FiddleStar

Scenes from Sunday… #fiddlestaradultbeginnercamp (at Fiddlestar)
https://www.instagram.com/p/B3UfSmiBxbC/?igshid=oanu8me74lf7

Scenes from Saturday… #fiddlestaradultbeginnercamp (at Fiddlestar)
https://www.instagram.com/p/B3SZmzwBxiF/?igshid=ykwdy27hinp0

Scenes from Friday… #fiddlestaradultbeginnercamp (at Fiddlestar)
https://www.instagram.com/p/B3OR7Jhh5BM/?igshid=vpmsgvwvugzu

And so it begins… (at Fiddlestar)
https://www.instagram.com/p/B3LsWBfhpUx/?igshid=16omebbqbw0hn

Happy #tongueouttuesday from my guy Lester. #shihtzus #nationalblackdogday #lordlester (at Fiddlestar)
https://www.instagram.com/p/B3GU_DgBvYT/?igshid=9g3svj7cm2pa

I’m not gonna lie - this week’s #fiddlinarthursmith Tuesday tune is a doozy. I give you the Cumberland Waltz. It starts all up in 4th position and it’s very aggressive from the get go. If it were me, I would have started with that lower octave and eased people into the higher section but it’s not me and there doesn’t appear to be a #meganlynchchowning Tuesday hashtag trending so I should probably just keep my opinions to myself. But this is the tune that keeps on giving because just when you’ve worked through the aggressive 4th position section enough times to get used to it, Arthur just changes course and plays a completely unrelated part at the end and then just stops. Three times through the main form (high, low, high again) then random section and done. That’s what you should tell your accompanist. Good luck. Make sure to check out the full version on Facebook or YouTube because if you don’t, you won’t hear the random ending part and you’ll think you know this tune but you’ll be wrong. #fiddle #fiddlestar #fiddlelesson #waltz #thefourthpartisbasicallykellywaltzsoidontknowwhohethinkshewasfoolong (at Fiddlestar)
https://www.instagram.com/p/B3FW22Bgerj/?igshid=mifywft1l25j

Full disclosure: This might not be a #fiddlinarthursmith tune. I mean, he definitely plays it on the album he did with the McGee Brothers but then I found it in the Big Blue Book (you know the one I mean) and it cites Kirk McGee as the source. But does it really matter? Can you do anything about the fact that I learned it already and then recorded a video of it and then posted it on Fiddlin’ Arthur Smith Tuesday? No, no you can not. And doubly important, it’s SUCH a good tune you’d be sad if you’d never heard it. So you’re welcome, is what I’m saying. And if you’re learning it and the 4th finger droning stuff in the B part freaks you out, just play it all on the open D string. Don’t let the scary fingerings stop you. There’s always another way. This is a longer recording, so as always, the full versions are on my Facebook and YouTube channels. #fiddle #fiddlestar #fiddlelesson #newhairforclelia #iputonmakeupforthis #oldtime #dtunes (at Fiddlestar)
https://www.instagram.com/p/B20N4mkAz1d/?igshid=16jjubxr19am7

Hello my dears! It’s an exciting time. It’s the time where we get ready to register for Nashville Mandolin Camp 2020. Previous campers - get ready on September 25th (that’s THIS WEDNESDAY!) at 9am central. New campers, have your finger on the button on October 1st at 9am central. Oh, and registering before the opening date/time and hoping I’ll just overlook it is not the best plan. 😏 With instructors like these, I understand these excitement, but you gotta do it right. Only 15 campers, only 8 strings, only one weekend a year, but unlimited love and learning. www.nashvillemandolincamp.com (at Fiddlestar)
https://www.instagram.com/p/B2xqyQ8hFqP/?igshid=1oegebm72kg63

I used to tell people I was most definitely not a dog person. It was #catsforlife and it wasn’t up for debate. They take care of themselves and don’t need you to work around them in any way and that was just fine with me. But then I married @adamspickoftheday and soon after, #sirwinstoncup came back into his life (having been his dog previously but from whom he’d been separated for a couple of years) which meant he came into OUR lives. Adam loves to tell the story of the first night Winston stayed with us and how he started to crawl under the covers and I freaked out and got up and put on giant pajamas. Totally true. But after a few weeks, then months, then years, I realized that maybe I’d been a dog person all along. Or maybe, and this is even more likely, I started to really care about taking good care of Winston and that helped me be a better version of myself and this is what made me a dog person. After we lost Winston in 2018 I was devastated but I also wallowed in a much looser schedule and a lot less responsibility. But it was too late. I wasn’t that person anymore. I was someone who likes to get up kinda early and go on a walk and who likes to plan my day around making sure I’m home in enough time to get a dog outside to play and sniff all the things. Adam was content to never own another dog - too much pain when you lose them - and I totally get that. But he saw how having Lester brought me back to my best self and it never occurred to him to say no. I’m a dog and a cat person now and I’m hoping to somehow use this duality to promote world peace. Wish me luck. #shihtzus #dogperson #catperson #catland (at Fiddlestar)
https://www.instagram.com/p/B2mLwMJhjcY/?igshid=t429unsirod6

For today’s #fiddlinarthursmith Tuesday, we go back to the song well with one called It’s Hard to Please Your Mind. I actually really like this one, lyrics and all. It kind of doesn’t make sense and also steals from the traditional lyrics of old with verses about crows and whatnot. Can’t not love that. And because the melody is so simple, I decided to modulate, not once but TWICE! I’m trying to make this educational - stay with me. This is a great way to practice playing comfortably in a bunch of keys. Pick a nice easy but pretty melody, like this one, then try to play it all over the fiddle. You can be random about it or just start low and take it up one half step at a time. Just in time for all those jams you’re going to get in at IBMA! You’re welcome. Also it’s a waltz so it rules above all other things. Full version (including that 3rd key!) on Facebook and YouTube. #waltz #fiddle #fiddlelessons #fiddlestar #marjulate (at Fiddlestar)
https://www.instagram.com/p/B2hQz6JgCzz/?igshid=1tm49iiu6jnza