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February went by and I took the advantage of a month free of college to dedicate myself entirely to the violin.
I think I did well and definitely saw improvements. I progressed in my Hans Sitt etudes after a long battle with the bow (the 28th was the "ultimate test" to tick it off and passed, yay! XD ) and the bad habit of my hand is slowly fading away but still requires special attention. I also established a more frequent practice routine that I hope to be able to keep it.
Let's see how this month goes! Happy practice everybody! 
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Yes, Happy Practicing Everyone!!!
That's what it's all about. Having fun and trying to improve.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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Hello all.
So it's April already. Man this year is flying by! My list of goals ended up changing a bit there for March - I'd been struggling to a few weeks on some things, started to feel like I was going backwards. So just for a change I started messing with some alternate tunings.
Something clicked. I don't know if it's due to the open tunings I'm familiar with on guitar or something else, but all of a sudden everything started making sense. I'm going back and forth from GDAE to DDAD. They're close enough to make me think about what I'm doing, but not so far apart it throws me right off track.
I'm sure there are traditional type players out there who'll laugh at me or chase me away with a stick, but I've found getting better in one tuning makes me want to get better in the other. I'm also having a hell of a lot of fun!
My biggest issue right now is trying to find a teacher in my area who's interested in different styles to point me in the right direction, especially bow hold. Long practice sessions are messing with my back under my right shoulder sometimes. Need to get that worked out.
Now, if I can just manage to finish a 35 day practice challenge......... 
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@caterwaul There are some great tunes that can be done in different tunings! Check out http://slippery-hill.com/M-K/ That first one on the list though - Bonepate's Retreat is good in DDAD tuning.
I was trying the different tunings a while back but I have not tried it at the jam I attend. I am afraid I am too slow at tuning and would miss a lot of playing time.
Violinist start date - May 2013
Fiddler start date - May 2014
FIDDLE- Gift from a dear friend. A 1930-40 german copy, of a french copy of a Stradivarius. BOW - $50 carbon fiber. Strings - Dominants with E Pirastro Gold string.
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Thanks for the link @Schaick, great list!
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caterwaul, one of the great things about this site is that we don't laugh at members ideas or chase them away with sticks, LOL
I for one, and most others here, are open to ideas and unique thinking.
As far as tuning the G to D, I think you might be better off with a different string such as a viola C string. The difference is too much. Which octave D where you thinking???
The E won't be much of a problem tuning down.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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@Fiddlerman I don't know too much about it. Just enough to get me in trouble!! I first discovered cross tuning when I heard William Stepp on this video. people say he used Deadman's tuning - DDAD is tuning down. @caterwaul check these out!!
Violinist start date - May 2013
Fiddler start date - May 2014
FIDDLE- Gift from a dear friend. A 1930-40 german copy, of a french copy of a Stradivarius. BOW - $50 carbon fiber. Strings - Dominants with E Pirastro Gold string.
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What is confusing for me - I saw a book can't remember the title now but it listed each song twice and said over the first song written like this and over the second song sounds like this!!
UUgghh which way is up?
Violinist start date - May 2013
Fiddler start date - May 2014
FIDDLE- Gift from a dear friend. A 1930-40 german copy, of a french copy of a Stradivarius. BOW - $50 carbon fiber. Strings - Dominants with E Pirastro Gold string.
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@Fiddlerman - the G drop to D is a full octave below the normal D string, the same tuning as @Schaick showed in those videos there.
You're right, the drop is a LOT and its easy to have the string go out of tune (I've noticed it tends to want go back up in pitch to below a D#, but settles after a bit of playing). I haven't seen any tunes actually using that string for anything other than a drone against the normal D string... all of the fingered notes are on the DAE(D) strings.
Midnight on the Water and Bonaparte's Retreat are great examples.
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The viola C would have more tension. I just figured that it would be too loose to bring a G down a 4th. I could be wrong.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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Midnight on the Water crossed tune DDAD is one of my favorite tunes. I will get a good lesson from my friend Taryn Next time we play. If I can get a recording of it from her I will.
*** another song for the list.
Vibrato Desperato.... Desperately seeking vibrato
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