Ok, community! Mark your calendars as our next Strings Retreat is in the works. This year, we'll gather September 11-13th at Greenwood Social Hall in Kansas City, MO. We'll have guest instructors and an agenda focused on giving you as much hands-on playing time as possible.

Much more information (and registration) coming soon! Stay tuned!

Over the last few weeks, it’s been inspiring to see posts in our community’s private FB group from students hitting their 100 Day Practice Challenge goals! Getting started with a new routine can be HARD, so it seemed like a great time to revisit some tips for practicing as an adult.

• Leave your fiddle out of the case and ready to go! Of course this requires finding a safe place in your house, away from pets, heating or AC vents, etc. But having your instrument available for a quick pick-up makes it that much easier to overcome the challenge of starting.
• Practice in the morning. Grab your instrument and pluck out a tune for 5 minutes when you get up or before you go to work. Not only can this perk up your mood for the day, but will likely inspire you to pick it back up later on.
• Don’t get too hung up on practice streaks. Of course it feels GREAT to hit a milestone like 100 straight days, but it can also feel discouraging if you happen to miss a day. Be flexible with your approach an
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It’s hard to believe we’re just a few short weeks away from kicking off the Drunken Fiddles retreat in Quebec City! In preparation, let’s learn a little about the musical history of Quebec and how fiddle has played a vital role. 

A Rich & Varied History
When you think about fiddle, Canada is probably not the first place that comes to mind. Instead, it’s probably images of a rollicking pub in Ireland or the rolling green hills of Scotland. Fair, fair... But it’s the depth of those musical traditions that provide the backdrop for how a uniquely Quebecois style evolved. 

As settlers from Scotland, Ireland, and France migrated across the Atlantic in increasing numbers through the mid-17th and 18th centuries, they brought their fiddles and distinct styles along. According to the Canadian Studies Center, the violin “flourished in New France during the 18th century, animating the bals of society and folk alike” and was used widely in social dance events across all levels of society. 

Expans...

Many people tell me that they are not creative.  That they aren't musical, artistic, or inventive.  Then, almost always, in the next sentence they tell me of something amazing they designed.  This always makes me smile and I always point out that they just told me how creative they are.

These "non-creative" types often are creating in huge ways and don't even know it.  They create entire well-thought out designs and plans.  They can orchestrate the flow of point A to point B.  They can take a vision and implement it at the highest level.  Sometimes the tool of creativity is a spreadsheet and not a paintbrush.   But don't let that fool you.  There is still creativity flowing through.

The same thing happens when people say they aren't "musical" and that they "don't have a musical bone in their body."  That the only instrument they are good at is "the radio."

Do you know that you are a literal, walking instrument by nature?  That from your diaphragm to your upper skull cavity you are a...

Hi!  Laurel here from Drunken Fiddles.  After teaching adult beginners for  years I've noticed a common thread in students who give up on their fiddle dreams too early - people who come to the first class and maybe the second and then I never see them again.

The number one destroyer of fiddling: Perfectionism.  

The phrase "Practice makes perfect" has always been floating around in our group consciousness, implying that "perfect" is the end goal to what we are trying to do here on the fiddle.  But if you really think about it, perfect doesn't even exist in music.  You can always play something a little better, cleaner, faster, more expressively, more in tune, more rhythmic, etc.....  You'll never get there.

Perfectionists are easy to spot.  After one lesson they tell me they aren't cut out for the fiddle.  That they can't get it to sound good.  That they aren't up to speed.  They are used to be good at things, right away. Usually type A personalities and high achievers.  They compar...