Claim OwnershipFiddle Studio
Subscribed: 6Played: 237
Subscribe
© 2024 Fiddle Studio
Description
The glasses clink and the talk and laughter grow louder. In the corner of the pub, musicians sit and play traditional dance tunes that make your feet want to stomp and slide. Join fiddler Meg Wobus Beller as she brings you along into the world of fiddling and traditional music, from bow-grips and double stops to Old-Time tunes and Irish jigs.
91 Episodes
Reverse
Let's talk about playing harmonies on the fiddle. How can you get started with learning and playing harmonies and how do you get better at coming up with them on the fly?Our tune this week is the Irish single reel in D, Stoney Steps.Email me at meganbeller@fiddlestudio.com.Listen and subscribe on Apple Music, Spotify, or Buzzsprout. Find me on YouTube and Bandcamp. Here are my Fiddle Studio books and my website Fiddle Studio where you can find my courses and mailing list and sign up for my ...
Andrew VanNorstrand performs with his brother Noah VanNorstrand and Chris Miller in the Faux Paws, a contemporary folk band that plays fiddle tunes and original songs with just about the best groove around. The Faux Paws are making an album and you can get involved and find out more here. The time window is closing soon!Andrew grew up playing fiddle and guitar and touring with his family band Great Bear and dominating the contra dance scene, playing every contra dance and festival you can ima...
If you're a reader and a fiddler, here are some recommendations for books from children's books to YA and general fiction that feature fiddlers and fiddling. Some of these books have even been known to inspire folks to pick up the fiddle!Kids books:Mole musicJust Enough and Not Too MuchFiddling SamNina’s WaltzA Fiddle for AngusYA or chapter books: The New PolicemenLittle House on the PrairieA Girl of the LimberlostFiddle FeverThriller/Detective:Violin conspiracyAn Equal MusicAs I walked ...
We talk about the personalities of the different major and minor keys. What makes C sound so different from A on the fiddle? Why do players try out a tune in different keys, and how do the keys lay out on the instrument?Our tune is the Irish E minor reel Maid of Mt. Kisco. Love this one!Email me at meganbeller@fiddlestudio.com.Listen and subscribe on Apple Music, Spotify, or Buzzsprout. Find me on YouTube and Bandcamp. Here are my Fiddle Studio books and my website Fiddle Studio where you c...
This is my second conversation with Rachel Eddy, since I forgot to record the first one! We talk about finding flow in fiddling, learning tunes off recordings (or not), remembering tunes, singing, some great stories about Rachel's dad and his fiddle journey, and some ideas for fiddle students to help relax and get balanced while playing. Rachel Eddy (they/them) hails from West Virginia, where they grew up steeped in Appalachian music and dance. Rachel’s multi-instrumental talents and sou...
We're talking about tapes on the fiddle, or stickers, or fingerboard stick on charts, or whatever you're curious about. Did you use tapes when you started? What are they useful for and how long does it make sense to use them?Our tune is Broken Down Gambler, an Old-Time reel in G.Email me at meganbeller@fiddlestudio.com.Listen and subscribe on Apple Music, Spotify, or Buzzsprout. Find me on YouTube and Bandcamp. Here are my Fiddle Studio books and my website Fiddle Studio where you can find ...
When I talk about articulation I'm referring to the beginning of the note, or the attack, and how long the note is generally. Articulation, or catching the string, or getting a "scrubby" sound, has a huge effect on your sound. Our tune is Dusty Miller, an Old-Time modal reel in A.Email me at meganbeller@fiddlestudio.com.Listen and subscribe on Apple Music, Spotify, or Buzzsprout. Find me on YouTube and Bandcamp. Here are my Fiddle Studio books and my website Fiddle Studio where you can find...
Have you wondered what it's like to compete in a fiddle competition? So have I. So I signed up for one and we'll see how it goes. I talk a little about how I'm planning to prepare.Our tune for this week is Old Billy Hell, a half length crooked Old-Time tune. Our album release party contra dance will be May 30th at 7pm in Baltimore at the Mobtown Ballroom. Come on down!Email me at meganbeller@fiddlestudio.com.Listen and subscribe on Apple Music, Spotify, or Buzzsprout. Find me on YouTube...
A repeat this week, as my family is on spring break. This very early episode has been pretty popular, and has a lovely slip jig for the Irish fiddlers. It's never a bad time to break out the old metronome. I'll be back with Old-Time tunes for you next week! -MegThis episode features the fiddle tune House of My Own and describes working with the metronome and how it could help your fiddling. Slow tempos for fiddling are 70-80 bpm (beats per minute) and tempos for dancing are 110-120 bpm.E...
This week we have an interview with Tricia Spencer! Tricia is a well known, award winning Kansas fiddler who grew up on her family’s farm learning the tradition of old-time fiddling knee to knee from her grandpa and grandma, Vernon and Iona Spencer.Tricia takes us on a deep dive into Kansas and midwest fiddling, how she thinks about the left hand and the fingerboard, and a primer for finding your place in the Old-Time community. And I didn't forget to ask what it's like having another fiddler...
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/contranellaOur tune is Magpie's Nest, an Irish reel.Email me at meganbeller@fiddlestudio.com.Listen and subscribe on Apple Music, Spotify, or Buzzsprou...
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. Email me at meganbeller@fiddlestudio.com.Listen and subscribe on Apple Music, Spotify, or Buzzsprout. Find me on YouTube and Bandcamp. Here are my Fiddle Studio books and my website Fiddle Studio where you can find my courses and mailing list and sign ...
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/2040333/14620847John Blessing's Delight is an Irish jig in G major.Email me at meganbeller@fiddlestudio.com.Listen and subscribe on Apple Music, Spotify, or Buzzsprout. Find me on YouTube and Bandcamp. Here are my Fiddle Studio books and my website Fiddle Studio where you can find m...
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://jennam...
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.Email me at meganbeller@fiddlestudio.com.Listen and subscribe on Apple Music, Spotify, or Buzzsprout. Find me on YouTube and Bandcamp....
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!)Email me at meganbeller@fiddlestudio.com.Listen and subscribe on Apple Music, Spotify, or Buzzsprout. Find me on YouTube and Bandcamp. Here a...
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 t...
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!E...
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. Email me at meganbeller@fiddlestudio.com.Listen and subscribe on Apple Music, Spotif...
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. Email me at meganbeller@fiddlestudio.com.Listen and subscribe on Apple Music, Spotify, or Buzzsprout. Find me on YouTube and Bandcamp. Here are my Fiddle Studio books and my website Fiddle ...
Download from Google Play
Download from App Store
United States
Awesome podcast! Love all the great advice and fiddler food for thought, as well as how each tune is introduced with some interesting history and context. Thank you for this podcast!
A great podcast. Fun and light, interesting and with great tunes too.