Bowing Workshop. Hamish Davidson

Transcription

1 Bowing Workshop Hamish Davidson INTRODUCTION Without claiming to be an authority on bluegrass fiddle, I have put this booklet together to share some of my ideas with others who wish to develop their musical skills. I think it is important to have it written down too, as some people are better aural learners and some people are better visual learners. We will touch on some of the common faults I see with beginners. We will run through some exercises and drills and I ve thrown in a couple of fun tunes to play. You may need to return to these notes periodically as you will not take it all in at once. Even Albert Einstein had to look up his own phone number. Keep in mind that there is no substitute for the hard slog. For example, when a child learns to play a musical instrument, they don t fear failure. It s not a thought that crosses their mind. They just play and play and play. Improvement occurs incrementally. Be a child and persevere without self doubt! TECHNIQUE POSTURE You ve got to play like you own the instrument. Don t hold your fiddle like a hot potato! Get your arms around it. Wrap your body around it. Don t fret about the fine details of technique. That s for rehearsal behind closed doors only. When you re playing music, you must be in command of your instrument. Attack it with everything you ve got. Have a look at your favourite players out there. They are totally in control of every movement. The bottom line is that if you don t practice and constantly play your fiddle like you mean it, you will not develop the muscles required to play well. BOWING Don t be shy with the bow. Oscar Peterson s childhood piano teacher Paul De Marky says, Play your instrument well and it will play well for you. You need to be reasonably firm with the bow to get a good tone out of the instrument. Dig in! You can counter heavier bow pressure by using more bow length. If you don t use enough pressure with the bow, the music coming out of the fiddle will sound like a drunk person s speech. SYNCRONISATION Getting your two hands perfectly in sync is something that takes time and conscious effort. This is why we practice scales and exercises. You need to gradually build up the speed and precision which you can perform basic techniques. If you start fumbling, or one hand gets ahead of the other, slow down a notch until you have built up your confidence.

2 RIGHT HAND Every fiddle player seems to have a different opinion on how you are supposed to hold your bow. You need to find a bow grip that works for you. You need to be able to get a range of sounds, dynamics (volumes), whilst maintaining control of the bow. Consider the roles of the different fingers: The index finger is where your power comes from. Your bow pressure on the strings is controlled by this finger. Your thumb is the fulcrum that opposes your index and pinky fingers. The pinky finger is more or less for balance and you may as well cut the other two fingers off LEFT HAND Do not be too firm pressing your fingers into the fingerboard. You need to be able move them into any other position at a moments notice. You may need to be roll a finger onto an adjacent string or slide up or down to the next note. Therefore, it is best to keep your fingers supple and mobile. Never stiff or rigid. TONE Compare the fiddle to the human voice. The bow is like a breath of air. The mechanical aspects of the bow being drawn across the strings are like the vocal chords contracting to create different notes. CONFIDENCE Fake it til you make it! Even if you are less than confident, you should always play with confidence. A horse breaker never shows the wild brumby that he is scared of a horse. Your audience will never know how nervous you are if you give it a bit! PRACTICE You must be confident with the basics before you can really go out on a limb. Each technique you conquer sets you up to tackle another superior technique. Make sure you practice in ALL the keys. Practice playing by ear and from the page. MENTAL REHEARSAL If you can do it in your head, you can do it in practice. You don t always have to have your instrument in your hands to practice. PLAYING IN A BAND SITUATION ROLES: The fiddle s role in the band is not to lay down the beat or the chord structure of a song. Attempting to do so will result in a band that sounds like a dog s breakfast! The fiddle s job is to enhance what everyone else is doing. LEAD: Fiddle is like a voice. Worship the melody! You must at least state the melody for one phrase before embellishing it. BACKUP: Pedal notes holding long notes, using lots of bow. Transitions a good example would be playing something interesting as the song goes from the verse to the chorus. Playing sharp stabs off beat under mandolin solos). Call and answer style responding to an idea/phrase that has been played/sang by another instrument/voice.

3 BOW PATTERNS Let s talk about a couple of different bow patterns. The first example is a straight double shuffle played all with separate bows. This is more of a traditional shuffle pattern. It is simply a long-short-short, long-shortshort rhythm the puts a bit more emphasis on the second and forth beats in the bar. This next pattern is commonly known as the Georgia Shuffle. Basically everything is played on the up stroke, except the eighth notes which falls on the second and forth beat of each bar. As you are playing three notes up to one note down, the down stroke needs to be a little more enthusiastic in order to catch up. This pattern provides a great rhythmic feel. And lastly, a curve ball This pattern was popularised by Vassar Clements. It s a little bit challenging to play at first, but worth the effort. A spectacular sound! Especially if you incorporate some chords or double-stops into the pattern.

4 AGONY & ECSTASY Hamish Davidson & Lachlan Davidson

5 TEN THOUSAND MILES Hamish Davidson & Lachlan Davidson

6 DAVO S BIRTHDAY BASH Hamish Davidson & Lachlan Davidson

7 IMPROVISATION Improvisation doesn t have to be such a big deal. Get the melody under your fingers first before you begin embellishing the melody. Try colouring in your solos with some RHYTHMIC patterns or MELODIC motifs. I like to use ANCHORS & SIGN POSTS. These are the central ideas that the rest of your solo will spawn from. Also try to string your musical ideas together smoothly. SAFE NOTES The 1 st, 3 rd, 5 th and 6 th notes of the scale are generally a safe place to start or resolve a musical phrase. For example if the ensemble is playing a G major chord, you can safely use either the 1 st, 3 rd, 5 th and 6 th notes of the scale to begin your improvisation. This does not mean that you cannot use other notes of the scale as colours to enhance a chord that the band might be playing. BLUEGRASS FIDDLE PLAYERS TO STUDY Most of these players have their own CDs out, but they are featured on thousands of other records between them! Stuart Duncan - Aubrey Haynie - Mark O Connor - Jim Van Cleve - Ron Stewart - Bobby Hicks - Kenny Baker - Randy Howard - BJ & Molly Cherryholmes - Alison Krauss - Andy Leftwich - Hunter Berry - Michael Cleveland Don t forget to listen to plenty of other stuff as well! ie Country, Celtic, Gypsy Swing, etc. You need to build up your musical vocabulary from as many sources as possible. Be inspired and steal ideas from other styles of fiddle and also, other instruments.