AndrewH said
Congratulations on getting through your first rehearsal, Pete! Sounds like an excellent start. G-flat major is a bit of a surprise for this level, but it sounds like you're doing fine with it.

@AndrewH Thank you for the congratulations!

Most of this piece (the G♭ piece) looks like this.  Eighths after eighths. Not a lot of variation.  This is Violin II.  Violin I is very similar.  (The hand written marks are from a previous player).  And perhaps a reason the pieces are in the keys we have are because this is a combined choir and orchestra, the choir being the star of the show.  So the songs were probably chosen for the choir, and not as specifically for the orchestra itself.

About different keys...  I have noticed that many players are quite concerned over what key a piece is in.  It is less of a style or mood question, more of a concern over the difficulty of the piece.  Generally, the more sharps or flats in the key signature, the harder to play.  The key of C♯ is particularly dreaded.

This may be a music theory question, and I may post something in that topic as a general theory question, but I just wondered, for you, are you more or less concerned with the complexity of the piece?  My difficulties are runs written in 32nds and 64ths, notes that I play much less often in the higher ranges and positions, tempos that bring the speed of the 16ths and 32nds to a very fast speed (anything much faster than Allegro moderato gets my blood pressure going a bit).  

I'd like your insights on how you "rate" the difficulty of music.  What are the things you dread?

@AndrewH 

AndrewH said
Oh, that's not bad at all.

I actually don't mind reading keys with a lot of sharps or flats, as long as it's not an extremely fast tempo. But I may be an exception because I was a pianist first and was used to reading in those keys before I started on any string instrument. (Chopin considered B major to be the easiest key to play on piano, because the pattern of white and black keys fits the hand especially well. I think he had a point.) What matters more to me is how the music fits the hand.

As I work on these pieces, I will be more comfortable.  I hope that my perspective changes as I work on the difficult areas and find it is not as hard as I first thought.  This happens quite a bit for me.

Fast runs are not especially hard if they're diatonic scales or arpeggios or otherwise fit the hand well. If they follow scales or arpeggios, then they're already quite well drilled through routine scale/arpeggio practice.

These days I look for patterns that dictate the hand frame: if I see a passage framed by an octave somewhere, for example, I'm likely to shift so it is entirely between 1st finger on one string and 4th finger on the next string.

I will post screenshots of some of the areas I find a challenge.  I'd love your input with how you approach these and any of your advise, as always.

Things I don't like seeing: complicated rhythms (especially if they involve unequal up and down bows), fast chromatic scales, passages that force me to do a lot of string crossing in irregular patterns or jump over a string, or passages that lack a discernable pattern. I have one further pet peeve, which is mostly because of my own short fingers: I don't like string crossing to 4th finger on a lower string. Finally, there are certain interval leaps that can be hard to tune, especially in fast tempo or in the upper register where shifting is necessary: the worst are 9ths and tritones.

Parallel 4ths and 5ths with another part in very transparent textures can be difficult even if the notes would otherwise seem easy, because there is much less tolerance for slight intonation errors than parallel 3rds or 6ths.

If I have time, I'll try to post some examples of both passages I found easier than you might expect, and passages I find especially hard, and explain why I find them easier or harder.

I'd love to see those examples and get your thoughts.

starise said
Congratulations Pete and Gordon on your entry into the orchestra experience. To me Gb would be a challenge. Lower fingering would be easier. Higher positions where you're nudging a few mm here or there in an unfamiliar key definitely more of a challenge for me on violin. Having others around also in tune and hearing them would be very helpful.

I run into vocal ranges .vs keys played more that I like to admit. Vocals usually win. 

This community orchestra seems very laid back. A good thing for someone who is just starting out.

There are some high position parts.  I am lucky though.  Most of them are held whole notes, so it won't be too complicated.

It's a good orchestra.  It will be a great experience.

cid said
Geeze, @Pete_Violin, your little thread is 5 pages now.

Ya... it's wacky!!  LOL

Gordon Shumway said
This morning we had Puccini's Chrysanthemums thrust upon us. C# minor with lots of accidentals and rubato in every bar and lots of chromatic runs. It sounded terrible.

I don't mind saying that it relieves me that your piece sounded trashed.. So did ours!  LOL!!!  It's good to know that we're not alone.

It has been my experience that first run rehearsal is usually a disaster.  I am confident that both of us will get this.  

On a personal note... violin is what I live for.  I am happy to play in orchestra, no matter how bad it sounds right now!  This is a goal I have reached!!

And @Gordon Shumway, it can only get better from here, right!?

I am certain my lesson content will be changing as well.  We have new keys to learn, new shifting positions and intonation to go over.  There are tremolos and double stops.  Lots to go over, none of which are covered in my method books.

I hope everything is well with your significant other...