# Fiddle Guru - wha's like him?



## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

My Fiddle Guru is a one-off. I've been having lessons with him for almost three years now, and he has illuminated Music for me. Taggart found his website by chance after I said how much I wanted to find a teacher who could help me to learn folk fiddle. I sent the Guru an email called 'Taking up folk fiddle in one's third age.' He replied; and we had a long conversation by email, during which he posted a link for one of the most striking clips on YouTube.

My response: 'You play the violin while riding a bike - *my* kind of teacher!'






And he is, although we're polar opposites. I want to play the notes accurately - he is all for dynamics - I won't take risks - he likes verve and swagger - he wants me to try everything - I like to stick to the music I already know - he wants to challenge me to ever harder pieces - I prefer consolidating my progress and learning to bow more fluently - he likes to demonstrate what I am doing wrong, or could do better - I like an explanation and having the technique broken down into bite-size chunks - he likes theory, numbers and science - I prefer images and words.

Oh, and he always wears odd socks! :lol:

This has led to a good deal of argy-bargy over the years - but it is *constructive* argy-bargy, upon the whole, and it is *good for me*.  And possibly good for him, too. For example, though Fiddle Guru prefers me to pick things up and likes to demonstrate the technique rather than explain it, he has now adapted to my educational needs and is actually very good at breaking things down and giving me the words or the analogies that will help me advance.

One thing that Fiddle Guru and I are alike in - we both have a sense of humour, and lessons with Fiddle Guru can *never* be boring. He is passionate about music, and he wants with all his heart to teach and transmit his art. And with all my heart, I love my fiddle.

After Christmas I asked his advice about my exam pieces. I had chosen two from each section, and he liked the pieces and thought I could cope with any of them. But after the lesson, I decided to concentrate on Kreisler's Sicilienne from Part 2, and the Klezmer piece from Part 3. The Sultan's Throne from Part 3 is gorgeous, but it needs vibrato, and it is a dangerous piece because the slow notes might result in bow shake if I get nervous.

From Part 1, I am for the present keeping the choice - practising the Estampie and the Musette by LeClair. This is because I am having some difficulty with the preferred choice, the Estampie. It involves 'double stopping', or rather, playing two strings at once, and I can't seem to do that - yet - without pressing heavily on both strings. As Fiddle Guru points out, that creates a contrast between the preceding notes and the 'double stop' that sounds clumsy. I also have some difficulty with my fingering, as my pinkie is short and won't curve into the nice arch that violin teachers always want

This is a common complaint. There are so many threads on the violin forums about the size and general behaviour of the Pinkie. I really wish I could take a time-machine to the Future for a little Bionic Finger Grafting. With the pinkie, it seems, size matters! 

But if I learn nothing from this exam but how to use my little finger more effectively, then I have learned something important. Next week, Fiddle Guru tells me, he is even willing to start teaching me vibrato. Six violin teachers so far have failed to help me, but Fiddle Guru may be different.

Which he is - *very *different!!! :tiphat:


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