Teaching

Floating Bridge Music

Study with Jeremiah

From June 15th to June 21st, 2008 I will be on staff at The Northeast Heritage Music Camp in Johnson, Vermont. I will also be teaching at Ashokan Fiddle & Dance Northern Week from July 20th to July 26th. The 4th Annual Floating Bridge Music Camp at Newfound Lake will be held September 12-14th at Pasquaney Lodge in Hebron, NH.

Teaching experience and credentials

Jeremiah has a master’s degree in Contemporary Improvisation from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. He teaches at the State University of New York in Plattsuburgh, NY and at the Floating Bridge School of Music in Sharon, VT. He also teaches at dance workshops and music camps around the country, including Pinewoods, Augusta, Ashokan, Lady of the Lake, the America Festival of Fiddle Tunes, and the Maine Fiddle Camp. Jeremiah also teaches private students in both accordion and piano, as well as improvisation and jazz theory. Below is a list of workshops and topics covered in private lessons.

Tunes from the Floating Bridge

This is a collection of original tunes I’ve written over the past several years. In their original form, many of these tunes were crooked in some way or another. I was able to persuade most of them that if they wanted to be in this collection, a 32 bar, AABB form would be the price. A few resisted and I didn’t have the heart to keep them out. I have included one set of chord symbols that can serve as a guideline for accompaniment. A quick listen to any of these tunes on CD will show that many other possibilities exist. Likewise the melodies, whose settings here are only one version among many you may encounter. I have had much help with this collection. Many of my band mates have been made to sight read through early versions of these tunes. Some of these tunes have been recorded by myself, by Nightingale, by the Clayfoot Strutters, and by other fine musicians. Thanks to Pete Sutherland for proof reading the tunes and offered a fiddler’s perspective on their notation. It’s great to hear the tunes recorded!

Workshops and topics covered in private lessons

Introduction to Improvisation

Playing by ear, we’ll focus on enjoying ourselves while taking risks. We’ll cover three types of improvisation: melodic, harmonic, and modal. All levels and instruments.

French Dance Music

We’ll learn tunes by ear from Brittany (Gavotte, Plinn and An Dro) and Central France (Bourree, Schottish, Waltz, Mazurka and Polka). All levels and instruments.

Piano Accordion Technique

We’ll cover left hand fingering and chord voicing, bellows control, and right hand ornamentation. Level: intermediate to advanced.

New Orleans Piano

An introduction to the music of Jelly Roll Morton, Professor Longhair, Dr. John and others. We’ll cover early jazz, the blues, calypso, and the secret to the second line. Level: intermediate to advanced.

Introduction to Jazz Theory

We’ll look at different types of chord progressions, why they sound the way they do, and how to use them. All levels and instruments.

Contra Dance Piano

We’ll cover the basics (solid rhythm, chords that support the melody) as well as more advanced ideas (syncopation and chord substitution). All levels.

French-Canadian Dance Tunes Repertoire class of traditional and newly composed tunes from Quebec. All levels and instruments.

In addition, Jeremiah offers teaching workshops with Nightingale.