One Octave Scales in 1st and 3rd Position
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You’ll need lots of synco-patience when practising this one! A marvellously mercurial piece full disorientating off-beats and discombobulating syncopation!
Whirligig ... full of swirling scales and spinning chromaticism, it’s a whirly whirly fun piece!! It’s also pretty tricky for the left hand, but try to make it sing, dance and lilt!
A creepy, crawly, chromatic melody, undulating eerily, skittering nimbly … nothing to be scared of! Try playing it all the way through without feeling itchy!
This iconic celeste melody comes from Tchaikovsky’s magical and super-tuneful and quintessentially Christmassy ballet, The Nutcracker!
This famous arias from Georges Bizet's 1875 opera Carmen features a seductively chromatic melody over the iconic ‘dum … de dum dum’ Habanera rhythm!
Creepy Chromatics is based around the chromatic scale – the one that moves up and down in semitones. Use dramatic dynamics to maximise the creepiness!
Presenting ViolinSchool’s version of Spring from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. It’s pretty close to the original, except our version can be played entirely in 1st position!
The second movement of Symphony No.5 is a beautiful example of Tchaikovsky's music – colourful, expressive, beautifully orchestrated and melodically memorable!
Here’s the gorgeous, tender melody from the 3rd movement of Scheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov, his epic symphonic suite based on One Thousand and One Nights.
This iconic piece of music is a soundtrack for trolls, gnomes and goblins! From the spiky beginning to the final explosive fortissimo, there is drama in every note!
A charming, waltzing lullaby in the key of Eb major. The dotted rhythms give it a lovely, lilting quality, gently swaying in the Autumn breeze.
Here’s the famous ‘Barcarolle’ by Jacques Offenbach, a style of music that's traditionally sung as folk music by Venetian gondoliers.
ViolinSchool’s March in C is a triumphal tune that’s great for practising dotted rhythms, hooked bowing, strong articulation, and big bold bow strokes.
Check out this chirpy, dance-like piece in G major. The 6/8 time and the catchy melody will get you straight into the mood to celebrate springtime!
Yankee Doodle went to town, A-riding on a pony. Stuck a feather in his cap, And called it macaroni! A riotously catchy British-American song ... beware the triple stops!
Franz Schubert originally wrote this theme to accompany a play called 'Rosamunde'. It's now more famous as the second movement of his 13th String Quartet!
The sublime, sweeping main theme from Tchaikovsky’s much loved ballet, telling the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse!
ViolinSchool’s String Crossing Exercises – eight pages of rhythm and bowing patterns – will help you get really really good at crossing strings!
Get ready to play the Rumbango by practising these rumbangolicious arpeggio exercises. Feel the groove of the syncopated rhythms and irregular beats!
This study is jam-packed full of violinistic nutrients … scales, arpeggios and lots of string crossings! And, there are 72 bowing and rhythm patterns to choose from!
Make sure there’s nothing makeshift about the way you make shifts! Glide smoothly between 1st and 3rd position on each string, landing perfectly in tune every time!
