Stringtastic Beginners is a fun new series designed to teach through playing in an engaging exploration of musical styles. A fully integrated series, violin, viola, cello and double bass can all learn and play together in any combination. Each book contains over 40 imaginative pieces to steadily establish a secure playing technique and build confidence, one step at a time, taking the student from complete beginner (open strings) to playing the notes of the D major scale. The first 20 pieces comprise two independent tunes that can be played as duets - one for open strings and a more advanced part using the left-hand fingers, which students can revisit as they progress. Ideal for individual and group tuition as well as flexible ensemble and classroom settings. Every piece is supported by an exciting backing track plus a piano-only track for practice, all available to download. Plus, the teacher's book provides the complete piano accompaniments which work with any combination of instrumental parts.

In A Notebook for Viola Players, Ivo-Jan van der Werff offers a guide to playing the viola with the greatest freedom, dexterity, and ease. It includes right and left hand exercises to build a sound technique, sections on how to practice them, how to hold the viola and bow, how to think about good posture, how to create a good sound, how to play with the least amount of tension, how to deal with anxiety, and thoughts on wellness and practice techniques. Alongside these are photographs and a companion website of video demonstrations of the exercises played by the author, as if in a lesson. Interspersed throughout the book are lively and illuminating anecdotes of van der Werff's own experiences as a student and as a professional musician, as well as a number of blank pages and staff paper for the student to literally 'make notes' and write down their own ideas, offering a space for creative expression using the skills they learn in reading and playing along with the text. Bringing together decades of teaching and performance experience from one of the most respected figures in viola pedagogy, A Notebook for Viola Players is a master class in viola ideal for any player hoping to perfect the fundamental areas of their practice.

The Amadeus Quartet, which was active from 1948 until 1987 when its viola player Peter Schidlof died, is probably the most famous and distinguished string quartet of the 20th century. It played to a wide variety of audiences on innumerable occasions in all the major countries of the world, and produced a galaxy of recordings, many of which are still available. The intensity of its music-making was breathtaking. Muriel Nissel, the author of Married to the Amadeus, is the wife of Siegmund Nissel, the second violinist. Her book tells the extraordinary and moving story of the Quartet, with its many triumphs and its periodic setbacks and traumas, from the inside for the forty years from its inception during the time after the Second World War up to the 1980s. She reveals how it moulded the lives of the four players and their wives and families in unexpected ways, and how they all became inextricably involved in this unique joint enterprise. The fashion in which work and family life interacted was crucial to the Quartet's survival.She returned to her professional life as a statistician when the children went to school and describes how difficult it was in the 1960s for a married woman with children to achieve equal status with men at work; and she tells of the problems she also had to face at home finding satisfactory ways of caring for her family. Remarkably, the four members of the Quartet remained unchanged throughout. They each of them had exceptional qualities. Norbert Brainin, the first violin, Siegmund Nissel and Peter Schidlof, all refugees from Vienna, had first met in internment camps in Britain in 1940. Martin Lovett, the cellist, joined them not long after the war, at a moment when the musical climate was sympathetic to chamber music and the record industry was booming. They never looked back. Nobody who has read Muriel Nissel's absorbing book will ever be able to listen to a string quartet again without being aware of the immense commitment such a group demands of the players and of their families too, and of the longstanding emotional, aesthetic and organizational complexities it entails.

Cello Secrets explains over 100 of the most helpful insider tricks cellists use to master the instrument. With each technique carefully explained and illustrated, the book serves as an accessible textbook for all advanced cello players, from talented teenagers to college students, to conservatory pre-professionals. This book guides advanced students through technical maintenance and performance preparation, helping them beyond what can be covered in lessons. Co-written by Brian Hodges and Jo Nardolillo, these tips grow from extensive study of the art of high-level teaching with many of today's leading pedagogues, and have been developed into strategies, tricks, and techniques that are taught in masterclasses and seminars around the country. The book provides: *Insightful Information *Demystifying Cello Technique *Troubleshooting *Practical tips and advice *Experienced professionals talking from their own career Cello Secrets organizes these ideas into a single book, and will have great value for private teachers and as a textbook in cello pedagogy courses. Professionals and skilled amateurs can use the text as a guidebook in improving their own skills.

collection for cello and piano, with audio tracks online Solo Time for Cello is a two-volume series of concert pieces for the intermediate to advanced cellist. Featuring arrangements and original pieces by the composers of the award-winning Cello Time series, these graded collections provide a diverse range of repertoire from the Baroque to the modern age and introduce players to exciting new arrangements of amongst others, Amy Beach, Florence Price, Teresa Carreno, and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.

collection for cello and piano, with audio tracks online Solo Time for Cello is a two-volume series of concert pieces for the intermediate to advanced cellist. Featuring arrangements and original pieces by the composers of the award-winning Cello Time series, these graded collections provide a diverse range of repertoire from the Baroque to the modern age and introduce players to exciting new arrangements of amongst others, Amy Beach, Florence Price, Teresa Carreno, and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.

This volume contains valuable practice material for candidates preparing for ABRSM Viola exams, Grades 1-5. Includes many specimen tests for the revised sight-reading requirements from 2012, written in attractive and approachable styles and representative of the technical level expected in the exam.

Viola Time Joggers is a landmark book in the popular Viola Time series, which is enjoyed by students and teachers all over the world. It contains Kathy and David Blackwell's trademark attractive and engaging compositions that appeal to learners of all ages. This book contains viola accompaniments for the tunes in Viola Time Joggers. These fun, characterful duet parts are suitable for a teacher or more advanced student, and will enhance lessons by providing an alternative accompaniment option for these popular pieces.

Play-along with the best-known selections from the first five movies in the Harry Potter series String books include a play-along CD with a backing and performance track for each title as well as a pull-out piano part. Titles include: Hedwig's Theme * Harry's Wondrous World * Nimbus 2000 * Fawkes The Phoenix * Double Trouble * A Window to the Past * Hogwarts' March * Hogwarts' Hymn * Professor Umbridge * Fireworks (Grade 2-3) This title is available in SmartMusic.

How did a small, humble folk instrument become an American icon? How did the guitar come to represent freedom, the open road, protest and rebellion, the blues, youth, lost love, and sexuality? In this intensely personal memoir and informative history, National Public Radio commentator and essayist Tim Brookes recounts his quest to build the perfect guitar. Pairing up with a master artisan from the Green Mountains of Vermont, Brookes sees how a rare piece of cherry wood is hued, dovetailed, and worked on with saws, rasps, and files. As his prized instrument takes shape, Brookes also narrates the long and winding history of the guitar in the United States. Arriving with conquistadors and the colonists, the guitar has found itself in an extraordinary variety of hands: miners and society ladies, lumberjacks and presidents' wives. In time, the guitar became America's vehicle of self-expression, its modern soundtrack. "Guitar" is a rare glimpse of one man's search for music. It is sure to resonate with musicians and non-musicians alike.

Now you can be the featured artist on and play along to six classic Peter Green tracks! In Session With Peter Green contains note-for-note transcriptions in standard notation and guitar tab, with lyrics and chord symbols. There is a breakdown and analysis of each solo, containing essential hints and tips as well as biographical notes on the music and a full discography. The CD contains full demonstration tracks of all the featured songs, full backing tracks of all the songs for you to join in with and the solo demonstrated in full and slowed down versions. There is also a backing track for the solo slowed down to practise along with.

In Session With Chuck Berry contains note-for-note transcriptions of six classic Chuck Berry tracks in standard notation and guitar tab, with lyrics and chord symbols. There is a breakdown and analysis of each solo, containing essential hints and tips as well as biographical notes on the music and a full discography. The CD contains full demonstration tracks of all the featured songs, full backing tracks of all the songs for you to join in with and the solo demonstrated in full and slowed down versions. There is also a backing track for the solo slowed down to practise along with.

A workshop guide to building Irish bouzoukis and citterns. In the past forty years bouzoukis, citterns and octave mandolins have become an essential part of acoustic music. The Bouzouki Book is the first, and only, book to guides the reader through the steps to build one of these fascinating stringed musical instruments. The book includes nearly 200 colour and B&W illustrations as well as plans for all major components.

The Contemporary Banjo Player is a unique new tutor from world-renowned banjo player John Dowling. It covers not only the basics of Bluegrass banjo, but also teaches you how to expand and develop your playing and diversify into other musical styles. * Suitable for players of every level. * Packed with Photos, techniques, exercises and full songs to learn. * Covers all the basics from rolls to hammer ons, slides, percussive playing, finger picking guitar style, and so much more! * Downloadable online audio featuring demonstration tracks to aide progression. "John Dowling is one of my favourite banjo players and now he's written a wonderful new book, The Contemporary Banjo Player. It has something for everyone. If you're just starting out, he tells you how to position your hands and shows you basic rolls (finger patterns) so you can be playing music almost immediately. For the intermediate players, he gives tips on improvising, as well as lessons in melodic and single string playing. The advanced picker can graze on fingerpicking guitar style, bass line with melody and Banjo Percussion....plus much more. These pages are a treasure trove of techniques tunes and tips, all delivered to you by one of the most creative banjoists to ever put picks to a string. No home should be without this tremendous tome!" Tony Trischka (world-renowed banjo player known as the father of modern bluegrass).

Flexi Violin 2 is a refreshingly diverse collection for violin with both piano and violin duet accompaniments from leading educational authors Paul Harris and Jessica O'Leary. Suitable for Grade 3 to 5 (Intermediate) level players, it features a wide range of composers and the pieces have both piano and violin duet accompaniments.

A brand new book of great pieces to work alongside the bestselling Abracadabra tutorial books. Accompaniments are provided on the CD, providing great pieces for concerts throughout the year. Anyone can take the stage and stand in the spotlight! This brand new book works alongside the bestselling Abracadabra tutorial books to provide additional pieces which are longer in length, great fun and perfect for concert performances or simply more musical fun. 14 pieces, from classics to folk and jazz are carefully selected for violinists to enjoy playing for themselves and audiences. Suitable for players at grades 1-3 level. Includes CD of fantastic backing tracks specially arranged for this book, providing sparkle to any performance. Four songs include optional duet parts for friends to join in.