Knowing My limits

I began playing instruments in primary school and continued to do so until around the age of eighteen. I only began again in my thirties. I bought a piano first - my favourite instrument to play. The started singing and playing guitar at open mics when I fell into running a pub. And eventually picked back up a vioin. It was never an instrument I’d particulary enjoyed or been skilled at, however when picking it up as an adult with a goal of a career in music, I committed myself to practice like never before. However, whilst I keep reminding myself that my playing is better than the vast majority of the population making it acceptable to perform to a certain extent, it doesn’t match the standard that I expect for myself vocally.

Before recording began, I’d pretty much settled on asking a more skilled player to take over to ensure that the songs reached their potential. However, after discussing with my producer, we decided we’d give it a try and see how far we got. We tried a couple of simpler tracks which were ok but after moving on to the most challenging one, we decided that the best thing was to get in a professional. I’d fully made my peace with it before the recording started - I’m a singer first and always will be - but I also made the decision to hand over fiddle for live folk performances too. It’s a weight off in some ways and allows me to fully focus on what matters most, but it’s also still a little sad because I would love to be virtuoso! Time to go back to basics and hammer my technique.

I will share more about the wonderful player who is joining us soon, but I will say she is joining us at Fishguard Folk Festival later this month.