Violin Teaching and Learning Resources

Tips for Learning to Improvise on the Violin

Here is a free downloadable resource for violinists who want to get started improvising and playing gypsy jazz. These songs are playable for anyone at a Suzuki book 2-3 level.
The sheet music for these five songs included are: 

1. Ou es tu, mon amour?

2. After You've Gone

3. Blue Skies

4. La Vie En Rose

5. Somewhere over the Rainbow
   
   This packet also includes sheet music for the major or minor pentatonic scale for each tune ( A minor pentatonic, G Major pentatonic, C Major pentatonic, C Major blues scale, Eb Major pentatonic scale)

• Each tune has an example video, a backing track, a lead sheet, then spells out the petnatonic scale that should be used to improvise over the backing track.

• When you're learning to improvise on the violin, just stick to the pentatonic scale listed, and don't worry about hitting individual chord progressions. 

• Play the pentatonic scales up and down while listening to the backing track.

• You can also play the lead sheet as written, then the next time, just add one extra note in per measure, or leave one note out. Try playing it an octave higher or lower. Then try to decorate or connect phrases using notes from the pentatonic scales.

• Finally, you can start out playing from the lead sheet for a couple of measures, then just  focus on playing notes within the pentatonic scales listed. 

• Try to make a couple of rhythmic or melodic ideas that you repeat several times to make your improvisation a memorable story!
  
  Pro Tip... Listen to Stephane Grapelli and Django Reinhardt! They are some of the most famous gypsy jazz musicians, and you'll learn so much of the language of gypsy jazz just by listening to their music.

Have you ever listened to bluegrass fiddle tunes and wondered why it sounds so different than violin does in classical music? One of the most important reasons is that fiddlers use patterned bowings called shuffles.

This Free downloadable PDF has written out sheet music of the 6 most common fiddle shuffle bowing patterns written over a two octave G pentatonic scale.

The Nashville shuffle is the most common pattern, and is often played to 'kick off' a tune. It creates an accent on 1 and 3. Old Joe Clarke is one of many tunes that uses the Nashville Shuffle.

These patterns often create polyrhythms over the tune since the bow is playing one accented rhythm while the fingers are playing another.

The Georgia shuffle creates a driving accent on beats 2 and 4. Cherokee Shuffle is a famous tune that is well known for using this bowing pattern. It's an important pattern to get-to-know, but it can be monotonous and too driving if overdone. So, it's nice to alternate it with the middle shuffle or the over the bar shuffle to give listeners a break.

 The Middle Shuffle  creates an accent only on beat 2, and the middle of the bar is smoothly slurred together. It's also known as the mid-west shuffle, and this can be heard in Kenny Baker's playing frequently. Ashland Breakdown uses this bowing pattern.

The  over the bar shuffle creates an accent on beat 4 only. It can be heard in Cumberland Gap and Ground Speed. 

One of my personal favorites is the syncopated shuffle. There is an accent on 1, the & of 2 and 4. It's prominent in old-time fiddle music, such as the Sugar Foot Rag.

The Smooth shuffle and the 3 3 2 Shuffle are just variations of the syncopated shuffle. The accent is on 1 & of 2 and 4. I like to use a variety of these in my playing to mix it up, while still keeping this accent pattern. 

 
These different  shuffle bowing patterns, and the polyrhythms they create over melodies, decorated with double stops (playing two strings at a time) and slides, are one of the  main reasons that fiddling sounds so different than violin playing.

 
This free downloadable PDF goes through a two octave G pentatonic scale with all of the most frequently used fiddle shuffle bowings. Have fun learning them, and if you practice them a lot, these patterns will come out in your improvising. Try adding a double stop on the accented note to get even more of a fiddle sound!

Tips for Learning to Improvise on the Violin

Here is a free downloadable resource for violinists who want to get started improvising and playing gypsy jazz. These songs are playable for anyone at a Suzuki book 2-3 level.
The sheet music for these five songs included are: 

1. Ou es tu, mon amour?

2. After You've Gone

3. Blue Skies

4. La Vie En Rose

5. Somewhere over the Rainbow
   
   This packet also includes sheet music for the major or minor pentatonic scale for each tune ( A minor pentatonic, G Major pentatonic, C Major pentatonic, C Major blues scale, Eb Major pentatonic scale)

• Each tune has an example video, a backing track, a lead sheet, then spells out the petnatonic scale that should be used to improvise over the backing track.

• When you're learning to improvise on the violin, just stick to the pentatonic scale listed, and don't worry about hitting individual chord progressions. 

• Play the pentatonic scales up and down while listening to the backing track.

• You can also play the lead sheet as written, then the next time, just add one extra note in per measure, or leave one note out. Try playing it an octave higher or lower. Then try to decorate or connect phrases using notes from the pentatonic scales.

• Finally, you can start out playing from the lead sheet for a couple of measures, then just  focus on playing notes within the pentatonic scales listed. 

• Try to make a couple of rhythmic or melodic ideas that you repeat several times to make your improvisation a memorable story!
  
  Pro Tip... Listen to Stephane Grapelli and Django Reinhardt! They are some of the most famous gypsy jazz musicians, and you'll learn so much of the language of gypsy jazz just by listening to their music.