Welcome to the new Level 1 Reading Library! These short pieces are sequential to cover music reading skills, beginning with rhythm and pizzicato, before introducing staff notes and adding the bow.
I use these pieces as sight-reading exercises or to introduce new concepts. The video accompaniments allow the student to play along, which is excellent for teaching steady beat, ensemble playing, and recovery skills. The Soundslice link will enable you to slow down the tempo, turn pitch letter names on or off, loop sections for practice, mute the accompaniment track, and print out the sheet music. I also love Soundslice for online lessons since I can share my screen, zoom the music in and out, and display the fingerboard.
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Level 1 Reading Library
Lesson 1
Rhythm Only (Quarter Notes, Two Eighth Notes, Half Notes). Pizzicato on Open E (Rest or playing position).
Lesson 2
Quarter, half, and whole note rhythms. Pizzicato on open strings.
Lesson 3
Introducing A string notes. Pizzicato.
Lesson 4
Introducing notes on the staff. Open D. Pizzicato. At this point, I have my students go back and practice the previous lessons bowing in the air or through a tube.
Lesson 5
Introducing Open G on the staff. Pizzicato.
Lesson 6
Open A, E, and first finger F#. Pizzicato. At this point, I also have my students go back and learn Lessons 4 and 5 arco.
Lesson 7
A string notes on the staff. Pizzicato.
Lesson 8
E string notes on the staff. Arco.
In the coming months, I’ll be exploring different styles and genres of accompaniments to make playing along with these pieces fun and exciting. I welcome your suggestions and ideas for new reading exercises in the comments!
For my favorite suggestions, tips, tricks, and resources for teaching rhythmic reading and staff notes check out these posts: