Way back in 1976 or so.. I was just beginning to fiddle. I sought out old fiddlers in my area of Bedford, Indiana and had little luck getting someone to take me under their wing.. Finally, I met some guys who got together regularly to play Cowboy songs. You know, like Tumbling Tumbleweed... They were willing to give a 'listen'. Problem is, they had been playing with this young fiddler, RON STEWART.. (now quite famous..) At that time he was just about 9 years old and had been fiddling since he was 3....and Boy could he fiddle..
So... when I met with the Cowboy band, they expected me to be able to play like Ronnie.. They'd say, "OK, you can 'kick in' any time on this tune.'' thinkin' I could do what Ronnie did.. Well I wasn't even IN TUNE and couldn't tap my foot and play.. They were comparing me to Ron and I didn't stand a chance..
Looking back, it wasn't good or bad, just another story to tell about the trials and tribulations of learning to fiddle without guidance..
Do you have a story about the trials and tribulations of learning to fiddle..? I'd like to hear it.
No matter what instrument or style might have caught my fancy over the years (and there have been many of them), I've found it a rare thing indeed to find others who share both my tastes and skill levels. It doesn't help that egos run rampant in the musical universe. Even mellow, two chord jams on the back porch can have their share of awkward moments. My rock-and-roll days were especially trying, and the sound volume didn't exactly help my hearing acuity either. Yeah, jes' call me the Lonesome Fiddler. 
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Originally posted by Lonesome FiddlerNo matter what instrument or style might have caught my fancy over the years (and there have been many of them), I've found it a rare thing indeed to find others who share both my tastes and skill levels. It doesn't help that egos run rampant in the musical universe. Even mellow, two chord jams on the back porch can have their share of awkward moments. My rock-and-roll days were especially trying, and the sound volume didn't exactly help my hearing acuity either. Yeah, jes' call me the Lonesome Fiddler.
Made me laugh.. I was a lonesome/persistent fiddler..
Yeah i've got plenty of embarrasing tales of when i was not good enough for others expectations. Probably most times i walked around with a fiddle case on my back, and folk asked "What you got in the case?".
But they are totally outweighed by all the good times i have had without having a clue what i was doing. just playing and enjoying it, and probably making a fool of myself at the same time. Good times!
i still dont have much of a clue, but it's a good thing (for me), that i still enjoy trying, and still enjoy making a fool of myself doing so. Seems the better time i have, the better time other folk have also, (or am i just imagining that?). Win Win! Fiddling is Great!
Bro, when I started back in like '72, there was NOTHING! Nothing except listen hard to records (you might remember those flat black plastic discs?). I found a jam on Sundays in Central Park. Inner circle, people like Kenny Koseks , Bill Keiths and others. Next circle was good, semi pro pickers. Next was the intermediate players - keep time, play in tune, know chord changes and maybe a few melody lines. Then there was the outer circle of Hell where I was, for many months. I had a fiddle, a good ear and some VERY rudimentary musical knowledge from playing bass in a rock band. I had to teach myself scales and intonation. How to use a bow, which was HUGE. Took me many years to figure out double stops on my own. I developed lots of bad habits and techniques which had to be unlearned over the decades. BUT I also figured it all on my own so there was a lot of good knowledge too and when you figure something out on your own (and its right) boy you really know it and understand it.
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Originally posted by pete_fiddleYeah i've got plenty of embarrasing tales of when i was not good enough for others expectations. Probably most times i walked around with a fiddle case on my back, and folk asked "What you got in the case?".
But they are totally outweighed by all the good times i have had without having a clue what i was doing. just playing and enjoying it, and probably making a fool of myself at the same time. Good times!
i still dont have much of a clue, but it's a good thing (for me), that i still enjoy trying, and still enjoy making a fool of myself doing so. Seems the better time i have, the better time other folk have also, (or am i just imagining that?). Win Win! Fiddling is Great!
EXACTLY.. I'm long past the need to prove anything..I just play/busk to please myself.. I'm always available to help young fiddlers but those I meet seem to be either already pretty good and or are so insecure that they are their own worse enemies.!!!
I was fortunate to have supportive musicians to play with in my early fiddling days. I also was already a very accomplished guitar player so my fellow pickers, who didn't play fiddle or even get to hear one often if ever, were very forgiving and encouraging. The guys I play with now are all great on their instruments and still are forgiving of some of the hilarious sounds I make when I feel like trying something new, or if I just lose myself for a measure or two.
Only when I started playing bluegrass did I feel like it was going to be found out as being a pretender. First gig, after maybe 3-4 practices, was a gig they had out of state for a MBOTMA winter festival (Minnesota) in front of an audience that knew what bluegrass sounds like. Never have I sweat so much without running. It was, to me, a disaster. The guys were nothing but positive and there were compliments from some in attendance on my nice old timey fiddle sound. Even today I feel a bit like an old time fiddler playing at being a bluegrass fiddler. I've never tried to copy the vast catalog of BG fiddle licks, I play what I want, mostly influenced by my band mates.
oh my... (oops, sorry) ..."woe is me"
This comes from my own "doin" - short of the long - I decided a few months back to start playing mandolin during our re-start of Monday night sessions.
For a few reasons our small group has gotten smaller. Most of us play more than one instrument. So, we all play a different instrument - caus' it sounds good. I get to play fiddle when its just me and my buddy Doug (banjo). But on Monday nights, even Doug plays guitar. And when Doug can't make it (surgery) I play guitar. I kind of feel sorry for Doug a bit, he does play fiddle too.
Anyway - the "woe is me" part: Well, I played OT mandolin a lot more at one time in the past. And I always play my fiddle crosstuned. Now, I've been playing more melody than chords on the mando, and... (guess you can tell where I'm going with this) ...I'm getting to play a lot with a red face, while grinning and shaking my head while looking down. Now don't get me wrong, I'm doing well enough on tunes the tunes I know on the fiddle - but sometimes my crosstuning muscle memory will throw me off. And boy when it does, it seems like a hopeless task for me to "fix it" on the fly. I just make it worse trying to figure out what I know, I know. And then all I can say is "woe is me".
Come to think of it, i don't think i learned to play fiddle at all....i just played, and thought i would figure out "How" to play later on 
Still figuring....With the help of good folk like yourselves
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Originally posted by tonyelder
Most of us play more than one instrument. So, we all play a different instrument - caus' it sounds good.
Don't it though?!
...I'm getting to play a lot with a red face, while grinning and shaking my head while looking down... sometimes my crosstuning muscle memory will throw me off. And boy when it does, it seems like a hopeless task for me to "fix it" on the fly.
Woe is you, but a perfect description. I feel you, been there many times, smiling and shaking my head, usually also audibly laughing at the situation. Like I am right now.
Edited by - ChickenMan on 12/06/2024 19:17:35
So you guys are playing Bluegrass cross-tuned?
Tune for every key, or several fiddles?
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Originally posted by farmerjonesSo you guys are playing Bluegrass cross-tuned?
Tune for every key, or several fiddles?
All of my fiddling is OT fiddle tunes, mainly because I play crosstuned, There are 3 of us in the group that play fiddle - all pretty good I might add. I'm the only one who plays crosstuned. None of us play fiddle outside of OT. Doug focuses on Mississippi tunes, and Ritchie plays alot of New England and French tunes (he's from PA / DC area). I'm all over the place (mutt).
All of my other instruments will be tuned in standard for playing old time. But I do like to play in drop D tuning on guitar when I can - outside of OT. I'll re-tune as needed.
It has been our habit / routine to stay in the key we start out with for the session. Same thing when we play out somewhere. Occasionally we will change keys - but its rare.
just to add - I did get a few fiddles fit with the geared "Perfection" pegs, so if we did want to start re-tuning more it would less of an issue. But that's not the only reason. They work great. The look natural. They pretty much eliminate the need for fine tuners. And they DON" T SLIP. I planning to get one more done.
Edited by - tonyelder on 12/07/2024 07:48:28
A guy brought me in one time to put some stuff on a CD he was making. He evidently assumed, for some reason, that I was much more of a musician than I was. On one of his songs, I couldn't seem to play what he wanted. He was getting frustrated and I was getting frustrated. I never got it. It ended up with both of us dissatisfied, and resentful of each other (temporarily, at least). That's the whole story. Just another fond memory from my musical life ... !
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Originally posted by Old ScratchA guy brought me in one time to put some stuff on a CD he was making. He evidently assumed, for some reason, that I was much more of a musician than I was. On one of his songs, I couldn't seem to play what he wanted. He was getting frustrated and I was getting frustrated. I never got it. It ended up with both of us dissatisfied, and resentful of each other (temporarily, at least). That's the whole story. Just another fond memory from my musical life ... !
Yeah, i have a catalogue of those, But maybe not in a recording context.....i wonder why folk seem to assume that fiddlers can play anything and everything?..
....This one is in E but goes to a B on the middle 8..... Oh no, sorry, i mean F#, as they apply the capo and start pranging on an out of tune guitar.....
I was so upset the French violin luthier specialist over here pointed out my old fiddle that I bought from a slovakian gypsy violinist had a lowered neck and that a lower playability was the consequence of this that it actually kept me from playing it again. I found it back today because my good fiddle is at the luthier who sold it to me.
Can't understand why this elite specialist opinion prevented me from picking up the old fiddle for I think maybe more than a year. Glad to have it back!!! It doesn't bother me at all now hehe.
Edited by - Quincy on 12/07/2024 15:39:00
I’m one of those new but not young fiddlers that’s just starting to learn that would much appreciate having a wing to put over my head.
If there’s anyone in the northern Illinois area that would be willing to take me under their wing, and to let me hang out and watch and listen and learn - i’d be much obliged!
Thanks!
Robert
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Originally posted by IllinoisGreenhornI’m one of those new but not young fiddlers that’s just starting to learn that would much appreciate having a wing to put over my head.
If there’s anyone in the northern Illinois area that would be willing to take me under their wing, and to let me hang out and watch and listen and learn - i’d be much obliged!
Thanks!
Robert
Robert, were you able to talk with Laura?
Yes, and thank you so much for putting her in touch with me Lee. I haven’t heard back from her after our initial exchange, but at that point she was not able to put me in touch with anyone in northern Illinois.
Thanks!!
When I think Illinois, I think of Lynn 'chirps' Smith. Don't know him. Never met him. But what do you have to lose?
Thanks, Steve, much appreciated. I’ll see if I can sleuth him down.
Edited by - IllinoisGreenhorn on 12/09/2024 13:18:13
"Chirps" is a member here, although not very active, so you can probably send him a PM.
Have you contacted the Old Town School of Folk Music?
Thanks, I found his email.
Yes, I’ve taken lessons at the old town school of folk music. However, it’s a 90 minute drive each way and I’m looking for more than just lessons, I’d like to get involved in way that allows me to be more immersed and learn more rapidly and thoroughly.
Thanks for the suggestions though.
