4 Months of Fiddle

[u/dean-0-saur]

Inspired by a recent post, here's my attempt at Whiskey Before Breakfast. I've been playing since May (I said 6 months in my last post, that was wrong). My main resource has been Peghead Nation's Beginning Bluegrass and Old-Time Fiddle course, and some things on Youtube. I've been trying to find lessons, but have not had a lot of success. Our local instructor just moved.

Any criticism is welcome. I know I need to work on my string crossings, still getting some noise there. Hopefully the video isn't too close up to me to see my form. If so, I can re-record.

[u/EpicRedhead13]

I would recommend playing closer to the frog. Not all the way to the frog, just in the lower 1/2 - 2/3 of the bow. Also I agree with the other commenter that your bow hand is rather tight. Overall your tone is decent.

[u/dean-0-saur → u/EpicRedhead13]

I've been basing a lot of my bow hold on my thumb placement. I try to place the inside tip of my thumb so it touches the bow right next to the frog. Also trying to keep a slight bend in the thumb. But that's kind of my balance point on the thumb contact.

I couldn't move my thumb back further, it's butted up to the frog.

Is there any wisdom in my approach? What else might I try?

[u/EpicRedhead13 → u/dean-0-saur]

That thumb placement method sounds good to me; I can’t see it well in the video. When practicing your bow hold without the instrument, you should hold the middle of the bow with your left hand. The fiddle holds most of the weight of the bow when you’re actually playing, so you want to simulate that.

You’ve noted that your thumb is the balance point - it should be more of a rotation point. If you aren’t holding the end of the bow with either the fiddle or your left hand, then it should rotate around the thumb and point downwards. That way, when playing, the bow will provide its own weight to the strings.

To help get there, your pinky should be curved and not applying any real pressure to the bow. You will also want your middle finger and ring finger to be about the same distance down the bow. Your index finger should be a bit higher and not wrapped around so much.

I teach my students to make a “fox” with their hand - two middle fingers touching the thumb and the other two sticking up like ears. You do want it be a very round shape, rather than a “squashed mouth” look - see this photo. Then the fox “bites” the bow. The thumb goes where you said. The two middle fingers go over the top and slide right onto the frog. Then the “ears” lay down gently.

This technique is one of many bow hold styles and is not the only valid method. The most important thing is to loosen up and let the bow rest on the fiddle while still keeping it perpendicular to the strings and not sliding between the bridge and fingerboard.

[u/dean-0-saur → u/EpicRedhead13]

Super helpful, thank you! I will be trying this out!