Crum: The Viol Rules
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Simply the best book for beginner viol players, this ring-bound book tells you everything you need to know to get started on the viol, with numerous examples and handy tips.
There are multiple music examples, with explanatory text on a facing page so that technique and interpretation can be instantly cross referenced to the music. There are a number of full colour illustrations, including details taken from historical works of art, as well as humorous sketches to enliven the matters dealt with in the text.
The principal chapters:
Basics – Holding the viol, Left hand position, Holding the bow, Moving the bow. Bowing – Bow speed, Pressure and weight, Distance from the bridge, Starting a note, Bow changes, Bow direction, Bow distribution, Dotted notes, String crossing, Articulation, Phrasing.
Fingering – Resonance, Fingering choices, Playing in higher positions.
Music Examples – from works by Byrd, Tye, Purcell, Lawes, Jenkins, Ward, Gibbons, Holborne, Mundy, Locke, Ferabosco, Ravenscroft, Buxtehude, Marais,Telemann. Preparing to Play - Equipment, Practising, The well-tempered consort, Solo playing. There is a list of treatises and sources, a selection of web pages to visit, a glossary of terms used and an index. 148 pages.