Steve Tirpak

Eighth Note Madness - Viola Steve Tirpak

This book is VERY unique and effective! The following exercises were designed to be played in ensemble settings for the purpose of dramatically improving the students sight reading ability - specifically, by increase the speed of note recognition! Since all of the rhythmic values are the same, the student can easily focus on identifying the letter names of the staff while making the connection on their instruments. The first thirteen exercises drill the various accidentals by keeping the songs in the key of C but labeling each accidental next to the note. The remaining exercises continue in the same fashion and are improvisations around standard chord progressions like Autumn Leaves, What Is This Thing Called Love and Cherokee. Played in a group ensemble setting, each part has been transposed so that everyone is playing in unison, occasionally changing octaves to fit within each instruments range. Drummers can keep time by playing in various styles (swing, funk, rock, bossa nova) and hitting a percussive sound (cow bell, kick drum, etc...) on the rests. Expect to see noticeable improvement after just a few readings!