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Creative Jam Skills

with Lauren Rioux and Brittany Haas

 
 

About This Course

 
Learn techniques to take a new tune or an old tune you love to the next step—with bowing and phrasing ideas, chordal and rhythmic exploration, and soloing practice.
 
 
Try a Sample Lesson
 

There are a number of different ways to play the chords to “Ookpik Waltz.” In this video, Lauren and Brittany walk you through the chord progression they like and give you options for double stops for each chord. They also talk about bow pulsing and the different rhythms they use.

 
 
 

Meet the Instructor

Lauren Rioux and Brittany Haas
 
Lauren Rioux and Brittany Haas
 
Lauren Rioux is perhaps most well-known for her online string education site JamwithLauren.com, which provides students with an innovative curriculum, gorgeous learning materials, and her inimitable teaching style. Brittany Haas is widely regarded as one of the most influential fiddlers of her generation. She has recorded and performed with Steve Martin, David Rawlings, Punch Brothers, and Béla Fleck; was a member of the house band for Live From Here; and was the Americana Music Association’s 2020 Instrumentalist of the Year. Lauren and Brittany became close friends in 2005 at the Mark O’Connor Fiddle Camp, and both cut their stringband teeth playing second fiddle in Darol Anger’s Republic of Strings. They have toured together as a duo, produced solo albums for each other, and continue to collaborate on various teaching projects.
 
 
 

Peghead Play-Along Tracks

 
Peghead Nation is creating a library of accompaniment videos (and downloadable MP3s) for songs and tunes that are taught on the site, classics that you'll find at many jams and picking parties. As a subscriber, you have access to this library and can use the tracks to practice playing tunes and songs at a slow or medium tempo with guitar accompaniment. New songs will be added regularly.
 
 
Creative Jam Skills Source Material

Check out these songs featured in the Creative Jam Skills course.


The Creative Jam Skills Subscription Includes:
  • Six 90-minute lessons exploring Brittany and Lauren’s approach to learning and jamming on fiddle melodies, with backup techniques and soloing ideas
  • A guided approach to taking tunes you love to the next step, with chordal and rhythmic exploration, bowing and phrasing ideas, and soloing practice
  • High-quality video recordings of each session
  • Notation for each tune
 
 
$20/Month For One Course
 
Additional courses only $10/month each!   •   Save 20% with an annual subscription
 
 
Get started now!
Use promo code at checkout
and get your first month free or $20 off an annual subscription.
 
 

Learn new tunes as a vehicle for upping your game as a melody player, backup player, and improviser. You'll explore different avenues for expressing yourself as an instrumentalist and work on your skill set as a musical collaborator. This workshop series is designed for intermediate to advanced level players who want to work on their jamming and improvising skills. It will be taught primarily on fiddle but can be helpful for players on any instrument.

 
 
Creative Jam Skills Course Outline
 
Welcome to Creative Jam Skills
 

Lauren and Brittany talk about their Creative Jam Skills course.

 
Session 1: “Hosses in the Canebreak”
 

In the first session of Creative Jam Skills, Brittany and Lauren teach the old-time fiddle tune “Hosses in the Canebreak.” They work through the melody, and then teach you chord progressions—not just what the chords are, but how the chords function and how to play them on your instrument. They also provide an arrangement for how to play great back up in a jam, and then go over variations of the melody and touch upon ideas for soloing.

 
Session 2: “Ookpik Waltz”
 

This session builds on the concepts from the first session, continuing in the key of G. The foundation tune for this session is “Ookpik Waltz” by Canadian fiddler Frankie Rodgers. There are lots of great versions of this tune with slightly different melodies and chord possibilities. Lauren and Brittany lead you through their favorite versions and help you work on finding chord voicings on your instrument and backup techniques for adding rhythm to the chords. They also talk about soloing on “Ookpik Waltz.”

 
Session 3: “Mississippi Sawyer”
 

For the third class Lauren and Brittany move to the key of D and focus on improvising and creating variations over the melody. They use the popular fiddle tune “Mississippi Sawyer” as a starting point and continue to work on creative and inspiring back up.

 
Session 4: “Blue Grass Stomp”
 

For the fourth class in Creative Jam Skills, Brittany and Lauren stay in D, working on “Blue Grass Stomp,” a tune written by Bill Monroe and first recorded in 1949. This tune is in the 12-bar blues form, which is a great vehicle for furthering your improvisation work! In addition to talking about the scales used in the blues and learning the melody to “Blue Grass Stomp,” you’ll also learn how to chop.

 
Session 5: “Milk Cow Blues”
 

For the fifth session of Creative Jam Skills, Lauren and Brittany move to the key of A, continuing their previous work on the blues form with the western swing classic “Milk Cow Blues.” You’ll learn the melody and chords in the key of A and continue working on backup and chopping.

 
Session 6: “Cousin Sally Brown”
 

For the final session of Creative Jam Skills, Lauren and Brittany work on Marcus Martin’s “Cousin Sally Brown,” an old-time tune in the key of A minor with an extra measure in the second part.

 
 
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spotify icon facebook icon instagram icon twitter icon youtube icon newsletter icon
    ● Courses
    ● Live Workshops
    ● Instructors
    ● Sample Lessons
    ● Notation Guide
    ● For Beginners
 
 
    ● Vintage Vault
    ● New Gear
    ● Fine Lutherie
 
 
    ● Workshops
    ● Advice
    ● Repertoire
 
 
    ● Recordings
    ● Events
    ● Breaking News
 
 
    ● In The Studio
    ● Live Onstage
    ● Backroom
 
 
    ● New Products
    ● Inside Look
    ● Performances
    ● Partner Pages
 
Peghead Nation logo
 
© Copyright 2024 PegheadNation.com