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You bet. Working on it now. Not super happy with the visual, but I’ll tweak it and figure out how to remove the search box from mobile display…almost there!

Yes, if you are using WP as a backend, there are a lot of good search widgets out there that allow you to leave directories and files out of the search.

Thank you!

Hi there, Dana. I’ve had this same thought recently, what with over 70 full lessons now available on this site (not counting the technique videos). We’ve tried to make the navigation intuitive for subscribers, but we’re getting to the point where it is a little cumbersome, just given the sheer number of videos up on the site.

I’ve researched…[Read more]

You shouldn’t feel guilty about it 🙂 There are great fiddlers who don’t seem to use their pinky very much; check out Celtic fiddler Mairead Nesbitt’s bow hold in this video:

Just saw your email and figured I’d reply here, Dana…

I think that sounds like a great approach. I bet you can likely pull the bowing from the instructional video. Just remember that I may play it a couple of different ways…pick one that works for you and practice, practice, practice!!!

Ah, I emailed Casey just this morning on this topic! I wasn’t sure where to put slurs in part B of Swallow Tail.

This kind of “figuring it out” varies a bit from the lessons I get from my in-person teacher. With her I’m learning the classical style, all from books, which show ornamentation gradually as we go.

I’ll watch, listen, and play…[Read more]

Hi, Bondi, Blossom and Casey, its nice to see this discussion thread because all of us that play folk music strive to include the accents of a particular style without it sounding like its been rehearsed a million times…. Right?…. I would resonate Casey’s remarks that as your accomplishments on your instrument grow so do your choices on how to…[Read more]

Hi, Blossom. I’ll check in with Hanneke and Kevin to see if they have any tips to provide on writing these kinds of ornamentation out. Thanks!

Hi guys. I would say that if you’re going for a true Trad Irish/Celtic approach, the lighter grip (and the way Kevin Burke describes his hold) is probably the way to go.

That being said, I’m a big believer in achieving as much control and power as possible in the more “classical” approach you describe, Graeme. Leveraging that thumb, index and…[Read more]

Hi Graeme – may I humbly chip in to say that if your wrist is lovely and loose there will be plenty of weight in your hand to sit the bow on the strings enough to get them moving and “push air around the room”- and you can still give a bit of a boost with the forefinger even if you are holding the bow lightly. Best of both worlds ?

I totally see that it is time consuming, but I would also like some further notation, especially some of the more important bowings. Can you show us how to notate things like flicks, wiggles and waterfalls correctly? Right now I’m using a check mark, curly-cue, and a squiggle… Lol. But, I would prefer to do it correctly.

Hi again, Hilary. I just went through the Gravatar sign-up process and can maybe add some info as to what steps to take.

1. Sign up at Gravatar.com using the same email address you used for this site.
2. Confirm your email address by clicking on the link sent to you by Gravatar.
3. Sign into your account at Gravatar.
4. Upload and crop a…[Read more]

Great topic, Graeme. I generally tilt the bow a bit back towards me so the hair angle parallels the angle of the strings (and allows me to play mainly on the flat part of the hair). I do this for two reasons: (1) I seem to get better, clearer tone and (2) the bow does not slide down the instrument away from the sweet spot.

I can’t think of…[Read more]