[Music]
It may be a good plan to play the staccato and legato notes with a
decided contrast in style. The French school teachers play the staccato
notes short and crisp near the point of the bow. The German school
prefer a less detached stroke, using about one-third of the bow. You
will observe that the short bowings are more frequently required
throughout the study of Fiorillo than a broad style of playing. The
wrist must be very free. The bow-stroke is not a lateral one. Do not
make a wide difference in length of bow-stroke. Sing the theme. Place
the fingers on the strings at once. Read in advance of the measure
which you are playing. Anticipate string changes with the wrist in
short transfers. Do not _slide_ into positions.
In the sixth and ninth lines _think_ the position changes at once.
If we can sing a theme before taking a position, true intonation is
assured. Many students who are beginning the study of the second
position, using the Wohlfahrt and Sitt studies, ask if the second and
fourth positions are useful. One must turn to the études of Kreutzer,
Fiorillo, Rode, and Gavinies, showing many examples. As a means of ear
training I consider the second position very valuable. The student
who has difficulty with the fourth is likely to have the same with
the fifth and sixth positions. One cannot stress too much the value
of the careful study of positions. Beginning at the second page of
this étude, it is well to play a somewhat shorter staccato stroke.
The string-transfers are made by throwing the wrist over the string,
in cases in which one goes from G to A or D to E. I sometimes review
parts of the étude with spiccato bowing at the middle of the bow,
single strokes. You will observe the term _sempre staccato_ in some
editions. Play a little broader stroke than this term would indicate.
The last three lines, not including the last line, are very difficult.
Play lightly, using little bow. Move the left thumb far round. Keep the
middle joint flat. Bend the finger toward the G string to command the
positions; also keep the fingers down when not in use. Do not use the
vibrato in any case except one in which a broad free bowing is desired,
as in an adagio movement. Be very careful of intonation.
[Music]
No. 30.
[Music]
As a preparation for this étude, use the Schradieck and Sevcik works.
I find Schradieck’s _Technical Exercises_ and _Scales and Arpeggios_
valuable, though I prefer the method of playing scales as advocated by
Halir, because Schradieck repeats the fundamental note, thereby making
a perfect legato well-nigh impossible. The order of Schradieck’s scales
I do not deprecate. The stroke here used is a short staccato in the
upper third or a _martelé_ in the middle of the bow. I have already
explained how to cross one string without playing upon it. Throw the
bow by a short quick stroke of the forearm well over the string,
keeping the arm high, out from the body. Make a curve, not an angle.
If the very high positions and rapid changes seem too difficult, play
the intervals on the piano a few times. _Think_ the tone. Do not
strive for speed. The bowing and intonation are of first importance.
Play the slurred notes in the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth lines
legato, until freedom is secured. Altogether this is a most difficult
étude, and it should be practiced even when other études are under our
consideration.
The entire étude is not played with a very short staccato stroke. The
fingers must seek their positions at once. Avoid an awkward arm stroke.
No. 31.
[Music]
As we have played several études of this type, I use varied bowings.
(1) The lower third, second group flying staccato.
(2) Middle spiccato.
(2_a_) Upper third, legato.
(3) Single measures on one bow.
(4) In groups of four notes.
(5) Running legato at point.
[Music]
From a technical standpoint this étude is not as difficult as some that
precede it. At the fifth line it would be wise to play a rather short
stroke near the point of the bow. Show the pupil examples of similar
bowings in the 8th Rode “Concerto,” the 22d and 23d Viotti, the Bach
“A Minor,” etc. As an example of the pure spiccato, refer to the
“Perpetual Motions” of Ries and Bohm. As a type of running legato use
Schubert’s “The Bee.” As an example of octave and tenth study, point
out passages in the “Polonaise” of Vieuxtemps. Short detached strokes,
two notes on one bow, below the middle of the bow, are very useful.
Broad, vigorous strokes with the upper third of the bow are excellent
toward the close:
[Music]
Throughout all étude work I stress the great fundamental principles of
bowing. I cannot see that the playing of a great many études counts
for much if we neglect _principles_. When we go abroad, all our work
ends until we correct bad habits and master principles which ought long
ago to have been mastered. It is all very well to say that Mr. X——, a
great artist, does not adhere to the particular creed of his school.
Perhaps he cannot be bound by a method. The rank and file of us must
cling to something. Elastic rules cannot be made for amateurs. There
must be definite rules of action. To clinch a point, I may select many
illustrations. It is better to settle it, once for all, than to pass
on and return to it with a brain dazed by many principles and multiple
illustrations totally unrelated. _Teach thoroughly what you teach._
No. 32.
[Music]
This étude must be played with a singing tone, the accompaniment
being clear, smooth, and elegant, as in étude number two. The lower
notes must strictly be in time and of proper duration. This type of
accompaniment, found in the Bach unaccompanied “Sonatas,” the solos
of Paganini, the “Twenty-second Concerto” of Viotti, and other works,
is one of the most interesting forms in solo violin playing. While it
is free, graceful, refined, and elegant in the sonata and concerto,
rhythmic abandon is hardly allowable in an étude. The melody must
always be supported by absolute precision in the accompaniment. While
this étude is an excellent example of pure cantabile playing, its
graceful accompaniment relieves it from the somewhat rigid style of the
mere étude. In that respect it is superior to number thirty-three from
a musical standpoint. In the third line you will observe a staccato
run. Make this a running staccato, not short and crisp. Do not hasten
the tempo; rather hold back in order to obtain a dignified cantabile.
In the fifth line sing the theme, and dip the bow slightly for the
running accompaniment, which must occur exactly in time. Do not accent
the accompaniment notes too much. Give them only their value. Keep the
bow as close upon two strings as possible:
[Music]
No. 33.
[Music]
Students ask, “Is this a short staccato? Where do I play such
a passage?” The value and tempo of a work govern bowing. Avoid
meaningless bowing. Play broadly when possible. One must study the
classics and discriminate between the style of different schools and
periods if one is to judge of methods of bowing. In this case, play
with a free, somewhat broad tone, in the upper part of the bow. Produce
a resonant, singing tone. Do not decrease the tone in an ascending
passage. It is a good plan to play the arpeggios separately, that is,
repeating each line over and over, until they are mastered. If the
student has difficulty with them, review the twelfth Kreutzer étude.
The second and fourth positions require much more careful practice.
Use a free forearm stroke when it is possible. Passages of this nature
may be played near the point of the bow:
[Music]
Note the octaves in the eleventh line. They should be played in the
middle of the bow, slightly detached, the bow being raised by a
flexible wrist stroke, the first note of the group being accented.
Certain teachers prefer a perfect legato at the point of the bow. The
stroke at the middle is freer. Do not press upon the bow-stick, as the
bowing must be light, especially in the chromatic passage:
[Music]
The single detached notes of the last line are more easily played with
spiccato bowing at the middle of the bow. They may also be practiced
with a short, crisp, light staccato at the point:
[Music]
No. 34.
[Music]
There are three methods of playing the first part of this étude. One
is a broad detached stroke, middle to point. The second is a short
staccato stroke near the point of the bow. The third is the spiccato at
the middle. As the position changes are difficult, use the most easily
acquired bowing at first. That would be a forearm stroke. Practice the
sixth position passage separately until mastered. Each position change
should be mastered before going to the next. It might be well to select
certain arpeggio studies of Schradieck and Kreutzer in connection with
this étude, for the sake of a mastery of principles. Varied bowings
should follow a mastery of the content of such études. Note in the
eighth line the groups of two slurred notes. These may be played
lightly at the point, also at the middle of the bow, with a free wrist
stroke combined with a slight movement from the shoulder, a form of
bowing often used in orchestral works, a freer style than that at the
point of the bow. When the étude is mastered technically, I often teach
it with the spiccato bowing at the point of the bow, followed by the
bowing indicated in legato passages. When crossing the strings hold the
arm high, the wrist leading in string-transfers. The practice of the F
major scale in the sixth position with varied bowings is recommended.
To keep up a continuous spiccato is not desirable, hence the detached
bowing in the upper third of the bow is not practical. This étude is
one of the most difficult and exacting of the entire book, hence the
necessity of frequent reviews. If possible, analyze the content of the
work, calling attention to the structure of each passage and the basis
of arpeggios.
No. 35.
[Music]
There are so many double-stop études of more practical value than this
one that it is wise to review the excellent double-stop études of
Kreutzer, Sitt[23] and Dont,[24] although the last named are the least
practical. However, if one is to teach Fiorillo, one must use this
étude. A few rules may be useful:
1. Read in advance of the measure played.
2. Strive for a pure singing tone.
3. Keep the theme prominent, the accompaniment legato.
4. Use a broad free style of bowing.
5. The fingers must fall simultaneously in double-stops.
6. Analyze the work phrase by phrase.
7. Memorize difficult passages.
8. Do not draw the strings from side to side. The fingers
must fall into position and remain fixed.
9. If the pitch is not at once secured, do not slide the
fingers up and down as if in search for the exact
tone. Practice the passage until the fingers fall
into correct places at once.