Hmm, no, I don't like the idea of violin and viola exams at the same time, esp. not at such similiar levels and very much in the 'learning' section of the scale.

I've decided not to do my Grade 1 viola in June after all. The pieces were over-challenging for me and I feel like I have more than enough on, so I've dropped the idea completely and also the idea of taking the Chinese Proficiency exam. Reducing stress is the current fad for me!!

I just read that as cycling proficiency

I'm learning spiccato at the moment, and 4th finger

Jacobi - just wanted to say 'welcome' as this thread seems to have disappeared down the list somewhat and I didn't want you to feel ignored!

I'm a very happy bunny at the moment as I have saved my pennies and had a birthday, and now have 4 new viola bows sitting in my living room on approval! Hoping they might make a tiny bit of difference to my playing, especially the bouncing bow problem. My teacher has played with my current bow and says it does tend to bounce, so it's not all me. Am now trying to persuade myself I need to do at least some housework before I try them all out. Any tips on what to look for - because if I'm honest I'm pretty clueless!

Next lesson is next Wednesday, so I'm hoping to get them ranked by then and see if my teacher thinks the same.

Hope everyone's practice is going well!

Thanks 2cm

I'm guessing you mean you are to choose one of those four bows? Or are you buying four?

Urgh, housework...
I think checking the bows is more important


I'm now up to using three strings D,A,E, and trying to keep my bowing parallel to the bridge...

I need to choose one bow - but that is a bit tricky. The more I play in a session the better it gets (relatively speaking) so the last bow I play with always sounds the best!

Hoping my teacher will play with them next week and say - 'this is the one' because I am struggling!

Didn't want this to slide any further.....




Having a couple of weeks off lessons, because of holidays and stuff. All going well...

Still no closer to choosing a bow - but my playing has come on due to all the extra practice (and the house doesn't look too bad if you don't look too closely!)


Have also found a way to stop my shoulders going up in the air as I play - i pretend I'm hanging weights from my elbows! Anyone else have odd ways of thinking which aids their playing? - I don't 'grip' or 'hold 'my bow - I 'balance' it - which seems to make my hand a bit more flexible.

Good to hear your playing has come on with the extra practice!

Interesting what you said about the bow, I have had different ways of thinking about how I hold it, it's much nearer balancing it than when I first started, described as "holding on for dear life" I remember!

May I join in here?

First Viola lesson this Friday very excited and a bit nervous at the same time!

Can't beat that first lesson excitement!

I remember being so excited before my first lesson that I had to go for half and hour's walk just to be calm enough for it!!

I'm going slowly at the mo. Haven't been able to do any prac since last lesson as we've been in Germany over the w/e and I've been quite unwell for nearly 3 weeks now. I'm so far behind with my college (textiles) work that it's just not funny anymore...

Hoping to get a bit of prac in before my lesson tomorrow, or I won't be able to move on.

Great to have a new trainee violist in our midst. We want to know all about your first lesson, what course you're following, what instrument you've got etc. The deal you described on the other thread you started sounds v much like the one I had. I rented a monstrously cheap viola to start with for a quarter at £30, then upgraded to a better one for £35 for the next quarter, then got £57.50 off the purchase price (all the 2nd quarter and 3/4 of the first, given that I'd changed instruments). I've been very pleased with my Chinese Stentor Conservatoire.

OK, back to bed now.....

I'm really happy as now I have a new bow! My teacher played them all and we picked one - when I got home and looked it up it's german - and my viola is also german - so I feel like I have a matching pair!

Had my 6th (I think) lesson today - every one brings new challenges! How come when I play stuff at home it sounds ok but collapses in my lesson - it's very annoying!

I'm now trying to get my right elbow to bob up and down whilst playing in tune - and remembering to breath, which apparantly I keep forgetting - but as I haven't keeled over yet I'm not worrying so much about that one at present!


Hope your first lesson goes well - the viola is lovely - it was fantastic listening to my teacher playing with all the bows I had taken along - such a gorgeous rich sound. she played a recital recently but I couldn't go.

She and her husband (who teaches my daughter violin) play in a String Quartet which is playing on Saturday - I'm hoping to make that and take my daughter too.

I would love to play in a quartet - has anyone written any for pre-grade 1!!!

Hi all!
i want ask something, i'm practising 5th interval now and confused about the fingering
i mean when play low d in the c string and then a in the d string, should i slide the finger or what technique
because both notes need the first finger

sorry for bad english
hope you understand my question
thanks

m_b_s

Well got my Viola today

It cost me £22 per quarter with £9 service charge, you get the rental money off an instrument either this one or another, which is good!

I was "measured up" 16" was the first out - too big, 151/2" which was also slightly too big, 14" (didn't know they made them little) too small then the 15" which was apprantely right My 15" is a Intermusic Viola, seems to be Chinese as there is Chinese writing on the tag, it is a nice bright varnish as well, the 151/2 which was a Stentor had a more "old" look not so bright varnish and lighter in colour.

Bought my Abracadbra Viola with CD as requested by my teacher.

Took them home and couldn't resist having a little go Play the pizzicato and the open strings with the bow, up bow and down bow and "E" with the first finger, I've no doubt the technique is not correct, just couldn't help myself! Really surprised with the sound I produced though, was nothing like the one people talk about with dread when people start playing string instruments, the instrument produced a nice tone that I was impressed with It is quite strange actually playing in the Alto clef though!!

Lesson tomorrow - YAY can't wait now

Do you mean d on the C, string followed by A on the G string ? If so, the best thing to do, if you can, is to put the finger on both strings at once (this is sometimes shown by a pair of lines, like a long equals sign, over the notes) - with a bit of practise, you should be able to finger both notes at the same time and make your life easy!




Brilliant! Keep us posted.

My teacher says think of a bag of potatoes hanging from your elbow, a 5 or 25 kg bag is usually my reply.

Eeeee, I've done it! I got through the exam without collapsing or going to pieces!

The pieces went pretty well, but I played Cotillon a trifle too fast.

The scales and arpeggios went well apart from playing one duff note in the C Major arpeggio.

The sight reading and aurals weren't too bad.

I couldn't stop laughing after I came out and had to go for a cup of tea in the nearby hotel!

I guess I'll just have to wait now

Well done I'm sure you did well, keep us posted

Well done! I did that too...
N

oh i see
well i'll try it soon!
thanks rosfrog

good luck for nicia for your first lesson
congrats for your successful exam echelon

m_b_s

Sounds like you had a good one!!!

I take a friend with me to my exams we always go straight for a large cappuccino and ridiculously fattening slice of cake because I'm buzzing with adrenalin!

Been practising today when very well Started doing 10 - 15 mins then doing 10-15 mins later on in the day.

Really happy this morning, G Major sounded lovely, will get a scale book before my next lesson then I've got one ready!

Played -
Merrily we roll along - last note is a type of "chord" D & A together glad to report that after some practise on hiting both notes at the same time I seem to have got it
Clown dance
Road monsters
Au clair de la lune - anyone else with Abracadbra do you find going from G (3rd finger) to A back to G again quite difficult?
Twinkle, twinkle little bow - again A to G but I didn't find it as hard for this piece??

During your first week of playing do must people see a big change in how well they play and start to find the posture a lot easier (I follow what my teacher said and play infront of a mirror) bowing is getting a lot better and feels a lot more natural but slurring is very hard, hoping to be shown a bit more on that soon!

I noticed a difference after the second and third lessons, the end of my second lesson (45 mins) I had played a lot more than during the first one and although at the end I thought I was fine, when I put my left arm down it felt really heavey and a bit tired! However from that point on it has been fine.

I thought I was having problems with bowing straight but I discovered last lesson I was holding the bow not quite right, now I am holding it correctly I can bow pretty straight with not much extra effort

Once I upgraded my cheap shoulder rest to a much better one I have been very comfortable and not had any problems with posture. As I'm 6'2'' I need a shoulder rest that can be made quite large.

I'm afraid I'm not up to slurring yet so I can't help you there.

Nah, think that's just you - my posture's still appaling! Is great if you're finding it much easier already!

Slurring definitely gets easier though! I hope it's the same on the cello, as I'm finding slurring quite hard too: in my case I think it's because the bow is so much shorter than I'm used to and I run out before I can get the second note in!

And apologies for, as a (reasonably) experienced violinist and lower-string beginner hijacking the thread!

Hi everyone,

I've already introduced myself on the general introductions thread but as I'm also an upper string beginner (5 months violin) I thought I'd introduce myself here too.

I mentioned in the general introduction thread that I've startedd playing a piece which is part of the grade 4 syllabus. Anyway, I got the ABRSM books for grades 1 and 2 yesterday and saw that I'm also learning one of the grade 2 pieces "der fröhliche Landmann" which I actually find quite difficult. Does anyone else find that some supposedly easier pieces are actually more difficult for them personally than other harder pieces?

I haven't listened to the CDs yet but I should imagine they're played to a very high standard with vibrato etc. I was wondering, is there anywhere one can hear performances of people playing pieces from exams they've just passed so that one can get an idea of what is realistically expected from a grade 1, 2 or 3 student? I have zero vibrato and I've even heard it's best not to even try using it until any other intonation problems are fixed. My tone is not that great either but my teacher says we will be working on it gradually.

I have lots of other questions too but I'll save them up fo a bit later apart fom one: Does anyone else find that on some days they're intonation is fine and then the next it's all over the place? Hope, I'm not the only one with this problem.

Thanks in advance for any answers!

Hi and welcome!

I'm not sure about your first question, I can only say that some pieces which look easy are deceptively difficult. It's similar to being able to play a piece which is on the grade X list, but just because you play it well enough for that grade, it doesn't necessarily mean that it can't be played better. I'm probably not explaining myself very well... There are some pieces that are on the grade 7 TG list but on the grade 8 ABRSM list. It just means that more is expected from the piece at a higher level. Maybe some pieces with easier notes are expected to be played with more musicality etc. So yes, sometimes I find that supposedly easier pieces are harder.

I agree with the vibrato thing, that you shouldn't start it until your intonation is secure, but if you've only been playing 5 months, then you probably don't need to be worrying about it yet. I didn't start learning vibrato until I had passed grade 3 and didn't have a nice vibrato until about grade 5 and even then it took me till I reached grade 8 to be able to vary it and use different speeds appropritaely. Even now I'm not always happy with my vibrato. I don't know whether the early grade cd's use vibrato, but im sure its not expected at the early grades.

And as for intonation problems - yes, we all have bad days, I have intonation issues all the time.

Any more questions just ask away.
x

@maya3

Thank very much for your answer. I think I understand what you mean about the deceptively difficult pieces. Also, encouraging to hear (from my point of view) that even someone with grade 8 distinction still has intonation problems from time to time.

I'll be back with more questions later. Must rush...

Thankyou all

Is the bow on a Cello shorter than a Violin or a Viola bow?

A cello bow is shorter than a violin bow (and also wider). I've never looked at viola bow closely enough to be able to say.

I read somewhere else in the forums that as the grades get higher the more effort is required to reach the required standard. For example if you need to practice x minutes every day for a year to get to grade 1 then you'll need to put in more than x minutes a day the following year to get to grade 2 and so on up to grade 8. So that if you spend the same amount of time practising each day reardless of what level you're at the times between the grades will get longer and longer. I'd be interested in others' experiences (especially violinists). Is there a general correlation here?

I'm hoping to progress as quickly as I can but don't have much idea of what a realistic goal is if I practice on average for 3/4 of an hour per day. I've been playing for 5 months, feel quite comfortable with grade 1 pieces and not too uncomfortable with grade 2 pieces. I don't think I'd actually dare to take any exams as failure would be very disouraging. Could do a performance aseessment, I suppose. Has anyone got any experience of these?

It all comes down to the individual

Not yet, but am planning on doing a performance assessment in June! The theory behind them sounds good though: no aural, just playing lovely music: it sounds like my idea of heaven!

You definitely need to practise for longer the higher up the grades you get, if nothing else the pieces get so much longer, and the volume of other stuff to learn is so much greater! When I first started we were only expected to practise for 5-10 minutes a day (there's only so long you can practise pizzicato on open strings). But 5-10 minutes at Grade 8 would enable me to play through a piece, at full speed, once, which isn't exactly what one would call "practising"! I'm playing pieces which are 2-4 pages long, plus there's sight reading and an entire book of scales to learn (and aural tests, though I am currently willfully ignoring their existence). Then, ignoring stuff which is solely exam material there are new techniques to learn with fingers and bowing.

I aim for three hours a day, though I rarely manage more than two (three involves getting up at six in the morning to get in an hour of practice before work. Can't say the prospect appeals, particularly if I've been up till after midnight!)

Having said that, I do know of Grade 1ers who practise for almost two hours a day, so in their case, practise would probably not need to be upped much for Grade 8, though if they were to become a professional...

My violin teacher said she used to practise for 6-7 hours a day!

There's no need to rush though, it's not a race and you want to build a solid grounding and good technique. I don't know what your musical background is, but five months to Grade 1 is not too shabby, violin is really difficult! And 3/4 of an hour a day at that level sounds more than adequate to me. Just enjoy it!

When I started I did about 15 mins a day until I got to grade 3 when I was averaging about 30 mins 4 or 5 times a week. Then at about grade 7 I upped it to 45 minutes 4 or 5 times a week and the same for grade 8, except a month before my grade 8 i did 45 mins every day. Although there is a huge amount to learn, you don't have to prcatice it all every day.

45 mins sounds like plenty to me.
x

I've been on holiday, and also just had no motivation to play before I went. Have played nothing for almost three weeks. Inevtiably, when I picked up my violin last night, everything has gone to pot again. Agh.

Need to book a lesson asap.

I started the violin (my FIRST instrument EVER!) 8 months ago, I could play my grade 1 pieces with my eyes closed but the actuality of the exam makes for a VERY diferent performance.

Also the other sections are done at a pace that allows no time to think or consider your answers.

I managed a merit pass in the practical (just found out!)- I produced faux vibrato because my bow hand was shaking so much!!!!

I hated the experience but I have to get to grade 5 before I can join an orchestra/group.

Congratulations! Do remember that you don't have to TAKE all the exams up to grade 5...

W

I know I don't have to take all the exams but my thinking is - if I cannot play my best in a grade exam then i will not be able to perform well.

I see the exams as a means to an end - I want to play music with other people!!!

Just popping in to say that I got a carbon fibre bow today.

Can't wait for my lesson on Sunday (missed last Sunday due to illness )

Incidentally, hope I'm still allowed in here. Am currently cheerfully murdering some of the Grade 3 pieces.

Cheers,

Matt.



Am really lucky because, in Edinburgh, the venue for the ABRSM exams is just down the road from a few really nice pubs.

So straight out of the exam room and straight up the road for a couple of Whiskies and a pint of Ale. Useful with my nerves.

Cheers,

Matt.

Yup hun, you're still welcome here! Anyone who's in the 'foundation' stages and is, preferably, learning at normal (rather than lightning) speed, is most welcome!

If you think you're murdering G3 pieces, you should hear the mess I made with G1 stuff! It was so bad that I decided against the exam until I could actually play something without wanting to cry with frustration as it was just so hard.

Hello elisabeth - Haven't seen you around for a while! How are you?

Had 'flu and so on since early March so barely been able to touch my poor little viola. Also, got frankly brassed off as I'm finding things rather tough going musically and it was demoralising to come on here and be faced with what seemed to be a barrage of whiz-kids who seem ready for concerto solo spots after 20 minutes!!! I've been reading from time to time, but didn't have anything to contribute or update, so I didn't.

That's because they're all violinists jumping on the viola bandwagon

No, if that were true I wouldn't blink an eye.

Are you able to come to the Leeds concert? I'm meant to be organising the string ensemble and would love to have another viola player!

W

Some of them are, anyway. I haven't yet done my G8

Sorry, can't help you there, I'm tied up on Saturday afternoons for the foreseeable future. Part of me would quite like it, but the other part doesn't think I'd be able to manage anyway. Last time it was in a key that I couldn't play in and, well, I still can't play in Bb major! Thanks to a super teacher, my technique has improved a lot and I have learned quite some new stuff, but I still can't even manage a grade 1 piece to a respectable standard. I've just been unwell too much to practice and, well, I don't think music is my gift!!!

That's a shame - I'm sure you would manage this! Hope we get to see you again soon.

W

Perhaps I would, who knows?

See me again soon? Well, that's not going to happen either! I found out 10 days ago that I'd been selected for a scholarship for Taiwan, so we'll be going there for about a year from mid-August! I'll try and get a viola locally, but I don't know how that will work out.

Wow! Congratulations on the scholarship!

I could send you a copy of the music - just in case...

W