String Builder, Book One: Viola Book

The Viola Book meets students exactly where they are, with melodies that feel like real music rather than exercises. Applebaum's grading is genuinely realistic, so you spend rehearsal time making music rather than deciphering notation, and each page builds left-hand and bow technique almost invisibly as students play through material that actually engages them.

Opening this book, you encounter melodies that sound like actual tunes rather than academic constructs. The viola part sits comfortably in the instrument's natural range, allowing students to focus on clean tone production and rhythmic accuracy without wrestling with extreme positions or awkward voicings.

This book serves violists in their first years of study, whether in group classes or private lessons. It works equally well for young beginners and adult learners picking up the instrument, since the technical progression is steady without being condescending.

• Isolate passages where the viola part sits lower on the staff; violas new to reading in this range benefit from naming note positions aloud before playing through at tempo.
• Balance tone production across open strings and first positions by having students sustain long tones on each string before beginning new melodies.
• Pay particular attention to bow distribution when melodies move between strings quickly; mark bow changes lightly in pencil and reinforce them in isolated measures before full runs.
• Use the piano accompaniment (available separately) to anchor rhythmic stability and support intonation, especially in unison passages with other string parts.

Use Book One as the foundation for a beginning string class that meets 2-3 times per week over a full school year. The 32 pages provide sufficient material for steady progression without overwhelming students, and pairing the viola book with corresponding violin, cello, and bass parts allows the ensemble to play through simple arrangements from day one.

• Reading in alto clef and first position
• Tone production on open strings and in first position
• Bow control and directional consistency
• Left-hand finger placement and intonation
• Rhythmic accuracy in simple and compound meters
• Part reading in string ensemble settings