All State 2022

Middle School (7th & 8th Grade) Orchestra

Viola Practice Packet

Fingerings and Exercises written by:

Kaitlin Springer, Violist & Teaching Artist

Table of Contents

Page 3 – Forward

Page 4 – All State Requirements

Page 7 – Scales with Fingerings

Page 9 – Etude #1 Practice

Page 10 – Etude #2 Practice

Page 11 – Sight Reading Tips for Audition Day

Forward

The following packet represents all the things that I wish I could have had as a young violist in middle school

and high school. As a Teaching Artist, it has been a great privilege to visit schools throughout Pinellas County

and get to know the hundreds of young people who make up the orchestra classes and youth orchestras in the

area.

One of the many goals that we have in The Florida Orchestra and in Pinellas County is to give young people the

tools they need to grow into successful adults. There is no better way to do this than to encourage young

musicians to put themselves out there by auditioning for All State and All County. The All State experience is

incredible – music students could join other top young musicians from throughout the state of Florida in a full

symphonic orchestra concert. It is an opportunity to make new friends, work with great instructors, and push

ahead toward greater musicianship.

Whether or not you plan on continuing music through college and adulthood, practicing music has great

benefits for your future success. By practicing music, we practice creativity, problem-solving, artistry, and

teamwork. Above all else – we have fun!

I hope that this packet helps to make the process of auditioning for All State at least a little bit easier. The

process will take many hours of dedicated practicing, but it is well worth it! If you are not used to practicing

your instrument every day, start small and work up your daily practice time gradually. For the first week

practice 30 minutes for four days. Week 2 practice 45 minutes for five days. Week 3 practice 1 hour for four

days, and so on. When preparing for an audition, I practice between 3-5 hours a day (and rehearsal hours don’t

count!), so that gives you an idea of how much a professional musician might practice.

For more resources and videos check out TFO’s Virtual Learning Site linked below:

https://floridaorchestra.org/education-community/virtual-learning/

For all the latest educational videos, performances, and news, subscribe to the YouTube page:

https://www.youtube.com/user/TheFloridaOrchestra

Best of luck on your All State Audition, and Happy Practicing!

Kaitlin Springer

Teaching Artist, The Florida Orchestra

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Title: 60 Studies for the Violin, Op.45, No. 37 Edition: Schirmer, 1905 Edition Tempo: Quarter Note = 80-88 Notes: Transcribed for Viola Public Domain Source: https://imslp.org/wiki/Special:ReverseLookup/25402

The All-State Etude and Excerpt will be reduced on the day of the audition. The etudes and excerpts provided are the official audition music. Other sources, methods, and editions may be different - including etude numbers, measure numbers, and rehearsal letters. Students will be evaluated against the attached music.

All provided music is in the Public Domain.

CERTIFIED BY:

_________________________________________ _________________________________________ Matthew Davis, President Donald K. Langland, Executive Director Florida Orchestra Association, Inc. Florida Orchestra Association, Inc.

FLORIDA ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATION, INC. 2022 All-State Audition Requirements Middle School (7th & 8th Grade) Orchestra - Viola

Scales Students will play ONE of the following major scales and arpeggios:

C, G, D, A, F, Bb, Eb - All scales and arpeggios must be two octaves.

All scales and arpeggios are to be MEMORIZED. Scales and arpeggios must be played in even eighth notes using separate bows. Quarter note = 60-80

Sight-Reading Students will be asked to sight read an eight measure original composition.

Etude 1 Composer: Wohlfahrt, Franz Title: 60 Studies for the Violin, Op.45, No. 34 Edition: Schirmer, 1905 Edition Tempo: Quarter Note = 104-112 Notes: Transcribed for Viola Public Domain Source: https://imslp.org/wiki/Special:ReverseLookup/25402

Etude 2 Composer: Wohlfahrt, Franz

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FOA All-State Audition Requirements 2022MIDDLE SCHOOL VIOLA - Etude 1Viola

f

Allegro q.=104-112

6

11

16

21

26

31

36

41

46

51

68

B#

10

3

Wolfahrt - 60 Studies for the Violin, Op.45, No. 34Transcribed for Viola

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5

FOA All-State Audition Requirements 2022MIDDLE SCHOOL VIOLA - Etude 2

f

Moderato q = 80-88

6

10

13

16

20

cBbbb

1

Wolfahrt - 60 Studies for the Violin, Op.45, No. 37Transcripted for Viola

Bbbb

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6

Viola 2-OctaveScalesFingeringsby:KaitlinSpringer

D-String-1 2 3 4

A-String1 2 43 3 D-String2 1 4 3

2 -3

D-String3 -1 2 3 A-String

1 24

D-String-1 3

-1 3 14

1 3

3 4 3 2D-String

1 0 -2

2 1 -3

A-String1 4

1

1 4 3

3 1 -1

CMajor

GMajor

DMajor

AMajor

7

2 -11

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13

-1 2-1

D-String

1 2 43 3

223

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2 41 3

3 34-32 12

D-String4 3 12

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4 3-14-2 2

FMajor

B-flatMajor

E-flatMajor

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Wohlfart Op. 45 Book 1, No. 34 Practice

1. Getting G Major in your ear – Most of this etude is in 3rd position, so intonation is a great challenge –

especially as we cross strings! Get off to a great start by practicing the 2 octave G major scale in the following

two ways:

Example 1 – Stay in first position for as long as you can:

Example 2 – Play the whole scale in 3rd position:

Both ways of playing this scale should sound exactly the same – practice both of these scale fingerings every

time you practice this excerpt for great results!

2. Keep Calm and Carry on – It is easy to get carried away while practicing and get into the habit of

practicing fast notes as fast as we can all the time. It is extremely helpful to take a step back and slow things

down so you can really hear them and enjoy them!

Example 1 – Pretend this etude is written as quarter notes instead of eight notes. Focus on having a marcato

bow stroke where each note is well defined, maybe even accented. This will help you achieve clarity.

Practice the entire piece with this slow deliberation and see how much more you are able to hear each individual note with great clarity!

Practice Tips *Always practice with a metronome. Practice with it on 60, then 80, then 104 once the slower tempos are

easy.

*Start some of your practice sessions at the end of the piece, or even the middle of the piece. Sometimes it is

easy to get so wrapped up in the beginning we forget about all the other good stuff!

Check out the performance video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VW8iqYTah8Y

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Wohlfart Op. 45, No. 37 Practice

1. Getting Eb Major in your ear – Much of this etude is in 3rd position, so it will be important to practice

your Eb Major scale in different ways in order to really get it in your ear. Practice your Eb Major scale in the

following ways:

Example 1 – Stay in first position:

Example 2 – Play as much of the scale as you can in 3rd position:

Both ways of playing this scale should sound exactly the same – practice both of these scale fingerings every

time you practice this excerpt for great results!

2. Bow Control Tips – One of the challenges of this excerpt is keeping clarity as you change strings. Because

you are in a higher position for much of the time, you will have to play closer to the bridge than you are used

to, and you may want to use a smaller amount of bow, but the same weight as usual. Got that? Closer to the

bridge + smaller amount of bow + same amount of weight = more clarity. We can also add in to stick around

the balance point, don’t let your bow wander too far towards the tip. Play the following passage slowly in

front of a mirror to see if you can do those things to gain more clarity:

*The circled bit is where you really need to focus on staying close to the bridge and compacting the bow, this

is where it is easiest to lose clarity. Make sure your sound comes out with clean and lovely precision by

following the bow control tips!

Practice Tips *This is a long etude, so remember to practice it in small chunks. Go one line at a time and practice what you

can with a simple fingering so you are 100% confident about how it should sound.

*Start some of your practice sessions at the end of the piece, or even the middle of the piece. Sometimes it is

easy to get so wrapped up in the beginning we forget about all the other good stuff!

Check out the performance video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79s74my6jnU

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How to Practice Sight-Reading

Sight reading is a valuable skill when you are reading music with your class or with your friends. You might

even find yourself in an audition where you must sight read by yourself. The more you practice sight reading

and improve at it, the more you will feel confident when you are learning a new piece or just reading with

friends. Here is a step-by-step method of how you can approach sight reading new music.

Step 1: Identify Key Features using the STARS method

S – Sharps/Flats (Key Signature)

T – Time Signature/tempo

A – Accidentals (Notes not found in the key signature)

R – Rhythms

S – Signs (dynamics, articulations, repeats, endings)

Step 2: Silently sing through the rhythm as you tap a pulse.

Step 3: Shadow play as much as you can with the time you have.

Step 4: Repeat shadow playing measures that are extra challenging.

Step 5: Take 3 deep breaths, bring your instrument into playing position, and silently sing through the first

few measures of music again.

Step 6: Go For it!!

Sight Reading in auditions – Always play a little slower than you think you should. This helps you stay

calm when you might be feeling pressured. Also, take your time. Use as much time as they allow you to use

and try not to feel like you need to play too soon. This is your time, and the adjudicators want you to feel

confident and do your best!

Sight Reading in your ensemble or with friends – Try memorizing the first few bars of music so

that you can keep an eye on your conductor at the beginning of the piece. This will help you find the tempo.

When you are playing with your friends always do a Count Off. This means that you count a whole measure

out loud before starting to play together. Or you can say “1, 2, ready, go!!”

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