Category: Repertoire

I am not an advanced-level pianist with excellent sight-reading skills. I get finger-tied trying to play most published piano accompaniments to violin student solo pieces. But there is something so satisfying about supplying the underlying chords and harmonies when a student is learning a new piece. That piano part represents at least half of the music the composer created for us to enjoy. So I’ve come up with substitutes for the full piano score, from simplified or chorded piano parts, to turning the piano score into a violin duo part with as many double-stops as possible.

My copies of the piano accompaniment books for student repertoire are marked up with my own note reductions, chord notations, “Left hand only” warnings and alternate voicings. I use my markups to play along with a student during all stages of their learning a new piece of music. I’ll even play them at a recital in a pinch!

Would you like to be able to prepare your violin students for accompanied performances by playing piano with them on a regular basis? Is a student’s understanding of their piece lacking because they can’t hear the underlying chords when they are learning it? I’ve started transcribing my scribbles into clean, easy-to-read piano sheet music, and am now releasing it for digital download over at SheetMusicPlus. Here are four transcriptions to accompany solo pieces found in Suzuki Violin School Volumes 1, 2, 3 and 6.

I’ll have more links for you soon, including violin duos for more Suzuki selections. Check out my full Sheet Music Plus catalog as it grows!