Old time fiddle bowing technique

Old time bowing is a large and complex subject. In this fiddle lesson I introduce five of the more common techniques, shuffles or patterns. These are the Nashville Shuffle, Georgia Shuffle, Synco Shuffle, Smooth Shuffle and The Pulse. Each of these can be applied either to individual phrases within a tune, or to whole tunes, and I discuss when this may or may not be appropriate. I use numerous tunes as examples, including Old Joe Clark, Turkey in the Straw, 8th of January, Big Sciota, Fisher's Hornpipe, and Cand Girl. I use sheet music on screen throughout, and a free pdf of all the tunes and exercises is available to subscribers (see below). There are plenty more free video lessons on old time fiddle tunes and techniques elsewhere on The Fiddle Channel.
Below are details of further fiddle resources from Chris Haigh
1. Patreon
2. Books
3. Subscription video courses
4. Website
5. Email to request pdf’s.
1. PATREON
This is a platform where anyone can directly help to support creative artists and get closer access to their work. You can join me on Patreon at three levels, for £4, £10 or £40 per month.

At the lowest level you get access to all my pdf’s and tune collections, plus many exclusive tuition videos not available to the public.
At level 2 you can join also me once a month for a group Zoom chat, and can request three backing tracks each month.
Level 3 gives you all the above plus a free lesson once a month, and access to all my backing tracks.
You can find me on Patreon at
/ thefiddlechannel
2. BOOKS
I have eight fiddle tuition books published by Schott, all widely available from the publisher, from Amazon, and many other outlets. All come with audio tracks illustrating the tunes and exercises.
Exploring Jazz Violin
Beginning Jazz Violin
Discovering Rock Violin
Exploring Folk Fiddle
Exploring Klezmer Fiddle
Hungarian Fiddle Tunes
French Fiddle Tunes
Exploring Country and Bluegrass Fiddle
You can order from
bit.ly/31ZWmgm
3. VIDEO SUBSCRIPTION COURSES
I have three video subscription courses
-
MUSIC GURUS- Exploring Jazz Violin. Based on my Schott book
Parts 1 and 2 are each £26 for 26 lessons, covering the first and second halves of the book
Part 1; tidd.ly/3SwHGhb
Part 2 tidd.ly/3SwHGhb
MUSIC GURUS Discovering Rock Violin. . Based on my Schott book
£35 for 46 lessons
tidd.ly/3SwHGhb
MUSIC GURUS Exploring Country and Bluegrass Fiddle. Based on my Schott book. 31 lessons for £31.99
tidd.ly/3SwHGhb
ACADEMY OF FOLK
Includes a folk fiddle primer course, with introductions to basic techniques and concepts plus an Irish Fiddle Course and Scottish fiddle course. A monthly sub of $9.99 gives access to all lessons
academyoffolk.com/
(I suggest you contact me before taking out a sub).
4. WEBSITE
My website is probably the most extensive and detailed summary of fiddle styles on the web, as evidenced by the range of top hits on Google for many fiddle styles.
www.fiddlingaround.co.uk
__________________________________________________________
TO REQUEST PDF’S, or ask any questions, CONTACT ME AT
[e-mail]

[@melanielinkous8746]

Hello, fellow fiddlers! Much love from Florida.

[@petehealy9819]

Very, very helpful! Once a Music major and grad student, I had a long career completely unrelated to music; and now in retirement, I'm a fiddle newbie (well, 18 months in). My ear-training skills from way back have come back to life, but so has my need to understand techniques in a larger musical context as I learn them. This video does exactly that, so thank you very much!

[@TheFiddleChannel]

Thanks Pete, glad you found this useful!

[@jonmichaelswift]

This is so useful! My students and I have a lot to work on!

[@TheFiddleChannel]

Yes, this will keep you busy for a while!

[@ssgiddyup]

I hadn't given shuffles, other than Nashville, much thought before this. Very well-presented.

[@TheFiddleChannel]

Thanks, glad you found it interesting!

[@grahamsheppard2067]

Great explanation of Shuffles used in old time fiddling. Many tunes naturally apply a shuffle but recognizing them is often challenging. This helps!

[@TheFiddleChannel]

Hi Graham. Glad you found this useful!

[@michabiaowas-fiddlerskrzyp5240]

Profesional musician and passion :)

[@trstkw]

Ty so much for this video!!

[@TheFiddleChannel]

You're welcome!

[@joshuatendoornkaat8558]

Amazing video! I’ve been playing banjo, bass, and mandolin in bluegrass and old time settings for years, and decided to pick up the fiddle for the first time last week. This video has helped me start improvising on the fiddle within my first week! Cheers for that mate:) will subscribe and watch all your oldtime/bluegrass related videos.

[@TheFiddleChannel]

Hi Joshua. Glad you enjoyed this! It's good to hear you're making such fast progress.

[@Judymontel]

Priceless!! Thank you!! So needed you back when I was first learning fiddle tunes to play for contra dances! But you've reignited my enthusiasm even if I don't currently have a band to play with... one step at a time! (I like to practice the various bowings, like in Georgia shuffle, without the instrument just to get the muscles coordinated without the ear suffering too much! 😂)

[@TheFiddleChannel]

Hi Judy, glad you found this useful!

[@Judymontel]

@@TheFiddleChannel Very! I'll have to go over all the rhythms again to see which one is the one used in the June Apple bowing pattern (A part) - now that's a bouncy one!

[@kathleengarrett8600]

Brilliant tutorials 👌

[@TheFiddleChannel]

Thanks Kathleen!

[@Jleed989]

The idea seems to be that you become so fluent in these patterns that you flow from one to another without really thinking about it.

[@TheFiddleChannel]

Yes, that's absolutely it!

[@lonelyhashbrown]

The Em comes first in B. S

[@jonbrown7868]

Hokum bow.... like 15s

[@jonbrown7868]

Triplets in an odd number are sweet

[@jonbrown7868]

Makes me feel like im just sawing on a log too hard. I need to up the ante hoss.

[@jonbrown7868]

Me, not you Sir

[@drgerni]

Chris, I signed of for your patreon channel, yet now I am told I need to sign up again. What can be done?

[@TheFiddleChannel]

Hi. I see you signed up in January. Maybe you signed up for six months and now that period has finished?