THE METHOD BOOK “MALAY CHILDREN’S FOLK SONGS AND STUDIES, FOR VIOLA BEGINNERS”

Abstract

The few common method books for beginners on the violin and viola are published mostly in Europe and designed for children aged 6 to 10 years. Children typically start to learn viola in theirteenage years when their hands, wrists, and palms are almost at their full size, because the viola only exists in sizes from14.5 inches up to17 inches. Almost all European method books for the viola arebased on European traditional, folk and classical tunes. Only a few of them include Asian tunes, and none feature Malaysian tunes. As a result, it hadstrengthened and developed European children’s knowledge of their own musical traditions and culture but didnot expand their knowledge ofmusical traditions and culture from other countries. In Malaysia, children learn to play the instrument using mostlymethod books published in America and the United Kingdom for beginners. These help them to expand their knowledge of European traditional and folk music. However, the children start to lose interest and cease to expand their knowledgeof their native traditional and folk music. The method book “Malay Children’s Folk Songs and Studies, for Viola Beginners” was created especially for Malay teenagers who would like to learn to play the viola or to switch from the violin to the viola in a short period. Moreover, it preservesthe Malay folk music heritage among members of the new generation and will ultimately introduce Malay children’s folk songs to European children in the future.