Where are we? In the country formerly known as East Timor. This new democracy is so young that Berklee’s Earth Stringband is the very first U.S. band to tour there—breaking new ground on the Rhythm Road.
Tag: american roots music program (Page 1 of 2)
american roots music program
This installment of the Earth Stringband’s Southeast Asian tour with the U.S. State Dept./Jazz at Lincoln Center is all about the videos. These guys (all Berklee alumni) did some amazing things in Cambodia.
They composed an old-time tune from Lao folk melodies:
In this installment of the Earth Stringband’s epic musical trip with the U.S. State Dept./Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rhythm Road project, the band. . .
Just a couple good ol' bluegrass boys in Thailand.
Teaches Thai schoolchildren how to play an American classic.
Dan Carwile knows fiddle contests
Coming to you Wednesday afternoon from the Mark O’Connor/Berklee Summer String Program… fiddle cases are everywhere!
Fiddler Dan Carwile is so detail-oriented he has a spreadsheet ranking brands of rosin. He told a dozen students he wanted them to learn past masters’ fiddle tunes so well that they could name every lick they stole. “I’m a fossil,” he said. But not a fogey: “I like to go for something different every time… it’s controlled improvisation.”
The program’s “contest-style” or “Texas-style” teacher, Dan ran the class through a classic fiddle breakdown and shared tips from his experiences judging (among other competitions) the National Oldtime Fiddler’s Contest and Festival in Weiser, Idaho. That’s “Weiser,” pronounced “weezer,” to insiders.
Please imagine this all in a soft Alabama drawl.