Welcome to our forum. A Message To Our New and Prospective Members . Check out our Forum Rules. Lets keep this forum an enjoyable place to visit.
Log In
Register
Home
Topic RSS
(18 votes) 
Offline
This is a party for getting out your recorder and instrument and recording the very first time through. Do not stop and start again.
There was a discussion about what constitutes sight reading. There were different thoughts. Use whatever you consider it to be, but within these parameters
You have never played it or heard it before
You have not "examined" it, except to see if it is in the range you play, keys you use, etc.
Here is my tune, I opened a book that I have and here goes. The Home of Donegal by Sean McBride:
🐭
Learn Violin and Fiddle
on
Fiddlerman's Fiddle Talk Forum
Regulars
Offline
nice one Mouse!
here is one i used. Opened up my english fiddle tunes and this one was on the page. I mess up but start again so its longer than should be but thats what happened so i suppose its what youre wanting as far as sight reading.
Funny after i recorded i searched and im way off i think. seems like this is shetland in origin and not played like a hornpipe which is what came out when i did it. to be honest.. kinda liked it lazy lopey feeling though. i may explore that more with ut.
the picture took about 15 seconds to make and is AI. i put in cat playing fiddle in front of a castle
EDIT****
almost forgot... tune is calle Rosburgh Castle
Offline
@ABitRusty Thank you.
Your post was excellent! Exactly what I was looking for. You started over but let the recording continue, so it was all the first time through.
There is something about your bowing that I always seem to be drawn to, and even with a sightread, I could notice it. Nice job.
Love the cat in front of the castle.
🐭
Learn Violin and Fiddle
on
Fiddlerman's Fiddle Talk Forum
Regulars
Offline
@Mouse -
Nice playing!
@ABitRusty -
Enjoyed your playing!!
'Roxburgh Castle' & the closely related 'Fool's Jig' have been used for Morris dances.
Offline
Thanks ELCBK.
🐭
Learn Violin and Fiddle
on
Fiddlerman's Fiddle Talk Forum
Regulars
Offline
thank you mouse
elcbk...glad you liked it!! now youll have to expand as you can on how they are related. sounds interestin' but awkward at the same time since i just posted roxburgh. feelim foolish now...lol
Regulars
Offline
@ABitRusty -
🤣 well, YOU aren't foolish. (yeah I caught that pun)
There is 'Roxburgh Castle' in 4/4, AND a 'Fool's Jig' in 6/8 - same tune, but there's more than 1 Fool's Jig (fooled me). 🥴
Anyway, you played Roxburgh Castle VERY well, especially as a cold-read!
Regulars
Offline
I am so glad you began this particular party because there is something I dont understand. Obviously, as all other violinists have to do, Thomas has to sight read a few bars of a new piece as well as 2 minutes of something he wants as well as scales in order to be designated to any position in his orchestra but to me, sight reading is given soooo much emphasis and I think too much. Even though he does extremely well in sight reading and is in the 3d chair of the first violin of the high school age orchestra now, the 2 ahead of him did slightly better at sight reading but not as well with a prepared 2 minute solo. Why is sight reading given so much emphasis when a musician is given months to perfect the orchestra repertoire? Thomas is fortunate because he has the pieces down in 2 weeks. I just don't understand why sight reading takes precedence over everything.
Jim(Thomases Dad)
Regulars
Offline
NOW this is what he LOVES, playing something for the first time and it being a fiddle tune. He sightreads(for practice) every Thursday or Friday and this was from yesterday.
Jim(Thomases Dad)
Offline
Good job, @JimandThomas! Thanks for joining my party!
By the way, parties never end, so you can add a first time run through of an unknown, any time. When I get a chance, I plan to, but it will be a little while.
🐭
Learn Violin and Fiddle
on
Fiddlerman's Fiddle Talk Forum
Regulars
Offline
@JimandThomas -
That was wonderful!
I really love that Thomas is able to start right off with good speed!
Your concern about over-emphasis on sight-reading is understandable, but it can lead to ENDLESS job oportunities for Thomas later on! He'll not only be able join any orchestra, there's also the film & recording industries (maybe theater & television) that need musicians who can sight-read - because they save studio time/costs with less takes. Thomas could make a name for himself in several musical circles!
I always remember Kevin Burke saying something like, 'learn a tune at speed, because your bowing will be different at a slower tempo'. When I sight read, I'm a snail (and not proud to advertize it), but I don't need to sight-read for picking up tunes I hear - there isn't always notation available.
Offline
@JimandThomas
I have never heard sight reading mentioned until a little while ago in the forum. I have heard the term, but no discussions. But, I do not play with others, so maybe that is why,
So, from my perspective, it isn't stressed. For me, it is fun and helps me enforce note and finger placement, enforces general reading and connecting to the instrument. It also boosts my confidence. I suspect it does different things for different people. It also lets me know if I want to spend more time on a piece.
I suspect that in an orchestra, or other group setting, it is important because when a new piece is distributed, maybe it would be helpful with the first go through. But, I am not in that scenario. I have no idea how anything in a group setting of any kind is done,
With the Fiddlerman Group Projects, I always do a sight read play-through from beginning to end when the sheet music is available. It gives me a feel for the piece. Some of the pieces, I have never heard of before. The play-through, before hearing it, helps me learn the notes and finger placements better, and be able to straighten everything out when I go back. I know where I am going and how the note or section will be in relation to what I did with the run through.
It is not as intimidating to me to hear a much better played version, Fiddlerman's playing in the Group Project's case, to polish up my playing because I already went through it and know I can.p do it. I already plugged right along through the part. Had I heard it played correctly and more perfectly than I could ever do it, would have simply given me a mental block because the difficulty level would have been overly exaggerated in my mind, based in what I heard, and not what I know I can do. I hope I said that right.
I hope this jumbled mess made sense.
It also helps me select a new piece to do. I did a run through of three fiddle books I was given and flagged pieces that were of interest. Just did them once through. I have found that the more I do this, the more accurate my first time through runs are.
🐭
Learn Violin and Fiddle
on
Fiddlerman's Fiddle Talk Forum
Regulars
Offline
great job jim!
from post 11...
"I always remember Kevin Burke saying something like, 'learn a tune at speed, because your bowing will be different at a slower tempo'. When I sight read, I'm a snail (and not proud to advertize it), but I don't need to sight-read for picking up tunes I hear - there isn't always notation available. "
To further what youre saying Kevin said about playing Irish Traditional Music in a session at session speed.. part of what i got from him is learning tunes is a phrase by phrase thing then putting all those phrases together. those phrases are at the speed a session is ocurring. Ive been more than proud to play a few bars here and there of an unfamiliar tune at session speed with others. that can be just fine for the moment.. also.. kevin suggest using a metronome in the absense of a session or band to keep tempo honest...BUT!!. i think outside of a session or jam or performance. whatever speed you can be comfortable with is perfect. dont worry about what is considered snail or slow speed... nobody cares..
this party is another thing altogether. just pick up a new tune you havent heard and play it from the sheet at whatever speed you want and post.
Regulars
Offline
@Mouse Okay, you asked for it, hahahaha. First time run throughs it is. I rather enjoy listening to them anyway. Even the hard ones but there is just something about fiddlin music that gets Thomas going, he absolutely adores it and we just got a book on fiddlin so early next week we will dig it out, flip a coin and choose a jig from it. Above all other genres , he is weirdly good at sightreading jigs and reels. I dont care what anyone say, it honestly is in the genes because his grandfather, great grandfather, gr. gr. grandfather all played at the old Topsfield, Maine Grange halls for barn dances and the like way back to the mid 1800s. Plus I think when you really enjoy something, it gives you a different perspective on the desire to learn a new piece. For example, he is over halfway through with Zigeunerweisen in only a month because he LOVES it, while it is taking him forever on Gigue, by Bach...because it is soooooooo monotonous and boring.
Jim(Thomases Dad)
Offline
JimandThomas said
@Mouse Okay, you asked for it, hahahaha. First time run throughs it is.
Was the video above a completely first time through no stopping and starting over to redo a miscue of a piece he has never heard or seen?
🐭
Learn Violin and Fiddle
on
Fiddlerman's Fiddle Talk Forum
Regulars
Offline
@Mouse Yes it was. He is practicing looking at it for about 2 minutes first and he looks at every single thing too. Then begins. Thats why there were a few missed notes and he was both flat and sharp a couple times. We will do one right out of the blue Monday and put it on here.
Jim(Thomases Dad)
Offline
Did not notice missed notes, That was excellent.
🐭
Learn Violin and Fiddle
on
Fiddlerman's Fiddle Talk Forum
Regulars
Offline
Well, Thomas got excited yesterday about fiddlin now so he chose to do tomorrows sight reading yesterday. Here are 2 pieces of fiddlin he made .
Jim(Thomases Dad)
Offline
Very very nice, Thomas. Thank you for participating in the party! 👏👏👏👏👏
🐭
Learn Violin and Fiddle
on
Fiddlerman's Fiddle Talk Forum
Regulars
Offline
@JimandThomas -
Thomas, you are making this Party VERY FUN!
Thank you for sharing two more tunes!
There are some very good reasons for including the repeats, though - they are not 'just' a part of the structure. Musician AND listener, both benefit from repeats - not really making sense of what's happening until a motif/phrase/part is repeated, and it's hard to feel contrast without repetition.
1 Guest(s)
Mouse
Fiddlerman
ELCBK
