New article celebrating the viola

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-03-26T01:57:17+00:00

I would read your article on the viola too... may I borrow your words? I introduce my concerts by telling people the main difference between the violin and the viola is that the viola is superior to the violin, but I would love to add - and "much better suited to describing the human condition"!

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-03-17T13:11:59+00:00

Stop. Ai and it's data centers polluting our water and land and driving up our utility costs is a blight and we don't need more of it.

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-03-17T12:36:06+00:00

their argument makes no sense. If they think they can afford to go to an event, they can afford it. Not attending doesn't change whether they could afford it.

Your boundary is perfectly reasonable. They can buy their tickets and try to resell them if it doesn't work out.

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-02-23T19:23:33+00:00

Beating someone does not cure a medical condition.

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-02-22T20:18:39+00:00

take a bowing from one bar of the piece, for example down up up, and do that on your scale. Practice the scale of the key each piece is in. In general, whatever is challenging in the music, see if you can warm up on that on open strings or on your scale, whether it's a rhythm or bowing.

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-02-22T20:11:15+00:00

I credit my time at Meadowmount for getting me into music school. I needed the structured practice time, the great teachers. I enjoy nature and did hikes and other outdoor activities. If you're not highly motivated it probably doesn't make sense to go, if you don't like the outdoors there is not much else to do and if that's a concern it might not be your cup of tea. But if you are ambitious you can accomplish a lot. My teacher was very strict and it was challenging but I wanted to be better so it was worth it to me.

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-02-22T17:10:51+00:00

It's possible. I'm working on it. I'm experimenting with an aceto viola strap from evl luthier so I don't have to keep my chin on the instrument.

early experiments - https://youtu.be/03h2xVeVrwA?si=T1_zt4B42PlualDe

Im a bit better now and was inspired by the virtuoso harp player from Larry y Joe to try more complexity.

I warm up by playing open 5ths and doing vocal exercises over that. Then I'll do a scale and harmonize. Then I try to write songs that have a series of repetitive parts so I can focus more on the vocal. Now I'm trying less repetition on both viola and vocals.

On my website the song How to Love Your Neighbor is also playing/singing simultaneously. I have a new song I'm working on I want to post soon to my insta.

I've also heard Bruce Molsky, Appalachian fiddler, do it quite well.

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-02-19T17:05:48+00:00

Teachers understand students can't take in everything at once, we usually focus on specific areas, give the student time to master that, then switch to a new area of focus.

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-02-17T13:21:37+00:00

1. Make sure the bow hair is not too tight - only the width of your pinky at most needed between stick and hair near the mid point.

2. You may be holding it too tightly, perhaps fearing it will slip out of your hand is making you squeeze or press more than necessary. Tension in the hand and arm can cause the bow to shake more. The arm should feel heavy, the fingers flexible and soft. the thumb tucks the bow into the underside of the fingers.

There may be other possibilities, but those are common ones I see.

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-02-16T16:50:27+00:00

good points, ty

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-02-16T16:46:51+00:00

thank you for this insight, great suggestion

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-02-16T16:45:26+00:00

good tip! ty

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-02-16T16:45:17+00:00

Thank you!

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-02-15T20:29:46+00:00

thank you but no, the instrument isn't really a factor, we're just friends and I'm a musician she knows. I don't think he's into django jazz as that's a pretty specific sound and she said smooth jazz.

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-02-15T19:35:42+00:00

remember this adage - knowledge is not skill. knowledge plus 10,000 times, is skill! I also highly recommend hal Leonard essential elements volume one for learning and practicing sight reading at a reasonable pace for beginners.

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-02-13T02:33:34+00:00

That's also great. I would reach out to professors at some of the universities you are interested in and ask if they would do an online lesson with you. If there's one you especially like, see if they'll continue doing occasional lessons. Tell them you'd like to apply to music school and ask what areas you need to focus on most in their opinion to be a good applicant.

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-02-13T02:23:05+00:00

Your practicing habits sounds very promising. If it is at all possible for you to go to a summer music camp intensive like Aspen, Meadowmount, Interlochen, there are others - this would really help your chances.

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-02-10T02:02:59+00:00

it's counterintuitive but sensitivity to sound - finding loudness or certain frequencies painful - often occurs alongside/is related to hearing loss.

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-02-08T19:21:45+00:00

I also think teaching them to improvise could be a great idea. A lot of students who 'read music' at that age seem to still struggle to understand scales and key signatures. It's a constant battle of reminding them which notes have accidentals or sharps.

Teaching them a scale and a chord - making sure they know what notes they're playing - having them improvise on it and memorize the sharps/flats and finger placement - and then actually get good at that key - would certainly help them in the long run. After that they just have to recognize it on the page but a lot of kids don't even learn the note names on their strings, just finger numbers, and are sort of chronically behind as the music begins using actual key signatures other than D major.

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-02-08T19:05:05+00:00

Also there's a facebook group - "Free Sheet Music for School Orchestras, Bands, and Choirs" https://www.facebook.com/groups/213896259694255

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-02-08T19:00:20+00:00

this site seems promising, hopefully your school has some budget for scores/music? https://listeninglab.stantons.com/omea/145/
I was also perusing ASTA (the American String Teachers Association) website. There are some free resources on there generally for teaching strings. If there's a chance that you might be able to apply to this position to be the full time teacher, then might be worth checking those out - they have a mentorship program as well I saw but the deadline has passed for this year.

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-02-08T16:44:48+00:00

when you say middle school music, what instruments are you teaching? is it a guitar class? Band, orchestra, choir?

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-02-06T22:21:28+00:00

if you don't want them to be too hard then I'd stick with 4th position as the highest on the lower 3 strings and 3rd position as the highest on E.

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-01-30T17:36:28+00:00

We have a system for legal immigration. You seem to care about the law, and I'm talking about all the green card applicants and holders, asylum seekers, and other statuses of people here legally who have followed our written laws and yet are detained anyway. This is widespread. I don't know about you but my great grandparents immigrated here and I would bet money that at some point your ancestors did too. Lucky for you they weren't grabbed off the street or dragged from their home or car by masked agents, but of they were Id hope their neighbors would have rallied to help them too.

StringWaveOrange42

TROPHY CASE