Fiddle | Beth Chrisman | Beginning | Period 2 | Week 1 (July 7-12, 2024)
Long before steel guitars and telecasters, the fiddle was the heart of country music. Our class will focus on learning the fiddle’s role in a country band, and learn how to begin improvising solos and fills. We will work on picking up melodies to base solos upon, playing tasteful fills and basic intros/outros, and discuss how to play well with others in a band setting. Students should come to class with their fiddle tuned, bow rosined, an audio recording device, and a favorite Classic Country recording in mind. This class is geared toward beginning and intermediate fiddlers.
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.