JAVS Summer 2026

the recording, including playing the bass line, melody, counter melodies, and rhythmic accompaniment. Once you have explored these possibilities, create your project 1. Choose your song. 2. Experiment and improvise with the recording. 3. Identify a current technical goal and incorporate it into your warm-up. 4. Record a video of yourself playing with the original recording while focusing on the technical goal you identified. 5. Submit the recording along with a brief explanation of your technical focus and responses to the following questions: • What did you learn from this process? • How might this experience change the way you warm up in the future? Charles, a music minor who chose My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion, shared why he selected the song and how he incorporated specific viola goals into the project: I really enjoy this song because I love Celine’s voice and her music. This song in particular is one of my favorites because I love the instrumental background and the lyrics. It’s a beautiful song and is very heartfelt when knowing the history of the Titanic. I had a few goals that I had in mind: working on vibrato, shifting, intonation, smooth bow changes, getting used to playing/changing in different keys, and getting more sound (more in the string) out of my lower strings (C and G). With all of these goals in mind, I feel like this is a great song to incorporate all the above. For my video, I played along to the melody, Celine’s vocal part. By doing this, I can analyze my intonation. I tried to be as accurate as possible to be at the center of pitch. This is a slow song, and I tried to match Celine’s vibrato, which for this song it is pretty quick at most parts, but she does change it up a little, slowing it down, being inconsistent to add effect. This allowed me to experiment with my vibrato and explore out my comfort zone. As always, working on shifting is crucial for string success. I explored a little bit and played in half, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th position. In the beginning I started in first position and switched to half due to the chromatic step down in the key. In the chorus I went from 1st to 2nd to 3rd position using the “ghost shift” method. I think it’s perfect because this song is very soft and breathy for the most

part, so it adds a little effect as well. It helps with getting to the correct pitch on time. I am working on my bow hand to improve smoother bow changes and avoid ricochet. The song starts in E major = 4#’s then the climax of the song changes to F minor, so this allows me to explore shifting in other keys along with remembering how my hand frame should be in the keys. Finally, instead of using my higher strings at the climax (key change), I decided to play it a few octaves lower on my lower strings to practice being more in the string. In my jury piece Elegy , the majority is mostly on the C, G, and D strings, so this gives good practice by playing a song similar in feeling. Charles’s reflection highlights several important aspects of this project. First, it demonstrates a high level of awareness of his own playing and practice process, allowing me to better understand what he is prioritizing and why. Reflections such as these often provide valuable insight into students’ creativity and problem-solving while also offering me new perspectives as a teacher. One particularly interesting observation was Charles’s effort to match Celine Dion’s vibrato. Although we had worked extensively on vibrato development in lessons, I had never asked him to model his vibrato after a specific singer. The project encouraged him to make that connection independently. When assessing this assignment, I am interested in whether students can connect their warm-up activities to concepts and repertoire we are studying in lessons. For example, Charles incorporated the “ghost shift” technique we had been working on to promote ease, accuracy, and relaxation in shifting. I was delighted to see him applying that concept independently. He also connected the song to Glazunov’s Elegy , creating a meaningful bridge between popular and classical repertoire.

When reflecting on how the experience might change the way he warms up in the future, Charles wrote:

I learned a lot from this process by being able to know when, where, and how to shift on certain notes. I also learned that I tend to grip my viola, and it causes a little bit of a problem when shifting sometimes, so slow practice with ghost exercises is definitely something I will keep doing to free up my thumb a little bit. This experience will change the way I warm-up by incorporating all of these

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Journal of the American Viola Society / Vol. 42, Summer 2026 Online Issue