'With Nicky' - Back to More Basics - Left Hand Part 1
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 มี.ค. 2019
- This week, we are going back to more basics focusing on the left hand. We have covered lots of things to do with freedom of motion with the exercises in the first Back to Basics video which we hope has helped you to get a sense of comfort and familiarity with your left hand.
In this video, I’m going to take you through one of the most sacred, basic and life changing exercises for me: Schradieck Number 1. It’s not the fact of the exercises, it’s about the approach and application of it. I’m going to take you through it slowly and in lots of detail, so please be patient and trust the exercise - it’ll be worth it. It was one of a few things that helped absolutely transform my playing after which everything became easier.
The videos have been generously supported by ESTA UK, MiSST - The Andrew Lloyd Webber Programme, and Oasby Music Group and I am very grateful for their support.
Huge thanks to our media partners Classic FM, The Strad, The Violin Channel, WQXR and Charanga who will be sharing the videos with their audiences each week when released.
Finally, these videos wouldn’t have been possible without an amazing team: Scott Jaeger, our film maker, Laura Gardiner, our Education Director, Rebecca Driver, PR Manager and Hannah King, Online Media Manager. I want to say a huge thank you to all four of them.
Film produced by www.jaegerfilm.com
TIME CODES:
00:02 - Left Hand Part 1
02:50 - Schradieck Number 1
04:23 - Extreme Work for a Condensed Period of Time
12:24 - Context and Realistic Goals to Avoid Disappointment
13:44 - If You’re Trying to Change Something Basic, Play Less, but With More Focus
Link to Schradieck Exercises:
conquest.imslp.info/files/imgl...
![Violin Techniques - Left Hand Frame [Part 1]](/img/n.gif)
The world needs more musicians like you that share with everyone only the best they have.
I've lost how many that I come to this video. It's very helpful. Thanks a lot!!
I like the tips about not going too far too fast for too long. I usually practice for 1 to 2 hours, starting with the fiddle and then switching to electric guitar or electric bass or practicing the fiddle last. I'm finding that my guitar playing is getting more inspired. I've been playing the fiddle for about 2 months and improvement is going slowly but it should get better if I don't give up. Thanks for a great video!
Dear Nikki, I’ve been doing the exercise in this video for about a week, and am already seeing a difference in how I hold my violin and in tension in my left hand, something that’s been a real struggle for me. My left hand is relaxing! After 7 1/2 months of squeezing and pressing too hard! I was actually able to move my thumb back and forth on the side of the fingerboard while doing my scales, and my fingers weren’t even pressing too hard. Finally! I do your exercise everyday, at the very beginning of my practice, and I also find it helps me focus on just the one thing. And today it was happening, almost, without me even knowing it! Thank you so much for introducing these basics, through your TH-cam channel! I will keep it up, everyday!❤️🎻
The closest you'll ever get to having a virtuoso player in the room giving you a private lesson! Nicola is a natural teacher and so friendly. Wonderful!
All of what you said was needed. Thank you very much.
Absolutely true!!!!! Nicola is giving priceless advice!!! Shradieck :) :) Look at perfectly straight bow, soft right hand, straight line of the left hand!
No matter how far or fast you think you can run it is good sometimes to re-learn how to walk properly. Wonderful video as always. I love your style.
To hear her play basic exercises on that incredible instrument is shocking and illuminating.
I like how she says "trust me"...Ms Benedetti, you are a SOLOIST and also a great teacher (sometimes, this two things doesn't combine) how could anyone not trust you! great class!
you are so generous with your talent, knowledge and wisdom! Thank you
Im glad i stumbled on your vlog all morning i wanted to practice vibrato but instead gabbed on the you tube. I was taking from a woman who said to keep left hand straight. So i reviewed Yehudis lessons and he does not have a perfectly straight wrist its c shaped! Thanks Nicky and bye!
Thank you , more is no more !.
I find that playing a piece or part of it without the bow and with very light finger pressure has helped me to release bad energy and embrace good energy🎻👍👍
Nicola, you are genius! Thank you very much for all tips!
Wow Nicola, I love these videos! Having worked with violinists for many years as violin-maker, I get to see the things players struggle with. Your videos will really help :)
Ditto; I finally got my left hand technique right this time. Other explanations, although well-meaning, led to frustrating contradictions in finger position and motion. Now I can go over Schradieck's 1st half-page :p
This is awesome. I had a huge laugh when you named Schradieck #1 as it was pretty fundamental to my own lefthand loosening-up journey and I was expecting something more.... esoteric from the lead in. I don't think there is anything better suited to the task since it requires no thought to remember the finger pattern and we want all our thought to be in what the muscles in the hand are doing. This exact method is new to me, but I will see how my kids like it. Thanks.
Hi Nicola you are one of the best Friends of Scotland 💗❤️ Robin
Thanks for sharing, Nicky. :)
This is the best violin tutorial channel. Your comments and advises are very motivating.
I actually AM doing 3 hours a day! - on fiddle...
Another 2-3 on guitar-vocals
Mon, Wed, Thurs thru Saturday
Tuesday is set aside for refresh of IrishFlute, pennywhistle and dulcimer practice...
Actually, watching this video is considered part of my practice time.
I attempt to undertake new techniques, watch a 1/2 hour video (3-6/ week) and implementing them into my daily.
This hammer on technique I'm also using for my guitar as well...and pull offs.
Been really hot here, not sure I even want to play violin tonight. But I did as you.said and searched out inspiration from a song called Little by Little by Robert Plant. The waltz backround just gets me! So I bid you good evening Nicola, and by the way I have been practicing in the mornings! Maybe latter if it cools down. Sweet dreams Nicola! C
E. Usa bye
Thank you so much Nicky for your clarity and approach...even though you are a natural, warm teacher you obviously work very hard in preparing your classes! Thank you for all the trouble you go to....very much appreciated! I come away from your lessons feeling I've just had an audience with the Dalai Lama of the violin! Please, please continue....
“More time is not more”. That’s deep. Thanks for your insight!
This is gold Nicola! Esp. this connection with the mind that you explain so great. Thanks!
You make me laugh ....I think you have a permanent giggle lurking and it is infectious. Thank you , your lessons are fun .....trying to relax my thumb.....what a pain that is. Xx
Thanks a bunch, Nikki, for sharing this with us 🙏
Love you and your course😘
Your videos are the greatest of all!!
And with your smile and simplicity it's a real pleasure
Thanks
thank you Nicolas! you are very inspiring
I found this a while back, just getting to it now.
I struggled with tension so much when I was learning, tried all sorts of stuff to solve it, and couldn't figure it out.
Thank you! This seems so much more like it.
I've only played a minimum for the past years because of this, so it might free me to play more.
I received invaluable knowledge from my beloved teacher who was a disciple of Alberto Lysy, Sandor Vegh and Yehudy Menuhin among others. However, the feeling I have when I transmit this legacy is that some of my students do not believe me. It frustrates me that they do not value the knowledge and see how they lose their time. I try to wait for them to mature, because I see talent, but sometimes my strength drops. I hope that the fact of resubmitting your tutorials awakens in them the necessary curiosity to find the tools that our common passion demands of us: music. Again thanks!
"It frustrates me that they do not value the knowledge and see how they lose their time." Exactly! Facing that type of problem all the time.
Thank you very much for sharing with us another video for violin improvement !!!
Thanks!
Wow you are really great at teaching! I like the way you explain, it's calm and clear. THANKS!
I like your "Ask your mother" - I'm a grand-mother!!! But useful to get into good habits early on. I'm almost one year in (currently 4th finger, 1st postion) but despite long fingers, still struggle stretching to those notes esp on the G and D strings. My fingers don't look like yours moving up the string. You make it look effortless, Nicola, but guess it's all down to practice... and I'm one of those 40 hours a day gang!! Thanks for the video though. Very instructive.
I just had my 2nd day lesson with a violin teacher and he gave me this Schradieck Exercise 1. I am already 35. I really hope my finger muscles would bear with me too. :( I've been learning and playing the violin by myself then so I really didn't know the proper techniques. Nicky is one of my favorite violinists and I am so glad I found this. She has a great heart for being a teacher as well. Thank you soooo much Nicky....
Thanks for these videos Nicola, so helpful. Please in a future video can you address other basics like bow changes and especially the first note in a piece.. actually starting off a piece of music is often the hardest part, the very first bar. thank you
Dear Nicola! What a great channel and such a great advice!!! I subscribed! Like!
Nicola, you are amazing! I will do the same exercises every day!
It is unbelivable....I haven't heard about this "finger bounce" exercise before, I am practising it for few days now and I already feel the difference! First thing that is improved in a very hearable way are trills (fast trills in Mozart D major concerto were always a problem for me and now they are suddenly better :-0 )
Hey Nicola! I rarely comment on youtube videos, but I wanted to let you know that I trusted your advice and tried to train this exercise. Now, after only about a 1-2 weeks I have to say that it really did magic! My left hand feels like never before: free. Everything is easier, more relaxed. The sound has improved. My vibrato sounds even better. I'm pretty amazed! Thank you so much for your videos: they are really useful! :)
Greetings from Switzerland
Thanks, you really are helping me with all your work (:
Thank you! This is precious! Its so important to have someone like you sharing this kind of knowledge! Millions of thanks!
Nicky, thank you for sharing your talent and knowledge of the violin!
How bizarre!
I just started playing Schradieck again recently after a few months ( 😔) of not playing it. I mainly use it as a 4th finger strengthening exercise and bow control trying to get the two bars in the one bow but thanks for this video i'm going to incorporate what you have said and try it out later.. good old Schradieck, ye old faithful.
Again thanks for the video
Keep up the good work 😜😁 😁 🎻
Yes!!!
As a guitarist (and teacher), this works great for me as well, both the physical aspects and the philosophy/mindset. Pure gold, thanks Nicky!
you are the Bee's Knee's :-) It's a joy to follow your teachings thank you.
Most of the time it's my warming-up! Its almost meditation for me.
Dear Nicky:
Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge. Particularly this video on left hand where you mention and show a study of Scradieck. It fills me with hope that my students become aware of how important these "basic" exercises are. The information that I have shared with my students is very similar but, to my regret, I must say that it is not the same thing that they hear from you than from me. Thanks for this series of videos are useful in many ways. Keep going with this project that enriches us with each new video. Thank you.
Bellissima lezione! Another great lesson! One to share with pupils (especially adults). Grazie, Nicola, sei grande! F
Thank you!!!!!!!!!
wow thank you so much
Very helpful! Thank you for sharing, and I hope you'll do a tutorial for developing the pinky finger and what to do when it seems shorter and feels out of proportion compared to the other fingers.
Thank you beautiful Nicky...!!!😍😍😍
Millions of thanks!!!
Owuu a tons of exercises on the file! Thank you very much for this class! Yesterday I have started do it. Very important to practice them. I must say that you and your team are doing a great job! And thanks for all the advices on this video.
So good
awesome thank you
My teacher recommended this for me
This is a brilliant & wonderful lesson. Thank you
It’s working. Been doing for a few weeks now. Stepped away from repertoire and slowly introducing the concept to select passages and I stop when tense. I feel so much more free and relaxed and I now recognise how it should feel. Keep this channel going Nicky it’s awesome. Thanks gonna keep going
Very grateful for his tutorial videos (of guide), infinitely grateful, greetings ...
These are great videos, Nicky!
great material
keep it up! great work it's helping me a lot
Thank youuuu!!
Thank you so much for that... Amazing tips
Hey, I'm loving this series! Please keep doing these videos! Congratulations on the clarity of explanations, the abundance of outside material and for telling the things you also have to be careful about. ;-)
This video is great thanks Nicky!!!!!
Love you❤️❤️❤️❤️
This is Gold! Cheers Nicky
Thank you 👍♥️♥️
Thank you for posting! :)
Thank you for the lesson Nicky
The book, Peak, by Ericsson and Pool, describes what you taught here as very important to improve performance. Thankyou
Thank you so much for this!
I loooooove Schradieck exercises and I loooove "with Nicky " vids great tips, aaggh I do like to practice a lot, but intelligent practice is better
top tips and class
I love Schradieck. But, then again, I also Viet Grilled Dog and Rice🎻👍👍
Grazie infinite! È possibile avere i sottotitoli in italiano come gli altri tuoi video?Sarebbe fantastico...
Grazie ancora complimenti!
When you were demonstrating about bouncing using your four fingers were you doing that making sure each one landed on the right note or done to improve reflex and pressure.
Yehudi Menuhin used to say that "it's not how you put your fingers down, it's how you lift them off which matters."
I'm in your home country right now! 😍 Scotland is so beautiful! 🙏🏼
Question concerning the placement of the 4th and 3rd fingers in a descending scale
Hello ,
Here is a question on point where I would like your help.
When I do a descending scale or any passage where I have to put the 4th finger before the 3rd finger with a semitone interval, I always have trouble placing the 3rd finger correctly.
My question: how to place the 4th and 3rd finger correctly. Should they be placed together? If so, what exercises could help me in this direction.
Could you make a video if possible to show how to do it?
Thank you
Binah
So if I hear you correctly: Practice does not make perfect...Perfect practice makes perfect. Do not practice the wrong technique or else I will be very good at doing it wrong.
Hello, dear Nikolay. My palm moves to the neck of the violin when I reach the higher notes or the fourth finger, and when I return to the lower notes. It returns to the first state, isn't this a bad move?
"It's for one reason and one reason only. It's to create bounce. It's to create reflex. It's to create strength. It's to create more height to drop down onto the string with weight." Haha.
🫣 (I do the same! 🤭😅)
Can this be applied to the first Sevcick as well? I've not been playing for a decade now...
Thank you Nicola, for giving us one more time making this video, showing the talent that GOD gave you, in the execution of this instrument so sublime sound ...
If you ever come to Brazil, I'd like the privilege of going to see you.
It's the invitation !!!
Sorry for some errors. I do not speak English.
Do you Nicola Benedetti recommend glucosamine confronting or Co q 10 to help muscles or joints of left hand?
Nicky, no idea if you even have time to read and reply to this but please correct me if I’m wrong. So, fingers relaxed, great. Now, before dropping the finger there is a TINY bit of “tension” from the “spring” which pulls the finger back from the knuckle and creates height and “potential weight”. Now, does the “pulling” of the spring of the next finger need to happen right after the previous one is released (when you put the finger on the string) or before I plan on putting the next one ? So very mechanically it would be: create height by pulling finger back a bit from the knuckle, release and drop finger quickly onto the string, immediately pull the other fingers to maintain height. Is this correct? Similarly, when you place any finger on the string and the others bounce back, do they bounce when the explosion of energy from the finger you placed is released? Or is it more of a opposite movement between the finger you drop and the others. Should I think of mostly all the fingers moving and releasing together? God, I hope I’m clear. Thank you. Also, am i overthinking it? Probably yes. Lol, love your videos!
Does sophisticated ‘ Trampolining’ help? (active finger in slow motion according to sound/tone sought)..(the other fingers and to a lesser extent the rest of the body almost ‘Pretending to join in ‘ in moral support !)
Hi Nicky, my fourth finger is stiffening up as I release it, and I have to consciously relax it. Does that get better with exercise?
I think that means you're pulling it not releasing it. Did you make progress with this?
Thank
I play Arabic oud
But it Help me
I play littel vilon... GDGD
Thank you
Olá tudo bem? exercice Very good. Não conseguir inserir o tradutor para português neste vídeo.
Gutemberg.
when you say we shouldn't practice for too long as beginners (ex: 3-4h) how long would you recommend?
complete beginner 30 min is enough.
Just watched your video. I’m an advanced beginner of violin , can you teach me.?
Hola, ¿podrían hacer los vídeos subtitulados al castellano o español? Seria interesante. Gracias.
14:15 Haha! I'd love to practice 3 - 4 hours everyday but I get 2 hours in at least.