Sheila Graves entered the violin business in 1983. She owned her own shop G&G Violins in Sioux City, Iowa. In addition, she has worked for Wall Violin Shop in Sioux City, Kenneth Stein Violins in Chicago, Sioux Falls Music Company, and Claire Givens Violins in Minneapolis. She has studied violin repair with Hans Nebel. Sheila has been a guest lecturer for the Suzuki Association of the Americas national conventions and was a consultant for the development of the Coda Custom Aspire and Custom NX violin bows. Currently, Sheila works at House of Note in Minneapolis specializing in selling and appraising instruments and bows in the violin family. She is a member of the Violin Society of America. Sheila holds a degree in viola performance from Northwestern University.
Carl Flesch "Cliff Notes" - Simply Violin - Violin Scales |||amp; Arpeggios in One, Two, and Three Octaves
Tue, Jan 5 2010 02:46
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Many of us who have taught from the violin scale book by Carl Flesch have wished for a "Cliff Notes" version -- one that includes the familiar fingerings but without all the extra material, such as octaves, tenths, and parallel thirds. Of course, these have their place. But most students could benefit from a more simple (and portable) version.
Most violin scale books other than Flesch are lacking in several areas. First, they do not use the Flesch fingerings, which are widely considered to be standard in America as well as abroad. Most also lack arpeggios. Finally, they are often hard to read and/or densely spaced on the page. For these reasons, many (if not most) advanced students continue to study from the Flesch book, even though they may never use the majority of its pages.
I have also wished that a "progressive" book would come available -- one that included scales in one and two octaves rather than just three octaves. Even better would be a book including arpeggios with fingerings that are consistent not only within octaves, but between them as well.
Simply Violin: Violin Scales and Arpeggios in One, Two, and Octaves (based on Flesch) solves many of these problems. This book employs consistent fingerings. Plus, the notes are well spaced and there is ample room for the teacher to change fingerings if desired.
The two octave scales in this book are particularly nice for students who are auditioning for an intermediate youth orchestra. Further, all of them use the same fingering pattern, which allows the student to memorize them easily.
In this new book, I believe that I have found a viable alternative to Flesch that I can recommend in my shop to violin teachers who are looking for a more user-friendly version of Flesch. And, the book contains scales in one and two octaves, allowing for students of any level to begin scales and progress to Flesch fingerings in a logical and progressive way.
Most violin scale books other than Flesch are lacking in several areas. First, they do not use the Flesch fingerings, which are widely considered to be standard in America as well as abroad. Most also lack arpeggios. Finally, they are often hard to read and/or densely spaced on the page. For these reasons, many (if not most) advanced students continue to study from the Flesch book, even though they may never use the majority of its pages.
I have also wished that a "progressive" book would come available -- one that included scales in one and two octaves rather than just three octaves. Even better would be a book including arpeggios with fingerings that are consistent not only within octaves, but between them as well.
Simply Violin: Violin Scales and Arpeggios in One, Two, and Octaves (based on Flesch) solves many of these problems. This book employs consistent fingerings. Plus, the notes are well spaced and there is ample room for the teacher to change fingerings if desired.
The two octave scales in this book are particularly nice for students who are auditioning for an intermediate youth orchestra. Further, all of them use the same fingering pattern, which allows the student to memorize them easily.
In this new book, I believe that I have found a viable alternative to Flesch that I can recommend in my shop to violin teachers who are looking for a more user-friendly version of Flesch. And, the book contains scales in one and two octaves, allowing for students of any level to begin scales and progress to Flesch fingerings in a logical and progressive way.
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