Learn to Play the fiddle

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All blog posts, articles and tune tutorials

  • Learning to play traditional Irish music on the fiddle

    If you are just starting out learning how to play Irish fiddle music, you may find that you are struggling to get your fiddle playing to sound authetically Irish. Or you can’t seem to replicate the sound of the fiddlers that you like listening to. So how can you achieve that authetic traditional Irish sound in your fiddle playing?

    Fiddle player for hire

    Well, partly the answer is lots of good old fashioned practice. But there are also some ways to make your playing sound like proper Irish fiddle music. Below is my advice if you are wondering how to play real Irish fiddle.

    Listen to good Irish fiddle players

    There really is no substitute for listening. Find recordings of the great fiddlers past and present, and listen to them carefully. Sometimes you just want to let the music wash over you and enjoy it. But I also talk to my students about ‘active listening’, by which I mean: really pay attention to what the fiddler is doing!

    Once you are familiar with the tune listen for the details. Can you identify any ornaments that are being used? Are there any chords or drones (more than one note being played at the same time). Can you hear any variations that they might be using, changing the melody subtly as they go along? Are there any subtle changes to the rhythm or the ‘swing’ or ‘lilt’ of the tune.

    Even better than recordings, go seek out concerts with proper fiddle players, and pay attention to what they are doing. Or find a really good quality Irish pub session. Listen carefully to see if you can work out what makes their playing special.

    Throw the sheet music away!

    Well, maybe not throw it away… but don’t rely on it. Learn how to learn tunes ‘by ear.’ Because most of what make Irish music sound so alive isn’t (or can’t be!) written on the sheet music.

    The lilt and phrasing of a tune, the variations and many of the ornamentations are not written into most sheet music notation of the tunes. So you can learn the melody from the sheet music. But only once you can play the tune with all the things that aren’t written down will it sound like the real thing.

    If you are new to learning tunes by ear, try my beginnners lesson video, in which I take you through a tune slowly, phrase by phrase and see if you can follow along.

    There’s another good reason not to rely on sheet music. In my experience, a tune learned from ‘the dots’ on the page doesn’t stick in the memory as well as one learned by ear. The tunes that you remember best will always be the ones you learn by ear.

    Rhythm is fundamental to playing Irish fiddle music

    Playing Irish fiddle for a ceilidh
    Playing Irish fiddle for a ceilidh

    The roots of Irish fiddle music are in dancing. Reels, jigs, hornpipes, polkas are tunes played for specific kinds of dancing. And dancers care above all about the rhythm of the music – it needs to keep perfect time. It’s the same reason that Irish music makes us tap our feet!

    So if you are going to play traditional Irish fiddle music, you must be able to play accurately in time. Thankfully this is something that anyone can learn to do. Head over to my page on playing with rhythm to find out all my advice on keeping good time.

    How to play Irish fiddle ornamentation

    If you want to learn how to play Irish fiddle music that sounds like the real thing, then you will need to learn about fiddle ornamentation. The word ‘ornamentation’ may make it sound like it’s an optional extra. But I think of Irish music as being made up of three parts: melody, rhythm and ornamentation. In equal parts. Take any one of those three elements away and the music just isn’t the same.

    You can certainly try and learn ornamentation by listening to other players, but some of the techniques can be hard to learn on your own. Much better to find someone who can teach the proper technique to each of the ornaments.

    By my reckoning there are more than 10 different Irish fiddle ornaments (cuts, long rolls, slides, crans, joint short rolls, casadhs, bowed triplets etc) and that’s even before you get into chords, drones, variations, improvisations and other elements beyond the basic melody.

    If you would like to learn more about these ornaments, take a look at some of my videos on ornamentation.

    Practice your bowing

    Most people who learn how to play Irish fiddle music with me start out thinking the difficult bit will be the left hand. That’s the one that puts the fingers down to play the notes. After all, Irish fiddle music is often fast! Or they assume that playing in tune will be the hard bit. Especially if they are coming from another instrument with frets (like a guitar or banjo)

    But actually, most people can learn to put the fingers down in the right place fairly quickly. The bit that is a lifetime’s study is the right arm – the bowing. So pay attention to your bowing, especially when you are starting out. Do lots of simple bowing exercises and build solid techique in your bowing. It will repay you with a nicer tone, better rhythm, and a more relaxed style of playing as you progress.

    Learn from a good teacher

    By far the best thing that you can do to improve your Irish fiddle playing, is to learn from a good teacher. You should find someone who is a technically accomplished player of Irish traditional music. But also a passionate and knowledgeable teacher.

    And while there are certainly some classical violin teachers who also understand Irish fiddle music, there are also many who think that if you can play violin you can play fiddle, which just isn’t true! So find someone who really understands the music, its techniques, it history, and its differing styles.

    Get good practice habits

    If you want to improve you have to practise – there is no way around it. But making the best use of your practice time is really important. I make a distinction between ‘playing’ and ‘practising’. Find out more about my practice tips here.

  • Irish session at The Shakespeare, Totterdown

    I am now leading a new Irish session in Bristol, once a month at the Shakespeare Inn in Totterdown.

    This will be a fairly small session, led by a small group of top-notch players. We will be there, normally, on the 2nd the Thursday in the month. Space for the session in the pub is limited, so if you would be interested in joining this session, I’d be grateful if you would get in touch in advance.

    Let me know if you would like to join us

    The next session will be on 10th November, when I’ll be hosting the session with Sheena Vallely, Paul Kerins and Dom Henderson, for plenty of Irish tunes on fiddle, banjo, flute and pipes.

    The last session was on October 13th, 2022.

    Playing fiddle at an Irish session in Bristol
    Playing fiddle at a recent Irish session in Bristol

  • As seen on…

    A photo of me playing fiddle recently featured in The Economist magazine.

    Playing fiddle for a protest trespass
    Playing fiddle for a protest trespass as part of the Right to Roam campaign

    You’ll also find me listed on various tutoring websites, including First Tutors, Superprof. I am listed on other teaching directories too.

    My one-to-one teaching and online lesson videos are regularly recommended by folk clubs, slow sessions, folk dance groups and music shops.

    I am regularly recommended to new students wanting to learn to play the fiddle by the very good folks in the Bristol Violin Shop.

  • The Irish session at the Star, Fishponds, Bristol

    I lead a regular Irish session at the Star, Fishponds, Bristol. This is an excellent Irish pub, that hosts a range of music, with an enthusiastic landlord.

    The Wednesday night session at the Star was absolutely lovely, just a few players playing with wonderful pulse and lift (Bradon Smith on fiddle, and Sheena Vallely on flute). The kind of session where you don’t mind if you don’t know the tunes because the music is so lovely to listen to!

    Jeremy, founder of thesession.org

    Playing tenor banjo at the Star Irish session
    The mighty banjo picker, Paul Kerins, pictured here, is a regular at the Star session. Photo: @hensonvisuals

    This Irish session at the Star in Bristol, currently runs on Wednesday evenings, from 8.30pm. The regular session leads are me, on fiddle, Paul Kerins on tenor banjo, and Sheena Vallely on flute. The session attracts other excellent players on all instruments, but is welcoming to new players. (See what Jeremy, founder of TheSession.org had to say about our session recently.)

    The tunes played are varied and often include less well known, or rarely heard tunes, though we play many old favourites too. We don’t have a set repetoire of tunes, and enjoy new players bringing new and old tunes in to the mix. Tunes (and the occasional song) are mainly but not entirely from the Irish tradition – but it’s not exclusive!

    During the summer, the session often takes place in the covered back garden, which is a lovely venue for acoustic music.

    Joining the Star Irish session

    The Irish sessions at the Star have always been welcoming to new players of Irish traditional music. But please do get in touch with me if you think you might join us, as it is helpful to have an idea of numbers.

  • Playing fiddle in a traditional folk session

    Do you want to start playing fiddle in a traditional folk session? If you are learning to play the fiddle in a traditional style, you may be aspiring to play with other people in informal groups. And with good reason – group playing is great fun! Whether that’s Irish, Scottish, English, Scandinavian, Breton, bluegrass, klezmer or any other style.

    These events, where people gather to play tunes together in a relaxed environment are often called ‘sessions’. The information below is about playing fiddle in a traditional Irish session, but much the same applies to other types of session too.

    Some tips for playing fiddle in a session

    Playing fiddle in a traditional Irish folk session
    A traditional Irish session (yes, that’s me on the right there!). Photo: @hensonvisuals

    Before you jump right in and join a session, it’s important to understand a little more about how they work, and the etiquette that goes along with playing in one. All sessions have slightly different unwritten rules, but the following will help.

    The first to understand is that playing in a session is not the same as a jam. There is improvisation, but on a micro level – at an important level, the players are all playing the same tune. This means in most sessions, you should only play a tune if you know the tune and can confidently play along with it at the speed it is being played. Anything else will ‘muddy’ the sound of the session. (There are ‘beginner’ sessions where you can learn or work out tunes as they are played, but these are slightly different).

    So, if you want to join a session, sit and listen for a while first. Do you know any of the tunes? What sort of standard are the other players?

    Joining a traditional folk session

    All sessions have slightly different cultures and rules. Many sessions are extremely welcoming of new players! But if you want to join, for example, a traditional irish session, don’t just sit down with your instrument and expect to play along. First, ask someone who is already playing if it would be alright to join in. The musicians you are joining may have played together for years, or even decades, so sometimes they are wary of new people who may not know the ropes.

    If you are invited to join the session, wait until a tune comes along that you know before playing – this will help to show the other musicians you understand the etiquette. If you think you of a similar standard to the other players – great! But if you less confident than the other players, listen to what they are doing, play quietly, don’t dominate the session by playing loudly. When other people are playing sets of tunes, listen to them – you will learn more about the music like this way than in any other way. Don’t, whatever you do, continue a loud conversation over the top the music when you are not playing.

    Playing in a session

    If you play a rhythm instrument (especially guitar, or bodhrán), you may need to take turns with any other rhythm players in the session. Too many rhythm players in a session can overwhelm the melody, which is the core of the session. In a small or medium session (anything up to 6 or 7 players) one rhythm instrument is normally ideal. So if there is already someone else playing guitar, wait until they go to the bar to join in, or take turns with them.

    You may be asked to ‘lead a set’, in other words to start a group of tunes which others will join in with. But if you are not invited to, continue to join in with the tunes you already know. If you keep coming back to a session you will very likely be invited to lead a set of tunes. When you are, start the tunes at a speed you know you can maintain – playing slowly is better than rushing or stumbling.

    Above all, until you are a regular, realise that you are joining someone else’s session – so be polite and friendly!

    How do you find a traditional Irish folk session to join?

    So maybe you are ready to start playing fiddle in a traditional Irish session, but how do you find one you can join? If you have a fiddle teacher, they should be able to tell you where your local sessions are. Maybe your teacher even runs some local sessions.

    Otherwise, you can look on TheSession to see whether there are any session listed locally to you. These listings aren’t always kept up to date, but it is a good place to start.

  • Traditional Irish sessions (seisiún) in Bristol

    Playing fiddle in a traditional Irish folk session
    A traditional Irish session (yes, that’s me on the right there!). Photo: @hensonvisuals

    There are many good traditional music sessions in Bristol where you can play the fiddle. Many, but not all of them, are traditional Irish music sessions. I currently run two traditional Irish sessions in Bristol – details below. I will post a list here soon of some of the other sessions that I have played in.

    Irish sessions I run in Bristol

    The Star Inn, Fishponds – 1st and 3rd Wednesdays in the month, 8.30pm. This session is very long-running and probably one of the best known traditional Irish sessions in Bristol. Pre-Covid this was often a very large session, and it still often attracts a crowd, though we try to keep the number of players manageable now.

    The Red Lion, St George – 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month, 8pm.

    The Red Monkey, Chandos Road – 1st Sunday of the month, 2-4pm. A lovely session run by me, Dominic Henderson and Marick Baxter, with special guests.

    Both of these sessions attract players of very good standard, but are welcoming to new players. If you are interested in coming along to play at either of these traditional Irish sessions in Bristol, please do get in touch.

    Other Irish sessions in Bristol

    There are a number of other traditional music sessions and folk clubs in Bristol. I have played in the past at Irish sessions at The Three Tuns, The Hare on the Hill, and The Merchants Arms, though I don’t know if all of these are still running. There is apparently a nice new session at Friendly Records in Bedminster, but I’ve not been able to get down there yet – I hope to soon…

    There is a very nice session at The Greenbank pub, every other Tuesday (contact them to find out which week). This is a mixed session, where you’ll here English, Scottish and Irish tunes played, and perhaps more besides.

    Irish sessions in Bath

    I have also played in and run some of the very good traditional Irish sessions in Bath. The session at The Royal Oak on a Wednesday night has run for a number of years, and is a good session. There is also a good session at The Grapes, in the centre of Bath.

  • Learning by ear, and learning to read music

    Learning to play the fiddle by ear and from sheet music
    You don’t need to be able to read music to learn the fiddle!

    Learning to read music can seem complicated. Especially if you have never learned a musical instrument before. But you absolutely don’t need to be able to read music to begin learning to play the fiddle! You can learn to play the fiddle ‘by ear’. Traditional music has always been taught and learned ‘by ear’. Tunes are passed on from one player to another, and down through generations. And it is easier than you might think to learn to play the fiddle by ear.

    Playing music, and learning tunes, ‘by ear’ means just from listening to someone else play them. It is just as much of a skill as being able to read music. And for a fiddler playing traditional music, it is a really useful ability.

    Having said that, many people who are learning the fiddle do want to learn to read music. And it is a very useful thing to be able to do. It can also help with other aspects of learning an instrument. It will also help if you want to learn other instruments in the future.

    Teaching fiddle students to learn by ear

    In my teaching, I am happy to teach people by ear, or from music. In fact, I almost always do both, since I think both skills are important. But if reading music seems intimidating at first you definitely don’t need to do so to enjoy learning to play the fiddle! I teach my students new tunes, by breaking them down in to short phrases, so that they can learn each short phrase separately. Then we join them together until they have learned the whole tune. Most of my students are amazed at how quickly they learn to play tunes ‘by ear’.

    I then use their online workspace (see an example here), to share a recording of the tune at an appropriate speed so that they can play along.

    Free fiddle video lesson

    If you would like to have a go at learning a fiddle tune by ear, you can follow one of my free irish fiddle lesson videos, where I take you through a tune phrase by phrase, so that you can learn the tune slowly. If you can play basic notes on the fiddle, but have never tried to learn a fiddle tune by ear, then try this free irish fiddle lesson for beginners. I’ll take you very slowly through a lovely well-known Irish jig called Out on the Ocean, so that you can learn the tune! If you find the lesson useful, be sure to subscribe to my Youtube channel as I’ll be putting out more free Irish fiddle lesson videos soon.

  • Fiddle…or violin?

    What is the difference between a fiddle and a violin?

    What is the difference between a fiddle and a violin?

    People often find this confusing – so, what is the difference?

    The short answer is, there isn’t really any difference. At least, not if we are talking about the musical instrument itself. A fiddle is just another name for a violin.

    When people use the word violin they are commonly referring to playing classical music. But when people talk about playing the fiddle, they normally mean playing traditional or folk music. That could be in the Irish, Scottish, English, old time, bluegrass, Cape Breton, Scandinavian or other styles. These traditions of music are distinct from each other, and an experienced fiddle player can immediately tell the difference between the styles of playing. But they also have shared ancestries, and even shared tunes, although often played in slightly different ways.

    Different fiddle playing styles

    Because of the shared ancestry and the sharing of tunes, these styles of traditional fiddle playing also have features in common. They are strongly associated with playing for dancing, for example. For that reason the tunes, and the style of playing, have a pronounced rhythm and beat. Mastering the subtleties of the different rhythms used in traditional fiddle tunes – jigs, reels, slipjigs, polkas, slides, strathspeys, hornpipes, marches, highlands, and others – is a fundamental part of learning to play the fiddle.

    Fiddle playing in traditional music is also often characterised by the use of ‘ornaments’. This is especially the case in the Irish, Scottish and Scandinavian styles. These are extra notes or flourishes that are added to the main tune. They are critical to getting a tune to sound so distinctively ‘Irish’ or ‘Scottish’.

    The violin and the fiddle are the same instrument, the basics of learning to play are the same. Holding the instrument, creating a nice tone, playing in tune, and bowing techniques – these are important whether you want to play classical violin or traditional fiddle tunes. But if you want to learn to play the fiddle in a traditional style, you will need to learn some other techniques too. The techniques that are central to those musical traditions.

    So, there isn’t really a difference between a fiddle and violin. But there can be a big difference between playing the fiddle and playing the violin.

    Fiddlers, want to take your fiddle playing to the next level?
    The Complete Irish fiddler

  • Tips for the beginner fiddler

    If you are a beginner fiddle player just working out how to play the fiddle, it can seem difficult to know how to begin. So below are my top 3 tips for a beginner irish fiddle player.

    If you are just starting out, and looking help on how to play the fiddle, including how to hold the fiddle correctly, and how to hold the bow, take a look at my page How to Play the Fiddle (part 1).

    Get my my top tips for fiddlers
    download the book

    3 tips for a complete beginner fiddle player

    Beginner fiddlers are often told the fiddle is a difficult instrument to learn. Many people who would like to learn how to play the fiddle worry that the first stages will be especially difficult. They think that it will take a long time for them to be able to play in a way that sounds pleasing – and even longer to be able to play fiddle tunes!

    But this isn’t true!

    With the right approach, even total beginners to playing the fiddle can make a nice sound, and be playing simple tunes after a handful of lessons. But there are some tips that will really help you to make progress at the beginning.

    Tip 1 – Focus on bowing

    When it comes to playing the fiddle, your right hand, your bowing hand is as important than your left. Maybe even more important!

    Beginner fiddle tip: Concentrate on your bowing technique

    Most people starting out think that the left hand, that holds the fingers down and makes the different notes, is what is going to be difficult in learning to play the violin or fiddle. But it is the bowing hand that is responsible for a good tone and also for so much of the rhythm that is involved in playing.

    So just as much of your practice should concentrate on your bowing technique as playing different notes with your left hand.

    A good teacher will show you how to hold you bow properly, ways to improve your tone with your bowing, and different bowing exercises to improve your bowing technique.

    Tip 2 – For a beginner on the fiddle, the basics matter!

    If you get some of the basics right – how to hold the fiddle, how to use the bow, playing in time – right from the start, your playing will improve so much more quickly. Beginners sometimes rush ahead, but form bad habits that will make it more difficult to continue improving as they’d like.

    In addition, if you get the basics for how to play fiddle right

    Again, a good teacher will make sure you have good technique from the start.

    Fiddlers, want to take your fiddle playing to the next level?
    The Complete Irish fiddler

    Tip 3 – Find what you want to play on the fiddle!

    Working towards playing in the style that you would like to play is really good motivation. Talk to your teacher about what sort of music you would eventually like to play, and they should be able to find simpler versions of the same style, or at least music that will let you work towards your goal.

    I find it is really important for beginner fiddle players to feel like they are headed in the right direction.

    Get out to some sessions, listen to the music, decide what you want to learn. If you are a beginner fiddle player, there is no substitute for listening to other fiddlers.

    BONUS TIP: Once you’ve worked out what you want to learn, head over to my free fiddle lesson videos – I’ll be adding more over the coming months. I can help set you on the right path! I’ve even got a whole FREE online fiddle course where you lots more tips including advice for beginner fiddle players.