The 1812-Bar Blues: 2nd Violin
Themes by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
By Richard Meyer
Grade: 2
Item: 00-PC-0017986_VN2
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Description
You've heard all of these melodies before, but never like this! Four themes from Tchaikovsky's most famous overture have been turned into a cool 12-bar blues. Complete with swinging eighth notes and a ride-cymbal accompaniment, this piece is a great way to teach blues structure, jazz performance practices, and classical music history while keeping your audience's toes tappin' and fingers snappin'. (Correlates with Sound Innovations for String Orchestra, Book 2, level 2).
Don't just read it, hear it, play along with it, and watch your students grow with it. In MakeMusic Cloud, The 1812-Bar Blues: 2nd Violin comes alive with professional accompaniment, adjustable tempo, and built-in practice tools that turn solo practice into real progress.
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Additional Details
Series:
Sound Innovations for String Orchestra
Publisher:
Alfred Music
Page Count:
90
SKU:
00-PC-0017986_VN2
More about this title
About the Composer: Richard Meyer
Richard Meyer brings three decades of string teaching experience into his compositions, having built one of California's largest middle school orchestra programs from the ground up. His tenure at Oak Avenue Intermediate School saw enrollment grow from 29 to 200 students, and he later directed the Pasadena Youth Symphony Orchestra for 16 years, taking ensembles to perform across North America, Europe, and Australia.
Beyond the podium, Meyer has shaped string music education as a composer and editor. His catalog includes over 190 published works and arrangements; he served as string editor for Alfred Publishing and co-authored the String Explorer Series and Sight-Read It for Strings. His "Giving Bach" program, launched in 2009, uses interactive concerts to reach students with special needs and in underserved communities throughout Southern California. He has been a featured clinician at the A.S.T.A. National Conference, Texas Orchestra Directors' Association Conference, and universities including Ohio State.
Why we love this
Meyer nails the jazz pedagogy challenge here: rather than asking Grade 2 orchestras to learn swing feel in the abstract, he grounds it in music students already know. Taking four iconic Tchaikovsky melodies and recontextualizing them as 12-bar blues phrases lets your ensemble hear how classical themes function within a completely different harmonic and rhythmic framework. The ride-cymbal pulse and swinging eighths make this feel current and fun while delivering genuine music history and style education.
What to expect
Familiar and fresh at once. The four themes from the 1812 Overture surface like melody-shaped signals emerging from a swinging, syncopated landscape. Eighth-note motion breathes with swing, the rhythm section grooves in true jazz fashion, and Tchaikovsky's grandeur transforms into something unpretentious and genuinely groovy.
Who it's for
Grade 2 string orchestras ready to move beyond classical phrasing into jazz idiom and blues structure. This works equally well for students encountering 12-bar form for the first time and for ensembles strengthening their command of style and articulation.
How to get the most out of it
- Establish a steady swing feel in rehearsal before adding any vibrato; lock the rhythm section and low strings on the blues shuffle first, then layer in melody parts.
- Isolate the four Tchaikovsky themes individually so students recognize the classical origins before hearing them in blues context.
- Shape dynamics around the blues form rather than phrase shape alone; the 12-bar structure dictates the narrative arc, not traditional string phrasing.
- Balance the ride cymbal so it anchors the groove without overwhelming the string texture.
How to use it
Program this as a bridge piece between classical and contemporary repertoire, or as a concert closer that leaves audiences smiling and snapping along. It also serves as an excellent curricular anchor for a unit on blues form, jazz performance practices, and how great melodies transcend genre.
Skills your students will build
- Recognizing and performing 12-bar blues form
- Swinging eighth-note articulation and rhythm
- Listening for classical themes within jazz idioms
- Maintaining groove and ensemble lock in syncopated texture
- Dynamic shaping based on harmonic progression rather than phrase contour