fiddle players

**billkilpatrick** · Sep-07-2009, 5:39pm

i've been given the use of - what i now know to be - a tenor, viola da gamba. it's a well-made replica instrument, tuned in 4ths - confusing and guitar like but made comprehensible by omitting the 1st and 6th strings and tuned like a viola (CGDA). it has gut strings and sounds ok-ish ...

i think catmandu2's fiddle group deserves some support - can we shift discussions there? ... especially as i have a particular lot of questions concerning strings and some observations concerning what's available on ebay here in europe (vis-à-vis fiddles) as opposed to what you'awl can expect to find in the states.

as it is ... old fiddle + new carbon-fiber/horse-hair bow + nylon core strings seems to be where i'm going. a lovely woman in our village demonstrated the suppleness required in the bowing hand and i've got this image of a pale, slim wrist wavering back and forth before me with mesmerizing fluidity.

great stuff ...

**catmandu2** · Sep-07-2009, 6:02pm

Bill, my reply is over on the group thread.

**David M.** · Sep-08-2009, 2:57pm

Hey Bill. I see you posted a home page on FiddleHangOut. It's a great resource for uploading tunes.

I've been fiddling about 15 or so years.

**JeffD** · Sep-08-2009, 5:38pm

Learning the fiddle has really improved my manolin playing!

But the fiddle is a very jealous instrument - it refuses to be anyone's second instrument. I find that playing/practicing it twice a week is just enough to keep it a painful experience, but not enough to improve.

I am making a major investment in a fiddle in a bit, so I need to get better. To deserve the violin I put a down payment on.

**catmandu2** · Sep-08-2009, 5:52pm

Jeff, the fiddle will let you be her second...(oh, if you join our group, that is..

)

**billkilpatrick** · Sep-08-2009, 6:04pm

apropos of nothing in particular - and in consideration of the vagaries (and vulgarities) available on the internet ... i just googled "mersenne's laws of physics" to find out what - in fact - they were and was subsequently treated to a series of algebraic equations on the left side of my computer screen alongside the photo of a provocatively-clad young lady, sticking her tongue out on the right.

i have to confess that music - and science - suffered.

**JeffD** · Sep-12-2009, 11:27pm

Originally Posted by billkilpatrick

i just googled "mersenne's laws of physics" to find out what - in fact - they were and was subsequently treated to a series of algebraic equations on the left side of my computer screen alongside the photo of a provocatively-clad young lady, sticking her tongue out on the right.
.

I haven't seen the lady.

But for those interested, Mersenne's laws describe how the pitch of a plucked or bowed string changes in response to changes in length, tension, and string diameter.

There's fascinating physics in how a bowed string makes a sound, non-linear friction and all that.

But, alas, this isn't the fascinating physics cafe.

**Dfyngravity** · Sep-13-2009, 7:33am

I am too going to start learning.

Check out the violins here: http://www.giannaviolins.com/

**lenf12** · Sep-13-2009, 10:51am

I just joined the fiddle players social group and could not post pictures of my fiddle built by my great grandfather in July 1949. I figured I would try posting pictures here to see if it will work. It appears that the attachment function is not working. Oh well, maybe later.

Len B.
Clearwater, FL