It's just no good! It won't sink in!

I've just sat down at the piano and tried to play through some of the melodies from the viola book and I just can't think of the notes! My brain is struggling to go back into treble clef!

What am I going to do?

I can read the music when I'm playing the viola because I just relate the notes to the positions on the fingerboard, but I'm not actually thinking of the name of the note that I'm playing!!!!!!

I'm so sick! How can I make it go into my brain?

I never had this problem with Bass Clef. What's the matter with me? I even have the Alto scale written out and posted onto my kitchen cupboard as a memory jog when I'm making tea several times a day, but still nothing is working!

Boo Hoo

Um - am I missing something? Why do you need to play alto clef melodies on the piano?

I don't think you need to be able to play them on the piano, do you? Just be happy that you can do it on your viola!

Alternately if you're interested in getting to grips with it and knowing what the notes are by looking at the stave, in France we use things called Manuels d'étude des clés (clef reading manuals) which are full of exercices, firstly with no rhythm, where you have to say the note name whilst looking at the score, then with rhythm as well. They begin with four notes only and then gradually add the surrounding ones until it's all easy to read fluently.

I use Dandelot : Manuel Pratique pour l'étude des clés when I'm teaching and I also used it to get comfortable with alto clef.

I could scan a small part of it for you to look at and decide if it would help if you like - only a page or two to avoid copyright problems, but it would give you enough of an idea as to whether it was worth buying it.

Allan

No, I'm playing them on the piano just to get a feel for the melody and to try and start to actually see the notes as named notes rather than just positions on the viola fingerboard.

If I see an E on the stave, my brain is still seeing it as a D in treble clef. How do I actually train my brain to see it as an E?

I could scan a small part of it for you to look at and decide if it would help if you like - only a page or two to avoid copyright problems, but it would give you enough of an idea as to whether it was worth buying it.

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thanks, that would be helpful Allan

And that's all you need it for. Do not worry, that's all just fine. You'll never really need alto with piano, so just accept it as viola clef. As for all the fancy transcription methods to help one 'get to grips' with it, (by which I mean the 'I remember it by thinking it's on suich and such a line of so and so clef), don't bother with those either. Just get used to using it in context and let the rest go, at least for the time being.=)

If you're so urgent to play out melodies on piano, you could transcribe them into treble first (good prcatise!!) or just take it slowly and steadily. Perhaps read teh note out as you play it, or better yet, just play/pluck it slowly on your viola.

I guess , it's just that there's times when my teacher's discussing bits of the music 'n' stuff and she'll say the name of the note and there's me standing there trying to find it on the stave!!! I feel so silly I have admitted to her that I get muddled up and she said not to worry. I'm just finding it a bit frustrating I suppose.

I guess it's all just part of the charm of learning the viola

Hi Echelon, I've Pm'd you.

She's right not to worry. It'll come in time and with practise - just like any other branch of knowledge or other skill. I do sympathise though as, let's face it, when we first take the new instrument out of its box, we want to be able to play our favourite DipAB level pieces AT ONCE! If nothing else teaches patience, music sure does!!!

Reading from Clefs other than Treble and Bass is a useful skill at the piano. Like everything else it comses with slow practice.

Knowing the names of the notes is not necessary in order to play them on the viola, but it is an essential part of rehearsing in an ensemble. What do you do when the conductor, your section principal or your chamber music coach says, "Are you playing a D in that bar? it should be a D#."?

Any viola player should want to play in a string quartet or quintet. Even if s/he doesn't, a pressing invitation is bound to arrive, competent viola players being rather like gold dust.

Don't know if this is any use. I bought a book of folk tunes, most of which I knew already, but transcribed for viola in the alto clef. I stopped piano,for 3 months and just played from the viola music, and that seemed to work .
Going back to the piano was OK , and now there are 3 clefs that I'm familiar with,
You just have to go for it,
Good luck
Rebecca

Yeah, I have stopped piano for the time being.