DragonScales: The Hero Levels, 25 Fantasy Etudes to Slay Evil, is a revolutionary role playing video game-inspired etude book where you, the player, are the hero in an original magical adventure fantasy. The 25 etudes and their accompanying audio play-along recordings are the soundtrack to the story. Your skills will be tested through difficult technical passages, extended techniques, workbook theory, and improvisation, as your hero character battles to slay evil.
This book has three components: the written story, the notated etudes, and the audio play-along recordings. The audio play-along accompanies the etude and the etude accompanies the scene. All relevant external links are accessed on a single QR code page. For a fully immersive experience while playing your instrument with the recordings, wireless earbuds, headphones, or quality speakers are highly recommended.
The Hero Levels are available for violin, viola, and cello, each in Story (easy), Noble (medium), and Legend (expert) difficulty modes. All nine of these variants use the same story and audio play-along recordings. The etudes themselves are not identical but play well together when combined, which enables multi-player mode, where you can play with your friend or teacher, or in group class with everybody playing their respective parts. Separately, many of these etudes function as concert pieces and can be performed on recitals or juries. The etudes also work as stand-alone studies and require neither the written story nor the audio play-alongs for you to gain experience and level up.
In addition to the play-alongs, there are several extras all linked to from the QR code page. The practice tempo playlist has play-alongs in 60, 80, and 90% of full tempos. The Demo Play-through playlist has recorded performances of all the Viola Legend etudes, which can serve as simple references or play-alongs for the solo parts. Lastly, the Community Space playlist showcases the work and progress of fellow Hero Levels players. Nick writes: "Over time we can create a community of Heroes, like you, who are slaying evil in their own ways on their own instruments at their own paces. This can be a space to meet and learn from each other and celebrate the differences in our musical expressions."
"Learning the craft of an instrument should be fun! Fun stimulates brain activity and learning happens quicker and deeper. Why not go on an adventure while learning your instrument? I wanted to create a large-scale flexible learning tool for multiple instruments and difficulty levels that access multiple sources of creativity along the way. My hope is that you, the player, and the Hero, will play this game and feel inspired to make your story come to life. I hope others will learn from this book as I have."
And with that, may the power of the Sacred Spirit Crystal bless you on your journey through the Hero Levels!
