Fiddlers love the keys of D and G but not so much the key of F. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because D and G are some of the first scales we learn early so we train our fingers and it sticks with us. Or maybe it’s because we just don’t like those damn … More What the F?
This week I embarked on taking a finger-picking class on my ukelele. Monday night was the first class of three. Mostly what I know on the uke are songs I learned from Youtube, so taking a class from a real live teacher is pretty cool and is also forcing me to practice instead of just … More What I learned about my fiddle from playing the uke
Sometimes thinking gets in the way of playing. At some point you just have to trust yourself to know what to do. #tunetuesday #atuneaweek … More Think less, play more
Fall is the perfect time to renew your commitment to your instrument. … More On practicing
Lately my band and I have been practicing for an upcoming wedding gig. Every Wednesday we’ve been getting together to hash out a set list, revisit old tune sets and come up with some new ones. Because of the pandemic we haven’t played a gig together in almost 2 years. So it took a few … More Getting your groove back
Setting up a practice schedule is easy. Sticking to it is the hard part. Back in December I decided to embark on learning a tune a week for a year. I figured it would not only add 52 tunes to my repertoire but it would keep me on task with my practicing. And it has … More Keeping on task
In most traditional music, it is customary to learn tunes by ear and pass them along in the same way. Musicians add variations and ornaments to personalize their interpretation of the tune. I wonder though, where the line is and why sharing tunes doesn’t turn into a huge game of operator. Here’s what I mean: … More Hello operator
I’m late in recording this week’s tune and it’s all because of Simone Biles. Recently gymnast Simone Biles, walked away from the greatest competition in the world to honor her team, her body and her mental health. I can’t even fathom how much strength and courage that must have taken. She reminds us all that … More Take time to heal
My whole life I wanted to play fiddle but there was always a reason not to. It’s too expensive to buy an instrument and take lessons. I’m too old. I don’t have a musical background, no one in my immediate family plays, and so on. There is no shortage of reasons why not to do … More It’s all about discipline
My trainer told me a story of how he was listening to his kids play Monopoly. One kid landed on one of those properties where rent was only $5. The other kid said “don’t bother paying me, it’s only $5.” As my trainer was listening to their conversation he thought “clearly this kid hasn’t worked … More Every little bit counts
Session Obsession 