What Are You Playing?!, A place to discuss pieces and get advice! Options

[Nicia-Clarinet-Flute]

Bit like the threads that are running in the woodwind section - what is everyone playing?

I'm currently practising my orchestra piece which are -
James Bond theme (love this on Viola (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)),
Entry of the Masters,
Finlandia,
Polka from the Bartered Bride,
The Moldau,
Dance Macabre,
and March to the Scaffold

Got strings sectional on Thursday and hope the other Viola player turns up (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) I've only been playing like 3 months at the most and while I can get through the music it's a bit scary if no one else turns up!!

Entry of the Masters is in treble clef and I'm findind it really hard to play, for that reason, any other viola players find this? Any tips?

Also playing some out of Time Pieces for Viola (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Nicia (IMG:style_emoticons/default/clarinet.gif)

[Jacobi]

Bach's Minuet 1

Nearly at the end of the first Suzuki violin book! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/violin.gif)

[river]

Rogues' March / Captain Lanoe's Quick March - for a long time i didn't like these two much at all, but i think i just didn't know how to play them properly - played around a bit this morning and i'm much happier with them now. i love re-learning something you thought you knew ;-)

The Bonny Breast Knot / Bonny Kate - a great set as played by Wood & Cutting.

Jenny Pluck Pears / Sweet Jenny Jones - G dorian to G major, gives a nice lift to a gentle set.

oh dear, is my traditional showing again? ;-)

[Nicia-Clarinet-Flute]

Bach's Minuet 1

Nearly at the end of the first Suzuki violin book! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/violin.gif)

oooo are you learning Suzuki method? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) How are you finding it?

[jojo]

I am fine tuning my grade 5 violin pieces

'Dance of the Snowmen'
'Cossack Dance'
'Giga'
'Tambourin' (not the Chinois/Kreisler but rather the one by Gossec)
'Sicilienne'
'Romance'

I am also, in the leisurely time learning the Nocturne in Csharp minor transcription by Milstein (violin again, only do this very occasionaly as I mainly do my grade 5 stuff and scales/exercises)

On Double Bass I am munching through the first half of the book by Keith Hartley 'Double Bass Solo', which is pieces up to grade 3 standard and scales up to grade 4
amongst the double bass solo pieces there is also a short piece from 'The Trout by Schubert' which I REALLY LOVE playing (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wub.gif) I just imagine having Daniel Barenboim, Zubin Mehta, Itzhak Perlman, Jacqueline Du Pre, and Pinchas Zuckerman right next to me playing withe me whenever I practice it (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

[Terra]

I am currently practicing swing low, scarboror fayre and love me tender from Making the Grade 1 violin. I'm also praticing Call of the carousel page 35 of Abracadabra violin. We all stand together and Edelweiss from pages 36-7 I can also play the scales D maj, A maj and G maj (2 octaves) by heart as well as arpeggios D maj, a maj by heart and can stumble though G maj with 2 octaves but am still working on it. I am also praticing A:2, B:1, and C:2 from the ABRSM exam grade 1 book. I am getting there. Toodle pip is almost grade 2 level and although it is far from perfect I am getting there slowly. So hopefully will be able to progress to grade 2 standard in a few months time.

[Violin Hero]

In The lambeth Orchestra:

Copland : Appalachian spring
Barber: Violin concerto
Rachmaninov: Symphonic dances

In the Thames Youth Orchestra:

Holst: The Planets Suite
Walton: Suite from Henry V

In addition t that I am learning some grade 8 pieces: Legende and Gavotte en Rondeau.

[rosfrog]

Rogues' March / Captain Lanoe's Quick March - for a long time i didn't like these two much at all, but i think i just didn't know how to play them properly - played around a bit this morning and i'm much happier with them now. i love re-learning something you thought you knew ;-)

The Bonny Breast Knot / Bonny Kate - a great set as played by Wood & Cutting.

Jenny Pluck Pears / Sweet Jenny Jones - G dorian to G major, gives a nice lift to a gentle set.

oh dear, is my traditional showing again? ;-)

Lovely sets, River! I'm off to get me fiddle out and play variations on Bonny Kate for an hour (it might be one of my favorite tunes!)

[river]

Lovely sets, River! I'm off to get me fiddle out and play variations on Bonny Kate for an hour (it might be one of my favorite tunes!)

ros -- i wonder if that's the same tune? over here, Bonny Kate is: d e f | g>f g>f | g d d B | -- i understand there's a reel of the same name that's quite different...

[rosfrog]

Lovely sets, River! I'm off to get me fiddle out and play variations on Bonny Kate for an hour (it might be one of my favorite tunes!)

ros -- i wonder if that's the same tune? over here, Bonny Kate is: d e f | g>f g>f | g d d B | -- i understand there's a reel of the same name that's quite different...

Ah yes - not the same tune, then. Still I'm always up for a new tune - have you got the ABC for yours?

[river]

X:1
T:Bonny Kate
M:4/4
L:1/4
K:G
d e f | \
g>f g>f | g d d B | c/d/ e d>c |B G G A | B G G A/B/ | c A A2 | B/c/ d c B |1 A |2 A4 :|
|: B G G A/B/ | c A d B | e c c e | f>e d e/f/ | g> f g f/e/ | d e/f/ g B | c/d/ e d>c |1 B G G2 |2 B :|

and to go before it...

X:1
T:The Bonny Breast Knot
M:2/2 # or 4/4... take your pick
L:1/4
K:G
d/c/ |\
B G G A/B/ | c/B/A/G/ A D | G/A/B/A/ G/A/B/A/ | G/A/ B d>c | B G G A/B/ | c/B/A/G/ A D | G/A/ B A d/c/ | B G G :|
|: c/d/ |\
d2 d>e | d/c/B/A/ G B | A/G/A/B/ c/B/c/d/ | e A A B/c/ | d2 d>e | d/c/B/A/ G B | A c D E/F/ | G B G :|

you'll need to chop the last bar off the Bonny Breast Knot the last time round since Bonny Kate has an unusually large anacrusis (or whatever we call those in trad tunes).

[rosfrog]

lovely, thanks. I really like the second one!

[Jacobi]

Bach's Minuet 1

Nearly at the end of the first Suzuki violin book! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/violin.gif)

oooo are you learning Suzuki method? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) How are you finding it?

Well I started February and having not played any instrument before (apart from a botched 3 months self taught guitar in college) it's a bit tricky to compare it. Twinkle Twinkle litte star was actually quite tricky! Think it was 4 lessons before I could play it! The pieces do progress and jump to being more difficult as you go through which is good for keeping interest up and keeping me on my toes lol

It's cool to see progress when you jump to playing in G major towards the end although tis a bit trickier with two second fingers....

Pieces toward the end of the book do look a bit scarier though (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

[primrose]

I will accept the invitation to ask for advice. In Farnaby's "Bonny Sweet Robin" (on the grade 4 list for viola) there are several Ds with a 0 over them where you would expect the fingering to be. But this is the D above the open D string -- it is the one that you could play with the 3rd finger on the A string in 1st position. So what does the 0 mean? It is definitely a 0 rather than the little circle that means a harmonic.

[rosfrog]

it means you play it as a harmonic, I think - it's been a long time since I've played anything from a score on the fiddle, but I seem to recall that such a thing means that you gently place the third finger on the a string and make the harmonic there, in first position.

Violists - please feel free to put me right if I've got it totally wrong!