My name is Michael Beese. I would like to teach intermediate and advanced violinists how to electrify their instruments and play modern and classical styles.
Background Throughout the history of modern music including blues, jazz, country and rock music, the electric guitar has evolved in many ways to do things that a violin does naturally. One of the most famous electric guitars is the Fender Stratocaster. Even though it was not named for the famous Stradivarius violin many of its popular features such as the whammy bar and sustain switches were added to enable guitarists to bend and sustain notes as can be done naturally on the violin. The violin has no frets and you can bend notes by simply sliding your finger up and down the string or by rocking your hand to get a smooth vibrato. The violin bow sustains notes naturally without need of a switch or pedal. Back in the early 80’s a couple of classical violinists made an investment in a company called Zeta. Their goal was to develop an electric violin with a great tone that could be heard well even when played outdoors with a full symphony orchestra. The instrument pictured to the left was designed and custom made to look like a 1959 Fender Stratocaster. So the concept has come full circle.
What you will learn I teach a core curriculum that is possible to learn in a short amount of time. You may decide after that point to branch off and invent your own style or to continue on and learn techniques that take more time to master. Many of the techniques can be practiced on a regular violin. I first teach you how to electrify your violin inexpensively without modifying or damaging your instrument. You will learn how to set up your equipment so that both you and the audience can hear you well. You’ll be able to play a fugue with yourself using echoes. You will learn how to use echoes to play between your notes and multiply your tempo. This technique is used in the Echo Double Timing sample. You will learn rock and blues riffs, chord structure, arrangement, the pentatonic mode, and how to play a jaw dropping rock solo that will blow away everybody at an open mic night. You will learn how to play a fast jazz bee-bop solo. You will learn how to back up other musicians and play by ear. You will learn how to start a solo, when to end a solo, when to play backup and when to be silent. You will learn phrasing for rock and jazz. You will learn how to get the “crunch tone” either manually or electronically or both. You will learn about amplifier tones. You will learn about pitch modulation effects such as the chorus, the phaser and the flanger. You will learn how to use reverb so that you can sound like you are playing in a large cathedral or in a small room. You will learn how to adjust your tone using band pass equalizers and parametric equalizers.
Listen to these samples to hear how it sounds when it's all put together. If you are using an Internet Explorer broswer click here
Prerequisites You must have basic violin playing skills. All that means is that you are comfortable playing in different positions and that your bowing tone is consistent. Most violinists achieve this level in 2-3 years. My violin techniques are designed to complement classical violin techniques, and it’s always good to have a solid base to build on.
About Me I have a bachelors degree in physics from Stanford University, so physics may come up in some of the lessons. I am a software engineer during the day. I enjoy developing cell phone games for Glu Mobile, Inc. I’ve been playing violin since I was 4 years old. I was classically trained up until I was 16 years old, and I continued to play classical music at the collegiate level. I played with the UCLA Jazz Orchestra as well as the Stanford Symphony. I also have various album credits. I have played with rock guitarist Ronny Montrose, T Lavitz of the Dixie Dreggs, Vince Welnick (the Grateful Dead’s last keyboardist) and other members of the Tubes, Joe Satriani and a lot of local Bay Area bands. I have done sound tracks for film and video.