March 2012

Wrist Vibrato, Part Five

March 29, 2012 09:09

(For more entries on wrist vibrato:
Here is Wrist Vibrato, Part 1
Here is Wrist Vibrato, Part 2
Here is Wrist Vibrato, Part 3
Here is Wrist Vibrato, Part 4)

This is the last entry for the "Wrist Vibrato" series.
(taken from a letter from my father-in-law, Michael Heifetz, 3/17/12)

Impulses Practice Mastery

1. Now, shift gears. You are no longer thinking about how many impulses. You are shifting to continuous impulses. Let it go. It's fluid. It happens without you forcing the motion. Don't count impulses.

2. This same impulse practice should be done with each finger. It should be done thoughtfully-- it won't help much to do it automatically. You must think during the pauses. Do your best to imagine a rapid, even series of impulses. Then actualize-- replicate what you've imagined as perfectly as you can.

Reminders For Practice

1. When playing music the vibrato should always feel free and fluid. Ideally, there should be no traces of the mechanical effort used to develop the vibrato. "Let it Go," verses "Make it Go."

2. If your motion becomes stuck, try lightening your touch. Think "like velvet."

3. Keep the mechanical practice of the vibrato separate from the music playing experience. When you are playing music, vibrato should become a natural sounding expressive vehicle. It's application should emanate from your desired musical expression. Let it flow from what you are trying to express, rather than to be applied mechanically.

4. Some people develop a vibrato quickly and only need to do occasional "maintenance" practice. For others, vibrato continues to be a challenge, well past the initial learning stage. They may find it necessary to spend a little warm-up time daily on vibrato.

Integration into Normal Playing (by Anna)

1. Once the vibrato is accomplished successfully on each finger and in each position, on one note per bow, start integrating wrist vibrato into your normal playing. I did this first by going "back and forth" from 1st to 2nd finger many times over, making sure my vibrato did not break, and that my bicep muscle (remnants from arm vibrato) was not trying to intervene.

2. Then, go back and forth on one bow, slurring notes, from:
a. 2nd to 3rd finger
b. 3rd to 4th finger
c. 1st to 4th finger
d. 1st to 3rd finger
and so on. Do this all on one string at a time (no switching strings). If you get stuck, go back to impulse practice.

3. Next, integrate wrist vibrato with bow changes, one note per bow. Utilize the same exercise as above (#2). Be sure to get all the way to the very end of the frog, and slowly transition at the frog, in very slow motion, to make sure there's a seamless transition every time. Again, check your vibrato: is it steady?

4. Integrate small shifting exercises with vibrato, from 1st to 2nd position, and from 1st to third position to begin with, on one finger, then on alternating fingers. (ex. second finger on C going to D on A string). Practice these into the higher positions.

5. Now integrate wrist vibrato on different strings in one position, and then, on different strings in different positions. Use same or different fingers for all.Remember to go back to impulse practice should you get stuck.

5. Integrate the scale. Start at one note per bow, long tones, quarter note = 42. Go all the way up and down the scale, with a seamless vibrato and seamless bow changes. Be sure to stop and practice your shifts within the scale first with vibrato practice to seam it all together.

Reminders for Integration Practice

1. Play slowly and thoughtfully in your execution of the integration practices. Each exercise will become natural in it's own time, some more easily than others. Patience is valuable. In the beginning, integrate these exercises in order and slowly, always returning to the impulse exercises for early maintenance. Each integration exercise should become automatic before moving on to the next.

2. Mastery has occurred when you don't think about it, and the form has taken hold on it's own. Performance is the true test of your new techniques, and don't worry if you revert back to old ways in concert after having done so much initial leg work. This may take many months or a day to obtain a solid integration of your hard work, but the rewards are endless.

2 replies

Mariachi, The Eucharist, and a String Composition

March 28, 2012 08:25

I wrote this piece for the Sister's of St. Mary's 125th Anniversary Jubilee Mass in Beaverton, Oregon. We had one hour to rehearse and I had just met the second violinist and violist at that time. After some careful last minute edits, including eliminating a few strange fermatas and a two-measure transition, we were off!

During the hour-and-a-half long celebration Archbishop John Vlazny presided and the Sisters renewed their vows, saying: "I…vow to Almighty God…chastity, poverty, and obedience forever…." Vlazny offered gratitude to the sisters for their commitment to simplicity, service, and charity. A surprise Mariachi band paraded through the back door of the gymnasium after the service, into what would become the reception area decorated with tables filled with fruit-skewers, brownies, red punch, and snicker-doodles. And of course, about a hundred nuns and forty priests.

You can find the score, which I updated with edits, on one of my previous posts. The baby goo-ing in the background is my 6 month old son.

Archive link

Wrist Vibrato, Part Four

March 27, 2012 10:30

(For more entries on wrist vibrato:
Here is Wrist Vibrato, Part 1
Here is Wrist Vibrato, Part 2
Here is Wrist Vibrato, Part 3
Here is Wrist Vibrato, Part 5)

(taken from a letter from my father-in-law, Michael Heifetz, 3/17/12).

Impulse Practice.

The purpose of the Impulse Practice is to develop rapid, continuous and dependable finger oscillation.

1. Begin working with the second finger. Start in the back position (finger relatively flat and on the pad), perhaps a half step below the pitch of the note (ex. second finger "D" on A String). Now, very quickly rock the wrist from this starting position to the higher pitch of the note, and then back to the starting position. This is oscillation #1, and your finger should go from the pad to closer to the tip area towards the peak of the oscillation.

2. Now pause; imagine a quick back and forth rocking action, like a single "snap" up to the actual pitch of the note and back down again. Then, make the "snap" movement. This is also one oscillation.

3. Repeat this single snap movement several times, always being sure to pause between each snap (RH continuous bowing OK) and imagine the next snap before actually doing it. Pausing and imagining the next actual move is very important. It is as though you are ingraining a rapid neuromuscular response pattern for this exercise.

4. Still working with the second finger (Anna used the 1st finger first, then 2nd, 3rd, and finally, 4th) practice this "neural impulse" pattern as follows:

1. Impulse #1, pause, imagine the next two quick impulses (think: "1,2)"
2. Impulses #1 2, pause, imagine three quick impulses (think: "1,2,3)"
3. Impulses #1 2 3, pause, imagine four quick impulses (think "1,2,3,4)"
4. Impulses #1 2 3 4, pause, imagine four quick impulses (think "1,2,3,4,5)"
5. Impulses #1 2 3 4 5, pause, imagine four quick impulses (think "1,2,3,4,5,6)"
6. Impulses #1 2 3 4 5 6; relax.

Now Let your entire finger relax, as though you have just woken up from a nap, while playing the impulses. Relax the arm bicep, especially if you have used arm vibrato in the past. Make sure the very pad and tip and last knuckles of your fingers are relaxed like "Velvet" while naturally ingraining the impulse exercises. This will get you the most luscious vibrato and improve tone.

Once you have achieved six successful impulses to a desired speed and consistency, repeat step 6 many times over. Keep the bow moving on a smooth non-vibrato tone while you relax your impulses.

Question: How "big" should the impulses be? Answer: As wide as your wrist will allow while keeping the neck and body of the violin steady.

Final lesson: Reminders for Practicing and Integration into Normal Playing

(written by Michael Heifetz/edited by Anna)

Archive link

Wrist Vibrato, Part Three

March 26, 2012 09:01

(For more entries on wrist vibrato:
Here is Wrist Vibrato, Part 1
Here is Wrist Vibrato, Part 2
Here is Wrist Vibrato, Part 4
Here is Wrist Vibrato, Part 5)

(taken from a letter from my father-in-law, Michael Heifetz, 3/17/12)

Continuation: Development/Exercises

Second Exercise (for mindset and first exercise please see previous post).
1. Practice a slow, fluid rocking motion of the wrist for each finger. You are establishing the basic oscillation movement thoughtfully, in slow motion. This helps establish a reference standard in your mind- something that can be replicated at various widths and speeds as your vibrato develops.

2. Start each note below the pitch, perhaps as much as a half step below pitch. The forearm should have little movement, just sympathetic. Again, nothing is absolutely stiff and immobile, but you do not activate movement of the forearm directly.

3. Contact the string well back of the tip of each finger, on the pad. The hand should be bent at the wrist backward toward the scroll. Now, rock the hand toward, pivoting on the wrist. As the hand rocks forward (toward your face), the finger will also rock at the point of contact on the string. You don't intentionally rock the finger. It happens as a response to the wrist movement. Again, the impulse emanated from the palm of the hand, not the finger or the arm. The forearm remains relatively stable, although there may be some small motion. It is not stiff. The violin also remains relatively stable.

4. Begin this practice of the rocking motion in the third or fourth position with the hand touching the body of the instrument. This will keep the forearm from moving as you pivot on the wrist. It often helps to watch yourself in the mirror. This can help you identify and correct your movements.

5. After you are comfortable with this rocking motion for each finger, and each string in the 3rd and 4th position, practice the same type of rocking motion beginning in the first position. Then, practice everything above on each finger, each string, and each position, varying.

6. If you feel further refinement is needed, practice the same movement doing very slow scales, one note for each bow length.

(written by Michael Heifetz/edited by Anna)

Next lesson: Impulse Practice, and the Final Lesson: Reminders for Practicing and Integration into Normal Playing.

1 reply

Wrist Vibrato, Part Two

March 23, 2012 06:45

(taken from a letter from my father-in-law, Michael Heifetz, 3/17/12).

Conceptualizing the Motion

1. For some people, it is sufficient to think of the movement of the wrist and fingers as "back and forth." When doing the "impulse practice" suggested below, it feels as though you are initiating a back and forth motion.
2. However, some people find it helpful to think of the movement of the wrist as "circular," in a clockwise direction. This idea may prove valuable if your motion sounds too mechanical or irregular when playing music. Try practicing a slow rolling (circular) movement with each finger on each string and in various positions.

Development/Exercises

1. Begin with this exercise and mindset from Menhuin: "as a typical exercise, hold [second finger "D" on the A string with the thumb opposite the second finger]. Then, try to pull the violin away from the hold of the chin and collar-bone, and allow the wrist to bend out. Then, while maintaining this pull, exercise the finger and thumb in such a way as to bring the hand back to the original position. You are doing what are known as resistance exercises, strengthening the inner muscles of the finger and the thumb. Now, push the violin into the neck and go into a depressed wrist and depressed knuckle position. [There,] while maintaining this pressure, push the knuckles and wrist out. You are developing a different set of muscles.
2. "Each muscle must be developed separately, so that there will never be a confusion. Two sets of muscles must not be used at the same time. This is the basis of the seizure, the confusion, of violin playing…"
3. "Vibrato must be as varied as the weather of England, and always beautiful and sweet. It can be very narrow and fast, producing a gleaming, penetrating sound (mine was sort-of this way)-- as wonderful in pianissimo as in fortissimo-- pure, with little vibration as to be almost a choir-boy sound, or so much as to be like a brilliant light, so intense is it's penetrating effect. It can be slow and wide, it can be velvety, and it can be burning with passion. It can be all these, but these powers are only developed by exercises such as those I have described, which engage the whole range, and every degree of range, of strength and flexibility and sensitivity of all the goons and muscles involved. And a great amount of concentration is essential. Playing and practicing the violin demand work of the mind."

Next lesson: Continuation of Exercises, leading into the Impulse Practice!

(prepared by Michael Heifetz/edited by Anna)

(For more entries on wrist vibrato:
Here is Wrist Vibrato, Part 1
Here is Wrist Vibrato, Part 3
Here is Wrist Vibrato, Part 4
Here is Wrist Vibrato, Part 5)

2 replies

Wrist Vibrato, Part One

March 22, 2012 12:19

I recently switched from arm to wrist vibrato, and my father-in-law, Michael Heifetz, had some pointers. I've included the first part of his letter here:

Taken from 3/17/12 letter from Michael Heifetz to me:

Wrist Vibrato: Principles (many of these principles apply to left hand technique in general- not just the vibrato).

1. Bend the hand back at the wrist toward the scroll. Contact the string on the pad of the finger, not on the tip. Some outstanding players recommend contact the string with the fingers "as far back as you can."
2. Think of your left hand and fingers as "hanging" from the neck of the violin, like a coat hanger on a hanging rod. (Rafael Druian, Soloist and Concermaster of the Cleveland Orchestra under George Szell, suggested this analogy).
3. Apply just enough downward pressure to stop the string. Tightening up impedes free movement. It may help to think about your fingers as having a soft touch, like velvet, on the string (the "velvet" analogy comes from Sarasate).
4. Another image that can sometimes help is to imagine the pad of your finger rolling on the tiny surface of a ball bearing. This will generate a gentle touch and easy movement of the finger on the point of contact on the string.
5. You should feel as though the vibrato impulse is emanating from the palm of the hand, not from the fingers.
6. Start from below the pitch of the note. This is true regardless of which finger is used, which string is played on, and which position is on the fingerboard.
7. Menuhin said, "Finger fall, which is the basic motion of the fingers as in scales, in vibrato, or in the oscillation of the finger on the string, is, in fact, composed of fingers, knuckles, wrist and arm oscillation: there is no part which should be rigid or excluded. The oscillations should be practiced in a measured way with the finger fall. Thus the oscillation which leads to the higher sound is timed with the finger fall of an upper finger. Thus the second finger falls while the first is oscillating, and [it] falls onto the string at the moment the oscillation reaches the higher pitch. All this should automatically be practiced the opposite way as well, [with] the upper finger falling when the oscillation reaches it's lower extreme. In this way, again, flexibility is enhanced and the readiness to meet any situation is increased." (my question: when going down in pitch, do you place the lower finger when the oscillation reaches its lower extreme)?
8. The wrist feels loose and free as it moves, never tight or forced.
9. Ideally, the violin will not move much as you apply wrist vibrato. It will remain as a relatively stable platform, regardless of wrist and finger movement.

(prepared by Michael Heifetz/edited by Anna)

Next step: Conceptualizing the Motion (to be continued)! :)

(For more entries on wrist vibrato:
Here is Wrist Vibrato, Part 2
Here is Wrist Vibrato, Part 3
Here is Wrist Vibrato, Part 4
Here is Wrist Vibrato, Part 5)

7 replies

My current pedal board configuration.

March 19, 2012 21:33

I posted this to educate and inspire violinists on the use and set-up of pedal boards. All pedals are engineered for guitars, at least, for now, so it's essential to choose the right pedals that will compliment the complex harmonic range of the bowed instruments. Above you will see my current pedal board configuration. The zip ties did wonders for securing the pedals. It's as stiff as superglue- it's not going anywhere. The velcro was ineffective.

My favorite pedal is the RMC8 wah-wah and you can see mine comes with EQ which is essential for a great violin wah-wah sound. The "box of rock" was recommended to me by a jazz violinist and the distortion is good and never blows out the system as some violin distortions will. Still, I'd like to try other distortions to see what other sounds I can get.

The two digi delays in succession are classic and wonderful. One alone can act as a nice reverb if I plan it right.

The Whammy is a must for a mysterious but nice chordal rock sound that can waver on demand for solos. The downside is you cannot switch the harmonies by foot, so I have to use one setting per song (unless I reach down during a break and switch it up-- nah, too complicated). The "2 octave higher" or "2 octave lower" settings make for goofingly interesting textures.

The LR Baggs pre-amp, paired with my Schertler Stat-V pick-up, is unbeatable. I haven't been able to find a stronger, more acoustic sound than this.

There's a Samson wireless on there too (upper left) that has come in handy. I must remember batteries, but it's fun and freeing (clothing must have a belt or pants to secure wireless). It gets a lot of "wows."

3 replies

spiccato is the precursor to sautille

March 19, 2012 21:15

I've been trying to teach one of my students sautille, but I forgot that the first stroke to teach should be the spiccato. To play spiccato, you don't necessarily have to move your wrist very much (or sautille for that matter) but I prefer to use my wrist for both. Otherwise, you can start by moving your bow on long, slow strokes mid-bow with a flat wrist and steady arm movements, keeping the elbow reasonably elevated, and work your speed up until the bow lightly bounces. Don't flop or over-relax your hand. Keep it steady and each bounced note should sound exactly the same.

I found this video online posted by violinist and educator Todd Ehle. I prefer to loosen (lift may be too strong a word) the lst and 3rd fingers rather than the 3rd and 4th, but this is a lot more descriptive than I was able to come up with:

Archive link

Jubilee Piece for Sisters of St. Mary's of Oregon

March 15, 2012 07:19

Here's a string quintet piece I wrote for the Sisters of St. Mary's 125th Anniversary Jubilee celebration.

The Main Theme ("A") is modeled after Britten's "Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra." The first chord is E Major although the key is E Minor (I wanted to start happy, for a celebration)! The theme mimics Bach from mm. 1-8, using big, dark, chords in four voices with a supporting cello line underneath.

The second phrase of the A section begins at mm. 9 and is a rock version on the theme. Had to throw that in there.

The "B" section begins at mm. 17 after a two measure transition, and is both more lyrical and reflective than the main theme, in A Major. A triplet motif in conjunct motion in the upper voices, and longer chords in the lower voices emerge, with light counterpoint in the violins and viola. The "A" section hints back at mm. 28 in a transition to the rock A section second phrase at mm. 32. A new "angry" and moving cello part supports the descending transitional motif in the upper voices. The lyrical "C" section appears at mm. 38 in another major key: Bb Major. The sound is simple, lyrical, and meditative, with a return of the triplet motif. The section grows and expands in light counterpoint and harmonization starting at mm. 53.

The recap begins at mm. 61 but in C Minor. The melody is less moving to suggest the end of piece. The three measure coda at mm. 71-73 is simple but strong: the cello takes the lead in two solo whole notes, and a big C Minor swell by all voices ends the piece.

This piece is dark on the onset, yet simple and sweet in the verses.

For parts and performance permissions, please write to me direct.

Here is a link to the complete score

Here's a link the the performance with audio

3 replies

The 'Secret' of the Strad: it's in Scientific American 1981

March 3, 2012 09:20

This article is called the "Acoustics of Violin Plates," by the late Ms. Carleen Maley Hutchins. The findings: "Modern tests of the vibrational properties of the unassembled top and back plates of a violin reveal something of what violinmakers do by "feel" and lead to the making of consistently good violins" (page 170). The article is very specific on how the top and bottom plates of the violin are "tuned" and it goes as exact as having aluminum flakes spread over the plates and vibrated so they make specific patterns that I suppose represent the frequencies at a very high caliber of accuracy:

"We have found that the sound varies in good violins between C# 3 [the 3 indicates the octave] and D 3 for the belly, and for the back between D 3 and D # 3, so that there is always a difference between them of a half or a whole tone1."

4 replies

The Joy of Practicing

March 1, 2012 13:09

A Question: how much would you practice this passage until you got it right?
Answer: a teacher of mine at Gonzaga once said, "a million times."

I of course thought she was crazy, and perhaps it is that sort of drive that merits success. Students, and myself, I've realized, often stop at 80%-- when we're just about to reach our goal-- then we stop for a number of reasons. Some of it could be:

1. We feel we've reached what's acceptable.
2. We feel it's good enough to be tackled tomorrow.
3. We simply don't know the next step after it's solid, or don't know what solid means.
4. Too scared to get it right-- too scared of the success/responsibilities/more music.

I've been in all of these predicaments. I think thought, that the main issue has been stopping too soon: "yeah, I nailed it once or twice correctly, time to do something else." What about three or four times correctly? What about ten times correctly?

There's a "Part B" to this, and it's to start slow in fast passages and speed up in chunks. Don't blow through a whole passage that is hard. When I start small, and listen to where the system breaks down, I start to have ears to hear with. I tell myself: tackle those parts first, even just a half measure at a time. Then, once I start to speed up, (this is where I fall short) drill the small parts at tempo many times over, until there's no issue of a mistake. I often will stop at a few times quickly, maybe just enough to get it right, and then: gotta move on! Wrong. This is where the next day I will find that my practice has fallen short. Something to watch out for.

This takes discipline, time, and patience. I have yet to have much patience.

1 reply

Worm Damage!

March 1, 2012 11:42

My sound post had been replaced about 6 times and nothing would help. Then, miraculously at Schuback Violin Shop in Portland, Oregon, they managed to see that there was a culprit: a worm! Sometime between when the instrument was last opened (1927, as is shown by the pencil signature on the inside top) and 2012, a worm snuck into my violin and began eating it away. The bass bar and all.

So... after some extensive repairs, my violin is almost finished. It still needs a new sound post again, after two weeks of playing it settled and needs a slightly larger one.

This has been an adventure for me, but I'm glad for posterities sake and for my symphony excerpt repertoire's sake that the mystery is finally solved of the moving sound post, and that I can successfully play now without much else to intervene. That is... for now... :-)