Swords at the ready! It’s time to duel in this driving work where strong accents ring out the sounds of slashing swords and precise pizzicato parallels the footwork of a fierce fencer. “On Guard!”

Educational Features:

I wrote this to be an accessible piece with limited range, but a lot of excitement and focus on articulation. The main goal is for students to match bow length, weight and speed for the various articulations that appear: detaché, marcato, accents and staccato. The tenuto notes should be played with long bow strokes – I imagine these notes as the swords slashing through the air. 

The melodies that contain half notes should be played with a very broad, full bow stroke. The staccato should be played with a light horizontal stroke rather than a super vertical one so it doesn’t become too crisp. 

In the pizzicato section encourage the students to breathe in rests to help with subdivision. I always like to imagine the fencers taking calculated almost dance-like steps in this section. 

Sorry in advance if your students start pretending their bows are swords…. Tell them I said to keep their “swords” on the string!

– Katie O’Hara LaBrie