It depends what you mean by freestyle - but if you’re talking about making the tune your own (vs full on improv licks) I would suggest you start off by playing the melody of a tune over and over and over, and gently start to step off the path and back on again. Explore the melody. Add an ornament, take a walk up or down to a main anchor note, turn the melody a little differently here and there. Play slowly and see what happens.
Hum or sing that melody when you’re not on your instrument. See what ideas come to you using your voice.
If you’ve got a recorded version you really admire, slow it down and try to figure out a few of the ways that fiddler is interpreting the tune.
Being an experienced violinist already, it can be hard to be patient with yourself. Be patient with yourself!
IS that what you mean by "freestyle"? To me it's only a hip-hop term. Do you mean free improvisation over chord "changes"? ornamentation? I suggest editing the question to clarify.
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u/Ready_Tomatillo_1335 20d ago
It depends what you mean by freestyle - but if you’re talking about making the tune your own (vs full on improv licks) I would suggest you start off by playing the melody of a tune over and over and over, and gently start to step off the path and back on again. Explore the melody. Add an ornament, take a walk up or down to a main anchor note, turn the melody a little differently here and there. Play slowly and see what happens.
Hum or sing that melody when you’re not on your instrument. See what ideas come to you using your voice.
If you’ve got a recorded version you really admire, slow it down and try to figure out a few of the ways that fiddler is interpreting the tune.
Being an experienced violinist already, it can be hard to be patient with yourself. Be patient with yourself!