Interview | ArtistWorks

Music Theory Online with Jonathan Coopersmith

Thu, 09/19/2013 - 1:22pm

Written by ArtistWorks

Topics: Interview, jonathan coopersmith, Music Education, music theory, online learning

Last week we announced the release of our online music theory lessons, which we're providing to all members of all our online learning schools for no additional charge. The idea is to give everyone here a solid resource to learn more about music theory online. It wouldn't be possible without Jonathan Coopersmith, who is the man behind the music theory lessons here and who heads up the Music Theory Department at the highly regarded Curtis Institute of Music. We asked him some questions about his experience with teaching music theory, which will give you an insight into how just how deep his knowlege of music theory runs.

AW: In general, why should someone learn music theory?

JC: If you like to know how things work in general, then learning about how music works might be very interesting to you. And it opens up more possibilities for your playing...for example, instead of just learning one scale, learn the pattern for that scale and now you can play it in any key. Understanding how music works leads to a better understanding of what you're already playing, and can even spark creativity allowing you to explore other areas of music you might not have thought of on your own. The more you know, the more you'll enjoy playing and listening to music, and the more control you'll have over what you can do.

Talking About Fiddling with Darol Anger

Mon, 09/09/2013 - 5:38pm

Written by AW

Topics: bluegrass, darol anger, fiddle, Interview

AW: What defines a fiddle? What makes it a fiddle vs. a violin or viola?

Darol: The difference between a fiddle and a violin, as famed jazz fiddler Johnny Frigo once told me, is "about $500 a week". Also nobody cares if you spill beer on a fiddle... If you're playing dance music or improvising any kind of popular music on a violin-shaped object, you're playing the fiddle. You can fiddle on anything; I've played good old Texas fiddle tunes on $400,000 Sradivariuses, and a 6 million dollar Guarneri (the Guarneri won).

That said, some VSOs (violin-shaped objects) sound better for fiddling than others. Generally, violins set up for classical music are optimized for maximum projection and brilliance, because most Western European Ethnic Music eschews amplification of any kind. Most working fiddlers play into a microphone or use a pickup to amplify the instrument, so most fiddlers prefer a mellow, smooth sound that doesn't sound screechy through speakers. Sometimes fiddlers will reduce the curve on the top of the bridge to make string crossing easier, since they aren't bearing down so hard with the bow, as a romantic-style classical player would.