So, my new set of Soundcloud demos consists of (in the order of the playlist):

• a Classical viola movement (the only one with any accompaniment)
• a Baroque (specifically, Bach) violin movement
• a folk fiddle hornpipe set
• a jazz ballad
• a sort of klezmer speeding-up rhapsodic take on two Irish reels, played on viola

Now I would have expected their popularity to be roughly in that order, perhaps with the Bach above the viola piece as Bach and specifically the unaccompanied string pieces are much better known than Carl Stamitz’s viola and piano sonatas (though, for the record, they and he deserve wider recognition. I might write a post or two on Stamitz in future); and with the last two in indifferent order, since 7-minute solo violin jazz ballads and solo viola trans-European folk cross-fertilisations are about equally obscure.

However, here are the stats to date:

• Stamitz Allegro: 6 plays, 2 likes
• Bach Presto: 2 plays
• hornpipes: 4 plays, 1 like
• Come Sunday: 3 plays, 1 like, 1 repost, 1 download
• reels: 6 plays, 2 likes

Obviously the main conclusion is that this is too small a sample to draw any conclusions, but it’s tempting to draw two others:

• The unusual has more draw than the already popular.
• You don’t know what’s going to work with any audience without pushing a load of different things out and seeing what works.

Happy New Year!