Chamber Music Education at Home, at School, & In the Community

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

Free Education Resources

Expansion of the Series "Learning Chamber Music"

The series Learning Chamber Music has been expanded, to include trios, quartets, and trios with flexible instrumentation! This allows more students to benefit from the exercises originally written for piano trio.  

The full list of current editions now includes:

• String Ensembles
• Trio (Violin, Viola, Cello)
• Quartet (2 Violins, Viola, Cello)
• Quintet (2 Violins, Viola, 2 Cellos)
• Woodwind Ensembles
• Flute 
• Trio
• Quartet
• Clarinet 
• Trio
• Quartet
• Mixed Woodwinds
• Trio (Flute/Oboe, Clarinet, & Bassoon/Cello)
• Trio (2 Flutes/Oboes, & Bassoon/Cello)
• Quartet (Flute, Clarinet, Horn, Bassoon)
• Quintet (Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Horn, Basoon)
• Brass
• Trio (Trumpet, Horn, Trombone/Euphonium)
• Quartet (2 Trumpets, Trombone/Euphonium, Tuba/Bass Trombone)
• Quintet (2 Trumpets, Horn, Trombone, Tuba/Bass Trombone)
• Mallet Percussion
• Trio
• Quartet
• Flexible Instrumentation
• Band & Orchestral Instruments
• Trio
• Quartet
• Quintet
• Piano with Mixed Band & Orchestral Instruments
• Trio
• Quartet
• Quintet
• Piano Ensembles
• Piano Trio (Violin, Cello, Piano)
• Piano Quartet (Violin, Viola, Cello, Piano)
• Piano Quintet (2 Violins, Viola, Cello, Piano)
• Piano with Band & Orchestral Instruments, Flexible Instrumentation
• Trio
• Quartet
• Quintet

Similar to the original edition of Learning Chamber Music (Piano Trio: Violin, Cello, and Piano), these new editions 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

All editions are accompanied by instructions for practice. Flexible instrumentation scores include parts for all common Western band and orchestral instruments, including those in Treble Clef (C, F, Bb, Eb), plus Alto Clef, Bass Clef, and Low Bass Clef.

Learning Chamber Music is available for purchase from MusicaNeo, along with other pieces by composer M. Schottenbauer, Ph.D.


Additional Information

Schottenbauer Publishing

Free Education Resources