European Music & Song Books
If you've ever felt compelled to play Flight of the Bumblebee on the 5-string banjo, this is the book for you!Challenging banjo transcriptions of classical masterpieces may seem like a humorous anachronism to some, but not for Italian master Claudio Parravicini, a conservatory graduate who, while majoring in French horn, always believed that the banjo was 'a virtuoso instrument capable of enriching any musical genre. In the author's words, 'I chose the classical pieces in this book on the basis of how they might advance right and left-hand banjo technique and even refine the player's musical sensibility ¦ Some pieces, like Flight of the Bumblebee will challenge yourability to play rapidly, while others like Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, are much slower, but will test your musical abilities in other ways. The other pieces in the book are: Prelude No. 2 in C minor and Inventions No. 4 and No. 6 by J. S. Bach, Flight of the Bumblebee by Korsakov, Perpetual Motion and Carnival of Venice by Paganini, and Toccata for Piano or Harpsichord by Paradisi. Classical Masterpieces for Banjo is written in tablature only in standard G tuning [gDGBD] using three-finger banjo technique in the traditional, melodic and single-string style. Each selection is guaranteed to further your technique and delight your audience, or simply expand your vision of what is possible on the 5-string banjo.
This fingerstyle guitar collection features 20 engaging lyrical tunes from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales plus three original pieces by accomplished guitarist, trumpeter and composer William A. Bay, president, and editor-in-chief at Mel Bay Publications. Tasked with writing intermediate-level arrangements in either standard or dropped-D tuning, guitarist/arranger Raymond Gonzalez displays uncommon music rethinking skills while preserving the plaintive and lilting nature of these enduring melodies. Unique to these settings, you will find sparse, open-chord harmonies accentuated by double hammer-ons and pull-offs, and the odd harmonic mixed with normal tones within a melodic line— all reminiscent of gentle waves washing up against a rocky island shore. Conceived to be played on either steel or nylon-string guitar, these pieces are written in both standard notation and tablature. Includes online access to the author’s own audio recordings.
The first Bouzouki method in the Mediterranean style by Giorgio Cordini. Supplied with CD.
Break out of the bluegrass mode and expand your horizons with this collection of 20 famous classical melodies arranged for three-finger style 5-string banjo. Each piece is written in banjo tab and includes rhythm notation, chord symbols and right hand fingerings. Works include: Air on the G String (Bach) · Ave Maria (Schubert) · Ave Maria (Gounod) · Canon in D (Pachelbel) · Für Elise (Beethoven) · In the Hall of the Mountain King (Grieg) · Ode to Joy (Beethoven) · Pomp and Circumstance (Elgar) · Spring (Vivaldi) · Theme from Swan Lake (Tchaikovsky) · and more!
Following the success of 'Irish Fiddle Solos' and 'English Fiddle Tunes', Pete Cooper's new book contains a rich selection of tunes from many Eastern European countries including Poland, Ukraine, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Macedonia, and pieces from the Klezmer tradition. There are 80 tunes in a variety of styles: mazurkas, polkas, kolomyikas, freylekhs, horas, csárdás, legenyes, sîrbas, rucenitsas, kopanitsas, etc. The material is wide-ranging in complexity, including very simple pieces as well as many more challenging tunes requiring intermediate to advanced technique. The introduction provides explanations of rhythms, scales, modes, and notes on the individual tunes. As with many other books in the series, there are MP3 files that can be downloaded for free, with all the pieces performed by Pete Cooper.
The Old Swan Band Tunebook presents a selection of 191 traditional tunes from Britain, Ireland, Mainland Europe, North America and Australia played and recorded by the band over five decades. The tunes are accompanied by interesting footnotes as to there origins. The book is ideal for musicians seeking repertoire for English pub sessions and ceilidh bands.
A collection of 191 tunes recorded by The Old Swan Band.