Dear viola players, is this playable?

[pepunto]

I'm currently studying the book From Piano To Strings by Joseph Wagner. I frequently come across different solutions than those given by the author but I'm in the dark as to they are valid or not. I would like to know if the following passage is playable at 152 bpm. Thanks, fellow stringers!

I hope this is the correct section to post this. If not, please tell me so.

 

[pepunto]

I know now that this wasn't the place for my question. Newbie here, just landed today in this platform. Sorry everyone.

 

[David Cuny]

Urgh... I used to play viola back in Elementry School, and I pretty much faked my way through it.

The viola strings are C/G/D/A, same as a cello but an octave higher.

Looking at this viola fingering chart:




the notes can be fingered as (notation is string/position/finger):

E: C/7/4, G/4/3, G/5/2, G/6/1, D/1/2, D/2/1
C: G/2/2, G/3/1, C/7/1
A: C/2/4, C/3/3, C/4/2, C/5/1

So it looks like the arpeggio can be played from the second position on the strings D/1, G/2 and C/4 without any shifts.

Which would mean (assuming I did this right) yes, a violist should be able to play this without much trouble:

• Each note is on an adjacent string
• There is no shift in hand position

 

[Nekujak]

Welcome to the forum, @pepunto

Although @David Cuny gave you very thorough and informative answer, I think you may also want to post these kinds of questions on the VI Control forum, which is the sister forum to this one, and is more focused on composition with orchestral, and other, instruments.

Your question is perfectly legitimate for this forum, but you'll probably get more responses over at VI Control. @David Cuny happens to also a member of VI Control, along with many other amateur and professional composers.

Good luck!

 

[pepunto]

Thanks for taking the time to provide such extensive and valuable information.

To be honest, I hadn't thought about the choice of position, I just assumed that being an arpeggio with no big leaps, it should be possible to play it ...somewhere. I'll pay more attention to it from now on.

I was more concerned about the speed. Sixteenth notes at 150 bpm are very, very difficult on guitar but I would say I've heard that kind of speed, at least on violins, in the classical repertoire.

Anyway, this is the solution provided by the author:



The original piano gave the full arpeggio but repeteadly ascending, I made it go down and up thinking it would be easier to play, but the author made it even simpler with just two notes, which made think the full arpeggio must have been difficult to play at that speed. Unfortunately, the book is stubborn and refuses to answer my questions

 

[pepunto]

Welcome to the forum, @pepunto

Although @David Cuny gave you very thorough and informative answer, I think you may also want to post these kinds of questions on the VI Control forum, which is the sister forum to this one, and is more focused on composition with orchestral, and other, instruments.

Your question is perfectly legitimate for this forum, but you'll probably get more responses over at VI Control. @David Cuny happens to also a member of VI Control, along with many other amateur and professional composers.

Good luck!

Yes, I discovered the other forum shortly after my first post.

Thanks for your welcome and your reassuring words!