Easy Tonal Improvisation: Multimedia Series for Musicians

A step by step guide helping string players (classical or fiddle trained) to apply harmony on your instrument so you can take solos, make covers, arrange, create your own accompaniment parts, and/or confidently join any jam.

Most string players struggle to hear and apply harmony.

We improvise inconsistently if at all.

Since we know how to play our instrument, we’re led to assume wrongly:

“If I just listen and try harder, I’ll get it (the chords).”

That never worked for me. After 5-10 years of banging my head against the wall, trying to play tunes by ear, I still couldn’t reliably find the harmony well enough to be able to accompany others, memorize the chord progression, or play consistently well in an improvising situation.

I remained inconsistent until I changed my approach.

Busting the Myth of “Having a Good Ear”

Like most Suzuki kids, I was proud of my ability to learn melodies by ear.

I didn’t realize how limited my ears were until I joined a rock band in high school and discovered that I could not recognize:

notes below the register of the violin
chords
melodies that were different than classical

When I combined listening with reading, my ears developed faster.

I had just needed to know what to listen to and look for.

How to Visualize Harmony on a String Instrument:

I struggled to apply harmony on the violin fingerboard.

Then I discovered that visualizing it on paper could speed up the process, like training wheels on a bike.

I developed a visual aid for this, like a diagram.

The diagram shows all the points of connection in the chord progressions. By reading along with it, and applying a few exercises, you’ll never look at harmony the same way again.

This is all in my course, “Easy Tonal Improvisation”.

Congratulations- you’ve found my most popular course! It’s a game-changer because it shows an easy way to apply harmony.

It’s the resource I wish that I had at 16, when I first decided to explore beyond my classical roots.

It gives string players an easy avenue into a skill that few classically trained players ever develop- the ability to apply harmony in a practical manner, on the spot. Using a diagram that I call a “chord stack,” you’ll be able to visualize the harmony on paper, connecting theory and sound quicker by combining listening and reading.

You’ll be able to dive right in- no previous improvising experience necessary.