The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #44092 Message #646976
Posted By: John Hardly
10-Feb-02 - 09:34 PM
Thread Name: Advice please!!! - memorize fiddle tunes?
Subject: RE: Advice please!!!
A few things that have helped me in my memorization of fiddle tunes;
1. Many of the tunes have a set of lyrics that works for them --Eighth of January = 1814, Arkansas Traveler = an old tune I recorded off the radio about a duck named Earl, etc.
2. One at a time. I often get overwhelmed by the catalogue of fiddle tunes to memorize. When I take them one at a time and make each my own, it's slow going but surprising to look back on how little time it took to work out ten or so.
3. Fiddle tunes are often comprised of borrowed sections. As you start learning each by ear, it doesn't take long before you fit turn-arounds, tags and common passages into other tunes. In this manner you start to learn exponentially
Give yourself one year of learning one tune per week and I think you will be shocked that you not only will have given yourself a respectable repertoire (by any standard), but also will have actually taught yourself to play by ear.
Best of luck,
John