Duets are great for playing with friends or family!
This is one of the 21 pieces in my Violin and Cello Duet Book: the theme from the first movement of Vivaldi's "Autumn" - one of the violin concertos that make up his famous Four Seasons. These concertos are some of the most beloved classical pieces ever, with good reason! In this melody, Vivaldi captures the joy of Italian peasants celebrating a bountiful harvest.
Time to start practicing that Christmas repertoire!
What Child Is This is a beautiful 16th century tune, also known as Greensleeves. This duet arrangement is from The Christmas Duet Book, a collection of 20 carols arranged for string duet. This version is for viola and cello, but the book is also available for violin and viola, violin and cello, two cellos or two violas.
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 In fact, I originally made it as a birthday gift for my viola-playing brother :)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.
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 -
