Violists from HCISO!!

Friday 29 June 2007

The Art of Faking
By: Wilfred

All violists out there (violinists and cellists too -.-), open your eyes wide! Have you ever wondered what you are supposed to do when you don't know what to do? Have you ever wondered about how you are going to play when you can't play it? The list goes on but the problems have to be fixed. So catch your horses and glue your eyes to your computer screen. (P.S not literally of course. Unless you want to try it)

Faking? What is it?Answers.com says faking is "To improvise (a passage)" in Music. (Don't you just love the way they make it sound so nice and innocent!) But I prefer this version: "To take on a false or misleading appearance" Henceforth, faking is to mislead the audience, in which case refers to Mr Chan or you stand partner. (The latter should be the more difficult one to deceive, provided he is listening to you) So now that we know what faking is really about, let's get on to business.

A Step-to-Step Guide to Faking!As with all things, preparation is required to ensure success. The same applies for faking. If you're getting the score for the first time, briefly scan through the score so that you know which part you are probably going to fake through.
(Hint: Look for bars containing over 16 running notes.
Bigger Hint: Rutter 1st Mvmt, Last 2 lines)
Of course, if you're not touching the score for the 1st time, meaning you have already left your fingerprints on it, you are legally b0und to fulfilling the commitment you have to the Orchestra. SO PRACTISE.

Anyway let's continue with our guide to faking. After garnering a broad idea of where you're not supposed to fake but have to fake, you need to mentally prepare yourself. Done? Good. On Ahead.

1 Line Before the Faking Part: By now, you should know you're approaching D' Day. Lol, just kidding. Anyway, you should have listened to the other sections playing and get a rough idea about the tempo, theme, tone of the piece. **Important: What you can't play might have been played by other sections in a different manner. Get a rough idea of the speed that it's supposed to be before you continue with Step 2.
1 Bar Before the PART: There are logically no more mental preparation you can give yourself. So tell yourself "Good Luck!", "All the Best!", "You Can Do It!", "It's EASY", "I Will Do It" and mentally cut a piece of cake for yourself.
Execution of Faking:
Tell Yourself "Nobody is Looking At You"
Look at the score if you just got it. Look up if you got it for 2 months already.
Stop yourself from tapping your feet, it's not going to help.
MOVE YOUR FINGERS. I mean, come on, it's common sense?!!
MOVE YOUR BOW. *yawn* How easy can this be?
Look at Bjorn/First Stand, make sure you're playing at the same part of bow and ... direction with him. Unless, of course, you know he's faking, but he should still be the best candidate.
Make sure you are on the correct string
Technical details (Easy so far? Read on!): Turn your bow 45 degrees until you're playing with 1, ONE, UNE, SATU, 一个 bow hair. Please try not to air-bow. I find that after the first few swings of your bow, you actions tend to become rather unnatural: Imagine someone chopping wood and you've got it.
Move to the fingerboard, not too far, not too little either. This is an exceptional case -.-
If you've got a mute, slide it on STEALTHILY.
Don't press on the string with your bow please.
No extravagant movements. Bjorn was kidding... Right?
Look CONFIDENTLY at the conductor but don't smile.
Don't look at your stand partner and stick out your tongue.

Okay... That's all I have for now. Faking might seem easy, but doing it perfectly is astoundingly difficult. Furthermore, that's like 15 things you have to remember and do in like 1 second? More importantly, that's 15 things you have to memorise. I think you would rather spend your time practising than mugging this.

Copyrighted. All Rights Reserved. 30 June 2007, 00.30.20 a.m.

Disclaimer: Certain statements in this essay, including statements concerning  plans, intentions and expectations, contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Securities Act of Year 1 as amended. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the time the statements are made and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements. The words "believe," "expect," "intend," "anticipate," variations of such words and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements but their absence does not mean that the statement is not forward-looking. These statements are not guaranties of future performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements that speak only as of the date of this announcement. Factors that could affect 's actual results include, among others, the factors described in 's filings with the Neopian Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended the month of Eating, Year 2. undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, events or circumstances after the date of this release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

HCISO Violists23:43<3

Wednesday 27 June 2007

Larry posted sectionals on how to fake wow...
and now lets share on "how to do sectionals", the next SL/ASL will benefit from this..

Bjorn

______________________________________
Jun Hong

______________________________________
Zheng Wei

______________________________________
Chay Choong

Lemme add first... I always see Bjorn conducting sections damm cute lar... keep dancing around the room and, as Jia Quan says, "bjorn is the first guy who would dance to the music of volkman". Haha. Sectionals should be fun and gay(not jia quan, i mean happy).
But there are some other stuff I think bjorn always leave out -.- or some improvements i would like to see next year..
1. Tuning before starting to practise
I remember a memorable event when we are practising Volkman 3rd movement first 2 bars. Hahahahaaaaa... Larry and Zheng Wei's G string was like a 3rd apart la..

2. Everyone, especially the sec 3s and 4s, must know how to play the music. cannot be condoned if S3 or S4 faking if they dont know the music, esp next year have to mug for SYF le. I think if we hear something fishy we should test the S3 and S4 individually.

3. Ask for comments more often. SL/ASL is not always right when conducting sectionals. Sometimes SL/ASL MAY screw up our bowings when we are actually correct. This never happened while Bjorn was doing secs thou..

4. Assessments more often! This ensures the standard of the viola section remains, well, up to standard? lol nvmind

5. Regular check of practise scores. This is something I would like to highlight.. This is very important as if someone's practise score has the wrong bowing, or missing fingerings, at home how to mug?? Den go orchestra all the bowings screwed den Mr Chan niao us den how?

______________________________________
Larry

______________________________________
Wilfred

______________________________________

Hope u all cooperate and add in your views and experiences while conducting sectionals/how you think sectionals should be conducted.

HCISO Violists22:40<3

Tuesday 26 June 2007

heyy (:

Guess what? I’m going to post an e-sectional on faking. Firstly, there are several kinds of a fake, you have those used during orchestra rehearsals, performances hmm and last but not least your viola lesson (:< hahaha. BUT, I’m not going to cover anything bout the viola lesson part. (later you all learn then don’t practise for lesson, Dr Yeo will kill me and I’m sure none of you want it to happen, do you?) (:

Faking during orchestra rehearsal

If for some reason you never practise your parts and end up having to sight read during rehearsals, this is the ultimate guide for you. 4 easy steps! (:

Make sure you have minimal rosin on your bow.
Remember to look up at Mr Chan and your SL and ASL to make sure you have the correct bowings. (Don’t be soo dumb as to stare at them throughout, it’ll be pretty obvious.) (;
Try to play the notes.
All the best, and may you not get caught (:

Now that we have come to the end of the faking during rehearsal part, I shall bring you to the world of faking during performance.

Faking during performance

Only applicable if you are as pro as me! Hahaha, yea lar, I know I broke my g 3 minutes before that gig and had to col legno all the way. Yea, soo the only thing left to do was to flip my bow the other way and use the wood and bounce. Boing boing! Oh and make sure you have all four strings, which means attach that bloody broken string back onto your viola. Yea, and remember to pray, pray that the camera don’t catch you. Well, I guess I survived last Friday. (;

Last but not least, Faking during lesson.

---------------SECRET----------------

That’s all folks!
Bye!

Your very very very very zhai section mate
larry =pp

HCISO Violists00:09<3

Tuesday 19 June 2007

Hehe... kop larry's limelight... Shall cont with e-sectionals..

Suite for Strings by John Rutttttttttttttttttttttter

1. A-Roving..

Aiya... heck larry's post, my post will be much more direct to the point anyway...

Bar 5. Loud soft softer. not larry's style LOUD LOUD silence. Bar 7. Accented soft soft.

Bar 9-28. If you dont know how to pluck double stops, pls dont. and bjorn, watch out for bar 15 and 26, you ALWAYS come in abit too rush.

One bar before A. notice the cresendo is ON the note, not between notes. so the note starts from soft to loud, NOT soft at this bar, den loud at A.

Bar 33-43. Those wierd cute little symbols, play 4 notes only pls -.-. for bad example, look at wilfred. and we are suppose to play in sync, not a mess. solution: mug hard and when u know the notes well, while playing, follow your SL.

Bar 44. GG. Here's the fingering for BOT. Start first position 1, 4, 1, 4, 1, 4, 1, 4. change to second position 1, 3, 1, 3, 1, 3, 2, 4, change back to first position, 1, 4, 1, 4, 1, 4, 1, 4, 2, 4, 2, 4, 2, 4, 1, 4, change to second position, 1, 3, 1, 3, 1, 3, 2, 4, back to first position, 2, 4, 2, 4, 2, 4, 2, 4, 1, 4, 1, 4, 2, 4, 2, 4, 1, 4, 1, 4, 1, 3, 1, 3.
REMEMBER 4 notes 1 beat. haha happy mugging.

Bar 59. OMFG Bjorn set bad example. PLS DUN SPAM HERE. mp > p =.=

Bar 66. I recommend 1/2 position here as it is easier to play like that.

Bar 80. Bowings are down down, up up. At Bar 81 start DOWN UP.

H. Mug your triplets hard. bad example? wilfred.

Bar 156-159. Fingerings are (from lower note): 112, 234, 122, 012. cant play three notes like jun hong den stick to the stupid noob two notes, top two or bot two. bot two is easier :D

Bar 193-194. DOWN.... retake DOWN ....

LAST NOTE is a UP, wtf... sec 2s pls play the correctly. ESP YOU CONGNING.

2. I have a bonnet trimmed with blue (and larry says "oh really, really?" screw his *****)

PARTS WITH "poco rall." OR "rall" LOOK AT MR CHAN'S FACE (i mean, follow his beat)

Bar 39-42. scared of playing thrills? PLAY OUT LOUD. why is it that when you are suppose to play loud (eg bar 41-42), you play softer than those bars you are suppose to play mp(eg B)?

Bar 71. Start up bow pls. anyone who feels like challenging me... read the score properly.

Last note. CUT off with the bases' pizz.

3. O waly waly (whack larry's retarded face when he says this)

1st. Check what does Andante Espressivo means.

Follow dynamics here CLOSELY. play pp < p < mp < mf < sff. pls this is grade 1 theory.

At C. remember what Alan says about this part? play out loud. Do a Lukuan. check out what does sff means.

Solo viola. One word. Spam.
Gli Altri. Two words. Air bow.

4. Dashing Away

Bar 21-40. THIS time the cute little symbols means three notes. Haha. Bad example? Viola section.

Bar 57. Fingerings are (from lower note): 234, 122, 234, 112, 210, 223, 234

Bar 73. SCREW UP! SCREW UP! Mug this at home! Fingering: start with down, as it comes. if u find yourself retaking at three notes before D, you have played an extra note. Like what larry never fails to do.

NOTE HERE: Fingering from Bar 72: 1/2 position, 2, 1, 2, 3 (73) 1, 2, 3, 4, 0, 2, (74) 3, REST, 3, 4, 1, (75)2, 3, 4, 3, (76)3, 2, (77)2, 4, (78)3. Use half position to increase agility of your fingers.

Bar 98: Hooked bowings. down down, up up ... ...

Bar 114. Fingering (from lower note): 102, 234, 123, 234, 12, 22.

Bar 118. Pls dont spam. Its suppose to be soft. Contradicting Larry's style of playing, you can accent a note softly.

G. PROBLEMS!! BJORN READ THIS. when you end with the E, start counting AT E. 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2 den entry. so the rhythm is like this.

E o | o o | o c(START AT 130! THE THIRD BAR!)

so u count like this: E, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2A, E e,E e,F .....

Bar 172. sectionals. :D

So other than this i think the rest is fine. (what "rest"? nearly everything is highlighted). Good luck mugging

Choong :)

HCISO Violists22:48<3

Monday 18 June 2007

Hi! :pp

Hahahaha, as requested, I shall post an e-sectional! Yay * Claps! *

Hmm.. Which piece shld I do? I know! I shall do John Rutter’s Suite for Strings. Let’s start! (:

A-Roving (themovementwiththeveryhighnotesattheend)

The movement starts with you needing to use more than 2 strings! So, for violists’ standards, hmm, playing 2 notes quite in tune is good enough. (:

Then you will get to the 5th bar, where there is a sharp contrast in dynamics with the first four bars, sooo play it veryveryveryvery soft. Softer than your whisper.

After that, you will reach the pizz parts, the rhythm’s looks kindda difficult but if you stare hard and carefully enough, it’s actually quite easy. Yea, and I meant stare at Bjorn, Zheng or Mr Chan. Not your scores. -.-

Oook, after some time, you will reach the part where u have divisi and semiquavers. Yeap, it’s fast but still mugging help. If mugging still doesn’t help(typical violist), slap yourself and fake that part. And when you fake, fake it in tune and with the correct bowing. To avoid suspicion and unnecessary trouble. After that ordeal, you will reach a part similar to the beginning, soo refer up pls.

flips page * basically, remain soft throughout the 2nd page, until the last entry of the page, spam! But come in like mendelsson. Like bah bahhhh bahhhh bahhhh. Get it?

Soon, you will reach the first solo of the piece, the con brio part. As violists, I assume you all dunnoe the meaning soo I shall enlighten you. It means with vigour! Soo you know what to do.

Immediately after that easy part, you reach your climax. I mean the piece’s climax. Where the upper player plays an octave apart from the lower player. And the higher player having to go up the a string and stuff, while the lower player slacks away! Wooohooo! (: for the upper players only, gd luck! (;

Then you will end the piece with some ascending notes and sooon you will find yourself at the highest d u can probably reach with ur A string. Yea, that part. MUG, mug still cannot because you are a violist, then look up, stare hard at you-know-where. Yea yea and I know chay choong will get all horny. Yea, just follow the bowings and try to play. TRY, it’s ok if u cannot, becoz I cannot get it every time also. yea and the mvmt concludes with some d notes on ur c string. Not very difficult, is it? NO, u are not forceful enuf, u nid to dig in. and chay choong suggestive eh? Relax. I know I’m hot but still. .so the point is play it hard, play it loud. (:

Hah, and I’m done with the first mvmt. And I’m like quite tired, soo I shall continue with the rest of the piece some other time.

Larry (:

HCISO Violists23:37<3

Sunday 17 June 2007

The viola section outing has been canceled until further notice due to unpopular demand.

jia quan ):

HCISO Violists22:58<3

Thursday 14 June 2007

Bjorn's comments are in blue
Chay Choong's comments are in red

hi =P

I'm still not sure if i can make it for the outing, boo. but since i don't really have much to say, uhm i'd like to be a hypocrite and tell you all to practise =))

lets recap our sects session shall we, i think that was really fruitful but we've got a bloody lot to work on in one month. so.

E-sects session 1:
Volkmannnnnnnn serenade in C ( aka the piece we've perfed more than we praced)

Maestoso alla marcia

-The problematic first bar.
Accent the first note. Emphasize the dotted rhythm. make sure your open string's in tune -_- and get your hooked bowing right.
Use a chopping movement, meaning the first note of the beat should always be louder than the next one. For dummies, what i mean is for these few bars, long notes emphasise abit more, semiquavers emphasise abit less. =.=

-The problematic second bar.
refer to 'The problematic first bar'.
and also sustain the sound of the dotted rhythm and accents especially. Don't run out of enthusiasm and energy in the following bars.

-The problemactic third bar.
refer to 'The problematic second bar'.

+

loooooonnnggggg crotchets. elongate them, make them stand out from the rest of the short ones, and you'll be doing it together as an orch so it should be LOUD.

... okay bar 4. uhm double stopping is not recommended cos you've got to do some finger crossing and you need fat fingers to press two strings at once. and i bet you can't get your octaves right. BUT if you're pro, like larry, then its perfectly fine to demoralize your standpartner cos you can spam (:
but I recommend inside player play top two and... lol bjorn =.=

4th line, 3rd bar onwards
get the bowings correct, its down up-up down ... ... again, first note of the beat play with more emphasis

fifth line bar 3/start-of-the-messy-triplets-cos-we-dont-look-up-cos-we-dont-know-our-notes-bar.
solution is,
cross your fingers and hope you play properly.
mug at home. starting slow, den practise faster lol duh.. i dont need to teach you all how to practise -.- and also make sure intonation and rhythm is correct.

seventh line (bar 28 onwards)
emphasise on the pauses. last two notes make them long and sonorous, not like lukuan make it sound like elephant fart. Do not play these two notes like as if this whole thing ended, be prepared for the following movements. The audience and sense the mood of the players and IF you DO play like as if this piece ended, they MIGHT start clapping and your performance is ruined. (but i dun think there are such retarded ppl out there, a movement last for 1 min 13 sec?)

Un poco piu lento (a ittlelessmoreslowlythantheprevmvt /a littlemorelessslowlythentheprevmvt) go figure.

Take note of bowings, its, up down down up down down up down UP down-own. wdv.
don't split the dotted crotchet and the quaver.

bar before first time bar, take note of change in rhythm, messy playing there.

after repeat, play softly so nick can be heard, even if he's hidden by the stand.
yes nobody wants to hear you. (:
play softly by using the tip of your bow, no need to be too short like 1cm, use like 6 or 7 inches also can. using 1cm of your bow is too... just play soft and dont dig into the string like in dr yeo's lessons. and larry, dun spam, or else mr chan gonna pwn you again

Allegro Vivo (mvt-with-triplets-wilf-can't-get-right-AND-LARRY-DONT-LAUGH)

You start off with three open stringed Gs. open G strings. bah wdv. so make sure you're friggin in tune. anything more than a fifth apart from your standpartner means you're an average hciso violist, more than an octave and you suck.

so you gotta accent them. and then on the fourth note its an sf (suddenly forte). and no accents on that. so you make it long and accented.

then you go along accenting all notes which have accents (this sounds incredibly stupid but then again, hello, violists.) until you get to...

the note just before the rest, remember to play short and accented NOT soft.

4th bar 3rd line. play it short, long isn't always better.

5th line, 7th line.
.......- .. rhythm remember to play accurately. mug this part

so play as loud as you can until bar. 121. isit. dono my score has not bar nos here. its the 'badabadabambambadabababababababambam' part. watch out for the horribly messy bowings here, thanks to our late viola sl albert. (did that sound wrong)

and ACCENT THE RESTS. the quaver rests are really impt. really. make sure they're in tune.
and lift your bow high for some stunning visual effects. just make sure the whole section does it or you're going to look pretty retarded if you... forgetit.

and when you get to the repeating triplets, all of you need to stare at wilfred for a negative demonstration. and accent when marked (stupid and unneccessary again)

Andante sostenuto (themvtwhichREALLYkeepstheaudience'sattentionsustained. totally. wow.)

its okay to fall asleep, just sway together with the section.
zzz.
zz.
z.
mood is the most important factor in this piece. play the mood of the conductor. the mood sustains throughout, so although you play louder at 3rd - 4th lines, the mood isnt changing.

AND do remember to follow the dynamics, they are the main part of the melody. for a bad example try looking at lukuan when he comes back

3 bars before poco rit.
COUNT, why ppl still get this part wrong -.- dun understand leh.. maybe those ppl are true violists...
and guys? check out what does poco rit means. (hint, whenever u see this words "poco" or "rit", look at chan and you will never go wrong)

Maestoso alla Marcia (mvtwhereyouflipbacktothefrontcosthisonedoesnthavebowings)

bad case of dejavu, or what.
recover from the mood as fast as possible. DONT slow down on the second bar's long note.
As for the last two notes, play it with the feeling that this piece ended, unlike the first movement.

OKAY SO THATS IT YES IVE DUNNIT THANKYOU.
I'll get junhong to print this out and distribute it. and you can pay me for all my efforts in compiling all the utterly useful rubbish that was mentioned during pracs. and sects. more like sects.

I really should title this 'Volkmann serenade in C for HCISO violists' but then i think 'Volkmann serenade in C for dummies' is a whole lot better. Less text space without compromising on meaning eh.

Bjorn (duh) =)
Chay Choong (not so duh) =)

HCISO Violists23:50<3

hahaha! Chay Choong! You forgot to sign off lar. I tot Bjorn posted that at first lar. You tooot! haha the cutest toot ever! =) soo back to the point, the vila blog isn't as lively as i've expected sooo I shall juz spammmmm! mm.. luncheon meat! =PP hahaha kidding lar.. errr.. Are you all able to make it for outing next monday? probably juz watch a movie, picnic blahblah at Vivo bah..maybe we watch the sunset together also? but wun end very late lar, unless u al decide to stay later.. By all means! If u wan also can spam bjorn's hse! hahaha jking! PM me on msn or tag on this blog if u cannot make it, k?

Details:
Date: 18th June, Monday
Venue: VivoCity (most probably)
Time: afternoon arnd 2?
Things we'll be doing: movie, dinner, watch sunset and do whatever u all wan.. no bondings pls.
P.S: It's gd to bring an extra set of clothings becoz i cannot guarantee u wun get wet. Vivo has some swimming pool-like thingy (soo maybeee.. *coughcough* wet some ppl? =P)

larry (:

HCISO Violists17:49<3

Just want to share my crazy experience in Dr Yeo lessons. Dr Yeo told me that I'm his student who cancelled most lessons, and always turn up on his lessons unprepared. (I seriously have no idea how I managed to match Flirto and larry's pacing, hehe) I sincerely hope none of the juniors follow my example. Sec 3s, your Grade 3 exams are coming so work hard ok?

Here are some quotes I compiled

"If you practise everyday for at least an hour you would get a Distinction for Grade 3 easily"
-- Dr Yeo

"Use more bow and dig into the string"
-- Dr Yeo

"Practise your thrid position by matching your first and second fingers with the open strings!"
-- Dr Yeo

"You can walk into the examination room and sight-read Tambourine and get a distinction, so stop mugging Tambourine la, Zheng... If I catch you mugging Tambourine again during sectionals and fail to get at least a 25/30 in your exam I will personally ************************ you"
-- Bjorn

Chay :)

HCISO Violists13:58<3

Friday 8 June 2007

Hahahaha! decided to revive this blog! muahahaha.. After 5 hours of intense CPR, I have managed to revive this blog with a post from urs truly! =PP ohh.. I shall take this opportunity to ask ur opinions on a viola outing or chalet.. ookkk, hu wans something juz for the violas this hols, errrm pls raise ur hands? hahaha no lar.. respond in the tagboard or sms me or tell me whenever u see me.. =) ohh.. and zhao hong asked me to tell u all to have fun for the rest of ur hols! and the outing (if there is)

Last thing! violistssss! esp, sec 2s and 1s, giv me ur gmail, soo dat u can post on this very lively viola blog.. and i hate that autosave, kps lagging my com.. stupid!!!!!! hahaha.. bye~

larry

HCISO Violists22:57<3