Beautiful Music to Learn by Rote, Book I: Viola Book

This book cuts through the false choice between drills and musicality by embedding technical work inside short, genuinely musical pieces. Viola students see the rote learning method as a permission to focus on sound and interpretation rather than decoding notation, which builds confidence and ownership of their playing.

These exercises feel like folk tunes and short character pieces rather than finger drills. The melodies are singable and memorable, designed to sit comfortably on the viola while remaining musically coherent and rewarding to play.

Beginning to early intermediate viola students who benefit from learning primarily by ear and repeated exposure. Teachers seeking a structured yet musical supplement to standard orchestra methods will find this book fills rehearsal and lesson time with purposeful material that reinforces ensemble repertoire.

• Listen to the intervallic relationships you're singing silently before you play them; rote learning rewards clear pitch visualization.
• Pay attention to how each exercise's shape guides your bow distribution; Applebaum's writing naturally teaches efficient phrasing.
• Play through the full book in sequence over weeks or months rather than jumping around; the cumulative progression strengthens both technical facility and musical memory.

Assign exercises as warm-up material before orchestra rehearsals or during private lessons to build facility between repertoire projects. The short, self-contained format makes it ideal for the first 5-10 minutes of rehearsal, establishing a consistent technical foundation across your viola section without sacrificing musical engagement.

• Aural memory and pitch retention through rote learning
• Tone quality and bow control on open strings and early positions
• Sight-singing ability when transposing exercises mentally
• Ensemble intonation awareness through repeated melodic shapes
• Musical phrasing and shape in simple contexts