Arranging Fiddle Tunes with Andrew & Noah VanNorstrand

We’ll start with a basic fiddle tune, take it apart and use it to develop a brand new arrangement.  Might explore harmonies, chord substitutions and how to apply some basic music theory concepts.  We’ll look for “hooks” in the melody, opportunities for improvisation and identify structural elements and sonic textures that can inspire a creative approach to playing fiddle tunes.  All instruments welcome.  

For the past twenty years ANDREW & NOAH VANNORSTRAND have been bringing their brand of original folk music to festival stages, concert halls, dance floors and living rooms all over North America and beyond.  As teenagers, they helped define a new generation of contra dance music with their family band The Great Bear Trio and even appeared on the nationally syndicated public radio program A Prairie Home Companion.  Since then they’ve established themselves as virtuosic multi-instrumentalists and insightful songwriters, drawing from a wide range of genres including Bluegrass and Appalachian, Celtic and Quebecois, Swing and Jazz.  Andrew and Noah are often on tour with progressive folk roots powerhouse The Faux Paws but you can occasionally catch them performing as a duo, exploring their deep repertoire and love for American folk music.  

This concert is programmed in conjunction with their performance at the Anonymous Coffeehouse.