Improve your sight-reading! Grade 1 is part of the best-selling series by Paul Harris guaranteed to improve your sight-reading! This workbook helps the player overcome problems, by building up a complete picture of each piece, through rhythmic and melodic exercises related to specific technical issues, then by studying prepared pieces with associated questions, and finally 'going solo' with a series of meticulously-graded sight-reading pieces. This new edition has been completely re-written, with new exercises and pieces to support the Associated Board's new sight-reading requirements from 2009. Improve your sight-reading! will help you improve your reading ability, and with numerous practice tests included, will ensure sight-reading success in graded exams.
This volume is planned as a sequel to Book One or any other of the various elementary and intermediate books. A definite order of study has been worked out to give the student a thorough knowledge of major and minor keys along with many necessary rhythmic figures and fingering problems of the clarinet. The material is progressive and is written so that the student will not read the works at sight but rather will need to study each portion for mastery.
Now more than ever, the ability to sight-read fluently is an essential part of the training of musicians on any instrument. This workbook is designed to help overcome the nerves that can cause sight-reading problems, by offering sound techinical advice and confidence boosting tips. Step-by-step it helps the player to create a complete picture of each piece, first through rhythmic and melodic exercises related to specific problems, then by the study of prepared piece with associated questions for the student to answer, and finally to the real, unprepared sight-reading test itself. Check-boxes for each stage allow both teacher and pupil to keep an eye on progress.
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BEST PRINT RESOURCE AWARD AT THE 2015 MUSIC TEACHER AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE Paul Harris's highly successful Simultaneous Learning approach is an entirely positive and imaginative way to teach, which embraces the understanding that all the elements of music are connected. In this definitive book Harris outlines the complete philosophy of his ground-breaking approach. He examines topics such as language and body language, the first lesson on a new piece, introducing notation and making the transition to Simultaneous Learning. This is the full eBook version of the original edition.
First and foremost: THIS IS NOT A METHOD BOOK. It is precisely what it says it is: 300 Progressive Sight Reading Exercises! Volume One is comprised of 300 progressive eight-bar exercises that cover the keys of C Major, F Major, G Major, A Minor, D Minor and E Minor. Time signatures include 4/4 (Common Time), 3/4, 2/4, 6/8, and 2/2 (Cut Time). The remaining key signatures, additional time signatures, tempo markings and dynamics markings will be covered in future volumes. All of the exercises are eight measures long. If one has done any study of formal analysis, they will find that eight measures is a typical 'period' of music and usually contains two, four-bar phrases (also typical in length). For example, many sonatinas, jazz standards, and pop songs use "32 Bar Form" (A A B A), "Binary Form" (A B), and "Ternary Form" (A B A), with each section often being eight bars. Thus, eight measures (one period of music) makes the perfect length for sight-reading studies in my opinion. How to use this book: Start where the exercises begin and work across the book - from exercise 1, 5, 9, 13 and so on until you get to a point where the music challenges you and then mark your ending point. The next practice, play exercises 2, 6, 10, 14, and so on... The next: 3, 7, 11, 15 and so on, and finally 4, 8, 12, 16, and so on. If you want to work at your "break point" (the point in the book where you can no longer play musically), work DOWN the page instead of across the pages. Note: This book is also available in a LARGE PRINT version that for printing purposes had to be divided into two books. If you have poor vision or want this book to be easy to SEE on an electronic device, you might prefer the Large Print Version. "These books differ from conventional 'methods' in that technical and theoretical instructions have been omitted, in the belief that these are more appropriately left for the teacher to explain to the student." - Bela Bartok, Mikrokosmos. I whole-heartedly agree with Bartok's sentiment and if music teachers would ask their students what they like least (or hate the most) about typical lessons, it is the method books that win this contest EVERY TIME. I have completely eliminated method books from my own teaching practice and have much happier and more productive students than ever. While this book is intended to train sight-reading skills, it may also be used by beginners or those new to reading to acquire basic reading skills, but it assumes one either has a teacher or can at least find C on their instrument. It starts at a very basic level (only three notes) and adds a new note, rhythm, or concept every four exercises and thoroughly reinforces them throughout the rest of the book. Next, the music's composition is a slave to its function: The purpose of the books is to train reading skill, and the exercises keep challenging the range that has been established by previous exercises as well as less-than-convenient intervalic skips. They are composed from a 'music-first' perspective, as opposed to an 'instrument-first' perspective, and are purposely composed to be difficult to memorize. For example, the first exercises begin on C because they are in the key of C, and then go on to sometimes start and end on different scale degrees of the same key. Those familiar with the Fundamental Modes will likely recognize what they are hearing, but those unfamiliar with these modes will likely be hearing something that sounds a bit different, or odd, until their ears acclimate to these sounds. I see many students go through this process with altered dominants and augmented triads as well. Additionally, a 20th-century composition technique (Bartok, Stravinsky) - Serial Composition - has also been used on several of the pieces, so if your ears are unfamiliar with this type of music, you might at first be uncomfortable with what you are hearing.
(Ensemble Collection). These arrangements of easy- to medium-level duets by 18th- to 20th-century masters are great for instruction and for fun because the pieces are short and easy to master. With works by Mozart, Bartok, Boismortier, Kabalevsky, Couperin, Glazunov, Schumann, Shostakovitch, Purcell, and Bach, it's a survey of music history for young students.
From the author of The Changing Mind and The Organized Mind comes a New York Times bestseller that unravels the mystery of our perennial love affair with music ***** 'What do the music of Bach, Depeche Mode and John Cage fundamentally have in common?' Music is an obsession at the heart of human nature, even more fundamental to our species than language. From Mozart to the Beatles, neuroscientist, psychologist and internationally-bestselling author Daniel Levitin reveals the role of music in human evolution, shows how our musical preferences begin to form even before we are born and explains why music can offer such an emotional experience. In This Is Your Brain On Music Levitin offers nothing less than a new way to understand music, and what it can teach us about ourselves. ***** 'Music seems to have an almost wilful, evasive quality, defying simple explanation, so that the more we find out, the more there is to know . . . Daniel Levitin's book is an eloquent and poetic exploration of this paradox' Sting 'You'll never hear music in the same way again' Classic FM magazine 'Music, Levitin argues, is not a decadent modern diversion but something of fundamental importance to the history of human development' Literary Review
(Piano Method). Here is a fun, easy course that teaches children how to improvise and play jazz piano faster than ever before. Kids will stay motivated as they improvise on popular children's songs arranged in a jazz style, while the opportunity to play alongside video accompaniments will inspire a love for performance. Every song seamlessly integrates a new improvisatory skill, systematically building upon previous learning and enabling the student to progress with confidence. Including exclusive access to video tutorials, this book is the definitive introduction to improvisation and jazz piano. The method can be used in combination with a teacher or parent. Topics covered include: swing and syncopation * echo playing * call and response * rock and swing grooves * improvising on 1-5 notes * hearing chord changes * 12-bar blues * and more.
The ability to sight-read fluently is a vital skill, enabling students to learn new pieces more quickly and play with other musicians. The best-selling Improve Your Sight-Reading! series, by renowned educationalist Paul Harris, is designed to develop sight-reading skills and improve confidence. Step by step musicians build up a complete picture of each piece, first through rhythmic and melodic exercises related to specific technical issues, then by studying prepared pieces with associated questions, and finally with a series of meticulously graded sight-reading pieces. This USA edition of Improve Your Sight-Reading! series for flute levels 6--8 (advanced) includes supporting audio available online for students to check their performances against.
