This week we learnt a Russian folk tune called Itzikel, along with a harmony for the B part of the tune. The tune has plenty of long notes in it, so we spent some time revisiting the process for learning to play with vibrato. It’s important to go through each step, and make sure your left hand and arm are completely relaxed as you make the movements. Repeatedly going through this process helps us to build muscle memory for making the vibrato movements, so that when you come to try to play with vibrato, you can easily make your hand move to make it happen. Here’s an interesting video that adds a few extra steps to the process, and along with a very detailed explanation:
Creating space
We also spent some time thinking about leaving space in the tune, and letting it ‘breathe’. Creating spaces in music can help with phrasing, and also change the dynamics and emphasis in parts of a tune.
We worked on this phrase, which repeats at the end of the A and B parts:
We changed the bowing so we started the phrase with a slurred up bow, then lifted the bow, missing out the 3rd quaver in the bar, and followed this with another single upbow, then slurred pairs of notes to the end of the phrase:
This week we learnt a harmony to Jock Broon’s 70th. (The written music for it is on the music page). We spent some time working on getting the rhythm to the A part harmony swinging along. We were emphasising the first 2 and the 4th semiquavers, in each group of 4, and making the third semiquaver so light that it became almost inaudible. It’s helpful to still play the 3rd semiquaver, though. That way if you want to change the emphasis to change the rhythm at any point, you don’t need to alter the bowing pattern.
We also looked at a way of varying the rhythm in the A part of the tune (moving away from pushing the rhythm into 3s). And we played around a bit with the C part harmony, leaving a spaces in the tune. When played alongside the tune, some of the tune pushes fall in the spaces in the harmony, which creates an interesting effect.
We had a go at playing the tune and harmony together. After this we played through Huntingtone Castle a few times. Once we’d played through it once, we tried playing standing up, while not looking at our hands, and focusing on hearing the tune for ourselves. The difference in the quality of the sound we made was huge – it sounded much more confident, and we made a lovely big sound together! Then we did the same thing again, but this time also imagined someone was waltzing around the room, and we were playing for them. This had another big impact on the sound.
We’re aiming to keep the Tuesday session at the Diggers going over the summer. i’ll be updating the session page soon!
We learnt this pipe hornpipe tonight, which was written by Gordon Duncan. It’s a syncopated 3 part tune. The rhythms in the 3rd part are similar to the Mouth of the Tobique, which we learnt last week. The tune is quite unusual, and took a while to learn.
At the start of the evening we spent some time working on chords, using the last part of the Mouth of the Tobique. We added a chord using a B played along with the Gs in the tune. The chord can either be played just on the emphasised notes, or on all the notes in the phrase. These two options have a very different effect on the rhythm. We worked on getting both notes in the chord in tune.
Some tunes have inherent syncopation in their rhythms, which are created by certain patterns of notes. In reels, a run of notes split up by repeating pairs of the same note in between them creates a syncopated rhythm for that section of the tune.
Tonight we learnt The Mouth of the Tobique, which is a French Canadian three part reel. The third part of the tune has this syncopated rhythm.
Once we’d learnt the tune we looked at a couple of bowing options in the first and second parts, using a 1 down 3 up bowing pattern to help to break up the long runs of notes. We also tried playing around with chords in the syncopated part of the tune.
We did some more work on playing Crabbit Shona, the jig that we learnt last week. We worked on the first part of the tune, looking at where to place the emphases in the syncopated bars of the tune.
We learnt the four part jig Crabbit Shona, written by Angus Grant, in the class tonight. The tune is in 6/8, but the structure of some phrases in the tune pushes the rhythm away from the usual jig rhythm.
Tonight we worked on techniques to help us learn how to play at speed, and also looked at gaining more control over playing chords where we want them in tunes.
Double stopping
We played through Miss Miffy Finlay, working on gaining more control over playing chords just when we choose to in the tune. It can be difficult to be confident that you will play a chord exactly when you want to. We tried playing a run of notes on the E string (E, F#, G, A, A, G, F#, E), while keeping the bow very close to the A string, but without playing any chords on the A string. Then we did the same thing with our eyes closed, so we weren’t getting any visual feedback about our bow position. Once we’d done this, we worked on playing a chord with an open A, just on alternate notes in the run. We started the run in a down bow, and played all the notes on single bows, which meant all the chords fell on down bows.
Once the bow is in this position, the chord can be controlled simply by applying a little pressure to the stick of the bow with the index finger at the start of the note, ‘digging’ the bow into the string. As the bow compresses down onto the E string, it will also come in contact with the A string (f it’s positioned close enough to the A string), creating the chord. As soon as the pressure is released, the bow comes clear of the A string. So the control over whether we are playing a chord or not is coming purely from the index finger, and not by using the the bowing arm to change the angle of the bow. As it’s much easier to control a small movement of the index finger than a movement in the bowing arm, this gives a very fine control over whether or not we play a chord at any given point.
Then we tried playing the same run of notes, and only playing the chord on each up bow – this was quite a lot harder to do!
Playing reels at speed
Then we moved on to the reel we learnt a couple of weeks ago (In and Out the Harbour), and worked on techniques we can use for playing reels up to speed. We’ll come back to this tune a few times during this term.
Learning to play reels faster requires moving away from thinking too much about the specifics of how we are playing, and ‘getting into the zone’ – allowing our subconscious to take over. We also need to have control over the tempo of the tune we’re playing. One of the difficulties with trying to increase the speed of a tune is loosing control of the timing. This might happen because there’s a part of the tune we stumble over, or because we panic at trying to fit all the notes in – tension creeps in, and before we know it, the tune has sped up and spiraled out of control. If there’s a part of a tune you’re struggling to play, it’s worth spending time working out what is happening with your bowing, and, at least initially, finding a consistent bowing pattern that allows you to play any tricky phrases as easily as possible.
To keep control of tempo, it’s really helpful to tap into your own inner sense of timing. In folk music, there’s no conductor taking control of timing, so we need to do this ourselves. Tapping a foot, or moving in some other way in time with the music, is likely to help us keep playing to a consistent beat. The advantage of foot tapping is that as the foot hits the floor it gives us a distinct reference point as to where the beat is. Getting into the habit of tapping on each on-beat in reels (two taps in each bar) also gives a distinction between the on-beat and the off-beat. When we start to play around with the rhythms in the tune, this creates a distinct advantage over tapping the foot on every beat in the bar (ie 4 taps per bar).
Some people tap all 4 beats in the bar, but alternate between tapping the heel and toe, or the left and right foot. This has the same effect as tapping only the on-beats, in terms of providing a distinction between on-beat and off-beat. Try out different variations, and see which feels most comfortable when you’re playing.
Foot tapping can also drive the tune, or follow it. If your playing tempo follows the tempo of your foot tapping, it becomes easy to control the tempo of the tune by keeping control of the speed the foot is tapping. If the foot is following the tempo of the tune, it doesn’t allow the same level of ‘external’ control over the playing tempo. You can find out which you are doing by playing along in time with a metronome. Try doing this first by playing the notes in time with the metronome, then try it again while keeping your foot taping in time with the metronome. Which did you find easiest?
Playing ‘in the zone’
Playing from the subconscious allows us to fully relax into the music, creating fluidity in our playing. It’s an essential skill for being able to play at speed with confidence. When we’re learning to play the fiddle, there’s a lot to think about. It’s easy to get into the habit of playing in a very ‘conscious’ way, as we struggle to learn how to control the bow, learn tunes, play with good tone and tuning, and understand the rhythms and the music. It’s a lot to take in, and it can feel as if it’s impossible to switch the thinking part of our brain off while we’re playing! In the class, we worked on finding distractions, so our subconscious was pushed into to taking over the playing, helping us to develop a sense of how it feels to play in this way. We worked on the reel In and Out the Harbour. To start with we payed the exercise for practicing triplets, slurring the 2 quavers in between the triplets on an up bow. While we were doing this, we wandered around the room and chatted to other folk (while still playing!). Another thing you can try at home is to watch what’s happening out of the window while you’re playing, or put the TV on with the sound down, and watch that while playing. All these things have the same effect of making if impossible for us to think too much about what we’re playing, encouraging the subconscious to take over.
Keeping the tune going
Playing from the subconscious has one other important benefit. It free us up to hear the tune in our head as we play (this is different from listening to what you’re actually playing). If we have a ‘soundtrack’ in our head, of the tune we are playing, it has some interesting effects. One of the main benefits is that if we do stumble over playing a part of the tune, we will still be able to come back into it in time, if we continue hearing the tune even when we’re not playing it. Being able to do this helps reduce the fear of ‘falling off’ a tune in the middle, and grinding to a halt. As time goes on, you’ll find that you can generally pick up a tune within a note or two if you make a mistake, and many people listening will barely be aware there was a problem.
We experimented with doing this by splitting the class in two. One half of the class played the first ‘question’ phrase of the tune, and the other half played back the response. We switched back and forth, so that between us we were paying the whole tune, in time. While we were doing this, we tried to hear the entire tune in our heads, continuing on while we weren’t playing, so we knew exactly when to come back in. Then we tried all playing the ‘question’ phrases in the tune, with no-one playing the answer. This meant we really had to keep the tune running in our head to know where to come back in. The next step was to all play the response phrases only – that was much harder, partly because of the structure of this particular tune, which doesn’t always repeat exactly the same in those response sections.
Tonight we learnt the tune Miss Miffy Finlay, composed by Bryan Astor.
We spent some time working on ornamentation and grace notes in the tune. The we talked about the importance of adding dynamics into tunes to help bring them to life. We can add dynamics to particular phrases within a tune, and we can also add dynamics in individual notes.
We tried playing a D scale as quietly as possible, using our pinkies to take a little of the weight of the bow off the strings, and using a very short length of bow for each bow stroke. Then we played the same scale as loud as possible, using the full length of the bow for each note, and transferring some of the weight of the arm into the bow through the index finger. Then we tried playing a loud scale immediately followed by a quiet scale. We noticed that it was tricky to switch from very loud to very quiet. It made it easier if we ended our last loud note in the middle of the bow, rather than playing right down the length of it to the heel, so we were ready to play our quiet scale in the centre of the bow. When we did this, the switch from loud to quiet was much ‘cleaner’ and more distinct. After this, we tried playing up and down the scale with 4 loud notes followed by four quiet ones, then with the loud and quiet notes in pairs.
We tried out playing the pairs of loud and quiet notes while making some sort of connection with the person opposite us in the circle, rather than looking at our hands. This had an impact on what we played – it became more energetic and lively.
We went back to the tune, and tried playing it to the person opposite in the room – it was a bit tricky doing this with a tune we’d only just learnt.
We started off tonight looking at the mechanics of playing a triplet. We were working on triplets where all 3 notes are the same (sometimes also called a birl). If you’re struggling to play them, it’s worth practicing them with the bow going in the same direction each time. It’s quite possible to always play them in the same direction, by slurring notes as necessary in tunes.
We learnt the reel In and Out the Harbour which has triplets in both the A and B parts of the tune.
We played this riff with the triplet starting on a down bow, and slurred the two quavers between each triplet on an up bow.
To get the effect of the triplet, the first (downbow) note in the triplet needs to be short and abrupt. Use pressure on the index finger to connect the bow with the fiddle strings at the start of that first note. The down bow should be fast and short, and stopped abruptly, while keeping the wrist really relaxed. The 2nd and 3rd notes in the triplet are produced by the hand doing a small ‘judder’ when the first note is stopped suddenly. We tried out this action using just our right hand, without holding the bow.
We checked out our bow holds again. Here’s a link to more information (and photos) describing how to hold the fiddle bow. We got into pairs. One person held the tip of their partner’s bow while their partner played a long bow stroke, paying attention to their bow hold, and ensuring the bowing hand was slightly rotated anticlockwise.
Then we reminded ourselves of the thumb acting as a pivot in the bow hold. Because of this pivot effect, pushing down with either the pinkie or index finger will have a very different effect on the bow.
The role of the pinkie
We tried out playing a long A, and lifting the bow off the string at the top of the up bow. At the point the bow lifts from the string, the pinkie pushes down, and because of the pivot effect of the thumb, this allows the pinkie to take the weight of the bow. We tried this out again, this time lifting our pinkie off the bow as soon as the bow was back on the strings, and only using the pinkie when we were lifting the bow from the string. It’s important to make sure that the pinkie relaxes as soon as the bow is back on the strings – if there’s any tension in the pinkie, the muscles in the forearm will be contracted, which will affect the whole bowing action.
The role of the index finger
Then we tried out the converse action, of ‘digging in’ with the index finger. When we’re playing a triplet, it’s important to get the bow connecting well with the fiddle string, right at the beginning of the first note. This can be achieved by pushing on the back of the stick of the bow with the index finger, right at the start of the note. We tried the action out without our fiddles to start with. It’s a very short sharp action – pushing down with the forefinger, and counteracting this by pulling up with the thumb at the same time. The result is that the stick of the bow bends under the increased pressure, bringing the back of the bow closer to the bow hair. If you’re getting the action, you can see this happen if you watch the centre of your bow.
We finished off the class by playing through Huntingtone Castle together. Several of us went to the session together afterwards – it was lovely to see some new faces!
For the start of the term, we began by looking at what areas each person wanted to work on in their own playing. Many of the issues (how to play faster, how to play chords, playing tunes with lift, and making tunes more ‘listenable’ when playing alone) have a common theme. Learning to control of the fiddle bow, and being confident that it will do what you expect, will make a big difference to your playing. Adding character to the tunes we play involves learning to create variations within the notes themselves, through dynamics and precise bow control.
So we started tonight’s class by looking at how to control the bow. With a good bow hold, the first finger and pinkie can be used for fine control of the bow. We can use pressure on the pinkie to take some of the weight of the bow, so it is lighter on the string, or to take the weight of the bow when we lift it right off the string. During a bow stroke, we can also push with the first finger on the stick of the bow to add weight, giving scrunch and extra grip to the string. Use a brief ‘pulse’, pushing into the stick, at the start of a note. It gives the note more strength, intention and clarity.
We tried some of these actions while holding just the bow. pushing gently on the pinkie to raise the bow tip. This action should be possible without turning the wrist at all. While holding up the tip of the bow with the left hand, we tried pushing down into the stick with the first finger. You’ll see the sick compress downwards, reducing the gap between the underside of the stick and the back of the bow hairs, if you’re getting this action.
Then we played short bow strokes on an open A, digging in at the start of each down bow. We worked on releasing the pressure as soon as the note had started, to avoid creating a big scrunchy scrapey note! Then we tried out adding in a chord on each down bow, using the open D
We learnt the E minor waltz Huntingtone Castle – the music is on the music page for people in the class to download.
After the class several of us went along to the session in the Diggers pub. The session is on Tuesday evenings from 9pm , in the back room of the pub. You’re welcome to join us!
Last night we learnt the Shetland tune Sleep Soond i’ Da Morning. It’s a simple 16 bar reel.
Shetland players have distinctive bowing patterns used in playing reels. Patterns have a big influence on the sound, particularly the rhythms within the tune. The 1 down 3 up bowing pattern puts the emphasis on the on beat. The 3 up 1 down pattern puts emphasis on the off beat. We used both patterns in this tune, to shift the emphasis from the beat to the offbeat.
We worked on tapping foot when playing the 3 up one down bowing pattern. With this pattern, the bow emphasis falls on the off beat, while the foot continues to tap on on beat. It can feel a bit disconcerting when you first try it!
To get the best effect of these bowing patterns, we were speeding the bow up when playing the down bow, to add a strong emphasis to the note.
We also spent some time in the class talking about how to change the strings on a fiddle. I’ve started creating a new resource on the website, with some information on basic fiddle maintenance. If there’s any other areas you’d like me to cover with this, let me know!
While we were doing this, we wandered around the room and chatted to other folk (while still playing!). Another thing you can try at home is to watch what’s happening out of the window while you’re playing, or put the TV on with the sound down, and watch that while playing. All these things have the same effect of making if impossible for us to think too much about what we’re playing, encouraging the subconscious to take over.
