The Waltz Book Spiral-bound – Abridged, January 1, 1992

Many favorite, lovely tunes here, great for accompanying dancers, or for playing for fun with a group of friends. Chord changes are marked (though not with tabs) so accompaniment can be worked out. There's a basic, and helpful, section in the front with tips for harmonization or accompaniment, including an admonition to concentrate on keeping the beat rather than getting too fancy.I've seen violin, mandolin, piano, guitar, and accordion players enjoy playing these songs together. There's a wide range of styles, sources and keys - some O'Carolan, some Welsh, some Finnish, some "traditional", some composed by familiar and not-so-famous US players.The spiral binding lies flat, and the print is easy to read. The tunes are in alphabetical order, so easy to find on the fly. Beginners and intermediate players can enjoy these as written, and more experienced players can enjoy them as a starting place,for adding embellishments, or increasing the tempo, adding doublestops, harmonizing the melody, playing twin fiddles,experimenting with chord progressions, and all those other fun things that I hope one day to be able to do!

This is a dandy book of, essentially, skeleton melodies ready for embellishments. It's a favorite of my pickup contra-dancing band to send couples whirling around the dance floor to end the evening. The pieces at the beginning on harmony and piano accompaniment also are useful. Even the background notes beneath the tunes are pretty cool. Have always liked the Ookpik Waltz, for instance, but had no idea (until now) that an Ookpik was a small Arctic owl. Thanks, Mr. M.

These waltz books are the best. There are so many beautiful waltzes.

Book is full of really wonderful waltzes.

I love this book. I get together to play with friends once a week. We play songs out of lots of books, and this is our very favorite. Almost all of the songs are wonderful. To the reviewer who says that only half of the music is there...this is true. It is written for violin (or mandolin) so there is only a treble clef. But the book has chords, so it is easy for a guitar or piano to accompany using the chords. Excellent book.

Wife loves this book for playing her violin.

The original collection. Excellent introduction. Very nice selection of songs. Crafted simply enough to allow beginner to intermediate player to perform while open to embellishment and interpretive license for advanced player.

This book is a collection of very enjoyable waltzes. Chords are included (and interesting). Great for playing with friends and family.