Waltz from Sleeping Beauty - and more duets for viola and cello!

What is it that I always say?

- There are not enough duets for viola and cello in the world! -

Well, I have done my bit to better the situation, by finishing The Viola and Cello Duet Book!

This is a collection of 21 lovely pieces for viola and cello friends (or siblings) to play together. In fact, I originally made it as a birthday gift for my viola-playing brother :)

One of those pieces is the famous waltz from Tcaikovsky's ballet Sleeping Beauty. This melody was made even more famous when Walt Disney used it in his retelling of the old fairy tale in 1959:

And then it hit the charts again in 2014, when Lana Del Rey's version Once Upon A Dream was heard in the movie Maleficent.

My version stays closer to Tcaikovsky's original:

 

Sooner or later I might get around to making Duet Books for other string instruments, too. Until then, some of the duets in this collection are already available for violin and viola, violin and cello, viola duet and cello duet. Download them here: Elin Korneliussen duets at Sheet Music Plus.

Enjoy!

I'm A Little Teapot - ensemble playing for beginners

Need a nice piece of ensemble music that your very youngest beginners can join in on?

This arrangement is super easy! The first part (sun part) is a cute little British children's song called "I'm A Little Teapot":

Students who have played their instrument for a year or so should be able to play this without problems. If your group consists of complete beginners only, why not sing the first part instead of playing it?

The second part (moon part) is meant for those who have only just started putting fingers on the string - notes on the D string only, and mostly the same rhythm as the melody.

Then there is the third part (star part), which follows the same rhythm as the second part, but on open strings only.

In other words: This piece is super easy to play, and super easy to learn by ear! It's from a book called "First Lesson Orchestra", available on Sheet Music Plus. This book contains eleven pieces for ensemble playing with absolute beginners. Some of them are even easier than this one! And some have first parts that are a bit more challenging. The download contains parts for both cello and violin, which may be mixed as needed. It's also provided with chords for accompaniment. Check it out here!

 

PS: If you haven't seen Benedict Cumberbatch perform I'm A Little Teapot - 

well, you should, that's all I'm saying 😁

You're welcome!

Junior Suite 3: Blueberry Blues

This is the last of the three little pieces for junior strings that together form a "Junior Suite". The pieces have an optional viola part, and the double bass part may also be played by cellos (in this movement the double bass part is optional).

Edit: Blueberry Blues is now a part of a new and improved suite: A Very Berry Suite! Listen to it here: 

Listen to Pterodactyl Polka from The Dino Dances!

Another one of my Dino dances for junior strings:

This is the last movement, the Pterodactyl Polka! 😃


Download the whole suite, complete with score and parts, at Sheet music Plus

Listen to Tyrannosaurus Tango from The Dino Dances!

I've been having fun with iMovie recently, and here's one of the results:

 

This is of course one of the movements from my Dino Dances for children's string orchestra (see this blog post from 2012), and one of my most popular pieces ever! Hope you liked my little animation 😄

Mozart: May Song - Sehnsucht nach dem Frühlinge

Finally, it's coming around again (at least, it is in my part of the world): Springtime! And what better way to celebrate than playing Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's wonderful May Song - also known as Sehnsucht nach dem Frühlinge, or "Longing For Spring"?

This is a classic four-part arrangement for string quartet or orchestra, a slightly different version from the one I have previously published. May your spring be sunny and filled with joyful music making!

The parts are available for download at Sheet Music Plus.

Anglais from Skåne - Swedish folk dance for children's string orchestra

A fun little piece for the youngest string students! This lively Swedish folk dance is a great addition to the repertoire of any children's string orchestra. The rhythmic patterns are easy to learn and fun to play for everyone. The second violin and double bass parts are written with beginners in mind, and the double bass part may be played on the cello, too.

Celebrate Midsummer the Swedish way this year! :D

Parts available here - including viola part (second violin part in alto clef).

Copyrighted arrangement: Another Day In Paradise by Phil Collins

Another of my arrangements is now available at Sheet Music Plus: Phil Collins' lovely 1989 pop ballad "Another Day In Paradise". The song deals with poverty and homelessness, and how we treat our fellow humans. It's a sweet melody that works beautifully as an instrumental piece.

Buy it here: Another Day In Paradise for String Quartet
Available for string quartet, string quintet with piano, viola and piano, cello and piano.

Screenshot from Sheet Music Plus

Strawberry Song for Junior Strings

This is a nostalgic little melody from my composition for children's string orchestra: A Very Berry Suite. It's a flexible piece in that both the viola and double bass parts are optional - the piece will work well with as small an ensemble as two violins and a cello. That being said, it will obviously sound better with violas and double basses!

Don't ask me why the strawberries are so sad... Maybe they just like melancholy tunes? It can't be because the song is too difficult, because this piece is pretty easy for anyone to play :)

Complete parts for Strawberry Song and the rest of A Very berry Suite are available at Sheet Music Plus: A Very Berry Suite for Junior Strings.
Listen to one of the other movements: Blueberry Blues.

Air by Purcell

Henry Purcell (1659 - 1695) is often considered the creator of the English style of baroque music. I arranged his sweet Air in B minor for our junior orchestra.

Some of the parts are a bit technically demanding, and may work better for older students, although the Violin 2 / Viola and Cello 2 parts are quite easy to play. This would make a nice piece for an orchestra with players of varying ages and abilities.

Complete parts are available in this collection of baroque pieces at Sheet Music Plus: A Baroque Journey for String Orchestra.

Sonatina by Händel

More junior orchestra music from the baroque era! Georg Friedrich Händel probably needs no further intoduction. This is a flexible arrangement, in that it may be played with just the Violin 1 and the Cello 1 parts, who play in a sort of call-and-response pattern. The Violin 2 and Cello 2 parts are technically simpler, and the double bass part is basically the same as Cello 1.

Complete parts are available in this collection of baroque pieces at Sheet Music Plus: A Baroque Journey for String Orchestra

Enjoy! :)

Allegretto by Neefe

A wistful piece by the German 18th century composer Christian Gottlob Neefe, arranged for children's string orchestra. Neefe is probably best known as young Beethoven's first composition teacher, but he was a composer in his own right, as this sweet little piece shows.

 

Complete parts are available in this collection of baroque pieces at Sheet Music Plus: A Baroque Journey for String Orchestra

Komm, Lieber Mai - Mozart's May Song

It's May, and time for some spring music! This is a simple and flexible arrangement of Mozart's famous song.

You can use just the melody part (Violin 1 / Viola 1 / Cello 1) together with the slightly easier harmony part (Violin 2 / Viola 2 / Cello 2).  It may also be used as a duet for violin (or viola, or cello) and piano. The piano part is written for a young player of the same age as the rest of the orchestra.

Enjoy! :)

"Reinlender" - traditional dance from Northern Norway

This traditional fiddle tune is from the area where I live, quite close to where the Arctic Circle crosses Norway. It's a popular dance as played by the local fiddler Mikal Rabliås, which I have arranged for a combined junior/youth orchestra with a very easy open string part. That way everyone can join in!

The Violin 1 and Cello 1 parts provide some challenges to the youth players, whereas the violin 3 (Viola) and Cello 2 parts avoid any streching, and so are suitable for less experienced players. The open string part is written in treble clef with violin in mind, but is equally playable on the viola or cello.

Hope you enjoy this festive tune! :)

 

The Tenants' Polka (Husmannspolka)

The Tenants' Polka is yet another lively Scandinavian traditional dance tune!

The Violin 2 and Cello 2 parts in this arrangement should be fairly easy to play. The Cello 1 section, on the other hand, needs to be comfortable with playing in second/third/fourth position. A nice challenge for the oldest cellists in the Junior string orchestra!

One elephant – or more!

This arrangement was made as a part of The Double Bass Project, but for a spesific concert with both junior and youth orchestra members playing together in one big orchestra.

The unusual thing about this particular orchestra was that it had 5 – five! – double bass players, which, let me tell you, is no common occurence in our small town. We had two of my cellists-turned-bassists, one junior bassist, one youth bassist, and the bass teacher. I really wanted a piece with which to show off this incredible bass section, and this Danish elephant march was the result. Well – I'm not the first to cast the double bass in the role of the elephant...

We actually had the whole bass section stand in front of the orchestra for this piece, and it seemed to me that it was very popular!

As this piece is meant to be played by musicians of varying ages and abilities, some of the parts are super easy (Violin 3, Cello 2 and Double bass 2 can all be played on open strings), some are just easy, and some – notably the Violin 1 part – require more experienced students.

I include the beginners' part, Violin 3 and Cello 2 (in Norwegian only, sorry!), which is basically rhythms on the open A string.

Dance of the Lonely Moon Man

Another one of my own compositions for our Junior orchestra: The Dance of the Lonely Moon Man, a sort of wistful spaceman passacaglia...

Dino Dances 1: Velociraptor Waltz

This velociraptor seems to be a little dizzy – maybe he has been running around in circles for too long?

P.S. Complete parts for  the Velociraptor Waltz and the other Dino Dances are available at Sheet Music Plus: Dino Dances for Junior String Orchestra

Dino Dances 2: Tyrannosaurus Tango

Who knew the T-rex was such an elegant dancer?

Note: The Cello 1 part may be played by a soloist.

P.S. Complete parts for the Tyrannosaurus Tango and three other Dino Dances are available at Sheet Music Plus:  Dino Dances for Junior String Orchestra

Listen to Tyrannosaurus Tango here!

Dino Dances 3: Brachiosaurus Boogie

The Dino Dances were actually inspired by the drawings of the amazing children's book illustrator Paul Stickland. I'm starting with the last one, that way they will end up in the right order on the blog (you see, I'm learning...).

Like in the other Double Bass Project pieces, the bass part is playable on open strings. But in this piece the bass section gets to show off a little, too, starting at letter B. Who says open string parts have to be dull?

The brachiosaurus is way too awesome a creature to have a regular ending to its dance. In the last chord, everyone should play as high a note as they can on their instrument. This will result in a sort of microtonal cluster. What the brachiosaurus actually does (or says) here, I leave to the imagination of the musicians!

P.S. Complete parts for the Brachiosaurus Boogie and the other Dino Dances (with a bonus movement!) are available at Sheet Music Plus: Dino Dances for Junior String Orchestra