Product Review

In his 30-year teaching career, fiddle champ Jim Wood has produced positive results for hundreds of students. He knows just what you need to get started the right way: Proper posture and body alignment, correct hand positions, warm-up exercises and other vital fundamentals that will get you in shape for a lifetime of playing. There s a wealth of information in this two-hour starter course. You ll learn how to hold the fiddle and the bow, tune up, and start fingering your first notes. Before long you ll be playing the A scale and easy versions of Old Joe Clark, Cripple Creek and Cotton-Eye Joe using solid bowing patterns, good tone and precise intonation. Jim and his wife, Inge, even show you how, by learning only a few simple notes ( pads ), you ll be able to join jam sessions almost immediately! This starter course takes the mystery out of fiddle playing and gives you the confidence you ll need to go on to further studies. So grab your fiddle and start playing now! Note: To continue your studies, we strongly recommend the two-DVD set, Easy Tunes for the Beginning Fiddler by Jim Wood. Bio Jim Wood grew up in Middle Tennessee, the heart of one of the country's great traditional music scenes. With fourteen state championships (including five-time winner of the Tennessee State Fiddle Championship), Jim is among the most decorated contest fiddlers in history. His training in classical violin and viola, his studies in jazz theory at the Berklee College of Music and his years of studio work in Nashville have enhanced his approach to grassroots styles to give him a unique and authoritative position in the world of fiddling. Jim owns a recording studio, teaches privately and performs with his wife, guitarist and violinist Inge Wood.