Voice | Beth Chrisman | All Levels | Period 3 | Week 1 (July 6-11, 2025)
In this class, we will cover the history and songs of one of country music’s legendary female artists. Melba Montgomery is known to many as a duet partner of other stars – George Jones, Gene Pitney, and Charlie Louvin. But Melba more than held her own as a solo performer and was a working songwriter for multiple decades. We will sing some of Melba’s most famous duets, as well as dig into her solo singing style and phrasing. We will spend time with songs she penned for major stars of the 60s and 70s (Norma Jean, Eddy Arnold, Bobby Bare, Connie Smith) and follow her career as she brought classic honky-tonk to more modern stars (Terri Clark, Sara Evans, Randy Travis, George Strait).
Feel free to bring a guitar, your voice, and your favorite Melba song to share with the class!
About the Instructor
Though she started out her musical life studying classical violin, Beth Chrisman fell in love with roots music early on. She began playing fiddle music and learning to improvise and sing through the bluegrass & Old-Time scene in her home state of Alaska. After moving to Austin, Texas in 2006, Chrisman quickly absorbed western swing and honkytonk styles into her musical identity. Both at home and on the road, she has joined a variety artists on the stage and the studio including Bobby Bare, JP Harris, Alice Gerrard, Willi Carlisle, Zoe Muth, and John C. Reilly. Best known for her frequent fiddle and harmony work with James Hand, Brennen Leigh, and the Carper Family, Chrisman is now fronting her own honkytonk band – Missy Beth & the Morning Afters, and is one half of roots duo Lost Patterns.