The Summer of Technique
We’ve all heard of the Summer of Love. This summer, let’s fall in love with excellent string playing with The Summer of Technique!
Every week this summer, include a different concept or point of focus. Each one can be utilized by beginning as well as advanced students. Feel free to use these ideas in your own practice or teaching studio. Mix and match to suit your needs! Let’s cultivate a strong foundation in our students that will enable them to play with confidence. Let’s gently help guide students out of bad habits. Let’s build a new generation of relaxed and balanced string players!
Week 1: Posture
Standing position (violin/viola) or sitting on edge of chair or stool (cello/bass)
Overall body posture and alignment
Left elbow placement (often needs to be farther in for violin/viola, and higher up for cello/bass)
Week 2: Right side: Bow Hold
Placement of each finger and thumb on the bow
Right hand flexibility while maintaining a relaxed bow hold
Week 3: Left side: Finger Drills
Honoring Bernhard Cossmann!
How light and relaxed can you be as you play these finger patterns? Don’t pound your left hand fingers. They should feel light and look like little caterpillar legs.
1434
1424
1323
1234
4321
Play each pattern 4 times in a row on a single bow, then repeat that 4 times (4 bows per pattern).
Week 4: Right side: Flexibility
How does our bow hold change as we play down bows or up bows?
Drop base joints and flatten knuckles on down bows; let wrist sink down
Lift base joints as knuckles protrude on up bows; let wrist rise
Focus on the different right hand and wrist posture to down or up bows
Week 5: Left side: Arm freedom
Honoring Viola Brown!
Place fingers on the fingerboard in 1st position, between two strings
Slide up toward the bridge, to the end of the fingerboard
When you get to the end, lift off and then reset hand in 1st position
Focus on left arm level (elbow placement), which is different for every string
Keep shoulders relaxed throughout
Week 6: Right side: Straight bows
First, put your music stand at a 45-degree angle to your right and in front of you, about 2 or 3 feet away
Place your bow on the second string (violin A, viola D, cello D, bass D), at the tip of the bow
Make sure your bow is perfectly parallel to the bridge, and move the stand so that it’s exactly where your bow screw is when you’re in that position
Now you’re ready to start!
Starting with your bow on the same string at the frog, play a slow, full bow and stop just before you contact the stand (go slowly, don’t bash into it!)
Lift bow and place at the frog again, then repeat, slowly bringing your right hand to the stand on down bows
You will feel your right elbow opening up as you approach the tip
Count how many successful bows you can do in a row, up to 10 in a row
Next, repeat on the other three strings, aiming for 10 successful straight bows per string
Finally, place stand on the other side of you, and practice starting at the tip and playing up bows
Week 7: Left side: Shifting
Beginners can explore sliding up and down a whole step with each finger
Intermediate students can work on different types of shifts in lower positions:
Ascending, with same finger
Ascending, with lower finger sliding
Ascending, with higher finger sliding
Ascending, with higher finger tapping
Descending, with same finger
Descending, sliding on new finger (place new finger down before arrival)
Descending, tapping new finger (place new finger down upon arrival)
Advanced students can include larger shifts such as octaves, or going from one note up to each ascending scale note and back (CDC, CEC, CFC, CGC, CAC…).
Week 8: Both sides: Straight bows with left arm freedom (combining weeks 5 and 6)
This is a lot of fun with harmonics!
Start on the D string, with your 3rd finger on the inside of the string (on the side of the string that’s closer to the adjacent lower string)
Play a down bow and slide up the string to the end of the fingerboard
Play an up bow and slide down the string, back to 1st position
Repeat 8 times
Starting with left hand at the end of the fingerboard,
Play a down bow and slide down the string back to 1st position
Play an up bow and slide up the string to the end of the fingerboard
Repeat 8 times
Week 9: Body motion
Violin/viola transfer weight from one foot to the other as you play from frog to tip
Cello/bass transfer weight from one hip to the other as you play from frog to tip
Many string players aim to move their bodies in contrary motion to the bow (move your body to the left as you play a down bow, or to the right as your play an up bow), but it is beneficial to practice this in both directions. That way, you’ll feel comfortable moving to your right or left despite the bow direction.
Week 10: Left side: Left thumb
Practice scales without touching left thumb to the back of the neck. Keep your thumb near the neck, but don’t touch it. Many students will want to bring it far from the neck once they wrench it off in the first place, but it’s important to train your thumb to stay close so you don’t add tension to your hand. How relaxed can your left hand be as you do this?
Week 11: Right side: Right shoulder
Practice scales, focusing on how your right shoulder feels. As we play a down bow, particularly on the low strings for violin/viola or high strings for cello/bass, the shoulder will naturally rise to accommodate the right arm height as we reach upward. But it’s important to remember to let that shoulder relax as we play the up bow, so it isn’t locked in that higher position. This is a lot easier on the high strings for violin/viola and the low strings for cello/bass, so students may want to start there.
Week 12: Left side: Left shoulder
Practice scales, focusing on how your left shoulder feels. It’s funny how we tend to raise our shoulders in upper positions, seeing as how for all four stringed instruments, when we’re in upper positions our shoulder can actually drop more. How the fear of heights can tense us up! Pay close attention to the height of your left shoulder and that feeling of relaxation and balance we have when we’re in a neutral position.
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