Craig Judelman teaches oldtime bow technique

Most oldtime fiddlers will tell you that the real stuff is in the bowing. It can easily take a lifetime to work through the intricacies of all that happens in oldtime fiddle bowing. But you gotta start somewhere. In this video oldtime fiddler Craig Judelman explores several of the foundational techniques of the bowing hand that make oldtime so unique.

[@Jynx215]

"I recommend spending a good amount of time with your right hand... and your fiddle" Went over my head the first time, hilarious

[@johnnyparker9928]

Imagine teaching this in a highschool setting.😂

[@wormtowndj]

This is the best breakdown of what I've been missing. Thank you so much!

[@siamsasean]

Excellent lesson! I've had a boat-load of lessons on a half dozen string instruments, and this is one of the best I've come across. I was just thinking about the change in rhythmic timing between the downbeat bowing and the upbeat bowing, and there you are explaining it and pointing out what not to do. And oh that sounded so British garden party. Gotta say, I really like your off-the-cuff style. That, combined with your precision and detail are wonderful. I've been mostly playing Irish and Scots trad with picks and fingers, but you've inspired me to get down my steel string fiddle.

[@503matelo]

This is exactly what I needed! Thanks a million.

[@biohealingoftampabay9379]

I've watched several of Craigs videos they are the best

[@zecalimazeca]

It really helped me. Thanks and hugs from Brazil.

[@davidthurman3963]

I don't even play fiddle just guitar and even I could follow this lesson, at least conceptually what was needed with the notes and bow work.fantastic teaching. .

[@keithcary5103]

Wow, what great teaching. You got into detail without getting going too far. Plenty of stuff to practice. Thanks!

[@elenasiegerist7287]

Absolutely interesting No teachers are showing us.!! Thank you very much. Love your lessons.

[@timmyroust]

This is so helpful ! Thanks for the lesson Craig ! I am really looking forward to your lesson on circular bowing. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[@craigjudelman]

Aw thanks man, yeah the bowing is definitely the tricky bit. Anyways so cool to hear from you, hope alls well, been too long!

[@Logicalblue1]

Thanks, Craig.

[@fiddlegirl5]

Thanks for the video! I am only recently learning old-time...I got into fiddling via the Celtic scene which is a whole different thing as you may know. The bowing is the hardest part for me, but your video really helped especially with the up-accents!

[@Fiddlequick]

Thanks so much for this explanation! It helps to solve the mystery of fiddle bowing.

[@letsfigurethisout456]

Thank you for the great video, much appreciated ❤

[@michaelblankenstein]

Thanks so much, sir.

[@sandrakerr6715]

Yes I appreciate this video so much, thank you, rare one

[@troutfisher7182]

Thanks for the video!

[@davepope3533]

bloody great . Thanks. Await with high anticipation, the circular bowing lesson

[@1acetrace]

Great lesson. Thank you

[@jeffcurtis8089]

Wonderful job. So much to learn! Thank you!

[@zachb8012]

Heyyyyy that alternating string shuffle string sounds cool and you can work into a lot of tunes to layer in those alternating notes in a more groovy pattern than just the circle bowing for 1/8th note runs I've gotten down.

[@Jynx215]

Thanks so much for this video. Great info

[@SandiaOufSympathique]

Nice video, thanks !

[@terria1254]

GREAT video, thank-you VERY much (from a beginner)! 🙂

[@eliotrandallw]

Loved this video. What’s the tune in the intro? Do you have a video on that?

[@dougnickerson]

Great with different accents

[@jennymallin9646]

Thanks for the bowing video , I am a lefty using my right hand to bow ans it’s very slow going

[@michaelblankenstein]

Do you keep the bow hair as loose as possible to make double stops easier? Thanks in advance.

[@craigjudelman]

Some problem do, others keep it quite tight so they can really dig into the strings for some edgy articulation, which I do a bit when playing for dances, but generally I find getting 2 strings is mostly just about playing on the right angle and then w a loose wrist you can get other drones on a 3rd or 4th string without too much effort (but a bit of practice…), I try to keep the bow a little tight to be able to lean into it but not any tighter than I need so it’s also still pretty bouncy and will sit in the string, especially if I’m playing more stately or civilized tunes… Hope that helps, try to find what works for you, and maybe try playing with different amounts at of arm weight/downward pressure combined with different amounts of tightness in the bow hair and see if you find a combination (or even better different combinations…) that work better for you!

[@chas5131]

Craig, Thank you very much

[@jonmezera8417]

So, what I can tell with the alternating string shuffle bowing pattern being shown is you are basically turning 1/8th notes to (2) 1/16th notes: one melody note and then the alternating string either bowed slurred or separate. Is this correct?

[@craigjudelman]

exactly! of course once you start playing a tune, you don't actually do this on every single beat, but I think taking a simple melody and adding in the open string below between each note that you can is a great way to get this basic sound into your body and also work on keeping that wrist loose. good luck!

[@JustFiddler]

matur suksma untuk video nya ! sangat bermanfaat 😇

[@jrsforest187]

"I recommend spending a lot of time with your right hand....... and your fiddle"

[@peterirving9458]

hey anyone know know the tune at 11:25?

[@craigjudelman]

Hey it’s called John Brown’s dream

[@DansOgar]

Does it matters wich chords? I am gonna practice on my keyfiddler.

[@DansOgar]

Example 6:48

[@craigjudelman]

Hey sorry can you clarify what you mean and I can try and help you out? You mean chords in the sense of A major etc, or in the french/italian/etc sense, aka which string...?

[@DansOgar]

@@craigjudelman I meant G, C and so on.