Daniel Hellbach

Alto Recorder Journey Volume 1

Please note: Until further notice, Acanthus Verlag will only supply editions without CDs. The audio files can be downloaded from the publisher's website (acanthus-music.ch).

The first volume of our alto recorder school comprises 68 pages illustrated in full color with varied songs and pieces as well as extensive working material for the areas of technique, theory and music knowledge. The improvisations, which run through the entire course, also take up a significant amount of space. Each booklet also contains 3 play-along CDs, on which all the pieces are recorded with recorder and accompaniment.

Who is this school aimed at?

Children aged 10 and over, but also adults with and without previous knowledge of the soprano recorder


What makes our school stand out?

. Great stylistic variety in the pieces
. Clear structure with clear graphic symbols
. 3 play-along CDs, recorded live on acoustic instruments
. Numerous color illustrations
. Improvisations on chord patterns

Contents
1. pieces

Compositions by Daniel Hellbach
A large number of the pieces were written by Daniel Hellbach. These compositions are precisely tailored to the respective learning steps.

Folksongs
The course contains a wide range of folk songs from all over the world, including Irish folk music and pieces from South America.

Old music
The school contains some pieces from the Middle Ages, Renaissance and Baroque, recorded on the CDs on original instruments.

Pop/rock music
Our course also includes some well-known pop/rock music titles, including 'A Groovy Kind of Love' (Phil Collins) or 'All my Loving' (Beatles)

CD recordings
It is important to us that the students hear all the different styles of music in authentic recordings. The 2 CDs were therefore recorded live with acoustic instruments in different instrumentations:
. Fiddle, pommer, hurdy-gurdy, percussion
. String quartet, clarinet, oboe, piano
. Irish folk group
. Rock band
Most of the pieces are recorded in two different tempos, with and without recorder.

2. Technical exercises
In the exercises known as 'training', technical sequences can be practised using fingering patterns.
This concept also allows children to practise fingering combinations that they are not yet able to read as musical notation (e.g. right hand from the beginning).

3. Improvisations
Improvisations based on chordal patterns run through the entire course. This type of improvisation provides the student with a stock of notes in fingering patterns with which he or she can improvise to the accompaniment on the CD.

4. Theory and note knowledge
Fingering and note knowledge can be deepened and tested on the pages labeled 'Note Quiz'. These pages also contain simple ear exercises which are solved with the help of the CD.