Fiddling this Saturday!
Hi Fiddle Friends,
Let’s do some fiddling this Saturday! Also, read on for the new dates and a couple special sessions! Please notice another hand out in Saturday Seconds.
Tricia’s Zoom Room: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/2648621651?pwd=UVJFdVZuZUNoZ3RDTkpOV2tpTHcxZz09
Saturday Mornings
Time: Log in at 10:45 am CST and we will start at 11:00 am CST
Current Dates (subject to change):
Mar 15, 22, 29
Apr 19, 26
May 3, 10
May 17: Cross Tuning
May 24: Advanced Practice
Summer Break
Saturday Seconds
I will be putting together additional information and here is where you can find it. Feel free to print it out and study it. https://triciaspencer.substack.com/s/saturday-seconds
2-3 Shape
How to put it all together
The Videos from Saturday Mornings
These are often available the day after now or on Monday if you want more time with the videos! Where to purchase or check new videos: https://www.patreon.com/c/spencerandrains/shop
(FYI, you do not need to become a member.)
#13 (March 1, 2025) link expires on March 16, 2025. The focus of this session is: bow rocking with wrist lift and drop, double lick reinforcement, and breaking apart chord shapes
#14 (March 8, 2025) link expires on March 23. 2025. The focus of this session is: slurring and pulsing, double lick reinforcement, and breaking apart the 2-3 chord shape using Candy Girl as an example.
I’m excited to now be offering a video recording of the Saturday Sessions. It is because many of you continue to show up on Saturday mornings and provide donations that I can offer the videos. I enjoy working with fiddlers, having you in front of me and donating for my time keeps me inspired to teach more effectively and also makes the sessions fun for me. Please keep showing up regardless if you can donate!
In trying to keep the integrity of fiddlers showing up for the weekly live sessions, these videos are available to view but please check the video’s expiration date. The LINK will no longer work on/after the EXPIRATION DATE. They come down on Sunday night/Monday morning. For those of you who cannot attend or would like to repeat the session, I will have them available the day after our session and the video can be purchased for $15 on Patreon. I cannot offer these for free as it is another layer of work for my team (Howard, Orion, and Birdie), which is why they will have a nominal fee for use (as opposed to the sessions themselves, which are still free). I am not ok with the videos being available permanently which is why you have over a week (depending on when you purchased) to work on the lesson. If you can’t show up and can’t afford the video lesson, please email me back. We will work something out.
Videos of a few things we have been working on!
Big Taters In The Sandy Land:
Big Taters In The Sandy Land Bowing Chord Work Only:
I used this tune to demonstrate the traditional end lick and saw stroke combination. You can slow this video down and really work on the bowing.
The live Saturday Sessions are free but if you are inclined to donate for my time, I do appreciate it as it helps me keep doing what I’m doing and allows us to upgrade and make more educational videos. If you can’t donate, that’s fine, just tell your friends! I believe everyone should have the opportunity to learn regardless of their income.
Zelle: triciaspencerfiddle@gmail.com (without phone number)
Venmo: https://www.venmo.com/u/lawrencefiddler
Paypal:paypal.me/TriciaSpencerFiddle
Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/triciaspencer
If you are NEW to the Saturday Sessions!
Welcome! These sessions are designed to work on the mechanics of fiddling and give you ideas on how to utilize your own practice. These are the same mechanics that I continue to work on even after fiddling for 49 years and are some of the fundamentals I cover with my private students. Think of it as fiddle yoga. There continues to be a group of fiddlers from all over the world who show up on Saturday mornings. You don’t have to let me know if you will be there or not and you don’t have to have your camera on. Just show up and take what you can.
What I will be doing: I am going to be combining bowing elements and working through chord shapes in all registers. If you have The Fiddle Garden, keep it handy as I will be using lessons from the book. If you don’t have the book, have a pen and paper handy to take notes.
Other helpful things not necessary but recommended:
Keep your video turned off during the session. This transmits less data and allows my video quality to be better.
If you can, plug directly into your ethernet.
Audio too low? “For those who are having audio issues, I would recommend that they click the little arrow to the right of the microphone button and go to audio settings, and they can adjust their audio volume using the speaker slider. They can also select a specific audio output, such as headphones vs. speakers. If their volume is still too low, they can go into their computer's volume settings and adjust volume there.”
Make sure you are in tune before the session as I will have tuned beforehand.
Put a mute on your fiddle & wear headphones while working with me. You still want to hear your fiddle but make sure I am louder than you.