Let me recap the 7 (for convenience) basics of violin technique. Left hand: lifting/dropping of fingers; shifting; vibrato. Right hand/arm: legato; detache; martele; bouncing strokes (several). Each one of those must be developed systematically. There are many excellent etudes written for that purpose. Kurt Sassmannshaus, former pupil of Dorothy Delay and professor in Cincinnati, has an excellent graded list of etudes. I post it below. Have a look. In my opinion, etudes/caprices are not an end in itself. They are useful to sharpen one's awareness of critical aspects of particular techniques. I am not an advocate of learning volumes of etudes from cover to cover. One should pick etudes and exercises from different sources to fit particular needs and musical tastes. I like Yost, Kreutzer, Dont and Dounis. Only recently have I discovered Schradieck and the Korgov/Vamos double-stopping exercises, as well as Gavinies (very challenging indeed!). There are many many more that are certainly worthwhile. Sometimes I think the apex of violin technical treatises and etudes/caprices was at the beginning of the 19th century. Yes, the 1800's! The stuff that the Italian and French virtuosi and teachers wrote/composed at the time is truly amazing! The Italians were the trailblazers of "modern" violin technique, followed by the French and the Germans, and then the Russians. All those influences became part of the melting pot in America starting early in the 20th century. Nowadays, the technique of violin playing has become much more uniform worldwide than it was in earlier centuries. I suppose it is the result of a kind of evolutionary process in which many people participated, whereby the less effective practices were gradually eliminated. The result is a convergence of distilled results. For example, the Franco-Belgian bow-hold has become practically universal. I guess what I am trying to say is that the path and the material for developing excellent technique of violin playing has been tried and tested for a very long time, and it is out there for the picking. Have a look at Sassmannhaus's list of etudes. Most, if not all of it, is freely available on the internet. Since you are now forced by circumstances to take more ownership of your own learning, explore the material that has already been sifted by great teachers and players. You might just discover nuggets of gold that suit you and your particular needs perfectly. If you were wholly dependent on your teacher (for the time being that's me!) for choices, you might have missed it. So, use this time to explore and experiment in a playful spirit. By investigating the canon of proven works, you cannot go wrong.
Good evening to all my violin pupils! I trust that you are ready to continue our Korgov/Schradieck challenge. 8:00 tomorrow morning. Please read the articles by master violin teacher and wonderful violinist, Simon Fischer, that I'll be posting here. I recommend it so strongly, it might as well be called required reading!
These are the stages we typically go through when developing skills, whether it be to speak a new language, drive an automobile, play tennis or a musical instrument: first, we are unaware of the extent of what we need to learn. We are clueless. Then, if we start learning and realize what it actually demands from us, we usually feel somewhat overwhelmed. If we proceed, however, applying ourselves methodically and with discipline, we reach a stage of being proficient, but short of fluent. We can sort of manage our skill, but only with great concentration, and we are easily derailed by complications or distractions. We can manage, but only within narrow limits. At that stage we are sort of skilled, but clumsy. Many people stop there, thinking either that they have arrived, or that they have reached their limit. Those who have the grit to persevere past this stage, trusting that the purpose of learning is to shift boundaries, will eventually, if they persist long enough, reach a stage of fluency, where even the most daunting task can seem effortless. This is the stage of virtuosity, earned through dedication, focus, discipline, perseverance, and love. Yes, love. Loving the subject matter, loving learning and growing, loving to share the beauty of music, and above all loving your participation in something much, much bigger than yourself. Think about it. Clueless, overwhelmed, clumsy, fluent. Sustained and informed by love. The process demands a great deal, but offers so much more in return.
Good evening to all my violin pupils! I trust that you are ready to continue our Korgov/Schradieck challenge. 8:00 tomorrow morning. Please read the articles by master violin teacher and wonderful violinist, Simon Fischer, that I'll be posting here. I recommend it so strongly, it might as well be called required reading!
These are the stages we typically go through when developing skills, whether it be to speak a new language, drive an automobile, play tennis or a musical instrument: first, we are unaware of the extent of what we need to learn. We are clueless. Then, if we start learning and realize what it actually demands from us, we usually feel somewhat overwhelmed. If we proceed, however, applying ourselves methodically and with discipline, we reach a stage of being proficient, but short of fluent. We can sort of manage our skill, but only with great concentration, and we are easily derailed by complications or distractions. We can manage, but only within narrow limits. At that stage we are sort of skilled, but clumsy. Many people stop there, thinking either that they have arrived, or that they have reached their limit. Those who have the grit to persevere past this stage, trusting that the purpose of learning is to shift boundaries, will eventually, if they persist long enough, reach a stage of fluency, where even the most daunting task can seem effortless. This is the stage of virtuosity, earned through dedication, focus, discipline, perseverance, and love. Yes, love. Loving the subject matter, loving learning and growing, loving to share the beauty of music, and above all loving your participation in something much, much bigger than yourself. Think about it. Clueless, overwhelmed, clumsy, fluent. Sustained and informed by love. The process demands a great deal, but offers so much more in return.
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