Why shouldn't sheet music be surrounded by flowers? I like to think Vivaldi had something similar to this mind when he composed his Four Seasons...maybe minus the monkey. :0 This music is from the middle grade adventure 'Violetta and the Venetian Violin'. When twelve-year-old Violetta is suddenly transported from 2017 to 1717, she embarks on an unexpected adventure accompanied by Vivaldi's music. To find out more visits https://www.alexandralouiseharris.com and you can download this arrangement of Vivaldi sheet music for all levels for free. You can also listen to the whole album here on this YouTube channel. Happy playing!!

Here is the sheet music to my version of Vivaldi's Concerto for Four Violins from Violetta and the Venetian Violin. I enjoyed creating these black against white sheet music clips, but if you prefer to read the original, you can download the whole book of arrangements at https://www.alexandralouiseharris.com. Happy playing!

An animated collection of music and illustrations from Violetta's musical adventures. 1.Vivaldi's Concerto for Four Violins 2. Tarantella (traditional) 3. Vivaldi's La Stravaganza 4. Passepied (traditional) 5. Vivalid's La Folia 6. Paganini's Violin Concerto no.4 7. Debussy's Clair de Lune 8. Satie's Gymnopedie no. 1 mixed with Paganini's Campagnola 9. Paganini's Witch's Dance This music is from Violetta and the Venetian Violin

Time-travel, history and Paris. Three things that really appeal to me as in a middle grade adventure. This week Alexandra and Ferdinand discuss The Mona Lisa Mystery. A Butterfly Club adventure by M.A. Bennett. Creating stories through music is what Alexandra is passionate about. This series celebrates music in middle-grade books, a symphony of stories and there are wonderful themes in novels of that genre. Courage, friendship, kindness and prevailing against evil or injustice are so inspiring for young readers. They’re also really enjoyable for parents and children to read together. The @cbca.national celebrates book week in August and a weekly planner can be downloaded at https://cbca.org.au. Do you have some favourite musical novels? If you do, Alexandra would love to hear about them and you can email her at alexandra@alexandralouiseharris.com. Alexandra’s website: https://www.alexandralouiseharris.com Youtube animated violin videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLV5sXjvLZhvJeO_ZHQRAMtBs_DGcSRk7 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLV5sXjvLZhvI1annJ7Bny5dY1sYGsSBSM This has been created: This episode has been created using Adobe Premier Pro, Adobe Fresco for illustrations, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Indesign which Alexandra also uses to design her novels. The music in the episode is an arrangement of Paganini's 4th violin concerto from Violetta and the Paganini Poltergeist album Alexandra created using GarageBand and Ableton Live. You can find out more about her recording process in these YouTube series. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLV5sXjvLZhvKs6-l2WF3IUAYoh2MamTix https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLV5sXjvLZhvLS9NqZYLt_M9dU6LrTLUzO About Alexandra Louise Harris Alexandra Louise Harris is a violinist and teacher with a passion for writing. She has designed and illustrated her novels, Violetta and the Venetian Violin and the Problem with Paganini, along with the violin videos for Signore Maggiorino and the Eight Rarest Sounds and Pierette and all the Magic of the Universe. Each Violetta book also has an album and arrangements of Vivaldi and Paganini’s music for violinists of all levels. #childrensbookstagram #cbcabookweek #musicalchildrensbooks #creatingstoriesthroughmusic

Music, time-travel and wacky words. What more could you want from a middle grade book? This week Alexandra and Ferdinand discuss The Phantom Tollbooth my Norton Juster. It’s a colourful and musical adventure full of our favourite things. There are so many videos you can find on YouTube of the musical. We'd love to see it live, but here is a snippet of Milo meeting Chroma the Great from the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kbw5YHGNEgE Creating stories through music is what Alexandra is passionate about. This series celebrates music in middle-grade books, a symphony of stories and there are wonderful themes in novels of that genre. Courage, friendship, kindness and prevailing against evil or injustice are so inspiring for young readers. They’re also really enjoyable for parents and children to read together. The @cbca.national celebrates book week in August and a weekly planner can be downloaded at https://cbca.org.au. Question. Do you have some favourite musical novels? If you do, Alexandra would love to hear about them and you can email her at alexandra@alexandralouiseharris.com. Link to blog and free stuff Violetta’s adventures: https://www.alexandralouiseharris.com. Blog article: https://www.alexandralouiseharris.com/post/the-phantom-tollbooth Alexandra’s website: https://www.alexandralouiseharris.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexandralouiseharris/# Youtube animated violin videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLV5sXjvLZhvJeO_ZHQRAMtBs_DGcSRk7 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLV5sXjvLZhvI1annJ7Bny5dY1sYGsSBSM This has been created: This episode has been created using Adobe Premier Pro, Adobe Fresco for illustrations, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Indesign which Alexandra also uses to design her novels. The music in the episode is an arrangement of Ravel and Debussy’s Ondine from the Violetta and the Paganini Poltergeist album Alexandra created using GarageBand and Ableton Live. You can find out more about her recording process in these YouTube series. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLV5sXjvLZhvKs6-l2WF3IUAYoh2MamTix https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLV5sXjvLZhvLS9NqZYLt_M9dU6LrTLUzO About Alexandra Louise Harris Alexandra Louise Harris is a violinist and teacher with a passion for writing. She has designed and illustrated her novels, Violetta and the Venetian Violin and the Problem with Paganini, along with the violin videos for Signore Maggiorino and the Eight Rarest Sounds and Pierette and all the Magic of the Universe. Each Violetta book also has an album and arrangements of Vivaldi and Paganini’s music for violinists of all levels. #childrensbookstagram #cbcabookweek #musicalchildrensbooks #creatingstoriesthroughmusic

Murder mystery, middle grade and a bit of Agatha Christie…this book has it all. This week Alexandra and Ferdinand discuss Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen: The Body Under the PianoThe Body Under the Piano by Marthe Jocelyn. It’s a mystery packed adventure full of humour and history. You can find out more about Marthe Jocelyn and her books here: https://www.marthejocelyn.com Creating stories through music is what Alexandra is passionate about. This series celebrates music in middle-grade books, a symphony of stories and there are wonderful themes in novels of that genre. Courage, friendship, kindness and prevailing against evil or injustice are so inspiring for young readers. They’re also really enjoyable for parents and children to read together. The @cbca.national celebrates book week in August and a weekly planner can be downloaded at https://cbca.org.au. Question. Do you have some favourite musical novels? If you do, Alexandra would love to hear about them and you can email her at alexandra@alexandralouiseharris.com. Link to blog and free stuff Violetta’s adventures: https://www.alexandralouiseharris.com. Blog article:https://www.alexandralouiseharris.com/post/the-body-under-the-piano Free printable mermaid stickers giveaway: https://www.alexandralouiseharris.com/product-page/mermaid-stickers Alexandra’s website: https://www.alexandralouiseharris.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexandralouiseharris/# Youtube animated violin videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLV5sXjvLZhvJeO_ZHQRAMtBs_DGcSRk7 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLV5sXjvLZhvI1annJ7Bny5dY1sYGsSBSM This has been created: This episode has been created using Adobe Premier Pro, Adobe Fresco for illustrations, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Indesign which Alexandra also uses to design her novels. The music in the episode is an arrangement of Ravel and Debussy’s Ondine from the Violetta and the Paganini Poltergeist album Alexandra created using GarageBand and Ableton Live. You can find out more about her recording process in these YouTube series. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLV5sXjvLZhvKs6-l2WF3IUAYoh2MamTix https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLV5sXjvLZhvLS9NqZYLt_M9dU6LrTLUzO About Alexandra Louise Harris Alexandra Louise Harris is a violinist and teacher with a passion for writing. She has designed and illustrated her novels, Violetta and the Venetian Violin and the Problem with Paganini, along with the violin videos for Signore Maggiorino and the Eight Rarest Sounds and Pierette and all the Magic of the Universe. Each Violetta book also has an album and arrangements of Vivaldi and Paganini’s music for violinists of all levels. #childrensbookstagram #cbcabookweek #musicalchildrensbooks #creatingstoriesthroughmusic

After many years of playing the violin, I've developed a warm up/practice routine...now I wonder if it needs a shake up. Over the next few short weeks, I'm preparing for a performance of Bach's St Matthew Passion. I don't perform regularly, I'm not a concert violinist by any means and much of the work I do is with community ensembles. Nevertheless, my standards for myself are high. This routine is something I've developed after years of Conservatorium study, lessons with wonderful teachers and from learning all I can from YouTube. We're so lucky we live in a time where we have access to the great masters and it's truly inspiring. In case you're wondering, the books mentioned in this episode include: Carl Flesh Scale System Simon Fischer Basics Schradieck school of Violin Technique The Dounis Collection (Fischer) Kreutzer 42 etudes The videos you see popping up are from my Instagram and TikTok channels, and I'll post them on YouTube shorts as well. Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/alexandralouiseharris TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@Violettavenetianviolin Website:https://www.alexandralouiseharris.com Stories are a huge part of why I love music. The books you can see in the background are Violetta's adventures in Venice and Paris, where she time-travels through magical means to meet Vivaldi and Paganini.... I'm living vicariously. As I mention, please do reach out and let me know your practice routine, or email me with any questions you have at all at alexandra@alexandralousieharris.com The podcast mentioned by @balletwithisabella is called A Dancer's Mindset. A fantastic listen for performers in any discipline.

Who says weight lifting only happens in gyms? Those tiny but mighty violin muscles will certainly get a workout with this collection.

The closest I've come to dancing ballet was an adult beginner class. Nevertheless, I believe there is much in common between the two disciplines.