This week, for the first time ever, I started to try and learn to play the violin and I have become really hooked on it. I am so keen to progress that tomorrow, I am going to a Violin teacher, a friend of mine, who has agreed to give me a few lessons regarding initial technique etc, so I dont pick up bad habits while I teach myself.
After recently trying the Harp and being re-awakened, at nearly 40, to the enjoyment of starting another instrument, I decided to dig out an old violin that I was given years ago. I restrung it and changed a couple of rotted pegs and I'm currently practicing it like there is no tomorrow. I must have practiced for about 6 hours at the weekend and I love every minute of it. I have done a lot of research on the net about technique etc and I feel pretty comfortable the way I'm holding the bow and violin. Hopefully, I won't have to change what I am already doing too much. I am using the books "A Tune a Day Book 1", "Scales and Arpeggios Grades 1-5" and the ABRSM "Grade 1 Violin Book".....I can already play the Grade 1 scales and arpeggios with ease, I have got through half of the "A Tune a Day" book and I am playing a couple of Grade 1 pieces "Premier Valse" and "Robin is to the Greenwood Gone". I absolutely adore the sound of the Violin playing along with Piano accompaniment...the two compliment each other so well. Luckily I can perform and record the piano accompaniments with ease and being a piano teacher/player and having to constantly memorize lots of notes for the Piano, it is very easy to memorize the Violin solos of these pieces...not so easy to play them properly though!
The biggest difficulty I'm finding at the moment is getting the perfect pitch of each note, it is so difficult to get it right on first contact, especially with my limited technique as it is. Does this side of your playing improve the more you play as you get to feel where the right note is or is it heavily dependant on your hearing ability? I know what sounds right and sometimes I am spot on, but it is difficult finding the right place, to the millimetre. If anyone can share a few useful tips on this side of Violin playing I would be grateful.
Gae

you will improve with the intonation! as you get used to it, you will find it becomes easier. really really fine violinists (of which I am not one!) have a technique that means they'd probably play in tune with their ears plugged! (I once saw a tv programme about a violist who was profoundly deaf - made me ashamed!!!) but us lesser mortals will generally have to be ready to adjust every now and then, especially when first learning. it will come with time! enjoy!

Well done Gae - this sounds great. You've made me think it's time I tried another instrument.....!

I am sure your intonation will improve as you get used to the Violin and probably your colleague can help you with this one too.

Have fun and keep enjoying it - and good luck

Yes, its great fun to learn a second instrument when you already have years of musical experience behind you. The main positive element is that when you reach another technical hurdle, you are keen to overcome it because the desire to improve to be able to make the music sound nicer is very strong. As a child learner, without the musical experience and desire behind you, sometimes a technical hurdle can just be seen as a chore that needs to be avoided at all opportunities. To be honest, sometimes when my hand is aching from holding the violin or the bow is creaking from poor alignment and I am off-key with my pitch, its very easy to get down-hearted and think "I cant play this!" If though, the love and desire of music is there, it is powerful enough to pull you through these difficult moments and you have to laugh them off as Universal problems experienced by generations of Violin learners.
The sheer pleasure I felt as I played "Premiere Valse" somewhat shakily, with the piano accompaniment, was wonderful. As I played this lovely Romantic Waltz the music made me feel like I was a violinist performing in the Ballroom of some Cruise Liner on its maiden journey. Sometimes, the whole solo would just collapse under me and then I realised I was on the "Titanic" I'm loving every minute of it!
Just as I thought that I was playing reasonably well, I realised, as I read the Tune a Day book, that I was playing the slurred notes with seperate bows and only was meant to use one bow for slurs. Of course, it makes the difference in sound, with a much better legato, but it is now twice as hard to play.
Oh the joys of learning!

Gae

QUOTE (Gae @ Jan 25 2005, 11:44 AM)

The main positive element is that when you reach another technical hurdle, you are keen to overcome it because the desire to improve to be able to make the music sound nicer is very strong.

the flipside of that being that when you know how things should sound, and are aware of how far from the target you are (in a way which few child beginners are!) it can be frustrating that your fingers etc won't do what you know they should be doing.

QUOTE

the flipside of that being that when you know how things should sound, and are aware of how far from the target you are (in a way which few child beginners are!) it can be frustrating that your fingers etc won't do what you know they should be doing

It is frustrating, of course, but that frustration needs to be taken and used as positive energy towards improving, dont you think? Personality comes into it a lot and you need to have a positive, strong personality to realise that all of these problems are part and parcel of learning. After all, if these difficulties didn't arise, we would be redundant as teachers ourselves. The fact that I am constantly teaching beginners on the piano helps me to appreciate what I am experiencing too. After all, what they struggle with I find second nature and so, I realise, that in time, this will happen on the violin. My basic formula is
I x P x T
R = S


Instruction x Practice X Time
Reflection = Succes

You cant practice all day and expect to be good by the end of just one day. It takes time. Similarly, you cant practice without instruction or a book. Also, all these activities need to be reflected on regularly to check the right progress. All these things eventually will lead to success of some kind.

Gae

If you can sing (and sight-sing) in tune, you'll be able to play in tune.

Just make sure that if you inadvertantly put your finger down in the wrong place, as can easily happen, and play a note out of tune, make sure you always correct yourself before moving onto the next note. It'll just take a minor adjustment which you can make in a second, or a split second as you get more experienced.

If you keep doing this, your fingers will soon learn to be more accurate. The danger of not correcting yourself is that your ears and fingers can become sloppy; go for total in-tuneness and you should get there.

If you can't sing in tune, take a Kodaly course - that should sort things out.

Good luck with the playing - your enthusiasm is inspiring!

Violinia

Violinia,
thank you for the compliments about my enthusiasm. I live for music and I'm only sorry that I only learnt to play one instrument over the years. Sadly, my enthusiasm was somewhat dissipated today when I went for a favour lesson on technique with a violin teacher that I know. Basically, he spent the whole time dissecting my violin and criticising every thing about it. This is what he said:-
1)The tailpiece was too far up and needed to be lowered
2)The chin rest was a child's and not very good for me
3)The bridge needed to be re-shaped so it was lower on the A and E string
4)The new pegs weren't gripping properly in the holes
5)The resin I had was something he'd never seen before and found hilarious
6)The bow didn't have any bend in it
He helped me with the way I was holding the bow and though it felt weird at first the bowing did sound better and I could get some volume by pressing down with my index finger.
The worst thing though was when he tried to get me to position my four fingers on the D string, because of the shape of my hand (I have short wide fingers and a wide hand) I couldn't get my 4th finger to stay on the A note. It was actually very painful. No matter how I tried to adjust my arm, hand I just couldn't seem to rest my 4 fingers in one position.
He didn't really seem to have an alternative idea as to how I could overcome this, almost implying that without being able to get this shape and position, I wouldn't be able to go very far or do much. Even the grade 1 pieces use the 4th finger.
I came away from the visit totally downhearted and dejected that I didn't seem to have the right hand shape to comfortably use the technique needed to play the violin. I spent most of the afternoon feeling quite depressed thinking that was the beginning and end of my violin playing.
This evening, after a good days teaching, I decided to take on board some of the suggestions and I did the following...re-adjusted the tailpiece, sanded the bridge down on one side and re-strung the violin. I then spent half an hour working on my hand shape so that I could get my 4th finger to play. I managed to get it to reach the note and started to playfive finger excercices on the open strings, so I'm not going to give up. Hopefully, it will become easier with time.
It was a strange encounter overall with the violin teacher. I went in feeling so optimistic and came out quite dejected. Almost as if I'd tried to become a member of an elite group and because I didn't fit in found myself being unsympathetically shown the door and way out of the club. I knew that there would be a lot of things to sort out, but he did seem to labour on a lot of negative things and spend the whole lesson purely on hand position. Is this usual for a beginner and are all his criticisms viable ones or do they sound a tad over the top? I'd appreciate any feedback.
I've been severly knocked back, but my enthusiam hasn't diminished and this will only make me try harder.

Gae

Thanks Amadeus.
The weird thing was that after all the criticisms he picked up my violin and played it wonderfully well. To my untrained ears it sounded as good as when he played his, better quality, violin. I was happy to hear that my violin, in the hands of a good player can sound good and if I can sound half as good as that I will be pleased. What I found totally alien about all of this was the fact that you have to spend so much time with the structure/mechanisms of the violin and almost have to build it to measure. I am not used to that. As a pianist, I just sit down at a piano and play it, whether its a good or bad one.
Overall, my ambitions on the violin are to be able to learn to play, musically some nice Grade 1 to 2 type pieces with Piano accompaniment. If I progress further than that then that is a bonus.
Thanks for the feedback

Gae

some people are more concerned than others about the exact size of a violin... I remember one very stuffy chap down in Bristol explaining that mine wasn't worth that much because it was an inch too long or too short or something... and my mum's he totally hated, but it's a servicable little workhorse and only cost £20, which would be a lot more to replace. as with any instrument it depends also on the player - a bad violin in the hands of a fine violinist will sound better than a fabulous violin in the hands of a complete beginner. however, things like how it is set up - bridge height etc - do affect the playability, and probably when you have attuned your ear more to the violin you will be more likely to hear differences in tone quality... but I shouldn't worry, have a go with what you have got, you can always "upgrade" at a later date if it becomes necessary.

One positive thing and one word of comfort

QUOTE (Gae @ Jan 26 2005, 12:29 AM)

He helped me with the way I was holding the bow and though it felt weird at first the bowing did sound better and I could get some volume by pressing down with my index finger.

Getting the basics right is fundamental to being able to continue to progress, and your friend has already helped you on the way to one of them.

QUOTE

The worst thing though was when he tried to get me to position my four fingers on the D string, because of the shape of my hand (I have short wide fingers and a wide hand) I couldn't get my 4th finger to stay on the A note.  It was actually very painful.  No matter how I tried to adjust my arm, hand I just couldn't seem to rest my 4 fingers in one position.

Your finger flexibility and control will improve fairly rapidly at first. At least you are not complaining about strain in the whole of your left arm, which is what I was unable to overcome in six months trying to play the viola.

QUOTE

What I found totally alien about all of this was the fact that you have to spend so much time with the structure/mechanisms of the violin and almost have to build it to measure. I am not used to that. As a pianist, I just sit down at a piano and play it, whether its a good or bad one.

Welcome to the club. Piano and organ are the exceptions. On most other instruments you need to attend to changes in characteristics at frequent intervals. Strings are not the worst. Players of reed instruments are thinking about three reeds at a time: one past its best on which they practise, one newish one on which they rehearse, and one at its peak on which they perform. Busy professionals retire a used-up one and start a new one every few weeks.

What he did sounds OK re set-up of the violin etc, but perhaps he could have been a little more careful in not allowing you to leave feeling dejected. There are ways of making a pupil always (or almost always!) feel good about themselves, and he doesn't sound as if he quite has the knack...

However, he could be an excellent teacher in other ways, so I would say stay with him for at least a few weeks and see how you get on. If you're not happy after that, you could always find another teacher; we tried three teachers before settling on the right one, who I then stayed with for 10 years and am still in touch with. She's now 75 and I'm, um, well!

Keep on keeping on...

Violinia

QUOTE (kenm @ Jan 26 2005, 12:15 PM)

Your finger flexibility and control will improve fairly rapidly at first. At least you are not complaining about strain in the whole of your left arm, which is what I was unable to overcome in six months trying to play the viola.

I never had that when learning the viola. Hmmm

Gae, I really do admire your enthusiasm for the violin, its contageous!! I want to go and practice now, but I can't because I have coursework to do . I wish that I could have your continuous enthusiasm, despite any setbacks, but sadly I don't have it.

Great to see you've joined the violin world Gae!! Keep going!!

QUOTE (isabelsmells @ Jan 26 2005, 06:13 PM)

QUOTE (kenm @ Jan 26 2005, 12:15 PM) At least you are not complaining about strain in the whole of your left arm, which is what I was unable to overcome in six months trying to play the viola. I never had that when learning the viola. Hmmm

I have stiff joints, and some of them have rather limited movement. Perhaps I should try treble viol.

Kenm,
I forgot to mention that my arm did hurt a lot when I tried to stretch my fingers over the strings. I will persist though and continue to do 4 finger excercises. I'm already starting to get better at my hand position.
One of my Piano Pupils, who is doing Grade 2 Violin also, had a go at playing one of his Pieces to me today. I watched him position his fingers carefully and noted that he had fingers 1, 2 and 3 on the D string, but his 4th finger (the one I was having problems with) was off the string and in the air. Intrigued, I asked him why he didn't have this finger on the string and he replied "I dont use my 4th finger"..... This made me feel a lot better as now I know that I can at least play some Grade 2 pieces using only 3 fingers...I am fine with these.
After seeing and trying my pupil's Stentor Student violin and knowing the problems I'm having with my own violin, I'm seriously considering buying one myself. At least everything is in working order and it looks rather nice too. I know its only a basic violin but it should take me up to "Intermediate" level which is all I want to reach for now. I had tried to re-shape a couple of pegs on my violin today so that they gripped into both sides, but unfortunately, I put so much pressure on one that the string broke (luckily I had a replacement) and I also snapped the peg. I didn't have a spare peg, so its back to the Music shop tomorrow. I know that the pegs that he sells dont fit perfectly so I'm going to have to trim them down a little. Tomorrow, I'll either buy a couple of pegs or a Stentor Violin as I know they sell them. Does anyone have one of these violins (see below) and if so, how do you rate them?
Gae

How much would that Stentor set you back?

I, and most violinists that I know, started on or played a Stentor or similar at some point in early violining... to be honest, when I started, they were pretty horrible - it was a struggle for even the most talented kids to get a really nice sound. Things may have improved, and you'll want to be asking people who are currently playing and teaching, but unless that's a very very cheap violin, I suspect you could spend it more wisely elsewhere. The Gligas seem to get rave reviews all round (I have never played one myself) and if the Elida Trading site is to be believed (and it seems that many people agree with their comments about Gliga, so it looks a good bet) then for £85, or £140 with bow and case, you can get an instrument that could get you to grade 6. (lol, no I'm not being paid to advertise them, I have only recently heard of Gligas myself! ) I know you're not intending to go for grade 6... but if you can get a violin with a nice sound, so that your grade 1-2 pieces will sound nice...

I honestly think you can find better than a Stentor, and suspect you would get frustrated with it! They may have improved - and I don't doubt that better quality Stentors might be a good deal better than the ones we had at first.... still, I've never actually met a Stentor that was nice to play, even intermediate ones that friends owned

QUOTE

How much would that Stentor set you back?

Sarah, I could get one of these for about £80 from my local shop. I think I will have a go at getting my violin up and running first though, so tomorrow I will get a couple of pegs, trim them down and get them to fit properly. If I can get new pegs to fit that actually work, then I will continue to use my current violin.

Gae

*nod* yeah think it's a good idea to try and get yours up and running... if you decide you may want to upgrade at a later date, then having yours playing OK for you will mean there's no rush and you can do your research! and if you find it serves its purpose, you can save the money for replacement strings!!

Sarah,
I had a look at the Elida E-Bay store and they are selling a nice sounding violin called the Elida Serenade for about £100. Apparently, they are good for up to Grade 5-6 violin playing so that should cover me for a good few years. If I do decide to go down that route, I will consider this over the Stenton.

You can see the Elida Serenade violin
Here

Gae

*nod* never heard of that make... but certainly it's worth shopping around... elida's site is here, worth emailing them, very friendly and helpful. like I said before, I'm no expert (at all!!! by a very long way!) I just know Stentors and expect you could spend your money more wisely than that. hopefully more experienced folks will appear soon and be able to help

Sarah,
The Serenade model seems to be exactly the same model as the Gliga Genial 2 which is a bit more (£140)......confused!
Maybe Elida trading have used it as one of their models?


Genial 2

Gae

I don't know, Gae... email Liz! it may be that they sometimes sell them as bargain autcions on ebay...

From Elida's website the Serenade is made in China and the Gligas in Romania- all violins tend to look fairly similar to me- but they certainly sound different!

I recently decided to learn the viola, and bought a Gems 2 from Elida which I am very happy with- however after two months, while my playing is probably about grade 2 (and no, my little finger isn't exactly ecsatically happy at being used, at least yours is used to doing something musical when you play piano) I can easily tell that the instrument is not as nice as those that cost far more. I have this really irritating ability to appreciate expensive instruments... I wish I liked cheap ones. As an experienced musician you will probably appreciate the best instrument you can get so why not see if you can get your current violin playable, even if it involves paying someone else to fit the pegs etc until you have decided how serious you are about it.

How is the harp?

I'd recomend something from Elida Trading, I started the viola on a Stentor and it was a dodgy one. Stentors normally have a couple of problems with them, if you do buy a one, I recomend getting it rebridged, re-stringed, and before you buy check it out, see that the scroll is right, mine was funny it didn't go straight from the fingerboard into the scroll, it curved in, making it a pain to restring the C string. So judging by the reviews, I'd recomend a Gigla from Elida.

Interesting post, Erard, I remain delighted with my Gems II viola, despite also having bought the acclaimed "Maestro Extra" violin from Liz. I believe AmandaL is also very pleased with her Gliga Gama viola.

Gaetano: the most useful tip I was given for improving intonation was a little warm up Roger Coull suggested to get you listening - you can do this with G,D or A major one octave in first position. Taking the example of D major 1 octave:

1. Double stop the open D with the D 3rd finger on A string. Playing the two notes together you should be able to get the third finger in exactly the right place - otherwise it won't sound in tune- even when its nearly in tune you should get the "beats" which get further and further apart and then disappear altogether when you're bang in tune. Having found the right note, enforce it in your head by breaking the interval, playing the open D and then the 3rd finger D repeatedly marcato until you are comfortable with the look, feel and sound of the note.

2. Find the G a perfect fifth below the third finger D by double stopping 3rd finger on the D string with the 3rd finger on A string you have just found, making sure you are keeping the A string note spot on. Again, once you have got the G bang in tune, break the interval and play G and D repeatedly marcato to enforce the notes in your head. Then play Open D, 3rd finger G, Open A, 3rd finger D up and down a few times concentrating on the tuning.

3. Find E 1st finger on the D string by double stopping against the open A - it should sound a perfect fourth below, again anything else will sound clearly out of tune and/or beat. Again, break the interval and get the correct note into your memory.

4. Find B 1st finger on the A string by double stopping against the E you have just found (perfect fifth), again being careful to keep the E in tune. Again, break the interval and play the correct notes individually.
Then play Open D, 1st finger E, 3rd finger G, open A, 1st finger B, 3rd finger D up and down a few times concentrating on the tuning.

5. Finally turn the above into a scale by slipping in the 2nd finger F sharp and C sharp quite close in behind the 3rd finger G and D.

The above sounds quite complicated in writing but it is a beautifully simple exercise in practise, and if you are unsure about the notes it improves intonation and gives you a great sense of confidence that you can at least find the right notes if you try hard enough!

In relation to your wide fingers - is there anyone you can borrow a viola off just to have a go? I have quite thin fingers, which is a positive disadvantage to a viola player since it is much more difficult to double stop satisfactorily. The rather more generous proportions of the viola favour people with big hands and particularly with wide fingers. I'm not certain it would suit you but it seems worthwhile just giving it a try. Also you may or may not wish to compare the tone.

QUOTE (zoda @ Jan 27 2005, 09:55 PM)

Interesting post,  Erard,  I remain delighted with my Gems II viola,  despite also having bought the acclaimed "Maestro Extra" violin from Liz.  I believe AmandaL is also very pleased with her Gliga Gama viola.

Oh I am pleased with it- I think I got excellent value and it should last me for a long time- I am just not in danger of mistaking it for a several thousand pound instrument, and am very glad I didn't go for the cheapest one I could find. Now that I have it, I know I am unlikely to upgrade in the near future, if I had been successful in hiring one from the local music shop (so I knew I would take to it) I might well have saved up more and gone for a Gama (or something). This is why I was advising Gae to see if she could stick with her current instrument for at least a month or so.

QUOTE

This is why I was advising Gae to see if she could stick with her current instrument for at least a month or so.

Erard, "She" happens to be a "He"......as Zoda pointed out, Gae is short for Gaetano.
I suppose Gae is a bit of an androgynous sounding name.

Zoda, thank you for all those useful tips. Playing these intervals sounds a great way of finding positions and improving pitch. I shall copy and paste them to keep for reference. I HAVE been trying scales and arpeggios on the open strings e.g. G, D and A scale and yes, I do find that I have to move my second finger out of the way, due to their width, in order to play the semitone after the sharp with the 3rd finger. I'm sure I will get a feel for this though at some point and judge the distance in time.
Erard, the Harp is fine and I am still practicing it too. I am still tuning it nearly every day but I do get to play simple one fingered melodies on it, with piano accompaniment, most days. I tried a Grade 1 piece "Little Waltz" and could get through it slowly, but I want to become more familiar with the note positions before I start playing more difficult pieces. I'm happy to get more comfortable with it over a period of time. I'm also hoping that it will stay more in tune and find its voice over the coming months.
Today, I went down to my local Music shop and had a go on one of the Stentors just to see what it was like. Compared to the old violin I have, I wasn't too impressed and decided to keep working on mine instead. So,I spent about £15-£20 and bought a new chin rest, shoulder rest, resin and a couple of pegs. I also couldn't resist getting the ABRSM Grade 2 Violin Exam pieces as I've been trying an old Grade 2 book that I've got at home. I also play the Violin melodies on the Harp too, just to improve my finger playing.
Tonight, I put it all together and, after some filing down of a peg, finally got the strings to hold and get in tune. The chin and shoulder rest allowed me to hold the violin without holding it with my hands and the resin was much better than the old one that was in the case. One worry I had was that I noticed a small crack in the violin at the top of highest peg. It didn't seem to be affecting the peg grip, but I put a bit of superglue in it just to be sure. Finally, I had a bit of a play of it and it seems to be all working well now.
In the end I spent about £20-£30 upgrading the violin and I'm glad I took this option. Maybe, if I progress well on it, I'll upgrade later on.
Thanks for the advice and info..
Gae

QUOTE (Gae @ Jan 28 2005, 01:09 AM)

I do find that I have to move my second finger out of the way, due to their width, in order to play the semitone after the sharp with the 3rd finger.

wait till you get into higher positions - the notes get closer and closer together!

Yes I know.
Do the positions on the Violin relate to the Grades at all e.g. is position no. 3 usually found at Grade 3-4 level etc?
At the moment, I'm quite happy having a go and perfecting some Grade 1-2 pieces so I dont think I'll be moving out of 1st position for a while. There is a great deal to be said about the importance of playing even simple excercises and pieces as perfect as you can. It can only go towards improving technique overall too.
As long as I'm making some kind of music, I'm happy!!

Gae

QUOTE (Gae @ Jan 29 2005, 11:18 AM)

Do the positions on the Violin relate to the Grades at all e.g. is position no. 3 usually found at Grade 3-4 level etc?

no... I forget what time positions come in but 3rd would mostly likely be the first one learned I think... but I don't think that you learn 3rd position for grade 3, 4th for grade 4... if that was what you meant? *confused now, lol...*

The number-names of grades and positions only coincide coincidentally!

You have to play in position 3 for the 2-octave scale of D from Grade 3 upwards. Some of the pieces from Grade 3 and upwards may need you to play in 3rd postion too.

Some violin teachers think it's a good idea to teach 3rd position quite early on; I'm beginning to come round to that view, having just jumped two new previously (well-)taught pupils straight up to Grade 4 from Grade 1. They are only 10 and 11 and are having to learn to play in 3rd position quickly; they've both taken to it surprisingly easily, causing me to revise my thinking on the subject.

I'm now thinking of moving a couple of my other pupils up to third postion before they would "normally" be ready. Providing they have a good ear and can recognise aurally where to put their fingers I see no reason why not; it opens up the possibilities of the instrument so much and allows them to tackle a much wider range of repertoire.

Just my view though!

Violinia

-

Violinia: I remember 3rd position as by far the easiest to get my head round - seems to make sense - whereas 2nd and 4th were relatively challenging. Good idea to get them moving up a bit sooner if they are capable, means they will be used to it by the time they actually "need" it for scales etc.

Rhaps: ........

I dont know if I've got this 1st position, 2nd position etc right. Can someone give me an example?
Am I right in thinking that 1st position is that played on any open string e.g. D open, 1st on E, 2nd on F#, 3 on G and 4 on A would be 1st position on D? The same position would be applied to the A and E string (forget the G string, I cant reach that far!! )
Would the 2nd position mean that the 1st finger would start on the E of the D string for example so that it is a higher position with the 4th finger being able to reach B? Have I got this right? I know I sound stupid asking, but I got confused with one of the above posts which seemed to imply that 1st position, 2nd, 3rd and 4th positions were on the actual open strings i.e. G..1st position, D...2nd position, A..3rd position and E..4th position.
Out of the 3 positions on the open strings that I am playing, I prefer playing on the A and E strings as I can reach reasonably well with the 4th finger. I can just about reach the A on the G string, but its painful and I haven't even attempted to reach the D on the G string....I'm not that much of a sadist.
Anyway, I'm recording all of my exercises and pieces and so far I have done a reasonable recording of the "Ode to Joy" Grade 1 piece in A major. Its not bad, but you can hear the difficulty I have to catch the 4th finger on the E. I dont play the open E string, as discussed on another topic, as the sound is totally different and doesn't fit in with the quality of the other notes. Also, I want to train my little finger to find the position perfectly. I do have to stretch slightly though, but the shoulder and chin rest means that I have free movements with my fingers now. Its not my hand position thats making it difficult, only my hand shape. When the violin teacher saw the thickness of my hands he exclaimed, "Is that all muscle?" "Probably" I replied..."25 years of playing 4-note (sometimes 5-note) chords Fortissimo on the Piano with each hand has probably done that....(and probably just a little bit of good eating over the years too!! )

Gae

Gae

-

I don't know if I understood your Gae but... 1st position (on D string) - 1st finger on E, 2nd position = 1st finger on F, 3rd position - 1st finger on G... That what you meant?

-

Yes, thats what I thought about the positions...thanks!!

Rhapsodin,
I find, for some reason, that I get a better sound when I bow slightly at an angle to the bridge. Maybe, it just looks slightly angled from my viewpoint, I dont know. I am really keen on getting a good tone of course, as you suggested and I'm quite happy with the sound I'm making at the moment.

Here's a little recording I did of Au Claire de La Lune recently...very slow, but an excercise in tone quality really. Au Claire de la Lune.mp3 (0.9 Mb)
("Right Click" mouse and "save target as" to download)

Any comments on the instrument's tone by any Violin aficionados would be appreciated. Did I do the right thing spending £20-£30 pounds on it? I like its tone, but I'm no expert.

Yesterday, I had to sandpaper the bridge down because it was a bit high and when I was trying to play the E (4th finger on the A string) I was catching the adjacent strings. There must have been a good few millimetres distance at the point of contact of the E and the fingerboard so I was having to push the string down much further at this higher point. The sandpapering seems to have done the job though and I can play the E with about 2 mms to spare for each string on either side of the bow. Its at times like these, that you realise how important the set-up of the violin is and I realise now why my friend, the violin teacher, spent so much time on it.

Gae

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QUOTE (Gae @ Jan 29 2005, 04:29 PM)

Yes, thats what I thought about the positions...thanks!!

Cool

if you like the tone of your instrument and feel you will enjoy playing it, than yes you did the right thing - it's your enjoyment after all that is at stake! anf if you like the tone and will enjoy playing it, then great - if you hated the tone and it made you not want to practiszce()... that'd be bad.

and yep I always found that the "correct" position of the bow doesn't look the same from the violinist's POV as the teacher's. I usually try to think of my bowing arm moving almost diagonally forwards on the down bow... I think the natural tendency is to sort of bring it round almost in a circular motion, which messes up your point of contact... I probably explained that really badly but that's how it feels to me...

really should get my fiddle out....

I find a mirror really useful for seeing what angle my bow is at and what other bad habits I may be indulging in- I am far more used to watching string players than I am to playing.