Just a few short weeks ago, SHAR introduced Martha Yasuda’s masterful digital downloads. Their popularity with teachers, students and parents have exceeded all of our expectations! With the holiday concert season upon us, we asked Martha to share her experience as a busy teacher, showing us how to make concerts and group classes extra special.

Struggling with what to get for that special musician in your life this holiday season? We've got a HUGE selection of gifts that will please students, teachers, stand partners, and everyone in between! Just decide on your budget and finish holiday shopping!

Fresh off her visit to SHAR, where she conducted a master class with student musicians from the Community Music School of Ann Arbor, Rachel shares her insights behind her exciting new book series, Music by Black Composers.

Attention Teachers: Enrich Your Studio With Martha Yasuda’s
Gorgeous Arrangements of Classic Works and Favorites

When we first saw Martha Yasuda’s music books, several years ago, we were really impressed with their quality. The arranging was top-notch; the visual quality of the notes was superb; the artwork and layout are beautiful and world class. Even more important, Martha selected each work to support and motivate students and their studio teachers, skillfully supplementing their etudes and repertoire. Many of these arrangements are written for various combinations of stringed instruments, enabling groups of students to perform together in harmony, not just in unison. The possibilities for motivating your students are endless. Over two dozen of these titles are licensed by the International Suzuki Institute, a tribute to their effectiveness.

All of these titles are digital downloads. They are as easy to order as any other product at SHAR, and are available instantaneously, without the hassle or cost of shipping! Perfectly formatted, you can also print them on your home printer without doing any reformatting. If you’ve steered clear of digital sheet music in the past because you were afraid of running into technical issues, Martha’s titles will dispel your fears!

We are proud to welcome Martha Yasuda as a SHAR Exclusive Digital Artist! In her article, Martha shares the story of how and why she became a composer and arranger, and what makes her music so effective and motivating for students.

Editor's Note: The following blog post originally appeared on Arnold Steinhardt's blog In the Key of Strawberry and is republished with permission. Steinhardt is the founding member of the Guarneri String Quartet and the author of two books: Violin Dreams and Indivisible by Four. For more stories visit here or follow on Twitter.

SHAR Music is pleased to announce the visit of concert violinist Rachel Barton Pine, 2:00pm Saturday, November 10^th, at the SHAR retail showroom, 2465 S. Industrial, Ann Arbor. The event is open to the public. Ms. Pine will greet guests starting at 2:00pm. Books authored by Ms. Pine will be available for purchase and autograph, including the first volume of Ms. Pine’s widely-anticipated 10-volume series, Music by Black Composers. From 3:00-4:30 pm, Ms. Pine will conduct a master class with The Brandenburg Project, a conductorless student ensemble of the Community Music School of Ann Arbor composed of advanced middle and high school musicians. The focus of the master class will be baroque performance practices in the modern ensemble, including the use of the baroque bow. As one of the world’s leading authorities on the practices and interpretation of baroque era music, Ms. Pine will bring her formidable skills and warm, dynamic personality to what will prove to be an unforgettable afternoon. Later in the evening, Ms. Pine will perform as violin soloist with the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, in a performance of Vivaldi’s, and Piazzola’s, Four Seasons.

One of our most popular products for young violinists and violists is the Violin Bow Force. Now, as we introduce the new Cello Bow Force, we asked the inventor, teacher Becky Fields, to explain how she came up with her idea for this unique and effective product. Here’s Becky’s story.

Dry Air = Danger

As autumn gives way to winter, with dryer and colder air on the way, your stringed instrument may be dreading it even more than you are. Here at SHAR, we live by the old Norwegian adage (some say Finnish, others say German!): “There is no such thing as bad weather, only inadequate clothing”. So, now that you’ve bundled up, it’s time to think about your instrument!

Editor's Note: The following blog post originally appeared on Arnold Steinhardt's blog In the Key of Strawberry and is republished with permission. Steinhardt is the founding member of the Guarneri String Quartet and the author of two books: Violin Dreams and Indivisible by Four. For more stories visit here or follow on Twitter.

We invited legendary electric violinist Tracy Silverman to tell us about what inspired him to create his groundbreaking new books on Strum Bowing. Simply put: There was no defined pedagogy for learning the rhythmic bowing required for non-classical styles, such as jazz, rock and others. Because of this, the violin and other bowed string instruments have essential taken their place as melodic instruments, with little to no role in providing rhythm to an ensemble. Tracy Silverman’s books are destined to greatly broaden the role of stringed instruments in music making across genres, by enabling classical players to expand their repertoire of techniques. This fascinating article shines a light on how this situation has come about, and how the new pedagogy will enable any player to develop the tools needed to become a Total Violinist.