One of the main culprits causing fiddling to sound out of tune is the 2d finger. It wants to be next to the third finger; that’s its natural place. When we have to place it next to the 1st finger, and far from the third, it’s awkward but definitely doable, by everyone, if they think about it and teach their muscle memory the right way. Those who don’t want to think about it tend to throw the 2d finger down somewhere between 1st and 3d, and that apathy has a price — it turns everything a bit sour on the account of just one or two notes.
Note about “TechVid” videos mentioned below — they refer to the technique video groups available on fiddle-online.com. There are ten videos in each group. You can work with them in real-time or at your own pace to make use of the exercises while being reminded of what to aim for. Written descriptions are only a rough sketch of what to do. In fact, often videos are not even enough — many times I’ve seen people not really discover the personal context for using these exercises until they had a lesson. If you want this kind of help, a one-off online lesson can be arranged via the Credit Store.
Below are suggestions for handling or preventing the following problems:
- Trouble playing low 2d finger
- Trouble playing low 1st finger
- Not immediately sure which way is higher/lower
- Trouble playing fingers individually, especially 2d and 3d