Discover one of the most powerful ways to bring new energy and enthusiasm to your group classes and individual lessons!
Really Great Reels
Tunes to Spice-Up Your Violin Program
String Teachers - make your lessons and group classes the ones students and parents talk about with big smiles on their faces!
Looking for ways to keep your students engaged?
The perfect mix of fun and learning, Really Great Reels offers lead sheets, arrangements and teaching points for 14 field-tested fiddle tunes, selected for their appeal and technical challenges appropriate to four designated skill levels. And these arrangements make for a fun finale to any recital - big smiles and feet tapping all around!!
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Independent learners - learn some great tunes and techniques to entertain yourself, your family and your friends!
From the CD:
Maggie's Pancakes
(Advanced - p. 30)
Also available on Amazon.com. CLICK HERE.
But Really Great Reels is not just for teachers. With the accompanying CD, containing both up-tempo "inspiration" versions and slowed-down "learning" versions of each tune, Really Great Reels is perfect for independent learners, too!
Whether you're a teacher trying to inspire your students or an independent learner looking to venture into the world of fiddling, Really Great Reels has what you need -from beginner to advanced, in a variety of styles and traditions, complete with arrangements and teaching points for each tune.
"In short, what I loved about Really Great Reels was everything."
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"Like all of Amy Matherly’s books, the layout is uncluttered and well thought out. The tune is on the left page and a harmony part at the same technical level is on the right page. Underneath each tune, Matherly provides a bit of background for the tune or composer, what techniques are required, and tips on how to teach the tune and accompaniment. If you’re looking for group class ideas, here they are!
"As a teacher, I appreciate the clear and specific ideas for how to use the material. As someone who has tried to learn fiddle tunes on her own, I appreciate the straightforward instructions for learning a fiddle tune by ear.
"The early tunes develop a sense of form, rhythm and melodic line. The intermediate tunes introduce less familiar modes and keys. The more advanced tunes explain traditional ornaments and employ more complex bowing patterns. The clear progression demystifies how to get from the notes on the page to something that sounds like a fiddle tune.
"This is the book I have been looking for since I first tried to play or teach a fiddle tune. If you’re looking for an entry to the world of fiddle tunes, for yourself or your students, look no further. Really Great Reels is it."
Vicki Citron
Ms. Citron (past president of the Suzuki Association of Massachusetts, and past director of the Massachusetts Suzuki Festival) has been directing and teaching at the Vicki Citron Music Studio of Somerville, MA since 1988 - www.citronmusic.com. Prior to that, she taught for fifteen years in community music schools and public school systems in the Boston area.
About Really Great Reels
Author Amy Matherly is a registered Teacher Trainer with the Suzuki Association of the Americas and has been teaching violin and viola to students, ranging from four year olds to adults, for over thirty years. As Amy noted in a recent article:
"Fiddling is fun. You will find it hard to keep your feet from tapping and your mood from lifting when playing fiddle music. I have been including fiddle tunes in my teaching for many years and have found them to be a great teaching resource. In addition to the infusion of energy and enthusiasm that playing fiddle tunes will generate in your students, they provide opportunities to build technique and rhythmic skills, and put music theory knowledge to good use."
"Interest in fiddling became so strong at my school that I formed [a fiddle band]. This group of young and very dedicated fiddlers meets weekly and performs often. I enjoy finding new and interesting tunes, creating multi-part arrangements and teaching them to the band."
Amy has used a wide variety of fiddle tunes with her students over the years. The tunes she chose to include in Really Great Reels have been thoroughly field-tested and proven to be fun and effective learning tools. And they've been a real treat for parents, too. They get caught up in their children's enthusiasm and love these songs that they find themselves humming throughout the day.
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From the CD:
My Dear Sweetheart
(Easy - p. 18)
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What's Inside Really Great Reels?
Lead Sheets and Teaching Points
Lead sheets for 14 fiddle tunes in 4 traditions (Scottish, Swedish, Old Time, and Irish) and 4 skill levels - a variety of styles to engage beginning through advanced players.
Arrangements / Harmony Parts
Great for outreach programs and recitals, these arrangements really get an audience's attention! They're also a great way to teach music theory.
Scores for Each Arrangement
"My daughter loved listening to the recordings and learning 'My Dear Sweetheart'. Now she wants to learn all the songs in Really Great Reels!
"I'm looking forward to it, too!"
Laurie Knorr
Suzuki Parent and Violin teacher.
From the CD:
Zorro's Mark
(Intermediate - p. 22)
Really Great Reels also includes recommended teaching/learning approaches for teachers and for independent learners. You can follow the written processes to the letter or just use them as inspiration for your own thoughts regarding the best way to teach or learn these tunes.
Adding fiddle tunes to your program is a great way to delight your students and their parents. Don't miss this opportunity to benefit from the author's years of tune-testing failures and successes. Buy Really Great Reels today!
Shop with confidence. Payments processed securely by PayPal - no account necessary.
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Questions? Contact us at info@campublications.com.
© 2015 CAM Publications
"I've never known a musician who regretted being one. Whatever deceptions life may have in store for you, music itself is not going to let you down." - Virgil Thomson
© 2018 CAM Publications
"I've never known a musician who regretted being one. Whatever deceptions life may have in store for you, music itself is not going to let you down." - Virgil Thomson