The FJH Music Company is proud to announce New Directions For Strings, the first method ever written by a team of pedagogues representing each of the four stringed instruments. With more than 100 years of combined teaching experience, the authors of New Directions For Strings explore many "new directions," including equal integration of all the instruments, a tetrachord-based approach to support proper development of the left hand, and ensemble opportunities that occur throughout the book. Special attention is paid to the pedagogical development of right hand, left hand, and musical skills. The sequence of New DirectionsTMFor Stringsconstantly builds and reinforces fundamental skills, and the TeacherÕs Manual provides an abundance of assessment opportunities. In addition, great care has been taken to address all of the National Standards in both the student books and Teacher's Manual. A great method must have great music, and we are proud to include performance pieces by renowned composers Soon Hee Newbold and Elliot Del Borgo. These pieces, along with all the other music in the method, have been carefully edited to develop left and right hand technique as well as bow control. Two CDs, featuring play-along tracks recorded by live musicians, are included with each student bookand the Teacher's Manual. These CDs are ideal for home practise and wil l help motivate students through the use of multiple background styles and professional string musicians.