Learn Reger Viola Suite No. 3 with Me! – Weeks 2 and 3

Welcome to my second blog post on Reger’s third Viola Suite! If you missed my first one, you can find it here! I’ve been vlogging my practice journey as well as blogging it–you can watch this week’s video below!

WATCH HERE

Getting Used to New Fingerings

These two weeks were spent solidifying fingerings for all the double stops in the first movement. I chose fingerings that had the least amount of motion so I wouldn’t be constantly sliding all over the fingerboard for each double stop. To get used to my chosen fingerings, I practiced repetitively and mapped out each shift and where the whole steps and half steps were. I paid attention to my hand positions and how my body had to move (or not move) for each note.

Getting Used to Bowings

In addition to fingerings, I changed some bowings. Here’s one example-

I changed this bowing to assist with the fingering, and because it lets me phrase easier. If I used the original bowing with my fingerings, you’d hear a lot of slides, and I’d likely rush through the section. These bowings allow me to take the time to shift without distracting the listener with slides, and I think I’m less likely to rush through the phrase. The new bowings make the falling thirds sound more like sighs, which inherently makes it really musical.

I practiced putting the new fingerings and bowings together by first working on the tuning the chords with separate bows, and mapping out where my fingers need to go. Then I added the bowings, got confused, and backtracked to separate bows. I added the bowings back in and successfully put it all together!

Moving from Chord to Chord

After I put the bowings and fingerings together, I found that I was stopping in between each chord to set my fingers. I had to consciously move through each chord to fix this. I couldn’t let my mind think about each chord for too long–I had to constantly think about what was coming next.

Another section where I had trouble moving between chords was at the top of the second page. I’m playing the second circled note, the G in the bottom line, as a harmonic, and I was having trouble going from the double stop before to this double stop without hearing my open G string as I get the harmonic started. I had to work hard to figure out exactly where my fingers needed to go between the two chords so I could get to the second one as fast as I could. After a lot of repetition (just going back and forth between these two double stops), I was able to make it a lot smoother!

Some wrong notes…

There’s a section at the top of the second page with a lot of accidentals-

My first mistake was playing the circled F sharps as F naturals. I’m really surprised that I overlooked this, since F sharp is in the key signature. My second mistake was playing the second G sharp of the measure (in the top line) as a G natural. I actually made this mistake because one of the performers in a recording I listened to played it this way, so my ear learned it incorrectly. Thankfully, I was able to catch my mistake by practicing the lines separately for intonation, and after a few repetitions to relearn it in my hand and ear, I’m now playing it correctly!

Warming up with the end result in mind

Every time I practice, I warm up with scales, arpeggios, chromatic scales, octaves, 3rds, and 6ths. As I practice my 3rds and 6ths, I try to play them in the same manner in which I’ll be playing them in repertoire. So in this case, a lot of the double stops in the Suite are slurred and very melodic. When I practice double stops as a warm up, I first go through them with separate bows, focusing on intonation, and then I go through them again, slurring two per bow, focusing on making smooth connections between each one. Warming up in this way makes playing the repertoire feel more natural!

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I hope you were able to pick up a few practice tips from what I shared. For more detailed information and to watch me practice, check out the vlog! If you have a specific way you prefer practicing double stops, please let me know in the comments down below-I would love to try something new!