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Hot off the Press

Carl Fischer Music announces several new issues for strings: Fun Tunes for Strings and String Town Tunes concentrate on the beginning string player, while The ABCs of Bass targets the beginning and intermediate bass player.

Fun Tunes for Strings (ASB8-10—$9.95), by Bud Caputo, is written for violin, viola, cello, and bass. This collection of familiar songs and carols from around the world will help young students shape phrases, breathe with the music, and use beginning fingerings. The books feature fingering charts and a play-along CD.

String Town Tunes, by Doris Gazda, includes a full score and teachers guide (ASB1—$24.95), piano accompaniment (ASB6—$12.95), and parts for violin, viola, cello, and bass (ASB2-5—$9.95). This folio of 12 selections includes familiar folk songs, classical themes, and seasonal carols. Each book includes a CD with demonstration and play-along tracks. The folio is designed to guide the young musician toward the fundamentals of good string technique, including tone, intonation, and control of the bow.

Janice Tucker Rhoda, known for her innovative approach that combines the Suzuki method with more traditional reading skills, adapts her approach to the double bass in The ABCs of Bass (ABC25—$8.95). Rhoda pays careful attention to the correct tuning and technique that are particular to the instrument. She emphasizes good intonation, bow technique, proper posture, rhythm, reading, and more.

For more information about these and other new products from Carl Fischer Music or to locate your nearest dealer, visit http://www.carlfischer.com or send inquiries to cf-info@carlfischer.com.

Mona Lisa Sound is pleased to announce the release of HSQ Rides Again, the latest CD from the Grammy nominated Hampton (Rock) String Quartet (HSQ). HSQ Rides Again is HSQ's first CD in 10 years and features original string quartet arrangements of “Layla,” “Eleanor Rigby,” “Dust in the Wind,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and more energetic, intelligent, and creative arrangements of rock classics. Plus, all of the arrangements on the CD are available as sheet music from Mona Lisa Sound. For more information, visit http://www.MonaLisaSound.com.

Warner Bros. Publications is the exclusive distributor of the new book, Easy Songs for Shifting in the First Five Positions, by Kathryn Bird Kinnard and published by Summy-Birchard. Easy Songs makes learning shifts so much fun that students will repeat their drills again and again, without even realizing they're practicing. The book is a valuable teaching tool to use in group classes or private instruction, as it introduces students to the second, third, fourth, and fifth positions through a series of short, easily learned melodies without the need for difficult etude studies.

Kinnard, a violin teacher and orchestral performer, selected and arranged the book's songs so they're fun to play and easy to listen to, especially without piano accompaniment. More than two dozen catchy songs make students more prone to practice, learning their shifts through repetition in the process. Kinnard uses incremental learning techniques throughout the book. More fingerings are given in the first pieces of a new position and are gradually dropped as students absorb the lessons. Easy Songs also features a few well-chosen helpful hints and exercises for teachers and students. For more information, contact Fran Vincent at Warner Bros. Publications at 800-327-7643, ext. 1749, or visit http://www.warnerbrospublications.com.

Violin Magic Made Easy, by Robert Wakely and Frances Gall, is a two-volume CD-ROM series for the beginner violinist and support crew. Both volumes are now available through Young Musicians, Inc.

In Violin Magic, Wakely and his group of young students cheerfully demonstrate excellent violin technique one point at a time. You can experience the gradual development of violin technique by viewing clips in the order they are presented, or go directly to the topics that interest you.

Volume 1 topics include an introduction to learning violin; choosing a violin and bow; how to tune; holding the violin and bow; open-string playing; downbow retakes; relaxing the bow arm; string crossing; left-hand finger action; and tunes and scales in A and D major.

Volume 2 topics include bowhold development; varying bow speeds; bow division; whole bowstroke; straight bowstroke; keeping the bow contact point; tunes and scales in G and C major; fourth-finger development; triple time; dotted notes; and ear training.

Both volumes ($29.95 each) contain scores of the featured tunes and scales that can be printed from the CD-ROM. Violin Magic is published by Twofold Media. More information, reviews, and video samples are available at http://www.twofold.com.au. To order through Young Musicians, call 800-826-8648 or visit http://www.ymonline.com.

New Merchandise

Gibson Acoustics and rock icon Pete Townshend have recreated the 1960s J-200 guitar that Townshend used to pen such classic hits as “Pinball Wizard,” from The Who's 1969 rock opera Tommy, and “Won't Get Fooled Again.” The new Pete Townshend SJ-200 Limited has all the classic appointments of his vintage guitar, plus a pickup and a lighter neck contour. Townshend currently uses the guitar in all of his acoustic performances.

“The guitar is perfect—a labor of love,” Townshend says. A portion of proceeds from the sale of the guitar will benefit Townshend's Double O charity, which assists abused children as well as people with drug and alcohol addictions.

The Pete Townshend SJ-200 Limited has a spruce top with curly maple back and sides. The Madagascar rosewood fingerboard is augmented with a solid Moustache bridge for added volume, mother of pearl crown inlays, and mother of pearl “P. Townshend” signature at the end of the fingerboard. An antique natural finish with 1960s-style gold Grover tuners and ornamental black “stinger” on the back of the headstock complete the vintage look. The specially tailored neck contour and pickup give it a stage-ready feel and sound.

The Super Jumbo 200 was originally introduced in 1937 and made its way into the rock world through such artists as Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, and the Rolling Stones’ Ron Wood, who had his own signature model with double pickguards. The Pete Townshend Sj-200 Limited comes equipped with a customized hardshell case. For more information, visit Gibson's website at http://www.gibson.com.

Humidipak, Inc., announces the world's first two-way, non-electronic humidity control product that can be tailored to maintain any predetermined relative humidity (RH) between 10 and 95 percent. The Humidipak Calibration Kit, reliable enough to be used by the conservation departments of one of the foremost fine art museums in the United States, allows musicians to test a hygrometer with accuracy in order to ensure that the instrument is correctly measuring environmental moisture content. The kit contains three outer, high-barrier bags, each containing a small Humidipak packet. The packets consist of a salt, water, and gel solution, configured to maintain a specific RH—32, 52.5, and 75.5 percent, respectively, in the case of the Calibration Kit—and contained in a water vapor-permeable package that allows it to respond continually to temperature and climate changes by releasing or absorbing water. To test a hygrometer's reading, simply leave it overnight in a bag with a Humidipak; the next day, the hygrometer should agree with Humidipak's RH level. The process can be repeated two more times with the additional packets. Any difference between the hygrometer and the Humidipak can be factored into future calculations and monitoring.

Measuring and maintaining the ideal amount of moisture in the air is all about quality and integrity. If the RH is too high or low, wood swells and warps or cracks and breaks over time. Taking the needed steps to assure the proper environment with careful monitoring and storage can make all the difference. For more information about Humidipak ($49), visit http://www.Humidipak.com or order directly by calling 952-745-2900.

Thanks to Saga Musical Instruments, it's now possible to own an affordable violin with an antique finish normally seen on old violins costing thousands of dollars. The Cremona SV-225 is a fine, fully hand-carved violin of select spruce and flamed maple with a warm, shaded antique finish that closely resembles an old masterpiece.

The Cremona SV-225 features hand-inlayed wood purfling and a genuine ebony fingerboard and fittings. A Cremona 3-star bridge is fitted and the entire instrument is shop-adjusted prior to shipment. The SV-225 comes complete with Saga's J. LaSalle LB-12 bow and C-3905 hardshell shaped case. It comes in four sizes: 4/4 through 1/4. For more information, visit http://www.sagamusic.com.

Happenings

Burritt Miller quietly opened his own business last year as Philadelphia's newest independent violin maker and restorer. Miller is a distinguished maker with impeccable credentials who already has a faithful and growing clientele. His customers include orchestra members, professional musicians, teachers, and students. Miller is a member of the American Federation of Violin and Bow Makers. He graduated from the famed Cremona, Italy, International Violin Making School and interned with numerous European makers and shops before returning to the United States. For 30 years, he worked with William Moennig and Son, Philadelphia's premier violin shop, which draws musicians from around the globe. Now that he is fully independent, he strives to be a “violin maker with a difference.” He keeps his operation small and simple, preferring to deal directly with his customers so that he can get to know them—and their needs and expectations. The only instruments Miller sells are his own, but he does accept repair work on instruments made by other manufacturers. For information, contact Miller at 215-386-2217 or violinviol@aol.com.

For several years, Peter Guy, an international customer of Saga Musical Instruments, has made it possible for children from some of the poorest townships in South Africa to get involved in school music programs. Guy has shown these children that, with a little hard work and determination, music can be a meaningful and rewarding part of life—even in the most notable trouble spots of the world.

With the help of Saga Musical Instruments, Guy continues to supply Cremona violin outfits to the students and teachers of these township schools, who otherwise would not have access due to the minimal, if any, funding of the school music programs. “The ability to express themselves through music has truly played a significant role in the lives of each and every one of these children,” he says.

To reward the efforts of the students, a 45-date tour covering much of the country was carried out in 2003 with great success. “Not bad for a bunch of 13-year-old kids from the townships,’ notes Guy. “In fact, our next goal is to produce a CD, so that the rest of the world can hear the good that we are doing down here in South Africa.”

For more information about Guy's efforts and Saga Musical Instruments, visit http://www.sagamusic.com or send email to info@sagamusic.com.

Warner Bros. Publications and Rainbow Media Holdings LLC's Mag Rack announce an exclusive partnership to bring ON DEMAND guitar instruction into television viewers’ homes 24 hours a day. The lessons are presented on “Guitar Xpress,” a new video magazine from Mag Rack that debuted in February.

The first television program of its kind, “Guitar Xpress” features hours of basic lessons, specific tips, and step-by-step instructions for playing popular songs. Lessons are given by guitar experts with a variety of specialties and knowledge of music genres. Subjects addressed on “Guitar Xpress” are targeted to players of all skill levels, and ON DEMAND technology allows players to pause, rewind, fast forward, and replay lessons.

Warner Bros, manages original production for each segment of the show, and content is updated frequently. Instructions for two new songs are added on-air every week, with six songs available to learn at any given time. Basic lessons and specific tips rotate monthly. “Guitar Xpress” is further enhanced with interactive, printable tablatures and chord diagrams available at http://www.magrack.com, where more information about the new program can be found.