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While I had the camera set up for White Christmas I thought I'd record this piece I've been learning recently. It's the Bouree in G by JS Bach (I believe it's in one of the Suzuki books).
Any comments, tips, critique will be much appreciated. There are a few 'a video camera is running' type mess-ups, but otherwise it's pretty much as it is at this stage.
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I think its excellent, it is in suzuki 3, there are a few good ones in there, the gavotte in d major is also worth looking at. Are you reading this one or have you got it memorised, either way I think you do a brilliant job of it.
Cant beat a sunny day
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@Jim Dunleavy -
BRAVO!
Sounded really nice!
Afraid I'm no Bach aficionado, so I'm of no help.
I'm impressed - thank you, for sharing this!
Hats off to you!
- Emily
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great playing Jim! really like the chords at different spots. this sounds very technical and difficult to learn. As with any post youve shared very well played. enjoyed listening.
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That was fantastic and a difficult piece. I had to do that one when I did cello lessons. I really wanted to get it right, sadly, no. Fantastic!
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
I am standing while applauding.
I know this is in the Critique section, but I don’t know what to say. Maybe, keep playing it to smooth it out? As far as the piece itself, kudos. I have problems with, what I call the long runs, but you did it.
Learn Violin and Fiddle
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Fiddlerman's Fiddle Talk Forum
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Whoops!
I had to come back in here to give you 5⭐'s!
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Jim Dunleavy
I like it well played
Mark
Master the Frog and you have mastered the bow.
Albert Sammons
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Thanks for all the encouraging comments folks. It's nice to get feedback like that. 
@stringy yes, I have the dots on the stand in front of me - it's just a random free download off t'internet.
@mouse I believe it was written for cello - goes nicely on the violin though. It's certainly a challenge, but that's what I like, and even though Bach often leaves me cold, he did write some absolute crackers and I love this one. I've just started working on the final section, which is in Gm, so as I said, still work to be done on this. You're right it saying it's a bit stilted - I'm still at the stage of concentrating on getting the notes in tune (not always successfully yet!).
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Good work! I've always been a little surprised that this Bourrée is as early as it is in the Suzuki series. It's not easy.
I do have a couple suggestions.
First, always keep in mind that this is a dance. While it probably wasn't composed for dancing, there should still be a bit of a spring in the step; it doesn't need to be played legato all the way through. You're at the point where you can think in longer lines and decide on an articulation that makes sense for the phrasing and overall flow. It also doesn't need to be perfectly steady; you can afford to stretch out a few notes slightly for emphasis and it's worth thinking about which note in each phrase should get that treatment.
Second, I have some thoughts on making the triple stops flow more smoothly. When playing these chords, it's very tempting to shortchange the lower notes. You don't have to jump to the upper note as quickly as you may think. Make sure you give the bottom note at least a few inches of bow. If you're playing with a fast, light bow stroke, it won't take too much time, and you'll have enough contact with the bottom note to keep it ringing. It's much easier to get the right sort of bow stroke if you use a fuller bow stroke and place a bit more emphasis on the note before the chord, which will also help connect that previous note to the chord. The chord itself doesn't need a real accent, it will seem accented anyway.
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@AndrewH thanks for that - useful tips which I'll definitely try out.
I did actually go to the trouble to find a bouree (the dance) on youtube: -
ab_channel=HelenaKaz%C3%A1rov%C3%A1
So while it's fine to interpret this piece simply as a piece of music, at the speed some people play it you'd break your neck if you tried to do that dance to it, so maybe a steadier tempo would help keep to the correct style; but you make a good point about making it more 'dancy' by giving it a bit of a spring.
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The Bourrée you played is in my Bach Suites for Cello, or Bach Cello Suites book, whatever the title of that big blue book is. I think AndrewH was spot on. Pretty much what my cello instructor told me, to no avail. Maybe I just wanted to hear him play it on the beautiful old cello his grandfather gave him, 😁.
I love hearing it on your violin. It is much lighter sounding on your violin. A completely different sound. Interesting.
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Nice, Jim.
Your left hand looks nice and relaxed.
Towards the end there are some notes on the G string which look as though perhaps your left hand could have anticipated them a bit more - your left elbow could have come under a bit more.
Your bow could be a bit more parallel to the bridge and closer to the bridge, sometimes. And your right wrist may be a bit stiff. It's hard to say, and those of us who are getting on and arthritic can't do much about some things.
The idea is always pull the bow, never push it. On the upbow that means bending the right wrist so that it and the frog follow the forearm, and you are pulling the frog.
Andrew
Verified human - the ignominy!
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That was amazing !!! If I can play that well one day I’ll be really happy ! Well done really brilliant !!
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@katie m Thanks.
@Gordon Shumway Thanks for the feedback. You're right, I'm struggling with tension in my right hand and I'm working on it - not there yet though.
When you say LH anticipating the note, do you mean coordination between LH and bow (i.e. the LH leading slightly)?
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Jim Dunleavy said
When you say LH anticipating the note, do you mean coordination between LH and bow (i.e. the LH leading slightly)?
If you watch the video, it looks as though the left hand fingers flit across the strings at the last moment, to catch up with the bow, as though they weren't expecting those notes.
Andrew
Verified human - the ignominy!
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@Gordon Shumway Thanks for clarifying - I'll watch out for that.
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@Jim Dunleavy
Great job on this! 
As noted by Andrew, your right wrist may be a bit stiff. I have a tendency to do a very similar thing—something I’ve been working on, too. I’ve been making more of an effort when playing in the lower half of my bow to bend my wrist, ensuring I keep bow parallel to bridge & the bow hair more flattened so it does not tilt toward me as much. I’ve been practicing long bows as well as short strokes in the lower half of the bow, focusing on my wrist movement--still a work in progress for me 
Characterize people by their actions and you will never be fooled by their words.
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@SharonC thanks.
I'm doing some exercises using the different sections of the bow - middle, tip and frog - as well as whole bows and trying to keep my wrist flexible while not losing control of the bow (the tip tends to stray onto the fingerboard). It all goes to pieces when I'm concentrating on something new though lol.
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