Champion Fiddler, Inspired Performer
Last October, I was inspired to make a go at the National Fiddle Contest in Weiser, ID. I haven’t been to Weiser since 2002, and if I’m going to make the trek, I want to make it worth my while. So, I started thinking about what can I do to make sure that I am […]
Hi I’m Vi Wickam, and here’s another myTalentForge.com Quick Tip! Rubato! What in Sam Hill is rubato, you may ask?! Well, lots of people are wondering what is rubato? Now, there’s a rule of rubato, as well. But we’ll get to that next. Rubato means playing with expression. It means playing with your heart. Especially […]
Hi, I’m Vi Wickam and this is you my Talent Forge Quick Tip of the Week! This tip is all about what gets you into trouble and how to get out of it! We all have those difficult passages in a song that we practice over and over and over again. But they still seem […]
Hi I’m Vi Wickam and this is another myTalentForge.com Quick Tip of the Week! I call this “Visualizing”. Now, you may think “visualizing” is kind of a weird term to use for playing music. There’s been those studies that show if you visualize shooting baskets that you’ll make more baskets when you try again. When […]
Hi I’m Vi Wickam and this is another [my] Talent Forge Quick Tip of the Week! Now, we’ve talked about how our right hand and left hand are connected in the past. This is just a little corollary to that idea. It applies specifically to bowed-stringed instruments, but it also applies to pickers, as well. […]
Hi I’m Vi Wickam, and this another myTalentForge.com Quick Tip of the Week! Now, you may be thinking, “I’m fine! I drink plenty of fluids. I drink like 3 glasses of soda a day!” I’m here to tell you that your body will function better when you have more water and you are more hydrated. […]
Hi I’m Vi Wickam and this is another myTalentForge Quick Tip of the Week! This week I have a confession… I really hate repetition. It is totally against my nature to practice things repetitively. But there’s something I know- which is that repetition, with intention, is a powerful tool to becoming a better musician. If […]
Hi I’m Vi Wickam and this is another myTalentForge.com Quick Tip of the Week. This tip has to do with your relationship with your sheet music. Now, I don’t know if you’re married to your sheet music, or you’re in a relationship, or maybe it’s complicated… I think that no matter how you describe your […]
Hi I’m Vi Wickam and this is another myTalentForge Quick Tip of the Week! This one is always fun for me. It’s playing harmonies above and below the melody. Now, this is a trick I learned from Paul Anastasio is a great swing fiddler – he’s also an expert ethnomusicologist. He studied with Joe Venuti, […]
How to Relax Your Right Hand Hi I’m Vi Wickam and this is another myTalentForge Quick Tip of the Week! Now, this week, we’re talking about our bow hand. Forget about our violin! If you don’t play with a bow, this lesson doesn’t apply to you. This Quick Tip is for us bow string players- […]
Hi I’m Vi Wickam and here’s another myTalentForge Quick Tip of the Week! How to play harmonies… People ask me all the time, “How do I play harmonies? How can I figure out which note should be played when I play a harmony?” Well, we’re going to start off this week with the tenor harmony. […]
