Learning to perform with other musicians provides a unique and valuable learning experience. Chamber music, which requires assembling only a few instrumentalists in one space at one time, can serve as a learning tool for both elementary and advanced students. Yet, chamber music is often overlooked, due to school schedules which place emphasis on band and symphony orchestra. Students who seek to improve their ensemble skills may focus on the following tools, containing solutions which remove traditional barriers to chamber music education:
Big Print Ensemble
Even one elementary student can learn chamber music with Big Print Ensemble! Currently consisting of 40 pieces grouped into levels by difficulty, these educational pieces provide a variety of popular folk tunes, classical music excerpts, exercises, and original compositions for elementary to intermediate students. Each piece includes audio & MIDI files for home practice, so that even one student can practice alone. Plus, each package includes flexible instrumentation scores, suitable for any combination of band & orchestral instruments. The convenience of flexible instrumentation allows for unusual instrument groups to practice together, including odd combinations such as a saxophone, tuba, and xylophone! With flexible instrumentation scores, instruments can easily switch parts, sharing the practice of melody, harmony, or bass. Students can also take turns playing the unpitched percussion parts, or even conducting the group! With such flexible options, elementary students can use Big Print Ensemble with friends, neighbors, and/or family to hone their music skills!
Big Print Ensemble is available for download from MusicaNeo, for only $2 for most pieces.
Learning Chamber Music
For intermediate students who are comfortable with regular-sized print, the series Learning Chamber Music provides an optimum solution. Available in both specific and flexible instrumentation for trios, quartets, and quintets, this series provides specific exercises for students to hone essential ensemble skills, including tuning, dynamic balance, rhythm, pickup notes, entrances, timing, endings, tempo changes, time signatures, advanced rhythms (syncopation, duple vs. triple), articulation, and style-matching. Instrumentation is available for strings, woodwinds, brass, piano, and percussion. The series can also be used with voice, using the syllable "ah."
Learning Chamber Music is available for download from MusicaNeo, for only $10 for specific instrument combinations, and $20 for flexible-instrumentation scores.
Additional Information
Schottenbauer Publishing
Showing posts with label orchestra. Show all posts
Showing posts with label orchestra. Show all posts
Sunday, April 5, 2015
Sunday, July 13, 2014
Learning Chamber Music in the Comfort of Home!
The term "chamber music" refers to classical music with small groups of performers, usually somewhere between 3 and 9 instruments. The most common examples of chamber music are trios with 3 instruments, quartets with 4 instruments, and quintets with 5 instruments. Duets with 2 instruments are not usually referred to as chamber music.
Chamber music is an often neglected part of music education, with students having hectic individual lesson schedules and little time to practice additional repertoire. In order to bring chamber music education into the home, where it is most convenient and affordable, students require convenient resources. The following new educational music by composer M. Schottenbauer, Ph.D., paves the way to accessible chamber music.
A new series of training pieces for chamber ensembles by M. Schottenbauer, Ph.D., are available from MusicaNeo. Learning Chamber Music is a series of exercises which provides convenient and succinct practice for young instrumental students. The series, which has begun with the edition for piano trio, is to be expanded over the next few years to include a variety common chamber music groups, including strings, woodwinds, brass, piano, and percussion.
Learning Chamber Music for Piano Trio is representative of the series. This work consists of 48 pages of exercises focusing on basic skills required in piano trio. Exercises are divided into 7 sections, each with a particular theme:
On MusicaNeo.com, the exercises above are provided in a zip file, accompanied by instructions for practice.
The greatest obstacle to chamber music is the requirement for specific instrumentation. Fortunately, another option exists. Flexible instrumentation refers to a specific orchestration which provides parts for multiple possibilities, including instruments in Treble Clef in C, F, Bb, and Eb, Alto Clef, both high and low Bass Clef, and percussion. Flexible instrumentation music usually includes a score in C, with instructions to divide the available instruments into groups to play each part. Parts are usually performed by a chamber music ensemble of 2 to 5 instruments, but may also be performed by an entire symphonic wind ensemble, band, or symphony orchestra if necessary.
The Big Print Music Method, a new series by M. Schottenbauer, Ph.D., provides flexible instrumentation ensemble music which can easily be performed by beginners on band or orchestral instruments, as well as recorder, guitar, piano, and voice. With 3 instrumental parts plus umpitched percussion, these pieces can be performed by 2 or more instruments. The series consists of a mix of popular folk tunes, exercises, and original compositions.
Each piece in The Big Print Ensemble is sold separately from MusicaNeo. Selections include:
Direct Link to Big Print Ensemble
Chamber music is an often neglected part of music education, with students having hectic individual lesson schedules and little time to practice additional repertoire. In order to bring chamber music education into the home, where it is most convenient and affordable, students require convenient resources. The following new educational music by composer M. Schottenbauer, Ph.D., paves the way to accessible chamber music.
Learning Chamber Music
A new series of training pieces for chamber ensembles by M. Schottenbauer, Ph.D., are available from MusicaNeo. Learning Chamber Music is a series of exercises which provides convenient and succinct practice for young instrumental students. The series, which has begun with the edition for piano trio, is to be expanded over the next few years to include a variety common chamber music groups, including strings, woodwinds, brass, piano, and percussion.
Learning Chamber Music for Piano Trio is representative of the series. This work consists of 48 pages of exercises focusing on basic skills required in piano trio. Exercises are divided into 7 sections, each with a particular theme:
- Part I: Tuning, Dynamic Balance, and Basic Rhythmic Exercises
- Part II: Entrance and Timing Exercises (Tempo Setting and Timing)
- Part III: Ending Exercises (Holding Notes Full Length and Fermatas)
- Part IV: Tempo Change Exercises (Accel. and Rit.; Section Changes)
- Part V: Other Common Time Signatures (22, 24, 34, 68)
- Part VI: Advanced Rhythm (Duple vs. Triple)
- Part VII: Articulation and Stylistic Matching Exercises
On MusicaNeo.com, the exercises above are provided in a zip file, accompanied by instructions for practice.
Complementing these exercises, Three Miniature Piano Trios are a set of brief practice pieces in classical style. Students can learn one or more of these pieces to hone their new skills, with rapid progression and results. These chamber music selections are available from MusicaNeo for only $10, including sheet music and MIDI file for home practice. A computer realization of the music is available free on SoundCloud.
Direct Link to Chamber MusicThe Big Print Ensemble with Flexible Instrumentation
The greatest obstacle to chamber music is the requirement for specific instrumentation. Fortunately, another option exists. Flexible instrumentation refers to a specific orchestration which provides parts for multiple possibilities, including instruments in Treble Clef in C, F, Bb, and Eb, Alto Clef, both high and low Bass Clef, and percussion. Flexible instrumentation music usually includes a score in C, with instructions to divide the available instruments into groups to play each part. Parts are usually performed by a chamber music ensemble of 2 to 5 instruments, but may also be performed by an entire symphonic wind ensemble, band, or symphony orchestra if necessary.
The Big Print Music Method, a new series by M. Schottenbauer, Ph.D., provides flexible instrumentation ensemble music which can easily be performed by beginners on band or orchestral instruments, as well as recorder, guitar, piano, and voice. With 3 instrumental parts plus umpitched percussion, these pieces can be performed by 2 or more instruments. The series consists of a mix of popular folk tunes, exercises, and original compositions.
Each piece in The Big Print Ensemble is sold separately from MusicaNeo. Selections include:
- Score in C, Written for 3 Orchestral Instruments plus Percussion
- All Parts for All Instruments
- Treble Clef Instruments in C, F, Bb, and Eb
- Alto Clef
- High and Low Bass Clef
- Percussion
- Audio Files
- Without Metronome
- With Metronome Countoff Clicks
- MIDI File
- Instructions for Practice
To facilitate practice, the MIDI file can be opened with a computer notation program and used to practice at home, when only 1 or 2 instruments are available.
These chamber music selections are available from MusicaNeo for only $2 each.
Direct Link to Big Print Ensemble
The Big Print Conducting Method
Musicians practicing chamber music at home may sometimes feel inhibited by the lack of a group leader. Fortunately, conducting skills are now quite easy to acquire, with The Big Print Conducting Method by M. Schottenbauer, Ph.D. This unique approach to teaching conducting contains big print instructional textbooks, plus follow-along video and simple musical samples for practice at home or school. Students are led through conducting skills one by one, from common time signatures through complex time signatures.
The first installment of the method is divided into two parts, available for purchase separately: (1) Introductory Package and (2) Exercises.
Exercises provide practice with all time signatures, plus cutoffs and cuing. The text and video are available for only $10, and the exercises corresponding to these books are available for only $8 from MusicaNeo.The first installment of the method is divided into two parts, available for purchase separately: (1) Introductory Package and (2) Exercises.
- The Introductory Package includes two short textbooks plus the follow-along video.
- The Expanded Exercises include drills on conducting basics, with scores, audio files, and instrument parts for treble instruments in C, Bb, Eb, and F, plus alto and bass instruments in C. Topics include time signatures, cutoffs, and cuing.
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