Variations on a theme from Norma

[ryant]

Anyone ever work on this piece in the Arban book?

[BGuttman]

I'll confess that I worked on it, though I never got it into a level where I'd perform it in public. I couldn't figure out which aria it was based on, which made it more difficult to try to make into music.

Also, some of the variations were way beyond my abilities.

[ryant]

According to chatgpt, the actual theme used in the piece might not be from Norma at all.

[blast]

Casta Diva. Norma. Listen to Callas. Good tune, not so much the variations.

[harrisonreed]

Anyone ever work on this piece in the Arban book?

Yes

[ryant]

Casta Diva. Norma. Listen to Callas. Good tune, not so much the variations.

Yeah, I’ve been digging on that video on YouTube. Good stuff.

[ryant]

Anyone ever work on this piece in the Arban book?

Yes

Got any tips?

[harrisonreed]

Yes

Got any tips?

Sure, it's good to start by looking at the piece as a whole, and understanding the piano part.



The gestures in the variations are what is important, not the precision of every note -- the melody/theme has to come through.