Category: Learning the fiddle

We invite you to join us at Three Hares Folk Camp, a long weekend residential folk music course where you can immerse yourself in the joy of folk music, level up your playing, and connect with fellow musicians.

Learn from expert tutors in small workshops during the day; then head to the oak-frame barn, or under the branches of the spreading oak to play with your fellow musicians and your tutors in sessions in the evenings!

Set on a picturesque organic working farm in North Somerset, our residential folk music course offers expert tuition, lots of opportunities for group playing, and a chance to immerse yourself in the music — all in an idyllic rural environment.

Whether you’re an experienced musician or someone with a basic understanding of folk music, this is the perfect opportunity to deepen your knowledge, learn and refine your musical skills, and make lasting friends and memories.

An Inspirational Folk Music Experience

Three Hares Folk Camp is not just another folk music workshop.

It’s about experiencing and learning folk music the way it was meant to be—hands-on, communal, and full of heart — all in the Somerset countryside.

Over the course of three days, you’ll be guided by some of the most talented folk musicians in the UK. With a focus on both individual instrument development and group playing, this camp is ideal for those who want to improve their technique, while building experience in playing folk music with others in a friendly, supportive environment.

Instruments & Tutors

Our talented team of tutors is ready to lead you through a diverse range of workshops, covering a range of folk instruments. Whether you’re drawn to the tunes of Ireland, Northumberland or Cape Breton, or to songs and accompaniment, there’s something for everyone. We offer workshops on the following instruments:

Irish Flute, Whistle, & Uilleann Pipes with Dominic Henderson

Squeeze Box & Vocals with Hazel Askew

Guitar & Mandolin with Kit Hawes

Each tutor is a professional musician with years of teaching experience, ensuring that you’ll receive top-notch guidance. Find out more about each of the tutors here.

Our residential folk music course is designed for beginners to advanced players, although some experience with your instrument will be necessary. (You should at minimum be able to play, for example, simple scales in common keys and basic tunes. If you are unsure if this folk music camp is a fit for your current level, please get in touch.)

When & Where?

• Dates: 25th–27th July 2025
• Location: Three Hares Farm, Dundry Lane, BS40 8AW, North Somerset, UK
• Arrival: Thursday, 24th July from 5pm for set-up and evening meal.
• Workshops Begin: Friday morning, with a full programme of music workshops.

This weekend retreat offers a blend of structured music workshops and informal sessions, creating the perfect atmosphere for both learning and socialising.

Residential Accommodation Options

Your ticket includes camping at the farm – pitch your tent under the stars a stone’s throw from the workshop and session spaces!

If camping isn’t for you, there are two local accommodations within walking distance of the farm, where you can stay in comfort. Whether you choose to camp or stay elsewhere, you’re guaranteed to enjoy the rural surroundings of Three Hares Farm.

Meals & Catering

At Three Hares Folk Camp, we believe that good food is an essential part of a great experience. We’ve partnered with Two Trees Catering to provide two delicious and nutritious meals each day, focusing on locally-sourced ingredients, much of which is grown right here at Three Hares Farm. Please note, attendees are responsible for their own breakfasts, but rest assured, everything else is taken care of!

Transport & Parking

If you’re driving, there is very limited parking spaces on-site; what parking there is available at an additional cost.

Alternatively, we will provide a shuttle bus service to and from Bristol on Thursday, 24th July, and Sunday, 27th July. This makes it easy to reach the camp without the hassle of driving.

For maximum respect from everyone, arrive by bike to the camp and enjoy a free drink at the bar as a reward!

Evening Sessions & Socialising

After a day of folk music workshops, the fun continues in the evenings with informal music sessions in the bar, where you can play along with your fellow musicians and your tutors, practice your new-found tunes, techniques and skills; and relax and chat with like-minded campers.

On Saturday night, we’ll be hosting a lively and inclusive ceilidh; with music provided by your tutors, and a caller to teach and lead the dances. It’s the perfect way to round off your weekend!

Why Choose Three Hares Folk Camp?

• Residential Folk Music Course: Enjoy full immersion in folk music while staying on a beautiful farm.
• Experienced Tutors: Learn from skilled and experienced professional tutors
• Variety of Instruments: Workshops for fiddle, flute, whistle, uilleann pipes, guitar, mandolin, vocals, and squeeze box
• Community Atmosphere: Join a welcoming group of like-minded musicians
• Lively Sessions & Ceilidh: Fun evening activities, including informal sessions and a ceilidh
• Delicious, Nutritious Food: Enjoy meals made with fresh, local ingredients.

Book Your Spot Today

Spaces at Three Hares Folk Camp are limited, so please book early to avoid missing out on this opportunity.

Whether you’re looking to improve your playing, learn about group playing, make new musical friends, or simply immerse yourself in the music in beautiful surroundings, Three Hares Folk Camp 2025 will be an unforgettable few days.

Contact Us

Have questions? Get in touch with Humphrey Lloyd at 07702810555 for more information. You can also reach us via WhatsApp or give us a call—email is not the best way to contact us since we’re often out in the field.

On a site called Learn to Play the Fiddle, the question ‘What is a fiddle?’ may seem a little odd! But it is important to know something about the history of the fiddle, how it is different from a violin, and how it ended up with such an important role in Irish music.

Fiddle vs Violin

The first thing to say, is that, today, the fiddle and the violin are exactly the same instrument. (Though, see below for a little more history of the two.) Two different words for the same physical thing. The violin or fiddle is a (normally) four stringed instrument played with a bow, or sometimes plucked.

What is different about the fiddle and the violin, are the styles in which they are normally played.

When people use the word violin they are normally referring to playing classical music. But when people talk about playing the fiddle, they might 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. But they also have shared ancestries, and even shared tunes, although often played in slightly different ways.

But fundamentally, if we are talking about the instrument itself, the fiddle and the violin are the same thing.

History of the fiddle

Since they are the same instrument, the history of the modern day fiddle is shared with that of the violin.

But stringed instruments have existed for thousands of years, and the modern violin as we know it today has its roots in those ancient stringed instruments. Bowed stringed date back at least as far as the 9th Century.

The earliest example of a medieval bow in Europe, and therefore the earliest evidence of bowed instruments, was excavated in Dublin. It is dated to the 11th Century. A twelfth-century carving of a bowed six string lyre has been found in Co. Kerry. And references to the ‘fiddle’ have been found in accounts from the 7th century.

By 1674 an account mentions ‘in every field a fiddle, and the lasses footing it til they were all of a foam’. (See Fintan Valelly, The Companion to Irish Traditional Music).

The violin in its moden sense, however, begins to take shape in the 16th Century in Italy. We could date the birth of the modern violin to the publication of the Académie musicale, in 1556, by Philibert Jambe de Fer, which gives a description of the violin family much as a modern violin is today.

The modern violin was probably introduced into Ireland by Scottish and English settlers. But its playing in Ireland was undoubtedly influenced by those earlier fiddles, as well as the Irish harp, bagpipes and vocal music traditions.

A traditional style

The style of playing fiddle in the traditional way differ depending on the country, region and tradition. But some commonalities remain.

The fiddle style of, say, bluegrass, old time, cajun playing are noticeably different from those of say, Sweden, or Ireland, or Shetland.

However, we can see some similarities. The fiddle was predominantly played for dancing in most cultures. So the tunes and the manner of playing are often distinctly rhythmic.

Likewise, since the tunes were almost always passed from player to player (oral transmission) the tunes themselves often have clear structures. Short repeated parts are common, and the tunes themselves are also often short, and repeated two or more times.

While the tunes are often simple, they are made more varied with the use of fingered ornamentation, or ornamenation with the bow, chords or drones, improvisation and variation. These things are to be found in many fiddle traditions.

In Ireland, the fiddle playing style is slightly different in different regions — such as the Sliabh Luachra or Donegal fiddle traditions — and obviously between different fiddle players.

But ornamentation such as rolls and cuts are commonplace, as is an emphasis on ‘lilt’ – a combination of rhythmic bowing and slightly swung phrasing, with slurs often used into or across the beat.

Links

History of the Irish Fiddle

A short history of Old Time Fiddling

Online fiddle lessons

Irish Fiddle Courses

Irish fiddle Ornamentation

Can you learn the fiddle without reading music? Absolutely! You can certainly play the fiddle without being able to read sheet music. In fact, I’d go further and say it’s best if you don’t learn to play the fiddle by reading sheet music! I’ll explain why.

Learning from sheet music v learning by ear

Fiddle players have learned ‘by ear’ rather than from sheet music for hundreds of years. Fiddle music is part of an ‘oral tradition’, meaning that the music passes from one player to the next by playing and listening.

Until quite recently, many tunes would never have been written down. Instead, players would learn how to play tunes from each other, with tunes and techniques passing from one generation to the next.

So you certainly don’t need to be able to read music to learn to play the fiddle. In fact, there are advantages to learning tunes ‘by ear’.

The most important reason, is that much of the spirit of the tune, can never be written down. The phrasing, the ornamentation, the subtleties of rhythm – you have to learn these by listening.

But also, tunes learned by ear stick much better in the memory. Tunes learned from sheet music are much harder to remember.

Learning tunes by ear

So, how do you learn tunes by ear? The first step is to listen to a tune until you know it really well. Until you can sing, or hum, or whistle the tune all the way through without hesitating.

Then break the tune down into chunks. If you are listening to a recording, play a short section – may just a second or two – then hit pause. Keep those notes in your head and see if you can work them out on the fiddle. You may have to try several times to find the right notes. Keep working your way through the tune like that.

If you are learning from another player, ask them to play each bar or measure for your slowly so you can work it out piece by piece. If you already play the fiddle a little bit, but mostly play from sheet music, give one of my step-by-step tune tutorials a go. See if you can follow along!

If you haven’t learned tunes by ear before, it may feel difficult at first. But it gets easier and faster the more that you do it. Once you have had some practice, you’ll pick up new tunes incredibly quickly!

Have a go at learning a fiddle tune without the sheet music

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.

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.

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.

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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).

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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!

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.

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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.