Ending on a low note

Vibrato!!!

2012-01-25T23:08:00.000-06:00

Here is a very interesting collection of articles about vibrato.

I've found that one of the hardest things to do to a student is to slow down a fast vibrato. What you basically have to do is ignore the learned vibrato and start again from the beginning. Sometimes it may even seem easier to start a new vibrato from the right hand! Of course that involves a host of problems, restringing your instrument, resetting the bass bar, learning to play left handed....

The summer begins

2011-05-29T22:43:00.000-05:00

It's been quite a while since any of the nerdy violists published on this blog! I'm sure it was because we were all practicing...yeah, that's it....

Came across the best site ever today,

www.bulletproofmusician.com/blog/

Chock full of great and useful info along the lines of what I have been yelling at my nerdy proteges all YEAR. MORE focus excercises, MORE drills, MORE tests, MORE of what makes you cry...I mean strong.

So if you feel like "please, sir, could I have some more?" check it out now!

Concerto Competition Studio Class!

2010-11-10T20:09:00.002-06:00

Today in studio class you were the judges. The goal of this exercise is to

1) simulate and encourage fear and paranoia in the contestants, a.k.a your studio-mates

and 2) to let the rest of you experience power!! raw! unadulterated!! power!! Moo hahaha

Seriously though, this was a useful exercise in preparation for the real Paranov Competition of which 7 of our studio are doing next week. Thanks to EmilyChanaynay and Ryan for tabulating the results. I am going to post each person's comments as a separate comment to this post, then I'd like the contestant in question to first comment about how you thought you did, and what you thought went wrong or could have gone better. In doing this you may be surprised at your perception of the performance versus the "people's perception."

Also, by looking at the rankings of 9 different judges you see evidence that individuals disagree, and that different factors affect different people differently. Do not dispute the validity of the previous sentence, I am your PERFESSOR....

remember what we talked about in class, how when you judge a multi-instrument/piece competition, many factors are in play: the "wow" factor sometimes being the least. I tend to look for the most finished and most convincing performance of that particular work regardless of difficulty, and also for the most marketable. Based on THAT, I give the following rankings.

1. Danielle/Laura (tie)
2. Jhoana
3. David/Ariel/Fernando (tie)
4. Mary
5. Gabe

Concerto Competition Pre-Preliminaries

Studio Standings from studio members (not all)

Various Rankings:

1. Laura, Ariel, Gabe, Jhoana, David, Mary, Danielle

2. Laura, Ariel, Jhoana, Gabe, Danielle, Mary, David

3. Laura, Jhoana, Ariel, Mary, Danielle, David, Gabe

4. Laura, Jhoana, Ariel, David, Danielle, Mary, Gabe

5. Laura, David, Ariel, Danielle, Mary, Jhoana, Gabe

6. Ariel, David, Gabe, Laura, Mary, Jhoana, Danielle

7. Laura, Ariel Jhoana, Danielle, Gabe, Mary, David

8. Laura, Ariel, Danielle, Jhoana David, Gabe, Mary

9. Laura, David, Ariel, Danielle, Jhoana, Mary, Gabe

*(made by the class, even though I appear as author of the comments I have privately emailed you my opinions)

National Intonation Month!

2010-09-25T14:58:00.002-05:00

The Beat up the out of tune violist method.

Intonation 101

2010-09-18T00:34:00.001-05:00

Welcome to the new school year kids. I hope your INTONATION drills are going well. Please feel free to post comments about what is and what is not working. Below is a little missive that will brighten your practice room (I hope).

Intonation 101

A string player’s sense of intonation is a tricky subject. We do not play on instruments that possess set notches (guitar, recorder), holes (flutes, clarinets, bassoons), or buttons (keyboards, accordions) to determine notes. While beginning string students may have the benefit of fake fret-like tape on their fingerboards, this crutch is soon stripped away and we are ostensibly taught to rely upon “feel” and “hand position.”

Even once a good sense of intonation is gained, as we begin to play with other instruments, even more problems emerge. In a string quartet rehearsal the issue might be the struggle between the way we hear the perfect fifth and where the middle voices place the third or the seventh. A violinist and a cellist will hear things differently, based on their place in the chordal structure. When playing with a piano (a tempered instrument) one has to rely less on color of pitch but mathematical distance between them.

Intonation 101 checklist:

Starting out by yourself in the practice room

Can it be tuned against an open string? If yes, then not only check it against string but listen and feel for the ringing. If not, then

Can the note be fingered or related to a note that is an open string note? If not then

Can it be related to a note or finger that you are assured of getting in tune (i.e. something in first position, or some other position that you can hit every time)? If not, then

Can you simplify the approach to the note? Keep it in a low or safe (for you) position?

Add a piano (all the above, plus):

Where in the chordal structure are you?

Do you know what the melodic intervals are from note to note?

Add another string player (all the above, plus):

Where in the chordal structure and inversion are you?

Are your fifths tuned lower as you reach the bottom strings?

Are you using vibrato? Are your vibratos matching? Are you using similar positions?

Add a woodwind player (all the above, plus):

Is he/she warmed up? Wind instruments change in pitch according to the external room temperature

11. Are articulations similar? Sometimes pitch bends during hard articulations.

For more on the History of String Intonation, check out this article written by Hasse Borrup.

Summertime

2010-06-30T19:15:00.000-05:00

It's summertime, and I am in the middle of the slog of summer festivals. I am on festival #3, the NYU Intensive String Quartet Seminar, located in New York City on the NYU campus. It's nice to have students scattered around at these various festivals; not only do I get to keep an eye on them, but we get to explore many aspects of performing and traveling that we may not approach during the normal school year.

here is a link to a radio broadcast I did last week when I was performing the Bartok Concerto in Houston. Chock full of interesting factoids for the viola-nerdy.

Looking forward to seeing you at the next festival!

A Violist's Vacation

2010-03-23T19:38:00.008-05:00

Clay Pipkin: Acoustical Engineering & Music Major, Violist.

1.6 Billion people, about 25% of the world's population, don't have access to clean water- that's five times the population of the United States of America. More people die from unsafe water than from all forms of violence, including war.

On January 7th 2010, I lead an Engineers Without Borders assessment/ implementation trip with ten of my peers and four professors to a small village in Abheypur, India. For the majority of the students travelling, it their first time seeing poverty beyond that of what is seen in America.

-before EWB, this pump was the primary source of drinking water for the villagers. Women would wait in line for hours hoping for electricity to power the pump. If the power cut out before they got their share, they were out of luck.

Throughout history, NGO's and other help groups have gone into countries and communities trying to make a difference, but often do more dammage than actual good. An example would be Goodwill in the late 1970's. They offered a massive donation of clothing to various communities in Kenya. It sounds great that they could offer goods to people in need, however in doing so, they destroyed an entire clothing and farming industry.

EWB works towards trying to make sure our projects have a lasting and sustainable impact.

I'll post again sometime soon telling more about what happened on my specific trip, how we ensure our projects are sustainable, and how I felt about the work I was doing.

In the meantime, check out last year's video:

http://vimeo.com/5011683

Orchestra Rep schedule Spring 2010

2010-01-24T22:06:00.002-06:00

The Spring Semester Rep Class will be focused by different techniques that are required to skillfully demonstrate in an audition: bow techniques such as spiccatto, legato; how to maximize intonation; rhythm, and psychological techniques for the audition boot camp. Students are required to obtain the Don Greene book "Performing Under Pressure."

Orch rep schedule Spring 2010

Jan 25: legato: Brahms 3 and Tchaikovsky 4

Feb 1: legato: Ravel: Daphnis and Chloe

Feb 8: fakey spicatto: a review of last semesters spiccato excerpts: Mendelssohn Scherzo, Brahms Haydn Variation 5

Feb 15: “real” spiccatto: Mozart Haffner

Feb 22: string crossing nightmares: Mozart Haffner

Mar 1: rhythmic issues: Daphnis and Chloe; how to practice sightreading

Mar 8: midterm, friendly audition

March 22: intonation: Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 2

March 29: intonation (high): Heldenleben

April 5: Don Greene drills

April 12: mock audition (internal) using Don Greene techniques

April 19: more drills: spiccato under pressure, legato under pressure

April 26: yearly review for scary mock audition final

May 3: FINAL MOCK AUDITION

The Traveling Violist

2009-10-30T21:46:00.002-05:00

Nerdy Violist-

For those of us who have to fly with our violas this winter, where can we find that handy piece of paper that says we are allowed to carry on our instruments?

Intonation Device

2009-10-22T23:43:00.000-05:00

How about this kids... turn that plodding intonation work into a Guitar-Hero-like video game!!

http://intonia.com/index.shtml

Download the demo!! Have fun.....

Ear Plugs

2009-10-03T21:04:00.002-05:00

Hey All,
So being in the viola section in orchestra as we all know is extremely loud. Thanks is large part to our lovely friends in the brass section and even more specifically the trumpets. I want to buy some ear plugs does anyone have any suggestions for a specific brand or style that works best for orchestra playing. Love
Gabe

Viola Ensemble!!!!

2009-09-20T21:27:00.000-05:00

There is nothing better, and I mean nothing, than the dulcet sounds of 14-16 violists playing the light classics. It just shows viola versatility!! We are an inner voice, an outer voice, a bass voice, a soaring melody, the rhythm section, a dessert sauce, a lethal weapon.....

Doing arrangements of things for instruments other than for what was originally written is an age-old tradition. Even Berlioz would substitute instruments, back in the day. As violists, if we ever want to get a shot at some of the great melodies, we have to take matters into our own hands!!! All my students are required to do a transcription. It can be anything from Van Halen to Van Beethoven, as long as it features the viola in some way. This week, I'm working on the Radetzky March for the viola ensemble. Requisite clapping will be achieved by audience members, or each violist slapping his/her stand partner upside the head with their bow.

Fingering "rules"

2009-09-15T20:52:00.002-05:00

The following are a few rules that define how I am going to create fingerings. Keep in mind, some rules supercede others, and the number ONE golden rule is: You must shift according to your best strengths. That however does not give you free permission to avoid your fourth finger!!

These will be added onto...but to get you started:

Some rules for fingering:

avoid shift in the middle of a tie/slur
only cross strings in a tie if its appropriate with the phrase
its better to stay on same string during a phrase, EXCEPT when it makes you sound bad
first position is always a safe position
use ritards, string changes, open strings and slurs to hide your shift

Cold Hands

2009-09-14T19:57:00.001-05:00

Dear Nerdy Violist
I have really cold hands all the time. Any suggestions for warming them up and keeping them warm.
Gabe

Orchestra Rep Class Repertoire and Schedule Fall 09

2009-09-14T16:55:00.004-05:00

Orchestral Repertoire Class/ Audition Boot Camp mission:

The hour-long weekly Orchestra Repertoire Class prepares junior and senior undergrad and graduate students for professional orchestra auditions. Each week, one to two different excerpts are assigned. These are often coordinated with actual professional auditions that you may be taking. Every aspect of the orchestral repertoire is explored from bowings, tempi, fingerings and dynamics, to sight-reading techniques, to being an active and contributing orchestral musician. The psychological aspect of auditioning is given equal emphasis, with exercises given on how to be flexible during an audition, nutrition and sleep preparation, and how to prepare mentally for any stressful contingency. Mock auditions take place as mid-term and final exams, and once a year students participate in the “Audition Boot Camp” which utilizes techniques from the United States Navy SEALS and sports psychologists. Students participate in exercises created by Don Greene, author of books such as “Audition Success” “Fight Your Fear and Win” and “Performing Under Pressure.”

Fall 2009 Rep: (may be subject to change)

9/14 Beethoven 5 (mvmt 2,3); Mendelssohn Scherzo
9/21 Mendelssohn Scherzo; Tchaikovsky 6 (mvmt 1)
9/28 Shostakovich 5 (mvmt 1, viola section solo); Beethoven 3 (scherzo)
10/5 Brahms Haydn Variations V, VII, VIII
10/12 the dreaded Don Juan
10/19 Mozart 35 "Haffner" (complete)
10/26 MIDTERM.....FRIENDLY MOCK AUDITION
11/2 Tannhauser
11/9 Berlioz Roman Carnival; Bruckner 4 (mvmt 2)
11/16 Magic Flute; audition centering exercises
11/23 Mendelssohn Italian Symphony 4 (complete)
11/30 Brahms 2 (complete)
12/7 review and focusing exercises
12/14 FINALS...AKA UNFRIENDLY WORST CASE SCENARIO AUDITION

I'll email the music a week in advance, feel free to get it even earlier on your own. I'll try to have a complete book made before midterms.

Welcome to the new school year!!

2009-08-31T23:06:00.004-05:00

Hello everyone! I am SO excited to meet and work with all of you. For those of you that did the Hartt Orchestra placement auditions today, great job! and boy we have work to do don't we!?!

No worries...it'll be good for you...like vegetables.

I found this great link- the blog author is obviosly a violist. Enjoy, and start researching for our viola ensemble concerts!

freestringmusic.blogspot.com

viola links

2009-05-16T10:41:00.005-05:00

This blog is from a violist/composer graduating from NYU this year:

http://opensourcemusic.org/

He has some good ideas on excerpts:

http://www.stephenwyrczynski.com

the journal of the american viola society, which publishes a free summer issue online:

http://www.americanviolasociety.org/JAVS/javs.htm

Daily Torture Exercises

2009-03-05T09:01:00.014-06:00

Well kids, now that the bloom of auditions and recitals has passed, let's get back to work, starting with the basics:

Daily Torture Exercise 1- An Oldie but a Goodie

Purpose:

Speedwork
This will train your fingers for fast combinations/muscle memory.

Directions:

1) Play each group of 4 four times fast. Short pauses may be taken between groups, but it is crucial that the 4 fingers be played as rapidly as possible. For example:

1-2-3-4 *pause* 1-2-3-4 *pause* 1-2-3-4 *pause* 1-2-3-4 *pause*
1-2-4-3 *pause* 1-2-4-3 *pause* 1-2-4-3 *pause* 1-2-4-3 *pause*

etc, etc, ad nauseum, and I mean NAUS-E-UM.

2) Play the whole exercise all the way through 4X, one time on each string

3) You can change up the half and whole steps/change keys

the groups:

comments? complaints?

General Chamber Music Rehearsal Guidelines for not Killing Each Other

2008-09-05T14:38:00.002-05:00

The group will spend one hour on each of the following issues.

concert tempo

use a metronome and play at half dynamic. If it gets too loud, divide into groups with similar rhythm (see below on how to divide into groups)

general ensemble

pay attention to bowings, ends of notes cutting off together, dynamics being the same, bow strokes/speeds being the same

intonation

tune chords. Break up into groups to do this (see below). There should be one person not playing at all times so they can tell if it is out of tune or not. Take turns doing this.

phrasing

make sure you all have the same “story” in mind. Everyone should recognize the peaks of the phrase in the same place. Bow speed and dynamics come into play here as well. (i.e. if something is repeated 3 times in a row, do you play it the same all 3 times?)

A 5 minute break may be taken at the end of each hour.

Work may be done in various ways:

1. The whole group

2. Groups of similar lines working together ( for example, while the 2 violins are working on the intonation of something they have together, the viola and cello are looking at the score and “policing” the violins, telling them where the problems lie)

3. When you have disagreements, the easiest and fastest way to resolve them is by trying each person’s idea with the utmost conviction as a group, then deciding if the idea works or not. Trading may take place.

4. Remember: it is more constructive to say INCLUSIVE sentences starting with “I’m feeling” instead of sentences starting with “you are.” For example, “You’re rushing there” is more likely to make your colleague feel defensive and personally attacked, but “I’m feeling like we are rushing” or “we are unsteady there, can we work on this with the metronome?” makes you willing to be part of the solution, as you should well be.

A clip from Viola Master Class

2008-07-23T11:09:00.005-05:00

Here is my student Adolfo Solis playing the Handel-Halvorsen Passacaglia with his friend Brandon Buckmaster. This took place at the NYU Intensive Quartet Seminar Viola Master Class, after which the class went out to the traditional post viola-class dinner of really good and unusual Chinese food in Chinatown, followed by a sweet tooth run to Little Italy for pastries and gelato. Ya gotta love viola master class! It's all about the chinese food and cannoli!

Summer Assignments

2008-06-29T23:05:00.002-05:00

Hello Victims,

Here are your summer assignments. Rest assured that the people that are traveling with me at the various festivals have to complete these as well. I will tell each of you individually in a separate email what your levels are ("I" or "A").

Feel free to comment with any questions, remark on your progress, commisurate with each other, etc.

Level I-

Scales: (pick 2 a week) Mogill Scale system. All 2 octave major scales in all keys, 3 octave major scales in C and D major

Etudes: (pick 1 different Sevcik a week, and 1 different etude a month of the other two composers) Sevcik Shifting Studies, Wolfhardt, Kreutzer no. 1

Bach: (pick 3 movements; memorize at least 2 movements by the end of summer) Suite 1, Suite 3 for Unaccompanied Cello

Pick a movement from the following:

Eccles Sonata for viola
Handel-Casadesus Concerto in B minor for viola
Glazunov Elegie

Theory homework:

Each week, transcribe 16 bars of any solo that is in COMPOUND RHYTHM (i.e. 6/8 or 12/8) to SIMPLE rhythm (2/4 or 4/4, respectively) (The Glazunov Elegie would be a good example)

Each week, do another exercise in the Robert Starer Rhythmic Notation book. Conduct and say “ta”

Level A-

Warm-up: Daily torture exercises (see another post on this blog)

Scales: (pick one major and one minor a week) Flesch Scale System, 3 octaves, all keys.

Arpeggios: (one a week) Flesch Scale System 3 octave arpeggios in all keys, all bowings

Etudes: 1-3/week from Sevcik Shifting Studies. Pick one from the following: Campagnoli, Rode, Hermann, Fuchs, Kreutzer (except #1)

Bach: (pick one suite) Solo Suites for Unaccompanied Cello, 1-5 Memorize three movements by the end of summer

Repertoire: Choose one from each list. Work on at least one movement per piece.

List 1: Schubert Arpeggione, Brahms Sonatas Op 120, Bruch Romanze, Mendelssohn Sonata, Bloch Suite Hebraique, Glinka Sonata

List 2: Stamitz Concerto, JC Bach Concerto, Zelter Concerto, Brandenburg Concerto No. 6, Bloch Suite for Viola and Orchestra. (Please work on memorization of these as well)

Theory Homework:

1.One exercise from every chapter of Robert Starer Book. Conduct and “ta”

2. Transcribe a favorite work for another instrument into the viola. Limit it to 5 minutes of music

OR

Re-write a movement of Solo Bach for two violas, taking care to separate the lines in a logical and pleasing manner

Pirates, arr!

2008-06-29T09:09:00.001-05:00

the following is reprinted from a feature article of the Journal of the American Viola Society "MEET THE SECTION:"

The Violists? Of the Houston Symphony

Author’s note: The journal of the American Viola Society was to feature the violists of the Houston Symphony as part of its regular feature “Meet the Section…” However, upon arrival at Jones Hall on the appointed interview day of September 19th,* the AVS representative suddenly and inexplicably found herself set upon by a mob of unruly and bloodthirsty pirates. After much waving of what looked suspiciously like viola bows but were being referred to by the strange bunch as “cutlasses,” our interviewer was promptly bundled up and hauled onto the deck of a very odd ship. The following is a transcription of the only audible portion of the tape that was found, along with pieces of dried kelp, broken rosin, half-eaten chocolate doubloons, and a bit of a dirty red sash, washed up on the distant shores of Myanmar (Burma).

*JAVS has since found out that September 19th is International Talk Like A Pirate Day

AVS: The interview aboard the Ship o’ the Festerin’ Callus. I am with the crew:

Cap’n Morgan Flint (sotto voce: “bears a strange and disturbing resemblance to Wayne Brooks”)
Iron Roger Hacke (“Nice hat-Is that George Pascal?)
Dread Pirate Vane ( “A dead ringer for Joan DerHovesepian, except for the mustache and the artificial leg”)
Iron Anne Frankenberry (“Linda Goldstein?I thought she was allergic to parrots”)
Calico Tom Bonney (“That has GOT to be Thomas Molloy”)
Bloody Bess Kidd ( “Is that a woman? Looks like Johnny Depp in ‘Pirates of the Carribean’”)
Dirty Mary Cutler ( “hard to tell through all the dirt- but I think it’s Fay Shapiro!”)
Candy Casey Bloodletter (“for sure, Dan Strba, I’d recognize that steely-eyed glint anywhere..”)
Pegleg Jack Cotton (“Wei Jiang-I always thought he had piratical tendencies”)
Rabid Betsy Rackham (“that disfiguring scar is very sinister- Phyllis Herdliska?)

AVS: My research shows that most of you became viol…I mean pirates, at the age of 11 or 12. Why were you drawn to this life?

Pegleg Jack: lootin’ and pillagin’

Rabid Betsey: Pillagin’

(cries of assent in the background: “Lootin!!” “Pillagin!” “! Th’ grog!” “Aye! Arrr!” “Lootin!!!” Yarrgh!!)

AVS: Okay…but aside from looting and pillaging……

(silence)

AVS: Did any of you play any other...INSTRUMENTS… before you became pirates?

Bloody Bess: (whispers) Lass, me dirty little secret is that I used to be a violinist afore I was led into the piratey light.

Iron Roger: Harrr! I was a lousy violinist! From th’ time I picked up me first cutlass, thar’s been no lookin’ back.

Dirty Mary: Violinist, pah! (spits) They tried ta get me ta play that lily-livered bilge-box, but ‘twas the call o’ the grog that was stronger!

Rabid Betsy: ‘Tis nobler to have the piratey sound, yarr!

Dread Pirate Vane: Aye!! Wha’ wi’ the call of the piratey sound, an’ this useless artificial leg, th’ choice was obvious.. no chorus line fer Dread Pirate Vane!

Candy Casey: Ye’re a bonny lass…ye remind me of me own mother, who bless her cursed soul thought she was doin’ a fine thing when she made me lay down me beloved guitar to sail th’ high seas…”no son ‘o mine will become a rock star..” said she, as she chained me viola bow, I mean, cutlass, into me 12 year old hand.

Cap’n Morgan: I, also, played th’ violin, ‘til one day me wee mate became a buccaneer. So to annoy ’im I stuck me bow, I mean hook, in ’is face, plucked out ’is eye, an’ took over ’is place on th’ ship. ’Tis a fine feeling, doin’ things fer spite.

Iron Anne: I was 19 when I laid down me fiddle an’ thought to meself, “Self, a parrot would make this outfit e’en finer; ‘tis a pirate’s life for me!”

Calico Tom: When I was a lad in school, they were long on cursed fiddlers but short on buccaneers. So becomin’ one was the natural choice. Did ye know, the word "Pirate" first appeared in French literature in 1254 and was plundered (“yarr!” “ Plundered!!” “avast!” )from the Latin word, Pirata meaning "sailor or sea robber." The Latin, of course was looted (“lootin’ arr!” “yarrgh!!”) from the Greek word, “peirates,” literally meaning "one who attacks" from the root word “peira” meaning, "trial, attempt, attack." The word "peril" has the same root heritage.

Pegleg Jack: Would it be "peril" I’d be in if I lashed Calico to the riggin' and left a cod in ‘is belly so the gulls could peck out ’is talkative insides?…I also came ta be a pirate via th’ scurvy violin route… then I realized how much I liked lootin’ and pillagin’.

AVS: Why and when did you join the Ship o’ the Festerin’ Callus?

Pegleg Jack: I came in th’ summer of ’99 fer lootin’ and pillagin.’ Yarr!! (he picks his teeth with what looks like a gold bow tip)

Bloody Bess: ’Twas th’ bitter winter o’ ’94 when I took a hard look at me own festerin’ calluses. It seemed ta fit.

Candy Casey: One day in ’92 I had just finished plunderin’ wi’ the dread crooner “Ol’ Blue Eyes.” I stopped fer some grog, then, th’ next thing I know, I’m aboard th’ SOTFC…I think ‘twas gypsies…..

Cap’n Morgan: I love intense, scorchin’ heat and humidity. So as soon as I got out o’ th’ brig-L.A.- I packed up and left fer th’ SOTFC. Avast! But ‘twas years of plunderin’ an’ mutiny I had to do afore I became Cap’n.

Iron Anne: Aye, the humidity, ’tis good for th’ complexion.

Calico Tom: Lass, I been sailing wi’ th’ SOFTC since 1964. When I joined, half these swabbies tweren’t even knee deep in their own bilgewater! They will have to pry me cutlass out of me cold dead fingers afore I e’er leave this ship.

Rabid Betsy: That can be arranged, matey! Blimey! Always goin’ on about history…. Me, I got th’ post straight out o’ buccaneer school…th’ Juilliard School fer Piratical Studies.

Dirty Mary: The grog had a reputation fer bein’ better here than in Okla Homa. Yarrrgh! Pass th’ grog!
Iron Roger: I was Cap’n aboard th’ Denver Sea Foamy when I sensed a mutiny afloat. I knew ‘twas time to leave, but first I sunk my cutlass into each and evr’y one of those TREACHEROUS DOGS! I FIX’D TH’ LOT OF THOSE BISCUIT-MAGGOTS TWIXT TH’ KEEL AND SHOALING WATER, WITH CRABS FOR MATES! I---
Dread Pirate Vane: Easy, lad, ha’ some grog….I’d been sailing on a ship off th’ coast o’ Charleston when I heard about th’ opening on th’ SOTFC-known far and wide fer its good singin,’ lootin’ an’ grog.

AVS: The average length of service on the SOTFC is 18 years! Why have you been together so long?

Pegleg Jack: (nonchalantly polishing an intricately carved ivory tailpiece) Th’ lootin’ and pillagin’! Did ye not notice that we’re one o’ th’ finest looking and most friendly crews around?

Cap’n Morgan: Aye, like family we are….(grabs for the tailpiece)

Iron Anne: We ha’ eerie respect fer ea’ other (deftly plucks the tailpiece from Morgan and stashes it in her pocket).

Dirty Mary: (gulping sounds) slurs: I love me mates! We cook a bit fer ea’ other too! Who wants chum-brownies?

Rabid Betsy: Hurl one o’er here, lass!

Calico Tom: (full mouth) Ngwe mmnph camaraderie

(random sounds of munching and agreement: “Arr!” “Close-knit crew!” “mmm! Good brownies!” “avast! Th’ family I never had!”)

Candy Casey: I know where Bloody Bess keeps ‘er candy stash.

Bloody Bess: (affectionately) Scurvy cur! If I din’t like yer nancy-Broadway singin’ ways, I’d plant me cutlass in the top of yer pointy head.

AVS: “nancy-Broadway singing ways”?

Dread Pirate Vane: Aye, on slow plunderin’ nights our lad Casey moonlights wi’ th’ Best Little Klezmer Band in Texas, an’ Bloody Bess may keep a banjo or two in the brig.

Candy Casey: Yarrrgh, an’ now we’ll have to make ye walk the plank fer knowin’-

Iron Roger: (giggles) THA’S WHAT HE SAID!!!!YE POX FACED--- (sounds of glugging)

AVS: Uh, speaking of hobbies, what are some of your hobbies?

Rabid Betsy: Lootin’

Candy Casey: Pillagin’

AVS: Aside from looting and pillaging-

(long silence)

Pegleg Jack: Photography… of th’ lootin’ and pillagin.’

Calico Tom: Ha’ ye heard me weekly radio show, “Home Prairie Pillagin’ wi’ Calico Tom?”

Dread Pirate Vane: (spears a chum-brownie with the tip of a bow) I do lawnmower art...

Dirty Mary: I do enjoy a wee bit o’ beadwork now and again…wi’ me grog.

Iron Roger: Plunderin’ an’ baseball.

Cap’n Morgan: I’m working on a rough draft o’my book “Th’ Passion of Otakar Sevcik.”

Iron Anne: Craftin’- see? Me parrot is made from beads and macaroni.

Rabid Betsy: I raise bulldogs, arr!! Because they go “arr!!”

Bloody Bess: Bulldogs? Th’ best pet fer a buccaneer is a can o’ stewed turnips in chum sauce!

AVS: I have to say, all this talk of candy and chum sauce is making me hungry….is there anything……

Candy Casey: ‘Ere you go me pretty, ‘ave some candy.

Bloody Bess: Sink me! Get yer barnacle-crusted hooks off me candy! Try these stewed turnips in chum sauce….damn! I ate me pet!

Dirty Mary: A tot o’ grog’ll do ye quite nicely, lass.

Cap’n Morgan: Tote me a wee tot too, Mary…

Iron Roger: Break out the barrel! I’ve a fierce burning in me belly to buckle me swash!

Calico Tom: Yarrrgh!! Me swash is already buckled! Pass th’ grog!!

Dread Pirate Vane: Harrr! Harr! Avast!! Pass me those fried parrot-legs, laddie!

Pegleg Jack: Yarrr, arrrr, harrrgh! (sings, to the tune of a Brahms Viola Sonata) “STICK yer CUTlass in my BILGE-bucket…”

Iron Anne: (glug glug glug)

--The tape ends here, degenerating into various noises of glugging, swash-buckling, and snatches of sea shanties – strangely all in the keys of E-flat major and F minor. The AVS representative, along with the entire crew of the Ship o’ the Festerin’ Callus, was never seen again. Recently, on clear nights off the coast of Burma (Myanmar), reports have been made of strange flickering lights, smells of chum-brownies, and snatches of sniggering laughter, punctuated by the mysterious phrase “Tha’ s what SHE said!”.

Rita Porfiris (Bloody Bess Kidd), a member of the Houston Symphony viola section (Ship o’ the Festerin’ Callus) since 1995, was born in New York City to a bunch of lily-livered landlubbers. Since she was not abducted by pirates at the tender age of 5, she later attended the Juilliard School for piratical studies, where she received both her BM(blimey mate) and MM(mizzenmast) in swash-buckling, and continued on to be a buckler of swashes in Germany as well. In addition to her plundering duties on the SOTFC, she also teaches young impressionable buccaneers the fine art of buckling swash at the University of Houston. Arrrgh!

The Berio article

2008-06-29T09:02:00.002-05:00

reprinted from the Journal of American Viola Society

“A Technique for Learning Modern Music FAST, or How 137 Pushups in 2 Minutes Helped Me Prepare for the Berio ‘Sequenza.’ ”

As violists and responsible musicians in today’s modern world, we must learn and perform the music of modern and living composers. I always encourage my students to play and attend as many new music concerts as possible. These events are essential for the evolution and survival of our genre. Often, we are asked to perform these challenging and wonderful pieces with a little less preparation time than may be comfortable. As a member of the Houston Symphony and Artist Affiliate of viola at the Moores School of Music of the University of Houston, my time is usually overbooked, so organizing my practice is of utmost importance.

The call came late one afternoon. A local modern music group was interested in programming Luciano Berio’s Sequenza VI for Viola Solo on an upcoming series entitled “Barmusic.” Always interested in reaching out to and cultivating a new audience, intrigued by visions of alcoholically appreciative bar patrons and lured by the chance to wear a flashy, symphony-unapproved cocktail dress, I agreed to perform. My decision wasn’t entirely impulsive: I had studied a few of Berio’s works for diverse solo instruments entitled “Sequenza” in theory class at Juilliard 15 years ago. Vague memories of interesting compositional techniques and “cool” sound effects came to mind. Since then I’d played and recorded a few of Berio’s orchestral works, had even been conducted by Berio himself. So I naively assumed that the viola Sequenza couldn’t be that difficult.

Four weeks before the concert, the music arrived. Ripping open the oversized envelope, I stared in shock at the incomprehensible jumble of ink. After listening to the accompanying CD, I realized that the Sequenza VI for Viola was not only the hardest Sequenza in the series; it was one of the most physically demanding pieces in the solo viola repertoire. How to approach this feat of heroic proportion?

Step One: Articulation
The extent of the “instructions” that accompanied the work involved the main figure of the piece, the vehicle that ran throughout, the “broken tremolo.”

After attempting the first 21 seconds of the piece (the first chord, in broken tremolo), I realized that if my bow arm was to survive to the 22nd second, I would not be able to use a standard “orchestral-style” tremolo. Instead, I tried a fiddle-like technique, a la “Orange Blossom Special,” alternating mini tremolos between the bottom 2 and top 2 strings, “avoiding prolonged patterns of regular articulation.” The effect enables the arm to release as it changes string angles, and I could take some of the stress off my bicep alternating articulations between my arm and my fingers.

Step Two: Notes and fingerings

The linear figures when grouped together generally form the chords that directly follow them. The majority of fingerings can be learned in chord blocks, with a “base finger” around an easily reachable note and the other fingers arrayed on surrounding strings in ½ steps.

In this piece, as in many other modern works with large leaps, I decided that it would be best leave as many fingers down as possible, avoiding acrobatics. This way I would always have a solid foundation on which to base intonation, though it would mean more string crossings.

Step Three: Rhythm, interpretation and “the line”

At first glance my tendency was to treat the piece quasi-aleatorically. There are no bar lines, and it would be one less thing to worry about if the rhythm could be fudged. Besides, which Joe Schmo, drinking in a bar, would be able to tell whether I played a 16th rest instead of a 32nd? However, in the beginning Berio notates ♪=62 and accelerates up to ♪=144, so I dragged out the metronome. When forced to keep to a beat, the piece began to take on an intense driving pulse that would actually relieve some of the strain of relying solely on the tremolo to provide the intensity.

Based on my newfound rhythm, I began to divide the piece into sections. Each section was announced by a profound change in rhythm and often but not always by a tempo change as well. One of my favorite sections, beginning midway down the third page, only became clear once I started really following the dynamics. When done properly, it sounded like an entire brass section. Mini-fragments are built around not only tonal areas, but often just a single note. With three to five different articulations and dynamics on each repetition, it sounds like it is being passed around on 4 different instruments. The most painful section, but also the most popular with audiences, is the pizzicato section. It is announced by five bowed Bartok-like cluster chords in a driving pulse before descending into a wild melee of left hand and up-and-down pizzicato (audiences loved this for the blood factor. Ignore the pain, and hope you get a callus below your fingernail). The section encompassing the last page and the coda is one of the wildest, scrubbingest sections in the repertoire. The best thing to do is memorize the tune, plop your fingers down in the appropriate chord block, and slide, baby, slide!

A quick note about “the line:” certain notes in the music are slightly bigger and darker than others.

If one follows the notes in bold as a melodic line, it makes the figures physically easier (not everything gets equal emphasis, and therefore weight) as well as aurally and musically easier- the listener and performer feels pulled along in a certain direction.

Step Four: Physical preparation and requirements:

It wasn’t just the learning of the piece that would build up my endurance. I belong to an exercise group run by ex-Navy SEALS. Since joining the group over 3 years ago, I noticed an improvement in my overall endurance on the viola. I have begun to implement specific calisthenics to target key viola areas. For orchestral musicians, strengthening the abs is quite important to counteract lower back pain. Sit-ups and crunches are great ways to strengthen the core. For the Berio, however, I knew that although my biceps would be getting a workout from the “broken tremolo,” it would really be my back- (lats)- shoulders (delts), and neck (trapezius) that would take a beating. I decided to up my doses of push-ups, pull-ups, and dips. Especially helpful would be “dive bomber push-ups” and row-type incline pull-ups. I informed my workout group of my plan and they were more than willing to help me push towards these goals.

Run-throughs would also be an important part of the preparation. Luckily for me (and unluckily for my colleagues at the Houston Symphony) I was not playing two of the pieces on that weeks’ program. I went trolling for audience victims among the brass and wind players who were also off. Strangely, throughout the week the “Berio buzz” grew. I overheard conversations like “Hey you have to go down to dressing room 4 at the break; Rita is doing an impression of a missile attack” from poor unsuspecting people caught in the cross fire. Never underestimate the power of Berio, however; many of my victims became champions, even becoming compelled to attend the “real” performance.

The work schedule: With the limited timeframe, I decided on a basic race-training-like approach. I had four weeks and wished to spend the last two weeks doing run-throughs. Here is the schedule I decided on:

Day 1: page 1
Day 2: page 2
Day 3: page 3
Day 4: page 4
Day 5 :page 5
Day 6: page 6
Day 7: pages 1-2
Day 8: pages 3-4
Day 9: pages 5-6
Day 10: slow non-tremolo run through to get chords and fingering patterns for connections and to root out difficult transitions
Day 11: pacing and metronome work
Day 12: interpretive problems and dynamics
Day 13: run through pages 1-3, some problems solved, some found
Day 14: run through pages 4-6, ditto
Day 15: first run through with audience, note problematic passages and fix
Day 16: rework problem passages from day before, another run through with unsuspecting audience
Days 17-26: warm up on difficult intonation spots, try for 2 run-throughs a day.
Day 27: one run-through
Day 28: Dress rehearsal (with more victims)

Concert day: one run-through early in the day (then go for a run, 2 sets push-ups/pull-ups), take a break, slow warm up on various traps, enjoy!

Performance Issues: blood, sweat and heavy breathing

The first week of run-throughs revealed an astonishing fact: I could sweat behind my knees! Subsequent performances were done with the air conditioner jacked up. Slipping off the viola was not an option in this piece.

One of the most frequent comments I received was about maintaining the musical tension in the few rests. At first I was using those rests to relax my arms, take a deep breath, shake out my fingers, release tension. Unfortunately, it had the unwanted effect of releasing tension in the flow of the piece as well. The last week of run-throughs was spent learning to release tension internally while outwardly freezing in place. It put the final polish on the piece- visual as well as aural. The rests; due to their shocking silence amongst the fray, are of the utmost importance and must not be marred with the sounds of sucking wind.

In the end, I came to really enjoy Sequenza VI. The audience at the concert was not the drunken bunch of rowdies for which I had originally hoped, despite my threat to require everyone in the bar to have a drink on me before I started the program. But the space was packed to fire code-violating capacity, and the red stage lights cast an effective glow as I made my way through the piece. As one of my Navy SEAL workout buddies (they were all there to witness the results of all those push-ups!) said happily afterwards, “It was great. The red light made your bow on fire-you were a fiddlin’ fool!”