- Violin, Viola, Cello, String Bass
- Flute & Piccolo, Clarinet, Saxophone, Oboe, English Horn, Bassoon
- Trumpet, Horn, Trombone, Euphonium, Tuba
- Percussion, Mallets, Timpani/Tympani, Drumset
- Guitar, Electric Bass Guitar
- Recorder (Garklein, Sopranino, Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass)
- Piano
- Organ
- Theory
- Ear Training
- Conducting
Consisting of over 20,000 pages of graphical instruction, The Big Print Method is a voluminous undertaking. As of 2014, the following components have been published:
- Big Print Fingering Charts in Color, with Keyboards on Every Page
- Method Boosters
- 3-Note Exercises
- Interval Studies
- Woodwind Supplements
- Learning Alternate Fingerings
- Interval Studies with Alternate Fingerings
- String Supplements
- Learning String Crossing and Double Stops
- Big Print Music Notation with Multimedia (Audio and/or MIDI)
- Big Print Tunes
- Big Print Duets
- Big Print Ensemble
- Elementary Exercises (Multimedia Component Expected Separately in 2015)
- The Big Print Conducting Method Introductory Package
- Supplemental Materials
- Big Print Theory
Method Boosters
Improve basic skills with large-print fingering charts, note names, and keyboards, with 1-note and 2-note exercises. Transposition charts are included for relevant instruments.
3-Note Exercise Books
With these big print exercises, students systematically hone fingering skills throughout the entire range.
Interval Exercises
Learning interval fingering combinations and names has never been easier! Big print exercises systematically teach all interval combinations, up to one octave.
Learning Alternate Fingerings
Woodwind players learn alternate fingerings with this exercise book set. Exercises focus on comparison between normal and alternate fingerings, as well as presenting a series of exercises with half-step and whole-step combinations (2- and 3-note series).
Interval Exercises with Alternate Fingerings
With this exercise book set, woodwind players receive extra support for learning alternate fingerings while playing intervals. Every relevant interval combination of normal and alternate fingerings is presented for woodwinds.
Learning String Crossing and Double Stops
These pictorial fingering charts enable string students to visualize and learn all combinations of notes up to one octave. Overlapping with Interval Studies, this book is nevertheless quite useful due to the arrangement of intervals by type, rather than by starting note. In this book, students practice intervals in parallel series, from low to high range.
Elementary Exercises
Large-print, systematic exercises provide support for practicing basic techniques. Lengthy introductory texts for recorders, woodwinds, brass, percussion, and strings provide tips for technique and practice. Exercises focus on long tones, short tones, 2- and 3-note combinations, and basic scales and arpeggios.
Big Print Tunes
Large-print children's folk tunes, transposed chromatically into every key within a 2-octave range, provide excellent practice on beginning instruments. The print size is the same font as Elementary Exercises above. Packages available from MusicaNeo include both pdf and MIDI computer files. Tunes are available in Treble Clef C, Treble Clef F, Low Treble Clef F, Alto Clef, Bass Clef C, and Bass Clef F. Tunes are organized into three levels of difficulty, corresponding to the structure of The Big Print Music Method:
- Level 1: Basic Duple Time
- Level 2: Faster Tempo
- Level 3: Triple Time
Big Print Duets
Large-print duets provide an easy start for pairs of similar instruments, such as two flutes or two clarinets. The Big Print Duet Exercises provide instructional guidance, plus audio and MIDI files, so that even one instrument can learn to play duets at home by playing along with the computer!
Big Print Ensemble
Large-print flexible ensemble music, plus audio and MIDI files, provide an easy start to learning ensemble music, even with one instrument! The Big Print Ensemble pieces are sold with one folk tune per package, and include parts for Treble instruments in C, F, Bb, and Eb, high and low Bass Clef instruments, and alto clef instruments, plus 3 unpitched percussion parts. Files include instructional guidance, plus audio and MIDI files, so that even one instrument can learn to play ensemble at home by playing along with the computer!
Theory: Scales, Chords, & Arpeggios
In this textbook and workbook, students can practice theory skills pictorially, with large-print keyboards and arrows. Future theory books will address additional topics.
Conducting Method
Basic and complex time signatures and other essential conducting skills are taught in this series through large-print instruction, exercises, and a follow-along video. Current selections include (1) Introductory Package with books and follow-along video, (2) Exercises with conductor's score and parts, and (3) Extended Exercises with conductor's score, parts, and audio files for the same set of exercises, plus additional practice pieces! Video and audio files are available from MusicaNeo only.
Completion of the Series
The complete Big Print Music Method, including the main method series and other support materials, is expected by 2015.
Availability
Currently, books from The Big Print Music Method are available at low-cost via direct download and printing from MusicaNeo. Selections from the method series are available in full-color print on high-quality paper from CreateSpace and Amazon.
Additional information on the series, as well as free samples, are available from the Schottenbauer Publishing website and MusicaNeo. Preview videos are available from YouTube.
A New Series of Instructional Books
Two volumes of Bow Science & Exercises for Violin & Viola have arrived. The first volume, Basic Science, describes the physics of the bow. Topics include the coordinate plane, types of motion, center of mass, force, and the bow as a lever. The second volume, Preliminary Exercises, teaches specific exercises which which may be used by elementary violin and viola students rapidly accelerate control over the bow. Other planned volumes in the series include books on intermediate science and technique, and books for the cello and string bass.
A New Series of Instructional Books
The book series Teach Yourself and Learn offers independent study students a new perspective on learning band and orchestral instruments, guitar, piano, organ, voice/choir, conducting, and music theory. Each volume presents a brief overview of important topics, as well as a literature review of educational materials, focusing on the needs of independent learners. The series will be available soon.
Individual Instrumental Studies
A selection of individual instrumental studies by M. Schottenbauer are now available from MusicaNeo, with selected audio samples from SoundCloud.
Technical pieces for elementary to late intermediate piano, including the following:
Technical pieces for elementary to late intermediate piano, including the following:
- Preparation to Learning "The Brighter Exercises": A series of exercises to prepare students for learning Stephen Heller's Opus 47.
- Kaleidoscope: A short piece for new students, which uses chord blocks to focus on proper wrist motion.
Works for violin include the following:
- Etude for Violin: Excerpted from "Songs" by the same composer, this piece contains a predominance of 7ths.
Works for band and orchestral instruments (and voice) include the following:
- Systematic Chromatic Exercises: These exercises teach basic skills throughout the entire instrument range, transposing note and interval exercises to every key in a chromatic progression.
- Interval Intonation Training: These exercises focus on interval practice, with the goal of honing intonation skills.
Chamber Music Studies
A New Series of Instructional Books for Chamber Music
Classical chamber music is often an ignored part of music education, particularly for piano. The new series of technical studies by M. Schottenbauer, Learning Chamber Music, aims to teach the basic skills of chamber music in a series of programmed exercises. The first editions of Learning Chamber Music include over 48 pages of exercises for each of the following small ensembles:
Upcoming editions include:
- Specific Instrumentation
- Piano Trio for Violin, Cello, and Piano
- String Trio (Violin, Viola, Cello)
- Flute Trio
- Clarinet Trio
- Woodwind Trio (Flute/Oboe, Clarinet, & Bassoon/Cello; also 2 Flutes/Oboes, & Bassoon/Cello)
- Brass Trio (Trumpet, Horn, Trombone/Euphonium)
- Mallet Percussion Trio
- String Quartet (2 Violins, Viola, Cello)
- Flute Quartet
- Clarinet Quartet
- Woodwind Quartet (Flute, Clarinet, Horn, Bassoon)
- Brass Quartet (2 Trumpets, Trombone/Euphonium, Tuba)
- Mallet Percussion Quartet
- String Quintet (2 Violins, Viola, 2 Cellos)
- Woodwind Quintet (Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Horn, Basoon)
- Brass Quintet (2 Trumpets, Horn, Trombone, Tuba/Bass Trombone)
- Flexible Instrumentation
- Piano Trio for Flexible Instrumentation
- Trio for Flexible Instrumentation
- Piano Quartet for Flexible Instrumentation
- Quartet for Flexible Instrumentation
- Quintet for Flexible Instrumentation
Upcoming editions include:
- Piano Quintet (2 Violins, Viola, Cello, Piano)
Each edition of Learning Chamber Music is divided into 7 sections:
- Tuning, Dynamic Balance, and Basic Rhythmic Exercises
- Entrance and Timing Exercises (Tempo Setting and Timing)
- Ending Exercises (Holding Notes Full Length and Fermatas)
- Tempo Change Exercises (Accel. and Rit.; Section Changes)
- Other Common Time Signatures (22, 24, 34, 68)
- Advanced Rhythm (Duple vs. Triple)
- Articulation and Stylistic Matching Exercises
A preview video with soundtrack from the first set of exercises is available on YouTube.
Students can exercise combine these exercises with the concert piece collection Three Miniature Piano Trios by the same composer. Both pieces are available from MusicaNeo, including MIDI files for practice at home with computer accompaniment. An audio sample of Three Miniature Piano Trios is also available from SoundCloud.
Theory
Theory: Interval Exercises
Combining theory training with systematic exercises for instruments and/or voice, this multimedia set includes scores in treble, alto, and bass clef, plus audio and MIDI files. A reasonably large range within each clef is filled with interval exercises, grouped by starting note.
What's Missing? Art Puzzles Volume 2: Musical Symbols
Ear Training: Identifying Musical Mistakes
Ear training is an often ignored component of music education, particularly for piano. This series of exercises is intended to provide basic training and support for individual and group music lessons, by focusing on the skill of comparing a written score to an audio file. Students are asked to circle the mistakes, which may include pitch, intonation, rhythm, articulation, or style.
The series titles use the following coding: NUMBER = Number of musical instruments, LETTER = Difficulty. The series, available from MusicaNeo, will be expanded over the next 2 years to include popular works for orchestra and band.
In the beginning, music students struggle to read notes on a page. Listening to tone quality is a "meta-awareness" which must be built over time. The ability of a trained music educator to identify tone quality problems, such as "droopy" note endings and "wavy" tone, may seem almost mystical to elementary students. This training program takes the mystery out of tone quality assessment, by training students upfront to discern the difference between good and bad tone quality. Students are provided with a written training program, accompanied by short audio samples of ideal and problematic tone for a variety of common band and orchestral instruments. The first installment of the series is available from MusicaNeo, and expansion levels with new sound samples are expected to be published soon.
Harmonics are a difficult concept for some students to understand, due to the math and science concepts involved. This multimedia set contains a combination of scientific instruction, written music, and audio recordings which teach the basic concepts associated with the harmonic overtone series.
Ear Training: Tuning & Intonation
Most elementary bands and youth symphonies produce out-of-tune cacophony for months, if not years of study. Is there a simpler, quicker way of encouraging in-tune performance? This multimedia training set aims to provide a better understanding of the concept of tuning, intonation, and auditory "beats," with a series of computer-generated audio files, plus scores with written exercises and written instruction on the topic.
Ear Training: Intervals
Focusing on the topic which is traditionally taught as "ear training," this multimedia set focuses on interval recognition. Materials include audio files and scores with written intervals. Level 1 contains intervals from Unison to P8, and Level 2 contains intervals from P8 to P15.
