Practical Sugg estio ns for Correct Techn ical

D evelopment and Good Violin Tone Production

Y‘

rans at e d f rom t h e G e rman b y M e zar C h a

T is only in recent years that the problems of ‘V iol in technic have been

given more carefu l consideration than was formerly thought nec

essary . It is true that directions forovercom ing certain technical d iffi

culties may be found in the many schools of viol in playing, but

they rarely touch the essence of the difficulty, and usual ly neglect

entirely to analyze and separate a difficult passage into i ts simplest forms . The

number of works which treat only of viol in technic is small in comparison to

the great number of theoretical works at the disposal of th e pianist . This may,

in part , be due to the more d ifii cult and complicated movements necessarily

connected with the playing of the viol in , th e holding and supporting of which

alone resul t in complications of the technical apparatus which do not exist in

the case of the piano or ’cello .

The playing of ei ther of these instruments permits of a hanging position

of th e arms, and th e movements of playing do not make such gr eat demands

upon th e strength of the player .

Although the movements of playing the piano are comparatively simple ,

they are considered of spec ial importance . In fact,th ey form the basis of the

method of a master.

In playing th e v iolin , the problems of technic are made more complicated

by the fact that each arm performs a di fferent function . Natural ly, a large

number of treatises give attention to the problems of bowing and of the left hand.

I t is strange that one function of the left hand, and the most important one ,

has rarely been mentioned . In the following, I wish to call attention to a point

which is of the greatest importance to the whole technical apparatus employed

in playing the viol in . I will say at once, however, that we are concerned here

with a purely technical problem , and not with the interpretive side of playing,

nor with the declamation of an art work . We will discuss here only those

functions and conditions which enable us to express what we feel through the

medium of beautiful tone .

I t is time that we finally determine what belongs to the spiritual side of

music , and what, in contrast thereto , belongs alone to the technic of playing.

First of all, from my personal experience , th e following :

Very many v iol in ists, pupils and amateurs , complain that even when they knowN 1 084

I ‘l l ! ) by

Eng l i sh li cl i l iun

( h pyri g ll t. by

Y H Ix‘ lx'

l l l l t ' l‘ l l J l ln l l tl l Sc i -

" rm !

or can imagine how a piece of music ough t to sound , th ey are unable to play

it with the desired beauty of tone . Such a p layer, for example , m igh t possess

suff icient technical equ ipment and the necessary powe rs of inte rp re tat ion to play

a Mozar t Concer to wi thout,however

,being able to sat isfy fully the demand for

artistic exp ression which he makes upon himsel f .

What is the difference , then,aside from interp re tat ion, between the artist

and th e amateur !

The play ing of an artist sounds always , and at all t imes . I t diffe rs es

sentially from the play ing of o thers who str ive in vain for artis t ic pe rfec tion, in

one point , in po int of quality . I t is not, as most peop le seem to bel ieve , the

greater technical fac il ity to which the finish of his p laying is due . There are

amateurs who astonish by their playing of Paganini Caprices . They apparent

ly do everything, but in reali ty, nothing . I t is only astonishing that such d iffi

culties can be overcome even in such an inadequa te manner . We re i t a mat

ter of technical fac il i ty alone , they too , w i th their l im ited know ledge , would ts

able to arouse enthusiasm . On the o ther hand, an art ist l ike Burmeste r is able ,

with unassum ing l ittle pieces , to hold the attention of an audience for a whole

evening and make a deep impression upon his l is teners . For very many lay

men,the enjoyment of an evening in a concert hall reaches its climax

'

when

a great artist is induced to play a simple l i ttle enco re piece . Could the art ist

with a prodigious techn ic in terpret simple pieces perfec tly, then all players who

perform technically difficult tasks should be able to charm with simple means .

This,however, is not the case .

I would here again emphasize the point which many accept as a mat

ter of course , and of which so few seem to realize the full significance - finish

in playi ng does not necessarily come from agil ity of fingers acqu ired by techni

cal study . I maintain that the qual ity of a perform ance is never the result of

technical work . A certain amount of finish is noticeable in the play ing of those

beginners whom we are accustomed to consider spec ial ly talented . The gen

eral bel ief is that the tonal finish of their p lay ing wil l improve as their technic

develops . This is a great m istake !

! et us here depict the diseased condition,to use an inelegant expres

sion , of a violin ist who , start ing with these false conceptions, exerts h imself

to the l im it of endurance at his studies,but who never arr ives at any degree

of successful result . Of him it m ight justly be said: !

Jubilant unto Heaven

sad unto death .

” He studies faithful ly, and in many respects a certain degree

of progress is apparent . Nevertheless, he isnot entirely satisfied with h is own

playing . In comparison with others upon whom he looks as more highly favoredN lo84

in point of talent h e finds h is own work crude and li feless . He feels that a

cer tain some thing is lacking in himself which seems to be natural to others .

Th i s extra something , which can be but some t r ifl ing thing, but which consti~

tutes the ver y essence of musical del ivery,he searches for here and th ere

,

‘calls it

inspiration , soul, without be ing able to satisfac to r ily define the thing that he is

in search of. At last, one day he feels that he has found it . It is there . He

can do everything . Each passage so carefully p rac ticed , responds ligh tly and

without effor t, and his tone is possessed of uncommon br ill iancy . I t seems to

him that the time has come when his arduous effo rts are to be crowned with

success . That he m ight be heard now ! The next morning however, he makes

the discou raging discover y that the old conditions still exist . His fingers, which

yesterday seemed to go of themselves,today refuse to operate in the same master

ly manne r . His play ing again lacks brill ianc y and repose . The whole work must

begin anew . Most people,following a false t rain of thought , now say to them

selves that a fortunate mood or disposition had,for the time , removed certain

hindrances ! hence the apparent Optical , or mo re co rrectly speaking, auricular

imp rovement in his play ing ! Mood,indeed ! Unfortunately the player

’

s mood

is rarely, i f ever, to be depended upon . The erratic reasoning is continued in

the hope that al l th is w ill be permanently corrected by increased technical fac il ity.

I have never seen this hOpe real ized .

Viol inists of recognized artistic abil ity must often struggle against indis

position . At times they are even at the mercy of what they cal l indisposition .

The ir in many respects masterly command of th e fingerboard is at times de

stroyed by influences which they cannot explain . They lose confidence in the ir

own abil ity . Although thei r musical taste prevents them from play ing badly,

only in comparatively few cases do they ever reach that degree of absolute

finish which distinguishes the playing of the really great virtuoso They turn

to all manner of expedients in trying to free themselves from these hindrances .

Thus, recently many have tried massage , and not without benefic ial resultsthe reason for this I will mention later—but whatever they do , they still fail toreach that degree of perfec tion which characterizes the real vir tuoso . Even he

may suffer at tim es from indisposition , but he is usually in form . Rarely indeed

is he really indisposed . The exception but proves the rule . The concertiz ing

virtuoso , who per forms here today ,and tomorrow elsewhere , cannot afford to

be often indisposed , thereby imper il l ing his repu tation, perhaps to the extent ofr uining his whole career . Is this state of

! perpetual p reparedness” a sign of

extraordinary viol in talen t !

Allow me he re to cal l the attention of teachers to a phenomenon which

at first glance seems possible of being explained by the fact that different pupilsN 1 084

possess d ifierent degr ees of talent . Certain pupils, conside red talented, play well

from the beginning . Often the playing of pupils materially improves as soon as

they attempt to play ! with feeling .

Talented pupils may be divided into two groups. The playing of one

group varies! today it is good, but at other times, not so good . As regards

tone quality, i t is uneven and the left hand uncertain . The playing of the

second group, on the contrary, is very even always, and one is never um

pleasantly surprised by the appearance of!

indisposition of any kind . They take

up the viol in and their playing ! sounds .” They may have practiced but l ittle

,

but the comparatively good quality of their wo rk never seems to suffer, even

when their technic is inadequate . We listen to them with more pleasure than

to others who possess greater technical facili ty . Whatever they play, they give

the l istener a fair idea of their abili ty , even when playing someth ing that is tech

nically beyond them . How is th is to be explained ! What is i t here that satisfies,

even astonishes, the l istener ! Is it the manifestation of emotion !

For the present we leave these questions unanswered and, by way of

comparison, look into the process of evolution of the great artist . As a child‘

he,too

,charms his listeners, even before his technic is thoroughly ripened ! that

is,his playing

,from the beginner

’

s stage,is already stamped with th e quali ty

of artistic finish . I quote here a few sentences from the Rode - ! reutzer - Baillot

Violin School which help to illustrate the essential characteristics of this quality

of artistic finish . The author speaks of the different character of tone of vio

l ins,and continuing, says:

! but aside from this pl iant, pecul iar sound of the

instrument, there is still another tone which the individual emotion of the musi

eianbegets . This tone is so characteristic that th e same violin, played upon bytwo different musicians, appears not to be the same instrument . E ven before

the theme is ended, and before the l istener is able to comprehend the idea of

the composition, this tone fastens i tself upon his senses and stirs his emotion .

The first tone is to the ear what the first glance is to the eye ! in i t lies the

magic power of the irresistible charm and of the deep indissoluble impression .

Paganini ’s tone and that of Tartini are stil l so clearly remembered that one is

well able to distingu ish the individual character of each . For a long time Viotti ’s

expressive tone has been silent, but i ts hold upon us is such that i t wil l never be

forgotten . Imperishable is i ts imprint , which lives in the memory as in the

heart . To acquire a beautiful tone , the pupil should prepare himself by the

given mechanical exercises . Beauty of tone begets emotion,and deep in his

own soul the pupil discovers the spring from which he draws the power to stir

the souls of others.

N |084

E ven befo re the l istener is able to comprehend the idea of the com

pos ition , this tone fas tens itself upon his senses and s t i rs his emotions , etc .

He re we find exactly what I said above : the intellect plays no par t in the matter.

The tone !! Beau ty of tone begets emotion ! and , deep in his own soul, the

pupil discove rs the spring from which he draws the power to sti r the souls of others . "

I desi re to cal l particula r attention to this last sentence . First of all , the author

righ t ly states that the tone , mo re than anything else , takes hold of th e l istener

and keeps him unde r i ts Spell . That is p rec isely what I would again empha

size he re, namelyz

—Sound, par t icularly beautiful sound, is the most importantfactor of the art of playing the viol in . All players strive for the beautiful tone .

Pe rhaps more or less conscientiously , each one endeavors to make his technic! sound . The beautiful sound , the so- called fine , soul ful tone—that is the es

sential charac terist ic of the whole art of delivery . I remember the play ing of a

pupil whose technic was not extrao rdinar y , but who played a Mozar t Concerto

wi th such a r ich full tone that he completely captivated his audience . Our

author continues , deep in the soul , etc . The soul of the artist,then is reflect

ed in the tone . This sentence contains a grave error, a fundamental error,

which offers oppo r tunity for the most p reposterous conclusions . Rightly inter

preted i t becomes but a hal f- truth . If the tone , here considered of such great

impo rtance , reflects the soul , then the beautiful tone should reveal a noble and

deeply sympathe t ic nature . And since so very many V iolinists play !

w i th feeling,I

should like to ask the psy chologically not uninteresting question: Is it really true

that V iol inists gene rally possess more nobili ty of charac ter than other people !

For my part I cannot believe this, for i t has been my experience that persons

with the crudest na tures may sometimes play in a most deeply affecting manner .

And every teache r will have found that some pupils, in whom not a trace of

a deep o r sympathic natu re is to be discovered , often play with beautiful

tone,while othe rs, on the contrary, possessing all the exceptional qualifications

of a soulful nature , are not able to find adequate means of exp ressing upon

their instruments what they inwardly feel . Now how does the mat ter stand

between the soul and tone ! Is the beauti ful tone something which must be

sought deep in the soul !” What creates individuali ty . of tone ! My answer is:

T/ze tom!

2

'

s Ma i d /f ” ! ru/wn [orrez‘

l/y i s not an i f f/ze soul .

I do not dispu te , however, that tone is individual . Wilhelm! 3 tone and Sara

sate's tone diffe red essen t ially . Yet both charmed the wo r ld with beauty of tone

A.larg e. number of wo rks upon the suoject of beautiful tone have appeared,

offer ing the student all manner of nonsensical methods for acquiring i t. Nobody

N 1 084

wi l l dispute that Flesch, Burmester, Ysaye , Marteau and Wittenberg , for ex

ample , each have a beautiful tone . In the case of Sarasate we see that i t is

not necessary to add the attribute ! large . Nevertheless, Sarasate

’

s compara

tively weak tone sounded just as distinct and full in the fartherrnost corner of

th e large Philharmonic Hall , as in the immediate vicinity of the stage . This! smal l tone

”

must have possessed extraordinary carrying - power . The quali ty

common to the tone of all great artists is beauty. How may we then deter

mine—this is our main question~wherein l ies the difference in character of tone !! et us imagine that we hear one after the other of the great artists draw his

bow across the open strings of his violin . Could we in an adjoining room

d istingu ish one player from another ! At best we m ight be able to tell ! il

helmj from Sarasate , because the tone of one would be stronger than that of the

other . This, i t is plain, is only a dynamic d ifference . Should all play equally

fiz’

ano,then every possible d ifference would be completely removed . This fact

has been confirmed by prominent scientists . Nevertheless , the playing of one

artist differs from the playing of another artist—aside from difference of inter

pretation—only in one respect, and that is in tone . We have just seen that

on the open stri ngs , the tone of one artist is not distingu ishable from that of

another . Individuali ty of tone can arise only when the fingers of the left'

hand

are placed upon the strings . These fingers vibrate . They v ibrate differently.

D ifference in vibrato begets difference in tone . The reply to this will be that

these facts have long been known, but has the importance of this apparently ih

significant l ittle movement, ih i ts bearing upon the action of the left hand and

upon the work of the right arm , been ful ly realized ! Are we to bel ieve that the

v ibrato of every famous violinist is correct, even when the effect is different !

The answers to these questions are in no respect simple . Far reaching

as they are , they make clear the devious and erroneous paths into which

some in the past have been led, because of a false conception of the functions

here discussed .

In the following chapters I quote instances from various works which

appear to have important bearing upon our problem . From more than 1 00

works at my disposal,only the Joachim -Moser School and Tottmann ’

s! Book~

let on the Violin touch the heart of the subject .

N I084

I . ! eopold M ozart : ! An Attempt at an E lementary Vio l in Sch ool .

(Augsburg , 1 756 ) Chapter V.

How to bring forth a good tone from th e Violin by skillfu l man ipulation of the Bow .

1 11 1 .

It may appear to some that the present d iscuss ion is introduced in the w rong place , and

should preferably have been inserted in the beg inning ,in order that the pupil m ight become sk il l

ful in bring ing forth a pure tone at the same t im e that he is learning to hold the v iol in. St il l ,when one cons iders that in order to play the beg inner must necessar ily l earn to draw the bow ,

and further , that he has enough to do to correctl y observe al l the prescribed , necessary rul es ,and w ith great pains must g ive h is attent ion,

first to the stroke , then to the notes , and to the

t ime , and to all the other s igns , I am , I bel ieve , not to be blamed for hav ing postponed th is

d iscuss ion unt il the present t im e .

(11 2 .

I t has al ready been ment ioned above that the v iol in should from the beg inning be strung

w ith th ick str ings,that , w ith firm pressure of the fingers and a forcible retent ion of the bow ,

the muscles become hardened and a powerful , mascul ine stroke is thereby acqu ired . For what

sounds more ins ip id than the playing of one who,lack ing the confidence to properly attack the

instrument , barely touches the str ing w ith the bow (often held w ith but two fingers ) producing

thereby a sort of art ificial whisper,so that only a note here and there can be heard , and all is as

indist inct and ve iled as in a dream . Therefore , use heav ie r s tr ings ! t ry also , when us ing force ,to produce a pure tone , whereby a d iv is ion of the bow into its strong and weak parts w il l be of

great value .

(11 3.

E very forcibly at tacked tone is preceded by an almost impercept ibly weaker sound . O ther

w ise i t would not be a tone , but an unpleasant and unintel l ig ible noise . This weakness is al so to

be heard at the end of each tone . One must l earn how to d iv ide the v iol in bow into its s trong

and weak parts , and by means of an even pressure , produce beaut iful and effect ive tones .

(11 4 .

! et th is be the first d iv is ion : Beg in the up or down stroke w ith an agreeable softness of

tone ! increase the tone by a scarcely percept ible and gradual pressure ! apply the greatest

pressure at the m iddle of the bow ,and mod ify th is by gradual ly relaxing the pressure , unt il , at

the end of the bow ,the tone becomes inaud ible . This must be pract iced slow l y and w ith as

much retent ion of the bow as poss ibl e , so that one may be able , in an adag io movement , to hold

a long , pure and del icate tone . I t is s im ilarl y most effect ive when a s inger holds a long , beaut iful

note w ithout taking breath , and al ternates between soft and loud . Here i t mus t be especial l yN l084

noticed that w ith soft tones the finge rs of the left hand may be loosened and the bow moved fromthe bridge toward the li nger - board ! but w ith loud tones . tne fingers must press the strings f i rm ly

and the bow move nearer the b r id ge.

! I S.

In th is fi rst part part icularly , as in the fol low ing ,the fingers of the l eft hand should make a

sl ight,slow movement , not s idew ise , but forward and backward , al ternately toward the br idge

and scrol l of the v iol in ! w ith l ight bow - pressure , slow ly , and w ith stronger bow - pressure

qu icker .

Here fol low a large number of paragraphs upon dynam ics and express ion.

Chap ter‘

! II .

All depends upon good execut ion. Dail y experience confirms th is fact . Many an embryo

composer is charm ed and flattered upon hear ing h is works perform ed by a good player who is

able to make e ffects and l end character to the mus ic ofwhich he h imself had never dream ed ! thus ,by good performance alone , the player makes the whole m iserable inanity at l east bearable . And

who has not often heard the best com pos it ions so m iserably executed that the composer had

difficul ty in recogn iz ing his own works .

”

N I084

1 0

I I . !

Th e D ut ie s of an O rchest ra Vio l in i st,by

Johann Fri ed r ich Re i chhardt (Ber l i n

I . A good, full tone .

A good tone is produced as fol lows : have each finger in the exact place not a hair too

high nor too low ! l et the pressure of the left hand be as firm as possible ! draw the bow in a

straight l ine, not too near the br idge , but not too far away ! hold it fi rmly, but do not press

too forcibly against the str ing , so that all the hair and not , as is commonl y the case , the s ide - hair

only touch the str ing ! and do not l et the bow always rest upon the str ings,part icularly where ,

as we shal l presently see,i t is perm iss ible to w ithdraw it.

Reasons : It is not onl y necessary on account of pure intonat ion,to place the finger in the

exact spot upon the str ing , but part icularly so in order to obtain a fine,clear , ful l tone . The pitch

of a tone may be correct even to the finest ear, yet an ear that is able to d ist inquish quarter tones

and even the e ighth and s ixteenth part of a tone cannot hear the thirty - second and s ixty - fourth

part ofa tone, when perhaps only the one—hundred - twent ieth part is lacking to make the stopped

tone clear anu ful l , which is the case onl y when the v ibrat ions are perfect .

That the pressure of the left hand should be as firm as poss ible , is necessary because the

finger,by shortening the str ing , fixes the l im it of v ibrat ion,

and should th is not be perfectly cor

rect the tone w il l be im pure . The bow should not be drawn obl iquely, as the tone w il l whistle !

it should not be drawn too close to the bridge , because there the tens ion of the str ings is greatest,and if, in order to v ibrate the str ings strongly , except ional force is appl ied to the bow , especial ly

when the str ing is at its ent ire length , a disagreeable , jarr ing tone w il l resul t ! but it should

not be drawn too far away from the br idge , because then the force of the bow w il l not be in the

sam e relat ion to the tens ion of the str ing .

”

He g ives further d irect ions and cont inues!

These are all unim portant detail s to the pup il who can perhaps only play a s imple m inuet ,yet famous v irtuos i often stop incorrectly, to a fine ear, and scratch and whistle w ith the bow

,

and therefore have a poor tone . Noth ing is more rare than V iol inists and v ioloncell ists who pos

sess a fine tone . The true cause is g iven in the first d irect ions . Pupils are not made to play

scal es enough , if at all .

N 1084

I I I . D exteri ty and Certainty in Pl ac ing th e Fingers .

This point is of pre - em inent importance,yet it is the least thoroughly cons idered. The en

t ire instrumental cant il ena depends upon it . ( In what way ,the author does not explain ! he

Speaks onl y of!

Mov ing the fingers through var ious pos it ions ”

)

Froeh lich : Viol in School .'

.l o attain a beaut iful , s ing ing tone , the author confines h imself to the rul es for bowing .

! arl Courvoisie r : V iol in Technic . (Cologne ,

Ph rthermore, l et us dispense w ith another extreme rem edy for an extreme case, even i f

sanct ioned by habitual use ! I refer to the shaking of the finger. The wavering of a finger means

uncertainty of pitch ! onl y when th is uncertainty is so tr ifl ing as to barely be not iceable in a

consonant harmony does it rel ieve the tone of st iffness, and g ive the im press ion that the player

is a person of feel ing . The shake has real l y no more eff ect than that,for when too d ist inct and

qu ick , the tone sounds nervously excited and has a nervous,excit ing eff ect upon the ear, rather

than a soothing one, or the tone wail s and whines so that the l istener is at a loss to know whether

to laugh at or sympath ize w ith the player. The whole real power of express ion l ies rather in

the stroke of the bow ! primar il y in an intel l igent accentuat ion,producing rhythm ic clar ity, and

then part icularly in the increase and decrease of tone power. ”

P iedoh l : How to Acquire a Large Tone and E xpression in Playing.

!

N ext to a finished techn ic,large tone and expression in playing are the ideal s of every

v iol inist ! they are not the g ift of Heaven,only bestowed upon genius , but they are the resul t of

studious observat ion, proper pos it ion of the v iol in and correct bow ing . ! ith thorough study,

success in these two ch ief essent ials of play ing w il l not be lack ing .

”

! ross .

So that he may now d irect h is attent ion to acqu ir ing a trul y beaut iful tone . Tone - colors,

the nuances from p ianiss imo to fort iss im o, are in music what the arrangements of l ight and shade

are in paint ing . By these means, in an adag io as w el l as in the cant i lena general ly, the v iol inist

makes h is greatest efl'ec t.”

D irect ions for bow ing fol low .

Joachim -Moser : Violin School .

It is of fundamental importance that themus ical imag inat ion of the pup il be fostered from thr

beg inning . Tart in i said :‘

F ine s ing ing demands fine tone.

’ The young v iol in ist should never

play a tone before first s ing ing it, thereby becom ing thoroughly conscious of what he intends to

produce.

Book II. Next to the portamento, the shake or v ibrato is the most important means of ex

press ion of the left hand. Spohr said about it : ! hen a s inger s ings an im pass ioned movem ent ,

N 1 084

1 1

1 2

a shake in the voice , s im ilar to the v ibrat ion of a bell forcibly struck , is not iceable . The v iol inist

is able to produce a str ik ing im itat ion of th is,as of many other pecul iar i t ies of the human voice.

It consists of a sl ight wavering of the tone al ternately above and below the correct p itch . and i t

is produced by a shak ing movement of the left hand toward the br idge. But th is movement

must not be too great , and the dev iat ion from the perfect pitch of the tone hardly noticeable to

the ear. The pupil should,therefore, avoid us ing it too frequentl y and in the wrong place . The

above ment ioned instances , as em ployed by the s inger , serve to ind icate to the v iol inist its proper

appl icat ion. ! et i t be used onl y as an express ion of pass ion, and to intens ify nOtes marked

sf or ! ong notes may also be enl ivened and strengthened by this m eans . The eff ect is also

fine in a crescendo from piano tof or/e if the shake beg ins slow l y and becomes qu icker as the tone

increases in power. The shake may be d iv ided into four kinds :1 . ! u ick , for strongly accentuated tones .

2 . Slower , for broad tones of impass ioned cant il ena passages .

3. Slow at fi rst and becom ing qu icker w ith increas ing tone .

4 . ! u ick at first and becom ing slower w ith decreas ing tone , and w ith very long tones .

Both of these last two kinds are d ifli cult,and requ ire much pract ice in order that the pass ing

from a qu ick shake to a slow one be done evenl y and not suddenly .

To th is d iscuss ion it is onl y necessary to add a l ittl e adv ice regard ing the use of th e shake.

The wavering of the intonat ion,caused by the shake

,must not become a cram ped k ind of t rem

bl ing in the hand or arm,but accord ing to the demands of the passage a more or less q

'

u ick

rocking movement of the hand, w ith the wr ist kept very loose . The latter w il l perform i ts func

t ion better the less it is requ ired to support the v iol in. ! hile us ing the shake it is thereforeadv isable to al low the neck of the v iol in to rest onl y upon the inner s ide of the thumb joint ( in

the h igher pos it ions , upon the bal l of the thumb ) so that the instrum ent does not com e in contactw ith any other part of the hand except the finger- t ips . If the v iol in be held according to d irect ions

,

firm ly under the ch in, the shake w i l l in no way interfere w ith the free movements of the fingers

or hand , and it is onl y a quest ion of t ime and pract ice when th is m eans of express ion, as ind icated

by Spohr , may be acqu ired . The pupil,however , cannot be too emphat ical l y warned against its

habitual use , part icularly in the w rong place .

”

Albe rt Tottmann : Booklet on the Viol in

Part II . The Character of the Tone .

Although the product ion of tone on the v iol in depends in a large measure upon good

bow ing , yet the firm , precise stopp ing of the fingers of the left'

hand contr ibutes not a l it tl e to

ward g iv ing body , clar ity and pregnance to the tone . There are three k inds of v iol in tones

Op en string ! stopped tones which are the double or oc tave of the open str ing w ith which they

v ibrate ! and covered tones , which ,bes ides themselves, have no other free tone on the v iol in.

Accord ingly , the scal es may be d iv ided into free (w ith open str ings ) , and covered (w ithout open

str ings , as D flat major . ) The sound of the covered scales is dul l er than that of the free or

open- str ing scal es . To equal i ze th is unevenness , and at the same t ime enhance the carrying

power of the tone , part icularly in slow passages , tue v ibrato is em ployed .

By m eans of the v ibrato, the v ibrat ion of the str ing ( the Iife of the tone) is increasedthe tone made mot e clear.N I084

VI . ! hen the pupil is able to keep the g iven pos it ion w ith ease, the teacher should try

to obtain greater surety of the fingers bv emancipat ing tht fingers from the hand . This may be

done in two ways . F irst , the teacher should requ ire the pupil to move the thumb slow ly back

and forth along the neck of the v iol in, then loosen the lower joint of the first finger from the

v iol in neck, and l ightly move the lower part of the hand , at first slow l y and then faster. (P re

parat ion for the v ibrato. ) In th is exercise , a firm placing of the fingers and flexib il ity of the hand

are essent ial . Both of th ese exercises are except ional l y fine for the emancipat ion of the inner

s ide of the hand from the v iol in neck , necessary later in shift ing pos it ions and for mak ing the

fingers more independent of the hand .

Joseph Bloch : Method of Violin - play ing and Violin - teaching.

The Vibrato .

A m inute,intent ional impur ity of p itch is caused by the shaking movem ent of the finger.

There in orig inates the v ibrato—ah im itat ion of the trembl ing human voice in moments of pass ion. The v ibrato , l ike the portamento, should only be used in moderat ion, or it becom es sent i

mental and annoys . ! eopold Mozart early protested against a too frequent use of the v ibrato .

‘Some V iol inists shake on every note , as though they had a fever.’ Its beauty depends upon the

speed . Onl y a qu ick v ibrato makes a good effect . The nervous, trembl ing v ibrato , and st illmore so

,the slow shake

,even when used in the proper place , sounds unpleasant and is to be

avoided . Some F rench players use a pecul iar kind of v ibrato , intended less as a means of expre ss ion than as a means ofmak ing the right arm and w r ist independent .”

Paul StOeving : The Art of Bowing .

How may a beaut iful , s ing ing tone on the v iol in be acqu ired!

Natural ly, much depends upon the inborn tal ent of the pupil , and to a certain extent

upon the qual ity of his instrument . It is , how ever, unquest ionable that , even under themost favor

able circumstances , a beaut iful tone is the resul t of cont inuous study , keen observat ion and

conscient ious self- crit icism , especial l y upon these points :

(a) Special tone stud ies~particularly long notes w ith slow ly drawn bow , must be

pract iced.

The author cont inues

(b) ! inds of bow ing .

(c) Shading of tone.

(d) No opportunity of hear ing great V iol in ists and s ingers should be lost, and i t should

be part icularly not iced how these art ists treat the cant ilena, etc.”

N | 084

1 3

1 4

ET us confine ou rselves to the excerpts quoted . We see that the

majority of these authori ties believe that quali ty of tone depends

essen t ially upon the bow . Also, those who give some attention

to the vibrato and concede something of i ts sign ificance , admit

its importance as a means of enhanc ing the quality of the tone .

In none of the violin schools , nor in any direc tions for acqui r ing a fine tone ,however

,is th e great dependence of the func tions of the left hand and of the

right arm upon th is one movement ful ly recogn ized . Nowhe re is the full sig

nificance of the vibrato thoroughly understood and emphasized .

The main point of ou r subjec t , then , necessitates a thorough investigation

of the effect of the vibrato - movement upon the left hand and the right arm .

This movement,the undoubted influence of which must be adm itted , has been

either ent irely neglected,or it has been treated as a matter of only secondary

importance . I t is not only of more than secondary impo rtance,but it is the

principal func t ion of the whole technical apparatus . Beauty of tone has always

been considered a special gift ! and to acquire it we have contented ourselves

with experiments upon the right arm , and have sought for secrets where no

secrets exist .

In regard to the V ibrato , I can claim that

Artistic finish in playing is impossible without a correctly made vibrato .

The bow occupies a dependent relationship—is dependent upon the left hand .

The left hand is entirely dependent upon the oscillation . No matter how great

the technical fac il i ty, it will not always be ready and to be depended upon

unless the vibrato func tion is correc t . There always remains the possibil ity of

the greatest technic failing, i f th e movements of the left hand are incorrect .

The correc t vib ra to p re - supposes a ful l - sounding technic .

Let us turn back once mo re . As we have al ready seen, the playing of

diffe rent V iolinists is not distingu ishable when confined to the open strings .

The individual characte r istics of different ar t is ts are also not recognizable as long

as the fingers are held passive upon the str ings . The diffe rence in play ing

only becomes apparent when the vibrato is employed . We are able at once

to di stingu ish Hartmann from Ysaye,Petschnikoff from Flesch , by the diffe r

ence in their Vibratos alone . The maste rs do not differ essentially in th eir handN lo84

l ing of the bow, by which only dynam ic shadings are obtained ! but they do

d ifl'

er widely in the movements of the left hand . Here alone , in the individ

ualization of tone , clearly lies the great importance of th e vibrato .

Some artists have an extremely quick shake ! others a slower one of

greater amplitude . Having excluded differences in interpretation from our ques

tion, I will also exclude the sh ifting of positions at th is point . For a clear illustra

tion it is necessary to consider only four tones , played in the first position , and

with the shake .

The definition of the word vibrato readsz—To v ibrate,in a musical

sense,is to alter the pitch . Vibration (oscillation) is th e forward and backward

movement made by a body or part thereof, held in a fixed position or balance ,

when th is balance is disturbed by any cause and the body is released to the

forces which re - establish the origi nal position or balance . A complete forward

and backward movement, for example , from the lowest to the h ighest position and

return to the lowest, is reckoned as a vibration, and these are designated as

th e number of vibrations per second of time .

Vibration,then, is the alteration of pitch , caused by the movement of a

body or part thereof, forward and backward of a certain fixed position or balance .

The mistake made by most players is that they confuse trembling with vibrat

ing ! that is, they tremble with the hand without thereby conveying a specific

movement to the finger. The resul t is a wavering of the pitch , simi lar to that

of the correct vibrato, but not an alteration of th e pitch according to funda

mental principles . Naturally, the tone is affected . The effect might be ex

pressed physical ly by the following lines —the trembl ing movement resul ts inpoints instead of waves N as must be the case wi th the correct

movement. The effect upon all th e muscles of the arm, of the trembl ing

shake, (which is more or less of a convulsive movement ), can be most convincingly

ascertained by experiments upon one ’s self or. upon pupils . Not only does the

trembling shake hold the hand cramped upon one point, instead of freeing and

lightening it,but—what is of much greater importance—its direction is false .

In comparison,imagine a runner with his body inclined in the direction

he goes . Let this runner incl ine his body sid ewards in another direction from

his course and imagi ne what his progress would be like . The trembling shake

is exactly the same idea . Instead of only one movement there are two, each

of which continually interferes with the other, tending to throw it out of its

original direction . Some players find particular difficulty in playing scales, be

cause the lightness of the hand is interfered with by an incorrect vibrato, and

the hand is th ereby prevented from moving easily in the desired direction .

most

1 5

1 6

The scale is a run which moves step by s tep in one d i rec tion toward a cer

tain point. Here the effec t of this movement is most plainly evident . Fatigue

of the arm is another result . The groups of muscles , not suffic iently eman

cipated from each other,being connec ted with the arm , or constantly strained

by the convulsive shake,final l y become numb and fatigued . I would recall

to your atten t ion the favorable circums tances of disposition . By some chance

(here massage is of good effect) the hand is brought into a natural state . At

once the entire technical apparatus ope rates ! the arm s become exceptionallylight ! the fingers seem to move to a ce rtain extent of their own volition , and

for some reason the tone sounds full and round . The reason for this is that

the correc t vibrato relaxes the muscles of the hand and arm , while the incorrect

vibrato contrac ts them .

The cause of the uncertaint y of the left hand ori ginates alone in these

conditions . I t i s not natural that on one day passages come out smoothly and

easily,and on the next fail en t irely

,as though they had never been studied .

This condition discourages many who,in spi te of their endeavors , continue to

fail in points which they believed had long ago been mastered .

Massage is of value because i t frees,l ightens , and , in the case of mus

c les that are stiffened and cramped by an incorrect vibrato,makes the natural ,

easy movements again possible . I ts continued use w i l l even help , to a certain

degree,to overcome the fault .

The remarkable ease with which the left hand sometim es operates , is also

caused by chance condi tions . Some people play particularly well when they

have not practiced for a conside rable length of t ime . I t is not, however, to be

supposed that the less one prac t ices , the better he plays . The playing is better

because the musc les have become rested and free . The old h indrances again

.ppear after a long pe r iod of work .

But not only the left hand is affec ted by the vib rato ! the tone ,I

and the

bow are also dependent upon i t .

The bow , by fric tion between the bridge and finger- board , sets the string

in motion—causes i t to vibrate . The intensity of the tone depends upon the

amplitude of the vibrations . The s t r ing vibrates freely and unhindered from bridge

to saddle , whe re the vibrations are sharply cut off . (Profic iency in the me

chanical part of bow ing, I naturally take for granted .) The art of bowing is an

independent subjec t, and , in its way, of great importance . I t is, however, a

comparatively simple matter to make an open string vibrate evenly . The mat

ter becomes complicated only when the fingers of the le ft hand assume their

functions . I f the finger is placed firmly and immovably upon the string, the efN I084

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1 8

tional . In spite of th is apparent emotion”

i t must be acknowledged that th e!

soul”

of the pupil has in no way taken part in the performance . The m istake

Fi gure 1 .

consists in confusing a beautiful

sound w i th an expression of

feeling .

!

Many teachers comfort

their pupils who would learn to

play ! with feel ing,”

w i th the ex

planation that th is will come of

i tself when th ey become older

and mo re developed . Then ,

naturally , feeling” finally does

assert i tself . The pupil begins

to imitate,after a fashion, the

Vibrato of his teacher. If

chance favors , the oscil lation

will be correct, consequently

the tone wil l be beautiful . Per

haps he may acquire a more beauti ful tone than his teacher, who, at a loss for

the explanation,finally concludes that the pupil is exceptional ly talented .

The study of vibrato, however, should not be left to chance , as is common

ly the case . By means of exerc ises and clear explanation, the pupil should be

taught the correc t manner of acquiring this very important part of the technic

This may be done even with begi nners, as the correct th ing is never

harmful but always of assistance .

of th e vib rato ! in fact, they in

sist that in the study of etudes,

the hand be kept thoroughly in

repose . The exp lanation of th is

p robably is , that from experience

w ith themselves and w ith pupi ls,

they have found the vibrato to

be detrimental to th e develop

ment of technic . The vibrato

can be detrimental only when

incorrec tly made , and it is, of

course, be t te r to igno re a move

ment en t irely th an to perform

it incorrect ly .

N 1 084

Very many teachers are opposed to the use

Fi gure 2 .

With advanced pupils,i t is of primary importance that the fi mctions of

the left hand be m inutely examined .

In case of the existence of the fundamental error, against which we here

take the field, that should be corrected before proceeding further .

Rules and examples for acquiring the vibrato —For the beginner,it is

important that he first learn to emancipate the hand from the arm. ! et h im

place the finger upon a table,firmly holding the left wrist with the right hand ! then

by rocking the whole left hand,perform the v ibrato movement with each finger

singly . (Figure

Then the exercises on the instrument may be commenced . Here i t is of assist

ance to prop up the viol in so that th e hand is not hindered by the necessity of

holding the instrument and may move freely and easily.

I t is necessary, in the case of advanced pupils, to determine first of all

whether the vibrato movement is correctly or incorrectly made . The incorrect

vibrato is comparatively easy to detect, particularly when made with th e first

finger . When this finger in vibrating remains in its place (firmly pressed against

the v iol in - neck) and trembles and does not enl iven the tone by a free vacillating

movement with in itself, we have a typical case of the false vibrato . (Figure

Also,in the case of the fourth finger, we may often find a somewhat

sim ilar condition . In this incorrect manner of Vibrating, the muscles of th e arm

are always, in some way or other, concerned,

preventing the hand from swinging at the wrist,

free and independent of the arm . The properly

executed vibrato taxes the arm muscles in no way,

and permits of no contraction thereof . Through

relieving the muscles of contraction (by roll ing move

ments or massage) i t may become possible , to a

certain extent, to acquire the correct v ibrato .

The diffi culty caused by the position in play

ing consists in the fact that it is necessary to lift

the left arm . This taxes the muscles, and natural

ly tends to induce contraction . Therefore , the pupil’

s

arm should be pressed downward from the instru

ment,in order to rel ieve al l unnecessary tension . Figure 3.

(Figure

To free and lighten the arm, roll ing movements of every kind should

be practiced . In th is way much may be accomplished, especially i f the advice

of a trained masseur be obtained.

N IOB4

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20

Th e exe rc ises shou ld be played first in the four th posi t ion, because th ere

the h and finds a point of suppo r t and the action of the arm musc les”

is m ini

m ized . (Figure

should be played in the first position last .

Figure 4 .

The same thing is true in the third position . The exerc ises

Here , the position of the first finger,

only the tip of which should be allowed to come in contactw ith the instrument, is of

The palm of the hand must also be kept from touchingthe greatest importance .

the neck of the viol in . (Figure

D ouble - stops offer particular di fficulty .

N I084

Fi gure 5.

In the study of these it is also

advisable to begin in the

fourth position and go to

the first position last .

In conc luding, I

wish to warn the student

against the nervous , ex

aggerated vibrato . Like

the excessive tremolo in

the voice,i t is disagree

able . One’

s artistic taste

should be his guide .

The expe r ience of

Prof . Carl Flesch is of spec ial inte rest . He, too, has

of late given special attention to the correction of the

false vibrato movements of his pupils . His v iews,

which he kindly explained to me,bear directly upon

the main point of our discussion here .

He, too, distingu ishes between a correct and

an incorrect vibrato, and desc r ibes the incorrect one as

a movement, the impulse of which comes from some

point in the arm and not from the fingers . The in

correct movement begins ei ther at the elbow (the

effect being a quick , trembling oscillation), or at the

wrist (too slow). Both lack charm and cause a

cramped kind of contraction of the arm muscles.

The correc t V ibrato, according to the views of Prof.F i gure 6 .

Flesch , is a combined movement of fingers and wrist in which the arm in no

way participates .

Through th e kindness of Prof . Flesch , I am able to present here an ex

cellent exercise for the study of this much neglected branch of viol in

Fi gure 7 .

technic, by the prom inent French

violinist, Prof . Rivarde,teacher

at the Royal College of Music ,! ondon .

To acquire the necessary

repose of the hand,Prof . R ivarde

direc ts that the palm of the hand

be held close to the neck of the

viol in (Figure l ike the position

taken by beginners or very prim i

tive Violinists . With the first finger (B natural), on the A string, hold a whole

note ! at the last 32nd only th e finger!

makes an extraordinari ly qu ick move

ment toward the bridge . (Figure

Should an alteration of pitch be

noticeable,the effec t ought to be as

though C were played a l ittle flat.

This movement should be practiced

with each finger,not longer than

five minutes in succession . (See ex

amples .)

N l084 .

2 1

2 2

The requi red posi t ion m inim izes the ac tion of elbow and wr ist musc les,

consequently the action is confined enti rely to the finger . I t is important that

the finger be placed as flatly as possible on the str ing, to allow suffic ient play

for the forward movement . D isregard of this point brings the finger - nail too

firmly upon the string, thereby, as is well known , dim inishing the volume and

qual i ty of the tone.

N 1 084

23

Vi b rato E xe rc i s e s .

To i so late th e hand from the arm ,the hand shoul d b e p laced agains t th e edge o f the v i

o l in,and the v ib rat o made on l y w i th the finge r wh i l e a rock ing movement i s car r ied out by

the hand . The fo l l ow ing exe rc i se s are to be p l ayed in the 4 th pos i t ion .

D str ing.

G str ing .

1 4 37 4 1 0 N 1 084 Cop yrigh t NON I ! by Carl F z'

scller,M Y.

2 4

To b e p layed in 3 9 po s i t ion .

Al l eg ro .

2 0 2 0

To b e p layed in po s i t ion .

The hand should b e he ld f lat,s o that the lowe r par t touches the edge Of the vi o l in .

1 4 37 4 1 0 N I084

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2 6

Vi brato Exerc i ses in Double Stops.

I . Th i rd s .

Beg in in the 5 th pos i t ion .

G D str ings .

D A str ings.

5 th po s i t i on . II . S ixth s .

G D str ings .

In the 4 th po s i t ion

1 4 37 4 1 0 N | 084

2 7

Exerc i ses by P rofessor Rivarde .

D i rect ion s fo r p lay ing th e fo l l ow ing exe rc i se s wi l l b e found on page 30 o f th e t ex t .

S ee F ig . VII .

1 0 t imes . 1 0 t imes . 1 0 t imes.

P ract ice on al l st r ing s .

P ract ice w i th each finge r andon al l s t r ings .

III,IV V w i th each f inge r and

on al l s t r ing s .

1 4 37 4 1 0 N | 084

28

1 4 37 4 - 1 0 N 1 084

Exerci ses for the Singing Tone,

w ith app l icat ion of the Vib rat o .

tal on .

F . Mazas .

29

! argo .

F. Mazas, Op . 36 .

1 4 37 4 1 0 ‘N lo84

Adag io from the Seventh Concerto by Rode.

M i nore .

Magg i ore .

Twenty - th i rd Concerto by Viotti , Fi rst Solo.

1 4 37 4 - 1 0 N l084

31

E xe rc i se for the S low Vib rato .

Adag i o so s t enu to . ! reu t ze r .

[A 1 1 0 7 0 mod erato. )

1 4 37 4 1 0 N | 084

32

Andante . 1

Moderato .

1 4 37 4 1 0 N l084

Exerci ses for Vi brato in Double Stops.

! reu t ze r .

Ch . .d e Ber iot .

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THE ART OF VIOLIN PLAYING Vol . I O 1 3 1 7 8 . 0 0

The most c ompr ehens i ve and author i t at i ve of al l moder n wor ks on

vi o l i n p l ayi ng .

THE ART OF VIOLIN PLAYING Vol . II O 2 04 6 8 . 00

Thi s i s the wor k that O . Sevc i k c al l ed a b i b l e for Vi o l i ni s ts . The

weal th of pedagogi c r es e arc h as we l l as i ns truc t i ve advi c e c ontai nedi n th i s book c over s a l i f e t ime of prac t i cal exper i enc e and d e f i es d e

sc r i pt i on .

BASIC STUD IES (Ur stud i en) O 2 0 5 1 . 5 0

A s er i es of exer c i s es i n shape of a c ond ens ed extr ac t of t he t ec hn i c al

ne eds of t he vi o l i n . Compr i s e s t he e l em ents upon whi c h the ent i r e

gener al vi o l i n t e c hn i c i s bas ed .

SCALE SYSTEM,Supp l em ent to Bk . I , s c al es i n al l keys

PROBLEMS OF TONE PRODUCTION IN VIOLIN PLAYING

A work bas ed on the th es i s that phys i o l ogi cal r espons es must b ethoroughly und er s t ood i f the d es i r ed vi o l i n t one i s to b e r eal i z ed .

Pr i c es subj ec t to c hange wi t hout not i c e

THE ART 0

The movi o l i n p

THE ART O

Thi s i s

weal th

i n th i s

scr i pt i

BASIC STU

A s er i

ne eds

gener

SCALE SYS

PROBLEM

A workthorou

S 49