Have you ever wanted to play the violin? Jam with friends? Make Music? Take some time to learn fiddle in this Age of COVID?

Erik Hoffman has been teaching fiddle for over 20 years, and teaching a fiddle class at The Freight & Salvage for around 10 years. Classes have gone Zoom! So this class is now available worldwide!

 

We start making our fiddle is set up and tuned. The we go to how to hold the fiddle and bow, how to make sound. We start with familiar melodies so your ears train your fingers. We cover learning by ear and sight (seeing what finger goes where). Then we begin reading music. Along the way, we learn to have fun in the process! We learn from the repertoire heard in contra and square dances, though the basic techniques apply to almost all styles.

This class is through The Freight and Salvage in Berkeley, and is a six week course. Then go on to Beginning Fiddle II, another six week course.

 

To Register: https://www.thefreight.org/learn-to-play/classes/

What you need:

•       A Working Violin

•       A Bow

•       Some Rosin

•       A Chromatic Tuner

   Suggested:

•       A shoulder rest (good ones are made by Kun and Wolf)

 

    I started learning fiddle in Erik’s adult beginners’ class and my classmates and I were playing in the community band for dances in 5 months! Erik is the most inclusive, supportive, and knowledgeable multi-instrument musician and teacher you may ever meet. It is a natural skill of his to make his students feel welcome, highly motivated to try and learn, and have extreme fun every step of the way. I wish I could talk to you in person since, in these few sentences it’s just not possible to tell you how inimitable Erik is.

 

Erik is a teacher, philosopher, expert musician and all-around nice guy; one of those rare teachers who can quickly assess a student's level and instinctively knows what they need to know at that moment of their musical development.

        He is very relaxed and puts his students at ease so that they too are relaxed and at their best. I've seen Erik immediately connect with people of all ages in a genuine, caring way that is thoughtful and kind; never judgmental.

        He gently and respectfully encourages his students to progress instead of making them feel inferior. No one ever leaves a lesson with Erik feeling ashamed about their abilities or that they "should" be doing something, instead they leave with a sense of accomplishment and inspiration.

 

Erik is a wonderful teacher—he's encouraging and informative, and his love of the music shines through.

 

Erik is a wonderful teacher and couldn’t recommend him more. He shares from a wealth of experience and skillfulness, and at the same time is patient and encouraging with rank beginners. Communicating his own enthusiasm, sense of humor and community spirit, Erik is extraordinarily generous in his teaching and time—for instance, sending out summaries and notes of what was covered after each class, staying afterwards to answer questions, offering practice sessions, and inviting everyone at whatever level to participate in the community band that plays for local contra dances.

 

The Fiddling Repertoire, and Beginning Fiddle classes taught by Erik Hoffman at the Freight are terrific and very affordable. Erik is knowledgeable in and covers a wide range of fiddle music, including Old-time, Irish, Scottish, Scandinavian, French, and more. Erik is happy to tailor courses to the interests of his students. He also includes a fair amount of music theory and teaches students various bowing patterns and embellishments.

 

Erik is an effusively generous teacher. Whether you've never picked up an instrument before in your life or you're looking to step up your game for playing for dances, Erik is willing and able to show you something new, all while maintaining a fun and supportive environment. And he has such a wonderful sense of curiosity and exploration as a musician that you may find yourself on an adventure together!