Music Lesson Details
This section is here to give you an idea of what to expect from your fiddle lessons or violin lessons. The order and necessity of covering these concepts and techniques will vary according to your background and learning style. Depending on your aspirations you can choose to cover multiple musical genres and even learn about other aspects of the music industry such as touring, session recordings, stage sound, composition, and music production.
Following the lesson details is a short article on what equipment you need to have to start lessons if you are completely new to the violin.
Following the lesson details is a short article on what equipment you need to have to start lessons if you are completely new to the violin.
Irish Music
The traditional dance music of Ireland, made internationally famous by bands such as The Chieftains and The Bothy Band, as well as popular dance shows such as Riverdance and Lord of the Dance. This music is highly energetic; you'll find it nearly impossible to resist the urge to tap your foot while listening to its array of catchy tunes! Its slow melodies are both haunting and beautiful. Learning Irish music involves a focus on using various traditional ornamentation to subtly change a tune each time you play it, together with an element of improvisation on the core melody.
Beginning Irish Fiddle Lessons: Topics covered include holding the fiddle and bow, good posture, achieving a quality tone, distinguishing the different Irish tune types (mainly jigs & reels until intermediate skill is achieved), keeping tempo, learning by ear, reading sheet music (optional), common Irish tunes, basic bowing techniques, major and minor scales, getting the most out of your practice time, and fiddle maintenance.
Intermediate Irish Fiddle Lessons: This is also applicable to experienced players who are relatively new to playing Irish music. You will learn Irish style ornamentation (cuts, long rolls, short rolls, bowed triplets, slides, double-stops), basic methods to work ornamentation into tunes, efficient fingering techniques, playing different Irish tune types (jigs, reels, polkas, hornpipes, slides, waltzes, mazurkas), Irish session etiquette, intermediate bowing techniques, and creating tune sets.
Advanced Irish Fiddle Lessons: At this stage of your playing you will focus on tune variations (improvisation), adapting your ornaments to change the mood of a tune, building energy during sets, advanced bowing techniques, third position fingering, adjusting your playing to harmonize with other Irish instruments, and personalizing your style.
Classical Music
Classical pieces encompass many different types of melodies, from sonatas to concertos and suites as well as many others. It is prevalent in movies and performances by symphonies, and many of its composers are revered to this day for their musical genius. Learning it requires an emphasis on honing your technical skill and reading sheet music. Suzuki violin books 1 & 2 will be covered in instruction.
Beginning Classical Violin Lessons: Learn how to properly hold the violin and bow and maintain good posture while doing so, achieve a quality tone, keep tempo, read sheet music, learn musical pieces by ear, and practice efficiently. You will also become familiar with major and minor key scales and arpeggios, basic bowing techniques, first position fingerings, and violin maintenance. Classical lessons utilize Suzuki violin books 1 & 2.
Old Time Music
American rural dance music played in fiddle contests, barn dances, contra dances, and jam sessions all over the USA. You'll be clapping and stomping your feet in no time once you hear it, or grabbing a partner to dance with! Playing old time fiddle involves using a lot of double stops (bowing over two strings at once) and slides. Most material used for lessons will be from The Fiddler's Fakebook.
Beginning Old Time Fiddle Lessons: Topics covered include holding the fiddle and bow, good posture, achieving a quality tone, distinguishing different tune types, keeping tempo, learning by ear, reading sheet music (optional), getting the most out of your practice time, major and minor key scales, and fiddle maintenance.
Intermediate Old Time Fiddle Lessons: This is also relevant to experienced players who are perhaps new to old time or fiddle styles in general. We will place an emphasis on rhythmic bowing, double-stops, creating tune variations, and efficient fingering techniques.
The Blues
Mournful but uplifting, soulful, sassy, and unfailingly entertaining to listen to. The violin is not commonly used within this genre, but it sounds great when it is! Anticipating and improvising along with the chord changes is the key factor in playing the blues.
Beginning Blues Violin Lessons: Topics covered will include how to properly hold the violin and bow, achieving a quality tone, keeping tempo, learning by ear, major and minor key scales as well as pentatonic scales, getting the most out of your practice time, and violin maintenance.
Intermediate Blues Violin Lessons: Once you have honed your chops you will focus on the blues scale, improvisation, rhythmic bowing techniques, blues ornamentation (upward and downward slides, grace notes, vibrato), following chord patterns, soloing, building the emotional quality of your playing, and band etiquette.
Rock n' Roll
Looking to add a unique twist to the traditional electric guitar, electric bass, drums setup? Rock violin adds a new element to a most excellent music genre. While there is no set 'way' to play rock violin, there are plenty of tricks of the trade that can be learned to enhance this combination!
Beginning Rock Violin Lessons: As a beginning rock violinist you will learn how to properly hold the violin and bow, achieve a quality tone, keep tempo, learn songs by ear, get the most out of your practice time, how to play major and minor key scales as well as pentatonic scales, and violin maintenance.
Intermediate Rock Violin Lessons: This is also relevant to experienced violin or fiddle players who are looking to switch up their style for playing in a rock n' roll band. As an adept in the art of rock you will focus on the blues scale, other exotic scales (harmonic minor, Japanese, etc), improvisation, rhythmic bowing techniques, double stops, when to play within the structure of a song, soloing, third position fingering, following chord patterns, and band etiquette.
What exactly do I need to start playing the violin?
Before you begin your first violin lesson or fiddle lesson you will need to acquire an instrument. However that is not all there is to it, as will be detailed below.
First off, violins come in different sizes. The vast majority of adults will want a full size, or 4/4, violin. However, if you are of a younger age or particularly short in height you may need an instrument of a smaller size, which includes: 7/8, 3/4, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/10, or 1/16. The shop you rent or purchase your instrument from should be able to determine which violin size fits you or your child best.
Second, you will need a violin bow. The bow is a strip of either wood or occasionally a material such as carbon fiber, with a length of horse hair strung across it, and is used to produce the signature sound of the violin by drawing it across the strings of the instrument.
These also come in sizes corresponding to the size of the violin that you should be playing. If you are renting a violin from a shop they should come with the instrument, however if you are purchasing an instrument be forewarned that it may not necessarily come with a bow!
These also come in sizes corresponding to the size of the violin that you should be playing. If you are renting a violin from a shop they should come with the instrument, however if you are purchasing an instrument be forewarned that it may not necessarily come with a bow!
Now, before you can produce a sound on the violin with its bow, you will need to apply rosin to the bow hair. Rosin is a piece of hardened tree sap that makes the hair of the bow sticky, thus producing the friction needed to make those violin strings sing. Different types of rosin can subtly alter the tone of the instrument. A single piece of rosin should last for years before a replacement is needed.
On a similar note, you will want a piece of soft fabric to wipe your instrument down with. A violin accumulates dust, as well as a layer of rosin on the wood between the bridge and the finger board, all of which you will want to clean off regularly.
On a similar note, you will want a piece of soft fabric to wipe your instrument down with. A violin accumulates dust, as well as a layer of rosin on the wood between the bridge and the finger board, all of which you will want to clean off regularly.
Next is the shoulder rest. This is a length of foam embedded into a metal frame that has a set of grips that attach to the bottom of the violin, and can help make you more comfortable while you play as well as improve how firmly it fits against your shoulder. While there are some fiddle players that do not use a shoulder rest, most players prefer to use one because of its benefits.
Finally there is the chin rest. This is mentioned last because while many violins come with one attached to the instrument already, this is not always the case. If you do not have a chin rest attached to your violin then there are two ways you can resolve this. The first is to take it to a violin repair shop and have one attached. Alternately, if you are running low on funds or prefer the idea of your chin resting on a soft and pliable surface, you can attach a sponge in the place the chin rest would normally go using a rubber band.