After today's wonderful presentations about "New Tunes..." I, was thinking about Sheila Johnson's "Young Strings in Action", which does lists some of the actions before introducing the pieces. It seems like "Young Strings" is put together more like a method book, while "New Tunes" is a collection of repertoire, in a sense.
Is "Young Strings..." used as much, or people use mostly "New Tunes"?
Thanks!
Hi, Rafael. Your description is accurate. "New Tunes" includes a logical progression from simple to more complex as students advance, but is not meant as a comprehensive method like Sheila Johnson's "Young Strings in Action." "Young Strings" sprang from Paul Rolland's plan to revise his method series, "Prelude to String Playing." Unfortunately, Rolland passed away too soon. His wife, Clara Rolland, asked Sheila to revise the method. Thus, "Prelude" and "New Tunes" are primary source materials while "Young Strings" is a derivative work (which is simply a fact, not a critique). In instructional settings, I believe the "New Tunes" are used far more often than "Young Strings," as I've only met one teacher who uses the latter regularly. I think most teachers who employ Rolland's string pedagogy tend to apply his concepts towards the method or repertoire of their choice, incorporating the "New Tunes" as supplemental repertoire. I hope this is helpful!