Fiddle bow control

Learning to control the bow is partly about creating a relaxed and confident bow hold. Tonight we learnt the second half of My Cape Breton Home. We looked at how to start playing more from our subconscious, rather than concentrating on exactly what our fingers are doing. Ultimately we’re aiming to be able to play what we are hearing, rather than consciously remembering learnt finger patterns.

We tried playing the waltz down an octave without learning the finger positions first, and alternated playing up and down the octave.

We also spent some more time playing individually, repeating the exercise where individuals listened to a phrase and then tried to play it back exactly as they heard it.

And to round off the night, we practiced playing and smiling at the same time 🙂