Scaling Mount Pizzicato Cover Image

Scaling Mount Pizzicato: String Orchestra Conductor Score

$6.00 USD
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Scaling Mount Pizzicato Cover Image
Scaling Mount Pizzicato: String Orchestra Conductor Score

Scaling Mount Pizzicato: String Orchestra Conductor Score

By Mark Williams

Grade: 1

Item: 00-20711S
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Description
Using only quarter notes and a one-octave D major scale, this fun piece depicts the "two steps forward, one step backwards" approach typical in mountain climbing. Utilizing both loud and soft pizzicato, students move up and down the various scale patterns, providing great practice in an enjoyable musical setting. This piece correlates with page 23 of Strictly Strings, Book 1, and can be performed as soon as students have mastered their basic one-octave D major fingerings. An excellent first concert selection.

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Additional Details
Series: Highland/Etling Strictly Strings
Publisher: Alfred Music
Page Count: 8
UPC: 038081206226
SKU: 00-20711S

More about this title

About the Composer: Mark Williams

Mark Williams

Mark Williams built his reputation as a composer who understood exactly what school musicians needed to play. With over 200 published works and co-authorship of the Accent on Achievement Band Method, he shaped instrumental music education across the country. His work took him to 34 states, five Canadian provinces, and Australia as a clinician and guest conductor, always listening to what teachers and students faced in real rehearsal rooms.

Based in Washington State for most of his career, Williams taught elementary band while maintaining an active life as a bassoon performer and arranger for the 560th Air Force Band. He earned the Western International Band Clinic's Gralia Competition award and multiple ASCAP Special Awards for his compositions for band, orchestra, and choir. Beyond writing, he conducted the Spokane British Brass Band and brought the same clarity and musicality to every ensemble he touched.

Why we love this

This piece captures what makes early string repertoire work: it teaches something real while staying genuinely fun to play. The two-steps-forward-one-step-back concept gives students an immediate musical context for their scale work, and the contrast between loud and soft pizzicato keeps their ears engaged with every note. It's the kind of first concert piece that makes both students and parents remember why they wanted to play strings in the first place.

What to expect

Imagine watching someone cheerfully trudge uphill, making progress with each stride only to slip back slightly, then push forward again. The pizzicato keeps everything light and bouncy, never heavy or serious. It feels playful and approachable, like the music itself is smiling at the challenge.

Who it's for

This score works for any string orchestra program introducing first-year students to concert repertoire. It's equally valuable as a confidence builder for younger students who are still solidifying their basic fingerings and as a warm-up piece for more advanced ensembles.

How to get the most out of it

  • Balance the dynamics carefully between the loud and soft pizzicato sections. The contrast creates the comedy of the climb; muted volume changes flatten the effect.
  • Rehearse the scale movement in both directions separately before combining them. Students need confident fingers before they can shape the musical intent.
  • Let the ensemble settle into a comfortable tempo where the pizzicato articulation sits cleanly. Rushing here loses the playful character.

How to use it

Anchor this early in your first fall concert when you need a piece that builds confidence without requiring polished vibrato or complex rhythms. It also works beautifully as a standalone warm-up for any string orchestra rehearsal, keeping fingers active while reinforcing scale familiarity in D major.

Skills your students will build

  • Secure one-octave D major fingering patterns
  • Pizzicato articulation with control and clarity
  • Dynamic contrast between mezzo-forte and piano
  • Moving fluidly between ascending and descending scales
  • Reading quarter-note rhythms in unison and divisi texture

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