Workshop on Pedal Tones
Improve your Intonation, Scales, Aural skills, and Improvisation
In this workshop with Fred Malverde, you will learn the many uses of pedal tones and hands-on ways to work with them to improve many aspects of your playing and musicianship.
Pedal tones can be used by students and teachers of any instrument, especially non-tempered instruments or instruments that require some intonation adjustment. By the end of the class, you will know how to use pedal tones in these contexts:
- tuning the instrument
- Playing scales and arpeggios with the pedal tone as a reference
- Practicing Modal scales or other non-traditional scales (ex. Oriental scales)
- Ear training for better interval recognition
- Improving intonation in difficult passages
- Improving the understanding of tuning generally as well as in melodic contexts specifically
- Improving improvisational skills
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Fred Malverde
Fred Malverde is a Brazilian cellist living and working in Berlin since 2013. He teaches violoncello
at the Global Music School and at the Atelier Klangvoll Musikschule, He is a member of the COB
(Composer Orchester Berlin) and regularly performs and organizes various projects involving
musicians from diverse nationalities and backgrounds. Among these projects are the Avoado Trio
(instrumental brazilian jazz music), Cello and Harmonica duo with Endre Vazul (Hungary), Tom Brasil
project (director and arranger), and Piazzolla Nights. He is also currently performing in duo with the
renowned Syrian cellist Athil Hamdam.
Fred holds a bachelor’s degree in Violoncello by Minas Gerais State University (UEMG), having also
studied violoncello at Clovis Salgado`s Foundation, both in Brazil. He taught at several institutions
in his home country, such as Sergipe's Conservatory of Music (Aracajú) and Anabá Waldorf School
(Florianópolis). He composed and produced many soundtracks for theater and short movies, the most recent being "Lilith" (EVOLOVE, Anima / Berlin, 2014), "O" (Samuel Moncharmont, France-
Berlin, 2014-15) and "Come Back" (Damascus-Berlin, 2015).
Fred has joined musical groups of different genres (rock, jazz, choro, tango and classical
music), such as the cello and flute duo “Dupla Neta” with Cristian Faig, the string quartet
"Catavento" with the composer and guitarist Felipe Coelho, and a voice and solo cello with the
singer Cecília Kleine named Entremundos. He was a member of a number of prestigious Brazilian
orchestras such as the Orchestras from the UFMG and UEMG Universities, Sergipe State
Orchestra, Filarmonia Santa Catarina Orchestra and String Orchestra, in which he performed
alongside with great musicians such as Hermeto Pascoal, Felipe Coelho, Christian Faig, Sidy
Ornelas, Mestre Salustiano, Baby do Brazil, Patrice Fischer, Andersen Viana and many others.
He participated of Masterclasses taught by distinguished performers, including Dennis Parker
(USA), Antônio Menezes (Brazil), Martin Ostertag (Germany), Nikolas Krassik (France/Brazil), Maria
Alice Brandão (Brazil), Maurício Carrilho (Brazil) and Leo Brouwer (Cuba).