Charles Dancla (1817-1907) is considered to be the last great representative of the French Violin School. He was a composer, solo violinist at the Paris Opera and professor at the Paris Conservatoire and wrote numerous educational works for violin, including his well-known three-volume work Little School of Melody'. He knew, in a unique way, how to implement the principle 'no music without technique, no technique without music' in his teaching material. This is the case in his easy melodic studies Op. 84 which are available here in an arrangement for viola for the first time. These studies are perfectly suited for young beginners after the second year, but also for adult players, false beginners or those switching instruments. Most of them can be effectively used as little performance pieces, providing an excellent foundation for every advanced etude or concert piece.
Each study is preceded by new or revised exercises which either deal with specific problems relating to the playing technique, like change of string, spiccato, martele, chromaticism, change of position, octaves, or double stops, or present the tonal material of the respective study in a condensed, playful form.
Those who prefer Dancla's somewhat easier original preliminary exercises will find them in the appendix.
A little dictionary of the musical and technical terms in this volume shall make their meaning accessible to young players in particular.

German.

This volume of studies is intended not only as a supplement to the ".Viola Method". but also, in the coise and varying difficulties of its contents, to be of value to every student of the Viola.
These studies which have been extracted from the multitude of excellent etudes for the Violin for their varying technical problems have been chosen with special regard for their suitability to the Viola. The order in which the student works at these studies is left to his, or his teacher's discretion, and therefore as it is not proposed that the book is worked through from beginning to end but that each technical problem is overcome by the most suitable exercise.
Unklike hitherto existing collections the technique of the instrument is divided under 7 main headings.
As the bowing exercises are in no way exhaustive space has been left for the student or teacher to devise his own.

Song List: Red-Tailed Boa (A minor) Green Iguana (C major) Saw-Scaled Viper (E minor) Red Factor Canary (G major) Funereal Dusky-Wing Butterfly (B minor) American Crocodile (D major) Gorgon Copper Butterfly (F-sharp minor) Steller's Sea Eagle (A major) Lembert's Green Hairstreak (C-sharp minor) Lord Darby's Scaly-Tailed Squirrel (E major) Giant Pangolin (G-sharp minor) Freshwater Crocodile (B major) Blowfish (D-sharp minor) Cuban Crocodile (F-sharp major) Rainbow Sardine (B-flat minor) Musky Rat-Kangaroo (D-flat major) Great White Shark (F minor) Blue Scaled Quail (A-flat major) Brahminy Blind Snake (C minor) Tokay Gecko (E-flat major) Neon Damselfish (G minor) Pel's Flying Squirrel (B-flat major) Cloudless Sulphur Butterfly (D minor) Cameroon Scaly Tail Squirrel (F major) Sanford's Sea Eagle (A-flat major) False Coral Snake (D minor) Black-Bellied Pangolin (G minor) Round Sardinella (B-flat major) Northern Bobwhite (A major