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leftyuk
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August 21, 2015 - 4:00 pm
Member Since: August 21, 2015
Forum Posts: 23
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hello fellow fiddlers!

lefty by nature, I am an abomination to all things strings by having the good fortune to be left handed! :))

My real name is kevin farrell, I am s/e of manchester england, and 57yrs young.

I have been playing guitar and writing songs for 40 of those years, currently gigging regularly and lovin it.

My technical and theoretical musical skills are pretty basic, I get by on enthusiasm! Lolol

Anyway, to the violin..... 

I did some studio work for someone last year who offered me a violin in payment. It was with bow and case and was one of those starter bundles you can pick up or peanuts...(I later discovered the nut was made of chipboard! I kid you not!!) I think that was the first time I had ever touched one! I said yes thinking the bow might be fun on the guitar... I then wondered if it could be made into a lefty...

Of course you can't do that without seriously major surgery, so I just swapped the strings round, made an ebony nut (the only real wood on it!) from an old piano key, took a sledgehammer to the bridge and hey presto.... It functioned!!

I then went through hell trying to play the damn thing! Never has an instrument so utterly bamboozled and grounded me. Something, somehow, during those first impossible, ridiculous, screeching, scratching noteless weeks, took hold. There was a promise, a tiny distant hint that made me want to find what was within. Badly.

So bad was the bite, I found a REAL lefty violin, made of REAL wood!

Now, about six months on! I have a few simple tunes I can play badly, but the promise is now yelling at me to find it!

I am LOVIN it!!! 

And the wind takes your hesitation, and the sun burns your fear, and the rain on your face, make the tears disappear..

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damfino
my own little world
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Regulars
August 21, 2015 - 4:35 pm
Member Since: July 23, 2015
Forum Posts: 2113
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Hi Kevin! Welcome to the board :)  

☆•*¨*•¸¸¸.•*¨*•☆•*¨*•¸¸¸.•*¨*•☆•*¨*•.¸¸¸.•*¨*•☆
World's Okayest Fiddler
☆•*¨*•.¸¸¸.•*¨* •☆•*¨*¨*•¸¸¸.•*¨*•☆

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Fidelestre
Texas
Members

Regulars
August 21, 2015 - 10:09 pm
Member Since: June 21, 2015
Forum Posts: 240
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Kevin,

Ah, the violin has got hold of you too! It's great that you were able to find a decent left-handed violin to help you play.

Welcome to the forum,

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BillyG
Brora, North-east Scotland
August 22, 2015 - 12:16 am
Member Since: March 22, 2014
Forum Posts: 3744
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Welcome Kevin, to the shared insanity of fretless instruments !  Good to have met you in the chat and nice to see you took my "hint" and joined us !!!  Your boundless enthusiasm will serve you well in the journey !

I seriously recommend not copying my mistakes. D'oh - guntohead.JPG

Please make your own, different mistakes, and help us all learn :-)

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Jim Dunleavy
United Kingdom
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August 22, 2015 - 4:05 am
Member Since: April 19, 2015
Forum Posts: 886
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Welcome Kevin!

You realise there's no going back now, don't you? wink

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Mark
Members

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August 22, 2015 - 6:37 am
Member Since: September 30, 2014
Forum Posts: 2149
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Kevin,

 

Welcome to the Forum you number 4 of 5 lefty I know of here now!!

 

Mark   coffee

Master the Frog and you have mastered the bow.

Albert Sammons

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ElisaDalViolin

Honorary advisor
Members

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August 22, 2015 - 1:56 pm
Member Since: November 26, 2014
Forum Posts: 209
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Welcome to the forum Kevin! :)

 
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AnnyJ
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August 22, 2015 - 3:20 pm
Member Since: June 18, 2015
Forum Posts: 262
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Welcome Kevin! Interesting background story!cool

It's easy to play any musical instrument: all you have to do is touch the right key at the right time and the instrument will play itself. Johann S.Bach

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ACDSherlockian
Pennsylvania

Member
Members
August 22, 2015 - 6:22 pm
Member Since: August 18, 2015
Forum Posts: 3
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Hello and welcome Kevin! ?

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KindaScratchy
Massachusetts
August 22, 2015 - 7:37 pm
Member Since: March 14, 2012
Forum Posts: 1760
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Welcome, Kevin! Great story. I admire your perseverance. :) Keep us posted on your progress.

-- Diane

When the work's all done and the sun's settin' low,

I pull out my fiddle and I rosin up the bow.

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