Good fiddle practise/play along tapes?

Subject: Good fiddle practise/play along tapes?
From: katlaughing
Date: 23 Feb 07 - 11:34 PM

Are there any? I know I could put one together, but I'd like to know if there are any available and possibly at a slightly slower pace than, say the online sessions at the BBC. I want to play along because it's the best way I know to train my ear as I don't like to use the dots for fiddling. I know the tunes, but have no one to practise with.

Thanks,

kat

Subject: RE: Good fiddle practise/play along tapes?
From: wysiwyg
Date: 23 Feb 07 - 11:43 PM

Ed Hetzler's fiddle fakebook online has a simple little utility there you can use to slow down his MIDI's. And MidiNotate lets you determine what speed you want to go, how many reps, whether to start practice at one speed and speed up as reps go along, and so forth.

Another tecnique is to play only the accented notes of each measure to get the skeleton of the tune in your head till you have that securely enough to start filling in the ornamentatons in between the accents.

Let us know if you want more info on either of those, here or by PM if we miss it. Hardi is self taught and he may have some other ideas.

~Susan

Subject: RE: Good fiddle practise/play along tapes?
From: KT
Date: 24 Feb 07 - 12:11 AM

Hey kat!

There is another program called the Amazing Slow Downer. You can download it for a free trial period. I've not used it but have friends who swear by it! You can slow the tunes down to any speed you want without changing the pitch, and have them loop at that speed. I've been meaning to try it myself, but so far, just haven't gotten around to it!
check it out

Subject: RE: Good fiddle practise/play along tapes?
From: Effsee
Date: 24 Feb 07 - 10:15 AM

Kat, there is a CD called "The Fiddle Workshop" by Karen Steven available over on the Footstompin' site:-
http://www.footstompin.com/music/fiddle_music/the_fiddle_workshop

Subject: RE: Good fiddle practise/play along tapes?
From: GUEST,Tom Bliss
Date: 24 Feb 07 - 10:19 AM

try this: bluegrass fast or slow as you like

Subject: RE: Good fiddle practise/play along tapes?
From: katlaughing
Date: 24 Feb 07 - 10:57 AM

Thanks folks, these all look promising!

Subject: RE: Good fiddle practise/play along tapes?
From: Scoville
Date: 24 Feb 07 - 11:36 AM

If you have a regular jam group or local musicians who are compatible with your style, you might ask them to make a tape for you. We at our jam groups routinely record one another playing things that we'd like to learn (usually, slowly, and then up to speed so we can hear what the tune is supposed to sound like).

Subject: RE: Good fiddle practise/play along tapes?
From: katlaughing
Date: 11 May 07 - 11:06 PM

Just an update...now I've got more time to breathe.:-) I had forgotten about (Barry) Taylor's Tunebook until about a month ago. I never could play along before. There is something magical about my dad's fiddle, though. I have been spending time playing along with the tunes I am familiar with and find myself sounding fairly decent and that's not just my opinion, Himself also says it sounds good and he's ever a critic if it doesn't! So...now to learn more of the tunes and/or maybe put them in the slower downer to learn, thanks KT!

Thanks, again, to you all,

kat