Tune-derived fiddle drills

Zina and Andy suggested this idea on another thread, but I thought it deserved its own piece of turf (partly so us fiddlers don’t twist yet another flute-inspired thread to our own devious desires 😉. No doubt some of these exercises will work for other instruments as well.

The idea is to take parts of tunes that present common “sticking points” for ITM fiddlers and turn them into (for want of a better term) practice drills. The advantage being that you’ll be working on ITM-specific material--those staple phrases that crop up in so many tunes--while keeping the tunes themselves fresh.

So I’ll kick this off with a few bars that helped me work out bowing for all those string-crossing passages so common to ITM:

I like to combine a specific “drill” phrase with an “easier” phrase, so that as you repeat the whole thing your mind and hands get a breather between concentrating on the drill itself. An example comes from Tommy Peoples’, a reel I posted here a few weeks ago. The first bar is a fairly simple string crossing (and G “chord”) drill, and the second bar is the breather. They also happen to be the opening bars of the tune.

|:G2 BG cGBG|AFDE FGAF:|

If I want to work on the bowing possibilities for this, I might repeat these two bars non-stop 20-30 times, trying different single-bow and slur combinations.

For left-hand work on a common trouble spot for many fiddlers, take the same idea, but hit the high d:

|:G2 BG dGBG|AFDE FGAF:|

Or try this phrase from the opening of the Roscommon Reel, which gives you the same bowing opportunities plus the added pinky workout and the D “chord”:

|:EFGA BAGB|AFdF eFdF:|

Here’s a similar drill with the “moving” notes on the lower string. It’s from Part C of the Morning Dew. Again, 20-30 times through, exploring the bowing options.

A|:B2 EB GBEB|BAGB ADFA:|

Finally, a nice roll drill I used after hearing Kevin Burke do this as a variation on Kid on the Mountain:

|:~E3 ~F3 ~G3|~E3 BcA BGE:|

Enough to get us started? Is it even useful? I’m curious to see what the rest of you do along these lines. I’ll try to add more as I have time.

Great stuff Will. Keep adding more! I have an excersice and I’d love to get some feedback on it. Here is the beginning of ‘Mountain Road’, which simply screams for a cross-bow.

|:(vF2A)(uF B)(vFA)uF|(3vFuF(vFA)(uF EF)vDuE:|

Some interesting things happen here. At the end of the triplet (or scratch) you follow the down-bow direction into the next note. Much easier to play and I’m of the opinion that the phrase couldn’t be played effectively otherwise. Of course, that could be debated. Feedback please!

Nice posts and good ideas. These things never occurred to me before! i admit ashamedly after 30 years.

re: caoimghgin your question the bow direction after the trplet.

seamus thompson said that you always take the bow in the same direction as the last note of the triplet, though he also insists (at least he did in 1991) that you played triplets dud.

however i see from several posts on this board that udu are also done. so perhaps you can also change directions after the triplet, tho i think you’re right. it’s easier (and smoother to go with the flow of the bow on this one).

Great idea! recently I had my first fiddle workshop and got loads of tunes with bowing patterns (some tunes with several different patterns to see what is possible and changes the feeling of the tune in what way) … and I thought, part of these could be arranged as “Etudes” - but how can we post this stuff? Wills drill examples I did copy&paste and will print it out at home to try it out - but I see the suggestions more as a helpful hint to create my own drills out of my personal tune collection… nevertheless I think a wide range of useful drill stuff could be shared and become public domain. But 1.: it should not change the main character of TheSession

Kevin, I too usually slur from the end note of the triplet onto the next note, but there are times where it sounds better to my ear to change bow direction there. In a fiddle workshop Kevin Burke said to continue the down-bow, but then pointed out that Martin Hayes told *him* to mix it up once in a while by using an up bow after a d-u-d triplet.

To me, the point is that it will produce a different sound, so use which ever way produces the sound you want in that situation. In other words, learn both bowings. I’ve found that when I slur the down bow, it sounds more “Kevin Burke-ish” and when I use the up-bow, it sounds more “Martin Hayes-ish.” (Carefully worded so that I don’t imply that I actually sound anything near as wonderful as either of these fiddlers. 🙂

That said, in your example from the Mountain Road, I would always play that by slurring the down bow from the F to the A. But the reason I would do it this way is to set up for the following up bow back onto the F. If the next note after the A were on the A string, I might use an up bow on that A note and possible single-bow the following notes. Does that makes sense? In short, I agree 100 % with the way you’ve shown the bowing in your example--it’s the “strongest option” in my book. But tweak a note here or there and the bowing could change.

And your Mountain Road “drill” is an excellent one for perfecting that particular bowing pattern.

Crannog, I’d shy away from posting any conglomeration of these drills in the tune section. Let’s just keep them in a discussion thread like this. If it get’s too long, we can start Fiddle Drills II, and then Son of Fiddle Drills, etc. 🙂 BTW, I’m a writer/editor by trade and have also taught music, including fiddle, for years. I’m sure other contributors here can also proofread the drills as they come in to make sure we’re all posting valid, worthwhile exercises. I’m happy to have anyone suggest “corrections” or improvements to whatever I post….

So: A triplet drill, based in part on Dinky’s:
K: Amaj

|:aA (3AAA gA (3AAA|fA (3AAA eAce:|

Crannog,

I’m sure we all have something to offer in this thread and that we, the players, are likely capable of ‘self-editing’ whatever posts may be made. Some of us share strong opinions about proper technique for ITM, but I would shy away from allowing any one ‘accredited authority’ to edit and revise anyones opinions or suggestions, though I would be interested in hearing views from such an accredited authority. If somebody say’s something ‘incorrectly’, then I would prefer a discussion rather than an edit.

Hm. The point being, I think, that as someone said in the other thread, everyone is going to need to work different things in different ways. Add into that the tradition actively encourages peculiar and altogether person method and style, and you get even a wider range of needs. So trying to turn any drills into a “method” probably won’t work very well! 🙂

Zina

“If the next note after the A were on the A string, I might use an up bow on that A ” -- You betcha! Couldn’t agree more! Probably wouldn’t even cross-bow the previous notes if that next note after A was another A (instead of G). Yes, makes sense Will! Now, did I make sense???

Although I like Crannog’s idea of cutting and pasting the drills we all post here into one’s own practice book, if that’s how you work. I can see real value in that, particularly for people just starting out on ITM tunes and techniques. At the very least, it helps to know what bowings and such are used by more experienced players…one of my pet peeves when I was a beginner was wondering whether I was “doing it right.” Now I know enough to realize there is no such thing, but there *are* certain tricks that are the stock in trade for most experienced players. Kevin’s bowing for the Mountain Road phrase, for example.

If you take a “piece” of a tune to use as an exercise, make sure you also practice it as part of the tune - learning it in isolation can make you “choke” when you play the tune itself. You have to hear it continuing on, not just by itself.

JeffK

I always use those berzerko tunes to practice certain things, like “The Contradiction” or “The Dawn” for going up into positions. Flat keyed tunes for flat keys, “The Sweeps” or “Lad O’Beirne’s” hornpipes for triplet runs. But I usually play the whole tune, I find if I focus on the hard parts I flub the easy ones & that doesn’t really work out in the long run.

What is ITM?

Irish Traditional Music! I hope.

Yup! You got it Jill!

I think this can be one of the more interesting threads on this board. Keep it coming Fiddlers! Surely, somebody has got some more excersises to post!

Here’s a good one for moving triplets in a very common spot, from The Union Reel:
K: D
|:eA (3cBA eA (3cBA|eA (3cBA Bcdf|eA (3cBA eA (3cBA|dcBA FAdf:|

Now we’re learning ! This is like having a teacher at you’re shoulder. More drills please. I have no intention of following drills by rote or learning a single method, but the stuff you folks are posting are pure gems. Keep ’em coming.

I still haven’t worked out this ABC format at all. What does “(” and “|” and “:”, etc. mean??????? I’m confused?!!?*%@!!??

I have to admit the ABC format confuses me too.I,m sure I’ll work it out some day.Any tips.
Amanda