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"The
'Folksongs for the Violin'
contain a wealth of traditional
folksongs from all over the
world.
I have enjoyed working
through all three books.
They have made practising the
violin much more interesting!"
Anna Buckman,
(pianist studying the violin as a
second instrument).
"Well, I've finished all four
'Folksongs for the Violin' Books.
No more interesting songs to
learn! Does that mean its all
exercises from now on?"
Anna (14th May, 2003)
[Anna had her first violin lesson on 31st Jan., 2001.
As well as 'exercises' her
repertoire also includes:
Pachelbel Canon; Vivaldi
(Double Mandolin Concerto,
arranged for 2 violins); Handel:
Sonata in F; Corelli Sonatas;
Telemann Sonatinas; Mazas and
other Studies; Ševčik, Op. 3
(advanced bowing);
Massenet's "Meditation from
Thaïs"; and Raff's "Cavatina".
And we've started Viotti:
Concerto 23, to go with the 6th
Position Exercises, and to
reinforce Ševčik, Op. 9 (double
stopping) Exercises...]
Hello Mrs Halamek.
Anna gave me your address.
Thank you for the copies of your
violin method books. I have
enjoyed looking through them,
and especially playing in them
with Anna. She has obviously
had a very good teacher!
I have been wanting to become
more familiar with folk songs
and your books will be a great
resource. I will definitely
recommend them to my students
who are looking for some good
solos and ensembles to play,
and to give them something
besides the standard classical
repertoire to learn.
Thanks again
Linda Woodrich,
Violin teacher, USA
A few more Letters from happy players
"Playing the music in the book
(Folksongs, Part 2) was great,
because I knew how to play
them all.
I had heard them all
before, and I could go through
them fast to start a great new
song.
I started off with 'Down in
Demerara' (in Part 2), and I am
working my way through Part 3.
by Stephanie Olford
(Age 11).
...Book 4 looks great.
As always, the use of
international folk tunes makes
the material interesting for
students.
I appreciate the large variety
of keys and like how you
coordinate exercises with
songs, as with Exercise 2
(pg. 3) and the songs on the following pages.
You do this in the 3rd position
book as well, which helps
students practice better at
home.
Lisa Bollman,
Violin/viola teacher,
Billings, Montana, USA
"Folksongs", Part 4 is a really
good music book because it
has different songs from all
different parts of the world, so
it makes it more interesting
and challenging, because you
get to hear how music from
other countries sounds.
It also challenges your ears to
listen to different keys (and
different tonalities). It is also
just really fun to play the
songs!
Jessica Olford
'Folksongs 4' is a really good
way to learn the different
positions involved in playing
the violin.
As a student who has spent
many years playing the violin
but not really learning the
proper techniques, I found it
was really helpful to go back
and learn how the violin really
should be played.
'Folksongs 4' is a really good
book in that it incorporates
learning the techniques
thoroughly with fun and with
enjoyable songs.
Andrew Morgan
Letter from Clare
"Dear Mrs Halamek,
I'm writing to thank you for the tremendous work you are
doing with my husband Ralph. As you know, I have played
the violin since I was 10 years old.
When I met Ralph, he was 21 and he told me how he had
always wanted to play the violin, but had never asked his
parents for lessons as he thought it would be too expensive.
It remained an unfulfilled dream of his for many more years.
At the age of 37, when our 4 year old daughter started to
learn the violin in England, Ralph decided to start lessons
too. Soon afterwards we moved to Australia.
Since he has been working with you, he has come on in
leaps and bounds. I think the main factor is your absolute
certainty that an adult can learn an instrument and become
a competent player.
You have always set Ralph challenging pieces and the result
is that he is now a very confident sight-reader. We now enjoy
listening to him play and he gets enjoyment from his
achievements.
He has also benefited greatly from your extensive musical
knowledge, and from working through your folk-music books
which set pieces in many different positions.
Perhaps the highlight was last Christmas, when for the first
time, Ralph played in a small orchestra with me. We were
part of a group playing for a Christmas pageant.
It was wonderful to play alongside each other for the first
time, providing entertainment for other people!
So thank you for your major role in achieving one of Ralph's
lifelong dreams."
Clare
"Folk Music is the Basis of All Music
...Every form of vocal and instrumental music
we possess
has
developed out of folk song or dance..."
...The Oxford Companion to Music, Tenth Edition
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