🎻 On fresh perspectives, a Quebecois concert and energy boosts

I took myself out to a concert on Monday, Reader, and it was probably the best way I could have possibly started the week.

Friend, family and romantic partner dates are all great too, but I think sometimes we don't give enough credit to solo dates! You don't wait for anybody's approval, you just see that something in your community is happening that you want to be a part of and you go.

In this particular case, I saw Le Vent du Nord was going to be playing at The Ark, which is a wonderful local folk venue just one city over from me. The last time I saw them perform live was at the 2019 Folk Alliance in Montreal, and I remember feeling then that their performance was electrifying.

I'm quite happy to report that seven years later, that is still the case!

There's just something about listening to a band who has played together for so long and has an incredible sense of camaraderie (while also inviting you into their voisinage/neighborhood).

It makes me look forward to how Bear and I will sound year after year, and how that will develop the more we play together.

Apart from being glued to watching Andre Brunet and Olivier Demers' bowing (they stayed pretty much in the lower half of the bow so their bow holds were closer to the classical style), I was also enjoying observing their onstage interactions.

Little check-ins like "you good?" Heads thrown back in laughter. A couple of near-miss splits. Just pure fun and community!

A couple of days later, we had a friend from Cleveland join our weekly Wednesday session as well as a new younger fiddler curious about joining in. When it's our usual local group, the sessions are still very fun with a nice mix of tunes. But I always find it extra enjoyable when there are visitors bringing fresh perspectives to our mix!

It's not every week where I get to hear Quebecois music live, nor do I get to play with Cleveland friends nearly often enough.

So when it happens, it's extra special. It gives renewed energy to why we show up to our sessions week after week because you never know who you'll see.

And on the Quebecois end, it's making me really want to polish up on my French so I can understand more of what they're saying!

Weekly Tune Library Update

No new tunes this week (giving you a breather)! But I am happy to take any requests either for tunes themselves, or for some bonus trainings.

Some of the current bonus trainings have *s next to them, which means I haven't created the lesson content yet but wanted to put the topic up to see if it's of interest. So if there is a * training you'd like me to prioritize in April, just say the word!

Lastly, I'll say this. You don't have to have a favorite band coming through town or a friend visiting in order to have a fresh perspective or new energy.

I do a daily yoga practice (any fellow Yoga with Adriene practitioners here?) and occasionally she'll guide the listener to notice when we're doing a common pose if there's anything different we can bring to or notice about the posture.

What's been there all along that we haven't noticed as much?

Do you worry about getting the real feel for Irish fiddling, but you have a really clear and nice tone in your playing? Do you have a knack for rhythm and just need to try a different bow hold or bow pattern to lock into more solid phrasing?

If you're up for it this week, notice an area in your playing that you haven't thought of recently. What's going well, and what could be adjusted?

Who knows, I may give Quebecois bowing a try... and maybe wander outside to a picnic bench to explore foot percussion!

Happy practicing!

~Hannah