Thank you for sharing Karen Tuttle 's plops I had some interaction with her when I was a student at the Peabody Institute. I had some delightful chamber music coaching sessions with her. As a violinist Karen was not my main teacher. Kim Kakashian was studying with her then. All of Ms. Tuttle's students were so relaxed in their approach to the viola. I will never forget her hysterical demonstration of what schlepping looked like as applied to playing without tension. Anyway thank you for a very helpful session.
I have small hands and use all these techniques on the violin as well as years of finger exercises. I have had great success with a 7/8 size violin (and narrower string setting). Adult student.. G Ire
Good for the violin . I will thing and integrate this in my playing . I think bowing is really important in regards to the soundcreated never thought about finger attack like pianist's do .
Exactly what I needed to hear today! Thank you. Any advice on finding a good viola setup for especially long necks? I've tried so many chinrests and shoulder rests over the past few years, and I'm having a hard time finding a pair that fits me naturally.
You're welcome! I've got a fairly long neck and have been using this for a while: www.johnsonstring.com/cgi-bin/music/scripts/violin-viola-cello-music.cgi?itemno=SRVNPOLPAU2/2U It also comes in a grey version that's not as dense. I don't have one myself, but a number of colleagues have custom-built chinrests from here that they really like: www.chinrests.com/
That is really helpful for someone who also notices a Frankenstein character to her left hand. Thank you ❣ Do you have advice for keeping the upper string free when playing the fourth finger (tunneling)?
Glad it was helpful! I would experiment with positioning the fingertip slightly more on the left side of the string - this may also require bringing the left elbow slightly more to the right (which may require rotating the upper arm all the way from the back!).
also, make sure the 4th finger side of your hand just isn't too far away from the neck. adjusting the shoulder rest to give more of a tilt can help. "whatever it takes" in the words of my last teacher. and once you've found a solution, don't forget to isolate it and practice it...
The advice given is critical for a powerful but relaxed left hand!! Just do everything he says, it works because it obeys physiological principles. I have been teaching this for many years and remember clearly when I changed my left hand technique to incorporate it. Life changing. I am ex Juilliard violinist and was not taught this back then.
nicola benedetti has a video up where she talks about something similar and how she was taught to play schradieck. some extreme finger movement for practice only that gives crispness
Fascinating, because for once, it's a problem I didn't have!!! What I had trouble with was shifting (I wham-banged shifting) and getting my hand in the right place after a shift. It would have been nice to have some instruction on that back when it mattered. Even as a violinist in a regional orchestra, I was never comfortable above fifth position because I never knew exactly where I'd end up after I bumped the violin into my neck during a shift. Oh well -- that is very long gone, This was a good video.
