Really struggling with 6/8 time.

August 17, 2016 at 09:02 PM ·

August 17, 2016 at 09:06 PM ·

August 17, 2016 at 10:13 PM · One-and-a, Two-and-a is totally appropriate. You just need to build up your speed. You do that gradually. Grab a few easy jigs online and try 'em. If you have outpaced your metronome at six-beats-to-a-bar that's a good sign... but also a sign that you need to figure out how to "feel it in two" and adjust your metronome accordingly (dividing the bpm by three).

August 17, 2016 at 10:47 PM · 6/8 is called compound duple

August 17, 2016 at 10:55 PM · I'm not entirely sure if you're struggling with the conceptual or practical aspect of this, so I'm going to address both - forgive me if I'm being obvious.

6/8 means that there's six units or beats to a measure, and each unit is an eighth note - so, six eighths per measure. When you count 1 2 3 4 5 6 each syllable is one eighth. Same thing when you're counting one and a two and a - each syllable is one eighth, so "two" comes on the 4th eighth note, and whatever you would play on the fourth eighth of the measure is what you would play on two. There are three eighth notes in a dotted quarter note, so when you switch from counting 123456 to one and a two and a, you're essentially making the pulse 1/3 the speed.

It's probably easiest to feel the correspondence between the two away from the instrument, first. What I would suggest: set the metronome at 120, and count with it "1 2 3 4 5 6", one number per click - each click is your eighth note. You want to group the eighths into groups of three to feel them as dotted quarter notes, so accent the numbers 1 and 4 - shout them and whisper the others (ONE two three FOUR five six), clap when you say 1 and 4, take a step on one and four and walk around the room very slowly. Once you get comfortable with that, you can switch to saying "one and a two and a" instead, if you want - same speed, same deal.

Now, switch the metronome to dotted quarter notes, so if you were at 120 before you're going to put it on 40 (120/3). Count with it the same way - you should be counting exactly the same speed as before, and you'll say three syllables for every one click of the metronome. Once you're comfortable with how that works, try clapping your piece along with the metronome - it can go slower than you'd actually play it, but I'd try clapping it with both the metronome set on eighths and then the metronome 1/3 as fast so it's "in two". Eventually, if you feel comfortable enough "in two" you can stop counting the internal subdivisions of the beats.

If you have a two sixteenth note pickup, two sixteenths = one eighth, so it will be on the last eighth of the measure. When you have the metronome in two, try subdividing it "ONE two THREE ONE two THREE" so you feel where that pickup should land.

August 18, 2016 at 12:31 PM · Corey, I'm a little worried that your teacher is going way too fast for you. At your stage the speed should be slow enough for you to learn to coordinate bow and fingers while still getting an understanding of the 6/8 rhythm.

The mantra that has been chanted by violin teachers over the centuries when the student is learning technique is "Slow Practice!", which still applies today at all levels of playing, up to international soloist level. I feel that your teacher should be able to demonstrate the slow practice speed, and to use it when necessary while teaching.

Don't worry about being a slow learner. The violin is one of the most difficult instruments because the student has to learn to coordinate two entirely different sets of movements between the left and right arms, and to learn to use their ears. To do this means developing a high level of neuromuscular control, and this is a physiological process which inevitably takes time that can't be hurried. How long? It depends of course on the individual student and the quality of teaching, but learning the basics of posture, finger and bow control, and relaxation usually takes several months, perhaps running into a year or more.

August 18, 2016 at 02:37 PM · Pineapple, pineapple, pineapple,pineapple....

August 18, 2016 at 05:07 PM · I always liked ban-gers-and-ca-bag-ges :D

Can you go to a session? That's really how you're "supposed" to learn these tunes.