The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
  1. #1

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    Any violin players here? Like I don't have enough to be working on and the hourglass is 2/3 empty but I keep looking at beginner violins and thinking should I, could I...and I know nothing. I have been back to my mandolin for several years and I think the tuning is the same and then there's the bow and that's what scares me. I'm a home player and never intend on ever playing anything out again so everything I do is just to keep learning and my mind working musically.

    I know a few folks that own a fiddle and have come to the conclusion that there's only two kinds of fiddle player's...either good or bad.

    ????

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  3. #2

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    I play fiddle in a string band. Yes, standard tuning of the violin is the same as the mandolin though fiddlers often play in ADAE or cross tuning AEAE.

    Anyone with a good ear and some muscle memory can play in tune on the fretless fingerboard but it's what a fiddler (or violinist I suppose) does with the bow that separates the "good" from the "bad" as you say.

  4. #3

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    I’ve been tempted to buy one but instead I think I rent one to see the outcome. Vermont Violin has a nice three month rental on an Eastman VL 200. That way I’ll see if I even jive with the instrument. If only I can get the bow action working. I’m a couch player now days so it’ll give me more to work on and on and on....
    Last edited by BFrench; 03-18-2021 at 03:45 PM. Reason: spelling

  5. #4

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    My mother always told me to stay away from sax and violins, and so far so good.

  6. #5

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    A few years ago I had a nerve issue in my right hand that made it impossible to play guitar or piano. I reasoned, almost certainly incorrectly, that if I could hold a bow I could play the cello competently, and rented one. I got to the point where I could play a major scale, but my wife and kid were pretty unhappy with the Jack Benny like sounds I was making while getting there. Ultimately surgery solved the nerve issue and the cello went back to the rental shop. I would say that technique and intonation were way more of an issue than getting used to another tuning. I enjoyed the experiment though. Go for it.

  7. #6

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    I play bluegrass and Western swing fiddle. Be prepared for a long journey getting the bow hand comfortable. As Itzhak Perlman said “God invented the violin and the Devil invented the bow”.

  8. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by Petimar
    ... “God invented the violin and the Devil invented the bow”.
    Nah... It just takes time! The advice I was given: sit upright in a chair on your front porch, fiddle in hand, and practice bowing back and forth until the shadow of your bow arm wears a hole in the floor boards.