We have another Pavane, this time from France but claiming to be English.
Skill Builders
Musicality: The rhythm is familiar by now, leaving us free to concentrate on perfecting the left hand challenges.
Left Hand: It’s here! Backward extensions will infinitely extend (ha) your repertoire possibilities.
Right Hand: This piece lies in the middle range of the instrument, giving us a chance to work on our bow weight/speed ratios.
The text is taken from Shakespeare’s “The Tempest;” perhaps this song came itself from the play?
Skill Builders
Musicality: The wordstresses require preparation, as the rhythm doesn’t lie naturally on a stringed instrument.
Left Hand: We’ll practice shifting back and forth between first and half positions, but when you start feeling comfortable with extensions later on, come back and see if you can think of different fingerings.
Right Hand: The 6/4 section is especially challenging for a natural bowing style; make sure you follow the word accents
We'll re-visit this beautiful canon, now playing the whole piece and adding shifting and higher notes.
Skill Builders
Musicality: As we extend the length, we'll also have to think about connecting the phrases, despite the rests between each one.
Left Hand: We'll shift between first and half positions and will practice moving in and out of extensions as well.
Right Hand: There are some string crossings over three strings which need to remain controlled.
A sweet song with a tragic end, this ballad poses challenges for both hands.
Skill Builders
Musicality: Although we don’t have lyrics in our version, we need to keep a singing approach throughout the piece, even in the jumps.
Left Hand: We’ll be working on shifting from half to first as well as extensions.
Right Hand: The 6/4 rhythm always means trouble for keeping a smooth articulation, without accenting the quarter notes after the half notes. Make sure to phrase the running quarter notes in two sets of three, rather than three sets of two.
Dowland’s seamless fusion of sparkly melody with a nuanced text about, of all things, a street peddler, is a classic for good reason.
Skill Builders
Musicality: The syncopations are a function of the word accents, so need to remain calm yet playful.
Left Hand: The chordal fingerings add an extra challenge to making a good sound for the fret placement.
Right Hand: The last phrase can be long and singing, in stark contrast to the peppy rhythms of the first 8 bars.
A true classic, beloved by everyone for its sweet melody.
Skill Builders
Musicality: The longer phrases in the first half are replaced by shorter phrases in the second half, requiring a different approach.
Left Hand: We have no extensions, but we will get some practice on our chordal fingering technique.
Right Hand: The rhythm in the second half means we have to practice pairs of eighth notes on both up and down bows.
This beautiful pavane is also a song; let’s use the lyrics to help us understand the phrasing.
Skill Builders
Musicality: The lyrics show us a completely different phrasing than we might think; first beats are sometimes strong, sometimes light.
Left Hand: We’ll work on feeling comfortable with our backward extensions for all those B flats.
Right Hand: The rhythms are not complicated for the right hand, so we’ll concentrate on getting a good singing sound and working on the nuances of phrasing.
Once again, an English Country Dance from Playford’s “The English Dancing Master.” There are many similarities with “Aria del Gran Duca,” but this piece has some some new fingering challenges to master.
Skill Builders
Musicality: Although the repeated notes need clear articulation, the scalar eighth notes should be legato and singing.
Left Hand: Because we’re in F Major, there are lots of shifts between half and first positions, as well as plenty of practice for backwards extensions.
Right Hand: The sequences (repeated patterns) mean that the eighth-note runs often have to be played the wrong way around. We need to make them sound smooth and even, no matter which bow you’re on.
A ballad from Playford’s collection, a traditional lament by a Northumbrian lass, homesick for her northern home.
Skill Builders
Musicality: Although this looks like a peppy dance, we will have to find the melancholy inherent in it without playing too slowly.
Left Hand: The F’s and Bb’s mean we will have to play almost the whole piece in extended position.
Right Hand: The repeated rhythms will allow us to practice zig-zag bowing, but there are a few hooked bowings to get us turned the right way around.
A beautiful melody by the master of airs de cour, Philippe Guédron, it traveled throughout Europe and is known in The Netherlands with a text by the famous poet P.C. Hooft.
Skill Builders
Musicality: Although it's written in a problematic 3/4, let's avoid downbeat accents so as to keep the text flowing.
Left Hand: We'll pivot between three positions: first, extended first, and half positions.
Right Hand: The sequences of quarter notes mean we can bow it out, but be aware of false accents on every upbow.
Now that you’ve learned two versions of the bassline, see what it’s like to play the melody!
Skill Builders
Musicality: This lies high on the instrument, meaning that a little goes a long way with the internal accents. Be careful to keep singing the line, even as you emphasize the first two beats of every bar.
Left Hand: This version lies completely in first position, but we need to work on the coordination of the sixteenth-notes.
Right Hand: The meter and different rhythms mean we’re often on the wrong bow to feel comfortable. We’re also on the top two strings, so listen carefully to your sound and move your bow closer to the bridge.
A favorite among choirs the world over, this 4-part motet adapts beautifully to viol consort.
Skill Builders
Musicality: We begin homophonically (playing together), followed by a polyphonic passage, giving you the chance to both meld with the other parts but also to take initiative in your solo moments.
Left Hand: We stay mostly in first position, with a few chordal fingerings along the way and one small shift at the very end.
Right Hand: As this is the soprano part of a four-part piece, we will play only on the top strings, giving us a chance to work on a fluid bow stroke and a sweet sound.
A seemingly simple strophic love song, Senfl's many settings of this melody show his brilliance as a composer. Martin Luther described him as 'Gifted and graced by God with the art of music."
Skill Builders
Musicality: Despite the regular heavy-light aspect of the rhythm, let's focus on singing the sweet lovesong.
Left Hand: We'll practice pivoting back and forth between half position and extended first.
Right Hand: As always, avoid heavy downbows on the weak beats of the bar.
In 1567, the Catholic composer Thomas Tallis, court composer of Protestant Elizabeth I, contributed 9 tunes to the psalter of Protestant Archbishop Parker. This tune was made famous by Ralph Vaughan Williams in “Fantasia upon a Theme of Thomas Tallis.”
Skill Builders
Musicality: The original barlines don't follow the text stresses, so we need to create those ourselves.
Left Hand: Everything lies in extended first position, but there is one (optional) chordal fingering in the penultimate bar.
Right Hand: The bowing is set so as to help with the word accents, but be careful not to add unwanted extra accents on the unimportant upbows.