GIA Publications Habits of a Successful Young String Musician (Book 1) - Ball/Selby/Rush - Viola - Book/Media Online

A Comprehensive Beginner Method for Year One and Beyond

Authors: Sarah Ball, Margaret Selby, Christopher Selby, Scott Rush
Format: Book with Media Online
Instrumentation: Viola

Habits of a Successful Young String Musician is a field-tested and musical collection of 220 sequenced exercises for the beginning string student. The companion website (www.habitsstrings.com) features supplemental resources including accompaniment tracks, start-up clinic videos, and full performance videos for each exercise in the book. These cutting-edge online components are on MusicFirst (PracticeFirst) and MakeMusic Cloud (SmartMusic).

What makes Habits of a Successful Young String Musician unique?

Tone is at the heart of this method.

• Students begin using the bow earlier than other resources.
• The familiar melodies enable students to use their ears to develop good pitch and tone.
• Online videos allow students to see and hear professional string players modeling goodtone and technique for each exercise.

Tonal literacy is a key focus of this book.

• All four open strings are introduced early.
• New notes are introduced with clear fingerboard diagrams and pictures next to the staff.
• New keys are taught by highlighting notes affected by the new key signature.

Rhythmic literacy exercises will have your students counting and reading independently.

• Long notes and rests are introduced early so students learn to count and subdivide.
• Melodies in 3/4 appear early and often.
• Nine pages of sight-reading exercises develop stronger tonal and rhythmic literacy skills.

Quality content includes:

• High-quality photos of excellent hand positions to help students develop great technique.
• A diverse repertoire of classical and folk melodies from around the world.
• Warm-up pages with scales, arpeggios, tuning canons, bowing variations, and other great tools for introducing, teaching, and reinforcing skills.

Online resources (www.habitsstrings.com) include instructional videos by professional string coaches to reinforce instrument position, left-hand set-up, bow hand technique, hooked bows, slurs, developing good tone, as well as shifting and positions in the lower strings.

Sarah Ball is the Director of Orchestras at North Gwinnett Middle School in Sugar Hill, GA.

Margaret Selby is the Director of Orchestras at Laing Middle School in Mount Pleasant, SC.

Christopher Selby is the Director of High School Orchestras at the Charleston County School of the Arts, Charleston, SC.

Scott Rush is the team lead for the Habits series.