Hall Easy Violin Solos for Violin and Piano

Frederick Hall: Easy Violin Solos (Violin & Piano) — New Edition

Easy Violin Solos is a set of six short pieces for violin and piano, published in Melbourne by Allan & Co. in 1926. This new edition brings all six together in fresh engraving, with a separate violin part.

All six sit at around ABRSM Grade 1 to 2 and stay in first position throughout. What makes the set useful is that the technical work is carried by proper melodic writing rather than by exercises. The pieces work left hand to placement of the first and second finger in different positions, which means a student needs to fully undertand the different tone and semi tone placements. Perfect for this standard of piece.

The bowing is worked just as deliberately. Orientale is built on helping pupils move from playing in the bottom half of the bow to playing in the top half of the bow. The Andantino goes after slurred bowing. Each piece helps the young violinist build a strong musical and technical foundation. The violin has the melody throughout the set, and the piano carries the harmony and the pulse behind it.

The complete set runs to between five and six minutes, which is about right for this standard: six pieces of roughly a minute each.

See and hear the difference

Check the score and parts preview images above, then watch the complete score video below. They'll give you a clear picture of the engraving quality and overall difficulty before you buy.

Key features

• Instrumentation: Violin and Piano
• Difficulty: approximately ABRSM Grade 1–2
• Duration: approximately 5–6 minutes for the complete set of six pieces
• Style focus: first and second finger placement in first position, whole bow strokes heel to point, slurred bowing, sustained melodic playing
• Format: PDF download, score and separate violin part
• Edition: newly engraved from the original 1926 Allan & Co. publication

Who it's for

A good fit for Grade 1 and Grade 2 pupils who need short performance pieces rather than another study, and for teachers building a first recital or class concert programme. The six pieces work well split up across a term, one at a time, or played as a short set. These have dropped out of general use, so a pupil playing one is offering an audience something it will not have heard before.