"It is evident, however, that the correct use of the left hand is of
equal importance. It seems not to be generally known that
finger-pressure has much to do with tone-quality. The correct poise of
the left hand, as conspicuously shown by Heifetz for instance, throws
the extreme tips of the fingers hammerlike on the strings, and renders
full pressure of the string easy. Correctly done, a brilliance results,
especially in scale and passage work, which can be acquired in no other
manner, each note partaking somewhat of the quality of the open string.
As for intonation--that is largely a question of listening. To really
listen to oneself is as necessary as it is rare. It would take a volume
to cover that subject alone. We hear much about the use of the _vibrato_
these days. It was not so when I was a student. I can remember when it
was laughed at by the purists as an Italian evidence of bad taste. My
teachers decried it, yet if we could hear the great players of the past,
we would be astonished at their frugal use of it.
"One should remember in this connection that there was a conflict among
singers for many years as to whether the straight tone as cultivated by
the English oratorio singers, or the vibrated tone of the Italians were
correct. As usual, Nature won out. The correctly vibrated voice
outlasted the other form of production, thus proving its lawful basis.
But to-day the _vibrato_ is frequently made to cover a multitude of
violin sins.
"It is accepted by many as a substitute for genuine warmth and it is
used as a _camouflage_ to 'put over' some very bad art in the shape of
poor tone-quality, intonation and general sloppiness of technic. Why,
then, has it come into general use during the last twenty-five years?
Simply because it is based on the correctly produced human voice. The
old players, especially those of the German school, said, and some still
say, the _vibrato_ should only be used at the climax of a melody. If we
listen to a Sembrich or a Bonci, however, we hear a vibration on every
tone. Let us not forget that the violin is a singing instrument and that
even Joachim said: 'We must imitate the human voice,' This, I think,
disposes of the case finally and we must admit that every little boy or
girl with a natural _vibrato_ is more correct in that part of his
tone-production than many of the great masters of the past. As the Negro
pastor said: 'The world do move!'