Old-Time Fiddle for the Complete Ignoramus (Book & Online Audio) Spiral-bound – September 1, 2005

Even those of us who have played strings (Viola, Violin) for years can derive a great deal of useful information from this book & CD.I was trained as a classical musician. Chords are not often relied upon in classical composition. When they are, they're not often the sort you'll find yourself playing at a hoe-down. It helped a bit when I picked up a mandolin and struggled with it and then guitar in later years. It is amazing how *wrong* it felt (to me) to work with a fretted neck after decades of non-fretful years moving smoothly up, down and across strings. I did, however, learn a few dozen chords ~ which sounded like hell on a violin. Although I'd long ago made the transition from classical music to blues, rock, jazz and fusion, my playing was very much like that of a Lead Guitarist's: notes played on one string at a time most of the time. After all, this is what I'd been trained to do: play with precision and clarity. Even when chords were used within a composition, they were very different than the "fiddler's form."Had I not stumbled upon and purchased this book/CD, it's likely that all the most important "little" discoveries, such as the differences between a standard violin bridge and a fiddle bridge making a WORLD of difference, might have remained an unsolved mystery for me.Thus, the value of this book is much more than learning a basic set of chords or tunes to play. You are informed about everything that makes fiddling different from playing a violin. What's more, while you can buy custom bridges made for fiddles, this book/CD informs you of ways to solve the bridge problem quickly and very inexpensively. It may seem a bit hilarious that an educated musician who'd spent time playing mandolin and guitar didn't pay any attention whatsoever to an obvious difference: the bridge of these instruments being flat, rather than curved. If you're not accustomed to restringing your own instrument and cannot afford to have both a dedicated fiddle and orchestral violin (which I am not), this book can save you a lot of heartache and expense when you swap between bridges and/or strings.This and other seemingly small mysteries that were huge obstacles are succinctly explained by the Author. There are numerous money-saving tips for the musician on a budget. It is an amusing book that does not condescend. If you already know the basics about Fiddles and Fiddling, perhaps this book will be too basic for you. It annoys me when people purchase a very well-done package and then complain that it is too basic. You had the opportunity to look before buying, just as I did, so why punish the Author for your oversight?For me, what this Author taught me has made the difference between success and failure. Thus, if you are a classically trained violist and/or violinist, do not assume that your education and experience means you are not a Complete Ignoramus. Classical technique versus Fiddling is akin to the proverbial comparison of apples and oranges: both may be fruit, but they are not at all identical.There are other books (some with CD or DVD) available: I did a lot of research before deciding upon "Old Time Fiddle for the Complete Ignoramus" and this seemed to me the friendliest, least pretentious and most immediately helpful of the lot. Now, as an Incomplete Ignoramus, I wholeheartedly recommend this Book w/CD to anyone unfamiliar with exactly what makes a Fiddle not a Violin.

My daughter started playing guitar a little over a year ago. This got me thinking that maybe (for the first time in 32 years) I should pick up the violin again to be able to play with her dawn at camp or just to be able to do it. Since neither of us are much into classical, I bought a few books, including this one to begin to remember where to start.This book is amazing. The instructor teaches you not only to play, but understand tabs, read music, play by ear, and improvise. The title is true, you will find yourself wanting to do more and continue to improve and improvise upon the songs he includes, which will in the end lead you to be able to play and work with much more when you are finished. The CD's include all the songs, and lessons so you can learn by ear, but there is also all the notes for it in standard music notation and in tabulature. The author is also humorous and positive, allowing you to learn it all in a fun way, without even really realizing you are learning more than just a song, but theory too.Within a couple of pages into this book, I was already learning a song, and just a little bit further, I was learning to improvise and improve on those songs, making them "my own".I was so impressed with his instruction I bought "Flatpicking for the complete ignoramus" for my daughters guitar, and my mother wanted to play banjo, so we got her the book for that too. I am sure they will enjoy them as much as I have.

I am indeed a complete ignoramus when it comes to playing the fiddle as I’ve never played before. This book is full of fantastic beginner information written in the format of a fun, quick, easy read. Within an hour I was playing my first songs. The online audio is helpful and easy to access. The cost of the book is half that of a single lesson and so valuable!! Definitely worth the price.

It's a cute book with great old timey pictures, about 10 detailed pages of stories &how to get started, but only about 2 songs for a beginner like me. My husband has a musical background (10+yrs) and could only get half way through the book before it became too challenging and would've taken ALOT of practice even for him. So if you're committed to practicing for months anyway I'd recommend just learning how to read actual sheet music. That way you will be able to pick up anything in the future and play it, this only teaches TAB. This book doesn't do a good job of explaining notes or the more difficult bowing techniques that give bluegrass or folk its "Skippy-happy" sound. I feel like there should have been an intermediate section after the first pages explaining how to hold a violin & how TAB is read. But instead throws you in to something complicated and not well detailed which is very overwhelming & daunting for a beginner.

My grandmother gave me this book for my birthday . This book is the absolute best, I would recommend it for any beginning fiddle player, I love how the book gives you tab and it also gives you the regular music and also tells you a little about how the song came to be it also gives you the lyrics without the music and up in the top right-hand corner it shows the chords that you will be needing to play the song also at the bottom it also shows a joke or maybe just a couple of tips and/or wisdom. It also comes with a CD. It also shows you how to play quarter eighth notes and half notes using words .I love how on the CD on some of them there's a slower track so you can play along with the CD. If you're playing a song in the upper right-hand corner it shows- the track number, first the regular speed and in the slower speed. I love this book and I would recommend it for any beginning fiddle player that is interested in playing old time fiddle tunes.

Easy to follow for beginners like me.The cd is also easy to follow.A big help in learning the fiddle.Thank you