Okay…regarding last night’s post and general frustration with playing the violin, I had not practiced what my instructor recommended. It’s my own damn fault I suck. I ordered new music and I neeeded to play it…and I didn’t really have a lot of time to practice early in the weekend so I spent a good amount of time on Sunday playing this new music…and not what the teacher told me to do. So…even though I played until my fingers were sore and my jaw felt bruised, I didn’t do anything to work on my weaknesses.
These are the things I should have been working on:
- Relax my grip on the bow.
The bow should be held by a relaxed hand with the index, middle, and ring fingers resting over the top. - Keep a loose wrist on the bow arm.
Short, quick bow movements originating at the wrist will increase the speed of bow strokes and make playing very fast songs at tempo possible. - Practice changing positions.
Through repetition and practice, changes in position will become seamless. I’ll quickly be able to find the correct note and play it with the correct intonation. - Work on dynamics.
I’ve never been good at dynamics, but I should be aware of them and try to play them.
Bruce, my instructor, also recommended that I don’t rosin my bow as frequently as I do. Apparently, the excess of rosin creates a sort of harsh screaching noise. He told me he only rosins his bow about once a week…and for as frequently as he plays, I’m really amazed that he does it so little.