Learn Improvisation on Violin with Zach Brock & Snarky Puppy

Learn how to improvise on the violin and other string instruments with Zach Brock.

Zach is a Grammy Award-winning violinist and composer, heralded as "the pre-eminent improvising violinist of his generation." He is steeped in the traditions of jazz, classical, world, and popular music, and has found new ways to fuse them while on tour with the likes of Snarky Puppy and Stanley Clarke.

In these online violin lessons, Zach gives string players a toolkit to take their playing beyond the traditional territory of strings. He shares the techniques and habits that got him off the page and led him to start experimenting on violin, as well as the practice hacks and exercises he now uses to stay sharp on the road. The lessons take you quickly from the very basics of improvisation to mastering modes and gaining fluency. Zach discusses what you can learn from past masters like Stephane Grappelli, Stuff Smith, and Zbigniew Seifert, as well as current innovators such as Christian Howes and Casey Driessen. He deconstructs techniques such as 'the chop' and explains how to attain 'natural distortion' on your instrument, and he covers the use of electronic effects with stringed instruments.

Everything Zach teaches builds on your classical or folk-fiddle technique rather than replacing it. By the end of the course, you will hear your violin, viola or cello as an instrument with a whole new range of musical possibilities to explore.

Once you are done here, be sure to check out the other violin courses we offer at MusicGurus.