150 Original Exercises in Unison for Band or Orchestra: Viola Book

This book strips away the distraction of harmonic complexity and focuses relentlessly on the fundamentals that struggling players actually need. Unison exercises force clean attacks, secure intonation, and rhythmic precision without requiring students to balance with other parts. It's the kind of direct pedagogical tool that makes sectionals genuinely productive.

Straightforward and functional. The writing is transparent, the focus is narrow, and the repetition is intentional. There's no struggle to hear yourself within a thick texture; you're building the foundation that makes everything else possible.

Viola players in beginning to intermediate band or orchestra programs who need targeted work on rhythm reading, meter comprehension, and ensemble togetherness. These exercises are equally useful in sectionals or as full-ensemble material when all violas play in unison.

• Establish a clear pulse before playing. These exercises live and die by steadiness, so conduct or use a metronome consistently.
• Pay attention to the written tempo markings and treat them as learning objectives, not suggestions. Gradual tempo increase builds confidence.
• Use the warm-up and scale exercises to diagnose individual problems before moving to the rhythmic material. Listen for tone quality and intonation first.
• Work through the division-of-measure exercises slowly enough that every student can track the conductor's beat clearly. Rushing defeats the purpose.

Begin rehearsals with these exercises to sharpen rhythmic accuracy and intonation before tackling repertoire. The scale and warm-up sections work especially well at the start of the season or when introducing a new meter or tempo concept.

• Reading and executing rhythmic divisions within measures
• Maintaining steady tempo across varying time signatures
• Accurate pitch matching and intonation in a unison context
• Clear articulation and note attacks
• Scale fluency and finger patterns
• Following a conductor's beat with precision