6 Ways To Get A Better Sound With The Bow - Fiddle Lesson

[@budbranch]

Thanks Jason - so useful.

[@ogstopper]

Thank you, sir. Happy New Year 2023, to you and yours.

[@stagelifelv9324]

Just the lesson I needed. Thank you for keeping us terrible players excited and learning with you gives us hope we can get better. God bless you and thank you! You make learning fun!

[@ksrhrieber95]

great suggestions, thank you!

[@WANTED_SUNNY_STUART]

THANK YOU SO MUCH. I tend to scratch here and there, THANK YOU.

[@yeayeayea9353]

Thank you for this. I've been playing guitar for about 20 years as well as mandolin and banjo. Your channel is just what I needed to really get started with this.

[@williambradford3627]

A needed and helpful lesson. Thanka and how's it goin' in Michigan??

[@AVToth]

You suggested keeping your fiddle close to hand so during the day, if the mood strikes, you can pick up and practice for a bit. I have a 2 different types of stand. One is the folding the legs together stand. The other is more of a hanger, it's on the music stand. I don't really like that one because the music stand is just cheap China Amazon and a bit rickety. However, sometimes I get an itch to just play a scale or two, during a commercial or before I get up to get some work done. I use a shoulder rest, it came with my Fiddlerman Concert Series, similar to Kuhn. I have a Bonmusica but I haven't found the right adjustment for me yet. AND, AT LAST, THE QUESTION buried in all this. Is it ok to leave a fiddle in/on a floor stand with the shoulder rest still on? I am afraid that one day the "fiddle repairman" is gonna say "You do what? No wonder it's twisted! No wonder it's warped! What would posses you to lean this violin against a shoulder rest and just walk away? The shoulder rest is removable for a reason. Seriously, is it that difficult, time consuming to just twist ONE foot and slip it off?" etc, etc,. It actually kinda is. I'm 62 and horse wrecks, car wrecks and life have shaped me a bit oddly. When I get the shoulder rest juuuuuust right, I don't want to move it.

[@texashoppy]

This is just one of the things that I need. Thanks! While I am worried about getting a good tone, my bow drifts down towards the fretboard. Is this due to me not keeping the bow perpendicular to the strings and parallel to the bridge?

[@kerncoleman4400]

I noticed your bridge is pretty heavy or thick. Do you have any preferences or opinions on bridges as far as affecting tone or volume? Thank you for the great instruction, you're the best on KZbin!

[@johnduheaume6650]

Hi Kern, beginner myself but yes the bridge is a crucial component and the quality of the wood and it's mass is important, a lighter bridge has less inertia and transmits the vibration of the strings through the table and sound post through to the back of the fiddle, relative location is crucial as well.

[@patriciajrs46]

Please answer this question: do the strings hurt your fingers until you really learn how to play? It seems no one wants to tell me. Learning as an adult is difficult. Right? Thank you so much for this. Most people seem to not want to pass on what they know.

[@clintonhartman1928]

At first it hurt my fingers until I realized that I don’t have to press very hard on the strings to get a decent sound. Now I don’t get sore fingers anymore. I’ve only been playing for two years though so… take it for what it’s worth. Fiddlehead has a video about seeing how close to the strings you can keep your fingers while you play, not pressing so hard was a side benefit I found to that video.

[@patriciajrs46]

@@clintonhartman1928 Thank you for the answer.

[@rikstavale]

When you ask "do the strings hurt your fingers..." I assume you mean the tips of your fingers, the part that puts pressure on the strings. If this is the case, when you play consistently your finger tips should eventually form a little callus and will stop hurting.

[@patriciajrs46]

@@rikstavale Yes, that is what I mean. That is why I quit practicing any on the guitar. I couldn't let myself play enough through the pain to develop the callouses. Thank you.

[@johnduheaume6650]

@@patriciajrs46 as a beginner myself I have found that I was pressing down far harder than necessary to produce a clear note, it needs very little pressure on the fiddle not like a guitar with steel strings, same with the bow , gripping is wrong, light hold is much better, we do an exercise on bow hold where you "walk" up and down as it where with the lightest hold.