SCENES and THEMES
Scenes and Themes consists of 2
books :
The
Teacher's Book which is spiral
bound in glossy covers, consisting of the Teacher's and
Students' parts as duets, together with brief explanatory
notes as to the purpose behind each section.
The
Student's Book stapled in
glossy covers, with just the student's parts, printed
boldly & clearly. The book comes complete with its
complementary Compact Disc.
Scenes
and Themes was written to
provide the absolute beginner with additional material with
which to reinforce the learning of basic musicianship,
literacy and specific guitar skills. It is intended to
complement any of the popular methods, and has been
'road-tested' successfully with students of all ages, both
individually and in large groups. Fingering is minimal,
with emphasis on internalising the first position, but for
postural reasons left hand finger 4 has been suggested for
the notes D and G on the top two strings; this is of course
discretionary. Dynamics have been omitted, in view of the
great range of situations under which the pieces will be
performed (they have been used with groups of 20!) and to
enable the maximum flexibility for the teacher. For example
'Stormy Blues' can be repeated 3 times; f, p, ff.
Similarly, there is no suggestion as to the choice between
right hand thumb or fingers in those pieces which could be
played effectively either way; the teacher will know what
the particular situation requires.
There are 27 pieces, of up to 32 bars length, grouped in
five sections each of which focuses upon one aspect of the
early stages of learning. For instance 'In the Country' (4
pieces) introduces the note A on the 3rd string, this being
the first fingered note.The ground covered by the book
completes the first position, deals with rhythms to
quavers, and there is one accidental.
The teacher's accompaniments have been designed to be
stylish and attractive, and to enable the very limited
students' material to nevertheless produce performances
which are attractive to audiences. The basic concept is
that the teacher adopts the same rôle as any other
instrumental teacher; that of providing a larger musical
context within which the student plays simple material
appropriate to his standard. Thus there are introductions
which the student must count through, passages in which the
student must listen to and respond to rubato and
rallentando, and passages for student solos.
Scenes and Themes offers a wonderful way to introduce
beginners to public performance. After only a few weeks a
group of beginners can play on stage and give an effective,
confident, musical
performance with the support
of their teacher.
The Teacher's accompaniments include first and second
time endings, key signatures, swing rhythms and compound
time against the student's simple time melodies. These do
not appear in the student's books since they are to all
intents and purposes 'transparent' to the student.
"The
Rain in Spain" from Scenes
and Themes has been incorporated into the current Trinity
Guildhall Preparatory Grade syllabus.
See sample pages from Scenes and
Themes
Read about the Compact
Disc
Read the Review in Classical Guitar
Magazine