Comments

OK, I am biased, but Get A Teacher!

Also, Karen, you don't need a life coach. You seem to have it figured out!

Also, viola + Trumpet = A Really Good Joke, that I am not clever enough to make up. I am going to e-mail a trumpet buddy about this...

I second Anne's on both points. Especially on life/organization coach, as I think you should be one.

You are getting to know your new viola so obviously you want to try everything. What about trying some violin pieces that you've memorized and see how they sound on the new viola? Do you remember Bruch g minor concerto, for instance? The 2nd movement will probably sound good.

If I can play viola, Martinu's Rhapsody Concerto and Reger's 3 suites of solo will be my long-term goal.

Bruch G minor concerto . . . wow . . . that's from the troubled old days of my violin career, the P&A era, the waves of a confused soul beating itself silly. As a teenager, which one of those two pieces did I manage to screw up worse?

But, I still really like to listen to the Bruch. And the idea of the 2nd mvt on the viola is intriguing. I never memorized it, but I still have the music :)

It is so great to be able to talk with others about these pieces in this way. I remember feeling very isolated and discouraged as a teenager when I was trying to learn them the first time. My teacher back then, while a nice man whom I remember fondly, wasn't a lot of help with, well, the confused soul part. Music is really something for bringing back the past, things I thought were long-buried.

And then yesterday Darcy Lewis mentioned my high school stand partner, David Handel, in her News blog. I haven't talked to him in 25 years, since we graduated back in 1982. I knew he'd gone to conservatory and become a conductor, but I looked him up and apparently he's quite accomplished and famous in Bolivia. Wow. I looked at a publicity photo on the web, and yes, it's the same person. Way back when, I think he played the Bruch at a recital in our high school. I played Mozart #3 at the same recital.

I've been hearing snatches of P&A in my head for the past two days, the entire P and then only parts of the A, mostly near the end, the "waves" and the chords. It's a little eerie. And it's not for viola.

Now I'll probably start hearing the Bruch too.

What is the book of fiddle tunes for viola that you got? One of my students would be interested in it.

One of my beginning violin students comes from a family of trumpeters -- brother, sister, and father. I give him credit for sticking with the instrument he loves. I know by experience that reasonable violin-trumpet duets are hard to find. Good luck with that one.

I, too, am having trouble setting goals for myself. Right now I'm reading through material that I haven't played at all or haven't played for a long time, just exploring. Also, a lot depends on the company you keep. I'm no longer playing with a couple of the groups I used to, and I'm starting with some others, so I need to get my bearings.

Pauline, the book is called "Fiddling for Viola, traditional irish and american fiddle tunes arranged for viola," by Michael H. Hoffheimer. It's from Mel Bay publications.

The tunes are written in alto and treble clefs, with the alto clef part transcribed down a fifth. I've been cheating and reading the treble clef lines while pretending my viola is a violin. Not doing much for my alto clef reading! I'm trying to learn a few by heart so it doesn't matter.