Studies for the Intermediate Violist: Viola Book

Direct and purposeful. Adams avoids ornamental flourishes in favor of clear technical challenges that reveal exactly where a student's playing needs refinement. The music feels honest about the work ahead.

Intermediate violists working toward consistency in both tone production and rhythmic accuracy. These studies serve students who have moved past early fundamental exercises and are ready to tackle the specific demands of Grade 3 repertoire.

• Isolate one study at a time and work through it slowly before attempting tempo. Rushing these pieces masks the intonation issues they're designed to expose.
• Pay close attention to string crossings, as they often reveal unstable bow control that faster practice can hide.
• Use the viola's natural resonance by allowing notes to ring slightly longer than notation might suggest, especially in slower passages.

Assign individual studies as technical preparation before rehearsals of main repertoire, or use them in sectionals to build uniformity across multiple violists. They work well as warm-up material when a section needs focused practice on a specific challenge.

• Reading and playing in multiple viola clefs with fluency
• Consistent intonation across string changes
• Even tone production at varying dynamic levels
• Rhythmic accuracy with mixed note values
• Bow control and pressure management in scalar passages