Doing Violins

Finally time and focus to get back to practice.

The task this month is to finish the change-over to the new shoulder rest and a proper vibrato grip. No more death-grip on the neck. I'm working through my scales and the various shifts and string crosses but now with my hand as free and relaxed as I can get it.

I can do arm vibrato now but it is going to take a while to integrate it and to refine it. I've got some depth and speed control but I'm still having fun keeping the instrument stable with a smooth bow stroke. Add the silent reverses and....

Of course on the violin there's never a single position. It isn't like piano where once you get your hands set right you pretty much use them like that. On violin every note, every problem is a different hand position with its own unique muscle memory. The shape of the hand for the A string doesn't get you to the G string. You can have a nice open hand and full arm vibrato in first position, but up in fourth position you are wrapping your hand up around the upper bought in order to reach the notes and -- at least for me -- reduced to hand vibrato.

And of course you change depending on how fast the passage is, how loud, where the next note is. Each note is available in multiple places. I've been working my scales without open strings now, so going from four to one, then back one to four (the former I find easy, the latter is giving me trouble. Don't know why but my bow angles when I go in for that fourth finger on the way down). But you might have a fast passage where it makes sense to skip the harder fingering and use the open string anyhow.

Or you might have a singing passage where to stay legato you stretch or do a shift on one string instead of crossing. You almost need to practice by the specific piece instead of by rote scales and exercises.



Anyhow. The chincello is up and running. Ordered some bass rosin for it (and still tempted by a carbon-fibre viola bow for more weight). So today I'm going to risk taking the strings off the Pfetchner and hang the Alphayues on  it instead.