Do you pay attention to the direction your bow is traveling?
Fiddle music relies very much on specific bowing patterns, meaning sequences of up bows and down bows, to get those danceable rhythms.
A down bow tends to create a natural accent (meaning you stress the beat, rather like accenting a syllable when you speak). This happens because gravity is helping you pull the bow across the string. An up bow, by contrast, is weaker.
Different types of tunes use accents in different places, depending on which beats need to be stressed to support the dances that go with them. This is what makes a jig sound different than a rag, and what makes a reel sound different than a waltz. But if you’re not used to paying attention to your bow direction and accents, those distinctions between song types probably aren’t so clear to you.
If you haven’t been working to keep your downs and ups in order, or if you’re used to ignoring slurs because they’re hard or because you’re just not used to looking for them, go back to the songs that you know and really pay attention to which direction your bow is going. This’ll be easy if you’ve got sheet music. If all the stuff that you know is by ear, then you’re going have to pay that much more attention. Take your songs, slow them down, feel where you tap your foot. Usually you should be down bow when your foot taps; jigs and waltzes are more complicated exceptions. Are you consistent?
The more you can say, “yes! My bowing is consistently strengthening the beat!”, the dancier your playing will be. Master this and your playing will light people up even if your intonation and tone aren’t perfect. Ignore this and your fiddling will be kinda flat even if your technique is otherwise impeccable.
Want to really dig into the different patterns and techniques for bowing different types of tunes? I’m offering a class this month:
Fiddle Tunes Lab: Bowing Styles
January 9 – January 30, Mondays, 5:30 – 7pm
Learn some new tunes and flex those bowing muscles. How do bowing patterns and articulations affect the feel of a song? How do you make a rag sound raggier and a jig sound jiggier? Georgia bow, hokum, rah rah rah! Recommended for lower-intermediate to advanced fiddlers, and classical violinists new to fiddling.
Location to be confirmed depending on how many people register (no more than 10), but will be convenient to downtown Bellingham.
Class fee: $50
Class + one 1-hour private lesson: $90
**Is this way ahead of where you are? Don’t worry! I’m offering a beginner’s class in the spring; stay tuned for details.
Filed under: Practice Tips
