Introduction to Jazz Violin Playing

Hi, I'm Chris Haig, and I'm going to be showing you some of the basics of jazz violin playing. This series of video lessons is based on the first half of my book, Exploring Jazz Violin, published by Schott.

Course Overview

We're going to be covering topics such as:

• Swing
• Bowing
• Playing a "head" or melody
• Developing the melody using riffs or licks
• Using major, pentatonic, and blues scales

I will also be referring to specific artists, the pioneers of jazz violin, such as:

• Stefan Grappelli
• Stuff Smith
• Jean-Luc Ponty

Assumptions

I'm going to assume that you know a small amount of classical theory but not jazz theory.

Resources

We're going to use jazz melodies designed to demonstrate particular ideas. You can use the backing tracks to practice the tunes themselves or to try out other ideas and improvisations.

Recommended Backing

• Band in a Box (for your computer)
• iReal Pro (a cheaper alternative for your phone)

With both of these, you can input chord sequences or download chord sequences to jazz standards. Without backing, you're never going to make much progress.

Developing Your Repertoire

As soon as you can, start developing a repertoire of standards, jazz standards that other jazz musicians will know. These will include tunes like:

• Autumn Leaves
• Diner Lady
• Be Good
• Honeysuckle Rose

Encourage Creativity

Never be afraid to try out your own ideas or develop the ideas that I give you. Extend and elaborate on what you learn from these videos. Jazz is all about freedom and self-expression, not just slavish copying of other musicians.

Importance of Listening

Finally, it's vitally important that you listen to as many jazz violin recordings as you can. They provide inspiration and illustrate the language you're trying to learn.

Now let's get down to the course!