Welcome to another installment of the Fiddle Jam Club Newsletter! 

Welcome newest club members: John, Rodney, Blake, Mark, Ted, Helen, Bill, Joyce, G, Jana, Deborah Ann, DG, Diana, Rich, Mary Kay, Ezgi, Jose, Amber, Laura, Deili, and Gary!!!

May you all have many joyful and happy jams!

Newsletter Topics Below: 1)  Open Office Hour on Facebook Live 2) Blues Violin Survey & Course 3) New Truck Talk 4) Becoming the Coolest Violin teacher in town.

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1) Live Open Office Hour this Thursday Aug 25th @ 8:15pm EST (US) via Facebook Live on Fiddle Jam Institute Facebook page! You must “Like” our Facebook/Fiddle Jam Institute page ahead of time to be able to view this Live video event.  Please do that now if you have not already.  PS: The video will stay up on the FJi/FB page indefinitely for your replay, so not a biggie if you can’t make it, but it will be more fun with live people watching and commenting!

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Sorry non-Facebook-er’s, you must have a Facebook account to view this… if I can get an idea of how many of our members are NOT on Facebook, I could do the work to copy the video from Facebook to FJi and YouTube… send me a comment or reply to let me know if you are NOT on Facebook and would be interested in this Open Office Hour… which, I think, may technically only be a half hour by FB allowances, but we’ll try it this way at least!!<<::>>

Also: reply or comment to me what you might want or need me to cover in the Live session.  I’ve had a few comments about me primarily teaching the easy stuff, which tends to reach the biggest demographic of my newsletter list, but this time I’m thinking about covering some more advanced concepts like soloing over a Gypsy Jazz song.  Maybe I could teach you an easier Gypsy tune first, like Minor Swing, and then go into a more complicated tune like Swing Gitan (?) in the 2nd half.  I’m open to your suggestions.  Does that interest you?  Not?  Have another question or idea?  Feel free to let me know via any avenue… Facebook, YouTube, or FJi post comments, or email.  I’m looking forward to it!! ;~)))

2) BLUES VIOLIN SURVEY: As I prepare materials for my long awaited (by ME at least!  Ha.  Just kidding. I am thankful for some of you gently poking me a bit about this from time to time ;~) BLUES VIOLIN COURSE, I have created a quick little survey I’d love for you to take, to see if I’ve missed anything you might like me to include.  It is pretty short (only 7 questions, just a few minutes of your time) and I am offering your choice of one of a few free bonuses from a list for taking the time to answer.  The materials are mostly from a book that Martin Norgaard (author of MelBay’s Jazz Fiddle Wizard) and I were writing that got hung up in contract negotiations and shelved.  The tunes are rather clever (if I may say so) “in-the-style-of’s” that I think are winners.  Artists that we copied and morphed into Blues songs are Santana, Stevie Ray Vaughn, The Stray Cats, ZZ-Top, the Beatles, and others.  So please give me your 2 cents in the survey!  I want to make sure that I haven’t missed something good, or big!  Take the survey here.

4) (Being) The Coolest Violin Teacher in Town: I hope I do not come across and NEEDY in this newsletter issue, but I am brainstorming for more ways to serve FJi members and would also like your input on an idea I have about being a coach to violin teachers on how to “be the coolest teacher in town.”  I myself have been teaching privately now for 40 years!  Where has the time gone?… and am aware that my perspectives might be rather unique in that I was originally very seriously Classically trained, but have also been firmly in the Alternative String world (before it was even called that!) for most of those years, first as a Jazz Fusion Electric violinist, then later a Cajun Fiddler, Gypsy Jazz-er, and even Electronica/HipHop and more.  I know first hand the value to teachers that these kinds of subjects can have by the positive impacts on students and their communities, in preparing them for the real world, giving them more opportunities to play, and actually have a ton of fun!  **I’D LIKE TO KNOW HOW MANY OF YOU ON THIS LIST ARE TEACHERS?? Please let me know in the comments below if you are a string teacher (or would like to be), and also might be interested in helping me developing more materials just for teachers by becoming a Beta Tester.  

I’ve also opened myself up to being a consultant to violin teachers who are interested being the coolest in town!  Check out my new offerings in our School Store.

Check out the newest lessons posts (they are always listed at the bottom of each page on the site!)

If you have any questions or comments, please feel very free to post them below.  I love to hear from you!

Talk soon!

Fitz

PS: If the contact form (that is supposed to be below) does not appear in your browser, click here to send me a message instead.