15 elfin violin solos and
5 elfin duos for two violins

for practice, recital, performance, and enjoyment

Emphasizing off-the-string playing (spiccato), trills, and ornamentation

The Faerie Fiddler aims to make several not-so-easy techniques fun to practice and perform. These techniques include spiccato bowing, trills, and ornamentation. Development of such delicate violin techniques should be supervised by a capable violin teacher, and this book assumes that the player is already somewhat familiar with these techniques. Therefore, these pieces are intended as supplementary material, not as a formal etude book. I hope these pieces will stimulate both students and teachers. I have endeavored to channel mischievous Puck to sprinkle magic juice on difficult techniques:

By writing interesting pieces that
- captivate the player while maintaining simple forms
-  use woodland imagery to describe several of the tunes
-  introduce traditional dance forms
By writing whimsical accompanying verses to:
-  introduce each piece
- identify and highlight specific techniques
- encourage observation of what the music is doing
-  cast humor on the process, so that student, teacher, and writer/composer are accomplices in the same game
By reinforcing the faerie fiddler techniques throughout the book (all pieces except Raucous Rondo include spiccato bowings).
By maintaining clarity and consistency in the use of expression markings so that the student will know when and when not to play off the string.

The Faerie Fiddler will appeal to students who have begun to learn spiccato techniqes, including imaginative adults. The solo pieces have been recorded below as a preview (and as an exercise for myself to ensure the pieces are playable and the bowings reasonable). Though the pieces are short and may look easy, they are not easy to play perfectly, given their transparency and the faerie fiddler spiccato bowing and ornamentation.  

The Faerie Fiddler
Table of Contents

Purchase the sheet music.

The Faerie Fiddler may be purchased from the Sheet Music Store.