Meg Wobus Beller

Fiddle Studio

A Music Commentary , Music and Music History podcast

About the show

The glasses clink and the talk and laughter grow louder. In the corner of the pub, musicians sit and play traditional dance tunes that make your feet want to stomp and slide. Join fiddler Meg Wobus Beller as she brings you along into the world of fiddling and traditional music, from bow-grips and double stops to Old-Time tunes and Irish jigs.

Newest episodes

Irish Sessions vs. Old Time Jams (Possum on a Rail)

Nov 6, 2026 22 min

Meg and Charley compare and contrast Old Time jams and Irish Sessions (or should I say Seisiún?). What's the difference? We leave no stone unturned. We feature the tune Possum on a Rail, a Mississippi tune attributed to fiddler Lonnie Ellis, who shared fiddling duties in the Mississippi Possum Hunters with fellow fiddler John Holloway. If you’d like to learn Possum on a Rail, it’s available from fiddlestudio.com as part of my Old-Time Tune Pack 2: 5 More Classic Tunes in G. Each tune in the pack has a detailed breakdown where I play the tune slowly and talk about how to make it sound Old Time as well as sheet music for this version with chords and an additional version with fingerings included. You can find all my courses at fiddlestudio.com! I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

Our Top Five Classic Old Time Tunes in G (Barlow Knife)

Oct 18, 2026 15 min

Charley and I compare our top choices for Old Time classic G tunes. What is a classic tune? What tunes are on Charley's list? What tunes are on my list? Listen and find out! Then we play Barlow Knife. Get my Old Time Tune Pack 1 at fiddlestudio.com with detailed teaching materials for Chattanooga, Barlow Knife, Josie-O, Shove That Pig’s Foot, and Roscoe. I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

Frets to Fiddle Pt. 2 (Icy Mountain)

Nov 30, 2025 12 min

Today we talk about controlling the bow on the string, another fun challenge for folks who are picking up the fiddle. I play the version of Icy Mountain from Ward Jarvis that's cross tuned AEAE from the Milliner Koken collection. The B part should NOT have been repeated, oh well! Here is the bow control exercise, starring Silas the dog. It turns out I DON'T have an episode on slurs, so putting that in the hopper. My course for learning slurs and shuffles for jigs and reels is here. I've been exploring the book and you can see some tunes I've tried out on this YouTube Playlist. I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

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All episodes

Irish Sessions vs. Old Time Jams (Possum on a Rail)

Nov 6, 2026 22 min

Our Top Five Classic Old Time Tunes in G (Barlow Knife)

Oct 18, 2026 15 min

Frets to Fiddle Pt. 2 (Icy Mountain)

Nov 30, 2025 12 min

Frets to Fiddle Pt. 1 (Kaw River)

Nov 25, 2025 13 min

My husband is learning to play the fiddle, and with Charley's permission I discuss some of the issues he's running into playing an instrument without frets for the first time. This time we talk about left hand tuning issues. Next time will be the bow. A lovely version of Kaw River, a Texas style reel in D from fiddler Sunita Pathik. I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

Too Much Nothing (Amazing Grace)

Nov 4, 2025 18 min

Wow, it's good to be back! This episode is an update on what I've been doing and what I've been thinking about. Hope to be back with more fiddle topics, interviews, and tunes for you all soon. For my anti-tech writing, check out my Substack A Life Outside or my short (FREE) book Turn It Off: A step by step guide to going offline. Sheet music for Amazing Grace is here: https://fiddlestudio.blogspot.com/2025/11/too-much-nothing-amazing-grace.html I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

Megan Lynch Chowning (John Rice)

Mar 10, 2025 58 min

Great interview this month with seven time National Fiddle Champion and creator of the FiddleStar site, Megan Lynch Chowning! Megan doesn't compete in fiddle contests anymore, or judge them, or go to them, so I was very curious to hear about why. We talk about fiddling in California, fiddle contests, fiddle camps, and different kinds of learning and relating to fiddle music. Megan filled me in on the just-released John Hartford Fiddle Project Volume 2 that she co-produced. Megan Lynch Chowning is a seven time national fiddle champion, touring musician, Grammy-nominated recording artist, teacher, singer, and flatfooter. She's toured with Pam Tillis and Lorrie Morgan, Dale Ann Bradley, Roland White, Larry Cordle, Jim Hurst, Chris Jones, 3 Fox Drive, Due West, Chris Stuart, and BEML (the duo of Bill Evans and Megan). Megan has released a series of entirely solo fiddle albums, focusing on crowdsourcing fabulous but slightly more obscure fiddle tunes. She has taught fiddle and vocals at prestigious camps such as Augusta Heritage Week, the British Columbia Bluegrass Workshop, Sore Fingers Bluegrass Week in the UK, Walker Creek Music Camp, and the California Bluegrass Association Camp, among many others. She’s the co-director (with her husband, Adam) of the IBMA-award-winning Nashville Acoustic Camps. But sometimes she just likes to sit quietly and smell the flowers. I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

The Wild Shoats (Moonshiner)

Feb 11, 2025 50 min

My interview this month on the Fiddle Studio Podcast is a conversation with The Wild Shoats, formerly The Shoats. Check out their fabulous brand new album Yell in the Shoats, just out! This is a relatively new band with three talented Old-Time fiddlers. I've heard them called both an Alt-folk group and a Gothic stringband. I get their take on the music of Appalachia, and the relevance and connection they feel to it as 21st century musicians. Hear how these musicians came to Old-Time music, met up and started singing and playing and writing music together and created their unique sound. We also chat about playing in tune on the fiddle, matching up different bowing styles, and staying relaxed while practicing. How does Huck practice when he doesn't have a lot of time? West Virginia native Mary Linscheid, brothers Gus and Huck Tritsch of Millheim, PA, and Alex Heflin of Morgantown, WV, set an alt-folk soundtrack to the strange late-stage capitalist Appalachia they grew up in. Calling on their collective backgrounds in folk songs, honky tonk, and the Appalachian high-lonesome sound, the Shoats reimagine the songs and sounds of their home through haunting original material and well-loved covers. The Shoats won the Appalachian String Band Music Festival’s Neo-Traditional Band Competition in 2023. Yell in the Shoats album The Wild Shoats I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

Austin Scelzo (Trouble in My Soul)

Jan 21, 2025 42 min

A bluegrass fiddler and a contradance fiddler walk in to a bar...and discover they both have degrees in music education. This month I talk with Austin Scelzo and we don't hold back discussing what we think is lacking in classical music and public school music education and training. Austin and I talk about leaving classical music and finding a home in fiddling and all about bluegrass music and fiddle and what you might not know about it. We touch on how a lot of formal music training emphasizes hierarchies and levels and the repercussions- from a feeling of not-enoughness, to hesitancy to perform, to tension in your body and your playing. We discuss how to expand from just playing the instrument to playing and embracing music and all it can offer. Austin had great ideas about reframing performance and building a musical vocabulary as well. If I could wave a magic wand I'd make this interview required for music and music education majors at music schools everywhere, just to hear an alternative perspective. The song we share is Austin's song Trouble in My Soul and would you believe the set of pipes on this guy? Wow! Austin Scelzo is a New England based bluegrass musician who plays fiddle and sings with the bands the Rock Hearts and On the Trail. He's won numerous awards nationally and internationally for his leadership in bluegrass advocacy and mentorship and he's well know for his friendly, down to earth, informative teaching that has brought many fiddlers and musicians into the bluegrass fold. He teaches at camps around the country and has his own teaching studio and jam classes. Check out his offerings: Austin's Website Teaching and Performing Calendar Services Bluegrass, Country, and Roots Online School Harmony Vocals Online School Bluegrass Jam Class (Wernick Method) Connect on Facebook and Subscribe on YouTube I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a ma...

Judy Hyman (Three Shoes)

Dec 31, 2024 44 min

I could never pick a favorite interview, but this one was up there! The conversation this month is with a heroine of mine, Judy Hyman. Judy co-founded the Horseflies in Ithaca, NY in the late 1970s and has played and taught Old-Time and Alt-Rock fiddle ever since. She now composes music for film and media. Despite having a classical violin background growing up, Judy has never learned a fiddle tune from paper! We talk about why that is, her musical influences, and how she and her bandmates built the unique Horseflies sound. We dig into playing and creating music that creates and channels emotion, including what Judy calls "swirl", and the use of delay. Of course we discuss her husband Jeff Claus and the banjo uke, and Judy shares the modifications that she uses to keep fiddling after playing hard for many years- for her bow and her fiddle. Then we talk about composing! https://www.judyhyman.com/ I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

Oliver Scanlon (Chris Glidden's)

Dec 3, 2024 51 min

We’re having a conversation with Oliver Scanlon, a fiddler and traditional musician based in Syracuse NY. Originally from Vermont, Oliver learned fiddle from the great Pete Sutherland. He played, performed and recorded extensively with Pete over the last 10 years of Pete’s life with Pete’s Posse, playing for hundreds of contradances, concerts and festivals for their nine years as a trio, releasing eight recording projects along the way! Oliver's current dance band is Stove Dragon and he does professional sound and teaches lessons on fiddle and mandolin. Oliver and I talked about Pete Sutherland a great deal in this conversation as we discussed Oliver's path from learning the fiddle and immediately connecting to folk and traditional music—though perhaps not for the reason you might think—to how he ended up touring the country just out of high school. He talks about lessons he learned along the way and some interesting takes on the different styles he plays. Oliver is a fiddler who does sound and gives us his personal take and recommendation for specific microphones and pickups to use or avoid! After many of my interviews we have trouble ending the chat—Oliver and I kept on talking about teaching after I'd officially wrapped things up so I stuck that bit on the end of the episode. Oliver's website Pete's Posse I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

Dakota Karper (Coyote Howl)

Oct 29, 2024 39 min

An interview with West Virginia Old-Time fidder and fiddle teacher Dakota Karper. We talk about fiddle and banjo, starting her folk school the Cat and the Fiddle, improv and interpretation in Old-Time tunes, teaching beginners and developing young musicians using the Old-Time repertoire, and her Patreon which is an awesome resource! Dakota Karper, hailing from rural West Virginia, grew up immersed in the rich traditions of Appalachian Old-time music. From an early age, she embraced folk music, studying under master fiddler Joe Herrmann and honing her craft at the Augusta Heritage Center. Dakota also deepened her skills with classical violin at the Shenandoah Arts Academy in Winchester, VA. After spending seven years in Baltimore, she returned to Capon Bridge, WV, where she now teaches Appalachian fiddle and performs regularly throughout the region. Dakota's website: https://www.dakotakarper.com The Cat and the Fiddle School: https://www.thecatandthefiddlewv.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/dakotakarper Bandcamp: https://dakotakarper.bandcamp.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dakotark I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

Bruce Molsky (Can I Change My Mind)

Oct 1, 2024 41 min

I was honored to chat with Bruce Molsky on the Fiddle Studio Podcast this month. Bruce has a new album out with Darol Anger called Lockdown Breakdown. We talk about getting into Old-Time and sticking with it over the years, trying to sound like your heroes, picking up new tunes, the Berklee American Roots music department, and what he listens for in old recordings. Bruce breaks down singing and fiddling at the same time and how to develop that slippery skill. We hear a track from the new album, Can I Change My Mind. Bruce Molsky has been playing and studying Old-Time music for 50 years, and for much of that time teaching as well. He famously learned fiddle and banjo from folks down in Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina in the 70s, including Tommy Jarrell among others. He’s been performing and collaborating ever since, has over dozen great albums to check out, and he teaches Old-Time music at the Berklee School of Music and online at Peghead Nation. You can see Bruce on the BBC TV “Transatlantic Sessions” with Aly Bain and Jerry Douglas, and on “David Holt’s State of Music” on PBS. He stays active touring and recording with longtime collaborators Darol Anger, Tony Trischka and Mountain Drifters’ Allison de Groot. Bruce Molsky: http://brucemolsky.com On Facebook: http://facebook.com/brucemolsky Peghead Nation Course Lockdown Breakdown on Bandcamp Youtube: http://youtube.com/brucemolskymusic Email: bruce@brucemolsky.com I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

Alicia Svigals (Dybbuk Honga)

Sep 3, 2024 37 min

Klezmer violinist and composer Alicia Svigals is widely considered to be the world's leading klezmer fiddler, often called the Queen of Klezmer. She was a founder and a longtime member of the Grammy-winning group the Klezmatics. She has performed with and written music for violinist Itzhak Perlman. Alicia Svigals has worked with everyone in every possible way: soundtracks, compositions, genres, in plays, on tv, and on stages all over the world. She has a brand new album out called Fidl Afire! Alicia Svigals: https://aliciasvigals.com/ Fidl Afire Album: https://borschtbeat.bandcamp.com/album/fidl-afire YouTube video on krehts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wyz0Dg-_ssU I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

Charley Beller (Won't Come 'Till Morning)

Aug 6, 2024 41 min

Hey, it's episode 100! We hear from Charley Beller, Irish flute and guitar player and contra dance musician from Baltimore, Maryland and my spouse. Charley has played guitar on most of the podcast episodes, but this is the first time he shares on the podcast! What's it like to learn a dozen musical instruments? Why would a person practice all the time? How does Charley view the first few months of learning a new skill? We also chat about Clifftop and Charley asks me about a few questions as well. The tune is Greg Hooven's Won't Come Till Morning and the audio is from the Clifftop Open Fiddle Contest. Going forward the Fiddle Studio Podcast will be monthly, on the first Tuesday of the month. I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

Why we squeak (Cumberland Gap)

Jul 30, 2024 9 min

Why does the fiddle squeak? If only we knew. Hang on, we do know! I offer lots of diagnosis and advice for how to get to the bottom of squeaking. Together we can not squeak as much. The tune for this week is Marion Reece's version of Cumberland Gap. I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

The best age to start (Horses in the Canebreak)

Jul 23, 2024 9 min

What is the best age to start? There is an exact and definite best age to begin playing the fiddle and if you don't start then you're doomed. I'm kidding. The tune for this week is Horses in the Canebreak. I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

Why play the fiddle? (Sally in the Garden)

Jul 16, 2024 8 min

People play the fiddle for all kinds of reasons, and as a fiddler and fiddle teacher they often tell me all about it. I talk about some of the variety of reasons I've heard from adult fiddlers for why they're voluntarily choosing to take up this rewarding and challenging new hobby! Our Tune this week is a funky Sally in the Garden I got from Marion Sumner's recording. I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

Busking on the fiddle (Old Aunt Jenny With her Night Cap On)

Jul 9, 2024 12 min

Busking is playing in the street for money. I've done it. In fact, I've done in New York City in the subway! A few thoughts on busking, and some busking stories. Fun tune this week, Old Aunt Jenny With Her Night Cap On. I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

I try to play jazz (Cluck Old Hen, Ed Weaver's version)

Jul 2, 2024 10 min

Recently I tried to play jazz. It got me thinking about jazz, so I share some thoughts about playing jazz as a violinist, how I approach it, what it's like, how I practice, and how I take a solo. The tune is Ed Weaver's Cluck Old Hen. In the words of my friend Shane, it's a "nice, meditative tune". I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

Consider the mandolin (Shippensport)

Jun 25, 2024 13 min

Have you thought about playing the mandolin? You could do worse. Welcome back to our regularly scheduled episodes, featuring a bunch of Old-Time tunes for the rest of June and July. We get caught up and talk about the mandolin. You may already know this, but the mandolin is tuned the same as a fiddle. Interesting! This week the tune is Shippensport, a G major reel based on West Virginia fiddler Burl Hammond's playing. This tune is very fun to play! I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

BEST OF: Double Stops and Drones (Tail Toddle)

Jun 18, 2024 8 min

Starting summer vacation this week so I'm replaying an episode I recorded in December of 2022 about double stops and drones. I'll be back next week with Old-Time tunes. My course for double stops and drones can be found here. This episode covers how Megan helps her students learn to play double stops and drones and presents a setting of Tail Toddle from a workshop with Jeremy Kittel at Fiddle Hell. The artist mentioned is Jeremy Kittel. I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

Ellery Klein (York Street Stepper)

Jun 11, 2024 39 min

This week I have a conversation with Irish fiddler Ellery Klein. Ellery Klein performs across New England with the fiddle, flute, and guitar trio Fódhla and nationally with the three-fiddle Celtic powerhouse group, The Bow Tides, whose debut album, Sailing On, was released in 2022. She also teaches fiddle to all ages in the Boston area and beyond. Ellery graduated with a major in instrumental music from Cincinnati’s public magnet School for Creative and Performing Arts in 1992. She received an MA in Irish Traditional Music Performance from the University of Limerick in 2001. She toured nationally with the Irish supergroup Gaelic Storm from 2003-2007. Ellery and I talk about teaching and learning, switching from classical to fiddle, all about the Irish roll (with tips!), and how three former Gaelic Storm fiddlers formed the Bow tides and how they work together as a fiddle trio. We had a great time! The tune this week is York Street Stepper by Ellery Klein. Ellery Klein's website is elleryklein.net Find the Bow Tides at thebowtides.com I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

Harmonizing on the fiddle (Stoney Steps)

Jun 4, 2024 8 min

Let's talk about playing harmonies on the fiddle. How can you get started with learning and playing harmonies and how do you get better at coming up with them on the fly? Our tune this week is the Irish single reel in D, Stoney Steps. I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

Andrew VanNorstrand (Lost River)

May 28, 2024 40 min

Andrew VanNorstrand performs with his brother Noah VanNorstrand and Chris Miller in the Faux Paws, a contemporary folk band that plays fiddle tunes and original songs with just about the best groove around. The Faux Paws are making an album and you can get involved and find out more here. The time window is closing soon! Andrew grew up playing fiddle and guitar and touring with his family band Great Bear and dominating the contra dance scene, playing every contra dance and festival you can imagine all over the US, and recording albums including “Dancing Again” and “Rawr!”. He is a prolific composer, creator of tunes and songs, his singer-songwriter album is “That We Could Find a Way to Be”. Andrew and I talk about early training in genre dabbling, the depths to which music can be explored, the purpose of dance music, choices in production, perfectionism and exploring a musical choice that wasn't expected, and much more. We touch on why Andrew stopped playing for dances and why a crowdfunding campaign is an opportunity to make a connection and personalize a tiny part of the content wave that flows over us. Andrew describes some new choices the Faux Paws are making with their current album. Find the musical multiverse of Andrew and Noah VanNorstrand's music on Bandcamp. You can hear Noah VanNorstrand's interview for the Fiddle Studio Podcast here. The tune for this week is a tune of Andrew's called Lost River. I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

Novels with fiddlers (Donnybrook Fair)

May 21, 2024 14 min

If you're a reader and a fiddler, here are some recommendations for books from children's books to YA and general fiction that feature fiddlers and fiddling. Some of these books have even been known to inspire folks to pick up the fiddle! Kids books: Mole music Just Enough and Not Too Much Fiddling Sam Nina’s Waltz A Fiddle for Angus YA or chapter books: The New Policemen Little House on the Prairie A Girl of the Limberlost Fiddle Fever Thriller/Detective: Violin conspiracy An Equal Music As I walked Out One Midsummer Morning The Busker The Fifth String Fiddle Game Keeper of Secrets The Gentle Care for Broken Thing War: Long March Home Simon the Fiddler Cold Mountain Master & Commander South/Mountain Culture: Fiddler’s Ghost The Devil’s Dream The Insolent Breed The Grapes of Wrath Refuge by Dot Jackson Healing: Come and Go, Molly Snow Soldier's Joy Paddy on the Hardwood Romance: Carnal Innocence Fiddler’s Dream The Devil and Preston Black Our tune this week is the Irish jig Donnybrook Fair. I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

Trying a Tune in Different Keys (Maid of Mt. Kisco)

May 14, 2024 11 min

We talk about the personalities of the different major and minor keys. What makes C sound so different from A on the fiddle? Why do players try out a tune in different keys, and how do the keys lay out on the instrument? Our tune is the Irish E minor reel Maid of Mt. Kisco. Love this one! I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

Rachel Eddy (Rose in the Mountain)

May 7, 2024 42 min

This is my second conversation with Rachel Eddy, since I forgot to record the first one! We talk about finding flow in fiddling, learning tunes off recordings (or not), remembering tunes, singing, some great stories about Rachel's dad and his fiddle journey, and some ideas for fiddle students to help relax and get balanced while playing. Rachel Eddy (they/them) hails from West Virginia, where they grew up steeped in Appalachian music and dance. Rachel’s multi-instrumental talents and soulful singing bring a powerful energy to the stage. In addition to being a performer, Rachel is passionate about teaching. They have taught fiddle, banjo and guitar at the Augusta Heritage Center in Elkins WV, at Sore Fingers Summer school in the UK, and different various weekend workshops from the hills of West Virginia to Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, Germany, London and Wales. Contact Rachel at reddytojam@gmail.com Rachel's website is https://www.racheleddymusic.com/ The tune this week is Rose in the Mountain, played live by Rachel on the podcast! I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

Tapes on the Fiddle (Broken Down Gambler)

Apr 30, 2024 10 min

We're talking about tapes on the fiddle, or stickers, or fingerboard stick on charts, or whatever you're curious about. Did you use tapes when you started? What are they useful for and how long does it make sense to use them? Our tune is Broken Down Gambler, an Old-Time reel in G. I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

Articulation on the Fiddle (Dusty Miller)

Apr 23, 2024 10 min

When I talk about articulation I'm referring to the beginning of the note, or the attack, and how long the note is generally. Articulation, or catching the string, or getting a "scrubby" sound, has a huge effect on your sound. Our tune is Dusty Miller, an Old-Time modal reel in A. I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

Signing up for a Fiddle Competition (Old Billy Hell)

Apr 16, 2024 13 min

Have you wondered what it's like to compete in a fiddle competition? So have I. So I signed up for one and we'll see how it goes. I talk a little about how I'm planning to prepare. Our tune for this week is Old Billy Hell, a half length crooked Old-Time tune. Our album release party contra dance will be May 30th at 7pm in Baltimore at the Mobtown Ballroom. Come on down! I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

BEST OF: Practicing With the Metronome (House of my Own)

Apr 9, 2024 7 min

A repeat this week, as my family is on spring break. This very early episode has been pretty popular, and has a lovely slip jig for the Irish fiddlers. It's never a bad time to break out the old metronome. I'll be back with Old-Time tunes for you next week! -Meg This episode features the fiddle tune House of My Own and describes working with the metronome and how it could help your fiddling. Slow tempos for fiddling are 70-80 bpm (beats per minute) and tempos for dancing are 110-120 bpm. I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

Tricia Spencer (Big Taters in the Sandy Land)

Apr 2, 2024 49 min

This week we have an interview with Tricia Spencer! Tricia is a well known, award winning Kansas fiddler who grew up on her family’s farm learning the tradition of old-time fiddling knee to knee from her grandpa and grandma, Vernon and Iona Spencer. Tricia takes us on a deep dive into Kansas and midwest fiddling, how she thinks about the left hand and the fingerboard, and a primer for finding your place in the Old-Time community. And I didn't forget to ask what it's like having another fiddler as a partner in music and in life. You can't listen to Tricia talk about the fiddle without hearing the deep love, respect and enthusiasm she has for this instrument and the music we make on it. The tune this week is a version of Big Taters in the Sandy Land. Check out Tricia's book the Fiddle Garden and opportunities to learn with her: https://www.triciaspencer.com/ Learn more about power duo Spencer and Rains: https://www.spencerandrains.com/ Spencer and Rains on bandcamp: https://spencerandrains.bandcamp.com/music I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

Problematic Tune Names (Magpie's Nest)

Mar 26, 2024 11 min

Have you ever been uncomfortable saying the name of a fiddle tune? How about tunes with slurs in the title or the Irish tune I Buried My Wife and Danced on her Grave? Without using racial slurs, I discuss problematic fiddle tune names, how I think about them and approach them. Find the Contranella album here: https://megwobus.bandcamp.com/album/contranella Our tune is Magpie's Nest, an Irish reel. I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

Gripping the Fiddle (Madam if You Please)

Mar 19, 2024 9 min

This week we talk about where the fiddle neck meets the hand. Different ways to grip the neck of the fiddle and how it can change- even while you're in the middle of playing! Our tune is Madam if You Please from a jam at the ArtHouse Bar. I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

The Five-String Fiddle (John Blessing's Delight)

Mar 12, 2024 10 min

Hear all about playing and performing on the 5 string fiddle with a bonus question from last week with Jenna Moynihan. Hear about Jenna's fiddle and how she uses it! Jenna's Interview: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2040333/14620847 John Blessing's Delight is an Irish jig in G major. I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

Jenna Moynihan (Brenda and Bill's)

Mar 5, 2024 34 min

An interview with Jenna Moynihan, a fiddler and an extraordinary member of the Boston music community. Jenna performs with harpist Mairi Chaimbeul, the Seamus Egan Project, the Hanneke Cassel Band, and has appeared as a soloist at Symphony Hall with the Boston Pops. In addition to touring, recording and teaching at fiddle camps, Jenna is also an Assistant Professor in the String Department at Berklee College of Music. Jenna Moynihan: https://www.jennamoynihan.com/ Bandcamp: https://jennamoynihan.bandcamp.com/ Mailing List: https://www.jennamoynihan.com/schedule The tune for this week is Brenda and Bill's a slow reel by Jenna Moynihan and Mairi Chaimbeul from the album One Two. I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

Genres of Fiddling (Billy in the Lowground A)

Feb 27, 2024 14 min

Let's talk about the different kinds of fiddling you find around the US and Canada. I share what I know about the genres more closely related to dancing and dance music, and a little about fiddling along with songs. Our tune for today is a version of Billy in the Lowground in the key of A, played in either Calico (AEAC#) or Cross A (AEAE) tuning. I use cross A. I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

When to Stop Playing the Fiddle (Chinquapin Hunting)

Feb 20, 2024 15 min

What?! Stop playing the fiddle? Why would I ever do a podcast on that topic, and who am I to tell anyone what they should do or not do? Our tune for today is Chinquapin Hunting, a three part tune in A, played in cross A tuning. (I originally put the wrong tune up- even I can't keep these Old-Time tunes straight- but it should be Chinquapin Hunting now!) I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

Supercharge Your Practice (Old Granny Rattle Trap)

Feb 13, 2024 16 min

Listen in to hear how you can supercharge your practicing, or at least give it a refresh. This is the last podcast devoted to a topic from my new course How to Play Faster, which is available now on Fiddle Studio! A quick addendum to the description of mindful practice: I somehow blanked on the best use of slow, mindful practice: improving your tuning! Our tune for today is Old Granny Rattle Trap, interpreted from the fiddling of Natalie Padilla from an Old-Time jam in Northampton, MA. I play the tune in cross A, strings tuned to AEAE. See the sheet music for some fingering suggestions in cross A. I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

Janie Rothfield (Waiting for Sandy)

Feb 6, 2024 39 min

Janie Rothfield is a powerhouse Old-Time fiddler and banjo player who performs and teaches at camps and weekends all over the country and the world! Janie shares what she thinks is important for fiddlers to learn and work on. Is it the fingering or the bowing? Hear all about Janie's Jumpstart camps and about her current projects. The tune today is Waiting for Sandy from Janie's album Out of Thin Air. Check out Janie's website to get the dates of her upcoming camps and performances! I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

Unlocking the left hand (Preston's reel)

Jan 30, 2024 12 min

Any time you mess with the left hand technique it's going to interfere with your playing. With this in mind how are some ways you can work on unlocking your hand gradually, or consider what's it like to drop everything and completely relearn the left hand. I made a mistake with the tune. I call it Fred Finn's in the podcast. That is a different reel. This reel is Fred Finn's #2, better known as Preston's. I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

Slow practice vs. rhythms (Ne'er Shall I Wean Her)

Jan 23, 2024 9 min

Slow practice and rhythms are two different ways to practice and make your playing faster. But how does slowing down help? And how is that different from practicing with rhythmic variations? Our tune for today is Ne'er Shall I Wean Her, a jig from a session at the ArtHouse bar in Baltimore, Maryland. I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

Moving around the circle of fifths (Tommy Mulhaire's jig)

Jan 16, 2024 10 min

How to create speed by taking the thinking out of the left hand. My current favorite exercise for beginning and intermediate players. The tune for today is Tommy Mulhaire's, a jig by Tommy Mulhaire (or maybe by Martin his son). I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

The biggest mistake I see (The Birds hornpipe)

Jan 9, 2024 12 min

When I play out in the community and see folks who are still learning to play the fiddle, what is the biggest mistake I see them doing? Listen and find out! The tune today is The Birds, from a session with Brendan Hearn, Connor Hearn, and Dan Isaacson at the ArtHouse in Baltimore. I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

Brad Kolodner (Stony Run)

Jan 2, 2024 44 min

An interview with fiddler and clawhammer banjo player Brad Kolodner. We talk a lot about the banjo, but Brad does more than just banjo. Topics include growing up as the children of folk musicians, the commercialization of Old-Time music, and the lack of women on bills at Old-Time Festivals. Hear all about Brad's upcoming projects, links below. Features the tune Stony Run by Brad Kolodner from the album Stony Run from Ken and Brad Kolodner. Brad's website: https://www.bradkolodner.com/ Charm City Junction: https://www.charmcityjunction.com/ The Baltimore Old-Time Festival: https://www.baltimoreoldtimefest.com/ I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

BEST OF: How to play in tune (The Kilmovee)

Dec 26, 2023 10 min

FIRST AIRED ON JANUARY 10th 2023 (BEST OF) Let's talk about how to improve your tuning on the fiddle. If you're struggling with this, you're not alone! We'll explore three key elements in tuning your hand on the fiddle; where your hand is on the fingerboard, finger spacing and placement, and the art of micro-adjustments. This episode presents a setting of The Kilmovee from a session at the Arthouse Bar and covers how Megan works with her students on playing in tune. I mentioned Music Learning Theory, Alice Kanack, and the fiddler Dermot Grogan. I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

Not every note is equal (La Moquine)

Dec 19, 2023 16 min

What is it that makes fiddling sound like dance music? Why does it sound so different when you hear a classical violinist play a fiddle tune, what's missing? We're talking about the variety of accents, volume, and quality of tone within the running notes of a fiddle tune. It's what makes the music sound like fiddling! We present a setting of the French Canadian fiddle tune La Moquine by Claude Méthé that I learned at a jam at Fiddle Hell. I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

Jamming vs. Practicing (Sleeping on the Floor)

Dec 12, 2023 18 min

How does jamming help with your fiddle playing and how does practicing help your fiddle playing. We dive into this topic, exploring how each can help you improve on the fiddle and when one might be a little more useful to meet a specific playing goal. Our tune this week is called Sleeping on the Floor, from the French Canadian song Ma Pallaissse by La Bolduc. UPDATE: I discovered Mary Bolduc's connection to this tune after I recorded the podcast, so the composer/collector note is an update to what I said in the podcast. Thanks! I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

Lissa Schneckenburger (For Grada)

Dec 5, 2023 34 min

This week we hear from New England fiddler Lissa Schneckenburger. Lissa has been performing and recording New England fiddle and folk music for the past 20 years. Her fiddling is one of a kind, intensely danceable, with virtuosic technique and fluidity. She shares what it was like to fiddle as a kid, traveling to fiddle contests in Maine, her experiences studying music at the New England Conservatory, and her latest projects to come out of the period of the pandemic. Lissa Shneckenburger is well known for teaching adult fiddlers how to learn by ear, and she breaks down the different roadblocks her students run into when trying to get the hang of it. We present the tune For Grada from Lissa's album Falling Forward. Lissa's Website: https://lissafiddle.com/ Bandcamp: https://lissafiddle.bandcamp.com/ Mailing List: https://lissafiddle.com/contact/ Ear Training Course: https://lissafiddle.com/store/learning-by-ear-video-series/ I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

Tilting the Bow (Half Past Four)

Nov 28, 2023 12 min

The bow hair can be flat. The bow can tilt away from you. The bow can tilt towards you. How does tilting the bow affect your tone and why and how do different players in different genres use this technique? The tune today is Half Past Four, a tune played by blind fiddler Ed Haley from West Virginia. This setting is from the Baltimore Old-Time Jam. I teach fiddle lessons! Find out more at meganbeller.com/teaching I also have a website for learning to fiddle: Fiddle Studio has courses and a mailing list and my Top 10 Fiddle Tunes! My Fiddle Studio Book 1: Fiddling for the Complete Beginner is FREE on Amazon! It has over 30 easy beginner fiddle tunes with sheet music, tab, and a link to a video for each tune! Fiddle Books BandcampYouTube You can reach me at meganwobus@fiddlestudio.com.

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Irish Sessions vs. Old Time Jams (Possum on a Rail)

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Podcast details

Created by: Meg Wobus Beller
Status: Active
Latest episode: Nov 6, 2026
Episodes: 113
Release period: Monthly
Avg. episode length: 16 min
Explicit: No
Language: English

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