Deep Listening and Improvisation: Expanding Your Viola Practice Through Sound Awareness

This interactive workshop introduces violists to Pauline Oliveros’s “Deep Listening” technique and structured improvisation as tools for expanding artistic expression and enhancing practice effectiveness. Participants will engage in hands-on activities that demonstrate how mindful listening and guided improvisation can transform both individual practice and ensemble playing.

The session begins with foundational Deep Listening exercises designed to heighten sound awareness and environmental sensitivity. Participants will explore listening techniques that extend beyond traditional musical training, developing skills in sonic attention, acoustic space awareness, and responsive listening. These exercises do require instruments, but do invite them.

Moving into improvisation, the workshop builds on Deep Listening with frameworks that make improvisation accessible to violists at all levels. Through guided exercises, participants will practice melodic exploration, rhythmic variation, and textural experimentation within supportive parameters. These activities demonstrate how improvisation can enhance technical development, musical creativity, and performance confidence.
The workshop includes collaborative sound-making activities where participants create collective improvisations using their violas alongside voice and body percussion. These exercises illustrate how improvisation, and Deep Listening principles foster empathetic musical interaction and community building within ensemble settings.

Practical applications focus on integrating these techniques into daily practice routines, teaching scenarios, and performance preparation. Participants will learn specific exercises for developing improvisational skills, methods for incorporating Deep Listening into technical work, and strategies for creating inclusive musical environments.

All activities are designed to be immediately applicable, providing participants with concrete tools they can use in their studios, practice rooms, and performance contexts. The workshop welcomes violists from student to professional levels, emphasizing exploration and experiential learning over theoretical discussion.
Format: 40-minute interactive workshop plus 10-minute Q&A

Participants are highly encouraged to bring their violas, although not required.