Anyone here play the Fiddle?

[dragonsong]

Originally Posted by dragonsong

I can play the Erhu, does that count

sorry, i should have also said it's the Chinese version of the violin except it was invented about 4,500 years ago , or at least thats what my lao po says.

[AuburnAL]

Originally Posted by ferretkona

Back in the 70's my dad had told me. A violin player earned $20K a year. A good fiddle player could earn $100K a year.

Yeah. There was a great Beverly Hillbillies episode where Grannie hires a classical violinist to be Jethro's fiddle teacher, but after a few lessons she feels bad for him since she decides he doesn't know how to actually play the fiddle so she asks the fiddler from Flatt and Scruggs to teach the classical violinist. The guy was pretty snooty to begin with and got mad about a "hillbilly" trying to teach him how to play until he discovered the guy made 10x as much money as he did. Then he decided maybe he could use a teacher after all.

I'm in the Huntsville area too. We seem to be a hotbed for budding fiddle students in this topic. I've asked around, and a few shops around here will rent them to you for real cheap so you can decide you really want to learn to play before dropping a few grand on an instrument. If you decide to do that though there's also a shop that has those high end fiddles, and they can hook you up with lessons. Work has been too hectic for me to start right now though. I was thinking about the banjo, but the fiddle seems more versatile.

[AuburnAL]

Originally Posted by dragonsong

sorry, i should have also said it's the Chinese version of the violin except it was invented about 4,500 years ago , or at least thats what my lao po says.

Is that the instrument where the head (not sure what the technical term is actually) is traditionally supposed to be covered by python skin? Those are pretty cool. There's a guy here in town who can play it because I've seen him playing in public before.

[xeric]

Originally Posted by dragonsong

I can play the Erhu, does that count

Only if you play John Hardy on it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabula_...81_%28album%29

I love the erhu.

[phonelady61]

I also play the violin and Im 50 and have been playing since I was 8 and took lessons and loved it from the start . My brother plays the piano and we used to give our parents and their friends concerts , which I hated LOL !! Anyways if you really want to play then do so Im sure you can find someone who can give you lessons especially in the area you live in . Good luck .

[turkeytrot]

Originally Posted by MonaLisaVito

Anybody on here play the Fiddle? Is it hard to learn?

I'm thinking about taking some lessons.

Any comments or suggestions? Thanks!

Go for it!!
I took a guitar class in high school in the mid 1970's and that's it.
I really didn't advance that much and a lot of what I learned was wrong.

Last year I started taking private lessons. I dropped just under $1,200.00 on a new Taylor 214 guitar then discovered Bluegrass. While the king of the hill in Bluegrass music is the Martin, my Taylor is good enough for now.

Point is, what ever you decide to play do it, just do it!!
Playing an instrument is rewarding and fun.

A piece of advice, Get the basics right and don't get discouraged when you hear someone playing at a higher level.
You are learning. Everybody starts at the same place you're at. It takes a life time to learn to play a musical instument.

And when you hit a wall and struggle with part of a tune you my want to lay your fiddle down and do something else for a while. When you break through those walls you gain confidence in your playing and it feeds you appitite to play on.

Have fun and good luck!!

[catman]

turkeytrot: Good advice all. I play fretless electric bass professionally, and several other instruments for my own enjoyment. I had played violin for a couple of years and cello for six, so when the fretless bass came out, I immediately switched from the common fretted bass. I don't need no stinking frets!

[turkeytrot]

Originally Posted by catman

turkeytrot: Good advice all. I play fretless electric bass professionally, and several other instruments for my own enjoyment. I had played violin for a couple of years and cello for six, so when the fretless bass came out, I immediately switched from the common fretted bass. I don't need no stinking frets!

No frets is kinda like operating without a net. What a great way to hone your skills! It has to be fun.

[catman]

Playing it without frets makes it so much more expressive. No need to try to bend those big strings, just slide! The sound is a bit different as well, since the string vibrates against the wooden fingerboard rather than a metal fret, more of a string-bass sound. I also get to play out of tune if I'm not very careful, but it's worth it!