Fun Improvisation for Viola: Viola Book & CD

$21.95 USD

Fun Improvisation for Viola: Viola Book & CD

Name: Fun Improvisation for Viola: Viola Book & CD
Brand: Alfred Music
SKU: 00-0774CD
Price: 21.95 USD
Availability: OutOfStock

The Philosophy and Method of Creative Ability Development

By Alice Kay Kanack

Item: 00-0774CD

$21.95

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In a speech at the 1984 Matsumoto Summer Conference, Dr. Shinichi Suzuki nicknamed Alice Kanack "Mozart's mother" in response to her innovative work in the development of the creative part of the brain. He added to this his hope that as a result, someday all children might create their own music. After twelve years of research and testing, the Fun Improvisation for... series was developed. Each book contains philosophical and practical advice on how to use the 28 musical exercises to develop a child's innate creative ability to its highest level. The basic instructions allow even a twinkler to use these exercises, while the advanced instructions provide a challenge to the most advanced player.

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Series: Suzuki Method Supplement

Publisher: Alfred Music

Page Count: 68

ISBN10: 0-87487-774-1

ISBN13: 978-0-87487-774-8

UPC: 029156270280

SKU: 00-0774CD

Instrumentation: Viola

More about this title

About the Author: Alice Kay Kanack

Alice Kay Kanack earned the title "Mozart's Mother" from Dr. Shinichi Suzuki himself in 1984, a recognition of her groundbreaking work in creative brain development through music. Over four decades, she has researched and taught the mechanisms of musical creativity, publishing five books in the Creative Ability Development series with Alfred Publishing and developing innovative improvisation resources through her own Creative Ability Development Press.

As founder of the Creative Ability Development movement and Executive Director of The Kanack School of Musical Artistry, Kanack has shaped pedagogy internationally. She has led workshops at Columbia University's Teachers College and the Lucy Moses School at the Kaufman Center, spoken at conferences across Canada, and helped establish CAD programming at the Sibelius Academy in Finland. Her work integrates improvisation as a daily practice essential to musical growth, earning recognition from leading educators like Steven Doane of the Eastman School of Music.

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Why we love this

Kanack's 28 exercises unlock what young violists already possess: the instinct to create. The book respects the breadth of a Suzuki student's development by offering basic instructions accessible to early-level players alongside advanced challenges for those ready to push deeper. Rather than treating improvisation as a separate skill, these materials embed it into daily practice as a natural extension of reading repertoire.

What to expect

Freedom within structure. Each exercise gives students clear harmonic and technical boundaries, then asks them to fill the space with their own musical voice. The result is playful, exploratory, and deeply personal—students discover that the music already inside them can find its way onto the fingerboard.

Who it's for

Viola students in the Suzuki tradition at any level, from beginning through advanced players who benefit from guided improvisation work. Teachers seeking to develop students' compositional thinking and creative confidence alongside technical mastery will find both philosophical grounding and practical frameworks here.

How to get the most out of it

Begin with the basic instructions even if your student has advanced technique. The foundational exercises prime the creative mind before adding complexity.
Use the accompanying CD to hear demonstrations of each exercise, then invite your student to create their own variations with the same harmonic framework.
Create a consistent improvisation practice routine, treating these exercises with the same weight as daily scales and Suzuki pieces.

How to use it

Integrate these exercises into weekly private lessons as a complement to repertoire study, or use them during group classes to build creative confidence across your studio. The book works year-round, growing more sophisticated as students advance through Suzuki volumes, and offers a refreshing counterpoint to the focus on accuracy that memorized repertoire demands.