these 3 steps helped me fiddle again after my stroke (for string players feeling tense or awkward)

[@FiddleGeeks]

Have you had a major setback in your playing? What are you working on right now? How can I help?

[@PaydirtAz]

Thank you for sharing your story. You are very inspiring !!

[@FiddleGeeks]

☺

[@PaydirtAz]

❤

[@PWL1371]

Thanks for sharing your story. Would have never guessed you ever had a stroke. The effort you put into being able to play again is very inspiring. Hope to pick my fiddle back up at the first of the year. Had started learning to help with stiff joints about two years ago and then was hit almost head on by another car in February this year. I was a passenger and needless to say my shoulder took the blunt of the impact. That took playing out for a long time. Still have days with soreness and defiantly not the same mobility I use to have before. Will have to start from scratch again. That's the hardest part. I've played some sort of instrument since 1982. That makes the intro lessons hard to follow lol.

[@FiddleGeeks]

I hear you! If I was working with you one-on-one I'd know your strengths and we'd do it differently. I'll be here when you're ready to return to playing, and the community is here for you to vent any frustrations. Keep me posted on your progress!

[@jack002tuber]

Wow a great story. I'm happy for you that you didn't lose it. My real setback is lack of practice. I should try to play every day. I lack discipline. I really need to think about what to practice and stay with it too. My main issue is bow tracking, it it moves around as my arm bends and is not perpendicular to the strings at all times. It shows in the tone.

[@FiddleGeeks]

Thanks! You might rethink the diagnosis that you lack discipline. We all prefer to do things we're good at and if you feel your playing is subpar that may be the reason you avoid it. As an experiment, watch my Secret Method video < kzbin.info/www/bejne/momkd6dvmbp0hKc > and play some open strings following the steps in the video. Do a little every day and let me know how it goes!

[@dobrodoc]

This is amazing! I have a friend who had a right sided CVA and has hyperesthesia and inability to determine how much pressure he is exerting on the bow grip. Any suggestions to help improve bowing when the sende of position in space ( proprioception) is impaired? Thanks for all your videos!

[@FiddleGeeks]

I'm still struggling with that! I really have to focus. I added to my description some exercises your friend has probably already done with his neurologist. Doing these regularly will improve his general proprioception (as will things like brushing teeth in the dark and other non-dangerous tricks). I believe even lower body proprioception is important to sensing yourself in space, so I included everything. These exercises are great, too-- www.redboxfitness.com/proprioception/ In general though, relaxing the arm as much as possible and using the thumb to press up to refine the pressure on the bow (as I describe around 2:45 in this video) is key. Use your ear to gauge success. Relaxing is tricky after a CVA! I'll do a video with massage techniques if you're curious.