Charlie Walden's Fiddlin' Tip #3

Tip #3   Emulate a Great Player

One of the best things I ever did to improve my playing was to attempt to emulate great players.  By emulate I mean try to become a dead ringer copy.  During some point in developing my playing I attempted to emulate great fiddlers I had access to directly like Cyril Stinnett, Pete McMahan and Taylor McBaine. On the recorded side at various times I listened to everything I could from Kenny Baker, Blaine Sprouse, Johnny Gimble, Tommy Jackson and more -- all players I admired.  

The idea is to attempt to learn a majority of the repertoire of the player you choose and in so doing all the elements of style you can figure out.  In other words, don't just learn the tune but try to play it exactly as they do.  And don't worry about becoming a clone (wait a minute, who the heck wouldn't want to sound like Kenny Baker). Your own approach will emerge in time.