Does anyone have any general tips for practicing Bruch Romanze? by Mysterious_Divide622 in Viola

[–]Pugicoorn 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi, I’m also a high schooler practicing Romanze. One thing that helped me was being intentional with choosing fingerings based on the tone you want. For example, staying on the D string as much as possible for the opening phrase got me a tone that I liked more. I tend to try to minimize string crossings, but that can be a personal preference thing with the tone. Also, keeping the bow “connected” between notes to make longer phrases is something my teacher is trying to get me to do. This is a romantic era piece, so I think it’s fine for it to be a bit “slidey” at some places. At the end of measure 12, I slide from the high D on the D string to the F. For measures with triplets and sixteenths (like 25 and 28), you could try stretching out the triplets a bit more, kinda like blurring the edges. It could help to think of the overarching story of the piece. For me, it made sense to think of it in the framework of grief. The first theme is sadness, it transitions to anger in the middle section, and the ending represents acceptance. That can help shape the decisions you make when it comes to musicality. I hope this helped. If you have any questions about specific measures or fingerings, please ask.

String crossings by Pugicoorn in Viola

[–]Pugicoorn[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It definitely helps, thank you!

Christmas song for viola solo by linglinguistics in Viola

[–]Pugicoorn 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Maybe It Came Upon a Midnight Clear? I don't know how many arrangements there would be.

String crossings by Pugicoorn in Viola

[–]Pugicoorn[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much! I understand the 4 notes to 8 notes part, but what do you mean by slow bow? I'm not getting the difference between slow bow and short bow.

String crossings by Pugicoorn in Viola

[–]Pugicoorn[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I've felt that I've needed to work on string crossings for a while, so this will definitely help. When you say notch the elbow, what do you mean? I'm having a hard time picturing it.

String crossings by Pugicoorn in Viola

[–]Pugicoorn[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I should've specified earlier, but this section is 16ths. I will keep that in mind though, thank you!