Some of the exercises and concepts here are from my book "Exploring Folk Fiddle", but you can get a pdf of everything in this video for free if you email me on haighchris@hotmail.com.
When I was learning Irish fiddle fifteen years ago, I could not find a teacher who could tell me these crucial points. I have spent years doing it wrong, knowing I was doing it wrong, and not knowing how to fix it. I even ran a session with many musicians coming and going for a year, and no one knew how to do it correctly or could tell me how to fix what I was doing. Thank you so much for this. I have found that in tight, crowded sessions, I do not have the room to hold my bow at the frog and throat, and have had to compensate by holding the bow at the winding. Perhaps it is also my arm length.
My problem is that I can do the bowing… until I add melody, then it all goes south. I think those small passages you have included here is going to be super useful. Thank you! Ps: Martin Hayes is a great exponent of dynamics, and I think enriches just about everything he plays.
Fine playing and informative. I am a classical violinist, and I watched your right hand with amazement and more than a little shock. I am not convinced that classical technique will not work for this style, with minor adaptation. I will work on it. Thanks for the lesson!
An English accent ha! Well I'm glad not all Englishmen hate the Irish. Do you have any good advice for the fingerboard technique to give it that Irish twang.
I wish all my playing lessons were this informative and clear. truely amzing! keep doing it, and may this level of teaching propegate to other instruments and styles too
Great, thank you very much for all your videos! You could do one to the bowing of Irish violinist Kevin Burke. He made a few tutorials where he explains his way of doing things. It looks like a "smooth Shuffle 3/3/11" with the accents on 2 and 4 Beats, but starting each measure with an up bow😊
Hi Gabriel. That's a good idea. Early in his career Kevin played a bit of American old time, and I think that may be where he got attached to the shuffle with a strong backbeat. He's very keen on starting with upbows. Personally I find that works really well with jigs.
@@TheFiddleChannel ha yes, I didn’t know about his early career! Here is one of the videos where he explains his bowing strokes, in case you haven't seen it :-) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-1AMesSTGSd8.html
This is absolutely brilliant! It’s so great to also get some technique rather than just listen and repeat (a lot of that on the internet which is very generous but of its kind). Thank you so, so much for sharing. Great inspiration for adult beginners! I really appreciate it.
Thank you for this. I taught myself by ear and have been fiddling for years. I have learnt to play jigs and reels using long bow strokes with the rhythm coming from left hand fingering. Now I want to speed up I've hit a brick wall. Going to be difficult totally altering my bowing technique but I'm determined Thx again for sharing your knowledge.
Thanks Chris - I watched your video on accompaniment- - you're right just...just what I needed - thankfully I have most of the music requested for St. Patrick's Day - wonderful soprano singer - they handed me the lyrics that's all and the old guitar player is really a horn player and couldn't tell me the chords he was playing oh vay but I know I'll have fun now and will lay low with you great tips- they like my solos and I'll play 2 :)🌈🍀
This was SOO useful-1/2 inch bowing and index binger pressure- it's changes my playing dramatically ~ Thank you! I would love to see a clip on accompanying singers and how to be unobtrusive
Thank you for solving a problem that has caused me sleepless nights till now :) Swung bowing, or not swung bowing in reels... nobody knows! Splendid! I can stop getting stressed about it! :))
Thanks for these clear explanations on how using the bow for irish music ! I'm a starter and this video will be very very helpful to begin with good vibrations ! thanks again !
Hey Chris! Good video. The flick is something I’m still learning when to apply. There’s usually multiple opportunities in a phrase to do it. Comments? Also, I was hoping to hear you discuss the bow triplet ornament that I hear the cream of the crop of Irish fiddlers use now and them. Again, when to use it. Thank you. Look forward to the old time video.
Hi Jerry. I tend to think of the flick and the triplet as ornaments rather than bowing features, but yes, maybe I should have mentioned them. Have you seen my video on the bowed triplet? ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-JzPmJ_J021Q.html
I have been looking for a chord progression common on the guitar G,C,D, Em. But the Em seems to be missing on most fiddle RU-vid lessons, is there a reason for this?
Hi Shanty. If you're talking about Irish tunes, if they're in G they would tend to start and end on a G. For guitarists, chords might come first, but for tune players, the melody defines the chords.
Yay, was looking forward to this, getting some more understanding of how to play the Irish bowing, thank you so much for this video. This will keep me busy for the coming time 😅😊
This is great even as a refresher. You explain it very well, especially how you can work your bow to the end if you don't compensate with bowing lengths.
Around 10:00 feels like when I attempted to learn french. Carrying the bow direction over from the last beat to the first beat of the next bar reminds me of liaisons. Im a self taught fiddler, I have mainly been drawn to American old time. It feels the most similar to playing rhythic guitar for me. This (and bluegrass/more melodic styles) seems like wayyy more though goes into bow direction. Is the way to get away from thinking too hard about bow direction is just practicing passages both directions always like you said? Especially in bluegrass, Im flabbergasted by how fiddlers can improvise all over the place and never lose positioning or control of their bow
I'm starting playing again after a gap of about 50 years and I was really pleased when you said there was no reason for holding the bow in the 'wrong' place. Then I watched the rest and noticed your wrist is constantly bent. If you bow mostly at the pointy end, with very short strokes, a shorter bow would fix that, or moving your hand, as though it was shorter... :-)
Enjoy your videos. Don’t play much fiddle now. Used to play in sessions in Portland Or in the 80’s. Kevin Burke, John Cunningham, Martin Hayes where a few of the famous fiddlers that swinged by now and then. Think the jig played in the background on this video sounds like Kevin Burke
