A New Tune a Day for Violin, Book 1 (A New Tune a Day) [Paperback]

Sarah Pope (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2005 | Series: A New Tune a Day

Book and CD set!
Since it first appeared in the 1930s, the concise, clear content of the best-selling A Tune A Day series has revolutionized music-making in the classroom and the home.
Now, for the first time, C. Paul Herfurth's original books have been completely rewritten with new music and the latest in instrument technique for a new generation of musicians.
A New Tune A Day books have the same logical, gentle pace, and keen attention to detail, but with a host of innovations: the inclusion of an audio CD - with actual performances and backing tracks - will make practice even more fun and exciting, and the explanatory diagrams and photographs will help the student to achieve the perfect technique and tone.
This book contains: - Advice on equipment - Instructions for an effective embouchure and comfortable posture - Explanatory section on reading music - Easy-to-follow lessons on clear, uncluttered pages - Audio CD with a virtuoso performance, backing tracks and audio examples - Great music including duets and rounds - Tests to check progress and comprehension - Useful pull-out chart giving all fingerings

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sarah Pope is a viola player, a violinist, teacher and writer who has spent some 10 years as a full-time member of symphony orchestras in New Zealand and Wales. She currently freelances in London orchestras, West End shows and chamber music and writes for music magazines. She is a regular tutor with the National Children's Orchestra, teaches enthusiastic "late starters" at the City Lit and is a mentor for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music teacher training program.

Product Details

• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: Music Sales America (November 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0825682053
• ISBN-13: 978-0825682056
• Product Dimensions: 11.7 x 8.8 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #218,503 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #97 in Books > Arts & Photography > Music > Theory, Composition & Performance > Sheet Music & Scores > Instrumentation > Violin

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect For An Absolute Beginner!, March 1, 2009

By 

Stoirmeil - See all my reviews

This review is from: A New Tune a Day for Violin, Book 1 (A New Tune a Day) (Paperback)

I bought A New Tune A Day For The Violin not knowing a thing about the violin. I always wanted to play it, and now, as an adult, I needed a book that would take me right from the beginning in clear, small steps. This book doesn't assume you know how to read music, or have any musical experience.

It starts off with 2 pages of basic information about musical notation - the names of the notes, how they are written, and where they sit on the musical staff. Very simple and easy to follow. Then a few pages on how to hold the violin and bow. All of this is on the DVD too, in short, clear segments.

Lesson one starts off with the open strings - you don't need your bow for this one. You see that the four strings are called G,D,A,E from thickest to thinnest, and where these notes are on the staff. Then you're doing exercises and playing songs along with the CD using these notes.

Each lesson progresses at a comfortable pace, so you're always doing something new, but not too overwhelming. Just the right balance to be both challenging and fun. Plus there's a test at the end of each section to check your progress.

All the songs in the book are fairly short, easy to learn, and a lot of fun to play along with on the CD. There's a lot of songs, too, over 40 I think. Each song has a full version, with the violin in it, so you can hear how you're supposed to play it, and then a version with just background instruments and you play along. Each song is very do-able for the lesson you're on, but also challenging to get your fingers in the right positions, and the bow making clear sounds.

This book will take you from an absolute, don't-know-a-thing beginner, and give you confidence and a nice solid foundation upon which to build. From here you can move on to other learn to play violin and fiddle books. Overall this book has been fun, and got me addicted to playing the violin!

One thing I would highly suggest is getting a chromatic tuner, like the Korg CA-30, along with the optional tuning clip. They're not that expensive, and make tuning the violin ridiculously easy. Once you're done tuning, leave the tuner on, and start playing your songs. The tuner tells you what notes you're playing, so you can tell right away if your finger is not in the exact spot it needs to be in, and then make the necessary adjustment. After a while you learn where your fingers should go, and what the notes are supposed to sound like.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, but not the best either, December 9, 2010

By 

Greg S Pecaut (Florida) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A New Tune a Day for Violin, Book 1 (A New Tune a Day) (Paperback)

A beginners violin book with CD is the way to go, especially if you don't or can't find an instructor. This book has the same simple tunes and drills most beginners books have, The CD lets you hear the tunes, and that is a help. It only took me 2 weeks to get through the book. Not that everything doesn't need a lot more practice yet, but I found the ABCs of Violin a much better book. Even Mel Bay's First Lessons book with DVD will get you up and going faster.

This is not a bad book, I just found that it wasn't needed with already having the ABCs of Violin and have bought the books with CDs and DVDs in that series now, 1-4.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Superb!, October 1, 2006

By 

P. B. - See all my reviews

This review is from: A New Tune a Day for Violin, Book 1 (A New Tune a Day) (Paperback)

I've worked my way through about one-half of this book and it is fantastic! The tunes are very reachable for a high-level beginner, even if you're not working with a teacher. I wish some of the tunes were a bit longer, though. A worthy investment.