i’m a 20 year old college student who plays the violin and a couple years ago i decided i wanted to get into playing fiddle. i asked my violin instructor and my chamber music instructor for recommendations for how to learn more about fiddle music. they gave me some tips and pointed me towards some resources to look at. but the thing with fiddle is that you really can’t learn from a book of sheet music in a room by yourself. the culture of fiddle music and the spirit behind the style of music itself requires in-person jam sessions and learning new songs and harmonies by ear, etc. i ended up attending a fiddle camp to learn more. and i learned some new tunes and had a good time. but i didn’t make lasting connections with other fiddlers that would help me keep learning because every one else there fell in two camps: elementary and middle school kids and retirees. i didn’t meet anybody my age. after i got home from the camp, i looked on meet up for jam sessions in my area, but it was clear that i’d have the same problem there as i did at the camp. all in all, it was hard to find opportunities to play the fiddle with people my age — despite living in a college town — so i’ve just been playing fiddle on my own.
