
About Riff-Based Improvisation:
We will draw on African, Afro-Cuban, Latin, Kansas City Jazz, and rock traditions to highlight the use of riffs as a tool for the development of partnered melodic and rhythmic ideas into successful improvisatory phrases. The ability to develop a catchy, short, rhythmic-melodic idea is surprisingly challenging. By learning iconic ideas from other cultures, we will warm up into the development of your own musical phrases. Then we’ll investigate possible applications for the looper or within an extended solo.

Julie Lyonn Lieberman
Julie Lyonn Lieberman has helped develop the multi-style string field over the last forty+ years through her work as an educator, author, radio producer, composer, writer, recording artist, and performer. She started out as a fiddler, performing at folk festivals and clubs up and down the east coast in the late 1970s/early 1980s using either a mic or a Fishman pickup, depending on the gig. Her introduction to amplification and special effects began while touring with Brian Eno recording artist, Laraaji Venus, in the early 1980s. Read More About Julie→