Solo Project
You will be required to choose and work on a solo as a part of participating in orchestra. The second standard from the Academic Music Standards states “All students will play, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.”
In meeting this standard to play alone you will also be asked to work towards standards 5, 6, 7, and 9 by completing the study questions found below.
The time line for this project is as follows:
By Nov. 26th – Select piece and finish question 1.
1. Title of solo. ___________ Composer ______
Why did you select this piece? (5 pts)
How does this piece fit your current abilities? (5 pts)
How will this piece challenge you to be a better musician? (5 pts)
By Dec. 7th – Complete question 2 and 3.
2. Research biographical information that will influence your preparation of this piece.
a. Composer ______________________________ Born __________ Died __________(2 pts)
b. Period of music s/he composed during ______________________________________ (2 Pts)
c. Style Characteristics (3 Pts): ___________________________________________________
d. Other interesting/useful information (3 Pts): ______________________________________
3. Find all the foreign and musical terms in your composition. List and define them here and in your solo.
If there are two or more words together (as “poco a poco accelerando”) look up all words and define. (5 Pts)
a. ____________________ __________________________________________________
b. ____________________ __________________________________________________
c. ____________________ __________________________________________________
d. ____________________ __________________________________________________
e. ____________________ __________________________________________________
f. ____________________ __________________________________________________
g. ____________________ __________________________________________________
h. ____________________ __________________________________________________
i. ____________________ __________________________________________________
j. ____________________ __________________________________________________
By Dec. 14th – Complete question 4 and 5.
4. This piece is written in what key(s)? (All the keys of your piece may not be indicated by key signatures but may also occur
through the use of accidentals, look carefully. 5 Pts)
a. Measure 1 - ____ are in the key of ______________________________
b. Measures ____ - ____ are in the key of __________________________
c. Measures ____ - ____ are in the key of __________________________
d. Measures ____ - ____ are in the key of __________________________
e. Measures ____ - ____ are in the key of __________________________
f. Measures ____ - ____ are in the key of __________________________
g. Measures ____ - ____ are in the key of __________________________
h. Discuss fingering issues for each key in your piece (i.e. where are the low vs. high fingerings, diagram out your strings and
where the notes are on each string. 5 Pts) _______________________________________________________________
Graph the fingerings for your piece showing where the half and whole steps are.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
5. What meter or meters are used in you piece? ____________________________________ (2 Pts)
Are there any tricky rhythms? Write them out and put in counting under them. (3 Pts)
By Dec. 21st – Complete question 6 and 7.
6. What bowings/articulations do you anticipate having to work on? How will you work them out? (5 Pts)
Identify technical passages that you will need to work on and how you will tackle them in your practice.
(E.g. shifting, string crossings, fast fingerings, tricky rhythms, etc) (10 Pts)
Measure _____ - _____ Technical issue ____________ Strategy _____________________________________________
Measure _____ - _____ Technical issue ____________ Strategy_____________________________________________
Measure _____ - _____ Technical issue ____________ Strategy_____________________________________________
Measure _____ - _____ Technical issue ____________ Strategy_____________________________________________
Measure _____ - _____ Technical issue ____________ Strategy_____________________________________________
7. Write a goal for yourself regarding what you want to achieve working on this solo. Make sure it is a SMART goal. (S-specific, M-measurable, A-achievable, R-reasonable, T-time specific) (10 Pts)
By Jan 17th – Complete question 8.
8. Draw a map of your piece. Your map should clearly show the form of the piece including sections, key changes (if any), and dynamics. Include measure numbers for reference. (10 Pts)
By March 20th – Complete question 9.
9. At the completion of your study, think about the process you have gone through. Write an essay explaining how you studied and worked on your piece. Give a detailed narrative of the process. Evaluate how you did in preparation for your piece, whether or not you achieved your goal, what you found most challenging about the process, and what you might do differently next time. (20 Pts)