[12] _Daily Exercises_ and _Three Octave Scales_, by Edith L. Winn.
Published by Carl Fischer, New York. Price, $1.00.
[13] See footnote, page 30.
No. 16.
Again, the term _Allegro_ is a somewhat elastic one. The stroke is at
or near the point of the bow, the first note covering enough space so
as to allow a longer bow for the three slurred notes. This group should
be sharply accented. Play _forte_ throughout. Play the longer staccato
groups in the second and third line near the point of the bow, using as
little space as possible, until we come to the last two notes. Owing to
the modulations in this étude, I frequently ask students to memorize
it. We usually analyze it. There is a growing tendency among violin
teachers to analyze all technical works and pieces with students.
Foreign teachers rarely do so. It is a question whether the lesson
should include harmonic analysis. That should be taught elsewhere.
The violin teacher’s duty is to teach the pupil how to _play works_.
Harmony and theory should be taught in classes. It is wise, however, to
call attention to keys. All the major and minor keys should be studied.
Remember the sharp accentuation on the first note, down bow, of slurred
groups of three notes.
[Music]
The trill should be played with a down bow. Raise the bow slightly
between octaves; also play at the middle of the bow. Accent trills. The
fingering in the last three measures is as follows:
[Music]
[Music]
No. 17.
[Music]
A brief glance at this étude would naturally give one the impression
that it is played in a light manner. It is, however, one of the most
interesting _Adagio_ studies in violin literature. The Fiorillo études
are not single detached studies. They flow into each other, as it
were, naturally, and with sufficient variety as to tempo and themes to
make them fascinating and agreeable. This étude leads into the more
rapid eighteenth étude gracefully and with dignity. Both études are
usually taken out of order, on account of their difficulty, and the
Kreutzer double-stop études are reviewed. Phrases should be full of
meaning, clean-cut and distinct. The fingers must fall simultaneously
in double-stops. A slur within a slur requires a slight separation, but
not the raising of the bow. Note the exact reproduction of the first
phrase, with the position of notes inverted, in the second phrase. Note
the second and third measures, second line, the short staccato being
avoided.
[Music]
The long staccato double-stop passage should be played with slightly
detached notes, not staccato in the extreme sense, with a slight ritard
toward the close, about two-thirds of the bow being used, so that the
following legato passage may be free. The next two notes slurred must
be played near the point of the bow, followed by a staccato passage, as
before played lightly and detached, with a free running stroke. When
there are groups of two notes, the first is accented. Phrasing must be
clean-cut at this point:
[Music]
Naturally there is a ritard at the close. The first part of the étude
begins on the tonic triad, with the fundamental note absent. It is
well to call the attention of the student to the fact that the second
part of the étude opens with the dominant chord, the fundamental
note being absent. There is a decided pause in the fourth measure,
owing to the demands of phrasing. The student should play one phrase
repeatedly until mastered. The fingers move simultaneously into new
positions. They must take the position at once. In the third line
the accompaniment to the theme must be lightly played, no note being
carried over a rest. Do not accent in syncopated passages, nor play the
note of the accompaniment too loud, giving it more than its value. In
the seventh line the short notes or groups should be played almost in
a recitative style. The student should think his interval at once when
suddenly passing to double-stops; in the higher positions the fingers
fall together. The long runs may be played more nearly in staccato
style. In the third measure from the close, play the thirty-second note
at the heel of the bow.
[Music]
In order to fully appreciate this étude, it would be well for the
student to hear the great singers in such works as _Bocca bocca bella_,
by Lotti, or _Vieni che poi sereno_, by Glück, which offer examples
of pure technic and beauty of phrasing. I believe I can say frankly
that I have learned more about phrasing from the study of voice
than from violin study. At any rate the one aids the other, and the
student must learn to play Fiorillo and Rode like an artist, giving
to purely technical works a value that will materially aid him in the
interpretation of pieces. Style and phrasing are so essential to violin
playing that one should hear much good music, and all teachers should
be able to illustrate the important principles of bowing, phrasing, and
technic.
No. 18.
[Music]
For finished studies, using double-stops, études seventeen and
eighteen are unexcelled. The latter, like the twelfth Kreutzer, may be
played for years with profit. The student should not enter upon this
study untrained. Beside the preparatory work of Kreutzer and Sitt,
there are excellent double-stop exercises of Wilhelmj Hřimaly, and
especially of Halir, used so little as yet in America. Halir’s idea is
to teach double-stop scales in sections, beginning with the C scale.
This étude should not be played rapidly. Allegretto is a diminutive
term. Play in the lower half of the bow, the bow being raised for each
note. The student should place the fingers simultaneously. The fingers
move together. The positions must be thoroughly understood before this
étude is studied. One may practice it for months with profit. Generally
the upper part of the bow is preferred, with a smooth running stroke of
the bow. Teachers differ concerning the manner of teaching this étude.
All staccato passages are usually played crisply, with freedom. Note
the manner of playing the Halir double-stop scales with varied bowings,
i.e. (1) Lower half detached; (2) Two notes tied; (3) Four notes tied;
(4) Entire scale in one bow. It is always best, when a student is
advanced, to study these études of Fiorillo first with the bowing as
marked, not with easier forms. It is far better to play a passage over
and over until correct, than to institute an easy method of bowing.
A mastery of technic requires constant repetition. Take the tempo
slowly at first. Always _sing_ tone and play with as broad a stroke
as possible under the circumstances, so as to cultivate a broad, free
style. A very light passage may often be played with detached notes,
using nearly the whole length of the bow. When playing double-stops
lightly, do not press upon the bow-stick; play over the finger-board,
with a light loose stroke. The middle of the bow is an excellent place
in which to play the double-stops, as found in étude 18 and elsewhere.
For small hands I would recommend the following method of playing
tenths: Draw the first finger around so that it lies almost flat on the
string at right angles to the neck of the violin. Then place the fourth
finger in position. It is probable also that this finger cannot be
curved. The thumb is well round under the neck of the violin. It must
be flat, close up to the neck. Do not release it entirely from the neck.
No. 19.
[Music: Allegretto. With the middle.]
This étude begins lightly spiccato at the middle of the bow. With the
crescendo the necessity for a broader stroke arises, and we dispense
with the spiccato. The following passage is played toward the middle of
the bow the stroke becoming a spiccato:
[Music]
Keep in the upper third of the bow when the tied notes are alternately
long and short. In the seventh line, second measure, play the staccato
run at the point of the bow:
No. 20.
[Music]
As an example of string-transfers in the positions, especially upon
four strings, this étude is unexcelled. Play lightly near the point
of the bow. Prepare for each change of strings and for rapid position
changes by reading in advance. Always keep the bow well over two
strings. If four strings are to be used, raise the arm, the entire arm
being in the same plane. A running legato at the point of the bow is
desired.
Raise the arm out from the side, the whole arm moving in the same
plane, the wrist leading. Note the great value of this étude as a
preparation for the third movement of the Concerto in A minor by
Bach. Short string-transfers require that the two fingers used fall
simultaneously on the strings. The arm always follows the wrist. If
arpeggios occur in the higher positions, place the fingers as upright
as possible on the four strings. A variation in point of attack
interferes seriously with intonation. Note the necessity for perfect
intonation. The wrist leads in transfers, a backward dip securing a
perfect legato. Do not secure it by playing on the inner edge of the
hair.
If the legato is not easily played, review the eighth Kreutzer étude in
groups of two notes at the point of the bow.
A study of Hans Sitt’s double-stop études[14] and Section IV and V of
Sevcik’s _4,000 Bowings_ is desirable. If the étude is first played in
double-stops, the student gains the habit of thinking the relation of
tones, also the bow gains facility, and lies well over the strings.
A running legato passage of two notes to a bow is usually played
anywhere from the middle to the point, preferably near the point, if
pianissimo. A quick command of the sixth position is not easy. Two
fingers, at least, should fall at once into place. The bow should lie
almost over two strings at the point, or near it. There should be no
visible rise and fall of the arm for two-string transfers. In moving
from position to position, the legato should not be disturbed. A slight
accent on the first note of each group of two gives character to the
étude. In this passage, where more than two strings are to be used, one
naturally moves the entire arm.
[Music]
[Music]
A slight undulating movement of the wrist, not lateral, gives
freedom. Play near the edge of the hair as much as possible. Raise
the entire arm for a transfer from the E string to the G, the wrist
leading slightly. Describe a curve, not an angular movement. Do not
turn the violin far over to the E side. Hold it lightly with the
chin and let the body of the instrument be nearly flat, that is,
make the angle as small as possible. If the G string is high in
the air, the E will be correspondingly low, the arm close, and all
legato work or string-transfers correspondingly difficult. The rule
of reading ahead and placing fingers on the strings at once always
holds good. As examples of this style of bowing, one may mention the
Sevcik _4,000 Bowings_, Part 2, Section III, IV, V; also the Sitt
_Technical Studies_,[15] 2d part, Op. 92, with the chords played as
arpeggios in many ways. There are many other studies of this nature;
for instance, the Kross _Bowings of Kreutzer’s Studies_, Nos. 1 and
8.[16] Naturally the student must _think_ modulations, even if he
is perfectly familiar with his position work. Keep the thumb well
under the neck of the violin, so as to compass four strings easily
and at once. A wise plan with students who are very careless about
making smooth string-transfers is to ask them to play the groups
as double-stops singly in the lower half of the bow, using a light
detached stroke. When playing such passages as this do not throw the
wrist out, necessitating a perfectly flat fourth finger. All fingers
should be arched. Marie Herites, one of the best early exponents of the
Sevcik school, has a very excellent method of playing tenths, in spite
of her short fingers. She brings her first finger far around, so as to
fall at right angles to the neck of the violin. It lies flat in this
position and the fourth falls easily into place, slightly curved. The
wrist is somewhat out of position, and the thumb far under the violin,
but results are satisfactory. Every one can conquer limitations of the
hand. No. 20 is not a virtuoso study. It belongs essentially to a good
repertoire, but it is not easy, and must therefore be practiced until
perfect freedom is secured and intonation is perfect.