Welcome to our forum. A Message To Our New and Prospective Members . Check out our Forum Rules. Lets keep this forum an enjoyable place to visit.

Check out our 2023 Group Christmas Project HERE

AAA
Avatar
Please consider registering
guest
sp_LogInOut Log Insp_Registration Register
Register | Lost password?
Advanced Search
Forum Scope




Match



Forum Options



Minimum search word length is 3 characters - maximum search word length is 84 characters
sp_Feed Topic RSSsp_TopicIcon
Viola Critique
Topic Rating: 5 Topic Rating: 5 Topic Rating: 5 Topic Rating: 5 Topic Rating: 5 Topic Rating: 5 (3 votes) 
Avatar
ftufc
SoCal
Members

Regulars
November 1, 2012 - 12:02 pm
Member Since: February 24, 2012
Forum Posts: 727
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

Those were great Barry; the violin translates really well for you into the viola!

Avatar
TerryT
Coleshill, Warwickshire
Members

Regulars
November 1, 2012 - 3:58 pm
Member Since: December 15, 2011
Forum Posts: 1731
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

Aw! That bow hold!

Lol, just kidding Barry. You make the transition to the Viola look easy!

I am amazed at how old people of my age are.....

Avatar
RosinedUp

Honorary tenured advisor
Members

Regulars
November 1, 2012 - 8:06 pm
Member Since: September 7, 2012
Forum Posts: 985
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

I wish I could do that.

Avatar
cdennyb
King for a Day, Peasant for many
Members

Regulars
November 2, 2012 - 1:10 am
Member Since: February 13, 2012
Forum Posts: 1817
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

AWESOME!!! Barry's back... as a student of a new instrument. LOL

 

Rock on there my man... you DO make it look so easy... I'm certainly honestly and truely jealous.cheers

"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

Avatar
DanielB
Regulars

Members
November 2, 2012 - 4:42 am
Member Since: May 4, 2012
Forum Posts: 2379
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

I have to say I have always hated the moment in classes or whatever when one has to do critique.  To me it always means looking for faults, and that isn't how I listen to music.  I am always listening for what is being done right, because that is the part of music that I enjoy.  As such it is hard for me to ever find much to mention for critique that I feel will actually be meaningful or helpful to another player. 

So I'll just say this.. Hearing you play that viola makes it sound like such a fun and cool instrument that it definitely moves it up my "I gotta try one of those someday" list.  Moves it up by several notches. 

Sounds great to me, Barry, and you're getting a really cool sound out of it.

"This young wine may have a lot of tannins now, but in 5 or 10 years it is going to be spectacular, despite the fact that right now it tastes like crude oil. You know this is how it is supposed to taste at this stage of development." ~ Itzhak Perlman

Avatar
Fiddlerman
Fort Lauderdale
November 2, 2012 - 3:31 pm
Member Since: September 26, 2010
Forum Posts: 16429

I know that this is the critique corner but I would like to point out a few things that I like instead.

I like how high up you hold your viola. Looks nice and relaxed.

I like how you keep your fingers fairly close to the strings instead of lifting them unnecessarily high.

I love your left elbow position and straight back and overall posture.

"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."

Avatar
Huey142
Melaka,Malaysia

Regular advisor
Members

Regulars
November 3, 2012 - 9:23 am
Member Since: August 12, 2011
Forum Posts: 159
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

WOW! I think it is really really good!!cheerleaderIt sounded really nice :D

Avatar
RosinedUp

Honorary tenured advisor
Members

Regulars
November 3, 2012 - 10:27 am
Member Since: September 7, 2012
Forum Posts: 985
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

Fiddlerman said
I know that this is the critique corner but I would like to point out a few things that I like instead.

Part of one of the definitions of "criticize" in my Webster's dictionary is "to consider the merits and demerits of ...".

So ... no contradiction.

Avatar
Picklefish
Merritt Island, Fla

Pro advisor
Members

Regulars
November 3, 2012 - 3:45 pm
Member Since: June 25, 2012
Forum Posts: 1281
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

soldiers joy, o little town of bethlehem, swallowtail jig, devils dream and worried mans blues? Id like to know how many I got correct please. Sounds great! bunny_pole_dancer

"Please play some wrong notes, so that we know that you are human" - said to Jascha Heifetz.

Avatar
KindaScratchy
Massachusetts
November 3, 2012 - 8:01 pm
Member Since: March 14, 2012
Forum Posts: 1760
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

Sounds great to me, Barry. I love that deep, rich tone. It really gives an interesting dimension to those traditional fiddle tunes.

My only observation is something that I think my teacher would say (because he often says it to me)...on O Little Town of Bethlehem, your bow strokes could be longer. That's based on how I'm used to hearing the song played, of course. If you were going for more of a folk interpretation rather than classical, then please disregard the comment.

I love the grace notes you added.

I'm really amazed at how quickly you transitioned to the viola.  Seems like you've been playing it for years.

thumbs-up

I'm with Daniel. This makes me want to try viola someday...not that I'd be able to pick it up as quickly as you did. Having to learn a different clef is daunting to me.

fainting-1344

When the work's all done and the sun's settin' low,

I pull out my fiddle and I rosin up the bow.

Avatar
RosinedUp

Honorary tenured advisor
Members

Regulars
November 4, 2012 - 2:23 am
Member Since: September 7, 2012
Forum Posts: 985
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

It says something that you were able to play all those pieces well in one take.  For you, five pieces in one take.  For me, one piece in five takes.

Avatar
paulinefiddle
Rockville MD

New member
Members
November 4, 2012 - 9:47 pm
Member Since: October 31, 2012
Forum Posts: 1
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
12sp_Permalink sp_Print
5

Barry, I'm posting my critique of your video here on the forum, as you suggested.

You sound good and look at home with your new instrument.  I have some suggestions.  (1) In Soldier's Joy, you had a few intonation errors.  (2)  Overall, you should emphasize the rhythm more by emphasizing (playing a bit louder) the first and third beats of every measure ONE and two and THREE and four and (3) Overall, you have the same problem as one of my students.  Your right wrist is perfectly straight, as if it were in a cast.  You need to let it relax, and then it will guide your bow better.  This will help you with string crossings and playing faster in general.  I recommend fiddlerman's tutorial on holding and moving the bow,  I think that your tight wrist is smothering the sound a bit.

 

Avatar
susan

Member
Members
November 8, 2012 - 7:11 am
Member Since: September 10, 2012
Forum Posts: 16
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
13sp_Permalink sp_Print
0

I'm not one to critique since I'm a newbie.  It sounded great to me. You make it look so easy. I hope to one day be able to play like that!

"Be still, and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10

Avatar
Worldfiddler
Members

Regulars
November 8, 2012 - 1:16 pm
Member Since: April 22, 2012
Forum Posts: 488
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
14sp_Permalink sp_Print
0

Sounding good, Barry! Great rich sound from that viola.

 

Couple of little niggly points : in Soldier's Joy, the timing is a little bit out. You are slowing down a little bit at the end phrases of the first part. The opposite is happening at 02'08 - you have jumped ahead a little bit, and not given the bar its full length. That's something I'm guilty of too, at times. It's not so bad if you're playing solo, but an accompanist would notice it.

 

I think the bowing and accents are fine. You are accenting ONE, and playing TWO, THREE and FOUR normally. Some players would accent ONE on a downbow, and slur TWO, THREE and FOUR on an up-bow ... but it's a matter of preference.

 

All in all a good listen. Thanks :)

 

Mr Jim  dancing

  

Avatar
Barry
Members

Regulars
November 8, 2012 - 1:29 pm
Member Since: June 30, 2011
Forum Posts: 2690
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
15sp_Permalink sp_Print
0

Thanks for the advice  Mr Jim

thumbs-up

There is no shame in playing twinkle, youre playing Mozart

Forum Timezone: America/New_York
Most Users Ever Online: 696
Currently Online: Strabo
Guest(s) 118
Currently Browsing this Page:
1 Guest(s)
Members Birthdays
sp_BirthdayIcon
Today Michael Browder, EBurrell
Upcoming Sofia Leo, TKDennis, FiddleDetroit, CookiesViolin, JPferrman, Designer 88, LyleA, Stephen, Dorque, Trisha, Elaisa, Gordon Shumway, dougga, Russionleo, JohnG
Top Posters:
ELCBK: 7758
ABitRusty: 3914
Mad_Wed: 2849
Barry: 2690
Fiddlestix: 2647
Oliver: 2439
Gordon Shumway: 2425
DanielB: 2379
Mark: 2149
damfino: 2113
Member Stats:
Guest Posters: 3
Members: 31660
Moderators: 0
Admins: 7
Forum Stats:
Groups: 16
Forums: 81
Topics: 10588
Posts: 134211
Newest Members:
edwardcheng, Oscar Stern, bryanhanson, bittruster, fiddlecastro, jackdaniel, romanmills08, creativestringsinfo, rubble_b, mariachi
Administrators: Fiddlerman: 16429, KindaScratchy: 1760, coolpinkone: 4180, BillyG: 3744, MrsFiddlerman: 2, Jimmie Bjorling: 0, Mouse: 5305