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Abstract
Students undergo significant physical transformations during adolescence. As a result, it becomes critical to readdress and explore stance, setup, and positioning with learners who are now navigating a new and potentially challenging anatomy. This process is of particular importance to students who perform the viola, as the nature of a relatively large instrument that is positioned against the neck, as opposed to the ground, poses intense challenges relating to center of gravity and balance for even the most experienced performers. Adolescent students are still motivated to move forward in repertoire and technical studies, and the pursuit of more challenging concert selections provides indispensable benefits to musical and cognitive development. As a result, teachers are challenged to find ways to reteach (albeit at a higher level) fundamental skills to the adolescent violist in the context of advancing repertoire. This paper aims to show a potential methodology and sequencing to concept exploration relating to balance, stance, and positioning that can be derived from the typical repertoire encountered and studied during adolescence. The repertoire selected is from the conventional canon of western art music, however the concepts can be applied across a spectrum of musical traditions.