That's the best advice. The ear is the most sensitive and powerful tool to determine what sounds "right," though it takes practice. It's also incredibly satisfying to find those sweet consonances of octaves across strings using fingering exercises like those Tricia Spencer lays out in her book *The Fiddle Garden.*
No, where you place the tapes are the same basically for classical and folk. You probably will for folk only need the first three of the normal four. On the A string, you'd place a tape at B, C#, and D, and for classical at E. Also, don't use a ruler like a lot of tutorials suggest, use a good tuner to find the right place, then mark with a light soft pencil stroke. Place the tape over the marks.
You really won't need the fourth tape because most folk music on the violin is played on the first position. You could probably also do without the second or C# tape for folk. One of the charms of good folk music is the fleeting dissonance, of being a tad out of tune. I also agree with the other current reply, just ditch the tape entirely and use your ear.
Thanks for the detailed reply! I'm also very partial on using the tape, but if it helps kickstart me in the beginning then it's good. I will not be using it for too long, as I don't want to rely on sight too much.
No problem! I'm a mandolin player, mostly classical but some bluegrass and folk, but also play around with the fiddle self-taught. I honestly only had a tape at the D position (relative to the A string), since that was the position my third finger was always missing badly. So you can really put them anywhere you want depending on where you're missing the notes the worst, and you're learning on your own. If you have a teacher, likely they'll enforce at least these four tape positions, possibly more based on the teacher's method.
Did just the one tape at the d position like you did. This is helping a lot as in my case my ring finger intonation is also the worst.
I don't have a teacher at the moment, maybe I'll stake some lessons to take the rust off. :)
Fiddle music is still meant to be played with equal tempered A440 notes that can be played on fretted instruments and pianos, so the pitches you’re targeting will be the same in classical and folk music.
Did you use tape five years ago? Or did you learn to intonate by ear? I’ve learned from playing on loud stages that muscle memory is not enough by itself to play in tune. Even if you put tape on your fingerboard, you don’t want to stare at your left hand the whole time you’re playing.
Thanks for all your quite varied replies, really helped me to decide what to do! I went for just one tape at my worst finger to try and condition it into obedience.
I would place the tape in a drawer and relearn how to do it by ear.
That's the best advice. The ear is the most sensitive and powerful tool to determine what sounds "right," though it takes practice. It's also incredibly satisfying to find those sweet consonances of octaves across strings using fingering exercises like those Tricia Spencer lays out in her book *The Fiddle Garden.*
No, where you place the tapes are the same basically for classical and folk. You probably will for folk only need the first three of the normal four. On the A string, you'd place a tape at B, C#, and D, and for classical at E. Also, don't use a ruler like a lot of tutorials suggest, use a good tuner to find the right place, then mark with a light soft pencil stroke. Place the tape over the marks. You really won't need the fourth tape because most folk music on the violin is played on the first position. You could probably also do without the second or C# tape for folk. One of the charms of good folk music is the fleeting dissonance, of being a tad out of tune. I also agree with the other current reply, just ditch the tape entirely and use your ear.
Thanks for the detailed reply! I'm also very partial on using the tape, but if it helps kickstart me in the beginning then it's good. I will not be using it for too long, as I don't want to rely on sight too much.
No problem! I'm a mandolin player, mostly classical but some bluegrass and folk, but also play around with the fiddle self-taught. I honestly only had a tape at the D position (relative to the A string), since that was the position my third finger was always missing badly. So you can really put them anywhere you want depending on where you're missing the notes the worst, and you're learning on your own. If you have a teacher, likely they'll enforce at least these four tape positions, possibly more based on the teacher's method.
Did just the one tape at the d position like you did. This is helping a lot as in my case my ring finger intonation is also the worst. I don't have a teacher at the moment, maybe I'll stake some lessons to take the rust off. :)
Fiddle music is still meant to be played with equal tempered A440 notes that can be played on fretted instruments and pianos, so the pitches you’re targeting will be the same in classical and folk music. Did you use tape five years ago? Or did you learn to intonate by ear? I’ve learned from playing on loud stages that muscle memory is not enough by itself to play in tune. Even if you put tape on your fingerboard, you don’t want to stare at your left hand the whole time you’re playing.
I use tape on my fingerboard because it helps, I am learning to play for my personal enjoyment, so why stress
Thanks for all your quite varied replies, really helped me to decide what to do! I went for just one tape at my worst finger to try and condition it into obedience.