Tim Rohwer: Composer

Recently, I've been hoping to start doing more recording work.  I realized a great way to do this, both to help myself in understanding the recording and mixing process and to help me create a nice final product would be to record some of the hymns.  I wanted to put these out in many different venues, so my plan is to put the recordings I do on youtube, soundcloud, and some other sites to help get my recordings listened to. I'm also hoping to help those who might be hoping to find some uplifting music to listen to, and to generally start getting the music I play listened to.  Let me know if you want any other specific hymns or other songs.  Thanks, and enjoy!

I have been putting together some arrangements for my students in the Summer, and for the orchestra class I've put together a string quartet arrangement of The Infernal Galop, commonly known as the Can-Can, by Offenbach.  All of the parts are put together, and we should be playing it for summer time.  I also put together a recording of it so that my students can have something that they can listen to in preparation, and here it is: The Infernal Galop (Can-Can) by Jacques Offenbach As I put together more arrangements I hope to keep putting recordings and eventually make the parts and scores available to by for any string teachers who might be interested.  Other arrangements soon to be put up here: Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Garland Waltz, also by Tchaikovsky (I have a student who loves Tchaikovsky) I also put together a violin solo with piano accompaniment of the Garland Waltz that is a little longer than the string quartet arrang...

I've recently been using a technique for teaching whole steps and half-steps with my students that I feel has been pretty effective, and I wanted to share what I do.  I mention this to my violin students after they have been playing for a little while.  I have students start with a simple tetrachord pattern (what I call the mini scale) on just one string, and from there we progress to a D major scale on the D and A strings.  When they are starting to play on more than their D and A string, I introduce them to the fact that they can do a bigger scale on their whole instrument.  At this point, I mention half steps and whole steps. I start by having students listen to the difference between half-steps and whole steps.  I currently have a piano in my teaching studio, and so I'll play them the a half-step lower down on the piano, and tell them how it is like the "Jaws" theme. I then show them the contrasting sound of a whole step and mention how in music we ha...