Comments

Buri, I wish I had the problem you’ve described. To receive teachers’ comments such as I’m very musical but need to work harder on technique is really an embossing thing to me and I do try hard on building technical stuff. But in the end, having fun always tips the balance and I’d be spending hours working from Bach to Bruch to Viott to Bach again, instead of Kreuzter etudes, which I really should work harder on.

Maybe only a serious artist should have the kind of problem you are addressing -- kind of the whole package comes with being a fine musician I guess?

My question regarding scales was because I thought I was missing something I should be paying attention to. Is it scales for the sake of scales, or for the sake of something bigger. My main violin issue now, at my level, is getting a feel for the fingerboard, and I keep wondering if scales are supposed to be helping with this. Perhaps they are, but at a much subtler level than I'd prefer. ;-) (I like big a-ha moments, but I'm realizing that those come farther and fewer between as I advance...) Greetings,
its never scales for the sake of scales, as I am sure you have realized.
Part of the doubts you are having is, I think, implicit in what you write. You ask about getting to know the fingerboard. taht is absolutely correct but it obscutred the idea thats cale practice is-at least- fifty percent about developing bowing skills. All manner of slurs, staccatos, techniques shoudl be incorportae d into the basic scale practice and these should be driven by what you feel is weakets in your pieces.
Incidentally, modern technique tends to emphasize the elarnign of basic finger patterns ratehr than three octave scales for sheer efficeincy in getitng to know the fingerboard.
Cheers,
Buri Thank you for writing this blog, Buri. I have felt this feeling before. It is always when I play some stupid little melody.

I have a question for you about what Tara asked. My teacher has me learn new techniques with scales, then in etudes, and then apply it to real music. Do you think this is a good idea?

Greetings,
sounds great to me. If you follow through the thinking that is music driven. Your excellent teacher has identifed a weak area in your technique that is making ypur pieces less than they could be. The etchnqiue is absorbed in scale s/etudes and filter sback into the pieces.
Cheers,
Buri Ah, okay, Buri. I suspect I haven't gotten that far yet. ;-) I do the acceleration patterns with the scales (Galamian, I think? 2,3,4,6 notes per bow) but nothing more at this point. Perhaps more is still to come. I'm not doing any bowing other than detache currently.

Thank you for all your comments by the way, you're always so extremely helpful, it's much appreciated.

Hi Tara,
the acceleration exercise is excellent. Incidentally, when Galamian taught it he had the students play -martele- on all the single notes until the tempo became toofast for this stroke (it is actually a slowish tempo stroke...) You might give that a try. Nothing to stop you playign around with all manner of different bowings. I bet you have done quite a lot of differnt kinds in Wolfarht, Kayser, yes?
Cheers,
Buri