I think Liz's strategy is fine.  She's not only learning to play fiddle,
she's also learning to play by ear.  People have to develop their ear
ability, and that is often easier to do by listening to people who are only
a little better than you.  Such models have several advantages: they
probably play slower, and their tone is probably relatively level in shape,
therefore it is easier to discern the pitch.  All this is in the interest
of learning to crawl before you walk.  But remember, the ultimate goal is
to walk, even to run.  So yes, she should listen to the best.  And little
by little her ear and chops will develop so that she can work on imitating
those much better than what she is now.

Go for it, Liz.

Paul Tyler

At 11:20 AM 10/16/2002 -0400, you wrote:
>         Liz Gabay wrote about learning to fiddle 40 years after having
>played for 3 years in "the grade school orchestra" and indicated that she
>wanted to learn by listening to recordings by fiddlers who were just
>slightly more advanced than she is. Although one CAN learn a good deal by
>imitating players who are just a bit better (and, indeed, even from some
>who are LESS advanced) I think the best policy is to imitate the BEST
>players. The thing is to pick those players who don't try to dazzle the
>listener by packing all the decorations and embellishments they can into
>every measure. (And it's not always the best musicians who do that!) It's
>far better to learn from a really ace fiddler who fiddles clearly and
>decorates sparingly than from a mediocre fiddler who constantly feels
>obliged to prove that he/she knows lots of ways to decorate the tunes and
>can play at ferocious speed.
>         Liz, I don't know where you're located but, if there are jams held
>anywhere in the area, you'd be well-advised to attend them and try to keep
>up with what people are playing. A "slow jam" could be very useful, but so
>could a regular one, as long as it isn't dominated by
>"faster-and-fancier-than-thou" types. When you're at a jam, don't be afraid
>to join in, even if you reckon the others are more advanced. Concentrate on
>catching on to the melodies and don't worry about decorations at first,
>until you've mastered the actual tunes.
>         The original question was about Irish-style fiddling, but the
>principle holds for any style of playing (and for other instruments, not
>only fiddle). Also, even if it's Irish music you're aiming for, picking up
>tunes by ear at a jam devoted to some other genre (Old-Time, Bluegrass,
>Cajun, Swedish, etc) can be excellent practice, even if the tunes and the
>decorations you learn aren't of any great interest to you.
>
>Tom Paley     <[log in to unmask]>
>
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