Compared to other music instruments how hard is it to learn how to play the fidd

Question:

Compared to other music instruments how hard is it to learn how to play the fiddle?

I like to do Irish ceili dancing and because of that I've become a little fascinated with fiddles. I don't know much about playing them though.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Don’t listen to the naysayers who say you can’t do it. Of course you can.

Contrary to what Birgit says, it is NOT “nearly impossible” to learn to fiddle as an adult.

Contrary to what Mandaladreamer says, there is no reason to “doubt that you’d be any good at violin if you’re an adult”.

I took up the fiddle at age 33, and have been playing now for 16 years. I taught myself to play Appalachian old-time music by ear, and have a number of friends who play fiddle, banjo, guitar, mandolin, and bass. Some of us get together regularly, twice a month, to jam for fun. In addition, I play with a local bluegrass group that meets weekly for rehearsals. I’ve played on a number of occasions for local square dances and have performed at international folk festivals in Europe. I’m not a full-time professional musician but I do give lessons occasionally. So YES, you certainly can learn to fiddle, and do it well, as an adult. But you do need to be prepared to put the time in. It will most likely take several years to get proficient at it and to develop an authentic sounding traditional fiddling style, whether you’re interested in Irish, Scottish, Southern Appalachian, Cajun, Quebecois, Texas style, whatever. Each style has its own distinctive rhythmic pulse, bowing patterns, ways of ornamenting the melody, ways of harmonizing the tune with doublestops and open string drones, and repertoire. In order to absorb the style(s) you want to play, you should listen, listen, listen to as much music as possible in the style you want to play – in your case, listen not just to Irish fiddling but also to uilieann piping, Irish flute playing, mandolin and tenor banjo, all of it – you want to absorb the sound of the music into your bones and your soul; only then will that sound come out into your playing.

If you do Irish ceili dancing, you’ve got a good start; at least you’re listening to the music, and dancing to it helps tremendously to get the rhythm into your body. I would suggest that you find a fiddle teacher if at all possible – someone who plays Irish music would be best. If you want to play Irish music, I don’t recommend classical violin lessons, at least not more than a few basic lessons to learn how to hold the fiddle and bow and a few basic scales in first position – unless you find a classical violin teacher who is openminded enough to help you work on fiddling as opposed to violin playing.

Fiddle and violin are physically the same instrument, with some minor differences in set-up perhaps; what really makes them different is the attitude and approach that players take to the instrument. Over the last several centuries, violin players and composers for the violin have developed the instrument’s capacity for vocal-like melody to the nth degree; whereas over the last several centuries, fiddlers have developed the instrument’s capacity for rhythmic danceable groove to a far greater extent than violinists have ever done. In the hands of a good dance fiddler, the violin is almost as much a rhythm instrument as it is melody. This different approach can’t be learned from a classical violinist, unless that violinist is also an experienced fiddler. If you know some Irish musicians or belong to a folk music organization where you can meet other musicians and get involved in learning to play with others, that would be the best.
Hope this helps.

EDIT: Check out The Fiddle Hangout website, a discussion board for fiddlers and fiddle music enthusiasts to discuss their favorite instrument:

http://www.fiddlehangout.com/ A fiddle is a violin. For the first few years, its kind of painful to listen to until you become really good like the ones you see in country and western bands. I guess if you can read music, thats half the battle, then you just have to learn the finger positions and how to use the bow properly. It requires dedication to say the least. Nearly impossible as an adult but only nearly. The hold of the violin, the positions, and most of all the bowing techniques take years of practice to learn and master. To me, every instrument's essentially similar to one another. People prefer certain instruments or believe they're easier simply because they have a special talent or feeling with it. Therefore difficulty does not have a measurement here. if you really want to, go for it. Do your best and don't worry about how "
hard" or "easy" it is, just have fun
Of course it takes practice and time, but also remember what music is really for. Well, if you look at a guitar, banjo or mandolin, you'll see metal strips along the neck. Those are frets, and a fiddle has no frets because you have to know the notes. This makes them a little more difficult to play. Fiddle isn't the same as violin, as I understand it the bridge is curved differently to make it easier to play the notes faster, less separation between strings.
Violin is hard... I played for three years starting when I was 18. I would say maybe you could be a fiddle player good enough to jam at the Irish/Scottish/folkdance parties but I doubt that you'd be any good at violin if you're an adult.
Some cities have folk societies that will teach and let you play with other beginners.We've got one here in KC. I would like to join and play bodran, myself, I think my violin years are too far back there to take it up again.
Tin whistle might be fun, too. A fiddle is basically a violin, with maybe a few changes. I've been playing the violin for about 8 years now, and believe me, it's not as easy as it looks. You have hand positions, hand angles, arm positions, elbow positions, your posture, head position, it's really a LOT of things you have to watch for.
I do believe that if you practice enough, you can do very well. As long as you have passion, you can succeed. A child I babysit sometimes, he's around 5, and he got so feverish about the violin, he practiced 3 hours a day, and he's way past the average speed you go. Of course, he had some problems, so he had to slow down, which is another factor you must remember. You WILL be slowed down as you get better. You will be corrected many, MANY times if you want to improve. There is some really bad advice and information here. Don't get confused or discouraged by it. Check out www.fiddleforum.com
It's not the easiest instrument...there's a lot of elements to it, but it's not NEARLY as hard as some people want you to think.

I just took up fiddle recently. Lots of fun. *whew* Fiddle is easy to learn, but HARD to make sound good - especially for beginners.

And Irish fiddle playing? Everything is played at TOP speed.

Ever think of trying the Bodhran? Whew, I play violin and it is widely considered the hardest instrument to learn. It takes about two years to have a sound that people can listen to without wincing. To play fiddle style, which I have done, I don't think you need to read music. It goes so fast you have to memorize. If your fingers are big or you have any arthritis, etc, it could be impossible for you. But hey, give it a try!