Fiddle or Violin. Is there a difference? The actual instrument is exactly the same. It’s the music that differs. Fiddlers play bluegrass or Celtic, for example. Violinists play classic music, such as Mozart or Vivaldi. Learn all this and more from passionate music teacher Pamela Margon. She has made Olympia her home since 2001 and credits the artisan community here for her business, OlyFiddle.
“The artistic community and the support and prioritization of small and local businesses,” shares Pamela on why she loves Thurston County. “I don’t think I would’ve ever dreamed of starting my own business, much less one related to the arts, if I hadn’t lived in Olympia.”
Fiddling Around: Olympia Music Teachers Grassroots
Pamela credits “Sesame Street” for sparking her interest in the violin. She remembers watching an episode with Itzhak Perlman. In the episode, he performed a complicated piece on his violin and then a little girl played a simpler piece on her violin. “I remember as a kid being much more captivated by her than Perlman. She was my age and performing magic, and I didn’t even know who Perlman was, anyway,” Pamela laughs.
Although Pamela started playing the violin when she was 7, she says lack of school programs meant she couldn’t play elementary through middle school. “I played classical music in high school and college,” she shares. “When I graduated from Evergreen, I met some people who were interested in Bluegrass music and that’s where my love for fiddle was born.”
Interestingly, she says she didn’t really have a choice between fiddle and violin when she was younger, saying she didn’t even know what fiddle music was back them. “I think music exposure and access really depends on the environment you are raised in, geographic location, what kind of music your family listens to, whether your school has a music program, etc.,” she explains. “Also, it’s just been in the last 20 years or so that the study of fiddle has become recognized as a way to be ‘formally trained’ as a musician (i.e. books and curriculum solely devoted to fiddle music and technique, fiddle-specific instruction, and at the highest level, conservatories that offer degrees in fiddle performance and folk music.) That, coupled with the internet, makes the music much more accessible to a larger audience. Incidentally, one of the largest fiddle festivals in North America, Fiddle Tunes in Port Townsend, has been running since the late ‘70s and was only a few hours from my home growing up. If only I had known!”
But Pamela fell in love with the violin regardless. “I love the versatility of the instrument,” she says. “it’s so much like the human voice and I’m a frustrated singer, so playing the violin is the way I sing. You can play with any style of music as an accompanist and make the music sound better, or it can also be a great solo/lead instrument.”
Fiddle and Violin Lessons in Olympia
Since 2009, Pamela has taught fiddle and violin lessons in Olympia for ages 8 and over – including adults – and any skill level, even those who have never picked up an instrument. “Some of my best students are adults with no prior music experience who are gardeners or knitters or lawyers,” Pamela says. You don’t even need to read music! In fact, fiddle players often do not use music to play, rather play by ear she says. Though Pamela does think reading music is important for all musicians – maybe that’s the classic training creeping in – so she does teach her fiddle students to read music as well.
The great thing about OlyFiddle, is you can take music lessons in Olympia, or online through her virtual program. She teaches classic violin, Irish and Celtic fiddle, bluegrass and old time, and Klezmer.
“I’ve found a new love for the instrument through teaching,” Pamela shares. “It’s such a gift to be able to go back to day one over and over again with beginning students, whether they’re children or adults. Sometimes I forget what it was like to not know how to play, and to see the progression is very rewarding.”
To learn more about lessons and to get signed up, visit the OlyFiddle website. Pamela’s passion will have you fiddling in no time – whether you want to learn how to play songs from “Sleeping Beauty” or get feet tapping to “Molly Malone.”
