Impro, Free Improvisation in String Teaching. Violin, viola, cello and double bass

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Impro, Free Improvisation in String Teaching. Violin, viola, Satiner & Bell

This is a guide to introducing the idea of improvising with students - for beginners as well as for more advanced players. Playing without music in front of you can be quite liberating and can often stimulate students who may be weary of conventional teaching or who take quickly to the idea of using their imagination to invent their own notes and sounds. Includes pieces with improvisation and excercises.

Selection of reviews

European String Teachers Association (Nederland)
This is something of a first in violin music.The lay-out is clear and instuctions on how to achieve the required effects are user friendly. This has definitely been given 'The Nod'.

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.