JAVS Spring 2006

Gregory Barnes makes his personal con tributio n in a section so incredibly detailed and well o rgan ized t hat his selection as edi tor of Playing and Following the excellent and no less-derailed con tributio ns ofJohnson, Kimber and Irvine that open rhe volume, one might ask what more could be sa id. The answer s imply is "pl en ty" as Barnes both comple ments and compliments their work with frequent refe rences to the earlie r texts. His eight topics a re wide in scop e but always converge on what is best for rhe student and the teache r. Key words and phrases: every vio list is a reacher and a learner; les son design; independent learning; remediation; individual differences; phys ical ch ange; bowing excellence; and Ldtimate goals. He stresses teach ing t he brain and learn ing from practice, topi cs which will be developed further by Tom H ei mbe rg in the next sectio n. T he text is ri ch ly footnoted with refer ences ro the thoughts of such pedagogues and Max Aronoff, David Dalton, Lillian Fuchs, Sam and Sad a Applebaum, Robert Dolejsf, Paul Rolland, Teaching the Viola becomes obvious.

rice and performance with "Part 4 : Imp rovisation for Vi o lists," concluding this chapte r. Chapter Five: From Violin to Viola, by Ro land \';Hnos and con sisting of o nly three pages, is by no means short of good suggestions and discuss io n gleaned from a full and remark able teaching career. H e advocates learning alto clef from the very begin ning of viola instruction and recommends Schradieck Book I as an excellent point of depar ture. H e rouches upon the differences in shift ing to higher positions and the problems involved for the violinist, vibrato, bow weight and length, concept of sound, left hand facility, and whether to "switch-hit" on both violin and viola or specialize. Chapter Six: Viola Pedagogy and Musical Learning, written in three parts and cove ring almost forty pages, directs one's attention to many specifics of viola pedagogy and mus ical learni ng and cou ld stand on its own merits as a book unto itself

The History of the Viola

Volume I and Volume II

by Dr. Maurice W. Riley

To order, contact:

George Maurice Riley 12301 Harbour Circle Ft. Washington, MD 20744 Phone (30 1) 292-0177 Fax (30 1) 292-0280 Gviolinri1ey@msn.com

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damplt provides perfect protection against damage from a dry atmosphere. dampit proved itself 100% effective in scientific sensor measurements. FREE Room Humidity indicator with each dampit. Violin $8.95 • Viola $9.50 Little Violin $7.95 • Cello $11 .50 Bass $12.50 AVOID FAKES, AVOID MISTAKES. A genuine Damplt has the Damplt name on the black t op. Air pottage and handling outside USA and Canada $1 .00 p.,- unit. In USA and Canada ~ .... add $.55 per unh. Box 4a3, Radio City Station NV, NY 10101.

In "Part 1, Teaching and Learning," ed itor

------~JOURNAL OF THE AME RICAN VIOLA SOCIETY 40