Fiddle For Dummies: Book + Online Video and Audio Instruction

by Michael Sanchez

Learn to play the fiddle? Easy. Tackling a new instrument can be intimidating, but with this easy-to-use guide, you'll have no trouble at all! From selecting, tuning, and caring for your fiddle to mastering various music styles, Fiddle For Dummies walks you step-by-step through everything you need to start playing the fiddle like a pro. You'll discover how to hold a fiddle, master fundamental techniques, and take your skills to the next level. This title also features companion audio tracks and instructional video clips hosted online at Dummies.com to help further enhance your skills. The fiddle is a popular instrument across many continents, and is a favorite for many because it is small and portable. Playing the fiddle can expose you to a range of musical styles from all over the world, such as Irish, Scottish, Celtic/Cape Breton, country, folk, bluegrass, and more. Plus, if you're already a violin player, you'll impress yourself and fellow musicians as you unlock your instrument to open up a whole new world of sounds. Whether you're a complete beginner or a violin player looking to branch out and try something new, Fiddle For Dummies will have you fit as a fiddle in no time.

Genres: Music, Reference

368 pages, Paperback

First published November 10, 2014

Reviews

[Altivo Overo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was disappointed in this book. The approach to the instrument and music is academic and rigidly prescriptive, lacking the flexibility expected when discussing what is essentially a form of folk music rather than classical orchestral performance. Beginners who are trying to teach themselves would do better to either find a teacher who performs traditional American fiddle style, or to consult a book that takes a folk musician's approach to the subject, such as The Complete Idiot's Guide to Playing The Fiddle.

While I found nothing that was actually "incorrect" in this book, the approach is too authoritarian and does imply that any alternatives to the options presented are somehow unacceptable. When it comes to the arts, be it music or painting or dance or something else, the truth is that whatever works is a success. And sometimes the formal prescriptive approach is a failure or, at the very least, stifles innovation and imagination.

[Derek Field · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was doing some browsing for resources to help me learn Violin. A bunch of reviews pointed me AWAY from Violin for Dummies, and toward this book instead.

So I took a chance, and was rewarded! This book has been instrumental in getting me started learning how to play my Violin. Excellently written, and endlessly useful drills and info.