String Players: Are you interested in becoming a more creative, versatile musician or teacher?
✔️ Gain comfort with improvisation & contemporary styles
✔️ Develop musical confidence & independence
✔️ Attract more diverse projects & collaborations
✔️ Access to 200+ online videos & materials
✔️ Access to all my premium courses (details below)
✔️ Downloads of all literature & backing tracks
JOIN TODAY and get started on your journey
Pragmatic and Actionable Approach to Improvisation
I‘ve tried a few approaches to learn improvisation on violin but Christian’s approach was by far the most pragmatic and immediately actionable, without being reductionist.
Recording with a Loop Pedal by the 6th Lesson
Rachel and I learned so much practicing through the modules. I started with no cello improv skills beyond 2 pentatonic scales and by the 6th lesson I was recording videos for YouTube with a looper and trying his techniques in my own teaching.
24/7 Access to all premium courses mentioned on this page
Free, introductory 30-minute private lesson for first-time registrants
Digital Books to download and keep forever including:
- Easy Tonal Improvisation Workbook
- Jazz Scales for VIolin, Viola, and Cello
- Jazz Arpeggios for Violin, Viola, and Cello
- The Chromatic Universe (Chromatic Etudes and Mini-Pieces)
- Easy Chords for Violin, VIola and Cello
- The Violin Harmony Handbook
- Quartal Etudes (Fourths)
Monthly review or video exchange
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Act now to access my biggest course to date, “Playing Without A Net” as well as ALL premium courses below on this page.
“the only course I know that teaches you to accompany yourself with (bowed string) instruments, applied beyond classical music with elements for the complete understanding of musical activity (harmony, rhythm, melody, etc.)“
Imagine being able to create your own works like this:
Or this:
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What to Expect from the new course, “Playing Without a Net”
You’ll get Hours of sequential video training w/ PDFs teaching you how to improvise and arrange in:
-Solo, Duo, Trio, Quartet
–classical, latin, jazz, pop, folk, R&B, et al
-bass, inner voices, melody, and rhythm
-How to arrange on the fly to make unaccompanied playing sound full
You’ll Also Get:
-Foundational exercises to ingrain harmonic concepts in your fingers quickly
-The 70-page Violin Harmony Handbook- “an incredible resource; really well thought-out, lot’s of great ideas & exercises.”
-fundamental approach to harmony for noobs
-Complex voicings and tricks for super advanced
-Rhythmic approach for different styles in duo, trio, and quartet
-three extended clinics that you can play along with.“it’s powerful that you were able to take a bunch of high school students, and take them as far as you did. So, anyone can learn this stuff.”
Here’s a final example:
Comments from the teachers and players who took the course:
-“A very hands-on method to help musicians who might have a fear of improvising..”
-“It showed me that unaccompanied playing is attainable- it’s comforting to have a great teacher organize the pieces for me.”
-“I see now that there is a path and logic to what seems to be totally talent-driven improvisation.”
-“Brilliant. Heartfelt and honest.”
This is just my latest course. You’ll get so much more, including:
Free Downloads
Ultimate Scale Resource– Think, “Flesch, Galamian, and Kreutzer for contemporary players“. Scales are provided in extended range for violin, viola, and cello in all twelve keys. The forward explains how to optimize scale practice to develop harmonic fluency.
(Sells normally for $19.95)
Ultimate Arpeggio Resource: All commonly used seventh chords are provided in all inversions for violin, cello, and viola, in all keys. The extensive forward outlines how to use this book to expand your harmonic vocabulary and improvise with greater comfort and ease.
(Sells normally for $19.95)
The 70-page Violin Harmony Handbook is packed with practice exercises, a chord glossary, and solo transcriptions. It’s like Paganini for improvisers.
(Sells normally for $29.95)
Begin creating now regardless of your current level. Gain concrete steps to help you develop a personal sound. Develop a clear value system for improvisation in any setting.
For teachers! This series focuses on ways to teach improvisation to students of all ages.
Concepts discussed in the handbook above are demonstrated in this series of videos.
Great for all levels of classically trained players with basic reading skills. Using the “chord stacks” diagram, you’ll glide through chord progressions, literally connecting the dots to form coherent melodies, accompaniments, or arrangements in many styles. Also great for making your own Youtube covers, looping, arranging your parts for a band, and much more.
A four-part series related to my arrangement of Bach’s Prelude No. 1 in G Major. Use a loop pedal to create layers of improvisations. Gain insights into odd time signatures and structuring your improvisation with more variety.
If you want to sound “less classical-sounding”, this will help you play more authentically within Blues-related idioms including Pop, Rock, R and B, Jazz, Gospel, or Hip Hop. Learn to develop harmonic tension and release by combining two blues scales (most people miss out on this!)
The Diminished scale is an essential sonic color in modern jazz. One of the most magical scales, you’ll get step by step exercises to help you integrate this Modern Jazz vernacular into your playing.
This course will help you play fast streams of 8th notes over jazz standards, sound authentic within the Jazz lexicon, and play over 2-5-1 progressions easily. The secrets of the bebop scale, known to seasoned jazz musicians, are laid out here step by step for violinists, violists, and cellists.
The melodic minor scale is one of the essential tools used by expert jazz players to express modern jazz vernacular, and in this series you’ll quickly understand how to add this sound to your vocabulary.
