Instructional method book teaching contemporary string instrument rhythmic bow techniques such as Chopping, Ghosting and beyond.

Pedro de Alcantara's The Integrated String Player: Embodied Vibration is a practical guide for all string players: violinists and violists, cellists and bassists, but also gamba players and anyone who makes music drawing a bow across a string. Dozens of exercises, supported by a dedicated website with 80 video clips, cover all the basics of string playing, including left-hand articulation, vibrato, changes of position, double-stopping, sound production, string crossings, and many other techniques. Each exercise, however simple or complex, can become a meditation with the goal of integrating the musical, technical, and metaphysical aspects of a player's practice. Part I is devoted to the fundamentals of coordination, rhythm, and listening in depth. Part II focuses on the left hand, with an emphasis on healthy gestures that are charged with musicality and meaning. Part III covers the bowing arm, exploring innovative concepts such as expressive gesticulation, mechanical intelligence, and the use of the bow as the player's voice, both literally and symbolically. Part IV covers the integration of analytical thought and sensorial practice, providing an extensive study of the harmonic series, the circle of fifths, Tartini tones, and many other sonic aspects that are essential to a string player's musical freedom. In addition, the conversational, linguistic, compositional, and improvisatory dimensions of string playing are discussed and supported by multiple practical exercises. The Integrated String Player is addressed to players of all abilities and from all aesthetic backgrounds: students and professionals, teachers and performers, classically trained musicians and jazz players, chamber-music players and orchestral players.

To be a musician is to "speak music." When you have something to say and the means to say it, your gestures and sounds become both meaningful and free. Offering an innovative, comprehensive approach to musicians' health and wellbeing, Integrated Practice gives you the tools to combine total-body awareness with a deep and practical understanding of the rhythmic structure of the musical language, so that you can use the musical text itself as your guide toward psychophysical and creative freedom. The book shows you how to establish an imaginative dialogue between the relatively inflexible structure of music and your individual personality as a singer, instrumentalist, or conductor, and it explains how you can use the acoustic phenomenon of the harmonic series to make big, beautiful sounds with little muscular effort. Integrated Practice comes with more than a hundred and fifty exercises demonstrated by video and audio clips on an extensive companion website that will inform your daily practice, improvising, rehearsing, and performing. With this array of resources for every learning style, Integrated Practice is the essential handbook to personal achievement in successful, expressive musical performance.

Dr. Anne Witt has developed an effective tool to encourage the mastery of common rhythms. Based on Igor Hudadoff's A Rhythm a Day, Witt's method targets the specific rhythmic problems facing string players. Students focus on isolated rhythmic examples, and then apply the knowledge to their everyday performances. No string player's folder should be without this invaluable resource!

Music instruction for string players wanting to play non-classical music.

"Volinworks, in two volumes, is a comprehensive method for the adult beginner, taking students carefully from the very first steps to around Grade 3 standard. The approach suits self-taught beginners as well as those who have teachers, and emphasizes the importance of good habits from day one, of using your ear, and of always aiming for the best sound. Each volume contains a wide selection of repertoire, plus detailed descriptions and photos to demonstrate correct playing positions. The accompanying CD includes play-along tracks for all pieces, with piano, string quartet, or band backings, plus aural exercises and downloadable PDFs of piano accompaniments. There are supporting video clips and additional resources on a dedicated website, making Violinworks a complete resource for all new learners."--Publisher's description.