Kaleidoscopes Book 2 is designed to foster agility, grace, and emotional expression in the young violinist. These diverse, international songs - including Slovak, African American, Swedish, Irish, and other traditions - appeal to students' need for uniqueness and variety, and are the perfect size to provide both challenge and momentum.
The book fosters by-ear learning through the inclusion of various "fill-in-the-blank" measures in each piece, encouraging the child to figure out the missing notes using the recording as an auditory model. By the end of the book, students can play confidently by ear. Writing the missing notes into their part develops and reinforces students' understanding of meter, pitch, rhythm, and notation.
Skills introduced include vibrato, spiccato, lowered first finger, crescendo and diminuendo, spiccato, rapid 16th notes, 6/8 meter, Bb major, C major (utilizing a lowered first finger), grace notes, and 5/4 meter.