'The simpler it is, the less complicated it is!'

July 16, 2013 at 1:31 PM

There is a tendency with violin playing and teaching to want to complicate things by being very micro-oriented instead of focusing on the macro-essentials that guide the details. And in the end, it is always these most basic things that make up everything from the simplest to the most complex. In my experience as a performer and in teaching, I have found that the greatest majority of things that don’t work can most usually be traced to these simple things. It doesn’t matter what one is playing as no amount of exercises will accomplish what simply observing and fixing these basics will do in my experience. In this context, here is my personal basics list:

Left hand

1- The violin rests of the base of the first finger with the thumb coming up opposite at whatever height is natural for it (it is individual for each hand).
2- The upper arm should be perpendicular to the floor and the elbow should not be pointing in sideways (i.e. the elbow is pointing down, not out to the left or right). This alone eliminates almost all tension in the shoulder by being in line with the vertical axis of gravity.
3- The fingers should lift vertically up and down from the base knuckle.
4- Know where the semi-tone is, if there is one: It is much easier to focus on patterns than individual notes. Most of these patterns are based on the location of the semi-tone.
5- Shifts : The finger doing a shift needs to be on the string before one moves and start from a definite in tune location. You need to know exactly how you will travel. Follow the string in a straight line. Do not go around the violin but go over it. Match the speed of the shift to the speed of the bow to ensure smoothness and coordination.
6- The thumb should never press against the neck. If the thumb does not press, the other fingers cannot either and you will avoid tension.
7- Use the thumb for extensions instead of moving the elbow in : By moving the thumb back from its normal position of opposite the first finger instead of bringing the elbow in, we open the hand (in the same way that pianists open theirs) but keep the arm relaxed and the fingers closer to the string. With fingered octaves and tenths, the thumb needs to prepare before we start the run.

Right hand

1- Regardless of bow hold, the forearm moves the bow. The hand follows the arm. Big leads Small.
2- Never press the thumb into the bow. This way, the hand is always relaxed and flexible.
3- Four strings, four levels of elbow : A lot of uneven bowing comes from not keeping the elbow at the same height throughout the stroke and therefore keeping the string vibrating in the same direction.
4- Sound production is lateral. The more the string vibrates in the same direction, the purer the sound. The bridge actually rocks side to side when we play and that is what makes the sound. Almost all impurities are the result of vertical interference (with the elbow, hand, fingers) which sends the string vibrating in an uneven way creating impurities.
5- A great détaché : find where your arm makes a square and play from the forearm there. Everyone doing this will have a great détaché. It doesn’t matter where it is in the bow as everyone has a different ratio of length of upper arm to forearm. However, the movement is the same for everyone as there is only one way in which the joints move.
6- Sautillé vs spiccato : in the first case, the stick bounces but the hair is on the string. In the second, the hair is off the string. The speed determines where in the bow it will be. The faster the speed, the more towards the tip you have to go. The bow determines the location. Each bow is different, but by finding and doing it where the bow wants to rather than us, we save a lot of trouble. In slow practice, practice the stroke where you will be using it at tempo.

Mental

Focus on what you want to do and how, not what you don’t want. It is a big secret of the law of manifestation in our playing. A lot of people play and teach how not to play the violin which results in doing exactly what you don’t want to do. So, be positive and active, think of what you want to do and do it. If you say something negative, phrase in the positive action that will produce the result you seek. Also, abstract things like right or wrong accomplish nothing. If you want to do something, then think of the action necessary to accomplish your task and the result you want. That way, you know how to get what you want rather than repeating aimlessly.

Setup

Set yourself up so that your shoulders can be kept down and that things work for your body geometry. There are simple guidelines in this area that could be discussed in a separate post, but in essence, make the equipment work for you, not the other way around.

The simpler it is the less complicated it is. And the less complicated it is, the easier and the more fun it is to play!

Cheers!

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