On Shadowboxing And Viola Performance

Viola, as a familiar Occident musical instrument, plays a very important role in a band. It is a necessity for viola players to get sufficient practice not only in playing skills but also in the interpretation of the works. However, as for most people, merely counting on painstaking practice does not ensure quick improvement, not to mention a high achievement. Based on the summarization of his own learning and teaching experience, the author finds that the practice of shadowboxing, a kind of gentle and soft sports which accords totally with the physiological law, helps the viola executants in their performance of the music works.This paper consists of three chapters. After an introduction to music and popular sports and an analysis of the reciprocity between them from a general point of view in chapter one, the second chapter, while carrying out a study of viola executants' physiological mechanism (including kinematical system, neurological system, aspiratory system and cardiovascular system), psychological enginery (including the mental quality for performance and music sensitivity), and other aspects, pays special attention to the benefits shadowboxing can offer them. Chapter three concerns the viola players' re-creation competence, and proposes that an appropriate combination of the form and artistic conception of shadowboxing can help raise their re-creation competence.To sum up, the author believes that shadowboxing benefits viola executants both bodily and mentally. Every viola players can take benefits from appropriate practicing of shadowboxing by applying the form and artistic conception of it into the playing and practicing of viola. Constant shadowboxing practicing can make viola players more healthy and energetic, which in turn ensures the complete performance of the works. Shadowboxing, as a part of the essence of traditional Chinese culture, is worth further exploration and combination by our viola players.