Music in a Box

Junior Education
We decided to start with the game Guess What? All the picture cards are laid out so everyone can see them. One player chooses a card without saying which one and interprets the card in their own individual way. The others have to guess which card is being played. This is a good game to start with if children have had little or no experience of improvising before. Sitting in a circle we talked about the different ways we could make sounds on our instruments and how we could be involved if we didn't have an instrument. We played the game using voices, body percussion as well as the two violins. It's also particularly good for children who cannot read yet. Since that first week my pupils have never forgotten their instruments and it has become a firm favourite with them. My colleagues concur that this game is the one they have got better at, gradually becoming more inventive and adventurous. Much lively discussion follows and be warned, they want to 'play it again and again!'click to read whole review...

Primary Music Today
...I liked the simplicity of prompt cards and hoped the random order of the cards within each group might create unexpected sequences of sounds, freeing the children, and me, from preconceptions of style/fashion or mimicry of what we might consider familiar, acceptable foot-tapping, humalong music. For our first session, the children worked in groups of five to six members of mixed ability. Groups were allowed 5-10 minutes to discuss their card sound, the instrument that best suited their sound and order of their sounds. A range of percussion instruments were available to choose from, with one tuned instrument given to each group. Recorder players in the class were encouraged to play their card using their instruments...

The choice and variety of simple imagery displayed throughout the pack allows children of all abilities to take part, without wordy verbal or written instructions. This is a very useful and compact resource.'

Teen Strings, America
Inspiration often comes in spurts and is exactly the point of Music in a Box, a new product from Impro Publications that gives players bite-sized pieces of inspiration to enhance practise and encourage group playing and improvisation. A collection of 42 cards offer a combination of graphics, words and games that players can piece together to create original melodies or innovative exercises. The possibilities are endless. These downloadable cards are available through the internet and be cut out by the player.

European Piano Teachers Association
Something completely different. Music in a Box can be investigated on Sarah Stiles' website and, once ordered, is then sent via easily downloadable email attachments. These improvisation cards can be used in a variety of ways, but basically the aim is to encourage players to create their own music, using the cards as a starting point. The graphic cards are colourful, largely abstract and immediately conjured up sounds in my head. Note cards consist of single bars of 4/4, using different rhythms and notes and word cards have single ideas on them like 'stop!', '2 notes', 'high' or 'joker'... This is original and creative and I recommend you visit the website for yourself.'

European String Teachers Association
This is a 'print and play' resource from Sarah Stiles's website designed to help children (and their teachers) create music in a free and exciting way. It comprises a box of 42 strikingly colourful picture, music and word cards with instructions for ten possible games with titles like 'Guess what' and 'Traffic lights'. A licence is available for multiple copies and also includes 26 larger size cards for use in whole class situations. The box itself was mildly fiddly to assemble and will probably not last long, but the cards themselves worked well printed on the thickest paper my printer could cope with which I then laminated.

They have proved very popular with a group of mixed ability year 3s who have loved the freedom of creating their own sounds and melodies, while an older group has enjoyed using the rhythm and instruction cards as lively exercises in sight-reading, and seem to invent a new game each week. As well as providing stimulating planned activities the set excels in those inevitable situations when only two out of a group of six children have remembered their instruments. The pack as a whole is an exciting stimulus to creative music-making in individual and group situations and should be part of every teacher's armoury.

Impro

The Strad
This eminently practical introduction to improvisation packs a lot into its 14 pages. Introducing improvisation to pupils from the earliest stages gives them a great feeling of being in command of their instruments, free from the tyranny of the printed page... Teachers who already teach improvisation may find useful ideas here. But for those who don't yet, and are unsure where to start, this should be of great value. Appropriately for its subject, it provides a firm base from which teacher and pupil alike can depart and explore.

News and Views
This is an excellent way for the pupil (and teacher!) to approach improvisation in a user-friendly way. My pupils who have tried this book and her Dual Band book have really enjoyed it, especially when they have overcome their natural reserve and realised they cannot be 'wrong', just that some choices are better than others.

Strings Magazine, Amerika
The book is designed for use by teachers of all string players, and musical examples reflect this varied focus. It's broken up into chapters outlining how to invent and copy simple phrases and sounds, question and answer in performance, improvise with different rhythms and moods, and play accompaniments. Stiles encourages her readers to delve into students "innate creative skills".

Double Bassist
For bass teachers who normally avoid string method books, this introduction will certainly help them teach improvisation with confidence.

Fiddler Magazine, America
'Not only are the exercises excellent, so are the tips Stiles gives, such as: "Pupils must never get the feeling that anything is beyond them, and therefore no longer fun. Musicians who improvise early in their relationship with their instrument will not only be able to do it with facility, but will be a step ahead with arranging/composing skills and all-around listening skills. This could as easily be called an ear-training book. In any case, it’s a winner.' Stiles has a knack for getting people started without making them nervous, self-conscious, or overwhelmed.

European String Teachers Association (Nederland)
Dit is ook een boek waar de leerlingen zelf mee aan de gang kunnen, laat het aanschaffen, wie weet word je op les verrast door spontane improvisaties!

Mini Quartets

The Strad (England) August 2008
Entertaining and challenging pieces which young players should enjoy'.

European String Teachers Association (Nederland), March 2008
'...nu wordt het toch wel erg leuk, ontroerend, en spannend!'

European String Teachers Association, March 2008
'The tunes in this book are catchy, and for some reason, I find myself excited by the vibrant playing and encouraging sounds on the Cds'. Klik hier voor de hele recensie.

Strings (America) June 2008
'What makes these books unique is the treatment of the violin parts: unlike traditional quartet voicings, all the violin parts are equal and players can choose their own colored part'

Junior Education, December 2007
Chosen as one of '10 of the best!'

Akkoord, November 2007
'De Mini Quartets van Sarah Stiles is ensemblemuziek waar het speelplezier vanaf spat. De stukken ogen speels, vrolijk, verrassend en soms grillig...'

Pyramide (NL), March 2008
'... de stukken klinken heel aangenaam, maar ook af en toe uitgesproken vrolijk, treurig, dissonant en vreemd'.