Consort music is a conversation between musical minds, but when you’re in the midst of playing it’s hard enough to execute your part with certainty, much less to listen or speak musically to others at the same time. But it’s no wonder: we are managing the technical realities of playing the viol, often while sight reading an unfamiliar work, all while trying to expressively and intelligibly perform an often-dense polyphonic composition. Though this can feel overwhelming, below you’ll find some of my insights that have helped me organize the consort experience in a way that allows me to quickly make sense of it while enjoying myself and the music.