Have you ever been uncomfortable saying the name of a fiddle tune? How about tunes with slurs in the title or the Irish tune I Buried My Wife and Danced on her Grave?
Without using racial slurs, I discuss problematic fiddle tune names, how I think about them and approach them.

Find the Contranella album here: https://megwobus.bandcamp.com/album/contranella

Our tune is Magpie's Nest, an Irish reel.

Thanks for listening!

My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune!

• Fiddle Books
• Bandcamp
• YouTube

You can reach me at [email protected].

My website for learning to fiddle is Fiddle Studio which has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes!

This week we talk about where the fiddle neck meets the hand. Different ways to grip the neck of the fiddle and how it can change- even while you're in the middle of playing!

Our tune is Madam if You Please from a jam at the ArtHouse Bar. 

Thanks for listening!

My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune!

• Fiddle Books
• Bandcamp
• YouTube

You can reach me at [email protected].

My website for learning to fiddle is Fiddle Studio which has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes!

Hear all about playing and performing on the 5 string fiddle with a bonus question from last week with Jenna Moynihan. Hear about Jenna's fiddle and how she uses it!

Jenna's Interview: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2040333/14620847

John Blessing's Delight is an Irish jig in G major.

Thanks for listening!

My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune!

• Fiddle Books
• Bandcamp
• YouTube

You can reach me at [email protected].

My website for learning to fiddle is Fiddle Studio which has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes!

An interview with Jenna Moynihan, a fiddler and an extraordinary member of the Boston music community. Jenna performs with harpist Mairi Chaimbeul, the Seamus Egan Project, the Hanneke Cassel Band, and has appeared as a soloist at Symphony Hall with the Boston Pops. In addition to touring, recording and teaching at fiddle camps, Jenna is also an Assistant Professor in the String Department at Berklee College of Music. 

Jenna Moynihan: https://www.jennamoynihan.com/

Bandcamp: https://jennamoynihan.bandcamp.com/

Mailing List: https://www.jennamoynihan.com/schedule

The tune for this week is Brenda and Bill's a slow reel by Jenna Moynihan and Mairi Chaimbeul from the album One Two.

Thanks for listening!

My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune!

• Fiddle Books
• Bandcamp
• YouTube

You can reach me at [email protected].

My website for learning to fiddle is Fiddle Studio which has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes!

Let's talk about the different kinds of fiddling you find around the US and Canada. I share what I know about the genres more closely related to dancing and dance music, and a little about fiddling along with songs.

Our tune for today is a version of Billy in the Lowground in the key of A, played in either Calico (AEAC#) or Cross A (AEAE) tuning. I use cross A.

Thanks for listening!

My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune!

• Fiddle Books
• Bandcamp
• YouTube

You can reach me at [email protected].

My website for learning to fiddle is Fiddle Studio which has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes!

What?! Stop playing the fiddle? Why would I ever do a podcast on that topic, and who am I to tell anyone what they should do or not do?

Our tune for today is Chinquapin Hunting, a three part tune in A, played in cross A tuning. (I originally put the wrong tune up- even I can't keep these Old-Time tunes straight- but it should be Chinquapin Hunting now!)

Thanks for listening!

My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune!

• Fiddle Books
• Bandcamp
• YouTube

You can reach me at [email protected].

My website for learning to fiddle is Fiddle Studio which has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes!

Listen in to hear how you can supercharge your practicing, or at least give it a refresh. This is the last podcast devoted to a topic from my new course How to Play Faster, which is available now on Fiddle Studio!

A quick addendum to the description of mindful practice: I somehow blanked on the best use of slow, mindful practice: improving your tuning!

Our tune for today is Old Granny Rattle Trap, interpreted from the fiddling of Natalie Padilla from an Old-Time jam in Northampton, MA. I play the tune in cross A, strings tuned to AEAE. See the sheet music for some fingering suggestions in cross A.

Thanks for listening!

My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune!

• Fiddle Books
• Bandcamp
• YouTube

You can reach me at [email protected].

My website for learning to fiddle is Fiddle Studio which has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes!

Janie Rothfield is a powerhouse Old-Time fiddler and banjo player who performs and  teaches at camps and weekends all over the country and the world! Janie shares what she thinks is important for fiddlers to learn and work on. Is it the fingering or the bowing? Hear all about Janie's Jumpstart camps and about her current projects.

The tune today is Waiting for Sandy from Janie's album Out of Thin Air.
Check out Janie's website to get the dates of her upcoming camps and performances!

Thanks for listening!

My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune!

• Fiddle Books
• Bandcamp
• YouTube

You can reach me at [email protected].

My website for learning to fiddle is Fiddle Studio which has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes!

Any time you mess with the left hand technique it's going to interfere with your playing. With this in mind how are some ways you can work on unlocking your hand gradually, or consider what's it like to drop everything and completely relearn the left hand.

I made a mistake with the tune. I call it Fred Finn's in the podcast. That is a different reel. This reel is Fred Finn's #2, better known as Preston's. 

Thanks for listening!

My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune!

• Fiddle Books
• Bandcamp
• YouTube

You can reach me at [email protected].

My website for learning to fiddle is Fiddle Studio which has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes!

Slow practice and rhythms are two different ways to practice and make your playing faster. But how does slowing down help? And how is that different from practicing with rhythmic variations?

Our tune for today is Ne'er Shall I Wean Her, a jig from a session at the ArtHouse bar in Baltimore, Maryland. 

Thanks for listening!

My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune!

• Fiddle Books
• Bandcamp
• YouTube

You can reach me at [email protected].

My website for learning to fiddle is Fiddle Studio which has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes!