks now, I meet with him Memorial day..of all days. I know he will probably want the thumb going back under the frog. I really think he does this because he sure likes to bear down on the fiddle. He tightens the heck outta his bow and the part about playing the bow by leaning it back a bit. Not him. Its lay the strings flat and give her heck! So, needless to say the internet help I get and the instruction I get from me instructor really have me second guessing sometimes. I refuse to give up though. I practice every night weather I want to or not. Ask my kids they will tell you, this is a fact, LOL
1 comment
on “1 Month down”
Thibodeaux Says: Thursday, May 15, 2008 @10:26:17 AM
I started fiddle lessons in June of 2007, so last summer I was exactly where you are right now. For the first several months (it was about four or five months for me) the learning curve tends to be very gradual, and then, happily enough, it suddenly steepens out while you're not paying attention. So if you keep at it, practicing daily, you'll notice that certain things start to "click" for you unexpectedly. I'm so surprised how far I've come in just a year -- I'm definitely not musically gifted, so the thing I can credit is daily practice, and an hour lesson each week. It's a weird wonderful instrument!
