Easy Instrumental Solos for Special Occasions & Celebrations for Strings: Violin Book & CD

Familiar and celebratory. These are songs your students and their families already know and love, arranged so the violin melody shines clearly above a lush, full accompaniment that makes a small ensemble sound like a complete band.

Beginning violin students who are ready to perform complete pieces in public settings but need the security of professional accompaniment. String teachers and orchestra directors can use this collection to place every student in regular performance opportunities throughout the school year without creating additional arranging work.

• Play the demo track all the way through before rehearsing, so students hear the full arrangement and understand where their part sits in the texture.
• Adjust the tempo using Alfred's included Tempo Changer software if your ensemble needs extra time to secure rhythms and intonation before moving to performance speed.
• Balance your dynamic markings carefully with the accompaniment; many of these songs rely on a strong melodic presence, so practice maintaining a steady tone over the recorded background.
• Rehearse with the play-along track regularly once your students know the notes; this builds confidence in holding their line independently while listening to surrounding harmonic and rhythmic support.

Assign one or two selections per season around the actual holidays: open a winter concert with "America the Beautiful," place "You Raise Me Up" on your Father's Day assembly, or close an end-of-year program with "Pomp and Circumstance." This approach gives beginning violinists multiple performance opportunities without requiring separate rehearsal books for different programs.

• Playing sustained melodic lines over accompanied tracks
• Maintaining rhythmic accuracy while listening to a recorded rhythm section
• Managing breath control and phrasing in familiar, song-like melodies
• Responding to tempo consistency and written dynamic markings in a performance setting
• Building tone and intonation confidence on well-known musical material