Hi All

Wondered if any of you could give some advice on any good books similar to the level of grades 1 2 and 3 ? I'm loving the pieces in the grade books and I want to expand and try some more of the same things, still with the piano accompaniment or a cd if possible. I suppose I'm looking for a collection of some kind that covers the levels above and expanding my violin playing.

Joy

Would anyone say that this book is any good.....

Violin Classics

Try the Suzuki books, starting with book 1. I use them as repertoire, but not in the Suzuki way. They're good pieces and I've found that my students can progress very quickly when using them. Some of the beginner methods are a bit too laborious and not as well thought out.

Violinia

The ABRSM also publish some collections of baroque pieces which are very good. I reckon book one of those would be useful.

Also a book of studies would not come amiss, some can be quite tuneful!! Kinsey book 1 maybe.

And if you have someone else to play with then the Bartok duos (for 2 violins, and I think are also available for viola) are wonderful.

Jane

Joy, why dont you also try the Trinity Examination Graded pieces too? I've got the Grade one pieces from 1998 and they are really nice. You may also consider picking up the previous ABRSM Examination books from 2001-2004 if you just want to play more pieces. I wonder if they can still be bought new?
Yes they do

I might spend £15 on Grades 1-3 and treat myself too.

Gae

QUOTE (Gae @ Feb 26 2005, 03:07 PM)

I might spend £15 on Grades 1-3 and treat myself too.

Yes go for it! In the Hall of the Mountain King by Grieg is in the 3 one I think.. I thought it was quite hard and havent looked at it for a while.. however I might dig the book our tonight! I may try and get the Trinity ones too... you reken they have a nice collection too?

Thanks to the other suggestions I shall have a look into them.

Joy

Joy, I ended up ordering the three books after all.

Today, I picked up a singing book that I had recently bought "Sing Together!" and I tried having a go at the "voice" parts on the violin. It was great! There are 100 songs in the book, all with piano accompaniment and most are at quite an easy level. I've had a lot of fun today playing through several of these songs and doing some of the piano accompaniments too. A lot of the pieces are in easy keys...G, C, F, Bb, Eb,D, A, etc and so are not too difficult to sight read. Melodically, they are quite simple too as most of them are simple traditional folk songs. Still, they are a lot of fun to play though and great for improving reading in different keys. I've finished my Grade 2 "Tune a Day Book" and Sight reading so I need more material like this.
Maybe, somewhere in your collection you might find a similar book? I'm going to see what else I can dig up later as I have lots more Songbooks for voice and piano.

Gae

Hi Gae

I shall have a look in my collection.. I have been playing some flute pieces on the violin, which were quite nice.

However I havent had a chance to do anything today as I've had my A level mock exam.. four part harmony I really enjoy it but I think I mucked it up today.. still we have to learn somehow.

Do you have a shoulder rest for your violin? I do, but my viola one is a bit awkward... still I'm sure I'm doing everything wrong to do with my viola

Joy

As a violin teacher I love the" Waggon Wheels" and "Fast Forward" books by Colledge. They now come with cd so I'd recommend them to you. The tunes are lovely. My students love playing them. Also a book I picked up in New York a few years ago called "Pop Style Solos" is a big hit too. That also comes with cd. You could find that online I'm sure. "Disney Solos" and "Disney Movie Hits" again with cd are great too but on the harder side with lots of position and key changes but they'd be something good to work up to. the "Fiddle Time" series are very good too. Check out www.musicroom.com and www.swstrings.com . Hope these help.

If you have a good lending library nearby you might find many of the books mentioned above plus a whole lot more - I've borrowed several to give my daughter a bit of variety!

Another favourite is "Jigs, reels & hornpipes" which has a good collection of folk tunes etc - one version has extra parts to make your own folk band! They are generally playable at around Grade 2-3 but enjoyable for more advanced players too - just add your own improvisations & ornaments & see how fast you can play "Drowsy Maggie" !!

Joy,
A couple of weeks ago I picked up Michael Rose's "A Sketchbook for Violin" which has 6 really nice pieces with piano accompaniment. So far I've had a go at the March and Reverie with my trusty computer playing the accompaniment. You would certainly like them I'm sure. There is a sample page of Nocturne at the ABRSM publishing website. I haven't tried that one yet.

Gae

QUOTE (Gae @ Mar 2 2005, 01:38 PM)

Joy, A couple of weeks ago I picked up Michael Rose's "A Sketchbook for Violin" which has 6 really nice pieces with piano accompaniment. So far I've had a go at the March and Reverie with my trusty computer playing the accompaniment. You would certainly like them I'm sure. There is a sample page of Nocturne at the ABRSM publishing website. I haven't tried that one yet. Gae

Gae

Thanks for the tip .. I shall check it out. I haven't been able to do much playing this week as I've had grade 7 to worry about, and uni and the a level.. so it's madness this week! Still next week hopefully I can start on my Abracadabra book again and the violin pieces from the older books.

Joy