Tips & Tricks: Step-by-Step – Why it is Important to Learn to Fiddle at Your Own Speed

Periodically I come up against the same dilemma:  it feels like everyone else in the world is progressing really quickly, in whatever way, and like I am moving very slowly.  In the end I always achieve more success when I remember that I need to progress at my own speed.  This applies to all aspects of life, including learning the fiddle.

I have noticed that many of my adult students have this same concern.  “Am I learning at a normal speed?”    This is a question that I often hear from my students.   Our concern about “normal” is interesting.  I have watched students at fiddle camps get frustrated because other students are learning at a faster speed.

So, what is the problem with comparing yourself with others?  Often it can get discouraging.  The more time you spend worrying about how well others are doing, the less time you are putting into your own progress.  Also, the more frustrated you get, the worse things seem to go.  I have experienced this many times!  There seems to be a loop of negative feedback where the more you want to progress, the worse you get, the worse you feel, and the more others seem to be getting ahead!

What is the solution to this?  Focus on your own progress, compete with yourself, and relax.  Traveling at your own speed works out for the best, and you will actually progress faster in the end.

photo credit: Evalia England via photopin cc

2012 in Review: A Year in the Life of a Fiddler

It’s hard to believe that another year has passed, and what a year it has been!

The highlight for me this year was being recognized as Classical Artist of the Year by Music NB.  I was shocked that I won the award, but delighted at the same time!  I figured this would be a good time to look back at my goals for the year and let you know how I did…

Goal #1:  Improving my health.  This goal is going really well!  I have become completely obsessed with food, and have been spending more time in the kitchen, and a lot more time chopping veggies!  I have lost 20lbs this year, which brings me to a total loss of 60lbs over the past 3 years.  Honestly, those weren’t the numbers I was hoping for, but I will take them!  I am really proud of myself for maintaining and continuing to loose weight over 3 years.

Goal #2:  Perform the cello in public.  I have now done my first professional gig on the cello.  I played solo cello for a wedding in October.  I was absolutely terrified, but it was a great experience, and now the next time won’t be so scary!

Goal #3:  Give back to my community more.  I still feel the need to work on this more.  I have been taking some of my groups around to perform in hospitals and retirement homes on a volunteer basis, but will be looking for more ideas for 2013.

Goal #4:  Be more proactive in my business.  Things are going really well with my business.  I have redesigned my website, gotten my in-box under control, blogged twice a month, sent out newsletters twice a month, been more active on facebook and twitter, have joined a couple of on-line fiddle forums, have been updating my records every month, and in general, just feel like I am more organized than ever before.  I still have days when I feel completely overwhelmed and that I will never get everything done, but in general I am please with how things are going!

Goal #5:  Record and release a CD of Christmas music.  This project has been tabled for right now as I don’t think it should be my focus at this time.  Perhaps you will see this goal pop up again next year!

Goal #6:  Start a series on intimate concerts in the style of house concerts.  Success!  I held a total of 6 concerts in my studio this year.  I went through a little period of doubt in the summer and was considering tabling the whole plan, but got back into it and had two great concerts in the fall.  I will definitely be continuing with this next year.

Now it is time to look ahead to the  New Year and decide where to go next!

 

CDs of 2012

Now that we are into December and nearing the end of the year, many publications are coming up with lists of “The Best of 2012.”  I am going to join in with my own list of CDs.  These are all excellent CDs that I am come in contact with through the year, some from groups that I had heard before, and some from groups that were new to me.  Some CDs were released in past years and some were just released this year.  I hope you have a chance to check out the music from some of these groups.

1.  Sprag Session – Sprag Session formerly known as the Colin Grant Band

This is a great band out of Cape Breton with front man and fiddler Colin Grant.  I first heard them at the EMCAs in Charlottetown in 2011 and again at the NB Highland Games in Fredericton that same year, where they were a huge hit.  This is their first CD as a band.  This is a great CD.  Be sure to check these guys out live if you ever have the chance as they are even better in person!

http://spragsession.com/

2.     Ten Strings and a Goat Skin – Tri

This trio of young men from PEI mix traditional fiddle, guitar, bodhran and song with original songs and tunes.  I heard them first at the ECMAs in Moncton this year.  They too were a huge hit at the NB Highland Games in Fredericton this year.  They have grown beyond their debut CD and I believe are in the process of recording a second CD.  Keep your eyes and ears open for these young men!

http://tenstringsandagoatskin.com/

3.  Rubicon – Live in P Major and Mary Mac

This band from Ireland has just released their third CD Mary Mac. I have not heard it yet, but I know their second album Live in P Major is excellent.  Francine has a wonderful voice combined with the fabulous fiddle of Dolcie, the great guitar of Ciaran and the amazing accordion/midi of Haensel.  This group performed at the NB Highland Games in 2012 to great acclaim.  Everyone fell in love with the band.

http://www.rubiconcelticrock.com/

4.  Mason’s Tender – Mason’s Tender

Fronted by Bryon Chase, this band has become a staple at festivals and pubs around NB such at the Miramichi Irish Festival , NB Highland Games, O’Donaghue’s Pub (Miramichi, NB), and the Old Triangle Pub (Moncton, NB).  This is their debut CD as a band and has a strong Celtic/country feel to it.

http://www.sonicbids.com/2/EPK/?epk_id=143492

5.  Stacey Read – Not Forgotten

Stacey has been one of my favourite fiddlers since I first hear her perform with the band Banshee many years ago.  We have since worked together on several occasions and I continue to love her Old Tyme style of fiddling.   Stacey currently plays fiddle with Mason’s Tender.

If you have any suggestions for music well worth listening to, please let me know by replying below!

Tips & Tricks: Know when to walk away…

You have been practicing really hard, you have been making progress, and now things seem to be getting worse instead of better.  It feels like nothing is working and like you have completely forgotten how to play the violin/fiddle.  I am sure that we have all been there!  So, on a day like that, what do you do?

1.  Don’t panic and don’t beat yourself up!  This happens to professional musicians as well, so it is nothing to worry about, but is incredibly frustrating!

2.  Slow the passage down to see if you can play it slowly.  Sometimes if I can prove to myself that I can play the passage slowly, I am able to speed it up again.

3.  If that doesn’t work, try to play something else.  Something familiar, something that you enjoy and can play well.  I like to do this just to see if I can break whatever pattern is occurring.  I sometimes do this in lessons with my students as well if they are having trouble with a passage on a given day.

4.  If you really can’t seem to get beyond the frustration, step away from the violin and come back to it later.  At this point it is good to do something unrelated to music.  Go for a walk, read a book, or do something that will relax you.  Once you hit a certain point with frustration, you can actually just be compounding the problem by continuing on.  Sometimes I return to the passage later that day, sometimes I wait until the next day.

I don’t have a good reason for why this happens, but I do still days like this at times!  I hope that you don’t experience this too often, but remember when you do, that you are not alone, and it will get better!

If you have any good suggestions for how to beat these days, please leave a reply below.

photo credit: thecrazyfilmgirl via photopin cc

Tips & Tricks: Four easy steps to playing sixteenth notes evenly

Have you ever been playing a piece with a lot of sixteenth notes and found that they were sounding uneven? I have a trick that will help you to even out your playing! I was introduced to this technique by my high school violin teacher and have used it ever since with great success!

Here are the 4 easy steps to playing sixteenth notes evenly using this sample passage:

1. Get your metronome. Your metronome is your friend when you are trying to solve rhythm and evenness issues. I usually slow the passage down while working on it, but if you already have the notes down, it may not be necessary.

2. Play the passage using the following rhythm:

3. Play the passage again using this second rhythm:

4. Play the passage as it was originally written.

You will find that once you have used the two altered rhythms (especially the second one) that playing the passage with straight sixteenth notes is much easier, that your rhythm is much more steady, and likely you will even be able to play it faster than before.

Why is that? Well, when you think about it, to play the dotted rhythms, you have had to move your fingers and your twice as fast as when you were playing the straight sixteenth notes, so by playing both the dotted rhythms, in a way you had to play the whole passage as thirty-second notes.

Likely, it will not be enough to play the passage once through each way and be able to play it perfectly once you are done. Spend some time on each step and make sure that you are playing all the notes in the correct rhythm and that your bow and left-hand fingers are coordinated. Depending on how long the passage is, it can be a challenge to maintain the rhythm in step three.

This is a tried and true technique that is one of the most useful in my toolbox. Let me know how it works out for you!

photo credit: amandabhslater via photopin cc

Searching for a violist

Last year I had a fabulous string quartet.  The four of us played well together, we were starting to get a nice blended sound, and we enjoyed spending time together.  Sadly, my violist moved away, leaving me needed a four member to the quartet, and so the search began.

This is a challenge that occurs with all groups at some point!  A friend of mine recently was looking for a bass player for her rock band so we were going through the process of looking for a new musician at the same time.

I have to admit that as I get older, what I look for in a musician has changed!  Through the years I have played in many musical groups, with a wide range of people with varying personalities and skill levels.  I have played with fabulous musicians who were a real pain to work with, and I have played with less skilled musicians who were lovely!

So, what do I look for now?  The best of all worlds would be a great person that you like to spend time with who is an excellent musician.  These people do exist!  However, if I can’t find that person, here is what I look for in order of importance:

1. Personality – Let’s face it.  You are going to spend hours of rehearsal with this person as well as hours in the car driving to gigs.  You really want to be able to enjoy all of that time!  The time you are on stage is only a brief portion of all the time you spend together!
2. Reliability – I really want to know that my musicians are going to show up for rehearsal and most importantly for gigs!  I want to know that they will be there on time with everything that they need.
3. Being a Team Player – I like working with people who are willing to give their opinions and will to take criticism.  I want the whole group to sound the best it can, so anyone who wants to showboat is not welcome!
4. Musical ability – Yes…  This one is number four.  I used to put a lot more importance on it, but I have played with musicians who have improved drastically over the time we worked together.  Weak skills can be improved upon with work and time.

So, I am sure that you all want to know…  I found a fourth member for my quartet and my friend found a bass player for her band.  We both feel really good about our choices!  I hope that you all have as much luck finding musicians to play in your groups!

photo credit: Daveybot via photopin cc

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Christmas music is incredibly polarizing. Where do you stand? Do you love it? Do you hate it? The other day on twitter, Jian Ghomeshi tweeted that we should not be playing Christmas music until December. This led to a barrage of tweets and retweets about the topic with, by the sounds of it, most people agreeing with him.

I happen to love Christmas, and I love the music that comes with it, which is really good since I teach violin/fiddle lessons and will be hearing Silent Night many times between now and December 25th. My students are always excited about learning Christmas music because these songs are familiar to them. These are tunes that they have heard every year for their whole lives.

The only restriction that I put on working on Christmas music is that I chose not to teach it until after Halloween. This seems like a good balance for not working on it for four months, but still having long enough that my students can play the music well by the Christmas recital.

I do understand though the frustration with having Christmas music played in the malls as soon as Halloween is over. I fully agree with the idea of generally not having Christmas music playing until December 1st. There are always exceptions to every rule, but I think that the stores and malls could wait until December 1st anyway, if for no other reason than the sanity of the people who work there! I will personally continue to enjoy all of my students playing their Christmas music from now until the recital!

photo credit: ClaraDon via photopin cc

Never trust the quiet ones!

Just this past week I had a breakthrough with one of my private violin students.  Not only did she speak to me, but called me by name.  This is a child who had not spoken to me since she started lessons in September.

This is not the first time I have had a student who would not speak to me.  I had another who did not speak for about two years.  The thing I find interesting with quiet students is that often their parents try really hard to get them to talk to me.  I actually have no problem with non-speaking students.   I relate to these children!

When I was a child I was extremely shy.  I did not speak to my teachers unless it was absolutely necessary, certainly did not talk to my neighbours, and often managed to get my teachers to let me stay inside during recess.  This was my public face.  At home I was a talkative, bubbly child.  It was always a surprise to my friends to come over to my house and see me in my home environment.  My mom was telling me the other day that she thinks I was in junior high before I actually spoke to any of our neighbours.

With my students, I always try to give them the time and space to become comfortable with me and to start speaking on their own terms.  There has so far always come a time when the child has started speaking, in both cases calling me by name.  Even as a person who is shy by nature, it still surprised me, however I did my best not to react too much.  Nothing will make a shy child clam up more than someone making a big deal over him/her speaking!

I know that for some people who are more outgoing it is odd to run into someone who is not interested in speaking a whole lot.  With most children, it really is just a matter of time and comfort.  I went from being a very shy child to now being a musician and teacher.  I have been self-employed for at least 6 years now and have to be in communication with others all the time.  I love being on stage and in the spotlight.  You never know that a child will end up doing later in life!

A New Year!

I love this time of year.  Actually, I love many times of the year!  The thing I love about right now is that it is a chance to start over!  It is a chance to look at where you are and decide where you want to go.  I try not to get too much into the New Year’s resolution, but I certainly spend some time evaluating my life and looking at what I want to change.  So, what are my goals for this year?

Goal #1:  Continue working on improving my health.  I have lost 40 pounds since January of 2010.  The year 2011 was a hard year as I lost weight, gained it back when my father died, lost weight again, and then gained weight at Christmas…  I think in 2011 that in the end I stayed the same weight.  I know that weight is not the best way to evaluate your health, but for me a number is something to work with…  No set goals, but I want to continue on my path of improving…

Goal #2:  Perform the cello in public.  I have been taking cello lesson for two years now and have only played in public at student recitals and the Fredericton Music Festival.  I think it will soon be time to take it public!

Goal #3:  Give back to my community more.  I am really lucky to be able to be a professional musician.  It is a lot of work, but I feel like I am lucky to be able to work for myself doing something that I love!  I really can’t imagine working a day job now.  I quit my last day job in 2005…  I do feel though like I take a lot and don’t give back as much…  I feel like I am always asking people to buy my CD, pay money to come see me perform…  I have a project in mind for giving back, so more will come of this later!

Goal #4:  Become more proactive in all of my business so that I can deal with everything in a timely manner and not end up always being reactive and working in a panic.  I have been working on returning phone calls and e-mails more promptly yet feel there is still room for improvement.

Goal #5:  Record and release a CD of Christmas music.

Goal #6:  Start a series of intimate concerts in the style of house concerts.  Keep posted for the first concert in February!

There are many more goals I am sure, but this is what has come to mind for now.  Hopefully I will accomplish some of these goals.  They are all achievable, so now to work!