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Second week with my violin

Topic Rating: 5 (6 votes)

cdennyb

northern California

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September 13, 2012 - 2:32 am

Member Since: February 13, 2012

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wow, great work… I cant even play twinkle twinkle… well… I never learned it… facepalm

watch the bow work… use BOTH your shoulder AND your elbow to achieve a smooth combination of movements that allow your mind and hand to keep the bow parallel to the bridge. It is quite the challenge and even after 9 months of playing I still on occassion find the bow wandering off a bit and wonder why the note wasnt quite right… then I see it out of the corner of my eye and go "HOLY CR…" well you get the idea. duncecap

rock on… it gets better and even more FUN! cheerleader

"If you practice with your hands you must practice all day. Practice with your mind and you can accomplish the same amount in minutes." Nathan Milstein

Fiddlestix

Michigan, USA

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September 13, 2012 - 8:55 am

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Watching your video again for the fourth time, i'm looking at the movement of your forearm and your shoulder. When you are bowing, your shoulder and forearm form a 90 degree angle and does not change. You are controlling your bow stroke with your shoulder. Your shoulder should only move in a vertical movement when you change string's or when you extend your forearm away from the body on a full bow stroke. The rotator cup in your shoulder should not move in a side to side motion. Your elbow need's to bend in order to make a good bow stroke. Bowing is from the forearm and wrist action.

pink-violin-girl

Almandin

Stockholm, Sweden

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September 13, 2012 - 5:05 pm

Member Since: August 22, 2012

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cdennyb said It is quite the challenge and even after 9 months of playing I still on occassion find the bow wandering off a bit and wonder why the note wasnt quite right… then I see it out of the corner of my eye and go "HOLY CR…" well you get the idea.

Hehe! Good to know that I'm not alone in this, because I was just working on it. Arm against my closet door, trying to use only my elbow bending to bow, I found that there was only so far up I could draw the bow before I actually had to take the arm off the door. Maybe that's what you meant about using both shoulder and elbow, though… dunno I could try making a video to demonstrate what's going on.

And like Fiddlestix said, when I play tunes I keep the elbow terribly stiff at a right angle and only move the shoulder. This has to change, but the problem is I have a hard time focussing on that while also trying to make music… At the end of the video, in the "trying to use the full bow" segment, I could see my elbow actually changing angles…!

rock on… it gets better and even more FUN!

It does! Even this early on, I can feel the fun-level rising with each day! heart

~ Once you've ruled out the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be true. ~

DanielB

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October 5, 2012 - 6:10 am

Member Since: May 4, 2012

Forum Posts: 1238

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I'm fairly new to violin as well, since I have only been playing about 6 months now. But I think you're doing great and you are definitely already starting to get it sounding good!

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