Hey Reader,

Today is the last day to enter the fiddle giveaway.

Entries close tonight. Saturday I draw a name. Sunday I tell everybody who won.

👉 Enter the giveaway →​

You can enter more than once, by the way. Share your link with a friend, share it on Facebook, subscribe on YouTube — each one adds entries. The referral link is the big one. It’s all on the entry page once you’re in.

I’ve been playing it all week

I keep picking this fiddle up when I’m supposed to be doing other things.

It sounds great. Warm, even, easy to bow. It might be the best one Michael has made, and I’ve played a few of his.

You don’t have to take my word for it. Listen to a couple of tunes I posted to YouTube:

• ​Reddican’s Farewell to Appalachia​
• ​Amelia’s Waltz​

Somebody is going to win a fiddle that a member of this community made by hand. That’s still my favorite part of this.

Coming in October: 5 for 30

Our annual practice challenge runs October 1–30. Play at least five minutes a day, every day, for thirty days.

That’s it. Five minutes. Consistency is the whole point.

Two things to start thinking about now:

• One skill you’d love to improve.
• One tune you want to learn.

Nothing to sign up for yet. I just want it in your head.

I’m doing it too. I need it right now as much as anybody — it turns out you can run a fiddle school and still go four days without touching the fiddle (I want to blame my kids...but won't 😂). More details soon.

About the “It’s Never Too Late” video

Almost sixty of you wrote in. I’ve been emailing everybody back, a few at a time.

Every response taught me something, so the plan got bigger. It’s becoming a short documentary about learning fiddle as an adult. Out next year, hopefully in January.

Thank you for trusting me with your stories!

Play Every Day

Workshop Replay — Choosin’ Texas, Call and Response

We learned the riff, the verse, the pre-chorus and the chorus in D major, entirely by ear. Here's a new practice strategy I introduced: learn the shape of a melody before you worry about its rhythm. Tabs, sheet music and the full play-along track are all on the page.

👉 Watch the replay →​

New: an Audio channel

There’s now an Audio channel in the community.

First thing in it is a playlist of all 38 play-along tracks Marg made for her harmony sessions. Put one on, play the other part.

👉 Marg’s Harmony Session — 38 tracks →​

🎻 Upcoming Events

Mon, Sep 21 · 3:00 PM EDT / Choosin’ Texas Workshop 2: Jam Session
Now that you know the tune, we make it sing — chords, then transposing it toward D-flat.

Tue, Sep 22 · 10:00 AM EDT / Weekly Meetup with Tom and Deb
Drop in for a casual group play session. A great way to connect and make music together.

Thu, Sep 24 · 7:00 PM EDT / Harmony Play-Along with Marg
Marg leads an hour of harmony tunes — she plays one part while you play the other. The tracks are in the new Audio channel if you want a head start.

Fri, Sep 25 · 11:00 AM EDT / Classical Corner Practice Group
Relaxed sessions on classical violin technique, led by Krista. Everyone’s welcome.

Go to the Events page for login info.

🎻 Until next week, keep on fiddling…

— Jason

PS: Thank you for being here. If you enjoy the newsletter, please forward it to a lucky friend. And if this email was forwarded to you, get your own ✨