New book makes fingering drills fun.

Warner Bros. Publications, 15800 N. W. 48th Ave., Miami, FL 33014; [phone], ext. 1749; www.warnerbrospublications.com. $6.95.

Kathryn Bird Kinnard has written a book, Easy Songs for Shifting in the First Five Positions, to help violin students learn making shifts in a way that is fun and memorable.

Published by Summy-Birchard and distributed exclusively by Warner Bros. Publications, this book is a valuable teaching tool to use in group classes or private instruction.

Easy Songs for Shifting in the First Five Positions introduces students to the second, third, fourth and fifth positions through a series of short, easily learned melodies without the need for difficult etude studies. Kinnard, a violin teacher and orchestral performer, carefully selected and arranged the book's songs so they are fun to play and easy to listen to, especially with a piano accompaniment.

Included among the more than two dozen songs in the book are "Playful Kittens," "Lady Bugs," "Butterflies," "Hopscotch," "Popsicles," "Inch Worm" and "Lotus Petals."

Kinnard uses incremental learning techniques throughout the book. More fingerings are given in the first pieces of a new position and gradually are dropped as students absorb the book's lessons. The book also features a few helpful hints and exercises for teachers and students.

For more information contact Warner Bros. Publications.