How do I fix a scratchy spiccato?
I would appreciate some help with my not-so-good spiccato. I am working on Kreisler's Schon Rosmarin which has many notes marked staccato. It doesn't seem to matter how much bow I use, or how much bounce, the notes always start with a nasty scratch. I have listened to numerous recordings of this piece (James Ehnes particularly) and the staccato notes are so clean and crisp. There must be a trick to this and I would be grateful for any advice I can get. I am using a pretty good bow - a Hill that cost me a small fortune some years ago and my violin has been appraised by those who know to be very good. So the problem is obviously me! I would consider myself to be in the intermediate range as a player so I still have a long way to go. But this problem is beginning to get me down a bit. I'm getting reasonably good at the string crossings played staccato but it's this awful scratch at the start.
Also, bars 7 and 8 are to be played in one bow. I end up way to close to the frog at the end but if I start in the upper half of the bow, it doesn't work so well. How should these two bars be played?
Thanks in anticipation.
Replies (13)
Thanks, Stephen. I'll give it a try.
Also, your bow hand fingers might be stiff. Relax and let them move with your bow. It worked for me!
Check all four tonal factors: weight, speed, contact point, and amount of hair. If you spent time changing different factors and observing the results, you can eventually find the right combination. This combination is always changing, though, since the music is not static. In essence, you have to be pretty good at controlling all four and changing them at will in order to keep a nice tone throughout the piece.
I like Buri's advice, of course. As you practice your bouncing, make sure to find the speed you are going to perform it at and spend a lot of time in that realm. But work in little chunks, like a measure at a time, or a note at a time. Instead of slowing the speed down when practicing, double or quadruple the notes.
I find it helps to think about ping pong balls, tennis balls, racket balls, dodge balls, and beach balls. They all have different characteristics, see, different types of bounce. Also, they don't think it's difficult to bounce, and that's important.
And as always, check your bow thumb. He needs to be pretty loose.
You'll keep getting better. Keep practicing!
Thanks for the tips. Does anyone have anything to add regarding this specific piece - Schon Rosmarin? Particularly measures 7 and 8 marked for a single bow. That's a lot of spiccato notes - where does one start on the bow. I've tried to spot this from utube videos but without much luck. Thanks again.
Hi, in addition to some good advice I think already given by Buri and Emily I would suggest making sure your bow is exactly parallel to the bridge and that it isn't skidding from the fingerboard to the bridge. When the bow skids, it will lead to the tone becoming distorted.
I would make sure that you are playing on all the hairs as well. When the bow is bounced and you are coming down on the side of the hair, gravity will push the bow to skid towards the bridge. With flat hair you will maintain a much better center of gravity making for better balance and control of the bow.
For the smaller quicker strokes, I am an advocate for flexibility of the wrist and fingers. If you are sawing away with your entire arm the strokes will come out unevenly. One other thing, I think this might be the answer to your question if you try it --- I would suggest that spiccato strokes you play be right in the middle of the bow at the balancing point, if you play too far up at the frog or lower half the spiccato can get scratchy and harsh (kind of like the sound many violinists make in the Shostakovich Violin Concerto which you cannot make in Kreisler works).
I am not a professional violinist, but my daughter has been learning this stroke. Try practicing the stroke on open strings of your piece. Also, watch where your elbow is placed... higher for G string and lower for E etc.
I know what frustration you are going thru. I know elbow placement was a biggy for my daughter.
Good luck
Technique, Technique, Technique....... What does your teacher say when you ask about this?
OFten, the sound of spiccato strokes can be made "neater" if you play closer to the fingerboard, thus enabling thes string to respond more to less force.
However, Perlman ignores the indicated bowing in Schön Rosmarin and uses separate strokes. So if you are performing it and feel insecure about your strokes, you can always do that. Still, it is good to practice the slurred staccato - grows the soul, or something!
Andy
Thanks, everyone. I appreciate the advice, all of which I will try. I didn't know that Perlman uses separate bows. This is certainly easier for me but I'll still try to do it as written. I hate to mess with the written page - it smacks of a "cop-out" but if its good enough for Perlman, what can I say! As far as talking with my teacher is concerned, those years are gone - since retiring to Cape Breton, it appears the only teachers available are for fiddle, which, as yet, has not captivated me. At present, I'm going it alone with the aid of this site and Fischer's Basics. After all, Isaac Stern said that the best thing his teacher taught him was to teach himself. Thanks again.
Hi Vic,
It's hard to know exactly what the problem is without hearing/seeing you. That being said, the basis of a sound spiccato is a solid detache. If your bow is straight and you're playing at the balance point, spiccato should come naturally with a slight raising of the (right) elbow. Also, it's important to know how much (or how little) bow to use. If you play loudly, you need more bow and you'll need to play closer to the frog. If you're playing softly, you often need less bow, playing closer to the middle.
Hope this helps!
Daniel
Thanks, Daniel. I'll go back to detache practice. Appreciate your advice
Vic
Greetings,
I respectfully disagree with the above advice. The base of a sound spicatto is not detache. This is a common misunderstanding of violin playing. The base of spciatto is actually a small matrtele stroke because it involves a slight finger action. This is part of the contorl involved in spiccato. The basis of -sautille- is detache.This differnec eis subtle but veyr important.
The point is well documented in the standard violin literature.
Cheers,
Buri
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October 28, 2008 at 10:20 PM · Greetings,
as is often the case in violin playing one may be lookign at the wrong hand. Spicatto often soudns faulty because the bow hits the string prior to the necessry degre eof compression by left hand. The cure is obvious I hope.
Another major factor that is not mentioned so often is the angle of the hair and especially when changing string when it is wont to change.Also, when practicing establish the sound you wnat in spicatto by playing a bar or two on a single note until you have gt what concive of mentally. Then eliminate the extra notes and jupm in with a feeling of up beat and strive for the same quality sound.
Cheers.
Buri