🎻 Is Meowdoku making me a better fiddle player?

Hi Reader!

My mom and Bear have combined forces and officially gotten me hooked on Meowdoku. If you haven't heard of it, it's an app puzzle game similar to Sudoku but with cats! One cat per color, one per row and one per column.

Typically I don't spring for phone app games. So much of my work happens online that I prefer to spend my downtime off of any device. But since this spoke to two of my interests (cats and logic puzzles), I relaxed my rule a little bit for this one. You get ads between each round, so I usually aim for just the one game a day -- although sometimes the ads are for other fun puzzle games... that's how they get you!

But that brings me to today's topic, which is a love for puzzles or brain challenges and incorporating them into the daily routine. Particularly when it comes to practicing!

I see memorizing different traditional tunes as one big puzzle.

Intervals, phrases, and ornaments are all pieces of the puzzle, and the more you make sense of them, the easier they are to fit together into different combinations. And part of the thrill of the game is that there are multiple combinations to play with!

Let's use playing a tune in the key of F as an example.

I'm working with one of my private students this week on Martin Wynne's No. 5, which is a reel in F that I recorded on my last album.

Phrasing-wise, it's a lot simpler than Martin Wynne's 3 or 4, which get pretty note-y. It's honestly a pretty straightforward reel except for the fact that it's in F major, which is not a key that comes up as frequently as D, G or A in Irish music.

In fact, my student had only ever played one tune using that F scale with me before, and that was Porthole of the Kelp which is in D minor.

So her puzzle pieces that are already in place are:

• A solid ear that lets her listen to a tune and write out the ABCs note for note flawlessly (honestly another great example of a brain challenge if you haven't tried it).
• A good grasp on the general rhythm of reels.
• Knowing other Martin Wynne tunes that help her decide on tempo, and whether this reel is more relaxed or driving (personally we both prefer it relaxed for these tunes)

The missing piece we now know to fill in is more experience playing in F, and getting the fingers familiar with the different shapes required to play F scale notes in tune.

Part of learning this tune is gaining her that experience. And we can supplement that with other strategies: scales and other left hand finger pattern exercises using F shapes.

Weekly Tune Library Update

Thank you for sending me your feedback on how you'd prefer to receive Tune Library updates! The majority of responses voted for keeping things the same in this secret members-only section of the regular weekly email (which given that I only asked it here could have had an effect on the results).

So we'll keep it this way for now for new tune tutorial additions, but if there are any major Tune Library updates that I want to be sure everyone sees, I'll send a separate email just to you and our other members!

For your viewing and listening pleasure this week...

One of my favorite bands from Kerry, CUAS, just released their second album this week and it's been playing nonstop! Here's a fun video of their first track including some West Kerry set dance steps. If it doesn't make you love polkas like I do, not sure what will!

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Another fabulous album just out this month is Liz Knowles, Niwel Tsumbu and Niall Vallely's first recorded project, Sun Lines. Absolutely stellar playing all around!

Tunes in F are just one example of course, and it's fun to get to come up with new variations of this puzzle with each student at different stages of learning. In my own practice, I'll be doubled down on gig prep this week -- so my puzzles will be more about locking in with Bear, making sure I've got our arrangements down, and keeping our sets fresh in mind.

Plus I'll be keeping my brain active with a daily round of Meowdoku... 😉

Happy purr-acticing! (Sorry not sorry)

~Hannah