Comments

Molto Cool! You are very lucky to have a sympathetic teacher who is willing to work with you. I suppose most teachers who are good at teaching adults are like yours, good at going with the flow. Tom, that might be why I took a while to go back to a teacher after I started playing again. I wasn't sure if I'd find one who would be able to understand and deal with my learning style and interests. And so I was nervous.

And, with adult students like me there can also be an issue of the student having to provide her own direction and motivation. We aren't aiming to become professionals or soloists so the goals aren't necessarily obvious and we have to find our own. Like other musical (and scientific) experiments, some work better than others. But I think this piece really works!

Next time (if you use Finale) just enter it straight in to Finale in the clef and key that you have in front of you and let Finale change the clef and key for you. Sure, that would have been easier, but I wanted to use this an exercise to improve my ability to read and think in alto clef, which is still not as good as it could be.

I still have "violin moments" when I forget I'm playing a viola and find myself on the wrong string, wrong note, wrong position--you name it. And then a couple months ago I was playing the violin and had a viola moment, thought I was in alto clef when I was supposed to be in treble. Still the wrong note, wrong string, but I decided to view that as progress! Like when I was learning to speak German and dreamed in it for the first time.

Karen - your violin/viola problems remind me of my father's language problems. He spoke Russian fluently as well as some German and some French. Sometimes, when he tried to speak Russian, it would come out partly French and vice versa, but if he spoke some German, the French and Russian would separate completely. Go figure. Karen - One of these days we MUST meet in person. Your lessons and your life (minus children) follow a similar track to my own.

By any chance are you going to Interlochen this summer? If you haven't heard of it or considered it before, google it. I'm going!

Mendy, I wrote more in your blog comments section. If you (or anyone else reading this) would like a copy of my viola arrangement of this Ciacona I can send one out. I think you'd find it very playable and nice-sounding. I emailed Sarah Freiberg for permission and she said she was just happy it was being performed--on whatever instrument.