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Here's a step-by-step lesson which will show you how to add variation to Drowsy Maggie. First I'll play a mid-tempo version of the tune with some variations I like. Then I'll go through and show you what I did different from the basic version. At the end I’ll play a slow version of the tune with variations.
Ultimately, I hope this lesson helps you explore ways to add variation on your own to any tune you play. In this way you'll find your voice as a fiddler and a musician. Yay.
Key of D
00:57 Drowsy Maggie
01:54 Fundamental riff of tune
02:25 Double stop variation
04:54 Slur variation
06:00 Slide variation
07:09 Part A - Second Quarter
07:20 Mordent variation
08:05 Double stop variation
08:59 Part A - 3rd Quarter
09:07 Part A - 4th Quarter
09:09 Add mordent
09:53 Add drone
10:38 Part B played
11:00 Part B - 1st Quarter with double stops
11:32 Part B - 1st Quarter with drone on A
12:16 Part B played with shuffle
13:44 double stops
14:44 Part B - 2nd Quarter played
15:03 Mordent added
15:35 Double stop added
16:10 Part B - 3rd and 4th Quarters
16:24 Triplet and mordent added
16:42 Part B - 4th Quarter
I made some “Learning Chunks” on the FiddleHed site to help you do this. These focused exercises contain sheet music, tabs and mp3 snippets to guide you on each step of your fiddle journey.
These and all new lesson pages can be viewed for one week after publication with a FREE trial membership. Check it out here: fiddlehed.com
And after you sign up, I’ll also send you a mini-course of lessons specially designed for your skill level.
Alrighty. Play every day, have fun 😀 and thanks for making music 🙏
Now, go fiddle with it...
Jason 🎻