FORUM

Ok, here's my report from Fiddle Hell 2015:

This was my third consecutive Fiddle Hell. The Westford Regency in Westford, Mass. is a very good venue for the event, with spacious workshop rooms, nice hotel rooms and good food. Westford is about 45 minutes from my home.

The first year that I attended, it was held at the historic Colonial Inn in Concord, Mass., which had quaint New England ambiance and excellent food, but the workshop rooms were way too crowded. The chairs were so close together, it was a wonder that no one lost an eye from another fiddler's bow.

I attended sessions on how to jam, how to learn by ear, and bowing patterns, as well as workshops on learning tunes in different styles, including Cape Breton, Old Time and bluegrass. Over the course of the weekend, there are workshops on every genre and technique, at every level.

The workshops are taught by professional fiddlers, many of whom are well known. The approach for most workshops is to teach tunes and techniques by ear, though some instructors hand out sheet music for the tunes they teach, for future reference.

My ear learning results were mixed. For example, I did well in a Cape Breton waltz workshop but not so well in a Cape Breton jig workshop. (I suspect the fact that I was up until midnight the night before jamming had something to do with it.)

On Saturday night there was a concert featuring several of the instructors. After that I attended a late night bluegrass jam in which I played mandolin.

All in all, I learned a lot and enjoyed interacting and playing with other fiddlers at or near my level, and observing fiddlers much better than me.

I highly recommend this event to anyone in New England or who is inclined to travel here. Hope to see some Fiddlerman members at Fiddle Hell 2016!

Ripton said
Looking for any videos that may be out there. Watching FH Facebook page. Did you notice any violas or sessions for viola there? I really hope to make it next year as it is my weekend off. Can I stick with my viola, or should I brush up on the violin? 

There was this one video posted to the FH Facebook page:

A lot of photos and comments have been posted there, too, which provide a good feel for the event.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/fiddlehellmassachusetts/

I'm pretty sure that I saw a viola or two. I know for sure that I saw a few cellos. In fact, a young woman playing a cello joined in the bluegrass jam on Saturday night and played a mean break on one song. There were also people playing mandolin (considered honorary fiddles 🙂 ), guitar, claw hammer banjo, bass, tin whistle and keyboard.