Anniversary,
Fiddle Time 20th Anniversary
This year Oxford University Press celebrates the 20th Anniversary of the *Fiddle Time* series. Authors Kathy and David Blackwell have published over forty books for young string players, including the progressive repertoire and technique books of the Fiddle, Viola and Cello Time series. This is a great series for all beginner violin, viola, and cello players, packed with lively original tunes, well-known pieces and easy duets.
Thoughts from the authors - Kathy and David Blackwell
In the words of the authors Kathy and David Blackwell themselves, below is their account of this well loved series, of the history of Fiddle Time and how it came to be such a success.
"In 1998 we published the first editions of Fiddle Time Starters, Joggers and Runners. Since then it’s been a pleasure and delight to build the series into a suite of books from beginners to Grade 8, and we thank the many teachers and students who have supported our work... Children can be the sternest critics, not holding back in pulling a face or telling you something is boring. We reasoned that we needed to write instantly appealing tunes, with catchy rhythms and in a variety of styles that would cut through any after-school ennui. Furthermore, they had to be carefully written at the technical level of the students and – a crucial point! – make the students sound good..."
"Instrumental tuition has changed greatly over the last 20 years. While private music teaching has remained largely unchanged, teaching in schools has been transformed, with individual lessons yielding to groups and the duration of lessons becoming ever shorter. There’s also been the advent of whole-class lessons, first as Wider Ops, later as First Access, in which all the pupils in a primary-school class learn an instrument all together. Happily, the short beginner tunes we wrote 20 years ago have proved to be just as relevant in these more pressured teaching environments… "
By Kathy and David Blackwell
Ellena Taylor - Sheet Music and Books Manager
