Learning and Practicing the Violin
From the monthly archives:
In Part 6 we looked upon our almost standard shift, sliding upwards on our last played finger. Obviously, as I already wrote here, there is an exception to this rule.
Today we’ll apply this in our Mendelssohn Concerto. For our example I chose the second movement, measures 31 and 32. I left the original fingering of [...]
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Before we proceed with our shifting techniques I’d like to provide some photos how to cope with higher positions on the violin because there are some significant differences between lower (1. to 4.) and higher (>5.) positions.
Perhaps you remember our left hand geometry we talked about in part 3. Our hand should look like this [...]
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Today we’ll have a look into the first measures of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in e Minor. I took the original fingering by Igor Oistrach. Sometimes his fingering is a bit difficult to play because he had huge hands, but in this case it’s absolutely playable by people with normal sized fingers.
We begin with the second [...]
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For many people Jascha Heifetz presents the reference, the commendation when it comes to bowing technique and intonation. Indeed, only few violinists have achieved his level of perfection, even nowadays.
Here you see a video of Vieuxtemps’ Violin Concerto No.4 in d Minor, played by Jascha Heifetz:
Well, probably that was not exactly what you have expected. [...]
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We shouldn’t always shift upwards on the last played finger. There is one exception that is very important for reasons of sound.
Let’s have a look again at our example we had in part 3 and concentrate on bar 3 and 4:
If we perform our shift like the others we would slide on the last finger, [...]
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People ask me pretty often what is the best way to adjust the shoulder rest. In this article I’ll try to shed light upon this topic.
Although there are several manufacturers of shoulder rests the systems resemble each other frequently. I did the photos with the Kun Voce.
We attach the rest in a neutral position:
The shoulder [...]
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The Czech violinist Otakar Sevcik wrote numerous exercises about bowing techniques, double stops and shifts as well. Interesting for us is his book op.8, written especially for shifting problems.
Unfortunately I gave my sample to one of my students, so I must recall it from memory. I don’t know the exact number of this exercise, I [...]
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Alright folks, before we start again tomorrow with the fourth part of our shift series I have a reading tip for you.
Probably you know the problem with the tuning pegs. You are trying to tune your instrument but the pegs are stuck. They are so jammed as if somebody treated them with a sledge.
A German [...]
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Ladies and Gentlemen, we are back on course.
After replacement of my G5 I’m still working on restoring all the stuff I had on my harddisk. But I’ll be able to post the next parts of our shifts within the next days.
So stay tuned!
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A weblog created for people who are keen on playing the violin - of course not only for Canadians! Written for people who want to improve their skills on this great instrument.
If you have any comments or questions feel free to contact me!
Have fun!
