Lookin for some help in Houston

What part of Houston are you in, Gonzo? I'm in the Magnolia area.

I'm also looking for encouragement. I want to teach myself bluegrass fiddle (I play some guitar already) but it's a daunting task. Most of the time I'm too dog-tired from work and other obligations to even have the energy. Love to hear from anyone who can spur me on! I'm in Illinois.

The fiddle/violin is as daunting to learn to play as it is beautiful. As a guitar player, you might think about starting with a fretted violin (and perhaps never going without frets). This would reduce the moving parts you need to learn at first so you can focus on the bow and not worry as much about where to put the left hand fingers.

It's mentally challenging to be good at one instrument while working to learn another. I'm going in the opposite direction you are. I've played violin most of my life and picked up a guitar just over a year ago. I sit there stumbling on really basic tunes on the guitar thinking "I could play this flawlessly at four times this speed on the fiddle...I'll go get the fiddle..." and having to fight that impulse.

Scott

I'll keep on trying! I have some piano background as well and that helps. As for the fretted fiddle, I didn't know they existed. Playing the original no-fret fiddle teaches one to listen, and I'm after developing my ear more too. Playing the guitar is wonderful, as it can be an instrument on its own while you sing a song (no other instruments needed). Keep at it.

I disagree about learning on fretted fiddle _IF_ your intention is to learn fiddle. That would like "learning guitar" by using one of those one-finger chording attachments, or "learning piano" by using the autocomp on an electronic keyboard. You can make music, but you're not learning to play the instrument you think you are.

I consider stuff like the fretted fiddle, the electric keyboard, the guitar-strung banjo (banjar? guitanjo?), to be distinct instruments with their own techniques and applications.

You can still isolate your bowing for practice on a regular fiddle by playing open strings.

And I'm right there with you, bgwannabe, trying to learn it, too.
As someone on another forum put it: It's the hard that makes it good.

ApK

I agree with ApK that it would be a different instrument. It just might be one that makes sense with a guitar background and a desire to use a bowed instrument.

While I've never played on a fretted violin, one more expensive one caught my eye in Strings magazine a month or three ago because it has a "tremolo chinrest" (think whammy bar on electric guitar) on it. That would take some getting used to...

http://www.violin-neolin.com/violin-neolin-en.php

Scott

"Held like a mandolin, the tremolo ..." WOW!! Now I can add that chinrest to my ACTUAL mandolin and REALLY annoy folks at the monthly jam session!

- Ed

Here I have this image of you attempting to hold the mandolin under your chin with your tremolo chin-rest and somehow, very uncomfortably, attempting to play your actual mandolin like a viola.

Send pictures.

"... very uncomfortably, attempting to play your actual mandolin like a viola. Send pictures."

Yeah well: Now my big toe hurts like heck. Not enough hands... kept dropping the camera!