Hello, I'm Mike Taylor.
Welcome to Specialty Music Productions Beginning Fiddle Video.
The fiddle tune you just heard is called Boil Them Cabbage Down.
It's one of the tunes that you'll be learning to play from this video.
The main purpose of this video is to help the beginner establish a solid foundation
in the fundamentals of learning how to play the fiddle.
The basic skills and techniques used in playing will be introduced one at a time and then
applied to the songs that you'll be learning.
Although playing the fiddle may be easier than you think, it does require skill development,
and skill development takes time, practice, and lots of repetition.
Try to set aside time each day for practice.
If you have an hour a day, I suggest spending a half hour in the morning and another half
hour in the afternoon or evening.
Multiple practices of a comfortable duration are better than long marathon practice sessions.
You should feel free to stop the video at any point along the way and practice up.
When you feel comfortable with your progress, start the video again and continue learning.
I wish you much success and enjoyment as you become a fiddle player too.
One of the first questions asked by the beginning fiddler is, what's the difference between
a violin and a fiddle?
Generally speaking, the violin and fiddle are two names that identify the same instrument.
Violin and fiddle better describe the style of music to be played on the instrument.
The style of music determines the techniques involved in playing.
The techniques have in turn influenced the way the instrument is set up.
Fiddles are normally set up with lower string action.
That is, the strings are closer to the fingerboard and the bridge usually has less of an arch.
I'll be making references to certain parts of your fiddle so it will be helpful for you
to become a little familiar with some of the parts of your instrument.
Starting with the scroll, this is the peg box and these are the tuning pegs.
This is the nut and this is the fingerboard.
These are the strings.
The strings are numbered 1, 2, 3, and 4.
These are the F holes and this is the bridge.
Notches in the F holes help us align the bridge for its proper placement.
This is the tailpiece and these are the fine tuners for each string.
And this is the gut which holds the tailpiece to the end pin.
This is the chin rest and on the other side is the shoulder rest.
Last but not least, you'll need a bow.
Starting at the tip of the bow, this is the hair which can be real horse hair or synthetic
fibers.
This is the frog and this is the adjustment screw.
Use the adjustment screw to regulate the tension or tightness of the bow hair.
I like my bow hair tight enough that I can place my pinky finger between the stick and
the hair at about the halfway point like this.
A bow that's too tight can bounce off the strings and cause a jittery noise.
A bow that's too loose can cause the stick to rub against the strings when you bear down.
Always remember to loosen the bow hair before you store your fiddle back in its case.
If your bow is brand new, it may not have any rosin on it.
And of course, if the bow has no rosin on it, it can't vibrate the strings and produce
a sound.
The best way to break in a new bow is with powdered rosin.
Stick rosin can be used thereafter.
Rosin up the bow by running the bow hair through the rosin five to ten times or until it's
coated to your preference like this.
You may want to flatten the arch on your bridge to look a little more like this one.
When you cut down the bridge to flatten the arch, you will automatically lower the string
action.
Instrument repair shops can flatten the arch on your bridge or you can whittle it down
yourself.
Violinists are taught to hold their instrument in a particular way.
Fiddlers are not held to the same standard.
Actually, fiddlers can hold their instrument any way they please.
I'll describe the way I hold mine and you can change from that if you want to.
Place the fiddle on your left shoulder and hold it in place with your chin comfortably
fitted in the chin rest.
You should be able to totally support it this way without help from your hands.
I recommend the use of a shoulder rest to aid in this operation.
Place your left hand under the fiddle neck allowing it to rest slightly on your thumb
like this.
This is how I hold my bow.
It's similar to the way that violinists hold theirs.
I believe one of the most important things a beginner should do is be sure the fiddle
is in tune.
A beginning fiddler will have to concentrate on accurate finger placement.
Since the fiddle fingerboard is fretless, you will have to rely on your ears for correct
finger placement and intonation.
If the fiddle is slightly out of tune, it can be confusing to your ears and cause uncertainty
as to where to place your fingers.
I highly recommend the purchase of an electronic tuning device.
Prices of these tuning devices are quite affordable.
This is one that I keep in my guitar case.
You can tune a fiddle with a guitar tuner because the fiddle strings E, A, D, and G
are also found on the guitar.
Assuming that your bridge is accurately in place as being correctly lined up between
the F hole notches, let's tune up.
I'll sound each of my fiddle strings so that you can tune your fiddle to mine.
The first string is an E.
The second string is an A.
The third string is a D.
And the fourth string is a G.
Fine tuners like these allow slight tuning adjustments to be made with ease.
It's better to experiment with first time bowing on the second or third string.
Start with a downstroke.
Pull the bow starting at the frog area slowly and evenly down to the tip area on the third
string like this.
As you pull downward, your wrist should gradually flatten out.
Now try an upstroke.
When you push your bow in an upstroke, your wrist should gradually rise like this.
After practicing down and upstrokes on single strings for a while, try bowing two strings
at the same time.
Distribute the pressure of the bow evenly on both strings as you bow.
Practice down and upstrokes on single strings and double strings over and over again.
Concentrate on smoothness and clean sounds.
In order to play by ear, you must first memorize and practice several finger patterns.
Finger patterns are easy to memorize and are really just variations of one primary finger
pattern.
By using combinations of finger patterns on different strings, we are able to build a
scale for most if not all the notes being used in a particular tune.
As I explain finger patterns, don't confuse finger patterns with individual finger placements.
Finger placements refer to the individual placement of one finger.
Finger patterns refer to groups of finger placements.
Since the fiddle fingerboard has no frets, we will have to map out our finger placements
one at a time in order to form our patterns.
This diagram represents the fiddle fingerboard and strings.
The strings are numbered one, two, three, and four.
Here we have mapped the fingerboard by dividing it into sections or zones.
You may want to think of these imaginary lines as being frets, like on a mandolin, for example.
Your index or first finger will operate in the first zone.
Your middle or second finger will operate in the second zone.
Your ring or third finger will operate in the third zone.
And your pinky or fourth finger will operate in the fourth zone.
Your first, second, and third fingers will also play a high or a low position within
its assigned zone.
For example, you would place your index finger here for first finger position high.
You would place your ring finger here for third finger position low.
Finger patterns are easy to memorize.
This one matches the Do, Re, Mi scale.
To find your finger positions, match each finger with each note of the scale.
This is the second or A string played open.
The first finger position is high.
The second finger position is also high.
The third finger position is low.
And this is the sound of the fourth finger position.
Traditionally fiddle tunes were passed down from one generation to the next, from one
fiddler to another.
These tunes were not transcribed in music notation, so they had to be learned by ear.
Your method of learning will be similar to that of the old time fiddlers, with one exception.
For your convenience, I have transcribed the tunes that you'll be learning in the form
of tablature.
Although tablature and music are different, they do share some similarities.
Tablature is similar to music in that it resembles a music staff with divisions called measures.
Timing notations are also similar.
If you know how to read a simple graph, you'll have no trouble understanding and reading
tablature.
Fiddle tablature, like music, has a staff with five horizontal lines and four spaces.
The spaces between the lines represent the four strings on your fiddle.
The spaces are numbered in order from top to bottom, one, two, three, and four.
The tablature staff is subdivided into shorter sections called measures.
In order to illustrate our transcribed music playing techniques on the tablature staff,
we'll use numbers to indicate finger positions.
Finger position strings, that is, strings not stopped or noted with a finger position,
are indicated by an O.
A one means to use the index finger in the first finger position high or low.
A two means to use the middle finger in the second finger position high or low.
A three means to use the ring finger in the third finger position high or low.
A four means to use the pinky finger in the fourth finger position.
Bow direction, when indicated, will be located just under the tablature staff.
For this example, we will be using the same finger placements that you learned for the
Do, Re, Mi scale.
Play the third string open with a downstroke.
Play the first string stopped or noted at the third finger position low with an upstroke.
Play the second string stopped at the second position high with a downstroke.
And play the fourth string stopped at the first finger position high with an upstroke.
The best way to understand the timing of a fiddle tune is to think of each measure as being subdivided into eight equal parts.
Each note in a measure containing eight notes or finger position numbers will occupy each section.
Each finger position will have a stem and a connecting line.
These finger position numbers can be thought of and compared to eighth notes in music.
Count one and two and three and four and.
Many times, you'll see fiddle tune measures with less than eight notes in them.
Here is a measure containing seven notes.
The note or finger position that has a stem without a connecting line can be compared to a quarter note in music.
Count one, two, and three and four and.
It would take four quarter note finger position numbers to fill a measure like this in common time.
Think of this measure as being subdivided into four parts and count one, two, three, four.
Sometimes a note will need to sound longer than the normal duration of a quarter note.
In that case, the finger position number will not have a stem.
It can be compared to a half note in music.
Count one, two, three, and four and.
If a note needs to last longer than the duration of a half note, you'll see a tie connecting
that finger position number to another finger position number in tablature.
This will combine the time values of both finger position numbers.
Many times, you'll encounter more than eight notes in a measure.
If a measure contains nine notes, one of those notes will have a double connecting line.
That note is played twice as fast as an eighth note.
One, and two, and three, and four and.
This timing in tablature business may seem a little abstract to you right now, but soon
it'll all come together.
In order to get a feel for what we've been talking about, let's try a common fiddle bow
pattern.
For this measure, you'll be playing open notes on the second string.
Count one, two, and three, four and.
Follow the bowing directions and think to yourself long, short, short, long, short, short,
long, short, short, long, short, short.
Practice this measure over and over until you develop a little speed and smoothness.
As you develop speed, try playing mostly in the upper half of the bow.
Now try bowing this stroke on two strings and you'll have a lead in or a kick off to a fiddle
tune.
Let's take the left hand finger pattern that you memorized earlier and combine it with
the bowing pattern that you just learned to create a simple version to boil them cabbage
down.
Find the example in your booklet and follow along as I demonstrate.
Boil them cabbage, version one, measures one, two, and three.
Measures four, five, and six.
Measures seven and eight.
There are a couple other techniques in tablature that you should become familiar with at this
point.
They are the slur and the slide.
The slur can be played one of two ways.
You can slur from one string to another, that is, while bowing in one direction on one string,
change to another string.
Or you can slur from one finger position to another finger position during one bow stroke.
In fiddle tablature, the same symbol that is used to indicate a tie is also used to
indicate a slur.
The reason the same symbol is used is to show that the same bow direction is being held.
Here are some examples of slurs that go from one finger to another.
Here are some examples of slurs that go from one string to another and from one finger
and string to another finger and string.
The slide is a left hand technique in which you use one finger to slide into another finger
position.
The slide is also accomplished with one bow stroke.
You can slide your finger in either direction, up or down.
The slide is indicated by a slanted hyphen.
The direction of the slide is evident by the angle of the hyphen.
If you slide from one finger zone into another, use the finger that is home to the stopping
point.
Now let's take what we've just learned about the slur and combine it with our simple version
of boiled-in cabbage.
Find it in your booklet and follow along as I demonstrate.
Boiled-in cabbage, version two, measures one, two, and three.
Measures four, five, and six.
Measures seven and eight.
In fiddle playing, a certain effect is achieved by playing melody notes on one string and
also bowing a neighboring string open at the same time.
A more desirable way of playing an open string melody note is to match it with a fourth finger
position on the next lower string.
Bowing two strings while only noting on one string is known as playing drones.
The drone string effect helps to create that old time fiddle sound.
When learning a new tune, it may be helpful to play without the drone string in order
to better recognize and establish your understanding of the melody.
A double stop is noting two strings at the same time.
The desired effect from a double stop is the sound of a chord.
When a fiddler interprets a melody, he may only use double stops to play the entire tune.
However, not all fiddle tunes are structurally capable of this kind of treatment.
Most fiddlers use a combination of drones, double stops, and single notes in order to
express their personal interpretation of a melody.
As you may have guessed, let's go ahead and add some double stops and some drones to our
already worked up version of Boil Them Cabbage Down and see if that doesn't improve it just
a little.
Boil Them Cabbage, version three, measures one, two, and three.
Measures four, five, and six.
Measures seven and eight.
Our first fiddle tune is called Mississippi Sawyer.
In order to learn it, you will first need to memorize the following fiddle finger pattern.
This is finger pattern number two.
It's just like the first one, but with one exception.
Instead of playing the second finger position high, you will place it low.
And here's how it sounds.
Finger pattern number two.
Use the first finger pattern on the second string and the second finger pattern on the
first string.
If you have any doubt, check the D scale finger patterns in your booklet for the first two
strings.
Now, listen carefully as I play it.
One, two, three, four.
One, two, three.
And one, two, three.
Now that you've heard the tune, I'll go over it slowly, phrase by phrase, so you can see
exactly how to play it.
You should memorize and learn each phrase one at a time.
Each time, you can smoothly play a phrase from memory.
Add on the next phrase until your tune can be easily played from memory.
Don't rush this part of your learning, and don't worry about playing it fast.
A slow version of this tune is provided for you to play along with.
Remember, learn one phrase at a time before moving to the next.
Play along as I demonstrate.
Mississippi Sawyer measures one, two, and three.
Measures four and five.
Measures six and seven.
Measures eight and nine.
And measure ten.
Measures 11 and 12.
Measures 13 and 14.
Measures 15 and 16.
And measures 17 and 18.
Now that you have memorized the tune so that you can play it all the way through without
looking at your booklet, try playing it along as I play it at a slow tempo.
Good luck.
One, two, three, four.
One, two, three.
One, two, three, four.
One, two, three.
Congratulations on learning your first fiddle tune.
Our next tune is called Old Joe Clark and is played in the key of A. Before we learn
it, however, I'd like to go ahead and teach the third finger pattern.
If you check the scales for the keys of A and D, you'll notice that they are not complete
without this finger pattern.
Although the finger placements for this pattern may not be used for the tune arrangements
in this video, you should still memorize it and know where it belongs.
And again, finger pattern number three is similar to the first one, but with one exception.
Instead of placing the third finger low, you'll place it high.
Here's how it should sound.
Finger pattern number three.
Although Old Joe Clark is played against an A chord progression, not all of the melody
notes of this arrangement are found in the A major key scale as shown in your booklet.
In order to play the melody, you can simply continue to use the key of D finger patterns
on the first three strings.
One, two, three, four.
Old Joe Clark measures one and two.
Measures three and four.
Measures five and six.
Measures seven and eight.
The second time through the A part, you'd skip measure eight and continue with measure
nine.
Here's measure nine.
Now measures 10 and 11.
Measures 12 and 13.
Measures 14 and 15.
Measures 16 and 17.
Measure 18 is identical to 17.
The second time through the B part, you'd skip 17 and finish up with 18.
One, two, three, four.
This tune is called Arkansas Traveler and is played in the key of D.
One, two, three, four.
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Arkansas Traveler measures one and two.
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Measures three and four.
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Measures five and six.
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Measures seven and eight.
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The second time through, you'd skip measure eight and continue with measure nine.
Here are measures nine, ten, and eleven.
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Here's measure twelve and the first part of measure thirteen.
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Here's the last part of measure thirteen, along with measures fourteen and fifteen.
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Here's measure sixteen and seventeen.
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The second time through the B part, you'd skip over measure seventeen and end or finish up with measure eighteen.
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One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four.
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This tune is called Liberty and is played in the key of D.
One, two, three, four. One, two, three.
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Liberty measures one, two, and three.
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Measures four and five.
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Measures six and seven.
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Measures eight and nine.
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Measures ten.
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And that measures eleven and twelve.
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Measures thirteen and fourteen.
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Measures fifteen and sixteen.
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And measures seventeen and eighteen.
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One, two, three, four. One, two, three.
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This tune is also a banjo picker's favorite called Cripple Creek.
It's played in the key of A.
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Cripple Creek measures one and two.
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Measures three and four.
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Measures five and six.
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Measures seven and eight.
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Measures nine and ten.
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Measures eleven and twelve.
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Measures thirteen and fourteen.
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Measures fifteen and sixteen.
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One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four.
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This tune is a fiddler's choice in my part of the country.
It's called Sally Gooden and it's played in the key of A.
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One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four.
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Sally Gooden measures one and two.
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Measures three and four.
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Measures five and six.
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Measures seven and eight.
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Measures nine and ten.
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Measures eleven and twelve.
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Measures thirteen and fourteen.
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And measures fifteen and sixteen.
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One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four.
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This last tune is another fiddler's favorite.
It's called Ragtime Annie and it's played in the key of D.
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One, two, three, four. One, two, three.
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Ragtime Annie measures one, two, and three.
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Measures four and five.
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Measures six and seven.
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Measures eight and nine.
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The second time through the A part, you'd skip measure nine and continue with measure ten.
Here's measure ten.
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And that measures eleven and twelve.
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Measures thirteen and fourteen.
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Measures fifteen and sixteen.
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Measures seventeen and eighteen.
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Measures nineteen and twenty.
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Measures twenty-one and twenty-two.
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Measures twenty-three and twenty-four.
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And measures twenty-five and twenty-six.
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One, two, three, four. One, two, three.
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I think it would be fun to learn a few endings that you can apply to some of the fiddle tunes that you've learned.
Later on, you'll want to make up some endings on your own for a more personal touch.
You should understand that an ending in one key may not fit a tune that is played in another key.
For this reason, you'll need to work out some endings for all the keys that you play in.
Find the endings in your booklet and follow along as I demonstrate.
Here's a good ending for songs played in the key of A.
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Here's an ending that could be applied to songs in the key of D.
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This concludes our instruction for now.
Hopefully, it has just begun your journey into a world of musical enjoyment.
Although learning with the aid of tablature is a good way to get started,
you should also try to learn new tunes by listening to recordings and watching other fiddlers.
Learning music is a valuable aid for expanding your knowledge of fiddling.
Always keep in mind that your enjoyment comes first.
If you become frustrated, stop for a while and continue when you're more rested.
Only happy times should be associated with your fiddle, so have fun.
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