Just got back from a terrific time at the ASTA Convention in Louisville, KY. What a wonderful time meeting teachers, talking about technique and study methods, and making some of our new releases available for the very first time. Double Stop Beginnings for the Violin and Double Stop Beginnings for the Viola were big hits, as were Second Position for the Violin and Playing in Keys for Violin, Book One. As always, the 50% off sale bins were the favorites, with books available for as little as $4! Back home, it's been a lot of fun going over the ideas we got from the conference and getting ready for next year in Salt Lake City!

Just got back from the ASTA 2013 National Conference in Providence, RI. We had a terrific time exhibiting, meeting teachers from all over the country, and enjoying Providence!

We released a number of new books in time for the conference that are now available on the website. Double Stop Shifting for the Cello, Book One is one of my favorite new books for cello, presenting a series of short exercises that teach the intermediate cellist how to shift in double stops. The exercises increase in difficulty in small increments to provide the most solid foundation. The students who have played through this book now demonstrate a new fluency in double stop playing and shifting that is quite remarkable. Double Stop Beginnings was previously only available as an ebook, and is now in print!

Third Position Study Book for the Violin, Book One and Third Position Study Book for the Viola, Book One were published as supplements to the Third Position Method Books for Violin and Viola. These books focus on playing across strings in third position using short exercises and pieces.

And the highlight of our new releases is the long-awaited Treble Clef for the Viola! Violists can now learn treble clef note by note, with accompanying short pieces. Beginning with the notes in first position on the viola, the book progresses to treble clef notes in third and fifth positions. Check out more information on the Treble Clef book page.

What a wonderfully inspiring conference of string teachers just finished at the 2012 ASTA Convention in Atlanta, Georgia! I got to meet so many wonderful, dedicated teachers and attend phenomenal sessions by Mark Rudoff and Martha Gershefski. Back into playing and  teaching now, getting ready for the Philmore Ensemble May 5 concert, the end-of-the-year student recitals, and the upcoming Summer String Program. Playing Grutzmacher Etude No. 8 today, I marveled at the brilliance of the man. He finished his somewhat-grueling trill etude with a couple lines of natural harmonics! You have to play it to believe it, but he really knew how to work the left hand when he wrote that.