Explore the Elastic Orchestra Books
The Elastic Orchestra is a collection of 19 highly flexible pieces for beginning and intermediate string ensembles. The arrangements include important classical themes, holiday favorites, American classics, international folk music, rock and jazz. These pieces are scored to sound complete with practically any instrumentation, even Violins only!Explore each of the 19 pieces below by clicking on its named row. For each piece you will find:
• A student performance Video
• The Building Blocks, where the orchestra learns all musical components of the piece in unison
• The actual Concert Piece. After studying the Building Blocks, your orchestra will literally sight read their way through these rich contrapuntal pieces!
• Virtuoso part, alternate parts to challenge your advanced players, found in the back of every student book!
• Easy String parts, alternate parts for beginning students to play along, found in the alternate EASY books available for all Violin, Viola, Cello and Bass. Most of the Easy String Parts use open strings and first finger notes only, while the later pieces add second finger notes and eventually introduce the third finger
MP3 Accompaniment Tracks to all of the pieces with full midi string orchestra renditions are now available for FREE Digital Download.
FREE MP3 ORCHESTRA PLAY-ALONGS
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This very easy catchy tune uses only diatonic notes from the D Major Scale. The melody to Double Trouble was inspired by the famous theme song from the TV game show Jeopardy. The Easy Violin part to this piece uses open strings only.
Perfect for Halloween, The Haunted Pirate Ship will inspire your returning string players with its spooky Melody and hypnotic Accompaniment. This piece is in B natural minor, and therefore uses only the diatonic notes from the D Major Scale.
Good King Wenceslas is the easiest of the four winter holiday pieces found in the Elastic Orchestra. Our arrangement of this classic 13th Century Christmas Carol is played pizzicato the first time through and arco the second.
Fire up your young string players with this foot stomping version of two American classics! Fiddler’s Medley uses only notes from the D Major Scale. There is an optional lesson to add improvised solos. (See #20, Other Resources, at the end of this contents list.) The video contains two full performances of the piece; one fast and one at a slower tempo.
Inspired by traditional folk tunes of the Far East, this flowing melody is juxtaposed with a rhythmic staccato accompaniment. Because this piece is in B natural minor, it uses only diatonic notes from the D Major Scale.
ROCK ON!, was inspired by the classic rock anthems of the 1970’s. It is written in the key signature of G (A Dorian). However the only C Naturals used in the violin, are low C’s on the G string. There is an optional lesson to add improvised solos. (See #20, Other Resources, at the end this contents list.) The video features a performance by Violins Only, by utilizing the optional Violin III book.
This is an extremely easy arrangement of this very famous classical theme. The first 8 measures in the video feature a violin solo on the optional Virtuoso Part. This section may be repeated as needed to feature Virtuoso solos, duets, or small groups on any instruments.
Celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day with this easy Irish Jig! This catchy six-note Melody uses only diatonic notes from the D Major Scale. The Video features the optional Virtuoso Violin at the beginning, ending, and at Letter E.
This is the first of three patriotic pieces contained in the Elastic Orchestra. The first 8 measures in the video features a violin solo on the optional Virtuoso Part. This piece is in E Natural Minor and therefore uses only the diatonic notes of the G Major Scale. However the only C’s used are low C’s on the G String.
This is a very easy arrangement of the J. S. Bach classic, Musette. The video features a Violin Trio only, with one student playing from the Violin III book. By using this optional book, every piece in the Elastic Orchestra will sound complete with Violins Only!
This lush choral style arrangement of the classic French Christmas Carol uses only notes from the G major scale. It is the second of four well-known winter holiday selections in the Elastic Orchestra.
This is the second of three iconic American pieces found in the Elastic Orchestra. It is arranged in a rousing concert march style. The last strain of the video features a Sousa inspired obligato in the optional Virtuoso Violin.
The video of this final patriotic piece features the optional Virtuoso Violin part in the beginning, the ending, and at letter C. This relatively easy Virtuoso Part is based on the classic Trumpet Call Reveille and is the perfect way to “wake up” your students’ Virtuoso aspirations!
This is the third of four winter holiday pieces found in the Elastic Orchestra. This beloved Yiddish folk song sings of many cherished Hanukah traditions. Our arrangement features an upbeat ostinato accompaniment inspired by the Moorish rhythms of North Africa and Spain.
This easy 12 bar blues is based on a repetitive riff reminiscent of the big band style of Count Basie. The video shows the introduction and first section only, but click on the Virtuoso Part below to see the optional jazzy part that enters at Letter C. There is also a lesson to add improvised solos. (See #20, Other Resources)
Our arrangement of this lovely Chinese folk tune features a beautifully flowing Alberti bass accompaniment. It uses only diatonic notes from the G Major Scale. The video displays a performance by a Violin Trio only by utilizing the optional Violin III book.
This very famous theme by the Romantic composer Peter Tchaikovsky was actually inspired by a traditional Serbian folk song. The video features the optional Virtuoso Violin part at the beginning, ending, and at Letter C.
This canon-like arrangement of the beloved holiday song is presented in the key of C. We Wish You a Merry Christmas is the most challenging of the four winter holiday pieces included in The Elastic Orchestra. In the video it is performed by a Violin Trio only by utilizing the optional Violin III book.
Flamenco Fantasy is a theme and variations built around the famous Spanish piece Malagueña by renowned Cuban composer Ernesto Lacuna. This Bonus Advanced Piece is played pizzicato throughout. The video features both the optional Virtuoso Violin and Virtuoso Cello.
Elastic Orchestra books include warm-up scales coordinated to each piece, as well as optional Jazz Improvisation Lessons. Each scale is labelled with the number of the piece(s) that it corresponds to. The three Jazz Improvisation Lessons include both improvisation scales and sample solos. There are instructions in the Conductor Score book for integrating improvised solos into performances of these pieces.
