Instruments
« Previous EntriesChoosing What Instrument to Learn #5: Violin/Fiddle (part 2)
Tuesday, September 16th, 2008If you missed the first part of this article, click the following link for learning Fiddle/Violin part 1
The Good News!
Last time, when I wrote this post, it must have seemed that I was actually trying to convince you all that fiddle was a nightmare of an instrument and that you should avoid it at all costs. [...]
Choosing What Instrument to Learn #5: Violin/Fiddle (part 1)
Thursday, September 11th, 2008First off: fiddle and violin are the same thing. Just different words for the same instrument.
So, as I may have mentioned, this is my new obsession. It’s also the hardest thing I’ve tried to play so far. That said, there are loads of reasons to learn to play fiddle…In my case, fiddle is appropriate because it [...]
New Instrument!
Tuesday, August 26th, 2008Well, new to me, that is.I recently started learning fiddle. I figured that, as I have now spent several years sucking at guitar, bass, mandolin, bodhran and tin whistle, I might as well be useless at something really different and interesting. And it is really interesting. This is an instrument that manages to be fun [...]
Choosing What Instrument to Learn #4: Mandolin
Friday, August 31st, 2007I have to confess a bias: we are talking about my favourite instrument here!
I’m serious. I played guitar badly for decades and thought I was having fun. Then I took up bass guitar, which I played badly for some years, and thought I was having fun. More recently, I took up tenor banjo, which I [...]
Choosing What Instrument to Learn #3: Drums
Thursday, August 30th, 2007There are probably two instruments most kids aspire to play in a band: guitar and drums. For some reason, the glamour seems, in many minds, to be embodied in these two roles. It is relatively rare to hear someone say, “I want to be a keyboard player” or “I want to be a bass player”.
One [...]
First Serious Electric Guitar: Recommendations
Monday, August 27th, 2007When we start out on an instrument, most of us just don’t have a clue. We know next to nothing about the instrument, and even less about how to play it. To make an important purchase like one’s first real instrument from such a position of ingnorance is madness. Take it from someone whose fingers [...]
Choosing What Instrument to Learn #2: Bass Guitar
Friday, August 24th, 2007The job of a bass guitar is to add some deep, boomy bass notes to the music. Without bass most bands would sound tinny and thin. Along with drums, the bass forms part of the rhythm section. It is often seen as a poor relation to the guitar - a kind of second best or [...]
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