Dan Grotewohl - Bear in the Greengrass

Why do I teach?  No matter the subject, whether it is cross-country skiing (an old passion), Chinese Medicine or bodywork (ongoing passions), writing (a dream lacking complete talent) or fiddle (admittedly, a relationship fraught with love and hate), I tend to pour my heart and soul into teaching.  I will confess to feeling less than inspired when I am asked to teach a less than enthusiastic student.  My job (from my perspective at least) as teacher  is not to motivate a player.  Every player is challenged and tested to generate that part of it on their own, and frankly, if a student doesn't have the motivation I'm not a good choice as teacher.  That being said, I will work with the indifferent student because sometimes it takes time and experience before the student catches the spirit of the music and the fiddle.  The real heart of fiddle playing comes from deep within; from your heart and my heart.  I encourage individuality because fiddling is individual, and the tradition is based in expressing one's emotions (what is in one's soul).  So there you have it, my simple answer...sort of.

Web fiddle lessons!  After deliberating for a couple years, I've decided to finally provide live webcam lessons.  Currently, I have a number of students in Kansas who have dedicated themselves to learning to play the fiddle, and rather than just moving away and saying farewell, we will continue with the lessons following a summer break.  All it takes is high speed internet, a webcam (which is already built into many computers), and the free service called Skype.  The students and I will still meet every week, only now the student can relax at home rather than worrying about driving, traffic congestion, or foul weather.  This means a savings on commute time, gas expense, and wear-n-tear on the car.  I can't say online lessons are any environmentally greener than driving because they both consume energy in one form or another, but that's another topic.

So, in September 2009, the webcam lessons will commence.  If you're in another state and can't find a good fiddle teacher, email me and we'll go from there.  Of course, I'll still offer lessons out of my home in Charlotte, North Carolina for the local students.

Look forward to hearing from you.