String Crossings in the Second Movement of Telemann’s Viola Concerto

String crossings in stringed instrument playing are vital as it is one of the characteristics in the most classical repertoire. Telemann’s Viola Concerto, specifically the second movement, requires the technique of string crossing. This study examines the characteristics of the string crossing technique in the said piece and determines how the method is performed. Data for this study was gathered through interviews and sought to obtain information on how violists interpret and perform the work. The outcome revealed various views among four violists who participated in the study. Keywords: String Crossings; Technique; Viola; Telemann eISSN: 2398-4287© 2022. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians/Africans/Arabians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI

The Chaconne for Solo Violin by J. S. Bach: A Performance Guide

Abstract As one of the most important solo pieces in the violin repertoire, the Chaconne has inspired and tested numerous violinists on the road to violin mastery. It is not only the longest single movement of the unaccompanied violin works by J. S. Bach, but it also presents a variety of technical and musical challenges. Each section of the Chaconne varies in the required bowing and fingering techniques. This document will focus on intonation, string crossings, chords, memorization, and dynamics. This study focuses on helping violinists to find solutions for technical challenges when playing the Chaconne. I have collected ideas and suggestions from scholars and performers and combined them with my own insight as a violinist to write this document. I am hoping to provide a unique view for those who wish to comprehend and successfully perform the piece. Wei-yu Chang Lawrence, Kansas April 201

The Sequential Method: An Analysis of Robert Jesselson’s Cello Pedagogy

Dr. Robert Jesselson has made significant professional contributions as a cello performer and music educator. His pedagogical approaches are innovative in helping students overcome technical problems, building good work habits, instilling self- discipline, addressing kinesthetic issues, and improving practice techniques. His Sequential Method involves a systematic and logical progression of technical exercises, scale systems, etudes and repertoire. It is unique in its applications for teaching and learning left and right hand techniques, building a progression of etudes which address technical and musical issues and working through the cello repertoire in an organized and meaningful manner that is appropriate to the playing level of the student. This dissertation explores Dr. Jesselson’s approach to cello pedagogy, technique, warm-ups and exercises. It also addresses issues such as memorization, coordination, concentration, sight reading and musicality. Finally, Dr. Jesselson’s contributions to music education in the United States are reviewed. Musical instrument pedagogy is often based on the oral tradition. Over time, vital details can be lost. This study codifies Dr. Jesselson’s teaching philosophy in a written document that will help cello teachers improve their teaching methods and will interest students seeking to improve their understanding of cello technique. Additionally, it documents Dr. Jesselson’s contributions from his over 38 years of teaching at the University of South Carolina, including the effect his teaching has had on teachers and the level of cello playing in South Carolina and in the region

Emergent Spacetime in Stochastically Evolving Dimensions

Changing the dimensionality of the space-time at the smallest and largest distances has manifold theoretical advantages. If the space is lower dimensional in the high energy regime, then there are no ultraviolet divergencies in field theories, it is possible to quantize gravity, and the theory of matter plus gravity is free of divergencies or renormalizable. If the space is higher dimensional at cosmological scales, then some cosmological problems (including the cosmological constant problem) can be attacked from a completely new perspective. In this paper, we construct an explicit model of "evolving dimensions" in which the dimensions open up as the temperature of the universe drops. We adopt the string theory framework in which the dimensions are fields that live on the string worldsheet, and add temperature dependent mass terms for them. At the Big Bang, all the dimensions are very heavy and are not excited. As the universe cools down, dimensions open up one by one. Thus, the dimensionality of the space we live in depends on the energy or temperature that we are probing. In particular, we provide a kinematic Brandenberger-Vafa argument for how a discrete {\it causal set}, and eventually a continuum $(3+1)$-dim spacetime along with Einstein gravity emerge in the Infrared from the worldsheet action. The $(3+1)$-dim Planck mass and the string scale become directly related, {\it without any} compactification. Amongst other predictions, we argue that LHC might be blind to new physics even if it comes at the TeV scale. In contrast, cosmic ray experiments, especially those that can register the very beginning of the shower, and collisions with high multiplicity and density of particles, might be sensitive to the dimensional cross-over.Comment: Published in Phys.Lett. B739 (2014) 117-12

A practical guide to twentieth-century violin etudes with performance and theoretical analysis

This document is a partial catalog of what is readily available to violinists for studies relating to twentieth-century repertoire. More studies in this area exist throughout the world, so those presented here are intended merely as a starting point. The document also contains factual information about the studies, as well as performance and theoretical analysis and biographical information about the composers. This information is designed to serve a variety of purposes. The factual and biographical information may be used by the violinist to choose appropriate etudes for himself/herself or a student. Later, the in-depth analysis will assist players throughout the process of practicing and perfecting the studies. The theoretical and compositional analysis may be of some use to non-violinists who are interested in the music of these composers, as well. The project presents studies by twenty-two different composers from Germany, Belgium, Italy, America, Greece, Slovenia, Croatia, Russia, Switzerland, and Austria. Of the one hundred and sixty-nine etudes included, seventy-six are analyzed individually. The works cover most of the major stylistic trends of the twentieth century and span the years 1926-1993. The information is mostly pragmatic in nature and is easily adopted into the daily teaching and practicing routine of the violinist. More importantly, it intends to open violinists to the notion of preparing for the repertoire of the twentieth century with the same standard of excellence that has been applied to the repertoire of the previous two centuries

The Ten Violin Concertos of Charles-Auguste De Beriot: A Pedagogical Study.

Charles-Auguste de Beriot (1802-70) was a Belgian violinist, composer, and teacher. He was trained in his youth in Belgium and in the early 1820s travelled to Paris and studied briefly with the noted teacher Pierre Baillot at the Paris Conservatoire. He then embarked upon a solo career and from 1829 to 1836 he toured with the famed opera singer Maria Malibran, whom he married in 1836. In 1842, after declining an offer to replace Baillot at the Paris Conservatoire, Beriot accepted a position at the Brussels Conservatoire. He remained there until his retirement due to failing eyesight in 1852, and continued to compose until his death. Beriot was the founder of the Franco-Belgian school of violin playing and composition, which was a combination of the French style and the new virtuosic style that was initiated by Paganini. Beriot was an influential figure in the development of the nineteenth-century virtuoso violin concerto, a genre that was continued by such composers as Ernst, Vieuxtemps (Beriot\u27s student), and Wieniawski. The ten concertos of Beriot span his creative output, the first being opus 16 and the last opus 127. Because Beriot\u27s concertos were well-known in the nineteenth century, and because later composers expanded upon his ideas, the ten concertos serve as excellent preparatory works for the standard Romantic repertoire. The monograph consists of a short biography of Beriot, with historical background to the concertos and dates of publication of a number of editions. The ten concertos are then examined in detail, especially from a technical standpoint. The final chapter demonstrates the ways in which Beriot\u27s concertos can serve as preparatory material, by comparing the ten concertos with those of Bruch, Ernst, Mendelssohn, Saint-Saens, Vieuxtemps, and Wieniawski