Superstart Viola is excellent value for money as a first book for a violist, partly thanks to the included audio, which maximises the potential for progress between lessons, especially in tandem with an enthusiastic parent. It can be used as a core method, but teachers used to other books can easily incorporate some of the ideas and pieces into lessons to good effect. Presentation is excellent and technical issues are explored with great imagination, for instance using a song with lines such as 'If you grip too much you'll make a scratchy sound' and 'Flex your fingers and thumb, please'. Pieces are introduced gradually via musical fragments, and finish up at around Grade 1 standard or slightly above. most pieces are compatible with the equivalent method for violin, facilitating class teaching. The separate volume of piano accompaniments and viola duet parts is useful for teaching in order to stop and start easily where necessary but not essential. Well worth a look especially for teachers who enjoy exploring imaginative ways to get the most out of young pupils.
Music Teacher Magazine, October 2007
Superstart Viola is a very well thought out method that would take the pupil from the beginning of learning Grade 1 (finger pattern 2 is introduced at the end of the book). It is packed with games, ideas and pieces presented in a well laid out engaging manner (lots of witty line drawn cartoons).
European String Teachers Association, Summer 2007
I have long been an admirer of Mary Cohens imaginative approach to the challenges of teaching the parallel rudiments of theory and technique to beginner groups. Superstart Viola, an updated adaptation of Superstart Violin is engagingly interactive at each step: it labels the parts of the instrument, addresses tone production early on, and even a song for teacher and pupil at the outset, to teach the correct positioning and holding of the instrument. Bow-hold is refreshingly uncomplicated (being left to the teacher), but reference is made to the three pivotal points giving control: the index finger, the little finger and the thumb. More important is Cohens system of developing reading skills quickly, through cleverly combining spoken metre and childish images: Active Ants, Dozing Dinosaurs, Galloping Gazelles, Crocodiles Crawling. The graphics are imaginative: three cartoon characters Little Short, Short Little and Little Tiny encourage the learner to match animal names to one of their syllable patterns. The whole book is treated as a voyage of discovery, with the feature boxes containing challenges, technical tips, brain teasers and fact files throughout. Great illustrations cater for boys as well as girls.
Sheet Music Review, February 2007
