G String exercises

October 25, 2004 at 05:36 AM · Greetings,

practice glissando sclaes in thirds 1313 etc then 2424 etc

Then 132413241324 etc in all keys. That is the most importnat. Then sixths and octaves. Also single note scales with one finger like from the Galamina book . Also Yost I think. The dounis book Artists technique has everything you need.

Also sevcik shifting book.

Other g stringish pieces :Tzigane, Bach arioso arr. Szigeti, Air on g. Ave Maria. Glazunov Meditation.

Mess around with etxracts from the Sibelius cocnerto too.

Cheers,

Buri

October 25, 2004 at 06:01 AM · Hi everyone!

All things considered, where does Bach's "Air on G String" fit into boning up G-string technique? Before or in complement with Moses Variations?

What I mean is, can Air be used as kind of an etude and, if so, how should it be used / played?

This is a question, not an answer, but I hope that replies to my query could also be of help to Adam as well.

Much thanks,

TJ

October 25, 2004 at 10:27 PM · Familiarize yourself with all the finger positons on the G String in various keys. Then check out Paganini's "Variations on the G String" from Rossini's Mose.

It's fun and quite challenging :D

It'd be awesome to whip out that piece if your other strings somehow decided to break all of a sudden (try doing that in concert, with inexpensive strings of course ;))

October 25, 2004 at 11:57 PM · Greetings,

Hi timothy. Reasonable question. Notice thta in Adam`s origina post he was talking about -tone- in @particular as well as g string technique (not initsef much different form anywhere else...) so the Air is a good example of learning about bow speeds and points of contact on the g string.

I though of a more specific left hand exercise that might help though.

Play a whole note down bow on the e string in a low position , a or whatever. Don`t prepare eitehr the bow or the left hand just play it out of the blue. If it is out ofd tune, don`t adjust it. Take everything off and start again -out of the blue- no preparation. Then take eevrything off and play the same note high on the g string out of the blue. No preparation and no adjusting. If your finger automatically adjusts and you can@t control it then it isa good idea to learn how to inhibit that action. Just decide if it flat or sharp , take the bow and left hand comepltely away and try to hit the note again out of the blue.

The kep to this exercise is a long break between the low psoition note on the e string and the high position note on the g. During this time one imagines the g string note in the head. If you just jump without hearing the note first , then I suggest you gove up and be a bus conducter instead. (Think of the tips you would get for palying Pagining on long journeys...) If you hear the note in advance you will get it pretty damn close or spot on most of the time.

But remember, no prepartion, just play it. Then a -long rest- with only the mind working. In fatc, during the long rests consder letting the bow hang down towards the floor as this relaxes the usual tension we accumulate in our arms while waiting to play a new note.

Cheers,

Buri

October 26, 2004 at 12:48 AM · That is an excellent idea! Where do you get these ideas?

October 26, 2004 at 02:04 AM · Adam, also practice scales: C-Major, c-minor two octaves, using the same fingering, as in Paganini's Variations (play these scales in harmonics as well); practice melodic (low 6th and 7th steps) and Miksolydian (low 7th step)G-Major mode and Miksolydian B flat-Major (regular and in harmonics); don't forget about arpeggios, especially in G-Major and C-Major. About bowing... play legato, detache, colle-all notes down bow at the very frog, martele-what is very important...:)

Good luck!

October 26, 2004 at 03:11 AM · Greetings,

Rita reminds me that this piece is the clasic example of the so called Paginini bowing. It is highly recommended that you pracitce this bowing in all parts of the bow everyday (especially on Kreutzer no2) even if you don`t play the piece,

Emily, ideas? I simply try to read every book on violin playing or prunes ever written, pester my colelagues and experiment on myself. But i also find that stuff from other fields feeds in and triggers new thoughts along the way. Having said that, there is -nothing= new in violin playing unless you count Mattias` cruel and unusual use of ice hockey sticks and prune cans,

Cheers,

buri

October 26, 2004 at 06:02 AM · Hehe, thanks people...I started looking at the Moses, its alright. Notes are generally very good and I can shift easily, guess thats due to the throwing away of the shoulder rest half a year ago.

Going to have a look at the Air, Scales definetely and a specific Mazas study i think which is all on the g string.

October 26, 2004 at 03:59 PM · Where did you find the score for Moses? I tried to find them some time ago without success, and I'd love that piece. Perhaps I wouldn't be able to play it yet, by why not try :)

October 26, 2004 at 09:24 PM · Hey, I've developed a bit of a problem from playing on G, especially above third position. The angle I have to make with my left elbow when my shoulder is back is a little too contorting for my joints, and after a while, I have pain at the front of my shoulder, right about where the humerus inserts. If it gets bad, it can twinge all the way down in my thumb. This only started to happen after I started making a conscious effort to keep from hunching my left shoulder. When I hunch, I don't have to angle my elbow as much. What is the proper position for playing in the higher positions on G?

October 27, 2004 at 01:14 AM · Greetings,

does it help to shift the violin to the left andf raise it a bit?

Cheers,

Buri

October 27, 2004 at 03:33 AM · I find myself there by default, yes.

I though about other changes I'd made in my practicing to aggrivate the problem, and I summed it up to too much shifting, plus lots of double stops all at once. Gotta be careful there! Hey, off topic, I know, but is it necessary to use more muscles for double stops? My hands are pretty tired these days. I'm sure I need to relax more, but I'm playing with as little pressure as I can, and I'm still tired. Maybe I practice too much.

October 27, 2004 at 03:39 AM · Greetings,

take a week off. Paint some pictures.

Try only playing six days a week. Menuhin advised many of his studnets to do this.

Try only pracitcing for five minutes everyday. Set a timer and stop. That focuses the mind....

Yes , double stops use more muscles ...

Cheers,

Buri

October 27, 2004 at 06:25 AM · I got the score from my library.

October 27, 2004 at 06:27 AM · the air on g string is a good idea, i think i might do that. i might add the first movement of lalo's symphonie espagnole, some good g string stuff there.

November 8, 2004 at 11:44 PM · I took a week of less practicing, as Buri suggested, so my hands would feel fresh again, decided to work on some art projects, and threw my back out from cutting mats for my prints. Sheesh! Now I can't play at all.

Seems as though some kind of lifestyle change is in order.

November 9, 2004 at 12:11 AM · Greetings,

Buri strikes again!

Cheers,

Er, Buri

November 9, 2004 at 06:08 AM · Greetings,

In my opinion the dementors have rightly noted that comment crosses over the line of acceptable smut.

Sam, this list is not devoid of a sense of humor and many of us do go risque or too far on ocassion but you seem to be rather consistently outside the general tenor which has established itself over the years. That`s your right of course, but I wonder what it actually achieves? Jumping in with something out of order at a dinne rparty can really liven things up at times, but do it all the time and people begin to wish you stayed at home forking prunes out of the can all on yer own.

Cheers,

Buri

November 9, 2004 at 11:31 AM · Paganini caprice Nr. 19 middle section. Nice streches!

Lauri

November 10, 2004 at 02:01 AM · The slightly smutty, slightly embarrassing one. It seems to have been removed in the meantime.

November 10, 2004 at 02:11 AM · Greetings,

Sam, you wrote it so pretending it doesn`t exist is rather pointless.

I protested against your joke because it , in my opinion, evoked a level of pornography outside what I feel to be the norm on this list.

This is just my personal opinion and apparently it was echoed by the dementors who marked it thus. I do not use the dementor demerits because I would rather say to someones face what I objected to and why. Other jokes I also feel outside realms of good taste include the homophobic ones you put on another thread.

I would suggest I have been quite polite in voicing these protests and have explained exactly what I am addressing.

Your response makes an unsubstabtiated claim that I write in a manner ouside the acceptable limits of this list. Since I don`t seem to be getting demerits it is apparently not the opinon of others on this list (on the other hand it seems a number of people find you consistently offensive enough that a great many of your posts are demerited). So perhaps you could cite some examples and explain in what ways they transcend the norms of discourse on this list?

Cheers,

Buri

November 10, 2004 at 05:36 AM · Greetings,

actually you wrote pole with a lower case letter so basically you are a liar.

End of disucssion.