Ozarkian DL Says:
Thursday, April 16, 2009 @5:15:14 AM

8 weeks....?.....it's there my friend....rudimentary requirement
wut jus needs refined some. We
all been there. Ur off with a great
start. There's only 3 things required ....practice, practice, practice. Welcome to FHO & happy fiddlin to ya.

abica Says:
Thursday, April 16, 2009 @8:02:04 AM

Why thankyee! I've found that fiddle flows better than guitar, even though there's no frets to fix your intonation for ya.

mudbug Says:
Saturday, April 25, 2009 @4:44:22 AM

Dude, You're doing GREAT for 8 wks. I'm about a month ahead of you in this journey and am struggling w/ the same things you are. You're obviosly a musician already, and it's standing you in good stead. You've got good intonation, but what I find very frustrating is if the bow goes too slow the note can be flat, even when your finger placement is right.
Keep at it!!!!!

abica Says:
Saturday, April 25, 2009 @10:39:49 AM

Thanks! I wish I would have recorded our jam last night- playing with someone who's very skilled helps a lot- something solid to follow. That was always my "secret" on harmonica- I sat in a few songs once a week for a couple years with a great band that played blues and r&b standards, and people thought I was actually a really good harmonica player ;) They gave me the framework to build on- I guess harmonica's a bit like fiddle with a band, it can play leads, but also slide in and out of the mix. (although a harp and a mic makes that really easy, much easier than controlling volume/presence with a fiddle)

I've been taking advantage of not finishing up my degree and just working 40 hours a week with no family responsibilities- I can really get a lot of practice and playing in a week, with the advantage of being relaxed and picking times when I'm in the mood. For me, the psych. setting makes a big difference too.

I've also noticed, through use of the tuner as a monitoring device, how much bowing effects pitch. That will be a great dynamics tool some day.