Swallowtail Jig - Basic Fiddle Lesson
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- Опубліковано 5 лют 2025
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Play every day, have fun 😀 and thanks for taking part 🙏
Now, go fiddle with it...🎻
❤️ Fiddlehed
this man is SUCH a good teacher... and so gentle and slow for a beginner like me. thanks so much..
You are a master instructor and I do owe you a fat contribution.
You're a fantastic teacher! I play several instruments and the violin is one I've always wanted to play. It's quiet intimidating to me. But I've already learned "britches full of stitches" and now working on this thanks to you.
That's so lovely to hear! Thank you for your support.
We have a guide available you may enjoy:
fiddlehed.com/blog/how-to-play-violin-an-illustrated-beginners-guide-fiddlehed/
I just found your channel, and I'm one of the OLDER beginner students if gray hair tells you anything. ha. I love your method of teaching and it's fun. You make it fun and funny. I have a really long story how I got interested in fiddle, beginning with my OLDER sister starting and then her daughter and son in law. If you had a p.o. box I'd send a letter. Long story short ...... thanks for your helpful lessons. Showing the actual notes is soooo helpful when we don't have the sheet music. I'm not a fast "sight" music reader anyway, Thanks!!
Can't thank you enough for all of your time and effort in putting together your videos. You are helping this 43 year old beginner fiddler come along fairly nicely.
Glad to hear you are playing. Glad you found my channel. Keep at it. Push through the frustrating times because we all have them. That's how you get better. Did you see the study guides on www.jkleinber.com? Did you see the Facebook page? Cheers.
So happy I found this page! Picked up a violin for the first time in 20 years because of these videos and loving learning it all again :)
+Laura James Yay :)
Not sure why this is in my feed today, but this is the very first lesson And fiddle tune I'd ever learned from you. Thanks a lot, this is THE best channel I've seen for helping folks to learn while enjoying their fiddle. I do not get a lot of time to play with others as I work two jobs and have a family. But I have used this channel to develop far enough to enjoy my fiddle on the porch or around a camp fire. Keep up the great work! You're the Best!
Presto chango That means a great deal, thank you very much for fiddling with us🙏🏼🙌🏼
Thank you. For your love of the fiddle that you are out there helping those of us struggling to make music!
Thanks fiddle hed. This has got to be the most helpful video to learn tunes I have seen on you tube. Like your pace and the play along track. Excellent for me as beginner fiddler
+Wendy Gordon you're welcome, thanks for watching. :)
Just discovered you a week ago. I'm learning the swallowtail jig now. Nice trick about bridging the D and A string. Works real good. I also like your easy going and relaxing way of presenting the material.
+Dick Behrens Thanks!!
My fiddle lesson was on Friday and by Sunday I'd forgotten the finger positions completely and couldn't decipher all of them myself listening to my teacher's mp3. Fortunately I discovered your excellent video of Swallowtail Jig which saved the day for me! You also have wonderful tips that are very helpful. I've now watched and "used" a number of your lessons and I'm extremely grateful you've made these invaluable gems available to the public! Thanks ever so much, Jason :)
You're welcome :)
Came across your site and instructional videos. Taking up the fiddle again after 46 years and your instruction and style is the best! Others are out there and charge to "subscribe". We see there's a link to your site and we'll be donating a little to the cause! Keep the videos coming!
+JoeandM Fagnani Thanks. The donations are helpful because I can hire an editor.
I melted a bit when you sang the tune. You have a lovely voice. Thanks for the lesson, the breakdown into small sections is so simple but I never thought of doing it.
Dude you rock as a teacher !!!! thanks for the lessons!!
+josiah fiveash you're welcome :)
I think he needs a shave,hes scarring the children
Great lesson thanks a lot. As someone who has been playing just four months I'm really glad I could learn this tune and I would love to see more traditional Irish jigs/reels.
I was struggling trying to make this sound like a song until i watched your video and the first part came right together! thanks alot for the excellent instruction!
+farron from nova scotia you're welcome :)
Though I'm learning tunes on the Irish whistle, these tutorials work great for learning new tunes by ear. Thank you!
As always, Fantastic! I love Celtic jigs and reels! Great lesson! Thanks so much!!!!
out of all the teachers on here i can follow you the best, thanks for sharing!
+F35ize you're welcome :)
This video really helped my son latch onto the sound of this piece! So Helpful! Endless thank U's!
endless you're welcomes :)
Hey, I just wanted to say thank you for the lessons. Not only are your techniques extremely helpful but your philosophies on playing as well.
+Anthony Russo cheers, thanks for the feedback 👍
A little extra feedback:
I'm a violin teacher and performer in Australia.
A friend just asked me to teach her some simple Irish tunes and I found your video and recommend it to her.
I like that you include useful bonus clear simple information like triplets, scales, and exercises without being overwhelming or tedious. The segments you break it down into are good too.
Good job, and thank you for making this video!
You are such a fabulous teacher thanks for you kindness and patience and thorough explanations!
Excellent tutorial! Thank you! I see you have advanced edits for adding ornaments! Awesome, I'm looking forward to learning them.
i grew up with this song under a different title.... which is Brian Boru's March.... either way i want to learn it. i bought a fiddle years ago but it was incomplete. missing strings, no rosin, no idea how to tune it.
however i bought my son a Ukele back in November. it happened to come equipped with a tuner. and my son being clever used it to tune the fiddle (after i bought strings and rosin of course) now it's ready to go!
hopefully i can learn something to play lol
Thanks so much again! I will practice this today. Believe I need to slow it down and gain more control....trying up to tempo with the swing, need to back off and go slower. Thanks Fiddlehed!!! 😊🎻👋🏻
Thank you for all the time & work you put into all your videos. I'm around the 2 month mark for playing now, & your videos are a wonderful resource, & a HUGE help.
agroshadowgoddess Thanks much...
This was the first song that I learned from you. It was a great lesson. I am actually learning on the viola, so the high F is a bit challenging because I have to reach my 4th finger down to what would be first finger in third position. I made it work. Thanks again. I love all your videos!!
Eric Wilson, i love the viola, mate, great richness, and incredible density, am i wrong fella ?
Thank you so much for your video of Swallowtail jig. I started violin last september and this song was my summer challenge ! Always some imperfections here but thanks to you I can progress !
Keep playing and it gets better. Don't forget to to try looping the areas where you feel there are "imperfections". Cheers.
This lesson is awesome! Thanks!
A Woods Glad you like it🙏🤗
Brilliant! So beautiful yet not so difficult
Thanks!
Great lesson and fine teacher!!
great to watch this as a follow up to the lesson -- catching the rhythm more as I listen to the video
jennifer capo Nice. This is a classic tune you're learning!
Just wanted to say thanks for the lesson. For some reason, I'm finding this tune easier to learn.
Yer welcome
I really enjoyed learning this. Thanks.
Glad it was helpful!
I think your instructions are excellent. Thank you very much.
You're welcome
Thank you for this great lesson! This has been my first fiddle tune and there are several aspects of the lesson that really helped. There are a few areas that might be improvable, but since I am new to fiddling (at least on a fiddle!) I'll leave it up to you to judge!
Helpful1) Great pitch and tone! Thank you! Sets a really good example to follow.2) Introduction and review of basic rhythm, bowing technique, and accent. Ie The triplets of Irish jigs. 123-456...3) Review of D scale and how it relates to the E Dorian scale.4) Emphasis on pausing the video to practice the different sections.5) Going slow through each section. (There's no way I could have kept up at the original tempo.)6) Identifying the sections as "A" and "B" sections. Helped provide a sense of place and progress through the lesson.7) Breaking the A and B sections into quarters and even smaller sub-quarters. Made this song digestible and helped provide a sense of accomplishment as different quarters were learned.8) Providing a preview of the song at regular tempo at the beginning and slow tempo at the end. Made for great practice accompaniment. (I use a tempo changing function on my recorder, which has helped me build up speed as I practice.)9) Having such a basic and fundamental "Beginner" lesson, as well as follow-up "Intermediate" and "Advanced" lessons. Made the song accessible, as well as provided opportunity for further development once the basics have been accomplished.10) Nice proximity of camera to fingerlings, though honestly after initial viewing I went off of sound more than visual.
Possible area of improvement1) Better imaging of bowing (tip and hand) to show which directions strokes were going. I'm not sure if this matters because maybe good players should be able to make do with either direction? But as a beginner a more clear and visual pattern may have been helpful.2) More cycling of sequential quarters. I got into a habit of cycling some of the individual quarters, which created a bit of a brain challenge when I later tried to tie the quarters together and had to change those recently formed patterns. But maybe that's part of the best learning process!3) I found playing the A string notes the hardest in regards to finding the pitch. Ie Most of B section. Spending a little more time in this section may help that. Seems like less time was spent on section B than A.4) Introducing different fiddle holding techniques may have been helpful, though that probably is material for an entirely separate video.5) Time marks for when different sections or quarters were reviewed. That would just make finding them faster and easier when coming back to learn the next quarter or section.6) Question 4 on your SurveyMonkey has too many questions in one. Ie The helpfulness of the fingering was different than the helpfulness of the bowing in the video.7) Question 13: As a beginner on his first video lesson, none of the answers apply.8) Although tedious, I think you'd get more useful feedback out of having different surveys for different videos. Though i don't know if it would be worth your while.
Indifferent1) I didn't use the tableture. Though I can see how it could be helpful.2) I liked that you put links in your video description. Smart! I haven't used them yet, but if I was looking to make a purchase I would be happy to provide you some affiliate kickback by using them, assuming they are affiliate links.
Thank you again for this great video! I've enjoyed learning Swallowtail Jig with it and look forward to eventually moving on to your Intermediate lesson. I also look forward to visiting your website and seeing what other offerings you have.
Fiddlehed Fiddlehed Fiddlehed Fiddlehed Fiddlehed Fiddlehed Fiddle!
Thanks for the detailed feedback. I appreciate it. I have been working on improving the website and that has taken up a lot of my time. I only have so much time to devote to this. I am including time markers in the more recent videos. Little by little I'm trying to get them in the older videos. Not enough hours in the day. Have you seen the FiddleHed Facebook page? Keep playing!
You're most welcome. Understandable regarding the lack of time. Only so much one can put into community projects like these. Thank you for the work that you have done so far! I believe that I will keep playing as I have enjoyed it so far. I'm not sure if I've seen the FB page, but I will look for it. Fair thee well!
thank you for your patience! Very nice teaching method.
You're welcome and thank you.
I miss that you used to have the tabs in your description. Having then on youtube is more accessible when I'm learning on the go, especially when the video says "tabs below" but they're not there.. 😥 Kudos to your site truly, I've been there. Please keep your channel newb friendly.
Have you downloaded the app Tunepal? it gives you tabs on most Irish/Trad music etc.
Awesome to follow, Thanks so much for all your instructions, just started and you make this so easy!
+Sandra Carrigg you're welcome 😎
thx heaps mate ! love yr teaching style ! very much how i was taught ! 10/10
Hey Fiddlehed, hows it going, i just want to say a big thank you to you for sharing your virtual wealth of knowledge, all your videos are so helpful, again, thank you :)
+barry c you are welcome, glad it's helpful.
Hi Jason, I just sent you a little Paypal donation - thanks so much for these lessons, I'm loving them!
+Marcia Curran Thank YOU !!
I played this in my 7th garde strings class I love it
So glad to hear this. Thanks for letting me know!
Thank, so much sir. This is a great start, my friends keep asking me to learn this song.
+Bernard Royal cool. you're welcome :)
Yes, but I might have some one to make sure I am not totally sure how to tune it properly, but I may add your teaching is very easy and I am coming along. Thank you for quick reply
+Nancy Garrett you're welcome :)
oo thanks man 3rd day on the fiddle tryna get it smoother. ca t wait to learn the next tune
You're welcome. Keep at it. That's how you get better. Happy Holidays.
Great tutorial. Just started and can catch it thx !!!
Bonjour vous êtes un excellent professeur you are a great teacher you help me alot
thank you
Merci :)
Thankx so much, this was a great help!!
Thank you so much for your videos¡¡I'm learning a lot¡¡Nice explanations¡¡
hey mr fiddlehed man its me again, I wanted to let you know that i just figured out how to play it fast!! It was long a journey but i got it! I think you might need a how to speed up vid though, its a big jump to intimidate. This was my first jig thanks for teaching me!!!!!!!!!
oh yeah and i looked up the jurassic park theme it has some of the same notes so im not crazy okay
+jackoscar11 for sure, glad you got it. I AM planning a video on how to play faster...
tell us how to play it fast! ;)
you are a great teacher you help me alot
thank you
+ohad viki You are welcome :)
Is this a variation of From the New Country? They are SO similar.
Thanks! My first fiddle song and I can actually play it :)
Keep it up! Great news! Hope you are on your next tune. Thank you for watching!
I need the tabs like in your recent videos
Wonderful, I am practicing! 😌
good for you :)
Great video lesson!
T h a n k Y o u ! ! !
I'm just getting into your videos!
I'm a classical violinist who has played for 18 years but let me tell you-fiddle is whole different kettle of fish!
since I'm an advanced violinist I should be able to start with advanced fiddle, correct?
*face plant*
no! no I cannot!
take most of the drilled in skills and throw them out the window of this thundering train. the technique bandits have hijacked this here car and with that goes everything you've ever valued!
all right, all right, you get the picture. I'll work through the beginners first. besides, it builds a nice repetoir. or in other words, I can saw away on demand!
thanks again!
any advice you can shoot my way is MUCH appreciated.
listen a lot to fiddlers. don't use vibrato for awhile. try to play everything by ear.
+FiddleHed I do find that living, breathing and dreaming a specific type of music really helps. I usually don't have to think to hard to get the musicality of it then.
but why the no vibrato?
Where do I get the notes for your great lessons
For the beginning of the B part, he says "it first starts on A" but I think he's referring to the A string, not the A note. The note seems to start on the B note. If anyone can correct me if I'm wrong please do so! I can't make it sound right with an A in there but it sounds sweet with the B. :-)
My first fiddle tune was Devil's Dream, and then I learned Whisky Before Breakfast, Swallowtail Jig and Star of the County Down. My favorites would be swallowtail jig and star of the county down, but many people have different versions XD
Oh I also learned Bile 'em Cabbage Down (z hard version)
Nice. No shortage of tunes!
:)
Did you know we have a FiddleHed Facebook page? There is a request event going on there this week. Go there, look for the post about the request event and list a tune I haven't done yet. If it is in the top five, it might be the next video.
Great Video. Just two questions please. So the tabs are not available anymore, right? Also, what key is this in? Thanks.
Thanks again for a great tuneI combine it with Geese in the Bog just for funOne question on the Dorian mode- the notes are the same but no sharps right??Don’t know music theory but this seems to be the case
Depends on the key. Search "Dorian modes" on the internet. There are charts out there that show the scales.
awesome! subscribed.
yes thanks so much!
+Awesomefish 22 you're welcome :)
You are the best!! I want to send money. Where? And, you have a lesson page, with a .pdf of your music. Where is that?
Are the tabs available for this? I don't see them in the comments as it states.
Great video lesson Do you ever post the sheet music
www.jkleinberg.com/fiddlehed/swallowtail.html
Any chance you could post a video of how to play Zac Brown Band's Chicken Fried? You're an excellent teacher and there is not enough great examples of it. They're mostly playing too fast.
+Chad King thank you. for now i have a long list of other videos to make...
I don't understand if been playing this tune for a while now but it didn't sound they way it does in the beginning it sounds just like the way you teach it in the slow version but no matter how fast I play it it didn't sound the way you played it in the beginning?
Try mastering the first quarter (first 2 bars) then gradually speeding it up.
Awesome! Found it - feckin ledge
Ive learned the notes for the first part but I still have problems with playing the slow-quick-quick, diddle-de-de so fast. When I try my arm feels like its falling off after a few minutes. I slowed the video and it looks like you just give the tiniest of up bows for the second "de". Is this all right? its so hard to see. It would be great if you could make a small tutorial just focusing on that.
many thanks. Cool dude!
You’ve got it. We will try to make things a little more clear next time. Intuition is a great tool as well, but always feel free to ask👍
Pig in shit right now glad i found ur channel from bonnie Scotland thanks a million
Quick question. On the scales in the description, when it's something like 'D3' does that mean only your ring finger, aka finger 3, is on that string or that fingers 1-3 are on it?
It is better for you to put ALL the fingers down. You will only hear the tone for the last finger but get in the practice of putting them all down. Have you seen the Fiddlehead Facebook page?
FiddleHed nope. Just bought a violin and am trying to learn it on my own (I don't have any resources available to take real lessons) so I'm using UA-cam as a teacher
Did you see the course outline for Beginners on Fiddlehed.com? Keep at it. It takes a little time to see results. Don't get discouraged. Cheers.
Hy, I'm an 18yo girl, a beginner, and my hand is like super super tiny. I can't just put down my fingers, I have to move my whole hand all the way along. What could I do? Should I continue practicing with this hand-moving technique? Or maybe should I buy a smaller violin? Thanks for your answer :)
+RWolf215 yes, maybe try a 3/4 violin
I've been practicing this tune all day, my shoulder rest fell off and all of a sudden things were falling into place. Do you use a shoulder rest? Any reason why I'd HAVE to or am I good to trash it?
If you're more comfortable without that's totally fine. I using it, makes it easier for me to hold.
You should do dad’s reel too!
To make a request, please go to Fiddlehed.com. If you are not a subscriber, click on the button, Free Lessons. On the banner, click on the word, FORUM. There is a thread in there called Make a Request. Please enter it there so I can track it. Thanks.
hello, i don't understand tab. do you have this in sheet music?
+e bunni yes, go to Fiddlehed.com
this is harder that it sounds! :)
Timmy Zachar Practice practice practice!
to who ever it helps A part count in starts 9:35
b part 12:50
I played this song for a uil solo in middle school, got 1st division.
Congratulations! That's great news! Keep playing! :)
Love what you're doing man! Nice Channel! 加油 你的頻道好棒啊～！↖(^ω^)↗！！ I was an irish and old timey fiddler from Oklahoma before I learned Chinese and moved to Asia.
Hi, I have a question why is my D sound so deep nothing at all like the sound I hear from yours? Thanks I love your teaching easy to understand
+Nancy Garrett are you sure it's in tune?
You remind me of juice from SOA
Pls i am looking for a tune heard in a documentary ! If I send you the short video, will u help me find the name ? Its very famous !
+Elsa Lee post a link to the Fiddlehed Facebook page
i cant play it fast! :C
+Sara Hermosilla Yay!
i say I CAN'T! :C a tutorial for playing it fast? :C
+Sara Hermosilla It's all about practice really! If you can play it slow, you're on the right track to playing it fast! Eventually your muscle memory will have your left and right hand coordination finely tuned enough to play notes quickly. :>
+Brian Holeva here here! Well said Brian. I'm working on a lesson about how to play faster which is really about how to practice better.
+Sara Hermosilla
I once compared it to flying over mountains.
Slowly going up and down exploring all the ridges getting familiar and knowing every crevice.
The jet airline pilot only ever sees the mountain tips and the mountains are only ever another range.
Compared to the adventures, the skills, the pulses, the rhythms of the person who has taken the time to learn every rise and fall of that massive mountain. Keep going, it'll soon be just another rock in your beautiful garden.
Just brilant
Shaheb Ali Not as brilliant as practicing it yourself, that’s where the real magic is!
Im a beginer. When i heard it for the first time i really loved. Thën i was seaching everywhere how to learn it, but watching your video which made it much easier to learn. Gud luck mate