Going beyond open strings
January 13th, 2012 at 2:30 pm (Music)
Today was my second violin lesson. My, how the time flew! I was pleased that my practice on open strings had paid off, as I was able to demonstrate a much better and more consistent sound than last week.
We did a bunch of string-crossing exercises, which involve switching between the four strings without any messy intermediate noises or scritches from the bow. This requires decoupling the sweeping bowing motion from the angle at which you hold your arm, when intuitively your body wants to do it all together in one fluid movement. Therefore, you have to practice by bowing on one string, stopping, changing the arm angle, then bowing again, etc. It’s definitely baby steps, but I can already see that it’s the right path to increased control.
One of the most unexpectedly fun parts of this lesson was playing with another person. We played G-D-A-E-A-D-G which is about as boring as it gets, and it was still fun, making music together.
Right at the end of the lesson, my teacher (re-)introduced me to fingering. I now get to practice playing G-A, D-E, A-B, and E-F#. That is, going from an open string to a whole step up by dropping my index finger down at the magic spot on the fingerboard. This is all sorts of stressful. For some reason, mechanically executing bowing and arm position is fine, but when I now need the ability to not only hear the right pitch but be able to reproduce it, I freeze up. I think in my head the ability to hear and interpret pitch seems like this magical skill to see the invisible that some people have and some don’t. Intimidating! I’ll have to work on giving myself permission to be horribly out of tune and gradually work up to in-tune.
My teacher also noted that it’s important not to put the finger down and then roll it forward or back to correct the pitch (tempting), as instead the goal is to get to the point where it comes down, smack, at exactly the right point the first time.
She recommended these books:
- String Builder
- Fingerboard Geography: a visual fingering pedagogy that uses colors to make fingering easier. Intriguing.
And listening to my Suzuki method CDs will help with the ear sensitivity.
Umaa said,
January 13, 2012 at 7:43 pm
I play the violin too! Welcome to the club! What prompted you to take lessons? I play several instruments (violin, piano and most recently the ukelele (if you count being able to play 4 chords)), and I think the violin is the hardest of them all, yet the most versatile and beautiful. When I first started learning, our teachers put tape across the neck to teach us where to put our fingers. But I was in 3rd grade at the time… :)
Katie said,
January 19, 2012 at 12:33 am
Congrats, Kiri! I hope you keep up the violin.
My one comment…the Suzuki method is incredibly easy and effective for beginners, but don’t neglect learning to read music. I had a VERY hard time learning to read music after several years of Suzuki method.
Kiri said,
January 19, 2012 at 2:18 pm
I should clarify — I am not using the Suzuki method to learn to play, as it really seems targeted more for children who might most easily acquire skill by just listening and playing. I’m definitely working with sheet music and notation as well. The Wolfahrt Etudes my first teacher prescribed are still beyond me in terms of playing, but at least I can (slowly) read them. :) However, I also have the Suzuki books and CDs 1&2, and they provide good practices (especially since I can listen to them played correctly, and try to play along).