Casey Willis

Yep. Except for a few random phrases I assume are québécois cursing.

Heads-up, Blossom.

Cutting guitar on 15-17 of Andre’s tunes this weekend…tunes on the tracking sheet include:

Reel A Castonguay
Reel Napolean
Andre Alain
La Soiree At Alcide
Le Torment
Poteau Blanc
Quad Franco-American
Reel Of Drummondville
Reel Du Pointe-au-pic
Reel de Sucre
Reel D’lssoudun
Reel du Hotelier
Reel of Telephone
Valse From t…[Read more]

Hi, Pat. Yeah…there are definitely benefits to playing by ear…

As far as a shoulder rest goes, I used to play without one. But once I switched, I found that I had less neck pain and also way more sound coming from my instrument. That’s one of the reasons I recommend the Wolfe Forte Segundo…it really opens up the sound of your instrument.…[Read more]

Good comments, Roland. Thx.

Hi NewFiddler – I would echo the idea that although many of the licks could be written out, there is a downside to doing so. You can’t notate groove, bow swells, vibrato, feel, etc… And the groove cannot be ignored…it is truly more important than the licks you play.

We had several requests a while back for…[Read more]

Recent Pics

Hi, Blossom. I’m with you. We’re in the process of moving between studios right now…perhaps I’ll post a couple of pics on Facebook and link to that here in a sec.

I did chat with Andre over the weekend, and we’re going to see about using his brother on piano backup for a couple of tunes and possibly one of the guitar players he normally…[Read more]

Hi, FM.

Hanneke uses these ornamentations fairly frequently, with “The Scrunch” being the least used technique. I would start with The Cut, The Hammer On and The Flick as these are simpler and other techniques point back to these.

The Waterfall is more difficult and is based on the Flick, so learn the Flick before tackling the Waterfall.…[Read more]

Hi Judy. I’ll pass this request along. Kevin may be back in the studio early next year…

Thx!!

C

Hi, Kathy.

Good suggestions – I’ll add them to my list, although it may be some time before I’m in the studio again. I know the first two tunes…I’ll have to check out the third.

C

Hi, Kathy.

Good suggestions – I’ll add them to my list, although it may be some time before I’m I. The studio again. I know the first two tunes…I’ll have to check out the third.

C

I can second Kevin’s recommendation…

Hanneke uses Carol Ann’s warm up exercises.

That’s how every studio recording day starts when Hanneke is cutting new material…she warms up the same way each day before recording. Clearly, she finds these exercises to be helpful.

Good tip.

C

I can second Kevin’s recommendation…

Hanneke uses Carol Ann’s warm up exercises.

Good tip.

C

Just ordered some heavy gauge along with my normal mediums…I’ll let you know what I think!!

C

Good question, NF. Here are my thoughts:

When I judge a fiddle contest, I’d rather listen to a solid fiddler than a flashy, sloppy fiddler; end of story.

So if you’re a beginner to intermediate-level player and time permitting, it’s a great idea to set a solid, basic version of any tune down in front of judges and then follow that up with…[Read more]

Good question, NF. Here are my thoughts:

When I judge a fiddle contest, I’d rather listen to a solid fiddler than a flashy, sloppy fiddler; end of story.

So if you’re a beginner to intermediate-level player and time permitting, it’s a great idea to set a solid, basic version of any tune down in front of judges and then follow that up with…[Read more]

Good question, NF. Here are my thoughts:

When I judge a fiddle contest, I’d rather listen to a solid fiddler than a flashy, sloppy fiddler; end of story.

So if you’re a beginner to intermediate-level player and time permitting, it’s a great idea to set a solid, basic version of any tune down in front of judges and then follow that up with…[Read more]

Good thought, Dedee. There are certainly a number of things I can think of off of the top of my head to talk about.

We’re in the process of moving into a new studio right now, and I have a new instructor scheduled to record in the end of September. I think it would be a good idea to test out the audio and video gear in the new studio to work…[Read more]

Hi, Fiddlededee. I’ll check that out and add it to the running list to pitch to new instructors. Thx!

C

Hi, Andrea. Good fine tunes – those would both be useful, for sure. The loop memory one would be technically more difficult. The “favorite lessons” one might be easier to implement. I’ll take a look at that to see if it would work in this site’s environment. No promises, but I’ll take a look. Super busy right now with a studio move and a…[Read more]

Hi Foggy and Sabrina.

Good suggestions, both. They are now on the list that I send to Hanneke each time before she hits the studio…speaking of…I need to do some planning for next year and see who will be available when for a new session…nice live video BTW.

Thanks!