Effective pedagogic methods

Written by Eun Hwan Bai
Published: August 19, 2014 at 8:46 AM [UTC]

Effective pedagogic methods
Performance posture
Basic technique on the violin
There are no cardinal rules in the bow technique
Vibrato

Introduction

One can not deny the fact that the violin is one of the most lovable instruments ; anybody would be moved to try at least once. Unfortunately, one has to invest many hours and much effort in order to reach a level that one can enjoy a performance.

And so this course of study can be compared to a strenuous mountain climbing. From the first step on the mountain to the top, studying the violin seems like a constant uphill and one is faced with difficulties all the way.

Therefore it is not surprising that the violin is often called as the most attractive and lovable instrument yet at the same, one of the most difficult to learn and to perform.

Let us explore the features of this instrument; an instrument which we cannot ignore.

Effective pedagogic methods

Like in mountain climbing, the beginner should take particular care to prepare all the equipment when thinking of starting the violin.

The violin itself should not be too small or too big and should be chosen according to the age, or for the physical size of the player.

If one is purchasing a full size violin, it is adviseable to choose it with further use in mind and purchase a good quality violin in good physical condition.

The same applies to a bow as it is also available in different size: a full size bow should be flexible, strong but one with a stick that will not bend out of shape.

It is important to choose one which will last years of use.

It is sometimes the case that the early years of a child's learning is neglected with words of complacency, or is left unattended without nurture or care.

Instead of letting the child think of the violin as an object to be feared or dislike the act of practicing, the teacher should allow the child to enjoy the practice and have fun when relating to the instrument, then result could be that the child will want to practice more and the relationship between the student and the teacher will begin to strengthen, blossom and eventually both will be able to reap the benefits.

When teaching children it is adviseable to divide the age bracket into bayhood and childhood so that the child is not overtly pressurized and a suitable didactic program is created for the child.

For children under the age of six whose muscles are yet underdeveloped, the goal of the lessons is to give them a early start in their education and therefore the beginning lessons should be like a natural process of learning a language.

Hence, the very early beginnings the lessons should like when one learns the native tongue for the first time: the playing of the instrument should not be but the child should explore the instrument naturally.

Although this is by no means an easy task to achieve, it is nevertheless possible, as it has been already seen in other branch of the arts and sports.

In swimming, dance, gymnastics etc. early babyhood education has been actively pursued and have been successful in many areas.

It can only be concluded from this that it is possible to reap good results if care is taken.

So, should we regard these children as the children they are, or should we emphasized regard them as subjects in a experimental cases.

This question should be carefully considered depending on each child but for the purpose of this paper we will consider them as 'students'.

The reason for this is that however young the child may be, if purpose is learning, one should concerntrate in the act of learning.

The most characteristic reaction of the babies to the violin is their unfailing acceptance of the instrument as a plaything rather than as study instrument.

Therefore it is often effective to teach the violin in a fun and fascinating way: it is the most natural method of learning for these younger students.

The teacher should accept this and 'play' with the child during the lesson so that the child's relates and grows with the instrument in the most natural manner.

Of course it is unnatural to continue this kind of treatment indefintely but as long as the child adapts to the violin at a young age, then it could serve its purpose very well.

So, just to recap, instead of explaining in words how to hold the bow or use the left hand, it may be much more effective to tell a story to make the technical aspect of the learning interesting and fun.

If the child does not respond or fail to understand the basics, the child should not be forced to listen and understand, but rather through repetition in a natural manner the child should be allowed to realize by himself.

I will now explain how 'solfage' can be easily thaught to children. By characterising each name of the solfage with a member of the family, for example, 'do' as mam, 're' as dad, 'me' as sister, 'fa' as brother, 'sol' as me, 'la' as cousin and 'ti' as dog. By equating these names to the locations on the violin, the child learns the notes, and the memory is reinforced by repetitive and reversed questioning.

Methods such as these can help the child understand about the violin with ease. It is also possible to mark the fingerboard with colored stickers or crayons but as the violin is a tactile instrument, it is important to avoid such methods. In some cases such markings could confuse the child.

If any visual aid is needed at all, it may be better if the teacher could enlarge the score and above it draw a diagram of a violin to indicate the location of the notes.

A typical problem of the bow for beginners is the sliding of the bow: to be more exact, children tend to bow off centre and cannot keep a straight bow.

Instead of insisting on a straight bow, it may be more fun if the teacher and the student play a game to see who can keep the bow in a straight line better. The child will naturally try harder to keep the bow straight.

From students who are six years old or less, an accurate sense of rhythm cannot be expected. Therefore it is more benificial to teach them simple, easy to learn song with which they can also sing along.

It may not be an exaggeration to say that how well the teacher guides his/her students may depend heavily on how well the teacher plays with and has fun with the young student.

Of course, a specially gifted child must be taught with a little more care, but the basic method of playing and having fun with the student still remains the same.

Children of seven years and older needs a little different care. At this age most children are starting to read and are developing stronger muscles to play sports. Their physical development can change on a daily basis.

Although all students are different, it is at this stage that the child's intellect and physical development require an order.

At this age the child is getting used to the act of learning and if the child is to endure and succeed in the fight of learning, the child needs to feel stimulated and enjoyment in the act of learning itself.

The younger the child is in this age group, the more the child will naturally revert back to his/her young age reactions but it is important to foster curiosity in the mind of the child.

To explain more simply, the teacher should instill a little resistance in the student.

For example, by enforcing them with words such as, " D..... was praised also in his response to the same question" the student should be guided into self-teaching.

As the student becomes older he/she should be more strongly enforced but never to the point of extreme.

For students who are using full size violins at high school age, the teacher should encourage and explain in detail rather than enforce.

Performance posture

In this section I would like to explain the posture of the beginner regardless of the age.
The posture learnt as a beginner becomes the posture that one will assume for life: therefore it is very important to be carefully aware from the start.

I'm comparison to other instruments such as the piano, cello, flute, etc. the violin is a very uncomfortable instrument to play.

The left arm is twisted on one side, the neck is in constant contact with the violin, the shoulder supports the violin and the bow constantly holds the bow while it moves up and down the strings.

The posture looks as if the player is being punished.

The shoulder rest is used to make the holding of the instrument a little more comfortable up the discomfort remains. Even wind instrumentalists can keep bad postures when the instruments droop down low.

This is because the posture at the beginning was badly taught. As a rule, the violin should be held in parallel line to floor but in reality the violin is often held slightly higher than this while performing.

The reason is because in order to press the left hand the instrument is pressed down also and in order to draw a straight bow the violin needs to be held a little higher than the parallel line.

In order to avoid discomfort caused by the raising of the left shoulder, a shoulder rest is used and is adjusted according to the shape of the body: a suitable shoulder rest is acquired depending of the shape of the chin, shoulder and the chest.

As the physiche is an individual feature, the bone structure also depends on the individuals also and the right choice of shoulder rest could determine the violin technique of the player.

When the player faces the music, the violin should be held at a 45 degree angle to the stand. In this way the angle of the player and violin naturally becomes 90 degrees when the player is performing and the music is easy to see.

This is also another reason why the music stand is placed at a 45 degrees when the performer is facing the audience: the stand is not placed right in front of the player.

The result is that the violin is parallel to the audience and the the sound from the f-hole travels to the audience with ease.
In many cases, beginners continuously move the violin towards the music stand.

Children often just rest the scroll of the violin on the music stand itself when their arms are in pain. This should obviously be avoided because these kind of habits can develop many bad habits.

I will explain the movement of the left hand in more detail. If we call the tip of the finger that define the notes the head of a hammer, then the rest of the joints on the left arm ( even the shoulder and the elbow ) plays the role of the handle of the hammer.

But if the left hand is unnaturally twisted the movements will obviously be restricted. There will be pain that will result from this kind of bad position and as a preventive measure the player should do so me simple exercises.

Each joint on the left arm should be exercised: the shoulder, elbow, wrist, knuckles, finger joints should be equally isolated so that each joint is prepared in the warm-up exercises.

For example, the 360 degree possible in the shoulder, wrist and the knuckle joints together with the restricted movement of the elbow and the finger joints should be moved so that the movements are smooth.

In day to day use, the knuckle is only used in two ways to close and open the hands. Therefore it is not surprising that many find the movements needed for the violin difficult and unnatural.

The fact that the wrist is twisted in an odd, unnatural position can cause discomfort at first but the initial pain can be overcome with in time with practice after the beginner stage.

It is easier of the player understands the function and the possibilities of each joint at the beginner's level.

The same kind of understanding is adviseable for the bow arm.

It is good to assume the bow as an extension of the right arm. A good analogy would be the way we use every day utensils such as forks or chopsticks.

When we study the way the shoulder, elbow, wrist function when we reach for food placed near us and food placed in the distance, it gives us a clear indication as to how our arm works.

Perhaps the way the asians use chopsticks helps the agility of the fingers and the arm in general and explain the rise of many oriental violinists in recent days.

Basic technique on the violin

I would like to explain the details of the basic bow technique. It is my opinion that the basic bow hold should be taught properly right from the beginning in order to minimise any future problems.

There are two basic bow holds: the Russian and Franco-Belgian techniques.

The Russian hold has the first finger protruding from the rest of the hand: it produces a strong, deep tone but lacks subtlties. The Franco-Belgian hold empahsizes comfort of the hand: the first finger is held naturally and its second joint area touches the bow.

The tone production is not as strong or big as the Russian hold but more detailed and flexible playing is possible with the Franco-Belgian bow hold.

Yet most twentieth century violinists use the Franco-Belgian bow hold. It can be said that Jascha Heifetz, who passed away only recently, is one the last generation to have used the Russian bow hold.

The Russian violinists of today after David Oistrakh's generation all use the Franco-Belgian hold.

Let us look at the Franco bow hold in more detail. The first thing that comes to my attention would be the position of the thumb.

In my opinion the mid-point between the first and the last finger is the best place the thumb should be placed.

The reason for this is that the function of the first finger is to apply pressure on the bow whereas the function of the last finger is to raise the bow.

Therefore, the levering function of the thumb should be placed in the middle of the bow for the 50/50 ratio of the application and release of pressure of the second and last fingers to be equally distributed.

The second and third fingers should lie easily between the first and last fingers. The force of each finger is equally divided in the bow hold to aid in the natural use of the bow.

The position of the elbow and the wrist differ according to the technique needed: especially when playing spiccato, the focal point should be in the last finger while the elbow and the wrist control the weight of the bow.

In order to achieve this, one should divide the bow into three sections of the balancing point, the tip and the frog of the bow.

By doing this the bow should always keep a straight line at the change of the strings by controlling the wrist. In other words, the pressure that the bow receives should not replace the comfort of the bow hold.

The pressure on the string will differ a little depending on the change of the string but in general, the bow arm should always be relaxed.

One should always remember that the pressure of the bow is applied by the weight of the whole arm.

Because the bow arm functions most effectively when it is the most relaxed and comfortable, it is very important that beginners learn to hold the bow in the right manner from the earliest stages.

The three technical points, 1.pressure, 2.speed, 3.sound point, should ease the process of explaining the movement of the bow.

A good analogy would be the properties of a triangle. Like the triangle, each points are closely related to each other: for example, when more pressure is applied, the speed and sound point naturally must change with it.

It is these three points that are adjusted if there are any problems concerning the bow. Therefore by adjusting the pressure, speed and the sound point, one can produce the tone that is desired.

Let's discuss the pressure of the bow in more detail.

I will discuss this by dividing pressure into three different terms; 1.pressure by force, 2.pressure by weight, 3.pressure by gravity. The first finger can apply pressure by pressing it onto the bow at the middle to the tip of the bow.

Force can be applied at the tip of the bow by controlling a combination of the natural weight of the frog area of the bow and the weight of the arm.

Pressure by gravity changes according to the angle of the bow on different strings.

'Speed' of the bow can be defined as a fixed length of the bow in a fixed rhythm. A good analogy would be a travelling car.

For example, when thinking of the start and finish of the bow, one can apply the same principles to the start of a car. Compare a sudden start and a normal start of a car.

By using a ratio of the accelerators and brakes, one can control the manner of starting and stopping of the car, according to the driver's technique and temperament.

This is exactly the same with the use of the bow. The speed of the bow as well as the 'stop' and the 'start' of the bow... When practising one should use the metronome to divide the distribution of the bow so that the the bow travel is constant.

To practise with only with open strings can be boring, so it is adviseable to use this method in Kreutzer study no. 2.

Then by setting the metronome to quarter note equals 60, the student should divide the bow into two, four, eight, sixteen parts etc. and utilize many other ways to equally distribute the bow.

The sound point is a very important factor in the way one uses the bow. This is because through this the character and the actual sound can make many changes.

In other words, the 'sound' that results from this 'point' is what we define as 'music'. Therefore, in order to produce a good tone, one needs to keep a constant vigil on the point of bow contact on the string.

Theoretically speaking, when there is a lot of pressure and less speed, the sound point should be near the bridge. When the pressure is less and the speed is applied more, then the sound point should be near the fingerboard.

This is basic fact about the nature of the bow and the exact amount of the pressure or the exact location of the bow is left up to the performer and is not taught to the player.

Therefore the result is a whole range and variety of performers, very much like the singers. Like the singers, the personality of the performer is shown through the different ways the performer decides to use the available techniques.

It is often said that the violin is naturally best played if it sings like the human voice and the performer can understand the origins of the technique better.

There are no cardinal rules in the bow technique

The bow technique has been carefully studied over many centuries but there is no fixed rules.

Of course the basics in the use of the bow is universally same but the high level of bow technique used by the world class performers use a unique way of using the bow that is extremely individual.

This can only be superficially copied.

For example, Milstein's style is based on the focus of the shoulder, whereas Perlman utilizes his big arms and hands in a chopstick style. Gidon Kremer creates a unique sound by using the whole bow in fast speeds.

The way these great players include these techniques into their style does not mean that we can isolate these features and parody them to produce equal results: many other subtle factors are needed to make a sucessful performance and it may be to the detriment of the student to parody these features for the sake of emulating them.

Although the variety is infinite, it is better for beginners to follow the text book basics in using the bow.

At any level the infinite choice of the bow and the problems that follows with it will always exist.

I always advise my students to find a bow technique that suits them the most. When great violinist play the exact same piece, they use different fingerings and bowings because they use what is the most comfortable and effective for their playing.

Yet when advising a young player who cannot make an independent decision, one needs to be careful.

Therfore it is important that the player is able to experience theoretically correct bowing/fingering and one that suits their physical features and is able to make a good decision in making the necessary adjustments themselves.

If the student is critisised too heavily or put down too much, the student will not be able to find what is right for themselves and will increasingly lean on the teacher.

Even if what they are doing does not work very well, the student should be encouraged to do better rather than critisised.

In the past I have personally experienced that when I was constantly practicing a certain aspect of playing, the improvement seemed slow and unnoticeable.

Yet when I practised with time and ease, I showed vast improvement and understanding. It is more so of young players who are constantly growing and changing. Same goes for adult students.

If one diligently practices, one can show enormous improvements. At this point of a student's progress, the use of a mirror is important because one can monitor the angle of bow on the string as well as one's general posture.

After having first checked the angle of the bow, one should then feel the pressure within the bow at that point of the bow.

We cannot know the sound that will be produced before playing and therefore must practise to rely on our tactile instincts. The problem occurs when all too often a player starts to play without any preparation of any kind.

Therefore, one should check the angle of the bow, feel the pressure (or even just prepare the pressure in the air) and then adjust the speed accordingly.

At first it takes a lot of mental effort and time but with pratice this whole process can become second nature as the reflexes will take over. It is essential that the metronome is used.

We will now look at the problems that occur with bowing techniques. When spiccato bowing is difficult due to very stiff wrist, the first thing that needs to be worked on must be relaxing and releasing the tension in the wrist.

Without the bow the wrist should be exercised consistently by turning it 360 degrees. Then the wrist should imitate brushoking motions by moving it in up and down movements.

If these simple exercises were carried out consistently in any spare moments the student had (regardless of time and place) the stiff wrist will become more agile like a well-oiled machine.

Of course the extent of the wrist movement depends on the speed of the spiccato bowing and as the speed increases the distance of the string and the bow becomes smaller.

The wrist movement becomes more spring-like. Although the wrist is relaxed, it is important that the fingers that are holding the bow should be firm and not be too loose. It is easier to understand if one thinks of the finger tips as an extension of the bow.

The first finger controls the direction and angle of the bow and therefore should not press the bow at all. Meanwhile, the last finger is very important as it controls the lever (the thumb) of the bow. A triangle is formed by the first, last and the thumb which predominantly controls the bow.

Here, the issue of smooth change of bow will be discussed. This is a universal problem that any beginner comes up against.

It is best to begin by asking the student to distinguish the different sound quality of a up and down bow and then asking them to make them sound the same. If the student cannot do this, he/she should diminuendo at the end of the bow.

The rough quality of sound in the middle of the bow can be improved by using a metronome: start with a slow tempo and increase it to a fast one by counting.

Also by placing a small sticker to indicate the middle of the bow the student can identify the distribution of the bow better, and therefore adjust the balance of the speed and pressure of the bow.

The change of the bow or of the string should be so smooth that it is undetectable. When changing strings, the point of change on each string should be fixed so that the change is as smooth as possible.

For example, when changing from G to Eing, the leap is very large.

The two strings inbetween will not be touched if the point of change is decided upon.

Another problem that performance can bring out is the change of fingerings.

Players with large hands have a constant problem of pushing away the fingers in high positions in the Eing, like Perlman, whereas players with the opposite problem of small hands face difficulties in playing perfect fifths, chords, stretching for notes and wide intervalic leaps or shifts.

One must adjust according to one's own physical limitations. But none of the above mentioned gets in the way of building up technique and experience.

Great performers such as Kyung-Wha Chung has suceeded with hands a third that of Perlman's whereas Perlman is giving beautifully detailed performances despite his large hands.

Chung has said that she uses the fourth finger constantly to give natural, expressive emphasis in her performance: it is important to use the relatively weak fourth finger to strengthen it instead of changing fingerings to accomodate and avoid the fourth finger.

Therefore, in order to produce a performance where the fingering is not an obstruction to the music, no finger from the left hand should have preference over the others.

To build a left hand that is equal in its use of the fingers, the student should practice scales and trills in three octaves.

Each finger should anticipate the movement and be close to the string , ready to play.

Economy of movement is important.

The pressure of the fingers should be not too weak or too strong: one should make the adjustment by judging the sound.

If the left hand is too relaxed there is not enough strength to articulate but on the other hand, if the hand is too firm, the player will experience pain. One can only find out through trial and error.

Anything that is natural is beautiful. It is my belief that any movement that is the most suited to the physiche of the individual player is the most natural.

Music is a product of human nature, together with the rest of the arts, and that is the reason that it has been revered fever since the ancient times.

Vibrato

Let's consider one of the features of the left hand. In many cases one can feel that the vibrato equates and defines personality of the performer.

I do not agree. One cannot judge the musical personality of a performer based solely on just one of techniques of the left hand: the whole performance that includes interpretation and musical judgment must taken into account. Of course the vibrato determines a part of the tone color and is a part of the player's personality.

But the whole nuance of the performance is a culmination of the whole technique of playing and the vibrato will or should change according to piece.

Intonation must be adjusted according to the nature of the vibrato and therefore the choice of intonation and vibrato goes hand in hand.

One of the most frequent questions that I am asked concerns the speed of the vibrato.

This has been studied from many years ago. Some say that the fast vibrato shows energy and therefore is the best: some say that the slow relaxed vibrato is best.

I think that it is best to have both kinds of vibrato but if a student is inclined to one or the other, one should always focus on the other kind of vibrato that the student lacks so that one can aquire a good variety.

The width of vibrato depends largely on the different makeup of the hand.

It is, of course, best to balance the width and the speed of the vibrato but in many cases students tend to use the wrong balance.

In other words, the slower the vibrato, the smaller the width should be: the faster the vibrato, the larger the width.

It is common that students do the exact opposite. A beautiful tone is created by a combination of the ratio of the speed and width of the vibrato.

The physical characteristics of an individual player will enhance the quality of the tone but in many players the vibrato will change throughout their lives.

Just like the face and the body changes even in adulthood, performers experience changes in their playing.

Oistrakh's monumental tone and vibrato came into fruition after his forties, as did Szeryng's and Milstein's pearly tones.

Of course these player maintained a wonderful sound throughout their youth too but the performances after their forties were that much more polished and outstanding.

The only player who sustained the same sound was Heifetz.

Most performers and students must be challenged by improvement of technique and tone throughout their lives.

Tone production and intonation is subject to endless investigation and as the left hand becomes stronger, the right hand will naturally follow.