training for intonation, and violin envy

September 1, 2009 at 2:33 PM

Thank you for all the kind comments and advice in my previous entry, it has been very useful and encouraging!

My lesson yesterday went well, and for once instead of intonation we worked on tone for a piece from the Suzuki book -- May Song. "It's a hearty type of song", my teacher explained, "There's nothing wishy-washy about it." Of course, now that I think about it, it's a dance song meant for villagers, loud and lively. We spent a bit of time on getting the tone right --- when I start thinking about tone, other things go awry. But I'm somewhat relieved to have a break in the endless repetitions of intonation exercises.

Speaking of which, I've switched from using the electronic tuner to using my piano and violin (the latter after being tuned, of course). Aside from the open strings exercise Buri mentioned, my teacher also suggested that I use intervals (duh, why didn't I think of that before?)

I can definitely hear when I'm off even by the slightest bit --- during class my playing of a piece is usually accompanied by a lot of wincing, as I cringe every time I'm off --- so it's both a blessing and a curse --- I can hear how bad my playing is 100% of the time, which is good because I can improve on it, but it's bad because I can't really enjoy my playing!

Teacher has said to practice in smaller increments -- 10-15 mins at a time -- to get the muscles and body used to correct positioning. Anything more can lead to bad form, as the arm gets tired and fingers begin to creep up the fingerboard.

During those times, I take the opportunity to practice my piano. Ah, a relief! I feel guilty about it but it's nice to have an instrument that you can play at more than a beginner level. I feel almost liberated when I play the piano after the violin. I could play the piano for hours -- and I do, and often forget the time -- and absolutely love it. I hope that one day I can get to the same point with the violin. Don't worry piano, there's room in my heart for more than one love.

With regards to violin, the actual instrument -- I went to Shar Music today to get help with a string I was having trouble keeping in tune (it turned out to be a simple mechanical thing that I didn't know about) and took the opportunity to peruse their violin room.

My violin is a rental, not the cheapest model but certainly not in the realm of the ones I was looking at. For one, the neck on the violin I have is varnished and my thumb and forefinger tend to stick to it. Still, it sounds worlds better than the first violin I had rented, out of which I could only get harsh sounds. Or maybe I've just gotten better at coaxing sounds out of a violin? One can hope.

Beautiful instruments, all of them. One of the things I immediately noticed is that the varnish on any of the ones I looked at were very thin compared to mine; Teacher had mentioned that the thicker the varnish, the worse the effect it has on the sound since it dampens vibrations. And the wood -- beautiful, purled and scrolled and fiery under the store lights. The violin is a beautiful instrument to look at for sure --- I remember being very young and watching TV and being fascinated by both the look and sound of it. I didn't dare try any out because I felt too intimidated --- there were other customers at the store who were clearly students at the music school, and I could hear their playing in the practice rooms as they tried out bows and instruments. Besides, what kind of music could a beginner like me get out of an expensive violin? Could you even hear the difference, at my level, between my $400 rental and a $3000 Sofia?

Unfortunately, we don't have the money to buy one right now. Even a new bow, I would like --- I've tried my teacher's bow and it's a world of difference between his and my $30 brazilwood. For now I can only drool and make a promise to reward myself with a new outfit one day, as long as I work hard and continue to improve.

From Stephen Brivati
Posted on September 1, 2009 at 11:11 PM

Greetings,

it occurs to me that you might not be aware of the most fundamental yet often ignored concept behind violin intonation: if you think chords and harmony then that controls your intonation. As violinist we get bogged down in tuning individual notes and althouhg this is important some players reach extremely advanced levels without realizing that if they just thought of a chord or harmony they would be so much better in tune. In your case you are a pianist so I advise you to explore this both physically and mentally(play a chord on the piano or hear chords in your head) and use your skill in this area to develop aharmonic knowledge of the violin. It will make your advanced playing come so much quicker.

Cheers,

Buri

From Dee Ann Fleming
Posted on September 3, 2009 at 3:07 PM

OK, this may be depressing, but...read up on the difference between tempered and absolute pitch! I have been a professional violinist for more than twenty years, and string players who test their pitch against a piano in the practice room are always out of tune with the rest of the section in an ensemble. I practice with a fine tuner, too, but don't check your pitch against it constantly. Your teacher's advice about intervals is excellent, and I would 'anchor' the pitch by setting the base note playing on my fine tuner...this will keep you from creeping into sharp territory.

As for a better violin...get a better bow first, and then trade up. Also, ask the kind people at Shar to take the varnish off of the neck of your current rental. This is something they should be willing to do at no cost, and it takes only a few minutes.

Happy practicing!

From Michael Felzien
Posted on September 5, 2009 at 6:11 AM

Anna,

Both Buri and Dee make very good comments. I wanted to mention what buri covered in my first post but I forgot. There is a great article on wikipedia someplace about pythagorean and standard just intonation. It really helped me. I would suggest getting a better bow before violin. I believe this makes a big difference, but they can be expensive. Some say the bow makes the violin. I kinda agree to an extent. I've been playing on a starter violin. I use to own a very nice Peter Prier but I lost it during a difficult time in my life. I honestly feel the bow and good strings make a big difference. I enjoy Obligatos and Oliv gold E string a good combo for bright violins. However dominants are great too.

You have a lot of good advice so far. Sounds like a great start.

Mike Felzien

This entry has been archived and is no longer accepting comments.

training for intonation, and violin envy

Subscribe

Laurie's Books