Learning tone and vibrato

Learning about tone and vibrato

Tonight we spent some time thinking about tone and vibrato when we are playing, particularly with respect to getting a sound we like from the fiddle’s E string.
We started the evening by playing through Rocking the Baby, then had a go at playing the two jigs from this term together in a set. The change into Rocking the Baby is worth practicing, as it takes you by surprise!
We learnt a new tune – The Arran Boat Song, which seems to have a hoard of other names and spellings, including ‘The Aran Boat’, ‘The Aran Boat Song’, ‘The Arran Boat’, ‘Erin Boat Song’, ‘Highland Boat Song’, ‘Push Off, Push Off’, ‘Put Off And Row Wi’ Speed’, and ‘Queen Mary’s Escape From Loch Leven Castle’ – phew! The tune has been written down in waltz time, and is commonly played as a waltz or slow air. I’ve also seen it written in jig time.

We worked on playing on the E string with a sweeter tone. E strings can be pretty unforgiving! We tried out carrying a little more weight of the bow in the hand, so the bow is lighter on the string. We also experimented with playing the long notes in the tune with some dynamics, by using our bow speed to add a crescendo to the middle of the note.

We also had a go at playing the Arran Boat Song in jig time

Fiddle hold and bow hold

After the break we went back to look at how we are holding the fiddle and bow. It’s important to keep both hands relaxed while playing, and avoid tension building up in the arms or across the shoulders. A relaxed playing position will help in developing good tone on the fiddle. Keeping the palm of the left hand nearly perpendicular to the floor, allows us plenty of space for the fingers to work on the fingerboard. The elbow can then be used to swing the whole hand across the fingerboard when we want to move from one string to another. In this position, our fingers drop down onto the string from above, making it easier to position them cleanly on one string.

Vibrato

We also worked on the different stages of developing a relaxed ‘wrist’ vibrato. We started off holding our fiddles a bit like a guitar. Using the right hand to hold the fiddle steady, we can work on the vibrato action with our left hand on the neck of the fiddle. It’s easier to keep your right hand and arm really relaxed in this position, as there’s no sense that it needs to support the fiddle in any way. We placed the left hand on the fiddle neck, hard up against the top of the body of the fiddle, with the hand in a playing position.

By building up each stage, we’re beginning to develop the muscle memory which will allow us to play with vibrato subconsciously. There are several steps to the process. It’s helpful to go through each of these steps on a regular basis, so your hand can begin to learn how to make each movement. Ultimately it will become a relaxed and fluid movement, which you can execute without thinking about it.

For wrist vibrato, the forearm is kept fairly still throughout. All the movement in the hand comes from bending at the wrist. Here’s more detailed information on the steps you can take to learn how to play with wrist vibrato.

At the end of the night we played through Leaving Brittany, a waltz we learnt in the class last term. We also played through the reel Roxburgh Castle, and the Eagle’s Whistle.

Playing jigs with a dotted rhythm

Tonight we focused on playing jigs with a dotted rhythm. We started off by playing through the Kilfenora sexy jig.

We also worked on B part of the Atholl Highlanders, which can be tricky to play cleanly, and with a strong sense of rhythm. We played the opening phrase, where the tune crosses backwards and forwards from the A string to the E string. Using a single bow for each note can help with playing phrases like this. It’s important while learning to do this to emphasise the first down bow which is on the beat, and the up bow which falls on the second beat.

We learnt a new jig called Rocking the Baby. The tune is fairly simple, but there’s a lot of sting crossing in both parts – perfect for practicing technique!

To get the dotted rhythm on the jig, we’re playing the quavers with slightly different lengths. Jigs are in 6/8 time, with 2 beats in the bar. There are 3 quavers (or equivalent) to each beat. For each set of 3 quavers, we play a pattern of a long quaver, a short quaver, then an ordinary length quaver. The first quaver is effectively ‘stealing’ some of the time from the second quaver.

We tried out using a wrist action to move the bow from one string to another. We also tried using the first finger to dig the bow in at the start of each beat, to really emphasise the notes on the beat.

We tried playing the jig rhythm while playing round the first 3 notes of the tune (C# EE) to get the feel of playing in this way.

The we looked at ways to help with playing the tune faster

use short length of the bow (1cm or less) for the quavers in the tune – eco-bowing is the way to go!
keep fingers close to the strings when they’re not in use
keep fingers on strings where possible – in the B part of Rocking the Baby, the 2nd finger can be kept on the C# throughout the string-crossing part of the tune.
take focus off the fingers, and get ‘in the zone’ – being relaxed will help the tune flow

Playing jigs with a dotted rhythm — Photo ©Ros Gasson

We talked about using jigs for dancing. They are commonly played for a Strip the Willow, and some other set dances. It’s possible to change mid-set from a jig to a reel, which adds a ‘lift’ to the music. In pub sessions or performances, jigs are often played together in sets, but it can also be effective to play a slower tune, than change into a jig.

Playing for dancers is a great way to help develop a really strong sense of timing. We talked about Mairi Campbell’s fiddle & step dance workshop on Lismore (4th-6th October 2013). There will be step dancing workshops happening as well as fiddle, so there will be opportunities to try out stepping and also playing for the step dancers.

Playing in jig rhythm

Tonight we worked on playing in jig rhythm. Jigs are in 6/8 time.There are 6 quavers in each bar, and the quavers are split into 2 groups of three. When we’re learning to play in jig time, initially it’s helpful to get into the habit of emphasising the first quaver in each group of three, which will emphasise the 2 beats in the bar. If we play the quavers on individual bows, this gives us a pattern of emphasising a down bow at the start of the first 3 quavers, then emphasising an up bow at the beginning of the second set of 3 quavers. This is a useful pattern to practice with the bow. Once it has become a habit, and a way of playing subconsciously, it will free us up to start thinking about throwing in different patterns to emphasise different beats to add interest throughout the tune.

We learnt a Jig called the Kilfenora Sexy Jig. We worked on bowing the tune with a dotted rhythm. To do this, the first quaver in each set of three is played slightly longer than written, and the second quaver is played slightly shorter.

We looked at ways we could emphasise the C# at the start of the tune, including adding a chord with the open E string, sliding into the note, and adding a hammer-on. Any combination of effects could be used together. We also looked at possibilities for a few chords elsewhere in the tune.

After the break, we worked on playing from the subconscious. We stood in a circle, and played the tune without looking at our fiddles. Looking at others in the group helps us to get feedback , and is particularly important when you’re in situations where you can’t hear everyone who you’re playing with. We also tried out playing the tune fast and scrunchy, then slow and melodic.

We ended the class by playing through the Eagle’s Whistle, then Tongadale Reel and Brenda Stubberts.

Improving tone on the fiddle

Tonight we worked on our tone on the fiddle. We started off by learning the B part of the Eagle’s Whistle. The music is on the website tunes page. We tried out playing the A part of the tune with accented up beats (played on an up bow), to give the tune more ‘lift’, and added some chords into the A part.

We checked over our bow holds, ensuring our bowing arm was relaxed, and slightly rotated anticlockwise. This allows us to keep a fluid wrist action throughout each bow stroke. We played long bow strokes allowing the wrist to ‘lead’ the switch from a down bow to an up bow. We worked in pairs, checking that we were keeping our bows perpendicular to the fiddle strings throughout the bow stroke.

Improving tone on the fiddle — Photo ©Ros Gasson 2013

In pairs, we worked on keeping our bow perpendicular to the fiddle’s strings. We then tried out using pressure on the bow to increase volume and ‘scrunch’, and also taking pressure off the bow, to give gentle more mellow tone.

After this we had a go at playing chords. It’s important to have fine control over the angle of the bow to be able to play chords at will. One way to increase accuracy when chords are played (or not played!) is by using pressure with the first finger on the stick of the bow to push the bow hairs down onto the string that we’re using to create the chord. This will work if the angle that we’re using the bow keeps the bow hairs very close to that 2nd string before we want to play the chord. Creating chords in this way doesn’t rely on shifting the angle of the bow at the moment when we want to play the chord. The extra pressure with the first finger is enough to bring the 2nd string into play.

We tried out playing a second string as a long drone below part of a tune. We also tried out playing a more percussive chord note on the beat, allowing the string to ‘ring out’ after the bow had hit it.

At the end of the evening we played through Callum’s Road, folowed by Brenda Stubbert’s Reel, The Barrowburn Reel, and the High Road to Linton.

We talked about joining up with the Portobello Fun Fiddle group on Monday 6th May. They’ll be meeting on Porty Prom at 2pm to play some tunes together, to celebrate their 10 years of fiddle classes. For those who are interested in going along, I’ve added the tune they’ve written for the occasion on the tunes page. I’ll also add a recording once I’ve learnt it!

Making music expressive

Tonight we played around with the idea of making music expressive.

We started off by revisiting our bow hold, aiming to work on keeping our bowing arm as relaxed as possible while playing. The fingers of the right hand can be laid onto the stick of the bow, and slightly spread apart. While the bow is being used on the strings, the fiddle will hold the main weight of the bow, allowing our bow hold to be kept relaxed. If we lift the bow off the strings, the pinkie is used to take the bow’s weight briefly, until the bow returns to the strings.

We played long slow notes an open string, keeping a relaxed bow hold, and using our wrist action to make the bow strokes flow. We were also thinking about the tone we were making, particularly in relation to where abouts on the string we were using the bow. We then tried lifting our bows off the string at the end of each up bow. After this, we tried messing around with playing the notes in all sorts of different styles (Rice Crispies was an interesting suggestion – thanks Dave!).

We started learning the tune ‘The Eagles Whistle’, learning the A part this evening. We’ll cover the rest of the tune next week. While we were learning the tune, we tried playing it with different styles, thinking about what we were trying to express through the music. Making music expressive is easier once we’ve learnt a tune thoroughly, and can play if from our subconscious, rather than having to think about where we’re placing our fingers as we play, or which direction we’re moving the bow. We’re aiming to get into a ‘flow’ state while we’re playing, which involves being absorbed in the music, and losing awareness of day to day distractions.

We also explored possibilities for playing chords. The open D string can be played along with the tune, at any point during the A part.

Once we’d learnt the A part of the tune, we split into two groups. Each group had a go at playing the tune with expression, while the other group worked out what was being expressed. We finished off the evening by playing single long bows on an open string again, following a style that was started by one person within the group.

Learning vibrato

Learning vibrato can seem like a huge hurdle when you’re first learning to play the fiddle. In the early stages of fiddle playing, everything feels alien – the fiddle hold, the bow hold, and trying to move your fingers independently of each other on the fingerboard, are all things that take time to feel natural.

Tonight we tried out a series of steps that help with beginning to play ‘wrist style’ vibrato. Going through each of the steps helps to break the movements down into manageable chunks. As we become more relaxed with our playing, these vibrato movements will start to feel much more fluid and natural. Regularly going though the steps help us to build up ‘muscle memory’, and to get a better sense of how the vibrato movements work.

Bowing patterns

As this was our last evening of the spring term we spent a very sociable evening going over some aspects of fiddle technique that we’ve been learning in the class throughout the term.
We started off by looking at some possible bowing patterns for Spootiskerry, in a bit more depth. We tried using a ‘1 down 3 up’ bowing pattern on the B part of the tune, which emphasises the beat. Then we added a ‘3 up 1 down’ pattern at the start of each phrase in the A part. This pattern emphasises the off beat in the tune, which adds quite a different swing to the tune.

Changing from a march to a reel

We went over the Glencoe March and Iggy and Squiggy a couple of times, then practiced putting them together in a set. We also spent a bit more time working on the join between the two tunes, changing the rhythm and tempo of the last 4 bars of the march into reel time. Doing this adds a real lift to the tune change.

At the end of the evening we played through all the tunes we’ve learnt in the class this term., plus a few other common session tunes (and one or two from Anne’s ever-lengthening tune list!).

Thanks everyone for another really enjoyable term. See you in the summer term!

Learning vibrato in the string Circle fiddle class, Edinburgh — Photo ©Ros Gasson

Fiddle bowing patterns

The Glencoe March

Tonight we learnt the Glencoe March by Dan R MacDonald. It’s a popular session tune, and goes well with the reel ‘Iggy and Squiggy’ which we learnt in the class recently. We’ll be playing the two tunes together. It’s possible to change the timing and tempo of the end of the march, so that you’re playing the last 2 bars of the march as a reel, before changing into playing the reel itself.

Bowing patterns

After the break (and the chocolate eggs!), we tried playing some different bowing patterns for Spootiskerry. If you’re not used to thinking about what direction your bow is going, this can be quite a challenge. It’s well worth beginning to work on this, as different patterns of slurs and single bows can make a huge impact on the way a tune sounds, by changing the emphasis from

the beat to the offbeat or upbeat. Once you’ve mastered some different bowing patterns, you can use them to help bring tunes to life. They’re great for adding lift and swing to reels, in particular.

We tried using a ‘one down three up’ pattern in the B part of the tune, which helps top add emphasis on the beat. It’s important to play the downbow faster, using more length of the bow, so there is space to fit in three next three quavers without running out of bow on the up bow. We also tried out a ‘three up one down’ bowing pattern in the A part of the tune, which adds emphasis to the offbeat in the tune.

At the end of the evening,we played around some more with the Aird Ranters, playing it in smaller groups, and performing to others in the class. Here’s a link to an interesting article about dealing with stage fright.

The new term will start on Tuesday 16th April. Enrolment starts on Monday 1st April. Details of term dates and costs are on the website home page.

How to overcome stage fright

Tonight we got into an interesting discussion in the class, about how to overcome stage fright. The term stage fright can cover a broad spectrum – from an anxiety about starting your first tune in an informal pub session, to a paralysing fear of performing onstage in front of a paying audience.

Having learnt to play the fiddle as an adult, it’s something I struggled with in the early days. I had no real experience of ‘performing’ in front of others to draw on (other than one disasterous school play!). So on top of feeling anxious about my ability to play, part of it was about a real lack of familiarity with being in front of other people who were focused on what I was doing. I was lucky to have a lot of opportunities which came my way, which exposed me on a regular basis to playing in front of other people, and gradually got to a point where I now generally enjoy playing in front of an audience.

A large part of the perceived problem with playing in front of others is the fear of failure, or of being judged by others. If we allow ourselves to get into a state of fear before performing, it can cause all sorts of physical symptoms in the lead up to playing. The resulting tension in the muscles, sweats, knotting of the stomach, shaking etc are all likely to impact negatively on how we play. So before you know it, a cycle of fear and poor performance can set itself up, leading to a belief that we can’t play in front of other people.

So, what can you do to get over stage fright, to become more comfortable with playing in front of others, and stop this negative cycle in its tracks? Fortunately there’s a lot you can do to start overcoming stage fright, once you understand what is going on. For folk who have already tried playing in public, and found it really daunting, you’ll realise that no matter what happened for your actual performance, the sky didn’t fall in as a result. Unless you’re planning on becoming a professional musician, the chances are that even if your performance is not at your usual standard of playing, a bout of stage nerves won’t have any great impact on the rest of your life.

The ideal way to start to get more comfortable with playing in front of others is to take it in very small steps. If you’ve never played with others, that might be by starting off with playing in a class situation, where everyone else is also learning. If you’re used to playing in a pub session, you might want to try going to a different pub session where you’ll be playing with different musicians. If you can find occasions where the steps you’re taking are small, you’ll have more chance of playing well, and feeling positive about the experience. The aim is to set up a cycle that reinforces a positive feeling about whatever stage of performing you are at.

Once you’re utterly comfortable with playing at one level, you can consider taking the next step out of your current comfort zone. For any playing situation, if you think you’re going to be out of your usual ‘comfort zone’ find some time before the event to think about how you can minimise the number of things you have to deal with. If for example you’re going to play at an open stage event, you might consider

Finding some other confident musicians who you can play with
Visiting the venue before the event, so you know what the space is like
Arranging somewhere to have a warm up before you perform, so you can relax into playing a little, before you go on stage

So tonight, we spent a fair amount of the class trying out playing in different situations. With each change we made, we were just a little more exposed in our playing. First we played the Aird Ranters together several times, with some of the class playing it down an octave. Then 3 people became the audience, while the remaining six played through the tune a couple of times for them. We tried this out in different combinations, so that everyone had a chance to be in the audience. We spent a while talking about how it had been to play in a smaller group, and the audiences gave some feedback too. Several people in the audience role noticed that they really enjoyed it when there was some interaction with the players, or when the players were interacting with each other. We also noticed that it didn’t really matter when we were playing in a group that size if we lost the tune for a moment. It was fine to just stop playing, and join in later!

Next we split the class down the middle, into two groups of 4. In each group, 2 people were playing in the high octave, and 2 playing down an octave. One group played the A part of the tune, then the other group took over and played the B part. Then we moved around, so that members of each group were alternating around the circle. The first group played the tune, then the second group played the tune. We had one more go in this arrangement, with the players standing to play, rather than sitting down. After this, people got up into the circle in pairs or threes, and performed for the rest of the class. One thing I noticed was that some folk were positively enjoying this!

We also spent some time tonight looking at the bowing for Iggy and Squiggy, the reel we learnt last week. We were working on developing a ‘default pattern for bowing tunes, with a down bow at the beginning of the bar. For this tune, that means slurring 2 quavers on an up bow, after the crotchets in the A part, and after the triplets in the B part.

We ended the evening by playing through Dorothy and John Livingstone, the Barrowburn Reel, and Spootiskerry together.

Next week, Anne is coming to Edinburgh and is planning on joining the class for the night. I have a suspicion she might think she wants chocolate! 😉

The String Circle fiddle class summer term will start on Tuesday 16th April. Enrolment starts on Monday 1st April.

Bowing chords on the fiddle

How to bow rhythmic chords on the fiddle

This week we spent some time looking at different ways to bow chords on the fiddle, to get a rhythm in behind the tune.

We started off by playing through the slow reel from a couple of weeks ago. Then we learnt a new reel called Iggy and Squiggy. This one works well at a fairly fast pace. It uses the fourth finger a lot in the B part, combined with triplets and some rapid string crossing – it’s a good tune for a left-hand workout!

To keep our basic bowing pattern of starting the bar with a down bow, we slurred 2 quavers on an up bow after each triplet in the tune. We’re aiming to develop a ‘default’ pattern to our bowing which is played subconsciously. Once the down bow at the start of the bar has become a habit, it then becomes easier to vary it when we want to add different rhythms into a tune.

Keeping a relaxed bow hold

We looked at another way to help develop a relaxed bow-hold. first of all we shook out our bowing hand, to relax all the muscles. Then we placed our bows onto our fiddles in the usual playing position, holding the bow between the thumb and middle finger only. After this. we laid the other fingers gently onto the stick of the bow, without bringing any tension into the hand or fingers.

The stick of the bow should sit in the first joint of the first finger (the joint nearest to the palm of the hand). This allows he first finger to be used to help control the direction the bow is traveling, so we can keep it perpendicular to the strings. The fingers should be spread out a little, and the whole hand should be slightly rotated anticlockwise, so that the back of the hand is pointing a little towards the tip of the bow. This gives us a basic relaxed playing position which will allow the wrist to be flexible when playing. The first finger and the pinkie can be used to help control the bow, using the thumb as a pivot.

How to bow rhythmic chords

There are several different ways to bow chords on the fiddle, which gives us some different options as to how those chords will sound.

In the last phrase of the B part of Iggy and Squiggy we tried playing an open D string to create a chord on each of the notes were playing on a down bow. If the notes of the tune (which are all on the A string at this point) are played with the bow positioned very close to, but not touching, the D string, then we can create the chord on any notes we choose just by using a bit of pressure on the index finger to bring the bow hair in contact with the D string. Playing the chords in this way adds a stacatto, almost percussive, rhythm beneath the tune.

A different way to create the chords using the open D string is to use a circular wrist action. We’ve tried this action out before when we’ve been playing tunes that switch backwards and forwards from one string to another. The wrist moves in a small clockwise circle which results (in this tune) in an up bow on the A string and a down bow on the chord. The wrist action can be modified slightly, so that instead of changing from one string to the other, we’re switching between playing the note on the A string, and playing the note plus the open D string. Creating the chord in this way allows the open D to ring out after we’ve played the note, so it sounds different to the previous method.

We ended the evening by playing through Leaving Brittany. We then played Aird Ranters, Barrowburn Reel and Spootiskerry in a final set. Next week we’ll look at some options for bowing Spootiskerry.

Playing vibrato on the fiddle

Tonight we tried playing vibrato again. We started off holding our fiddles supported on our lap (a bit like a guitar). We used our right arm and hand to hold the fiddle steady, and tried out the vibrato action with our left hand on the neck of the fiddle. It’s easier to keep your right hand and arm really relaxed in this position, as there’s no sense that it needs to support the fiddle in any way.

For wrist vibrato, the forearm is kept fairly still, and the movement in the hand comes from bending at the wrist. Here’s a separate page with details of the steps to playing ‘wrist’ style vibrato.

We played through the parts of the slow reel we learnt last week. The written music is now up on the music page.

We spent some time working on tone, and varying the sounds we make when playing a long note. We tried out playing long down bows on an open D. Then we tried playing the D loudly for 4 beats, followed by a 4 beat gap, then playing it very quietly for 4 beats. After this, we added in playing with scrunch. Then we moved on to playing up and down a D scale, first loudly, then quietly, then scrunchily.

We finished off the class by playing a few tunes together. We played through Vals, then a set of reels: The High Drive, High Road to Linton, Spootiskerry and Ramnee Ceilidh.