u/doodlepuppi

Hello! I’ve played viola for almost 6 years now and I’ve improved somewhat, but with my orchestra we sort of stay in the same place, as in pieces rotate every year. For example, I have a piece I played in 6th grade now in my senior year of highschool to play again. Of course some new songs are added that can be somewhat difficult but I’m honestly sick of staying in the same exact skill level for so long, this past year I had to ask to do my own piano parts to give me something more to do other than play the same songs on viola. This summer with so much free time I want to use it to the best I can by practicing my instruments and I’m unsure of where to start with viola. Do I use Suzuki books or should I try something else entirely? I want to be more than prepared for orchestra as well as actually have fun with it because I’m finding playing the same songs over my years at my school very stagnant and repetitive. Thank you for any help!!

Hello! A couple of months ago my piano teacher had to stop lessons all together, this meant I was left alone to learn two pieces for my school orchestra. I was able to successfully teach myself both of them with many adjustments, but now I’m in summer and I’m hoping to try to improve my overall skill on piano because I feel like even with lessons I haven’t progressed that much — it was mainly just picking the piece I wanted to do and learning that, and repeating from there for each year. Doing that was fun, but with so much free time now I feel I want to get a better grip on piano as a whole.

My main question is where do I start and what resources should I use? For a bit of a reference of where my skill may be, I was most recently on piano adventures level 4, and I’ve been able to tackle some pieces like duet from Omori, Nocturne Interlude by Laufey, and Path of the Wind from My Neighbor Totoro to name a few assorted pieces I’ve chosen. I especially want to focus on classical music for the piano and to maybe even memorize them, but I don’t want to get stuck on one piece for too long and not progress with any technique practice in between or not improve overall piano skill. I hope this is clear!! If there’s anything I need to clarify more please ask, thank you!!