Playing with Style for String Quartet or String Orchestra Cover Image

Playing with Style for String Quartet or String Orchestra: Viola

$4.95 USD
$4.95 USD
Skip to product information
Playing with Style for String Quartet or String Orchestra Cover Image
Playing with Style for String Quartet or String Orchestra: Viola

Playing with Style for String Quartet or String Orchestra: Viola

Composed by Joanne Martin

Item: 00-18160X
$4.95
Shipped

One moment…

Related Items

Playing with Style for String Quartet or String Orchestra: 1st Violin Part Book

$4.95
View

Playing with Style for String Quartet or String Orchestra: 2nd Violin Part

$4.95
View

Playing with Style for String Quartet or String Orchestra: 3rd Violin Part

$4.95
View
Description
Playing with Style is a set of colorful concert pieces in a variety of styles, including tango, ragtime, and jazz. These audience-pleasing pieces are enjoyable to play and will broaden the musical horizons of young players. The pieces use effects such as glissando and tremolo and allow opportunities to explore chromaticisms, swing rhythms, and syncopation. Available for string quartet or string orchestra, violin duet, or viola duet. Titles are: Chromatic Tango * Soft Shoe * Hoedown * April Rag * Hopak * Mellow Moment.

Playing with Style for String Quartet or String Orchestra: Viola isn't in MakeMusic Cloud just yet...but it could be. Let us know you'd like to see it, and you'll help shape what comes next. In the meantime, start a free trial and dive into thousands of interactive titles your students can play along with today.

Request This Title

Tell us you want it.

Start Your Free Trial

Explore everything that's ready to play right now.
Sample Pages

Sample Audio
No sample audio found.
Sample Video
No sample videos found.
Additional Details
Publisher: Alfred Music
Page Count: 16
ISBN10: 0-7390-4097-9
ISBN13: 978-0-7390-4097-3
UPC: 038081275420
SKU: 00-18160X
Instrumentation: Viola

More about this title

About the Author: Joanne Martin

Joanne Martin

Joanne Martin brings deep roots in both performance and pedagogy to her compositional work. A violist who has performed with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, and various chamber ensembles, she also commands violin, cello, bass, piano, and button accordion. Her teaching career spans Suzuki violin and viola at all levels, chamber music coaching, and orchestra direction across North America, Australia, and Europe. She holds recognition as a Suzuki Teacher Trainer from both the Suzuki Association of the Americas and the European Suzuki Association, and in 2007 received the American Suzuki Institute Suzuki Chair Award for her contributions to Talent Education.

Martin's published works are known for flexible scoring that accommodates mixed-level ensembles. Her I Can Read Music series serves as a standard note-reading resource for Suzuki students worldwide. She has also composed the Festive Strings series, Folk String series, ViolaFest, Trio Tapestry, Magic Carpet, and Playing with Style. Her arrangement and composition practice reflects her understanding of how young musicians learn and grow, with particular attention to making ensemble playing accessible and rewarding.

Why we love this

Martin writes with a keen ear for what young violists actually enjoy playing. Each piece in this collection introduces a distinct musical style (tango, ragtime, jazz, folk forms) without becoming a textbook exercise, and the viola part sits comfortably in the hand while still feeling genuinely musical. The flexible scoring means you can run the piece as a quartet with advanced students or expand it to a full string orchestra section, making it practical for mixed-level rehearsals.

What to expect

These six pieces pull you out of the concert hall and into jazz clubs, dance floors, and folk celebrations. The viola gets to voice both melodic lines and harmonic color, and you'll feel the satisfaction of playing styles that have real swagger and groove alongside moments of genuine lyricism.

Who it's for

Violists in intermediate to advancing string orchestras and quartets who are ready to move beyond traditional classical repertoire. This collection works equally well for ensemble members with varied technical levels, since the flexible scoring allows you to double parts or adjust the arrangement to your group's size and maturity.

How to get the most out of it

  • Shape the glissando passages with intention; they should feel like vocal slides rather than technical stunts. Let them breathe as expressive moments.
  • Lock into the swing rhythms by listening closely to the violin section and feeling the underlying pulse; syncopation needs ensemble agreement to land clearly.
  • Explore the tremolo effects as textural color, not as automatic fast bowing. Vary the speed and intensity to match the character of each piece.
  • Pay attention to the chromatic voice leading in the tango and ragtime sections; these passing tones define the style and deserve careful intonation.

How to use it

Program a single piece as a contrasting selection in a classical concert, or string together two or three titles to create a diversified set that showcases your ensemble's stylistic range. The contest/festival designation makes these excellent choices for spring competitions or pops-style programming where adjudicators and audiences expect fresh energy alongside traditional repertoire.

Skills your students will build

  • Glissando technique and expressive phrasing
  • Swing rhythms and syncopation in context
  • Tremolo as a stylistic effect rather than purely technical exercise
  • Chromatic voice leading and intonation in non-traditional harmonic progressions
  • Stylistic flexibility across tango, ragtime, jazz, and folk idioms

You May Also Like