Composer said

Lets start with tuning.  Pierre, after the A is tuned with lets say a tuning fork,  how am I supposed to know what is a perfect 5th between it and the open D?  Does that not assume an aural skill which I do not have?  The suggestion of utilizing Twinkle Twinkle little star is a cheat.  I cannot detect any interval because I have no ear training and this instrument is not fixed like a piano.

I am not sure what you mean by "a cheat" but it could help some people recognize the interval. Once you have learned the interval by heart you won't need to think about twinkle twinkle. I know what a fifth sounds like the same way I assume that you know what the color blue looks like. You can tune a violin perfectly by turning the peg backwards and forwards slightly until you feel that the sound waves, vibrations smooth out. It's hard to explain if you have never heard it. Also, there are some many different tunings in the world. In the orchestras that I played in Europe we tuned high to about a 443 A.

Now the drones video.  I thought a drone is a fixed reference pitch to enable measurement.  This is always done via double stops or an open string.  I don't know why you demand bowing two open strings on the tuning video but on the drones video you use a tone on an external device (Ipod in this case).   Thats not a drone, its a cheat exactly like using an electronic tuner. 

I don't know why you say it is not a drone. A fixed reference point can be external as well as on your own instrument plus the idea is to better your intonation and not to pass a test. About the open strings, I only talk about playing two open strings to tune the violin not to work on fingering intonation. Use open strings above and below fingered notes as a reference to make sure you are playing in tune. I suppose it won't work for someone who's hearing is not developed enough to recognize the perfect intervals.

On the G string video,  you should be playing the open D string drone in addition to the G string and then a measurable interval exists between the open D and the stopped A on the G string.  You can't have (what you call a drone) A playing on your Ipod while you "find" the A on the G String.  Thats my idea of cheating.

There it is again. Still not sure why you use the word cheating, do you think we are being tested. A guide is not a cheat and doesn't mean you should use it all the time. It's for practicing and learning. The truth is that I can use any note as a guide even if it sounds strange to you.

Bottom line:  How do you find the note A on the G string utilizing whatever tuning 'system'.  I have no idea without looking at my tuner and it telling me whats an A.  On the piano its not a problem.  On the violin,  I say the beginner requires a lot of upfront training in music theory and ear training (Relative pitch, perfect pitch). 

This question I understand but I'm not sure I can help you understand how to do it. Intonation is to me like color probably is to you unless you are color blind. You must be able to recognize the 'intervals'. You should study my fingering charts and place your finger as close to that as you can and adjust using your hearing. If you don't hear the difference you may attempt to use the open strings above, in this case the open D, as a perfect 4th reference. Same thing with the waves smoothing out. Not everyone can hear intonation so well and may have to work on it for a long time.

Lastly, I do sell Fingerboard Appliques for the person who needs them. They help you put your finger in the right place not only by sight but by feel a little like with a guitar. They are fairly easy to take off after you get used to playing and know about where to place your fingers.

I am sorry if this is hard to understand but not all people are blessed with great pitch recognition. It's harder for someone like me to explain since I always had an easy time recognizing intervals and intonation. I am far from playing perfect but I do hear when a note is too high or low. Check out my intonation game and see if it makes any sense to you.

Thanks for the questions as they may help others wondering the same thing and not wanting to ask.

Fingerboard Applique

Composer said

Pierre, questions for the drones video:

1) What is an A-drone?  Where did it come from?

A major = A C# and E being played together. I created it using Finale and midi instruments

2) When you play the B, how did you determine what is a B because you still had the A-drone playing on your i-phone?

The B natural is the second note in an A major scale. It is a major second interval that fits with the A major drone (chord)

3) Why didn't you play a B-drone in order to find the B just like you did with the A?

Because the B is contained in the A major scale. For example the distance between the B natural and the E in the drone is a perfect 4th. Very nice combination and so are all the notes in the A major scale. This is how music is constructed.

Questions for the 'Play natural notes on the G string' video:

1) You ask to use the ear to find the interval between open G and A.  But how is that done?  Presumably the interval is different than a perfect 5th and therefore Twinkle Twinkle doesn't work. 

All intervals sound different. A major second is like the 2nd note in Happy Birthday going over to the 3rd note. "Hap-py <-- M2nd --> Birth-day"
Thus recognizing intervals.

Again, absent in this discussion is what is a tuning system on a violin?  You can't assume equal temperament like a piano and what constitutes a particular note depends on context.  A scale is a musical structure of some sort,  tuning in reference to scales must be different that a piece with a different harmonic and melodic structure.

The tuning system is to learn where to place your fingers. With the violin you must also adjust because no-one is perfect. The way to adjust is to use your hearing. To do well you need to work on all scales and arpeggios in every key including all the minor scales. You usually cover all the combinations and intervals. Chromatic scales might make more sense to you.

You learn distance between fingers as a comparison to tempered but our physical finger placement is not perfect so we must use our ears (hearing) to adjust further. The more you work on scales and arpeggios the better your finger placement becomes. Drones aren't for everyone but they give you a guide for intonation.

There is no way I can cover everything in one video so there are many things absent from my discussions on my videos. I'm a little confused as to whether you are trying to learn or trying to criticize my teachings.