Quotes/Reviews

15 Fun Pieces for Flute Volume 1 by Paul Van Ross (includes CD)
"This book certainly does what it says on the front. Paul's intention is to provide an introduction to rhythms, harmonies, phrasings and effects found in contemporary music, these include jazz rhythms, lip flexibility, glissandos and some jazz chord progressions. The pieces progress in difficulty as you go through the book (Grade 3 – 5 ABRSM). Each piece has an introduction –  about style, explanation of harmonies used or an outline of the form; this is followed by a series of exercises to introduce or develop a technique used. This book has clear print and is well laid out. The CD is well produced and provides a demonstration and separate accompaniment for each piece." - Liz Goodwin, FluteWise, UK.

"If you are looking for more than is in the AMEB syllabus,
this is the book for you!

15 Fun Pieces by Paul Van Ross is a vibrant, modern flute book which provides a great addition to the standard flute repertoire, exposing flautists to a wide variety of styles, with particular note to jazz.

With a playalong CD, you have the fun and thrill of playing with a professional ensemble!  The CD provides both a demonstration of the song, as well as the playalong backing without the melody.  Hearing the melody helps you to learn the songs more easily, and then playing with the backing track gives you an exciting experience of being the flute soloist! It is fantastic to be able to listen to the tempos and rhythms and begin to understand the style of each piece.  By A Stroll In The Park , it is only the flute performing each piece giving you a fine example of flute playing in which to be inspired!

The first thing I loved upon seeing the book, were the exercises that precede each of the songs.  They are a wonderful and fun way of encouraging one to work on the technical aspects of flute playing and for learning how to problem solve specific areas of difficulty within each of the individual works.  Once you can play them as written, it is easy to be creative with them by playing faster and slower, with different articulations and as duets with your teacher.

I highly recommend 15 Fun Pieces by Paul Van Ross.  It has been an extremely popular book amongst my students."- Annie Oates, Flute Teacher, Adelaide.

Teachers

"I have been using your book quite a bit. I love some of these tunes. Especially 'Back Chat' ,'Rumba', 'Joker's Polka', 'Tango' and 'The Kool Reel'. Congrats on a beaut addition to available repertoire. As a teacher, I love these pieces!" - Glenda Williams, AMEB Examiner & Flutist, Melbourne.

"Great books, Paul! They are a really useful tool in my woodwind lessons. The exercises are an excellent resource as they relate to the accompanying pieces and the songs are great fun. The CD accompaniment is spectacular, its great to hear real musicians on a backing CD! What a great photo at the back of the book, too! I will be using these books with almost all of my students as there is a great variety of standards and styles. Thanks" - Paula Hessey, Melbourne.

"From an educational point of view, the pieces are valuable and one of my students said she had fun playing all of them. I like the idea of the changing metres and there are some cute tunes!" - Karen Lonsdale, AMEB Examiner & Flutist, Queensland.

"I love the books. I particularly enjoy playing them on flute. My students have commented on how helpful the backing tracks are also. The balance between the exercises/technical development and playing music is good- I think this is something that was really lacking in a lot of other books too, which tend to be either too technical, focus too much on one style or lack technical 'support' ideas for the teachers and students." - Benn Sutcliffe, Woodwind teacher, Melbourne.

"I love love LOVE these books! Thank you so much. I have been teaching flute for years and have been wanting to introduce more jazz repertoire to my students, but most of the jazzy books out there are too easy or too daunting. These are perfect! I have also recently begun teaching sax and clarinet and it is great to have these books written for all three instruments. Thanks again!" - Angela Tan, Woodwind Teacher, Melbourne.

"The songs in the Paul Van Ross book have been fun to learn and play.  I've played jazz music before but enjoyed working the variety of different basic styles.  With a whole range of standards, you can choose a piece that is easy and fun to learn or you can choose a song that provides a fun challenge.  The exercises were great as they helped me to learn the rhythms and fingerings for the song." - Caitlin Harvey Year 11 - Age 16.

"This book introduced me to jazz music.  I love this style of music now and have quickly learnt many of the songs.  I've even practiced more because I enjoy the music so much and love playing with the backing track.  Some of the songs are too fast for me at the moment but not for long!" - Chris Sanders  Year 10 - Age 15.

"This was my first experience with jazz music and I really got into it!  Because some of the songs were easier for me, I was able to focus on discovering the feel for jazz.  I discovered that I love this style of music and I'm looking forward to learning the harder songs further on in the book." - Michelle Simpson Year 9 - Age 14.

" AWESOME MUSIC BOOKS. I use it as a warm up because the songs are fun to play and vary in difficulty. The exercises help heaps when warming up because they get you thinking and concentrating about your technique. I used the piece - 'Joker's Polka' as an extra piece for my grade 5 exam. I like the compositions because they're boppy and modern :) My favourite piece is 'bop hop' because its easy to play and has unusual
articulation which makes it a great warm up :)" - Kate Giulieri Year 10 - Age 16.

"I use the book for fun and the exercises help you learn the pieces better. "Jolker's
Polka" was my favourite piece, I played it in my last music exam." - Cara Hill - Age 14.