Violin Scales and Positions

About the Book

This book combines some of the most important elements found in separate scale methods, position etudes and introductory theory studies. Scales are arranged by key, and focus on the customary arpeggios and double stops; but also include position study particularly relevant to that key. For example, when playing in the key of C, second position can eliminate unnecessary shifting and string crossing. In similar fashion, third position is helpful when playing in the key of D. This book allows for flexibility in fingering. Teachers can customize the exercises to meet specific needs, even as those needs change for the student. Minor scales are contained in a separate section, and have the unique feature of modulating to the relative major. Pages with blank staff are included to allow for additional exercises. Players of jazz and other contemporary music can use this space to write in riffs or chord progressions to use in improvisation. Shifting exercises can also be entered. This book pays particular attention to keys with six and seven accidentals. The en-harmonic exercises and pieces provided help to reinforce understanding of positions in a way that is effective, and also fun.

About the Author

Keith Cook has taught violin for over 45 years. He has experience in Suzuki pedagogy as well as in a variety of traditional teaching styles. Cook’s experience as a teacher extends beyond music; he has taught elementary grades in public school, fifth grade Social Studies, and tutored college courses. In addition to teaching, Cook has experience as a concert performer, having spent over 35 years in symphony orchestras and opera companies. Most of this time was spent with the Louisville Orchestra, an ensemble which has specialized in playing and recording some of the world’s most hard-to-read contemporary music. Cook’s own reading skills came from self-instruction. As a child, he learned all of his repertoire by listening and imitating what he heard. As a student at the Eastman School of Music--studying with William Kroll and Millard Taylor--Cook documented his own process for learning to read formally. He later wrote Learning Ledger Lines, a compilation of exercises for sight reading in the high register. The first version of Sight Reading Violin Music was written in 1976 when Cook was asked to prepare a number of Suzuki students for youth orchestra.