thumbnail
Composer: Pollock, Malcolm
Title: Abracadabra Flute
Publisher: London: A and C Black, 1990
Type: beginning method / reading
Level: 1A-2
Rating: 4 star(s)

Description: Although lacking in discussion of how to begin to produce a tone or hold the flute, this book includes fingering charts and very attractive black and white illustrations. The book introduces the easily producible quarter note as the first rhythmic value. The progression of the book is very nice in that each new note is introduced first in a stepwise piece and then reinforced with pieces using skips and leaps. The rhythmic concepts are also introduced progressively and very slowly. I find it very helpful that the pieces in the book depart from using only one time signature, alternating between 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4 from the very first. The songs are taken from folk, classical and more popular repertories, many songs are familiar-- including John Denver and Gilbert and Sullivan. The book corresponds with the Suzuki literature in the introduction of B-flat, F-sharp and C-sharp as the first accidentals, which makes it a great supplement to the Suzuki Method.

List all