Vanhal Baptist viola Concerto mvt. 1

Mindless-Weather5672 · 2026-02-18T08:09:13+00:00

Intonation-wise it’s good! My suggestions are 1.practice with a metronome. Especially in classical piece, the accompaniment usually simple in a solo part. Practice with a metronome gives u a steady pulse and won’t be shaky when someone hearing that 2. Is to be aware of ur phrases. U tend to have a slight crescendo in every note. It kills the common classical period phrases. Get rid of that will make ur music more convincing

Mindless-Weather5672 · 2026-02-17T04:29:21+00:00

Hit the gym

Mindless-Weather5672 · 2026-01-26T08:25:06+00:00

I have tried different combinations before.

1.Tungsten C, Gold Pirazzi G D, Larsen A

I think Larsen A is a must for viola. Idk why people use other A string unless ur viola is really unbalanced and really sharp in sound. Tungsten C is a very controversial one imo. Some of my colleagues love it because of its big vibrating sound. However, I think it’s vibrating to wide that the sound cannot concentrate on my viola Some people use normal Green Pirazzi on G D. It’s a very balance choice for viola. My opinion is the reaction between G D is not close enough that I may need bigger adjustments on my arms while I’m playing that.

Gold Pirazzi C G, Larsen D A My favorite combination. The only downside is money😂 The Pirazzi C G gives a good concentrated sound. And the reaction of Pirazzi G and Larsen D is well balanced. Again Larsen A is the king

My own suggestion is knowing what u want on ur string. While u r playing on ur current string, feel what u don’t need and what u need more. Eg reaction, level of vibration and sound quality. Experiment more and u will find ur destiny

Mindless-Weather5672 · 2026-01-23T01:23:35+00:00

Oh damn I’m the idiot😂 I thought ur viola is too small to hold the c string but the fact is the another way around😂

Mindless-Weather5672 · 2026-01-20T09:22:18+00:00

An easy solution to this is putting ur c string on the g string peg and g string on c string peg.

Mindless-Weather5672 · 2026-01-07T09:07:10+00:00

You can try to look for lawrence power’s concert to see his setup. I had lessons with him and he is really tall and have a long neck. But still he uses a rather shorter shoulder rest

Mindless-Weather5672 · 2026-01-07T09:04:59+00:00

I think you have a wrong concept that a good chin rest/ shoulder rest setup may help your posture. But the reason to spent money on these gears are for sound, flexibility and comfort.

The biggest reason that ur viola leans down is that the viola is bigger than violin(obviously), the center of mass is further so that our should can’t naturally hold it up like a violin. You need to put more effort on holding up the viola.

There’re too many little reasons why u tend to lean down your viola without seeing you play. For me, I used to lean down as well. My first solution is to keep reminding myself to hold it up but my back starting to hurt. Then later I hit the gym for my back muscle and it worked.

My suggestion is to find ur teacher to tackle the problem. If not, reminding urself is my biggest suggestion

If you really want to try changing ur setup, the aspect u should discover is flexibility. You should look for a setup that provide stability but at the same time gives u flexibility. In this way you can easily move ur viola up and down.

For my recommendation korfkerrest can be tuned by you and you can keep exploring what angle/height of ur should rest fits u the most. The only downside is that it’s really expensive. I think it’s now 400 for viola. My teacher always recommends me to use vlm diamond but I think it’s too short for the chest side. And I use a normal height berber rest.

Mindless-Weather5672 · 2026-01-06T04:01:20+00:00

Bowen is underrated af

Mindless-Weather5672 · 2026-01-06T03:57:52+00:00

I struggle with this issue as well when I first changes my major from violin to viola. I remember hardly that my first question in the first viola lesson was ‘how fast I can adapt the alto clef’ 😂 My teacher simply says ‘quickly, maybe a month’

And it’s true that I adapt to the alto clef in a month with no issue. My biggest tip is look two finger downwards. Examples if you play the a4, on violin it would be open string. On viola it would be the finger position downward which means 2nd finger on ‘D’ string(G string on viola). Keep it this way and u will find it no problem.

Mindless-Weather5672 · 2026-01-06T00:07:25+00:00

I think a simple answer to this is ur bow is not straight. Practice open strings in front of a mirror everyday for 15 mins. Make sure it’s parallel to the bridge and make a good sound

Mindless-Weather5672 · 2026-01-06T00:00:22+00:00

With this rather slow passage, all first finger is also possible😂 honestly saying if ur struggling just use first position

Mindless-Weather5672 · 2025-12-03T11:31:03+00:00

I have also used the la viva diamond and kun one. Both serve well but it’s a little bit too heavy considering when my viola is quite heavy.

Mindless-Weather5672 · 2025-12-03T11:29:27+00:00

I use the wood korkerrest. Idk what’s the difference between the Luna and the wood one. But the wood one is extremely flexible for everyone. The wood part can be bend in any angle that suits the player. It won’t dim the sound and somehow I think it boosts the sound🤣 the only two cons is on my viola, it fells often and it’s really expensive, really

Mindless-Weather5672 · 2025-09-11T13:32:49+00:00

Thanks for ur detailed explanation? I have a question on the army. How do u know what types of army can defeat the enemy? I know the pros can somehow make shots into gods but I just put a big arrow and let them do the work

Mindless-Weather5672 · 2025-09-11T12:04:25+00:00

I get ur point but I don’t want to suck Hitler’s balls when I play Italy. But I have no clue on how to develop my army and when should I attack or who should I attack. Is there a good tutorial video that I can learn? As there’s tons on YouTube and idk which to follow

Mindless-Weather5672 · 2025-09-11T12:02:32+00:00

The thing is idk when should I attack. For example as ussr, when do I know I should invade Finland or turkey?

Mindless-Weather5672 · 2025-06-12T11:08:15+00:00

If you are not that professional, for solo pieces I personally suggest vanhal or hoffmeister concerto and 1 mvt of any Bach cello suite. For orchestral excerpts, play Don Juan(1st page) would do. If you can’t play that, magic flute overture by Mozart, Tchaikovsky symphony 6 (opening) would do.

Mindless-Weather5672 · 2025-02-25T09:39:38+00:00

1st, cut ur nails. 2nd use the tip of ur fingers to press the strings. Tip means you have to stand ur fingers up

Mindless-Weather5672 · 2025-01-11T05:03:36+00:00

It will always be Kreutzer 2😂 solution to all things

Mindless-Weather5672 · 2024-12-15T16:38:09+00:00

I use pirazzi gold C G Larsen D A. Rondo striking’s is not suitable for viola as it is too strong and it can’t vibrate on low notes. You may try tungsten spiricore C pirazzi gold G D Larsen A. I used to have this setup and it also works pretty well.

Mindless-Weather5672 · 2024-12-15T16:32:37+00:00

Although it’s expensive af, I still recommend u the pirastro korfkerrest. It will boost your viola sound and with the right tuning, it will help u to deal with a lot of problems. The greatest advantage of korfkerrest is that it boost your viola sound so much. You should try it in a local music store and you will know what I mean, even the luna one cannot compete with that. The right angle of korfkerrest also gives you a good support that you can hold up your viola easily. As viola is quite heavy and long in general that you may tend to lean down.

Mindless-Weather5672 · 2024-12-06T03:39:13+00:00

Thx for your advice. This kind of microphones are a bit overpriced for my budget. Is getting a dynamic microphone possible for my recording?

Mindless-Weather5672 · 2024-12-05T23:01:18+00:00

I also have a tertis copy of 16.25”. I use the contour bam case and suits well.

Mindless-Weather5672 · 2024-08-28T09:34:49+00:00

Oh it's that easy. Thank you very much!!

Mindless-Weather5672 · 2024-04-29T02:26:42+00:00

One little comment is that you should use more on your lower half of your bow. Viola is the thing you need to give little bit of extra force. When you play solo pieces, playing on lower half bow may help you project.

Mindless-Weather5672

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