The Viol Rules

It is more than thirty years since Alison Crum wrote her first seminal book Play the Viol. The Viol Rules is a detailed analysis drawn from many years of teaching the viol in music colleges, universities and on courses around the world, updating and expanding on many of the topics first discussed in Play the Viol.

The Viol Rules is not intended as a complete tutor for the viol, but rather a reflection and enlargement based on many years of teaching experience. There are multiple music examples, with explanatory text on a facing page so that technique and interpretation can be instantly cross referenced to the music.

There are a number of full colour illustrations, including details taken from historical works of art, as well as humorous sketches to enliven the matters dealt with in the text.



The principal chapters are:

Basics – Holding the viol, Left hand position, Holding the bow, Moving the bow.

Bowing – Bow speed, Pressure and weight, Distance from the bridge, Starting a note, Bow changes, Bow direction, Bow distribution, Dotted notes, String crossing, Articulation, Phrasing.

Fingering – Resonance, Fingering choices, Playing in higher positions.

Music Examples – from works by Byrd, Tye, Purcell, Lawes, Jenkins, Ward, Gibbons, Holborne, Mundy, Locke, Ferabosco, Ravenscroft, Buxtehude, Marais,Telemann.

Preparing to Play - Equipment, Practising, The well-tempered consort, Solo playing



There is a list of treatises and sources, a selection of web pages to visit, a glossary of terms used and an index.

148 pages. Price £20.00 plus postage.

This book was published on 13th November 2009 at the Greenwich International Early Music Festival and Exhibition. The second edition was published in January 2015 and the third edition in July 2023

ISBN- 978-0-9528220-4-2

The Viol Rules has now been translated into French.

Alison says: The first edition of 1,000 copies sold out in November 2014, and in January 2015 I produced a second edition of my book, correcting a few small mistakes, and changing a few bits of wording.

I am still keen to hear from anyone who has comments on any points which do not seem as clear as they might be, so please do write and tell me, and I can try to improve them in future editions.

Please email me with page and paragraph references where appropriate.

Errata: One small mistake has been discovered in the musical examples section in the 2015 edition, on page 105. The three exercises should be numbered 18, 19 and 20, as they are for the text on p104.