This collection of beloved standards from traditional American fiddling
literature will introduce young players to an aspect of string playing
that is motivational, fun, and pedagogically appropriate. Intended to be
used in tandem with other string methods, Fiddle & Song is carefully
sequenced in a step-by-step way to accompany beginning instruction.
Singing the tune first provides a framework for the instrumental
instruction. The left-hand pages of the book are for students. The
right-hand pages have information for the teacher, parts for advanced
students, and easy ensemble parts. Each tune includes melody, breaks,
back-ups, kick-offs, tags, guitar chords, ensemble parts, and creative
exploratory activities. Piano accompaniments are available.
The series works for like instrumentation or mixed instrumentation. The
violin book is generally in the keys of A and D while the viola and
cello/bass books are in the keys of D and G, a fifth lower. Innovative
ensemble parts allow each instrument to accompany the others in mixed
instrumentation, from duos up to string orchestra. Kick-offs can be used
to transition to the new key if all strings are playing together.