False Harmonics
Okay, I'm sure this is a common problem, but my false harmonics are rather scratchy and resonate poorly. In the past I've heard that you should keep the bottom finger very firm and the top very light, and I'm trying to do this, but its not quite helping. Also I think my bow is part of the problem - it kind of slides back and forth toward the bridge sometimes. I'm especially having trouble articulating the beginnings of the harmonics. Any tips?
If it helps any, the piece in question is the second movement of Saint-Saens.
Thanks in advance.
Replies (18)
keep as close to the bridge as possible
IG
keep your bowing as straight as possible so your sounding point is consistent. also you may be playing with too much bow pressure.
bow closer to the bridge and faster
keep the bow on the string.
In my experience the main factor in how easily artificial harmonics speak is the accuracy of spacing between the two fingers. If the spacing is slightly off one might get the harmonic to sound, but it doesn't speak easily. Also, gut strings seem to sound harmonics more easily and fully than do synthetic strings.
right on Oliver, gut strings really help.
IG
I am having trouble speeding up the harmonics in Zapateado by Sarasate.
any suggestions for this?
Don't speed them up. TADA!
My harmonics were OK when I used to practise - but they didn't work at all when I started learning the Waxman recently (it's the sort of thing that goes, like unsplit chords) - until I got a new set of strings, then the improvement was instant.
I also got the music for The Last Rose of Summer off the internet, and the harmonics in that make you sincerely wish you HAD bothered with all the Flesch double harmonics and stuff. So take heed, all you college folk.
you can always whistle the notes you missed. nobody'll be the wiser.
A good way to practice them is to do it in octaves...Instead of putting the fourth finger on the same string as the first, put it on the string to the right.
harmonics really show up any discrepancies in bowing technique...work on sounding point and consistency in weight and speed. Thats interesting about gut strings producing harmonics easier. Clean strings are a must for nice, resonant harmonics. Which reminds me I have run out of string cleaner :-(
You can always borrow some perfume off the missus!
Or might that give people the wrong impression ...
Try practicing the passage in octaves (same fingerings/spacings) to make sure your left hand knows exactly where it is and where it's going. For the quality of the sound, first make sure your bow stays near the bridge - otherwise you'll lose the harmonic. Practice the attacks on their own - short colle strokes should sound clearly. If it crunches, you're probably using too much pressure/weight. Play with that and with contact point. Does it work both on down bow and up bow? At the tip, in the middle, at the frog? Once you've got the attack, you can play with bow speed - often harmonics sound better when you use a somewhat faster bow than usual.
Hope this helps!
I would suggest for this passage:
1. relatively fast bow speed played in the lower part of the bow.
2. a bow direction that on the down bow is more "out" than normal and is more" in" than normal for the up bow. This will drive you towards the bridge.
For Zapateado harmonics practice at half tempo with a metronome, but moving the hand at twice the speed between notes, thus preparing each harmonic.
Does anyone have suggestions for harmonics at the top of Mahler 1? My concertmaster seems to prefer a false harmonic on the e string, but my section is not producing a great sound despite my suggestions for bow speed and placement. Are there other fingerings that produce a better sound?
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April 21, 2006 at 04:45 AM · Keep both light... tension does nothing. Even bow pressure after the initial attack, which should have a little extra sizzle to get things going.