Chords on three strings

February 21, 2013 at 02:43 AM · Play with the bow closer to the fingerboard. Aim for the middle string.

February 21, 2013 at 06:04 AM · In addition to the above, start with the bow on the strings contacting all three strings, at the frog, and pull.

February 21, 2013 at 06:55 AM · What is the repertoire and the passages that you are applying this to?

February 21, 2013 at 11:27 AM · Marty's advice is very good, regarding playing near the fingerboard. Make sure that you increase the bow speed though, to compensate for the change in sounding point.

February 22, 2013 at 01:21 AM · Yes, lots of bow speed over the fingerboard. BTW, have your teacher try your violin to make sure it is set up properly. The bridge needs to have the correct arch on top and correct string spacing. My violin works well on GDA strings, but not so well playing DAE strings. I should get it adjusted but too lazy and don't want to take a chance it could affect the sound.

3 string chords come up quite a bit in Bach Chaconne.

February 22, 2013 at 02:12 AM · I can start another thread if you want, but how do you tell if you are supposed to break the chords or play them all together? Is there a symbol or something to indicate how you play it? I just got introduced to broken chords and as far as I can tell there isn't anything that says they should be broken rather than all the notes played at once.

February 22, 2013 at 03:30 AM · It is not possible to play all 4 strings at once, so 4 note chords HAVE to be broken. But for 3 note chords, if they are relatively short notes (i.e., 1/8 notes or short 1/4 notes) and forte, then they can be played simultaneously. It depends on the piece, but especially in Bach, when there are several voices going on at the same time (polyphony), if you can play all three notes at once, it gives the lower voices a more sustained sound. But there is no hard rule, and no notations in the music as far as I know.

February 22, 2013 at 03:38 AM · BTW, you can't really play on 3 strings softly. In order to hit 3 strings simultaneously, it requires a combination of the strings bending, and the bow hairs deforming around the strings. That's why it has to be done on the fingerboard. The strings are a bit closer together there, and they also deform enough so you can hit 3 at once. I hope that makes sense. It's a little hard to describe in words.

February 22, 2013 at 04:38 AM · For my taste, the sound of a three note chord with all three strings sounding simultaneously and sustained is rather unpleasant unless it's extremely staccato. I much prefer to very slightly (quickly) roll the chords in Bach for example. OTOH I play the three notes together at the end of the Preludium and Allegro, and also at the end of the first page of the Bruch concerto.

February 22, 2013 at 02:56 PM · Thanks! its taken me months to wrap my head around the little double stop run in Suzuki Book 4 so I won't worry about it until later. much, much, later. :)

February 23, 2013 at 07:23 PM · Actually, there is one song I know of that calls for unrolled triple- and quadruple-stops: Der Erlkönig. It's playable (barely). In order to play these chords, the song is played spiccatto-- and the strikes need to be powerful enough to strike the full chord. If done correctly, this should sound all three (or four) notes simultaneously.

I've had a go at the piece several times, and sounding the full chords is actually the least of your concerns in this piece; the hardest part is actually in the left hand finger placement. I won't lie and say I can play it. :D But Hilary Hahn can:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPMXJf32vuU

February 24, 2013 at 02:26 AM · Rachel-- There are two ways you can tell:

#1. If there's a bracket to the left of the notes [

#2. If the word divisi appears later on but not early on, the first few chords are likely double-stops. A good example of this is in American Salute.

February 24, 2013 at 03:20 PM · So I tried three strings on once up near the fingerboard as you all suggested, but I did it on open strings. It sounds pretty cool! But I may have answered another question that I posted on v.com a few weeks ago. I had asked why I've seen so many professional folk musicians with this nasty rosin buildup on their fingerboard. Maybe its from all the triple stops. I noticed that when I was done there was a noticeable dusting of rosin on the fingerboard--which I've never seen before on my violin. So, once you've mastered your triple stops, make sure to wipe off your fingerboard!

February 24, 2013 at 04:54 PM · Yes always wipe the instrument after playing. But if you see a huge dust cloud when playing triple stops, you might be using too much rosin. I generally rosin only two or three times a week -- just a few long swipes is all it takes.

February 26, 2013 at 10:25 PM · Rachel-- more likely, they play quite frequently and don't really feel like cleaning their instrument every time they do. I wouldn't expect folk fiddlers to do triple-stops very often if at all.