starting fiddle

[catmandu2]

Hardingfele and nyckelharpa .... luckily I don't own either of those.

I've been pursuing those instruments for years...the closest I came to acquiring one was a gurdy (I finally said screw it and got a harp )

I like the comment offered by someone on the Caoimhín Ó R. vid:

"This made me doubt myself. Doubt in the sense that i should be playing this kind of music and that I should be living somewhere with someone i really really love. And i should be dancing more"

[pArispAl]

when i discovered nyckelharpa the other day (yes, i'm a baby), it occured to me that Swedes found fiddle too easy for their long winter nights...

[catmandu2]

when i discovered nyckelharpa the other day (yes, i'm a baby), it occured to me that Swedes found fiddle too easy for their long winter nights...

Good for you Al! plenty of time to save up for those instruments

(btw, anyone who hasn't yet--be sure to check out all 5 of those COR solo-session vids...and others)

[DataNick]

You will find that simply being able to hold and move the bow will be a challenge.

Get Matt Cranitch's Irish Fiddle Book, it starts with how to read music and hold the thing, then moves on to easy tunes.

One of our local musicians, who is what I would call "Pro" level though he owns his own software company, is a tremendously talented multi-instrumentalist. He was one of my influences in deciding to take up mandolin 2 years ago. He is mainly a guitarist by trade but plays every kind of string instrument pretty much. Anyway he was showing up to one of the bluegrass jams for a little while with a mandolin, and he was just going "Hendrix Mando" on his breaks, ripping off phenomenal solos. I ask him how long he's been playing mandolin, he said for "a couple of months". Anyway he tried fiddle not long after. Because of the skill required for bowing, he calls the fiddle, "The Humiliator"....I tried myself for a couple of days and said no way!

I really admire fiddle players...this is not meant to discourage you, if anything I've learned in life, is that we can do pretty much anything we want to...it is a real tricky skill to learn later in life though, but not impossible!

Good Luck with it!

[pArispAl]

thanks Nick )

[pArispAl]

Back to this topic after three months practicing. You guys were right, mastering the bow is quite something. I could practice during my vacation in Burgundy and am really enjoying it, to the detriment of the guitar and to a lesser extent, of the mandolin...

As my family fiddle requires some extensive work in the range of 600 euros, I've been renting one for €15/month. Now I know I can consider investing 600 euros for this instrument my aunt received in 1941.

Back to (real) work...

[JeffD]

If you are serious about it, I would concentrate on the fiddle and put the mandolin aside.

The fiddle seems to require lots and lots of attention, and, in my experience, is a very jealous instrument. It won't be your second or third, its first or nothing. I can't seem to progress on the fiddle for exactly this reason. Mandolin is my first instrument, and fiddle is just a constant source of frustration for mediocre improvement if any.

I think it much easier to go from fiddle to mandolin than the other way, especially if you have guitar down. So between the two, get real good on the fiddle, (what ever that might mean to you) and then, when you are reasonably comfortable, get the mandolin out.

I hate to tell anyone to put the mandolin aside, but there are some cases where that might make some sense.

[SincereCorgi]

As my family fiddle requires some extensive work in the range of 600 euros, I've been renting one for €15/month. Now I know I can consider investing 600 euros for this instrument my aunt received in 1941.

Back to (real) work...

I don't know if you mentioned whether you've got a teacher... if not, you might consider allocating those Euros to monthly lessons with a good instructor and thinking of the restoration as a long-term project. You will progress much, much faster with someone to teach you solid fundamentals. I wasted a year with two mediocre teachers before finding a good one, and it made a giant difference.

[pArispAl]

Yes, I do have a teacher ! and you're right, this is mandatory! I see him once a week or two, so I have time to practice. I can't imagine learning by yourself...

Here he is, a year ago

[TheBlindBard]

I"ve been listening to Paganini alot recently and really love the sound of the violin. Maybe I"ll try and learn to play some day, but for now, happy with my mandolin
From reading the previous posts, I never knew a set-up could make such a difference in an instruments playing capability-- I've only ever played with a guitar, keyboard and a few wind instruments.