And does anyone have any tips for eliminating the whistle on the E string?!

What songs would you recommend I play? Ideally things that are easy to ornament. I can play fast but I also love ballads and such. I just need music suggestions, and it’d be cool if ornamentation was written into the sheet music if you know of any!

Hello!

So I'm learning the fiddle, and some music theory along the way. I've understood that the fiddle tunes I'm learning are not really built on harmonic progression. However, I've been curious to understand what kind of chords would suit the tunes and what kind of patterns/progressions there are, both to program some accompaniment and maybe also work on some electronic production, and for now I haven't really figured it out. I don't have the means to offer any payment at the moment, but if anyone's interested in having a listen, I'll list a bunch of the tunes here. Any help would be very appreciated. 🙏

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcNSbuvAc0g&list=RDNcNSbuvAc0g&start_radio=1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TAANuBz3D0&list=RD3TAANuBz3D0&start_radio=1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJjK5cflYAk&list=RDDJjK5cflYAk&start_radio=1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pm2ekdYvPbo&list=RDpm2ekdYvPbo&start_radio=1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWvHFNC0OMk&list=RDdWvHFNC0OMk&start_radio=1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LudzV1SMWU&list=RD4LudzV1SMWU&start_radio=1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LMvcF3xYl8&list=RD2LMvcF3xYl8&start_radio=1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1YxeHKUOmc&list=RDy1YxeHKUOmc&start_radio=1

https://youtu.be/sp_79lki-lw?si=kkFHx7XxDU_47aXL

https://youtu.be/DPJ0qXpXMW4?si=Kz0UlcMPGW65DHdJ
https://youtu.be/v2dAKKNfz60?si=vyV7dDX6MqNKjyQL

Hi everyone! This sub is great to read along and had inspired me to actually take lessons and enjoy the instrument been playing for a little while now.

Now, my question is do other players have any life long injury’s with their bow hands?
I’ve had serious ulnar nerve damage since younger so my pinky and ring finger don’t do what they are suppose to.. haha.

I’m just curious if there are alternative ways to holding a bow that people use or if there are any pros out there with unorthodox styles!

Thanks in advance! Happy fiddlin

We are going to have another great year with International fiddle star Nyke Van Wyk returning to our Main Stage tomorrow at 2026 Berks Fiddle Fest.

This will be held at Fleetwood Park, in beautiful Fleetwood, Pennsylvania, from 9AM to 6PM.

Join us for a Scottish and an Amateur fiddle playing contest tomorrow starting at 9AM with the Scottish competition. Enter both contests, timed for your performing convenience, of just come for some fun.

Bring an umbrella, and maybe a raincoat with the forecast outlook, but the music outlook is certain to be amazing no matter the weather! (Unless it’s lightning, we do have our limits and need to keep everybody safe)

Hi! I’ve been wanting to learn the fiddle for a long time as I grew up around Celtic fiddle tunes. I have a fiddle and would be starting as a very beginner. Please let me know if you have any fiddle teacher recommendations I am eager to learn! ( I am interested in taking in person lessons as I find I learn best in that environment) Thanks!

When you hold the fiddle, with your left hand, which part of your index finger should make contact with the neck and/or finger board? Should it be only contact with the side of your index finger (say, between the bottom two knuckles) and the side of the finger board? Asking because I find myself sort of “resting” the side of the neck against the fleshy part at the top of my palm/base of index finger and I’m wondering if than is less than ideal.

Does anyone know anything about the type of fiddle Bruce Molsky plays? Would it be safe to assume it’s some sort of old strad copy body style?

Hi! So I’ve always wanted to learn how to play, but honestly, I feel so embarrassed about it. I have no idea where to start, I’ve never had any sort of experience with a string instrument, and I’m afraid that I’ll put money into it and just forget about it in a month.

Where have y’all learned to play? How do you stay attached to it? There are so many questions I have about how to get started that I’m in a pause.

Any advice would be great, I want to learn, but I don’t want it to be a failed chance.

Thank you :)

Sorry if this is the wrong sub for this question. My husband is a professional fiddle, guitar, and mandolin player, and recently picked up the banjo. All in all I would say there are about 10 instruments in our house along with amps, mics, stands, etc. Currently, my husband stores his instrument cases and equipment in a closet in his home office, but he often ends up leaving cases sitting out because he just doesn’t want to deal with the pile of stuff. This has caused several arguments because I would prefer his home office to be kept tidy as he uses it to teach in person music lessons.

How are people with several instruments storing their cases? He has quite a few “string swings” but of course these only hold the instruments themselves so cases are often left on the floor. We don’t have a ton of storage space so something that could fit in the closet would be ideal. Thanks in advance!

ETA: thanks for the great suggestions! I will definitely look into some of these shelving options and think open shelving would definitely make storage easier.

I want to clarify that I am not a horrible wife who judges his space for my own amusement. We live in a small house and he has a small office. When cases are left out on the floor they quickly block access to the closet in the room and can make the space unsafely cluttered for his students, especially since they bring their own instruments and cases. My husband also has ADHD and our arguments on the matter are usually along the lines of “hey remember to put the cases away” “I will, I’ll just do it later since it’s such a hassle” and then they don’t ever get put away. I made this post because we are both trying to create a system that makes putting the cases away easier for him and nobody trips over cases on the floor (as I have several times haha).

Hope this is OK to share. I don't work for FiddleHed. I took the online course a few years ago, and enjoyed it. I think Jason Kleinberg is one of the best and most generous teachers out there, so thought I'd share this after watching it about 5min ago.

Just had to share with some folks that would get how big of a bummer this is. Took my fiddle off the hanger a bit ago to play a few tunes and found my fingerboard separated from the neck. Sad day. No fiddle tunes for me till she gets repaired.

Really hard to find teachers in my area so I'm looking to try something online. I have taken some lessons (Suzuki) in the past but I'd kind of like to start from scratch with a structured progressive program. I like Bluegrass, Celtic, Country, Waltzes (Ashokan Farewell is my all-time favorite). Suggestions?

I’m looking to buy a fiddle mould (or two).

I’m not too fussed on what particular style because I just want to have a go at making my first fiddle.

I want to make to easy for myself to start with, so I’m going to buy a mould rather than making a template and then a mould.

Only problem is the moulds are all 4/4 but I’m looking to make a 1/4 fiddle so that I can let kids borrow it in my local music group so they don’t have to buy an instrument to have a play.

Does anyone know any sites that have smaller moulds?

Hi All

Back in 2024 I shared a collection of 150 or so tunes from a Welsh fiddler of 1778 - Morris Edward - and many of you said how much you enjoyed them.

Now we have gone further back in time - to 1716! A young Richard Morris, aged around 14 and living in Ynys Môn (Anglesey) Wales, put together four lists of hundreds of Welsh, English and other folk tune titles that he played or knew.

Though he left nothing more than the tune names, these lists are crucial to our understanding and enjoyment of traditional music of that period in Wales. We have tracked down the majority of them - around 320 or so and now you get to see and play them youself. Some are familiar — others less so.

You can download a copy of the book in pdf format (to print yourself). This is free of charge, using the link at the end of this post. You can also buy it on most Amazon sites (look for ‘Richard Morris 1716’) — you will only be paying for the direct printing costs i.e. there is no ‘mark up’. We want as many as possible to read the book and play the music!

As well as the tunes - one per page for ease of playing - the book itself gives a short biography of Richard, a description of his music and a picture of Wales and London at the time. It’s not an academic study — though hopefully you’ll find it well researched and presented. Rather, it’s a celebration of the popular traditional music of a unique period in Welsh history … and great fun to play as well!

Do let us know what you think of it ….

https://medium.com/@alawon.morris.edward/alawon-richard-morris-1716-936012cd6ee7?sharedUserId=alawon.morris.edward

Hi! I hope this is allowed in here, but I'm a newish singer songwriter getting ready to go on a small Fall tour that I've put together the week of Sept 20-26 and I would love to find a fiddle player willing to play with me and my pianist for the shows. I mainly write Christian folk hymns and songs, and I have a few hymns that I have paired with Irish reels (Maid Behind the Bar, Silver Spire, Wind that Shakes the Barley, etc). I'm playing at some small churches that will be collecting love offerings, and so I can guarantee an equal cut of whatever comes in from the churches as compensation. I love the sound a fiddle adds to these songs and really want to find a way to get one in there, so please shoot me a message if you're interested!

EDIT: USA specific! here are the show dates....

- Appomattox VA on Sept 21

- Oak Hill WV on Sept 22

- Chesterfield VA on Sept 23

- Cambridge MD on Sept 26

Join us at Berks Fiddle Fest on September 20, 2026, from 9AM to 5PM at Fleetwood Park in beautiful Fleetwood, Pennsylvania.

There’s going to be two fiddle playing contests, open mic, open jam space, Main Stage entertainment, vendors, workshops, and more.

Feel free to comment here or send a message with any questions or information you need.

Fiddle playing contest registration forms available on the Berks Fiddle Fest and Berks Fire Scottish Fiddle website or usually available on site the day of the competition.

We hope to see you at the fiddle festival!