4 Strings - Discover Book 1: String Quartet: Instrumental Tutor

Contemporary String Quartet Repertoire For New and Developing Ensembles-The Discover series is part of three progressive collections of contemporary string quartet repertoire from leading composers to encourage and facilitate the development of ensemble playing. Compiled and edited by Liz Partridge each volume contains graded works commissioned especially for this series designed for quartets formed of players of similar ability. Featuring a mixture of musical styles and genres each piece contains different elements and techniques to consolidate and enhance the players’ skills as soloists and as ensemble members. An accompanying CD provides demonstration recordings of all included pieces. Minus-one tracks are availableto download online to allow for individual practice between rehearsals. Discover Series: Contemporary string quartet repertoire for new and developing ensembles. An introduction to quartet ensemble playing for string players of grade 1-3 standard. Familiar keys common rhythms and transparent musical forms ensure the short pieces and miniatures featured within Discover are accessible to all. Emphasis is firmly focussed on playing together as a unit.

Learn to use strings in your compositions and arrangements! From romantic chord pads to powerful grooves to gut-wrenching passionate melodies strings do it all.This book presents time-tested techniques and contemporary developments in writing and arranging for strings. You'll learn strategies for authentic writing in many different styles and find ideas to take your personal sound forward. Discover voicings that work best for each project and explore the intricacies of bowing. Hear articulation approaches from pads to chopping in the online audio examples. See how other composers have used strings to heighten the impact of their music in the written examples. Make yourwork stand out with the drama and depth that well informed string writing can bring.You will learn:? The tunings range and timbres for the violin viola cello and bass including standard instruments and common variations including acoustic electric and synthesized string instruments and sections.? Bowing techniques and possibilities.? Characteristic articulations and sounds such as vibrato pizzicato sul tasto trills tremolos and harmonics.? Timbral and rhythm effects such as chop technique ponticello/feedback portamento and falls.? String-section arranging techniques such as melody/countermelody fills pads and comping.? Stylistic nuances of genres such as American roots Celtic jazz rock klezmer eastern European Gypsy jazz and swing.? Mic recording and live sound techniques for capturing the best string sounds for both acoustic and electric instruments.

For all guitarists, the quest to finding the guitar tone you hear in your head and then recording it is a never-ending journey. The Ultimate Guitar Tone Handbook is your definitive guide to discovering that great, elusive guitar sound and making sure it\'s recorded well. This book features a series of interviews with expert players, guitar technicians, recording engineers, record producers, and gear manufacturers to give you an inside look into the business of guitar tone. The included DVD provides both audio and visual reference points to help you achieve the classic sounds you hear on records. / Guitare

The composer writes:Pilgrim was inspired it will be no surprise to learn by reading Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress - Vaughan Williams's great opera on the subject had fascinated me from its first performance yet it was a long time before I caught up with this essential item in any well-stocked library of English classics. It made a great impression not least because of its theme of a journey of self-discovery and a rediscovery or renewal of faith. These are ideas which have a strong interest for me not in religious terms but in their application to every aspect of human life (including great journeys) and this piece reflects my response in musical terms to this concern. The tempo of the whole piece which lasts about 18 minutes is basically slow. There are two quick episodes but these act somewhat like the trio sections of a classical scherzo save that the tempo relationships are inverted (the classical trios would have been slower not quicker) and the canvas is much larger being that of a single substantial slow movement. The form of the whole is perhaps fantasia-like rather than having any relationship to classical forms such as sonata or rondo - some motifs and themes are varied as the work develops and the opening chords are of primary importance throughout the work. There has been no attempt to convey any pictorial elements deriving from Bunyan's great book. There is however one feature which upon completion of the score struck me with some force which is that almost all the thematic material is essentially striving upwards - there is a constant upward movement (sometimes over a lengthy period) throughout the work. Pilgrim was commissioned by the Luton Music Club for the Raphael Ensemble with funds provided by the Eastern Arts Board and Bedfordshire County Council and is dedicated to the Luton Music Club. The first performance was given in Luton on February 10th 1997 and followed as part of a joint scheme by performances in the same week at the Music Clubs of Bedford and Leighton Buzzard.