Byron Fry

Hi! Multi-#1-hit songwriters, multi-platinum producers and grammy winners have hired me repeatedly as a composer, arranger, orchestrator, producer and/or guitarist, and I LOVE TO TEACH. All levels, in fact. As an educator, I've taught at schools and colleges as faculty, given clinics and master classes throughout the United States (mostly western US) and been a Contract Artist for the State of California.

My credits span genres from the familiar to the exotic, I've scored over 2 dozen hours of footage for film and TV, played on too many records to list and toured through dozens of countries. If you're interested in more details about what I've done, just go to ByronFry.com or google my name.

What I teach:

I play and teach pretty much all fretted instruments, and harmony theory for players of all instruments; I have an incredibly direct and accessible, accelerated and powerful HARMONY / THEORY curriculum from Grove, which I've taught to several hundred people. I also have an equally powerful set of tools I teach, called the Arranger's Toolbox. I also teach orchestration, scoring, etc etc. Whatever your instrumental goals, I HIGHLY recommend studying the larger world of music. It will massively increase your musical value, even as an instrumentalist.

I come from a long line of teachers. It's in my blood, I take it seriously, and I'm good at it.

Style:
My teaching style is one of plain, nuts-and-bolts language that's impossible not to understand, and of custom-tailoring things to each student's needs (that's the whole magic of one-on-one teaching!) I won't take it easy on you, I'll push you, but within your own limits.

Experience:

As an educator / clinician, I've been a Contract Artist for the State of California, faculty at Deep Springs College, and faculty at California College of Music in Pasadena. I teach clinics, workshops and master classes at universities and colleges, music schools, high schools and Guitar Centers, and I teach privately online. My teaching style, while uniquely tailored to the needs of each student, tends to be accelerated and geared toward preparing the student for the realities of the real-world musical workplace, using nuts-and-bolts language that makes things clear and accessible.

Here's a list of things I teach - scroll down to see if anything interests you (and yes, guitar-related things are there too).

A) THE BASICS:

1) The Master (AKA ‘Grand’) Staff


2) Scales, key signatures, modes

3) 3rds and 7ths in Chords; how chord symbols work

4) Rhythmic Note Values

B) BUILDING BLOCKS OF THE UNIVERSE MUSICAL—HARMONY:

(This is an in-depth look at all eleven harmonic structures in conventional Western harmony, including all of the chordal functions, interior 3, 4, 5 and 6-part chords, some special voicings, improv tricks, stylistic considerations and the trouble-shooting of faulty chord symbols.)


1) The I MA13(#11) chord in Major


2) The ii mi13 chord in Major

3) The V 13 chord in Major


4) “ii-V-I: What is chordal function, REALLY?”


5) The i mi MA 13 chord in minor

6) The ii mi7 (b5) in minor


7) The IV 13(#11) chord in minor


8) The V13(b9) in Major and in minor


9) The V7(b9 b13) in minor


10) The altered dominant / tri-tone subs


11) The so-called diminished structure and the 8-note dominant scale


12) The V9 (b13) in Major and in minor

C) BUILDING BLOCKS OF THE UNIVERSE MUSICAL—RHYTHM
:

1) Basics of time signatures


2) Polyrhythms


3) Rhythmic sightreading


4) recommendations on how to become fluent in Rhythm


5) Metronome practice techniques

6) Clave! It drives everything!

D) COMPOSING AND ARRANGING:

1) The Score

2) The ‘Envelope’

3) Thematic development


4) Bass line!

5) The Arranger’s toolbox (claves, entrances, pads, harmonizing the melody, obligato, ostinato, pedals, alternating triads, distilling melody down to its truth, target notes, counter-melody, thumb lines, bass line 101, master rhythm charts, etc.)


6) Stylistic considerations to applying the 11 chords in arrangement


7) Special harmonic techniques—12-tone, reharmonization, parallel, etc.


8) Stylistic considerations of applying Rhythm to arrangement

9) Music Copying / Transcribing / Notation

E) ORCHESTRATION:


1) Introduction to the instrument families


2) Writing for Woodwinds


3) Writing for Strings


4) Writing for Brass


5) Writing for Mallets, Percussion and Rhythm Section

6) Developing an ‘orchestral ear’

F) PRODUCTION:

1) Pre-Production, soundscaping, midi, the DAW and such

2) Signal flow theory

3) Gear

4) The Mix

G) IMPROV:

1 through 11) An in-depth look, chord-by-chord, at how to fly with the 11 harmonic structures

12) Superimposing tonalities; polychords


13) Composing a solo; more on the ‘envelope’

14) Comping (Accompaniment—if you’re a guitar player, this is the most important skill set you’ll ever build.)

H) PHYSICAL ASPECTS OF PLAYING GUITAR
:

1) Litany on motor skill development; building motor engrams; exercises for building independence, synchronization, speed & accuracy


2) Tuning; string winding / headstock 101; instrument care and feeding


3) Care and feeding of the forearm flexor / extensor muscle / tendon / ligament machinery

I) TIPS ON APPLYING GUITAR IN THE WORKPLACE
:

1) Understanding your function


2) Studio protocol / stage protocol

3) Tracking Guitar—the basic track, overdubs, obligatos, ostinatos, the fill track, the solo track, the acoustic track, engineer psychology 101, producer psychology, FX theory

J) PLAYING DIFFERENT STYLES ON GUITAR:


1) Classical


2) Straight-ahead Jazz


3) Funk


4) Fusion


5) Blues


6) AAA (that ‘polished’ sound)


7) Hard Rock


8) Old school rock


9) Psychedelic tricks


10) Finger-style / Travis Fingerpicking


11) Slide


12) Scatting / singing harmony with your guitar

K) MISCELLANY
:

1) Listening and responding to the music around you

2) Ear training tips


3) More polyrhythms

4) The science—and love—of parts we must play

5) Bandleader psychology


6) Audition strategies


7) Packaging yourself