Banjo Hangout Logo
Banjo Hangout Logo

Premier Sponsors

44
Fiddle Lovers Online


View paulinefiddle's Homepage

paulinefiddle

View Teacher Profile

You must sign into your myHangout account in order to contact paulinefiddle.


From Violin to Viola and Back in One Lesson

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

I taught a really fun lesson last night, improvising in unplanned circumstances.  My student had not practiced a lot of new things, but he had reviewed a lot of his old tunes that he especially liked.  I suggested that we play them as duets with me improvising harmony.  Then I took it one step farther:  I decided to improvise on my viola while he played melody on his violin.  (This is just what I want to get practice doing for jam sessions.)  He chose tunes and played them by ear on his fiddle, and I followed by ear on my viola.  After we had finished playing a tune, I told him what I had tried to do with rhythm, bowing, notes, and ornaments. One of the things I tried was playing melody an octave below him.  This was harder than one might think.  On violin and viola, it’s very easy to transpose up or down a fifth because the strings are tuned in fifths.  I was happy to practice playing melody an octave below his melody, and I got more comfortable with it by repetition.

My student wanted to try playing the viola, so we switched instruments.  He played around with the viola for a few minutes and adapted well to it.  He’s got a lot of musical talent.  He said that he especially noticed that he had to use more bow pressure on the viola.  The more he played the viola, the more he liked it.  This could be dangerous.  I told him that I had a blog called “Violinist Seduced by a Viola,” and he said, “No, I can’t start another instrument now.”  (Sound familiar?)  

I found the switch from viola to violin a bit confusing.  The violin felt very light, and the action felt very low.  I had to keep reminding myself to play more on the upper strings than on the lower strings.  Playing harmony in a pitch that’s higher than the melody is tricky.  Every mistake really stands out.  It is generally best done when the two players know each other musically, and I was glad we did.

This lesson was so much fun, and I learned so much from it, and I got paid for it, too.  Wow! 

2 comments

More on my very own viola

Saturday, March 16, 2013 4 comments

My very own viola

Friday, March 15, 2013 2 comments

Teaching Adult Beginners

Friday, March 8, 2013 3 comments

Brains of Violinists

Tuesday, January 1, 2013 5 comments

Happy holidays with music

Tuesday, December 25, 2012 4 comments

For David

Friday, November 9, 2012 3 comments

Teaching video

Thursday, November 1, 2012 Add Comment

Happy Father's Day

Sunday, June 17, 2012 6 comments

Teaching violin by Skpe

Saturday, June 9, 2012 Add Comment

My presence on the Web

Tuesday, February 14, 2012 2 comments

paulinefiddle has 25 friends. View entire friends list.

halleford
halleford
FiddlinMikeRolland
FiddlinMikeRolland
Arkansas Traveler
Arkansas Traveler
fiddlerd
fiddlerd
SusiQ
SusiQ
transplant
transplant

Jimhand
Mojohand40
Mojohand40

FriendFeed

Click for Details

Peghead replied to topic 'Is there a name for this sound?' 3 days

Click for Details

Peghead replied to topic 'Pinky On? Pinky Off?' 5 days

Click for Details

Peghead replied to topic 'Bowing styles of Kevin Burke' 53 days

Click for Details

Peghead replied to topic 'James Price RIP' 56 days

Click for Details

Peghead replied to topic 'Bowing styles of Kevin Burke' 57 days

Click for Details

Peghead replied to topic 'Fiddle Scales Practice' 64 days

Click for Details

Peghead posted a forum topic 'James Price RIP' 65 days

Click for Details

Peghead replied to topic 'My Pet Peeve Tunes' 66 days

Click for Details

Peghead posted a forum topic 'String question' 88 days

Browse History >


Newest Videos


Jig bowing Video 52


Playing a Turn on Fiddle and Beginning Twinkle with Pauline Lerner


Crooked Still plays Angeline Baker @ Elks Park in Telluride - June 22, 2009


Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas playing "Grand Etang / Hull's Reel" live on BBC Radio Scot

see all >

Newest Music

paulinefiddle's Newest Playlists

see all >

Newest Photos

see all >

Interests:
[Teaching] [Jamming] [Socializing] [Helping]

Occupation: violin / fiddle teacher

Gender: Female
My Instruments:
violin, viola

Favorite Bands/Musicians:
Please see the website I made for my violin students, https://sites.google.com/site/paulinelernersviolinstudio/

Classified Rating: (0)
Rate this Member

Profile Info:
Visible to: Public
Created 5/8/2010
Last Visit 3/6/2019

See https://sites.google.com/site/paulinelernersviolinstudio/

Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Privacy Consent
Copyright 2024 Fiddle Hangout. All Rights Reserved.





Hangout Network Help

View All Topics  |  View Categories

0.3125