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Great post Barry, I'm a music Tekkie but yes, hit the notes and see how it sounds!
I am amazed at how old people of my age are.....
Honorary tenured advisor
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Barry said
I want to share a little of how I learn. Its how I approach things and Id like to share a little of it with you.I jam regularly , it dosent have to be in a group, in fact for learning purposes I prefer it not to be. Stick in a CD, find a youtube video, radio, whatever and just jam along.
Thanks, Barry, for your great advise and experience. I was looking for someone in my area to jam/learn together but so far it's a no go, but your suggestion of playing along with CD, youtube etc. is so good, now there's a way.
I also was worrying about my self learning method, as for quite a few months I did not even read any music sheet, and from reading your post then mine could/should be OK for a while then.
Thanks again for your great post.
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Couldn't of said it better Mr. B
I also just 'play' after working on a particular tune I'm trying to learn. I think I said on a past post somewhere that it's a lot of help to just play notes, it doesn't matter that you'll never be able to play the tune you're banging out ever again, just that your mind is teaching your fingers where to go and your bow arm how much to lay into with!
I often find myself justr playing beautiful slow violin music which I have no idea where it comes from just because I love to hear it played.
"If you practice with your hands you must practice all day. Practice with your mind and you can accomplish the same amount in minutes." Nathan Milstein
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Ahhhhh, you got it Barry!!
I strive to not sound perfectly mechanical. I like playinng off the cuff and stuff never sounds quite the same twice in a row, let it come from within, with soul, with heart..Do this and you will own your talent....
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Great tips Barry.
I have a similar philosophy myself.
In my experience of jamming, another great device is the Distortion pedal. 
Makes everything sound good. "Or bad" LOL
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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I know, right????
Any of you who haven't tried it, try to find a music store nearby that sells electric guitars. Have them put an acoustic stick on pickup (can be for guitars) on your fiddle unless you own an electric (you should of course be in the market for a pick-up 
). Ask them if you can test some effect pedals that you are interested in buying You'll have a blast. Then you go online and buy them for half the price at FiddlerShop.
Just kidding, support your local stores. 
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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I've always considered it pretty dumb to smash an instrument. Never done it, doubt I ever will.
But you want weird.. Apparently the place to lay the blame may be "The Lawrence Welk Show"? I really wasn't expecting that. LOL
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I.....estruction
"This young wine may have a lot of tannins now, but in 5 or 10 years it is going to be spectacular, despite the fact that right now it tastes like crude oil. You know this is how it is supposed to taste at this stage of development." ~ Itzhak Perlman
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This is a great idea! I'm pretty new to playing fiddle. There is a fiddle circle here in town during the winter months (during the summer the temps are above 120 and people leave town...except a few of us that like it hot). The lead player told me to just bring my fiddle and plunk a note on one string until you hear it in the tune being played. Then, go from there to pick out the next note etc. It's a great way to learn the song and it's how, I hear, that old timers back in the Appalachians where I'm from learn the tunes as well.
I'm telling you right now, it's not easy sitting there and plunking it out while everyone around you is playing along but it works.
Fiddlerman, you are my local shop. I'm an eight hour drive from the nearest fiddle shop (that I'm aware of). LOL
Siarl
Thanks Barry for your 'secret'. I need to follow your great advice. My husband plays guitar, and he keeps saying "let's just jam!" So far he plays these great tunes, and I sort of jump in, whenever I can find notes that sound about right (I'm not really good, so far, at just playing off the top of my head) But I will try.
Like you said, I need to remember the reason I'm learning this beautiful instrument in the first place!
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I love jamming!! ....especially when no one else is around! LOL If ya make a mistake, who cares?!? Plus, it helps you become more familiar with your violin's capabilities! Kind of like taking that new car to an abandoned parking lot and really testing it out! 
.......I seriously need to break out my "stomp boxes" from my "rocker" days! LOL I have 2 different distortion/overdrive pedals as well as a chorus, Cry Baby Wah, Delay and my Zoom 506 Effects box! .....maybe I can add a flanger and find my old Ibanez TS-9 tube screamer!! Oh the possibilities......I swear, you guys are going to get me into trouble! LOL
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” ~Benjamin Franklin
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Right on Ginny..you can jam with the hub.. I wish I did more jamming my first year... jamming is learning and the best motivation..even with mismatched skills sets.. trust me.. I am jamming with someone who has been playing 20 years...and it is awesome... and we make some good music together and I am so motivated...
Jamming is fun... the first jam I ever had was with Fm and Twinkle.. I hold it as a great memory... but no I won't look back and I hope to jam with more of the violinist from this site...
EJ... I had a " moment "of jamming alone today and I no one was around but the Hound..and I said.."yeah" and the dog looked at me like what? Ha ha... I mean I always play alone everyday..but I had one moment today that was like a party in my kitchen... excellent fun!
Jam on !!
Vibrato Desperato.... Desperately seeking vibrato
Ok, Barry… now you’ve done it! I think your post just created a music monster in me!
I read your post to my husband, and told him how I wish I could do a little more improv...… just listening to a song and playing along with the CD.
So he said “Ok, Grab you violin… leave your sheet music” He took his guitar and started strumming out a chord progression. And I began playing along. At first I just shadowed his chords with just the root note… then added thirds and fifths… and lo and behold, it started to sound like music! We had so much fun. We ended up playing way too late in the evening (but sleep is overrated, right?), and had a ball!
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Ginny a jam session with the hubby!!!! Right on!
Thank you Barry ...learning not to stop when I make a mistake has been harsh for me... And this is good information.
Vibrato Desperato.... Desperately seeking vibrato
Fiddlerman said
Just kidding, support your local stores.
I'd really like to support my local stores FM, but I can't lie, the local stores are garbage without a single luthier for 90 miles. What ever will I do? Actually, this emoticon pretty much sums up how I feel about MOST of the locally owned stores here in Columbus, GA. Not just music either.
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Well, I really don't have anything against your feelings towards the local stores since it benefits us
I do however feel sorry for them in a way since we have an advantage over them. First of all we have the world at our fingertips. Overhead is less as we don't have to have a shop that is located in a prime expensive location. We don't need store personnel sitting and waiting for customers that might or might not come and we are open 24/7
Granted, online shops offer better prices and our margins are lower.
It's great though to have a shop that you can drive to and have your instrument looked at or test instruments before you buy. Also nice to get something right away without having to wait for shipping.
Both options are good for their own purposes and I'm happy customers have the choice.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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