A swinging collection of 11 great foot-taping jazz violin solos with piano accompaniment. Selection include Darktown Strutter's Ball; Ballin' the Jack; and St. Louis Blues.

(String). Jazz is one of the biggest challenges a violinist can face, with the thought of improvisation likely to strike fear into the heart of even the best classical player. This book demystifies the process, taking you step by step through everything you need to know about playing jazz violin. The work of players such as Stephane Grappelli, Joe Venuti, Stuff Smith and Jean-Luc Ponty is examined in detail, and styles including gypsy jazz, belop, modal and fusion are explored. Topics covered include: analyzing a chord sequence * bowing * chord symbols * double stopping * harmonics * how to construct your own solo * how to swing * pentatonic, bebop and blues scales * vibrato * and more. An accompanying CD with 65 tracks for listening or play-along is also included.

Beginner Jazz Soloing For Violin teaches a creative method for jazz improvisation that's been road-tested at hundreds of workshops.

Over 25 transcribed solos. Original interviews and tips on improvising from the masters. Plus complete analysis of each solo. Rare historical photos, and an informative discography.

This book/CD set is the first method ever for learning Gypsy Jazz Violin in the style of Stéphane Grappelli. Have you, too, often listened to Grappelli's solos thinking "I wish I could do that, but it is way over my head?" Here is the answer. Simple theory, licks and stylistic lessons point you towards your first authentic Gypsy Jazz improvisations, which you can try out with the swinging guitar-bass playalong CD rhythm section. Then prepare to tackle six classic Stéphane Grappelli solos, annotated and analyzed for your understanding. to grasp the finesses of sound and timing, there are many sample licks and solos by Tim Kliphuis on the CD as well. It is assumed the student reads music and has a basic command of the instrument.•

Learn to improvise in the Gypsy Jazz violin style even if you have never improvised before. the style is closely associated with French jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli, who played with Gypsy jazz guitar player Django Reinhardt. Each lesson in the book covers specific key aspects of the Gypsy jazz violin style. the techniques are presented sequentially and the underlying music theory is introduced on a "need to know" basis.Getting Into Gypsy Jazz Violin includes charts of classic swing tunes such as Avalon, the Sheik of Araby & After You've Gone and includes a CD featuring authentic accompaniment tracks and model violin performances. Because the Gypsy jazz violin style maintains common elements of traditional classical violin techniques such as vibrato and shifting, the book is a perfect vehicle for the classical violinist to learn to improvise without having to change their general approach to the instrument.•

"A wonderful book. Sam Bardfeld's approach to teaching soloing along with being able to listen to examples of the masters of Afro-Cuban style on the violin sparked new and creative ideas in me. He presents a huge amount of material in a way that seems fun and lets you dive right in." - Regina Carter, jazz violinist and MacArthur "Genius" Award recipient"It's very satisfying that Sam Bardfeld's contribution to the texts on Latin music comes out of the gate so strongly. The historical context is wonderful, the information about the overall structure of the music is invaluable and a great place for the violinist to start, and the transcriptions are beautiful. Congratulations on a wonderful project that is going to fill a vacuum that is vast and fill it completely. I see no reason for there ever to be another book besides this one on Latin violin playing." - Matt Glaser, violinist, Chairman Emeritus, Strings Department, Berklee College of Music"This book is a welcome addition to the growing number of texts on Afro-Cuban based music. Sam opens the door for all violinists (and all instrumentalists) to this incredibly rich tradition in a clear, concise manner with a great deal of respect for its history. I recommend it highly." - Bobby Sanabria, 8x Grammy Nominee, percussionist, bandleader and educator"A very useful book for the violinist who wants to begin to understand the complexities and intricacies of Latin jazz music." - Mark Feldman, jazz violinist, composer, recording artist.Originally published in 2001, Sam Bardfeld's book Latin Violin is considered one of the classics of the creative/alternative strings literature. It's been out of print since 2014 and is finally getting re-released as an eBook. The music on the original accompanying CD can be accessed via a download link provided in the book. Latin Violin is useful for both professional and student violinists who want to learn something about playing violin in the Afro-Cuban tradition (aka "salsa" or "Latin music"). The book is in four sections and covers an historical overview of the role of the violin in Afro-Cuban music; how the music works; transcriptions and analyses of solos by the seminal violinists in the Afro-Cuban tradition; and an outline of the music featured on the accompanying CD. The CD includes famous Afro-Cuban violin solos and an extended play-along session. "Salsa, and Latin music in general, have been exploding in popularity since the late seventies and show no sign of slowing down. The violin has filled an intriguing role in this kind of music, and there are many great opportunities for string players playing this style, but there has been very little documentation on the style up until this book. One of the great things about the book is its powerful approach to context: Bardfeld managed to get the rights to important recordings of some of the originators of the style, and included them in a CD recording with the book. Historical information and painstakingly accurate transcriptions of those solos complete the picture. Discussions of Clave and other important features of Latin music make this book a must for any serious violinist, professional or amateur." - Darol Anger, violinist, educator, recording artist