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Ok it’s been about two months of playing for me and figured I’d share another video. It’s not great I’ve played it better but didn’t feel like recording again. It’s a bit scratchy I messed up about two notes I think. Lost the rhythm a little bit too at one point... some hitting other strings. But here it is part of the first movement of Riedling concerto in B minor. All tips welcome.
Also had a large coffee before so some shaky bow for y’all 😁😁
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I think that’s excellent progress, takes some people a lot longer to get were you are at. I am impressed with your bow which is very straight and takes some doing that is a great skill to get so early on, your hand movement is also coming along extremely well, intonation and scratchiness all get better over time. Someone told me the best way to improve intonation is to play very short simple passages very slowly, making absolutely sure that each note is perfect before moving to the next. Which I should do myself😱
very well done.
stringy said
I think that’s excellent progress, takes some people a lot longer to get were you are at. I am impressed with your bow which is very straight and takes some doing that is a great skill to get so early on, your hand movement is also coming along extremely well, intonation and scratchiness all get better over time. Someone told me the best way to improve intonation is to play very short simple passages very slowly, making absolutely sure that each note is perfect before moving to the next. Which I should do myself😱very well done.
Thanks Stringy!!
stringy said
I think that’s excellent progress, takes some people a lot longer to get were you are at. I am impressed with your bow which is very straight and takes some doing that is a great skill to get so early on, your hand movement is also coming along extremely well, intonation and scratchiness all get better over time. Someone told me the best way to improve intonation is to play very short simple passages very slowly, making absolutely sure that each note is perfect before moving to the next. Which I should do myself😱very well done.
Just realized I forgot to tune it this morning so that could affect intonation a little bit.. and of course it’ll improve over time. Fiddlermans dexterity exercises are great but I don’t do them enough bc I get bored. Have to work on that
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I meant your bow hand. Your left hand will get better just by playing. You can trust me on that one😀 if you find you get bored with any exercise try a different one.
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ELCB said
@IssacBows - Wow!I think you're doing great!
Really enjoyed the 1st half - things just got a little out of hand in the 2nd half.
Seems you're headed in the right direction and pretty much know what to work on.
Thank you for sharing your progress!
- Emily
Thanks and ye I’ve definitely played and will play the second part better. I have a solid idea of what to work on. Just a quick technical question if you don’t mind been playing around with the notes in third position for a little bit not really my focus but what to I do if for example on the A string I put my third finger in third position on F# and then I put my fourth finger down right next to it it’s supposed to be a G but what if it’s very sharp with my fourth finger as close as possible?
no pressure to answer lol thanks for the feedback
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IssacBows said
Just a quick technical question if you don’t mind been playing around with the notes in third position for a little bit not really my focus but what to I do if for example on the A string I put my third finger in third position on F# and then I put my fourth finger down right next to it it’s supposed to be a G but what if it’s very sharp with my fourth finger as close as possible?
As you move up to 3rd position, the spacing between notes narrows. Can’t tell from the video, but you want to make sure your fingers are coming down vertical to the fingerboard. This becomes even more important as you move up positions on the fingerboard and the note spacing narrows. If you've got some slant, like your 3rd finger on F#, it's going to prevent you from getting your pinky close enough to get the G.
You may need to rotate you hand slightly by pulling your elbow in to the right (pic) a bit to re-position your hand with the base of your first finger coming out of contact with the neck to get the vertical finger position.
Also, I think it helps to find the 1st finger notes of 3rd position first so that you can use them as an “anchor” to finding the other notes.
Since you’ve mentioned the A string, you could first practice finding the D in 3rd position (1st finger) by checking intonation of this D on the A string against the open D string (which is an octave lower). Once you know you’ve got your 1st finger in the right spot, you could try practicing a D scale starting with this D (1st finger) on the A string, so
D(1), E(2), F#(3) G(4) – then continue 3rd position on E string, with 1st finger A
A(1) B(2) C#(3) D(4).
Characterize people by their actions and you will never be fooled by their words.
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@IssacBows -
Well, think this would be a judgement call if it was for me - btw, good for you! (listening well enough to hear it)
Sharon's got great advice - might have a few other options, if you have large fingers:
- Move a finger out of the way, just in time to make room for the next
- Use the same finger to play both notes, just reposition the 1 finger
- A larger Violin will have more space between notes (there are Violins larger than the standard 4/4, that are not Violas)
I don't mean to mess you up, but there will be times to adjust your fingering/intonation even more. I know I've posted this elsewhere, but here's a short video (terrible quality) on "Intonation: Which System to Use When".
So, think you're ready for a new violin?
- Emily
...we're not robots, yet!
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Realy good advice from above posters, personally in third position I do what Emily says, on violin you constanty adjust our fingrs, with intonation really good players move so quickly you cant hear it. in my opinion though , for what its worth I would concentrate on first position as you could find yourself being overwhelmed, there are studies which teach about shifting and finding notes in third position, applebaums books are good and can be picked up cheaply on the internet. With intonation you need anchors for the other notes as well as muscle memory, you have to hear the note before you play it, everyone struggles with intonation, violin is in my opinion the hardest instrument in the world to play which is the reason I took it up as a challenge, it can make grown men cry lol
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