So we're a little over halfway through 2020 and it's been quite a year! We hope that all of you are healthy and safe and able to still make music.

About a month ago, just as the weather was turning warmer, Myanna realized we all could all use some light-hearted, earnest, outdoor-belonging, inspiring, beautiful, rhythmic, toe-tapping, nostalgic, FUN music! ​​

As usual, Myanna told me nothing about what she was writing, but as I walked out of the studio to my car one day, I passed Myanna and our mother playing some Sousa on two violins and I just had to stop and listen.

​They kept playing through the book and somehow I couldn't leave. And that's how the Fiddles on the Bandstand books were born!

These are the tunes people hum, the tunes we remember from "somewhere", the tunes we might even want to share with our neighbors in an impromptu outdoor concert!

​Some years ago, Myanna and I ran a youth orchestra and when they were asked to play outside after a parade, we quickly realized that there is an entire genre of lighthearted music that is perfect for that situation. Some of the tunes that inspired us back then have made an appearance in this book. 

In the past week, as the books have arrived from the printer, I have started to play the duets in outdoor lessons with my students. And I can say that there's nothing quite like the beauty of these cello duets gently floating out in the breeze. 

• Play these exercises slowly. 
• Think about each space as you play it.
• As your mind sees the words "half step" or "whole step", try to remember how that space feels in your fingers.
• Roman numerals refer to strings, not positions.

       I = E string
       II = A string
       III = D string
​       IV = G string

• If you have trouble playing scales in tune, study the scale exercises in Three-Octave Scales for the Violin, Book One: Learning the Scales. 

Here are a few observations Myanna and I have made while playing and teaching with these studies:

3. Playing open string bow studies can help violinists at every level. We've used this book with students who had just started playing a few months earlier and also with intermediate and very advanced students. It helped them all, in different ways.

​The beginning students used the book to discover what the bow can do. Pure bow technique, such as string crossing, rhythm, and slurs can be taught using this book.

The intermediate students used the book to listen more and improve their tone. At an intermediate level, it's easy to focus on the left hand and forget about the bow. Playing an Open String Bow Workout at the beginning of every lesson has helped our intermediate students build better bow control and tone. 

And the advanced students played the slow exercises at an Adagio tempo and the fast exercises as fast as possible to expand the range of their bow technique. ​

To celebrate the release of the new book of Open String Bow Workouts, we are offering the above mini set of (all-new) violin open string studies for free!

When you play these, focus on correct form and how you're holding the bow. 

​Keep the bow arm shoulder, wrist, and fingers as loose and relaxed as possible. The thumb should be gently balanced on the bow; never squeezing. 

Listen for the smoothest, most even sound during each note and keep the bow moving at the same speed while you change bows so there is no variation in sound.

When a teacher mentioned that her student wasn't allowed to play O Come Little Children because of religious reasons and asked about an alternative piece, I wrote this piece as an option that still teaches many of the same techniques: string crossing, slow and fast bows, etc.

​O Come Little Children, in Suzuki Book One for Violin (or Viola, or Cello), is also a Christmas carol and some teachers may be looking for a substitute when students or parents request it. Or, Spring Melody (below) can be used as a supplemental piece in addition to O Come Little Children when students need more work on these skills. Beginning violin, viola and cello adult students can enjoy this free piece as well!