Compatible Duets for Strings

Description

Double Bass — In our experience as instrumental music teachers, we have found that having studentsplay in small chamber-music groups was a very beneficial exercise to improve the student’soverall musicianship. The simplest form of chamber music is the duet. It is an opportunityfor the student to play with a teacher or to play with another student of similar abilities.Aspects of playing such as tone quality, intonation, technique and ensemble skills can bedeveloped during the process of studying duets.These duets are different in that they have many different performance options, since all ofthe books in this series are compatible. As school music teachers we always had studentswho wanted to come to the band room during lunch or after school; eager students whosimply wanted to play music with their friends. However, that was not possible at the time,since there was very little duet material available that was compatible with all of the stringinstruments. This book takes care of that. A student can now grab a fellow musician, nomatter what instrument they might play and have hours of fun playing duets together. Mostimportantly, they will learn a great deal about music-making in the process.The duets have been generally arranged in the book in order of difficulty and cover a rangeof keys that are appropriate for this ability level. Special care was given to making surethat both of the duet parts were on a similar ability level and that each line was givenan opportunity to play a lead role at some point during the arrangement. Also, most ofthe musical markings are attached to both systems and the point size of the music wasconsidered for ease of reading.It is our hope that this collection will help to stimulate and enhance the musicianship of theperformers. It was a pleasure for us to have the opportunity to put together this collection.We hope it is a useful tool for you for years to come. Playing duets is a great way to learn how to play in a chamber-music setting, and this unique collection gives students the opportunity to do it with anyone else who plays a string instrument, making the combinations of instruments that can be used almost limitless. Packed with 31 duets in a variety of styles, Compatible Duets for Strings is perfect for use in a school setting with students who are especially eager to play music with their friends. Their flexibility makes these duets a must-have for any string player.