Videos showing bow hold and left hand for beginners

August 31, 2006 at 1:58 pm | In Bow Hold, Bow Stroke, Videos | Leave a Comment

Useful Internet sites for Beginners from The String Pedagogy Notebook

Click on the links below to view descriptions and sample videos of the technique described. You will need a high speed internet connection to load the videos in a reasonable amount of time. If you don’t have quicktime, download it for free.

RIGHT HAND
Bow Hold with a pencil (Quicktime video)
-Stay relaxed, natural and curved!
Pencil Bow Hold

Forming the Bow hold at the frog (Silent Quicktime video)
-Also try this technique with a vertical bow, sliding the thumb down to the frog gently.
Forming the Bow Hold

Longer, Narrated Video of forming the bowhold. (Takes a few minutes to load)
-Pay special attention to the first half, then try it yourself near a mirror.
Narrated Video of forming the Bow Hold

LEFT HAND
Strumming and Tapping Exercises
-make sure you remain “relaxed in the shape”
Strum and Tap

Three Points of Contact
-CONTACT, not 3 Points of Squeezing! Tap the thumb, and make sure it is relaxed. Tap the fingers in a vertical motion from the base joint. Gently slide the whole hand up and down the neck to ensure the index finger is not pressing against the neck.
3 Points of Contact

What’s the Solfege again?

August 29, 2006 at 2:01 pm | In Musicianship | Leave a Comment

Yes, the chromatics can be confusing at first. Just start with a simple Major scale. In the picture above, start on the middle line and follow it from left to right.

Do – Re – Mi – Fa – Sol – La – Ti – Do
Now, to sing a natural, or pure minor scale, we know that the 3rd, 6th and 7th notes are lowered. Thus, Mi becomes Me, La become Le, and Ti becomes Te. When you follow the chart this time, dip down to the bottom row for the 3rd, 6th and 7th notes.
Do – Re – Me – Fa – Sol – Le – Te – Do
The ascending Melodic Minor scale, of course, uses a minor tetrachord followed by a major tetra chord. So we take the first 4 notes from the minor, and the next four from the major.
Do – Re – Me – Fa (minor)
Sol – La – Ti – Do (major)
The descending melodic minor scale is the same as the natural minor scale.
Do – Te – Le – Sol – Fa – Me – Re – Do

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