I am absolutely in love with Schradieck Book 1 of “The School of Violin Technics” for my intermediate violin and viola students. It is perfect for developing left hand finger strength, and precision in rhythmic articulation. Etude #4 is fabulous for developing relaxed bow wrist movement. I also use it to train students to ignore repeated notes and identify, (and silently hear), the musical line. This is great preparation for among many other works, the Bach solo sonatas and partitas. The Schradieck studies then proceed to guide students from 2nd – 7th position. The studies are challenging, in such a way that students discover they are definitively unable to sight-read them at their lessons, and so they are more inclined to do their daily work. And over time, students seem to really enjoy all this tricky passage work. It’s fun to see how delighted they are upon finding how completely their hard work is rewarded, as they discover similar passages throughout the concerto and orchestral literature. ​