JuddTaylor
11-07-2005, 11:46 AM
Are there any other fiddle (or violin) players out there serious about pool? If so, I've got some questions.
[OK: to head off all of the obvious questions that everyone always asks: Yes, a fiddle is the same a violin. The word "fiddle" is really just slang for "violin", and also sometimes denotes a specific style of playing. Moving on...]
The other day, a spectator was watching me warm up (very poorly), and mentioned that I "have no rhythm" in my approach to shots and stroke. I took his advice and tried using a consistent shot approach and stroke routine (the number of practice strokes, speed of back stroke, etc).
After a couple of hours of that I was noticing no improvement, and decided to go back to not thinking about it for a little while for a comparison. All of the sudden my shot making and speed picked right up to normal, and I started to realize that I do have a "rhythm", although unconventional, at best.
I generally approach the ball, adjust my aiming and sighting (and then, maybe my stance), take 1 practice stroke, and then backstroke at exactly the same arm speed I intend to hit the ball, and finally stroke through the ball.
As a fiddle player for about 13 years now, I've done an enormous amount of development and practice doing a pretty similar motion with my right arm. That development explains one aspects of my natural rhythm: my backstroke is always the same as my forward stroke (just in reverse), like playing 2 notes in a row.
There are a couple of other oddities in my technique that I can now probably attribute to my fiddle background:
1) my ability to deliver the cue to the ball in a straight line doesn't seem to be affected by my shoulder alignment (so it's still seems fine if I'm not standing as square as I was on the last shot). I'll admit I don't have a really good way to measure this, however. In fiddling, shoulder alignment is a variable in bowing, and you just have to learn to stroke the same way regardless of shoulder joint position. One does that by removing any shoulder joint movement from the bow stroke itself (for example, if I'm playing on the same string, my elbow will not move. To switch to another string, I move my elbow to align my forarm in different plane, and then stroke again without moving the elbow).
2) I deliver the cue in a straight line, with almost no vertical movement of the tip. I do this by bending my wrist forward around the bottom of the pendulum swing, rather than doing this by dropping my elbow at the end of the swing (like Allison fisher). My elbow is usually fixed. I have not noticed any other players doing anything with their wrists during their strokes. [Maybe this has something to do with #1, since I'm not moving my shoulder most strokes...].
3) My grip tension varies, but is mostly very lose (even to the point of cue sliding around occasionally).
As interesting as those may be (or not), I'm still having some problems with my game that I suspect are related to technique. I don't seem to make that many speed errors, although my position planning could use some help. I still have a lot of trouble making balls, however. In fact this is my #1 problem, making everything else that is good about my game useless (except for safeties).
Even stranger, if I warm up playing straight pool, I can pocket balls great for a while, but as I start to spend more time away from the table (like if I'm playing 9ball), I start missing again. Since I'm not "warm" after being away from the table, I'm thinking this is pointing to a technique problem... but maybe it's just aim?
So now I'm wondering a couple of things:
Are any of these things something I should try to inhibit while playing pool (ie. break the habit, and adopt a more conventional technique)?
Has anyone else tried a fixed elbow/moving wrist stroke technique?
Are there any other fiddle (aka violin, or other bowed instrument) players out there who have noticed similar things in their technique?
Thanks,
Judd
[OK: to head off all of the obvious questions that everyone always asks: Yes, a fiddle is the same a violin. The word "fiddle" is really just slang for "violin", and also sometimes denotes a specific style of playing. Moving on...]
The other day, a spectator was watching me warm up (very poorly), and mentioned that I "have no rhythm" in my approach to shots and stroke. I took his advice and tried using a consistent shot approach and stroke routine (the number of practice strokes, speed of back stroke, etc).
After a couple of hours of that I was noticing no improvement, and decided to go back to not thinking about it for a little while for a comparison. All of the sudden my shot making and speed picked right up to normal, and I started to realize that I do have a "rhythm", although unconventional, at best.
I generally approach the ball, adjust my aiming and sighting (and then, maybe my stance), take 1 practice stroke, and then backstroke at exactly the same arm speed I intend to hit the ball, and finally stroke through the ball.
As a fiddle player for about 13 years now, I've done an enormous amount of development and practice doing a pretty similar motion with my right arm. That development explains one aspects of my natural rhythm: my backstroke is always the same as my forward stroke (just in reverse), like playing 2 notes in a row.
There are a couple of other oddities in my technique that I can now probably attribute to my fiddle background:
1) my ability to deliver the cue to the ball in a straight line doesn't seem to be affected by my shoulder alignment (so it's still seems fine if I'm not standing as square as I was on the last shot). I'll admit I don't have a really good way to measure this, however. In fiddling, shoulder alignment is a variable in bowing, and you just have to learn to stroke the same way regardless of shoulder joint position. One does that by removing any shoulder joint movement from the bow stroke itself (for example, if I'm playing on the same string, my elbow will not move. To switch to another string, I move my elbow to align my forarm in different plane, and then stroke again without moving the elbow).
2) I deliver the cue in a straight line, with almost no vertical movement of the tip. I do this by bending my wrist forward around the bottom of the pendulum swing, rather than doing this by dropping my elbow at the end of the swing (like Allison fisher). My elbow is usually fixed. I have not noticed any other players doing anything with their wrists during their strokes. [Maybe this has something to do with #1, since I'm not moving my shoulder most strokes...].
3) My grip tension varies, but is mostly very lose (even to the point of cue sliding around occasionally).
As interesting as those may be (or not), I'm still having some problems with my game that I suspect are related to technique. I don't seem to make that many speed errors, although my position planning could use some help. I still have a lot of trouble making balls, however. In fact this is my #1 problem, making everything else that is good about my game useless (except for safeties).
Even stranger, if I warm up playing straight pool, I can pocket balls great for a while, but as I start to spend more time away from the table (like if I'm playing 9ball), I start missing again. Since I'm not "warm" after being away from the table, I'm thinking this is pointing to a technique problem... but maybe it's just aim?
So now I'm wondering a couple of things:
Are any of these things something I should try to inhibit while playing pool (ie. break the habit, and adopt a more conventional technique)?
Has anyone else tried a fixed elbow/moving wrist stroke technique?
Are there any other fiddle (aka violin, or other bowed instrument) players out there who have noticed similar things in their technique?
Thanks,
Judd