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I am learning how to play spiccato right now, and its SO frustrating.
It makes me so stressed out I have cried.
Does anyone have any spiccato tips or recommend any videos to help? Any help would be appreciated.
"In the long run, any words about music are less important than the music."
- Dmitri Shostakovich.
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@SiennaAViolin -
I have not spent much time trying to perfect off-string bowing techniques, yet - but I have at least tried to learn how to do them.
Spiccato always starts off the string.
These videos helped me:
💖 Fiddlerman really helps by showing the difference between Staccato vs Spiccato.
NOTICE: Fiddlerman shows BOTH, SPICCATO AND STACCATO stroke movements come from the ELBOW, wrist & hand!
🎀 I like that this video is short & sweet, gets right to the point - explains the variables that can be controlled for Spiccato (Violinmasterclass):
💥 This is my favorite video for starting to learn Spiccato (professorV):
- Emily
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Pay close attention to what the teachers say: "spiccato is the SLOWEST of the bouncing strokes."
It is done closest the frog.
Slow it right down, and just drop the bow on the string and pick it up again. There's no reason not to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star with it, either on the short notes or on all of them.
Don't even try it fast. When it gets faster you aren't manually lifting the bow (not for more than a few notes, anyway), it just bounces by itself, and even then, only the wood bounces, not the strings. And it's no longer spiccato by then - it's sautillé.
The faster it gets, the closer it gets to the middle of the bow when you have to be an expert at judging the bow's bounce because it becomes part manual and part bow/string physics and you're on your way to far more technical bowing styles. Slow at the heel, and the bounce is 100% manual - no bow physics.
Try it fast at the heel and the bow will bounce off like a power ball and you will have no control at all.
My first contact with spiccato was in the thread below (7 days ago), which was way too fast. In the case of the Kayser, I guess I was supposed to slow it down until it was spiccato. Not having a teacher is not good.
https://fiddlerman.com/forum/l.....-sautille/
Don't overdo spiccato - it can be a flippant way to express boredom with what you are playing!
Andrew
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Gordon Shumway said
My first contact with spiccato was in the thread below (7 days ago), which was way too fast. In the case of the Kayser, I guess I was supposed to slow it down until it was spiccato. Not having a teacher is not good.
@Gordon Shumway -
Have you watched the videos I posted?
I don't believe a teacher is necessary to learn this bow stroke.
Do you think the videos and the reasons I gave for posting them are hard to understand?
IMHO... entering into the controversy of sautille in this thread is just confusing for anyone trying to learn spiccato. Sautille is NOT an 'off string' bow stroke - for all intents and purposes, sautille is performed without the bow hair ever leaving the string.
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My teacher reference was primarily self-criticism (also I lied - I've known about spiccato for a year or so, but never needed it), although I make no secret of the fact that I recommend teachers.
Sienna (who has good rhythm - I watched one of her youtube uploads) asked for tips. So I told her to play slow and near the frog. Don't mention it. If you play too fast, it might be worth knowing that it becomes something different. Obviously it's a lot harder to play fast than slow.
Video makers are mostly awful - too much talk, too little demonstration. What is the value of teaching a beginner a bad bow hold?
But this one might have muddied the water: -
If Sienna watched it, then I'm not surprised if it was too much for her.
Andrew
Verified human - the ignominy!
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@Gordon Shumway -
That's why I chose not to post that particular video - that said, the Fiddlerman Tutorial I posted is extremely clear, concise - excellent.
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@SiennaAViolin I like this video explanation.
Characterize people by their actions and you will never be fooled by their words.
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Thank you everybody so much!
I will try and watch all of the videos today.
"In the long run, any words about music are less important than the music."
- Dmitri Shostakovich.
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I think I made videos without thinking too much back in the day. LOL
I confuse my own self. ROFL
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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@Fiddlerman -
Any new pending tutorials up your sleeve?
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ELCBK said
@Fiddlerman -Any new pending tutorials up your sleeve?
No, sorry, but I really want to. I feel so guilty for not doing them. 😢
I have one that I started but didn't get very far. Life, and regular tasks keep getting in the way.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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