The violin is notorious for being hard to play, and even hard to create beautiful music from. At the same time however it is also famous for being an incredibly beautiful and rich instrument. But, how can you create beautiful music from your violin? Here's how...

The Russian school of violin playing produced many of the twentieth century's leading violinists - from the famed disciples of Leopold Auer such as Jascha Heifetz, Nathan Milstein, and Mischa Elman to masters of the Soviet years such as David Oistrakh and Leonid Kogan. Though descendants of this school of playing are found today in every major orchestra and university, little is known about the pedagogical traditions of the Russian, and later Soviet, violin school. Following the revolution of 1917, the center of Russian violin playing and teaching shifted from St. Petersburg to Moscow, where violinists such as Lev Tseitlin, Konstantin Mostras, and Abraham Yampolsky established an influential pedagogical tradition. Founded on principles of scientific inquiry and physiology, this tradition became known as the Soviet Violin School, a component of the larger Russian Violin School. Yuri Yankelevich (1909 - 1973), a student and assistant of Abraham Yampolsky, was greatly influenced by the teachers of the Soviet School and in turn he became one of the most important pedagogues of his generation. Yankelevich taught at the Moscow Conservatory from 1936 to 1973 and produced a remarkable array of superb violinists, including forty prizewinners in international competitions. Extremely interested in the methodology of violin playing and teaching, Yankelevich contributed significant texts to the pedagogical literature. Despite its importance, Yankelevich's scholarly work has been little known outside of Russia. This book includes two original texts by Yankelevich: his essay on positioning the hands and arms and his extensive research into every detail of shifting positions. Additional essays and commentaries by those close to him examine further details of his pedagogy, including tone production, intonation, vibrato, fingerings and bowings, and his general approach to methodology and selecting repertoire. An invaluable resource for any professional violinist, Yankelevich's work reveals an extremely sophisticated approach to understanding the interconnectivity of all components in playing the violin and is complete with detailed practical suggestions and broad historical context.

The hurdy-gurdy, or vielle, has been part of European musical life since the eleventh century. In eighteenth-century France, improvements in its sound and appearance led to its use in chamber ensembles. This new and expanded edition of The Hurdy-Gurdy in Eighteenth-Century France offers the definitive introduction to the classic stringed instrument. Robert A. Green discusses the techniques of playing the hurdy-gurdy and the interpretation of its music, based on existing methods and on his own experience as a performer. The list of extant music includes new pieces discovered within the last decade and provides new historical context for the instrument and its role in eighteenth-century French culture.

Guitalele belongs to new music instruments. So far very few sheets were written for this instrument. I decided to fill a gap in the market. You will find 15 known songs in the book. Each song is recorded twice, whether you have any more to play with. As the guitalele tuned A2 D3 G3 C4 E4 A4," the guitar with a capo on the fifth fret or Requinto can play from these notes. In the end I added double page with most used chords. Songs: A Sailor Went to Sea, Sea, Sea; Ah, Poor Bird; Careless Love; Down by the Sally Gardens; Drunten im Unterland; Gaudeamus igitur; Lazy Mary; Molly Malone; Nearer, My God, to Thee; Nechci, nebudu k vam chodivavat; O Little Town Of Bethlehem; Oh du lieber Augustin; Santa Lucia; Sloop John B; St. James Infirmary Blues The are in the book songs without text. Check out samples from book: http: //osos.sweb.cz/Sarek-Guitar-and-Guitalele-preview.pdf