Creative Strings with Violinist Christian Howes

Although he is a versatile classically trained violinist, Earl Maneein has taken the path less traveled, pursuing his passion for extreme music. Scroll down to listen in on Episode 23: - Earl's definition of "Heavy" or "Extreme" Music - Earl's projects "Black Heart Sutra," "SEVEN)SUNS," and "Resolution 15" - Moving between classical and extreme music - His path to developing a career as a full tim...

Bryan Wilson is a cellist, composer, educator and author of the book Cello Chords. He wrote, produced, and just released a solo debut "Oso Perezoso" , and has played in and managed the post-rock band You Bred Raptors? since 2011. Scroll down to listen in on his hilarious and fascinating insights in Creative Strings Podcast Episode 22, during which we cover: - Performing in NYC Subways - Booking to...

Scott D. Laird is the Fine Arts Coordinator at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics where he directs the orchestra and teaches courses in Recording Technology, Classical Guitar and Piano, and Music History. I've always admired his ability to navigate the worlds of classical, modern, and participatory musical styles- as a player, conductor, and teacher. We sat down to talk about bri...

Over thanksgiving I sat down with New York Times bestselling author of The School of Greatness (and my little brother) Lewis Howes. Lewis is a world-class athlete and business guru who's top-rated podcast has over 25 million downloads. Lewis and I discuss how artists can be successful by setting a clear vision and concrete ways of achieving them.

- commit to run your career like a business and set aside time each week to working on your business articulate very specific goals (no more than 3) Create a specific action plan (a sales and marketing campaign) Create or refine your marketing assets execute If you're tired of the status quo and want to jumpstart new projects, jump on a call with me while availability lasts to discuss your busines...

"We get to completely change perceptions every time we step on the stage..." Fusing Hip-Hop and Classical I first heard Black Violin when they won Apollo in 2005, and followed them over their 10+ year career following. I was excited to finally meet Kev and Wil and talk with them about Black Violin, how they got started, their influences and goals. Scroll down to listen in and learn about: Kev and...

"I really enjoyed finding myself in different contexts and being able to explore different parts of myself in different styles." Classical Cellist turned multi-style master I sat down with Cellist Mike Block to discuss his classical training (Cleveland Institute of Music and a Master's for Julliard) and how he moved into alternative styles. We also discuss the importance of music camps including t...

In this Short Episode of the Creative Strings Podcast, host Christian Howes shares his tribute to Prince. Prince embodied creativity. His fearlessness, versatility, soulfulness, and ability to continually evolve have always been an inspiration to me. When I heard that he passed away I immediately felt compelled to drop everything and work on one of his songs, leading me to arrange and record a cov...

“We can be kind to one another without comprising excellence…” At the Heart of the violin world, Violinist.com founder Laurie Niles sits down with Christian Howes to discuss the start-up and success of violinist.com, a large community of violinists across all styles, genres and experience levels.

ModernMusician.co's Colin Thomson joins Christian as they discuss social media and business strategies for musicians, listen below as you learn about: How to build an audience across social media platforms Key tips for musicians on Instagram Ways to grow revenue as a musician This episode is brought to you by the Electric Violin Shop, your one-stop shop for electric instruments, amps, gear, access...

At the intersection of story telling, philosophy, education, and old time fiddle music lives Joe McHugh, a musician who travels with his wife Paula in their group, The Time Travelers. From moving to West Virginia at the age of twenty to buy a farm, to living and learning traditional fiddle music in Scotland, Joe has used his experiences to carve out a career which encompasses: serving as the found...

Christian sits down with 4 of the hottest young Creative String players (dubbed "the Young Guns") to discuss their practice techniques, exercises and moving between various fiddle styles. Meet the Young Guns Eli Bishop From the age of 3 until 11, Eli studied the Suzuki violin method. After completing the eighth book of the method, he began studying traditional classical music under the instruction...

Duncan Monserud joins Christian to discuss the main challenges, choices, and solutions for bowed string players seeking to go electric. Scroll down this page to listen, join the conversation in the comments, and find a time-coded table of contents to help you zero in on specific topics. Electric Violin Shop has expertise and they will answer your questions about electric violins, pickups, amplific...

"When you started a band, you started a business." Tiffany L. Goodman of Goodman Artists has been representing artists in jazz, classical and world music since 2009. Listen in below as she lays out key components of success for working musicians in episode 8 of the Creative Strings Podcast. In this episode you will learn: - The importance of video in your marketing - Tips for building a presence w...

Join us in part two of a special two-part episode in which Dr. Markand Thakar challenges us to transcend the ordinary through music. "To absorb yourself into the sound you have to let go of your place in the world..." Markand Thakar is a music director of the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra and co-director of graduate conducting at the Peabody Conservatory. Drawing from ideas in Markand's book- Lookin...

Marking Thakar is a music director of the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra and co-director of graduate conducting at the Peabody Conservatory. In this episode you will learn - About Markand's book Looking for the "Harp" Quartet: An Investigation into Music Beauty - How music can move all of us - How to convey the deeper meaning of sound / music - How to measure the creation and release of tension by us...

This episode features jazz violinist/mandolinist, Jason Anick, a 28-yr-old rising star and regular instructor at the annual Creative Strings Workshop summer conference and Berklee College of Music. Scroll down to listen and learn: - how Jason combined the best of classical and jazz practice routines to develop bulletproof musicianship - his routines and regimens -- scales, transcriptions, improvis...

In this episode with Noa Kageyama: -Noa on nerves and anxiety for the musician/performer. Factors, and causes, solutions. -Simulation of performance environments in practice, methods. “The better we know ourselves, the better we know what happens under pressure, the more effectively we can prepare for those things,” "Performance Practice" and it's definition. -Not turning off the intensity “switch...

The head of Berklee College of Music's American Roots Music Program Matt Glaser discusses changing music education, creativity and mindfulness in music. - “Inevitably the classical world has had to come to grips to this tsunami of young players playing fiddle tunes,” - “I don’t care that is something is good or bad, music is inherently good,”

How an indie musician built a touring career living out of his DIY vegetable-fueled van, developing multiple income streams, and ultimately let it all go. - "The biggest piece is having an accurate sense of how you're perceived." - "I don't think you should underestimate what it means to get someone in buying into your email list..." Thanks to the Electric Violin Shop for being great at what they...

Creative Strings Podcast with Christian Howes - Episode 1 Billy Contreras and I sat down to speak at the Creative Strings Workshop to discuss Billy's life, music, and more. Later we edited several amazing clips of Billy playing from his early days, to his records with Christian Howes, to his most recent projects. This progression shows how Billy's playing has evolved from into the improvising mast...