A note to Intermediate Players

Intermediate players have different needs than beginners or advanced fiddlers.

If you are at the intermediate level, you know how to play a number of tunes, and have probably enjoyed playing with others in sessions or in a group.  You know the joys of playing and getting better, and look forward to going farther.

Stay tuned to this blog for a number of posts exploring ideas for you to consider.

A good starting point is to evaluate your goals now and then.  Are you most drawn to the social factors, building repertoire, playing better, learning a particular style of fiddling? Do you want to play for dancers, play gigs with a band, join in public sessions, perform with a large amateur group, play solo spots, enjoy private musical gatherings among friends, enjoy playing and exploring the music at home for yourself?  Future articles will address all of these topics.

The fiddle-online.com site can help you work on a number of aspects of fiddling at your own pace.  The technique videos can build awareness of the physicality of playing; develop muscle memory for efficiently getting good sound, intonation and ornamentation; help you learn about patterns that make learning and retaining tunes easier and more musical.

The class materials not only help you learn tunes but encourage you toward more musical thinking, phrase by phrase, with patterns, fiddle style, and background for better understanding the tunes you’re learning.

Live classes and workshops give you a window into how professsional fiddlers think about their music, and allow you to play with them and ask questions that can help you directly.

Tune videos take you through basic tune learning that can give you tools for better picking up tunes in the future, as well as advanced ideas that give you something musical to strive for.

This blog gives you lots of food for thought to enrich your learning and free up your approaches to the fiddle and its music.

Finally, offerings in the Credit Store can back up these ideas with CDs to listen or learn from offline, the Finger Finder to help you find your way through the fingering relationships for all keys, and additional Tune Groups for learning more tunes.

The Credit Store also allows you to sign up for a private lesson with Ed, to address questions you may have, one on one, and see if the tunes and techniques are working for you directly.

You’re also welcome to click “Contact” above and send a message requesting that we address a topic, tune or technique on this blog or in our materials.

This is an overview of ideas — we can delve more into specifics in upcoming blog posts!

©2016 Ed Pearlman

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