The Balanced Violinist: Technique Companion to Kaleidoscopes Book 1: Guide for parents, teachers & students
Overview
Designed for parents, teachers and students, this comprehensive, 84-page guide provides detailed instructions on every element of playing violin. Posture, bowhold, pre-playing exercises, and technical exercises are detailed with fun and engaging language, captivating activities, and beautiful photography.
This book provides an thorough orientation for the engaged practice parent, with topics such as:
- The importance of daily practice and listening;
- Creating a positive, enriching and joyful practice environment;
- Giving your child feedback in a way that builds skill and confidence;
- Handling "big" feelings, both inside the practice room and out;
- Working creatively and effectively with your child's temperament; and
- Setting the violin posture and left hand, and customizing the bowhold to the individual shape of the student's hand;
- Dynamic bowhold experiences to stabilize the bowhold before applying it to the instrument;
- Proprioceptive exercises to build body awareness for bowing and full-body posture; and
- Kinesthetic playing experiences to help to develop nuanced control of the angle, weight application, and movement of the bow.
The Balanced Violinist is a valuable reference for the violin teacher or beginning student. Its comprehensive approach to posture and focus on kinesthetic awareness put it in a class of its own.
About the Kaleidoscopes Method:
Kaleidoscopes synthesizes Montessori, Suzuki, and Kodály philosophies into a flexible, robust and joyful approach. Folk songs encourage singing and connect children to their cultural heritage, while movable-do solfege builds musical understanding and by-ear skill.
The method separates technique and repertoire, allowing teachers to customize the sequence to each student's pace and readiness. A guided discovery-based teaching process rewards students' curiosity and builds their passion and autonomy.
The Kaleidoscopes recordings are available to stream on Spotify, Apple Music, and other platforms. Learn more at discoverviolin.org.
International Options
For international customers, we suggest purchasing Kaleidoscopes Book 1 from a local bookstore or online seller, in order to avoid shipping delays and additional costs that may be associated with international orders.
Your local music store should be happy to order these books for you upon request through their standard purchasing channels. Please provide them with the ISBN: 978-1-959675-06-8.
Should you encounter any difficulties locating the book, feel free to reach out to us. We can provide a list of international retailers or offer further assistance.
Welcome to the Kaleidoscopes Violin Method. We hope you enjoy this magical musical journey!
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The Teacher Guide includes: An overview of the component philosophies (Montessori, Suzuki, Kodaly) as they relate to the design of the Kaleidoscopes violin curriculum Guidance and insight for involving parents in their child's violin study and home practice Model sequences for younger (age 4-6) and older (age 7-10) beginners Choosing the correct violin size Teaching points for all the songs More than two dozen group class activities, including violin-playing, literacy, part-work, and kinesthetic activities Included in the set along with the Teacher Guide are the following (these books are also sold separately): The Balanced Violinist: Technique Companion to Kaleidoscopes Book 1: Guide for parents, teachers, and students; The full-color Kaleidoscopes Book 1 student book with all the songs, and Lines & Spaces, which is the movable-do-based note-reading companion to Kaleidoscopes. The audio recording is an important component of the curriculum. The digital version is purchased separately and/or is available for streaming below. You may also order your books with...
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Book 3 advances into more sophisticated playing and greater technical challenge with a wide variety of literature.
Classical pieces by Bach, Brahms, Schumann and more include a broader palette of dynamics, articulations and stylistic elements.
Vibrato is developed on Oyfn Pripetshik (Jewish traditional), Reverie, by Ambroise Thomas, and other songs.
The beautifully tragic Blanche Comme la Neige (French traditional), which is in mixed meter, encourages transparent flautando bowing.
Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho introduces a bluesy style with swing rhythms.
The book gradually moves toward longer pieces with contrasting sections, second position, and greater key flexibility.
The recordings are not yet available on the usual streaming platforms but can be streamed on SoundCloud. The video playlist is available on the Kaleidoscopes YouTube channel, here.
Browse the images (at left) for one-line excerpts of many songs in this book.
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Enter a magical world of music with the Kaleidoscopes Violin Method. This captivating approach is the perfect introduction to the violin for children and the young at heart. Student Book 1 Stunning watercolor illustrations of beloved folk songs bring learning to life, spark the imagination, and inspire a love for music. Movable-do solfege encourages supports by-ear learning and illuminates tonal relationships. Gentle, accessible steps ensure a smooth journey for even the youngest players. 42 pages. Parent Guide The parent guide, entitled The Balanced Violinist: Technique Companion to Kaleidoscopes Book 1, provides detailed instructions for students as well as parents. Posture, bowhold, pre-playing exercises, and technical exercises are all clearly detailed with beautiful photography. This guide combines previous volumes into one convenient and elegant book. 84 pages. Audio Component Daily listening is an essential part of the Kaleidoscopes curriculum. Stream the audio on Spotify or Apple Music, and purchase the physical CD...
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