117 replies to this topic

[jim palmer]

For me,

Keeping my bow in the right position

Is always a difficult proposition.

Right angle to strings is easy I find,

Just make  bow-hair follow

The fingerboard curve.

But then I have to look at the notes

And the bow-hair, unsupervised,

Moves up to the bridge,

Down the strings,

Or makes a swerve.

[SingingPython]

Bow control one of my bug-bears too   (both me and my children - my students on the other hand are getting the benefit of me regretting not badgering my children more, sooner ...)

 

Why don't you memorise a couple of pieces-that-are-easy-for-you and use them to practise playing with your bow exactly where you want it.

[jim palmer]

Bow control one of my bug-bears too   (both me and my children - my students on the other hand are getting the benefit of me regretting not badgering my children more, sooner ...)

 

Why don't you memorise a couple of pieces-that-are-easy-for-you and use them to practise playing with your bow exactly where you want it.

Yes that sounds a good idea. Say memorise phrases from a piece with lots of string crossings, then play them while monitoring the bow.

I already memorise scales (with help of solfa) but there the bow just goes up/down a string, not so demanding.

 

 

 

Nice spot of poetry!
Please post a solution in rhyme when you find it...

 

Glad you liked it!. I'm trying the above exercise.

[OlderAussie]

Well I hate to leave you contemplating the difficulties we might face. Aren’t the trials and tribulations worth it when we get to play some of the GORGEOUS violin music out there? (Walton's Canzonetta )

I’ve come to realise that probably few (if any) of us have the perfect physical attributes required to easily play all the violin repertoire. Maybe short fingers are an advantage for playing quickly. Thin finger tips might fit between strings not meant to be touched on either side in first position but struggle to stop two strings when needed in high positions. Large hands and fatter fingers might make precise intonation of closely placed notes a challenge. Then the parameters of the instrument also come into it. One violin might suit you in some ways (for some pieces or techniques) and one with different dimensions might suit you for others...argh!

You know I swapped from a 7/8 size to a 3/4, which is much better for me in many ways. I can now play “Air on the G String” on the G string! Also it is much less of a burden to hold so I tend to practice for longer. However, unfortunately the width of my finger tips makes playing some double stopping and broken chords cleanly in first position a major challenge, the strings being so much closer to each other than on my 7/8 size. I’m planning to try a lower bridge which might help.

Some double stopping (though not all) is easier on my old 7/8 sized “Madame”. I've been feeling bad about the poor thing, her strings are over 25 years old! Her maintenance has been neglected and her set-up apparently far from ideal (though I will keep her bridge low). So today I took her for a bit of work to a local repairer/restorer. No, NOT the same one who a while back, faced with a simple request and without any consultation, took it upon themselves to get creative!

But what I’m really dreaming of is...not a white Christmas...but a 3/4 size instrument with a great tone, a bit wider neck than Wolfy’s but with a similarly shallow neck (vertical dimension). Oh, and no bad wolf. But is this a legitimate dream worth pursuing or just a case of a poor workwoman blaming her tools???

[OlderAussie]

So, a new year (I know our fireworks were awfully flash but weren't the London ones so artistic, that big Eye is a great platform).  Hope 2018 is a good one for you.

 

Now the 12 days of Christmas are over it might be time to get back in the saddle. Well maybe, though half we Aussies are still on our long hols at the beach, inside watching movies or otherwise avoiding the fiery furnace outside  -- while I see many of you northern hemisphere folk are snowed in big time.  Poor things. I guess your fingers may not be working so well either...  Maybe not the best time to talk about scales. 

 

Scales of the 3 octave kind.  Now, what follows might not be at all relevant to you, especially if you have been preparing for an exam. Probably best to keep to what you've been practising.  This is just my own enthralling personal journey.  

 

Practising scales from my Aust. Music Exam. Board Violin Technical Work book I realised I should change my approach. First, I was surprisingly thrown out by what I thought a bizarre new fangled idea -  from 4th grade on they have added 3 notes to the beginning and end.  So they go tonic, third, second, tonic at each end.  Weird. But now I see.    Aha, there are 48 notes before you get to the final tonic which you play with a separate bow.  Consider the slurred bowing patterns required:  3 notes per bow in 4th grade, then 4 to a bow, 6 to a bow and 12 notes per bow as you progress up the grades.  

So those 48 scale notes are divisible in all those ways.  Clever eh.  Kind of like a dozen eggs.

 

But why would the extra notes be a problem for me? You may well ask.  The answer is that I was playing my scales by ear, in that I knew those little tunes (major, melodic minor, harmonic minor) so well that I automatically played the semi-tones in the right places. Strangely the extra notes and perhaps the bowing groupings made the rhythm and "tune" seem different and this took a bit of readjustment. Especially with the trickier scales, I now practise with the music, having marked the semi-tones so as not to get confused.  

 

Hey it helps to know what those notes are too! Perhaps I wasn't even aware I was playing a Fb in the relevant spots in the Ab minors?  Well...hopefully I was...  You know Fb is the same as an E don't you (OK so some of you smarties may wish to dispute this but hey, one woman's floor is another woman's ceiling).

 

Another factor was the fingering I was used to.  A very well-regarded teacher once got me (for scales A and above) to always put my 1st finger on the tonic on the E string, go 1st, 2nd, 3rd finger then shift up.  This worked very well for the old scale format, however with the extra notes and different slurred bowings now required in A.M.E.B. exams I see it makes more sense to shift up to a 1st finger with the start of a new bow.  The same might be a factor when choosing fingering in pieces...

 

Oh well, as they say, "live and learn" 

 

Next time I'll tell you of my exciting adventures and thoughts after auditioning the local amateur orchestras.  No, not auditioning FOR.

[OlderAussie]

Well I do have some more things to share with you, since I see some of you are still around. Where to start?

First, on the local amateur orchestra front, after attending 3 concerts, I decided the only one I aspire to join is the one which doesn't need me -- you know, the one where the brass (in particular) play in tune! However, here's my quandary: I could do with the practice and more confidence following less ambitious orchestral scores, but would exposing my sensitive ears to the loud and more "intonationally challenged" do them harm? Any advice? Perhaps use some kind of earplugs?

Talking of earplugs...I discovered something quite interesting - due to the fact it's not usually other people hurting my ears. To me my violin sounds very loud, quite harsh on the higher strings. Then on reading about harsh violin sounds on the internet I came across the idea that we violinists have "the worst seat in the house" for hearing the sound we are making. We don't hear it the same way as our audience. Our perception is altered, for a start, because one of our ears is just that bit closer to the instrument than the other, which sets up a kind of interference. The trick is to put some kind of little cotton wad or earplug in our left ear, just to cut the amount of sound. When practising now I use a little bit of tissue and it does make my violin sound much nicer.

Of course there is a lot of discussion out there about "violin sound under the ear" vs. the instrument's projection, the effect of a room's acoustics etc. etc.

Another thing which might alter my violin's sound is what I'm having done this coming week, though that is more in order to make it easier to play. I'm having a new lower bridge cut. Yes, I'm keeping the higher bridge just in case because those of you who have been following will remember the whole sad saga of my "Wolfy's" adventures. So here's

Will it ever end?

[jim palmer]

Your struggles with 3/4 and 7/8 violins remind me of my adventures with 15" and 15 1/2" violas.

The 15 1/2 seemed too big at first so i bought a 15". On both I lowered the strings at both bridge and nut by deepening the string channels. After practice on the 15" (and taking G3) I found I could now play the 15 1/2 comfortably!

Also met a tiny girl  about 21 who had passed G8 on her full-size violin. I could hardly believe it - women don't come much smaller than that!

[OlderAussie]

My violin is back from the shop
With a newly cut bridge on its top
It's lower by far
Than most bridges are
That bridge blank, it got quite a chop

But has that move been a success?
Some changes it's made might be guessed
Yes, easier to play
And I'm excited to say
The wolfiness seems so much less


Of course it takes time for a player to adjust to a new set-up but these are my findings:

As expected, having the strings lie closer to the fingerboard has made double stopping easier. It's also easier to place a finger between strings I don't want to touch in first position when playing broken chords. Plus it's now feasible to rock my finger back and forth from one string to the next to play a perfect fifth in a higher position (as in the Theme from Schindler's List - though perfect intonation here is still a challenge).

So if a lower bridge can make life easier for some of us, why are bridges generally higher? I understand this is done for the sake of tone. No doubt it improves the tone of most instruments, however I really think a lower bridge is better for my particular violin, which has a serious problem with wolf tones (on the D string as well as the same pitch high on the G). A lower bridge makes sense if it's true that lower tension on such instruments helps.

So when I got Wolfy back I experimented by taking off the string with its 2.5g wolf eliminator (firmly attached in the specific place) and putting my former Warchal G back on. This in fact has a slightly lower tension than the Obligato.

On that first day I was full of high hopes! The wolf seemed to have disappeared almost completely (no sign on the D string at least). Not only that, but with the slightly distorting effect of the wolf eliminator gone, the tone is richer. This is confirmed by my spouse.
Sad to say however, that in the last couple of days the wolf has occasionally made itself known. But not to fear, as I have yet another theory

Based on past observations I think it has something to do with humidity... Wolfy seems to like it quite steamy So -- back to the luthier for advice on a humidifier.

And if that fails? Maybe try all lower tension strings...and/or a lighter bow? Today I'll try out my Coda carbon fibre. Will keep you posted -- I'm sure you all find Wolfy's tale fascinating

[OlderAussie]

Now, before some of you get out your saws...  I should warn that lowering a bridge should be left to a trained luthier.  We are talking fine measurements here - maybe one or two millimetres.  One danger is that strings that are too close to the fingerboard will vibrate against it and make a buzz when you bow, especially if bowing with gusto.  This would mean a trip to the luthier anyway  as perhaps part of the fingerboard could be smoothed back, otherwise you would need a new bridge. The other important factor is keeping (or achieving) the right curve of the bridge. This affects your bowing as you move from one string to another. 

 

For a while I was dismayed and thought I had a buzz on my lowered G string.  Then I realised it was caused by my mute rattling, and not the string hitting the fingerboard. [Edit:  actually there IS a buzz there when I play with gusto... so the luthier will see me again].

 

Yesterday I tried my carbon fibre bow, which seems lighter, to see if that calmed the wolf tones.  In fact the wolf seemed harder to control so I reverted to my wooden bow.   I remember an experienced violinist said to me a couple of years ago  "What would you do with a wolf?  Attack it" and it seems a firmer touch does help. But today (being a day of only about 20% humidity) I put the string with the wolf eliminator back on.  However I soon took it off again.  The tone of the rest of the violin, especially on the D string, is so much better without it!  So after Easter I will certainly look into humidifiers.

 

In the meantime (between church services) I might take in a bit of folk music at a big local festival.  The weather here is just superb at the moment...  and winter is coming soon enough.

[OlderAussie]

Back again.

The saga of my wolfy violin continues (as you suspected) plus, in the past months I couldn't help but have some more flashes of what could pass for brilliant insights relating more generally to "taking up the violin again".

But where were we in my last post? It's been so long... ah yes, the folk festival. What fun! Those massed fiddles in rehearsal sure stirred my celtic blood so COUNT ME IN for next year's fiddle rally! Great to know we can have so much enjoyment playing fairly simple tunes in first position!

But back to my famous runt-sized wolf-toned Wolfgang. Suspecting more humidity might help the ageing fellow, I've acquired a "Planet Wave" small case humidifier (I just have to try gluing the Velcro dots it attaches to in my velvety case to make it more secure, at the moment it's tied around a hinge where there's extra room in my (full size) case -- up around where the violin's scroll sits). Also this week I bought a green tube-style humidifier. My fav. luthier said they were safe to use if wiped carefully.

As I suspected, it's too fat to fit in delicate little 3/4 size Wolfy's F hole, but draping it across him while storing the case flat helped...until our heating affected him after I had practised for some time. The wolf tone still wasn't bad, but the B and the notes around it on the D string got kind of muffled/scratchy again -- so not exactly inspiring confidence!

I had in fact put the Obligato G string back on some time back. Just now I decided to replace it and the D string with my old, lower tension Warchal Ametyst strings and I am relieved to say they seem to have solved the remaining problem, with a richer and more consistent tone. Also it seems the E string doesn't start vibrating when playing an E on the G string now. So that other luthier, who annoyed me earlier by shifting and strangling the wolf without consulting me, did in fact give me some good advice re lowering the bridge and using lower tension strings. See my hint #17 in fact. I now have a mix of strings, with Obligato A and E.

Hopefully that is the end of the Wolfy saga. (Will you miss him dreadfully???)

But, a footnote: I recently was able to trial and purchase a very good Finkel pernambuco bow. It feels very light in the hand but seems to suit the violin just fine - with a noticeably sweeter tone and better for soft passages. So yes,

Hint #39 Choosing the right bow for your instrument and your playing style does matter

Sorry if you've been bored by my private hassles, but perhaps my story will help someone out there. Its getting near dinner time so I'll save one of my more generally relevant insights for next time.

[OlderAussie]

So.

I’ve been wondering how to broach the revisiting of this topic, but now the most powerful man in the world has set me an excellent example. Such an inspiring man!

You know way back in January I talked about an approach for the fingering of 3 octave scales. I talked of fingering the top octave by putting the first finger on the keynote and going 123,1234-4. It was reported that I found this instruction by my then teacher made sense. Obviously this was fake news, because in fact I was never good at my scales and I’ll tell you why. That idea is just plain dumb for we people with small hands. I realise that we just can’t trust our advisors. Have you noticed that too?

The deal is that when you shift up high on the fingerboard you have to get your hand up around that bulgy part of your violin (called a “bout”) and that is much easier if your hand isn’t already curled around so your little 3rd finger can reach the string. So a 12,12, 1234-4 on the E string (or something similar) is easier, at least going up. My AMEB tech workbook has a different fingering pattern on the way down, with shifts down landing on a 3rd finger. Going down it seems your hand does not face the same problem.

Edit: Just In case you are trying to work out the intracies of the fingering I use... I start all scales Bb and above on a 2nd finger on the G string and include a shift up on the A string such that my 2nd finger lands on the first keynote played on the E string going up — but a 1st finger on it coming down. (Did that help?)

My earlier 123,1234-4 fingering pattern for the top octave of nearly every scale was easy to remember. It had a psychological appeal but was actually technically harder for me. (Did I mention my violin was too big?) On the other hand I’ve also come to realise that sometimes the suggested fingering in pieces makes sense technically but is so off-putting for me that it’s best to ignore it if I can manage quite well without it, thank you, but more on that next time.

OR I might deny all of this tomorrow...

[OlderAussie]

Goodness, whatever happened to Viva Strings?

I hope those who find this are keeping well and not doing too badly at this tough time. We down under, who are in a much more fortunate situation, are thinking of you.

I wanted to report a new discovery of mine which might be of use to string players. This thread started with advice about rosining that smooth new bow hair, or rather on how NOT to rosin new bow hair. Now to come full circle I can report my latest discovery. Nobody told me about this trick anyway...

If you have another bow which has already been rosined or can you borrow one, rosin this bow very well and then (carefully, without applying too much pressure) draw your new bow hair at right angles across it. The already powdery rosin will go onto your new bow so much more easily than using your hard rosin cake!

This discovery followed what to me was another revelation. I recently needed to rehair a quite decent, fairly new and little-used bow. As I had not been playing my electric violin for a few months, the bow had been sitting in that case undisturbed. I was shocked and dismayed to find about a third of its hairs broken as if someone had cut them in a neat line up near the tip. The luthier suspected bugs (they probably came with the cheap case with the violin as I had never come across such critters before). So that case has now been sprayed and put out in the hot sun. That should fix ‘em.

As some may recall, I have previously advised on another danger of neglecting your gear!

All for now,

Wolfy sends his regards but sadly I suspect Hermann is beyond hope...he was always a bit of a mess.