EVERY violinist wants to sound good.

I started violin as a retirement gift to myself.  I remember how shocked I was by how difficult it is just to make a good sound.

I realize now that I’d hoped that, somehow, I wouldn’t have to sound like a beginner.  That my musical training would let me skip over the “easy” stuff and get to the part where I sound good. 

I’ll bet you know how that turned out.

But I realized that I did have an advantage, and I ought to use it.

I have over 50 years of experience arranging music, and I am particularly good at writing harmonies that play up beginner’s strengths.  I’ve helped singers and choirs sound better than they ever imagined they could.

Why couldn’t that work for beginning violinists? 

The more adult starters of violin I got to know, the more I realized there are so many who are not quite beginners, but still could use a bit of nurturing through certain skills and particularly playing in harmony.

So I chose songs I know (as a singer) are fun to perform, put them in keys that are the easiest for violinists and common for guitarists, then harmonized them using my unique understanding of arranging and performance.

And that’s Good Old Tunes.

It’s not a study course.  It is theme-based collections of sheet music meant to supplement your lessons and enhance your practice with the great old songs that have graced the violin and fiddle repertoire for generations. 

It gives you a chance to get familiar with accidentals, syncopation (in easy-to-read notation), different time signatures, phrasing, and of course, HARMONY.  You’ll be soaking up music theory as you simply make music.

If your goals include sounding the best you can, playing interesting duets that are just plain satisfying to practice and perform, then our goals fit.

I can hardly wait until someone tells YOU, “You Sound So Good, Playing Good Old Tunes!”