Introducing Violin Mix
A brand new collection of graded pieces to help violinists progress from Grade Initial to 3.
The series has been compiled by string specialists Kathy and David Blackwell and covers the musical and technical elements of the early grades in three progressive volumes. With a variety of arrangements, spanning different cultures and styles, Violin Mix includes many arrangements that will appear in the forthcoming Violin Syllabus from 2024 and is perfect for choosing own-choice Performance Grade pieces.
Book 1 is suitable for Initial Grade to Grade 1. Repertoire highlights include well-known music such as ‘Autumn’ from The Four Seasons and ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ from Mary Poppins. There are also lots of new tunes to be explored, such as ‘Gavotta’ by Ignatius Sancho and the traditional American song ‘Let us chase the squirrel’.
Book 2 offers attractive repertoire at Grades 1 to 2 in a wide variety of styles. Well-known music includes ‘La donna è mobile’ from Rigoletto and ‘The Hippopotamus’ by Flanders and Swann. New music to discover includes ‘Pierrot and Pierrette’ by Amy Beach and the traditional Ghanaian song ‘Senwa dedende’.
Book 3 explore Grade 3 in a range of styles and genres. Familiar tunes include ‘Jupiter’ from The Planets and the African-American spiritual ‘Deep River’. Dive into some new music such as ‘Rabbit Foot’ by Florence Price and the traditional Ukrainian song ‘Halya carries water’.
With Violin Mix you will discover:
- New arrangements of repertoire spanning many cultures and styles, in three progressive volumes
- Accompaniments for piano, violin and guitar
- A rich source of repertoire for a concert or exam
- Many of the pieces are featured on the ABRSM Violin syllabus from 2024
- An interesting footnote and fun fact for every piece
Kathy and David Blackwell both studied music at the University of Edinburgh. Kathy continued with studies at the University of Oxford before following a career in string teaching and writing educational music. David has worked in music publishing and has composed and arranged a wide range of music from choral and organ compositions to educational music for strings, piano and a variety of other instruments. Together they have written the award-winning String Time series published by Oxford University Press. They have twice won the UK’s Music Industries Association award for Best Education Publication and in 2017 they received an ESTA UK award in recognition of exceptional services to string teaching.