Elisabeth Ohly-Davis
Orchestra
Orchestra & Music Technology
Northview Middle School
Indianapolis, Indiana
Rounding Out The Orchestra Curriculum With Solo Literature
Reprinted From Indiana Musicator
3) If possible, use the same piece for each instrument, such as a selection
U
sing an anonymous letter, my eighth grade students recent-
ly accused me of discriminating against instruments that do
from a method book enhancer like Strictly Classics by John O’Reilly.
not play the first violin part. They insisted that they were not
4) Expand your concept of the “Solo Wall” to include solo music that also
given enough “good parts” to play, otherwise known as the melody. While
doubles as duets or small ensembles, such as Fiddler’s Philharmonic by
I make a conscious effort to select music that passes the melody from part
Andrew Dabczynski and Robert Phillips.
to part, or features a particular non-violin section prominently, the first vio-
5) Present a wide variety of repertoire choices that match your teaching
lins still usually get the lion’s share of material that is perceived by my stu-
objectives, your favorite styles, or the styles in which the students have
dents as more interesting. Additionally, the high number of violin students
expressed interest. For example, my Level 2 Violin folder offers a piece
sometimes inspires a select few students to think that it is easy to hide lack
of classical music from Strictly Classics, a Disney movie selection, and
of technique or practice, thus demanding more attention from the direc-
a fiddle tune.
tor. Consequently the teacher must often spend more time with the vio-
The following solos are only the most basic ideas that I recently select-
lins, even if the melody is distributed equally.
ed from my filing cabinets to start this project. Selections marked with an
The interaction taught me two things. First, I was not doing an ade-
asterisk have a CD accompaniment available for purchase.
quate job explaining the role of each section. The expectations of these
1) Suzuki Violin (Viola, Cello Bass) School* Volumes 1-3 by Shinichi
eighth graders seemingly remained that of beginning sixth graders who
Suzuki (AlfredlSummy B irchard) Caution: Suzuki method for bass
played everything in unison. Thus, many discussions regarding the role
begins in position. The techniques may not match your ideas for
and importance of inner voices and bass lines ensued. Included in these dis-
beginning players based an their experience with a classroom method
cussions were the challenges of tuning an inner part, successfully balancing
book.
chords, and learning to listen across the orchestra for more than just the
2) Solos for the Young Violinist (Violist)* arranged by Barbara Barber
melody. During class, students began marking the melody sections in their
(Alfred/Summy Birchard)
music to get a visual representation of how much melody the composer
3) Solos for the Young Cellist* arranged by Carey Cheney (Alfred)
had allotted them. More importantly, their new understanding of the inner
4) Progressive Repertoire for the Double Bass* by George Vance (Carl Fischer)
parts and bass lines gave them a deeper sense of responsibility for execut-
5) Fiddlers Philharmonic* by Andrew Dabczynski and Robert Phillips
ing the remaining non-melody excerpts with care and pride.
(Alfred)
Secondly, even though my job description is to teach “orchestra,”
6) Jazz Philharmonic* by Randy Sabien and Robert Phillips (Alfred)
which is inherently group-oriented, I needed to do something to help me
7) Mariachi Philharmonic* by Nieto, an, Phillips (Alfred)
retain the interest of all melody-hungry students. Ordinarily, I would rec-
8) Disney Solos for Violin (Viola, Cello)*, various composers (Hal Leonard)
ommend that students take private lessons, the preferred venue for study-
9) Strictly Classics, Volume 1 & 2 by John O’Reilly (Highland/Etling)
ing solo literature. However, the increasing numbers of students in my pro-
10) Christmas Kaleidoscope, Books 1 & 2 by Robert Frost (Neil A Kjos)
gram who qualify for free and reduced lunch corresponds to the decreas-
11) Flex Ability Holiday* arr. Lopez (Alfred)
ing number of students who can afford private lessons. This led me to
Finally, it is very important to communicate with students from
create the “Solo Wall,” a bulletin board in the orchestra room that features
which level they should select music. In general, a first-year player should
diverse solo suggestions for approximately three levels of playing ability.
only look at the contents of the Level I folder. Likewise, students progress-
My initial goal for the “Solo Wall” was to distribute music to the stu-
ing properly in their second and third years of study should be able to
dents as quickly as possible, with as little effort as possible on my part.
master the Level 2 and 3 solo selections. However, teachers should make a
However, those of you doing the math already realize that this project is
list of students who are above and below the recommended levels and per-
daunting. Four instruments, times three levels of playing ability, times
sonally talk to those students to discuss their level.
three different selections per instrument/level equals twelve folders of
Besides a “Solo Wall”, there are other opportunities to bring the
music suggestions containing a total of thirty-six pieces. To make the load
melody to all sections of the orchestra. Orchestrations for certain popular
of the director lighter, the key is keeping the selection process simple:
beginning solos are readily available. Music notation software, like Sibelius
1) Use easy-to-access solo sources like the Suzuki books.
and Finale, allows teachers to arrange the piano accompaniment of a solo
2) Select solo methods that include a recording. The recording will help the
that a whole section of students can perform together, or write out the
student learn how it sounds without having to rely on the teacher to
melody for all orchestra sections. Finally, one can teach students how to
play it for him/her.
notate and compose their own melodies.
TEMPO 20 MAY 2009
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