You are so inspirational! I used to play with my local Philharmonic as a teenager while attending my local fine arts school and after 2 years of music studies in college I changed majors to nursing (I'm now a Family Nurse Practioner). Even though I continued taking private lessons for a few years after my major change I've never felt like I could ever perform as I used to (it's been about 14 years since my last formal lesson). Well not anymore! Your videos are so...scientific?...logical? They have rocked my fundamentals on violin playing for the better! Thank you so much!
You are so generous for sharing your knowledge! it has been making a difference in my life. I love playing violin and I have been improving thanks to you!
Great stuff. Interesting that I was doing this exercise for years without knowing what to call it. I’ve always been fascinated by Szeryng’s immaculate bow arm and was experimenting just based on what I could see in his technique. If you look closely you can actually see his bow “pushing” into the notes where the pressure is released in between the notes, incredibly even in 32nd notes. A kind of portato but more subtle, not accented but smoothly articulated where, as you point out, the bow speed remains the same. This passage from the Tchaikovsky for example: th-cam.com/video/_10LEWQe7EQ/w-d-xo.html Thanks again.
yes exactly -- szeryng was the master of this. so, in fact, it's both useful as an exercise to develop the beauty and control of your sound, and as an actual implementable technique for expression. you can see old school guys like Abram Shtern doing this (in the tradition of Kreisler)
Thank you so much for sharing Mr Kurganov! This is very insightful and extremely helpful. And way too underrated. Please keep posting technique classes!! Speaking of expressions - May I ask if you’d like to talk about continuous vibrato or thumb positions?
I have been told that pronation of the index finger is created by slight rotation of the wrist inward as opposed to pressing the finger downward. The difference seems subtle and likely ends up in the same place. Can you comment on this technicality?
Thanks for your question, Jonathan. There are actually 3 distinct things at play here. The actual pronation comes exclusively from the (1) forearm, in a rotation akin to twisting a doorknob. Then the (2) wrist is involved, as you say, however it's not really rotating (that's coming from the forearm). It is pushing downwards mostly to assist (3) the index finger, which provides more nuanced manipulation of the bow -- this can include actual pressure coming from the finger itself, or the finger "conveying" the rotations of the forearm or impulses of the wrist. It gets quite complicated on a high level, and is difficult to explain verbally. To have a flexible sound, the interplay of all of the 'levers' is required, but this is mostly learned dynamically, as in some situations in order to get the sound you want, it's not possible to use the forearm and things must happen in the hand (for example). There are many possible situations, and if you analyze the playing of great violinists you can start trying mapping certain kinds of sound to different ways of applying weight into the stick. It also depends on ones existing technique. Some great players don't play with very flexible fingers and learn to manipulate the sound with bigger muscles.
@@DanielKurganov Thank you for your rapid and thorough reply. I am an adult learner and took up the instrument 10 years ago as a form of mid-life crisis. As I progress, the difficulty, nuance and complexity of playing the violin is revealed in layers, none of which is obvious by watching someone play. That is especially true of the bow arm. Right now what encourages me the most are the moments when I find myself making simple but open and tonal musical sounds that is characteristic of bowed instruments. Your video was quite helpful in that regard. So...when does it get easy?
Music can fill any void...I am convinced... easy? Well...sometimes things feel easy, sometimes impossible. Just have to keep evolving. Check out my newest video-I outline this incredible exercise that stays with me till today.
Tremendous thank you. I have a very cheap beginner's instrument ($100 bucks River String RS204) -- my first instrument which I thoroughly delighted with (addicted to lol) and no way can I get such a lush volutuptous sound like you do on your vintage instrument. Do you have any tips to improve the sound? Would a better bow help for example?which strings would you recommend?
There is a video I saw a long time ago that was titled, How to Pimp Up your violin. The violin teacher made remarks on how to get better results from your cheap violin like better rosin, strings, bow hair or perhaps a better bow. I also have a cheap violin. My old violin teacher told me to buy a better violin.
I am enjoying your videos immensely. I am a bluegrass Fiddler. My only problem was that that you didn’t say anything about what pronation was. I was able to look it up and find out.
Pronation and Supination are functions of the forearm, like the motion to rotate a doorknob. I've actually revised my theories on this topic, so this video is a bit out of date. It's not really pronation, but rather leveraging via the wrist and index/thumb that make the magic happen.
Practice leaning into the stick with your weight, not with a “grabbing” feeling. Also try to isolate the index finger and thumb (essentially) as the source of the pronation.
I heard this called louré. That first open G, together with other open strings and some other notes crackled and sounded very unpleasant. Is this what you suggest to hear while practicing?
It’s not quite loure. Loure typically means slowing or stopping the bow, like dots under a slur. I quite like my first open G! Putting the gut string to good use:) the process of practicing shouldn’t hold ‘sounding good’ as the primary goal, as one might do during a performance. It’s about testing and experimenting with boundaries. The ability to push the instrument a bit too far is important to develop. My feeling is that the ultimate goal is land in the volatile area right before failure and live there in terms of sound and musical conception. When training that, it means sometime (often) the sound will fail in some direction.
First of all I wanted to thank you for these tips Second I am doing this exercise and I noticed that I am STRUGGLING A LOT to make a good sound at the frog going down Is there a way to fix this? Because I am getting very frustrated 🙃
Lighten the hold of the bow, and imagine all of the activity coming from the upper arm (from the shoulder joint), and feel the hand/fingers like a ragdoll, almost inactive.
Thank you for your videos! I find practicing pulsing helpful for bow control but as a violinist with an ongoing rotator cuff injury I find it agony to do any kind of pronation. Is it not better to use the natural forces of the bow to create the sound rather than pronating which can cause undue tension and eventually lead to injury?
Glad you like it! Certainly, using the natural weight of the stick is always optimal when it is possible. However, it’s not possible to get a full sound past the lower half without applying weight into the stick either with the index finger/thumb action, wrist pronation, or forearm pronation. People often confuse pronation one sort of movement, but it’s actually rather dynamic and can be done in those three ways separately or in combination. “The Waves” teaches these impulses to feel very natural and not tense. There never be any injury or tension due to pronating even with an hour of practicing very powerful music, as long as the technique is proper.
Although I do still feel it’s possible to make a full sound in the lower half with the correct bow speed, weight in the back of the hand towards the pinky and no need for pronation?
That’s right, we are not pronating past the balance point of the bow. However, there are moments when you still want to put with into the string. At that point, it’s a matter of “sitting in the string” or “sitting on the frog” rather than rotational energy.
![The most important tip for Violin Vibrato [Scroll Support Method]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/OSi3H676qAU/mqdefault.jpg)
![The most important tip for Violin Vibrato [Scroll Support Method]](/img/tr.png)
![Fix your intonation in a week [Violin Technique]](/img/n.gif)
You are so inspirational! I used to play with my local Philharmonic as a teenager while attending my local fine arts school and after 2 years of music studies in college I changed majors to nursing (I'm now a Family Nurse Practioner). Even though I continued taking private lessons for a few years after my major change I've never felt like I could ever perform as I used to (it's been about 14 years since my last formal lesson). Well not anymore! Your videos are so...scientific?...logical? They have rocked my fundamentals on violin playing for the better! Thank you so much!
continue playing !!
Nice thick sound,like the sound I hear in my head but can't do yet
I'll try it but I'm gonna be mad if it doesn't sound better right away,just so you know
Thank you very much for the tip. That bring more security by violin playing.
You are so generous for sharing your knowledge! it has been making a difference in my life. I love playing violin and I have been improving thanks to you!
I didn`t even finish to see the video and i already have upgrated my right arm with this video. Amazing.
excellents exercices for all violin sound production i used it often for me and keep my arm in deep sound
Great stuff. Interesting that I was doing this exercise for years without knowing what to call it. I’ve always been fascinated by Szeryng’s immaculate bow arm and was experimenting just based on what I could see in his technique. If you look closely you can actually see his bow “pushing” into the notes where the pressure is released in between the notes, incredibly even in 32nd notes. A kind of portato but more subtle, not accented but smoothly articulated where, as you point out, the bow speed remains the same. This passage from the Tchaikovsky for example: th-cam.com/video/_10LEWQe7EQ/w-d-xo.html Thanks again.
yes exactly -- szeryng was the master of this. so, in fact, it's both useful as an exercise to develop the beauty and control of your sound, and as an actual implementable technique for expression. you can see old school guys like Abram Shtern doing this (in the tradition of Kreisler)
Wow violin sounds amazing
Wonderful video Daniel and really nice, inspiring and helpful tips! All the best!
Thanks Sir for sharing violin course!
A very informative lesson. Thank you.
Great video, Daniel! An excellent video to help maintain a consistent tone on a full bow. Thank you!!
Love your hearty lessons!!
Dear Daniel
How can you play fortissimo at the tip without having extra tension in the bow hand ? I get pain from it...
Thank you so much for sharing Mr Kurganov! This is very insightful and extremely helpful. And way too underrated. Please keep posting technique classes!! Speaking of expressions - May I ask if you’d like to talk about continuous vibrato or thumb positions?
Thank you Elaine. My next vibrato video will discuss continuous vibrato!
Bravo!!!
Good tip. Thanks man!
00:27 " before i DO-DO"
Thank sir I am new here in this class
Yes
Very nice! Thank you.
Daniel, can we have more tutorial on the right hand please?
Definitely. Coming up after the vibrato series finishes. Glad you like the videos!
@@DanielKurganov lookin forward!
I have been told that pronation of the index finger is created by slight rotation of the wrist inward as opposed to pressing the finger downward. The difference seems subtle and likely ends up in the same place. Can you comment on this technicality?
Thanks for your question, Jonathan. There are actually 3 distinct things at play here. The actual pronation comes exclusively from the (1) forearm, in a rotation akin to twisting a doorknob. Then the (2) wrist is involved, as you say, however it's not really rotating (that's coming from the forearm). It is pushing downwards mostly to assist (3) the index finger, which provides more nuanced manipulation of the bow -- this can include actual pressure coming from the finger itself, or the finger "conveying" the rotations of the forearm or impulses of the wrist. It gets quite complicated on a high level, and is difficult to explain verbally. To have a flexible sound, the interplay of all of the 'levers' is required, but this is mostly learned dynamically, as in some situations in order to get the sound you want, it's not possible to use the forearm and things must happen in the hand (for example). There are many possible situations, and if you analyze the playing of great violinists you can start trying mapping certain kinds of sound to different ways of applying weight into the stick. It also depends on ones existing technique. Some great players don't play with very flexible fingers and learn to manipulate the sound with bigger muscles.
@@DanielKurganov Thank you for your rapid and thorough reply. I am an adult learner and took up the instrument 10 years ago as a form of mid-life crisis. As I progress, the difficulty, nuance and complexity of playing the violin is revealed in layers, none of which is obvious by watching someone play. That is especially true of the bow arm. Right now what encourages me the most are the moments when I find myself making simple but open and tonal musical sounds that is characteristic of bowed instruments. Your video was quite helpful in that regard. So...when does it get easy?
Music can fill any void...I am convinced... easy? Well...sometimes things feel easy, sometimes impossible. Just have to keep evolving. Check out my newest video-I outline this incredible exercise that stays with me till today.
I was attempting the Ysaye exercise earlier this evening after seeing your recent video. Sort of like leap frog for shifting. Thanks for posting it.
Tremendous thank you.
I have a very cheap beginner's instrument ($100 bucks River String RS204) -- my first instrument which I thoroughly delighted with (addicted to lol) and no way can I get such a lush volutuptous sound like you do on your vintage instrument.
Do you have any tips to improve the sound?
Would a better bow help for example?which strings would you recommend?
There is a video I saw a long time ago that was titled, How to Pimp Up your violin. The violin teacher made remarks on how to get better results from your cheap violin like better rosin, strings, bow hair or perhaps a better bow. I also have a cheap violin. My old violin teacher told me to buy a better violin.
I am enjoying your videos immensely. I am a bluegrass Fiddler. My only problem was that that you didn’t say anything about what pronation was. I was able to look it up and find out.
Pronation and Supination are functions of the forearm, like the motion to rotate a doorknob. I've actually revised my theories on this topic, so this video is a bit out of date. It's not really pronation, but rather leveraging via the wrist and index/thumb that make the magic happen.
Thank you
Are these master classes suitable for a 3 month beginner?
Or it's more for intermediate+ levels?
Interesting. How do you put the pressure without tensing the hand?
Practice leaning into the stick with your weight, not with a “grabbing” feeling. Also try to isolate the index finger and thumb (essentially) as the source of the pronation.
I heard this called louré. That first open G, together with other open strings and some other notes crackled and sounded very unpleasant. Is this what you suggest to hear while practicing?
It’s not quite loure. Loure typically means slowing or stopping the bow, like dots under a slur. I quite like my first open G! Putting the gut string to good use:) the process of practicing shouldn’t hold ‘sounding good’ as the primary goal, as one might do during a performance. It’s about testing and experimenting with boundaries. The ability to push the instrument a bit too far is important to develop. My feeling is that the ultimate goal is land in the volatile area right before failure and live there in terms of sound and musical conception. When training that, it means sometime (often) the sound will fail in some direction.
👏👏
Excellent video! This is what I am working on right now.
PD: what shoulder rest do you use in this video?
Sebastián Paganini I am glad you’re found it useful! The shoulder rest is Bonmusica
First of all I wanted to thank you for these tips
Second I am doing this exercise and I noticed that I am STRUGGLING A LOT to make a good sound at the frog going down
Is there a way to fix this? Because I am getting very frustrated 🙃
Lighten the hold of the bow, and imagine all of the activity coming from the upper arm (from the shoulder joint), and feel the hand/fingers like a ragdoll, almost inactive.
Thank you for your videos! I find practicing pulsing helpful for bow control but as a violinist with an ongoing rotator cuff injury I find it agony to do any kind of pronation. Is it not better to use the natural forces of the bow to create the sound rather than pronating which can cause undue tension and eventually lead to injury?
Glad you like it! Certainly, using the natural weight of the stick is always optimal when it is possible. However, it’s not possible to get a full sound past the lower half without applying weight into the stick either with the index finger/thumb action, wrist pronation, or forearm pronation. People often confuse pronation one sort of movement, but it’s actually rather dynamic and can be done in those three ways separately or in combination. “The Waves” teaches these impulses to feel very natural and not tense. There never be any injury or tension due to pronating even with an hour of practicing very powerful music, as long as the technique is proper.
Awesome thanks for your reply! I will practice pronating and pulsing from the wrist and forearm and keeping the upper arm quiet and relaxed.
Although I do still feel it’s possible to make a full sound in the lower half with the correct bow speed, weight in the back of the hand towards the pinky and no need for pronation?
That’s right, we are not pronating past the balance point of the bow. However, there are moments when you still want to put with into the string. At that point, it’s a matter of “sitting in the string” or “sitting on the frog” rather than rotational energy.
..