Recommended Books
The recommended books below include reference and general works on string instruments, and cover topics from teaching to acoustics. Perhaps one or more of these topics will inspire your next research project. Books are sorted by their call numbers for ease of browsing. Click on the info icon to see a description.
All Things Strings: An Illustrated Dictionary by
String players face a bewildering array of terms related to their instruments. Because string playing is a living art form, passed directly from master to student, the words used to convey complex concepts such as bow techniques and fingering systems have developed into an extensive vocabulary that can be complicated, vague, and even contradictory. Many of these terms are derived from French, Italian, or German, yet few appear in any standard music dictionary. Moreover, the gulf separating classical playing from fiddle, bluegrass, jazz, and other genres has generated style-specific terms rarely codified into any reference work. All Things Strings: An Illustrated Dictionary bridges this gap, serving as the only comprehensive resource for the terminology used by the modern string family of instruments. All of the terms pertaining to violin, viola, cello, and double bass, inclusive of all genres and playing styles, are defined, explained, and illustrated in a single text.
Call Number: ML108 .N373 2014 (Music Reference)Publication Date: 2014
String Music of Black Composers: A Bibliography by
Following the pattern established with his pioneering work, Woodwind Music of Black Composers, Aaron Horne now presents a comparable work for the string music of Black composers. Composers from Africa as well as the Diaspora are covered in this, the most comprehensive work on the topic yet published. Organized in alphabetical order by composer, each entry provides information, where available, on the composer's life and career, and then details all works that include strings as well as information about commission, premiere, and composer bibliography, and discography. The volume includes a string index, as well as a general discography and bibliography. This work should prove invaluable for scholars examining the impact of Black composers on classical music, opera, and ballet, and it will be equally valuable to those devising repertoire for teaching and concert purposes.
Call Number: ML128.B45 H7 1991 (Music Reference)Publication Date: 1991
Stradivari's Genius: Five Violins, One Cello, and Three Centuries of Enduring Perfection by
Antonio Stradivari (1644-1737) was a perfectionist whose single-minded pursuit of excellence changed the world of music. In the course of his long career in the northern Italian city of Cremona, he created more than a thousand stringed instruments; approximately six hundred survive. In this fascinating book, Toby Faber traces the rich, multilayered stories of six of these peerless instruments–five violins and a cello–and the one towering artist who brought them into being. Blending history, biography, meticulous detective work, and an abiding passion for music, Faber embarks on an absorbing journey as he follows some of the most prized instruments of all time. Mysteries and unanswered questions proliferate from the outset–starting with the enigma of Antonio Stradivari himself.
Call Number: ML750 .F33 2004Publication Date: 2004
The New Grove Violin Family by
This book is a comprehensive guide to the construction, history and repertory of the four main string instruments: violin, viola, cello, and double bass. The four articles were originally contributed to The New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments, but have been revised and updated where appropriate for this publication. All the articles are illustrated with detailed diagrams and half-tones, and the book also contains two glossaries, with short entries on individual makers and terms, a full bibliography and index.
Call Number: ML750 .N48 1989Publication Date: 1989
String Instruments: Purchasing, Maintenance, Troubleshooting, and More by
Why do pegs continuously slip or stick making it difficult to tune? Or endpins become stuck or keep sliding down? What about fine tuners that malfunction; strings that break, become false or fray; bows that warp or need rehairing; chin rests that won't stay on; bridges or sound posts that lean or fall; strings that are either so high they injure fingers or so low they buzz? What can be done to prevent wood scratching or cracking or students from getting poor quality instruments that they will struggle to play due to poor set-up or improper sizing? These and countless other questions about purchasing, maintenance, troubleshooting, repairing, and storing string instruments are answered in this comprehensive yet concise handbook.
Call Number: ML755 .G65 2017Publication Date: 2017
The Science of String Instruments by
In this book, various authors will discuss the science of plucked, bowed, and hammered string instruments as well as their electronic counterparts. We have tried to tell the fascinating story of scientific research with a minimum of mathematics to maximize the usefulness of the book to performers and instrument builders as well as to students and researchers in musical acoustics.
Call Number: ML3805 .S35 2010Publication Date: 2010
The Integrated String Player: Embodied Vibration by
Pedro de Alcantara's The Integrated String Player: Embodied Vibration is a practical guide for all string players: violinists and violists, cellists and bassists, but also gamba players and anyone who makes music drawing a bow across a string. Dozens of exercises, supported by a dedicated website with 80 video clips, cover all the basics of string playing, including left-hand articulation, vibrato, changes of position, double-stopping, sound production, string crossings, and many other techniques. Each exercise, however simple or complex, can become a meditation with the goal of integrating the musical, technical, and metaphysical aspects of a player's practice.
Call Number: ML3820 .A44 2018Publication Date: 2018
Teaching Strings in Today's Classroom: A Guide for Group Instruction by
Teaching Strings in Today's Classroom: A Guide for Group Instruction assists music education students, in-service teachers, and performers to realize their goals of becoming effective string educators. It introduces readers to the school orchestra environment, presents the foundational concepts needed to teach strings, and provides opportunities for the reader to apply this information. The author describes how becoming an effective string teacher requires three things of equal importance: content knowledge, performance skills, and opportunities to apply the content knowledge and performance skills in a teaching situation.
Call Number: MT259 .M18 2019Publication Date: 2019
Strategies for Teaching Strings: Building a Successful String and Orchestra Program by
Designed for use in undergraduate-level string methods, techniques, and pedagogy courses, this comprehensive text provides all the information necessary to develop and manage a successful school-based string or orchestra program at elementary through secondary levels. The text begins by introducing the string instrument family and presenting an overview of the school orchestra program. Subsequent chapters - divided into three levels of string competency corresponding to elementary, middle, and high school skills - cover performance goals and objectives, strategies for teaching technical and performance skills, and solutions to common playing problems for each ability level. Rehearsal planning and preparation, rehearsal techniques, practical approaches to teaching improvisation, student recruitment and retention, and choosing literature for the school orchestra are also covered.
Call Number: MT730 .H36 2009Publication Date: 2009
Strategies for Teaching Strings and Orchestra by Call Number: MT810 .S7547 1996Publication Date: 1996
Interlibrary Loan
Users are encouraged to search for items beyond University Libraries' catalog via RILM Abstracts of Music Literature and WorldCat. Materials not available in print or online may be requested through Interlibrary Loan. Please allow up to seven days for electronic delivery and up to fourteen days for delivery of physical items.