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Today was a recording day.
My attempt at a song from Belle et Sébastien
that I find beautiful, it got stuck inside my head…
Here's the original : L'oiseau (means : "The bird")
Here's an accompaniment,
and beware… here's me : https://drive.google.com/file/.....sp=sharing
I think I'll try recording it again in a few months time. It could sound really nice I think. As for now, I could be my own critic – looking at this, my bow grip is weirdly tense at times, and – not so visible but I know it : my left hand is still more tense. Especially on the C string. I dream of being able to play a nice slow wide vibrato on this, but seems I'm not able to. Yet.
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@wtw -
VERY Beautiful!
Easy to see your performance got better as you relaxed and were able to take fuller bow strokes!
Relaxation and confidence have been a struggle for me.
I think it helps to relax just by recording more often. 😊
Thank you for sharing this!
- Emily
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wtw,
Very good, another song I'm unfamiliar with but it is very pretty melody.
Great job thanks for posting.
Mark
Master the Frog and you have mastered the bow.
Albert Sammons
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@wtw BRAVO! That was a stunning video!
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
You received a Critique Badge!
Learn Violin and Fiddle
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@wtw I dont believe Ive heard that song before either. thanks for sharing and your playing was nice and relaxed..an easy listen.... enjoyed it! wonderful performance!
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@wtw -
I almost forgot to mention I've heard this melody before, but couldn't put a name to it.
I won't forget it now, thanks to you!
Btw, "Belle & Sebastian" is a wonderful film that can be viewed on Amazon Prime.
- Emily
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This is really nice playing! And got noticeably better as you gained confidence, relaxed more, and used more of your bow.
One thought that may help: when you feel tense while playing, think about breathing. You may find that you hold your breath because of anxiety. In my lessons, which are mainly directed toward injury rehab and prevention, my teacher has me practicing scales (mainly because they're more automatic than other things) while focusing mainly on my breath. It's actually made my left arm and hand much more relaxed.
Maybe also take a look at the Kim Kashkashian video seminar I posted elsewhere on the forum: https://fiddlerman.com/forum/l.....n-seminar/
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You are very musical, wtw.
I didn't watch it for every detail. The only thing that caught my eye was perhaps the bow was very close to the fingerboard.
Andrew
Verified human - the ignominy!
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I thought when the bow was close to the fingerboard in this case it was to produce a softer tone, dynamics. To me, it looked like the bow was directed to go closer and then it went back, so I was thinking dynamics.
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Yes, but I didn't get the impression that it was deliberate, and I didn't hear it in the dynamics, but I could be wrong, or it could be because the mic was very close.
Andrew
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Thanks for your feedback everyone.
@ELCBK , I didn't think someone would have heard this song ! I haven't even seen the film.
Actually yes the goal was to play some parts piano, for instance the beginning – I'm struggling to even hear the accompaniment, I don't want to drown it with my viola (I sort of did anyway…). Problem is, I don't know how to do soft dynamics (forte is easier). I know the theory of it (bow closer to the fingerboard, slower speed, mostly near the tip, tilted hair, less pressure, …), but in practice it doesn't work like I'd want it to.
Mostly it just results in :
- me tensing up (more so when recording, of course, but not only then)
- stopping breathing (@AndrewH you're right about this ! I even stop breathing when listening to myself afterwards… I'll go check the video you mention)
- airy sound because I don't get the strings to vibrate correctly
so if anyone's got tips on how to achieve (soft) dynamics without losing sound quality, I'm interested…
That, and @Gordon Shumway yes, I do tend also to drift towards the fingerboard even when it's not intended. Working on it…
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I remember the TV series Belle and Sebastian from the 1960s.
Andrew
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@wtw -
Maybe there is something here you haven't thought of.
https://fiddlerman.com/forum/l.....#p114603
...hope this helps.
- Emily
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@wtw Thank you so much for this, it was very beautiful! ❤️
I have heard this song! It’s actually very familiar for me, I remember I was singing it already as a kid because there is Finnish words for it.
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