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I have been playing the violin for 7 years, and it's been classical music, and I want to learn how to play country/bluegrass on it. How can I do this? Is there any books you can recommend?

2007-03-19 04:18:12 · 5 answers · asked by thinkGREEN 3 in Arts & Humanities Performing Arts

5 answers

OK. Here's the lowdown from an old, old fiddle player - who is also classically trained, by the way...

I will go out and say this - the difference between a violinist and a fiddle player is attitude. A fiddler will take risks. A violinist hesitates.

The Fiddler's Fake Book - about $16 from Amazon.com is a good start. It will give you the tunes under your fingers. here are some other books

O'Neil's Book of Irish Fiddle Tunes
The Old Fiddler's Repertory (sp)
Bluegrass Fiddle Collection

As a violinist, I'm guessing you have a good ear. Listen to good fiddlers - Kenny Baker, Chubby Wise, Joe Venuti, Stephan Grappelli (sp), Johnny Gimble, Bobby Hicks, Bob Wills, John Hartford, and a host of others whose names escape me right now. Listen to them. I mean REALLY listen to them. Listen to how they fill in little gaps and such - not just their solos. LISTEN A LOT - A WHOLE LOT

Notice that often it's not what you play - it's what you don't play that counts. It also helps to play notes no one is expecting - like a 9th over a root or an augmented doublestop. Yeah. Play what people aren't expecting - but make sure it sounds good. That's practice.

Play with others. Go to Jam sessions and follow along. Politely ask the "masters" to show you the ropes. Trust me, they'll help - but you have to be polite and patient. If they refuse, chalk it up to being a master. The true key will be how polite and how respectful you are. Trust me. It will take time but by being polite and respectful, you'll get under their skin and they'll help.

If you're lucky, learn to play square dance music - and learn how to dance too. Yep. I mean it. You'll learn the tunes - believe me you'll learn them - and by dancing you'll get a good idea for tempos, etc.

Start slow - don't expect to be on the Grand Old Oprey for a little while yet - but keep plugging on. Remember, you're at an advantage because you can already play your instrument in tune and in tempo. That's a big hurdle a lot of self-taught players struggle with all the time.

The hardest thing a "classical" musician will face will be improvising. All too often we can play anything in front of us - all too often, the best fiddlers only play by ear - they don't read music. That's where listening to other players comes in.

Oh by the way - JSBach, Luly, even Mozart were fiddlers. They left a lot of room for "interpretation." Oh and, ever wonder how cadenzas were born? Talk about improvisation...

Good show! Best of luck. If you're in Chapel WV some saturday night, I promise I'll take you under my wing.

I see there are other violinist/fiddlers out there - The invitation to the Saturday Night Jam/Concert at Chapel WV extends to you, too - so long as you're polite and sober.

2007-03-19 07:29:40 · answer #1 · answered by Barbara B 7 · 1 0

You can try searching at sharmusic.com for certain types of books that will help you learn the certain style for country/bluegrass. You could probably start with something more advanced since you've been playing for 7 years, and it shouldn't be too difficult to change your style. Most of your bow strokes will just become shorter and more accented.


Good luck!

2007-03-19 11:31:33 · answer #2 · answered by Eh-prill 1 · 0 0

I'm in the exact same situation, and actually I've had more success from sitting through concerts and talking with other "lifetime" fiddlers than learning from a book. It's all about listening and feeling the music. Go to some concerts and meet with some bands.

2007-03-19 12:28:05 · answer #3 · answered by once_upn_atime 2 · 0 0

There are lots of books on Fiddling. Try a search on the Amazon web site.

2007-03-19 11:21:40 · answer #4 · answered by Clown Knows 7 · 0 0

if there are lemme know! im on year 9..contemporary or anything other than classical is fun

2007-03-19 20:39:26 · answer #5 · answered by HK 2 · 0 0

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