Viola lesson recap - 1 Mar 2011

• I'm increasingly happy with my intonation. It's still a looong way from perfect, but at least things tend to be in the right ballpark, and I'm getting better pulling sour notes back into tune while still continuing to play.
• Slurs on the same string? No problem! Slurs that involve crossing strings? Not so much! I've got some exercises to do that will help me practice.
• More bow, more bow, ever more bow. Especially with (eg) a two-note slur, each note should get half the bow. Playing all the way from the frog to the tip while keeping the bow from sliding either up towards the fingerboard or down towards the bridge is still a challenge. I have exercises for this too. =)
• I'll be gone to Drupalcon next week, so no lesson, and the following week is March break, so no lesson then either! It'll be three weeks 'til the next one. Fortunately lack of material hasn't been a problem -- it's lack of practice time that's been the limiting factor -- but Anya gave me a bunch more to work on just in case. I could totally stand to spend a few weeks getting the basics squared well away and cementing the mental link between notes on the staff and fingers on the fingerboard.
• Chris recommended some easy jazz standards to take a stab at, which I really appreciate. As much as I like playing tunes like Frère Jacques and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (and they're prime real estate, given that I have two small children) it's nice to have something a bit more grown-up to try as well. They all seem to reach up to E₅, though. From first position on viola, that's your fourth finger on the A string, and I haven't quite gotten that far yet. Between that and reading viola on the treble clef, I've got a bit of work to do before I can get through them, but I'm really excited to take that challenge on. =)