Violog: #4

I worked on my sight-reading in the build up to this video and, as you will see, the bowing is not straight as I was not focusing on it. My new teacher, Emily, picked up on it straight away and has given me some exercises to improve it. These exercises involve…

Violin Journal: #4

I have now started taking violin lessons and it’s been incredibly helpful!

It’s been a few weeks since I last updated you on my progress, but the video in this post is from a couple of weeks back and was recorded after my first violin lesson. I worked on my sight-reading in the build up to this video and, as you will see, the bowing is not straight as I was not focusing on it at all. My new teacher, Emily, picked up on it straight away and has given me some exercises to improve it.

Mostly, these exercises involve taking things that I already know, such as scales or short pieces, and really focusing on long bow strokes that stay perpendicular to the fingerboard.

Emily was impressed with my intonation in general, but has really encouraged improvement on bowing technique as a whole. This has included trying to ensure that the correct amount of pressure is put on the bow and that the hairs of the bow are angled correctly (sometimes I don’t have my bowing wrist forward enough).

I’m very much looking forward to sharing my progress with you shortly, and showing the improvements that I have made with a professional violinist watching over my development.

Top Tip #5

Invest in a teacher!

As a pianist with a degree in music, I thought that it would be possible to learn the violin on my own, and it is… possible. However, picking up a few bad habits that I didn’t want to become ingrained, general lack of motivation, and the benefit of a little professional input made it obvious that investing in a teacher was the next step for me. I have already noticed a significant improvement.

Next Time…

I will be working on two pieces from Jessica O’Leary’s 80 Graded Studies for Violin: Book One for my next post. I’m going to get the performances to as high a standard as I can, so hopefully it will be an enjoyable listen.

Violog: #3

Violin Journal #3: This week, I have been working on arpeggios and minor scales. I have also put into practice much of the feedback received from the more advanced violinists following my progress…

Violin Journal: #3

This week, I have been working on arpeggios and minor scales. I have also put into practice much of the feedback received from the more advanced violinists following my progress...

If you have a keen eye, you may have noticed that my bow was less taught than in previous videos, and I now have slightly more bend in the bow. Thank you to the guys on the Violinist SubReddit who pointed this out to me.

I found transitioning from major scales to minor scales fairly easy due to the movements being largely the same, just with slightly varying intervals. Rather than learning as individual notes, I just worked with the interval rules for natural, harmonic and melodic minors.

Major – T, T, S, T, T, T, S

Natural Minor – T, S, T, T, S, T, T

Harmonic Minor – T, S, T, T, S, T+S, S

Melodic Minor (Ascending) – T, S, T, T, T, T, S

Melodic Minor (Descending) – T, T, S, T, T, S, T

* T = Tone S = Semitone

This way, a greater number of scales are available to me than with the traditional graded approach. Additionally, I am learning to play by feel and theoretical understanding rather than pure muscle memory, allowing for greater flexibility and control whilst playing.

Similarly, learning major and minor arpeggios from the interval rules makes for an easier learning experience.

Major Arpeggio (Ascending) – Major 3rd, Minor 3rd, Perfect 4th

Major Arpeggio (Descending) – Perfect 4th, Minor 3rd, Major 3rd

Minor Arpeggio (Ascending) – Minor 3rd, Major 3rd, Perfect 4th

Minor Arpeggio (Descending) – Perfect 4th, Major 3rd, Minor 3rd

Top Tip #4

Tighten the bow correctly!

“A rule of thumb that my teacher told me was to use the pencil rule; i.e. the middle of the bow should be about a pencil’s-width between the hair and the bow.” – Chadsomething (Reddit)

“It is only supposed to be able to barely fit your pinkie in-between the hair and the curve. (Curve down not up or straight).” – Popyetyty (Reddit)

Next Week…

I’ll be working on all of the things I’ve learnt so far; namely scales, arpeggios, bowing, and sight-reading. I’m looking to improve my technique and resulting sound so that the videos I’m posting are a bit more pleasant to listen to. I’ll be posting some sight-reading next week, recording the first play-through of each piece! I promise that it won’t be as bad as it sounds.