It is a footnote in music history now, but Giuseppe Tartini earned himself some lasting fame in part due to his conscious use of an acoustical phenomenon.

When you play 3rds and 6ths on the violin, especially on the A and E string where the effect is most audible, you will hear, if you listen carefully, a third note well below the two you are sounding.

Now, though Tartini was fortunate enough to get his name associated with the effect in some music history books, he certainly was not the first to be aware of the phenomenon of combination tones, also referred to as resultant tones.

My reason for bringing them up to you now, however, is not to talk musical trivia. I rely on them daily to keep my left hand ‘fine-tuned.’

Resultant tones, by the by, are not just produced from 3rds and 6ths. They exist when any two notes are sounded simultaneously. If you want some good reading on the subject, try to find a book entitled ‘The Science of Music’, by Sir James Jeans. I believe Dover publishes it.

Let’s cut to the quick and talk about how you can use them.

Play some 3rds and 6ths on the A and E strings. Listen for a ‘buzz’ well below the two notes. Once you hear it you have your ‘Tartini tone.’

That pitch should be absolutely consonant with your double stop. Move one of your fingers slowly to adjust the resultant tone until a beautiful triad in formed.

Now the two notes played notes are in tune relative to each other. Obviously this does not tell you anything about the pitch of the double stop relative to notes before or after it.

What this exercise should demonstrate to you is the ‘feel’ of major and minor 3rds and 6ths in different locations on the fingerboard. It will ‘set your hand.’

Once you are in the habit of listening for and tuning resultant tones your intonation will rise to another level. I guarantee it.

Incidentally, Kreutzer for Violin Mastery, Vol. 1 does not address double stopping, they will be covered extensively in Vol. 4.

All the best,
Clayton Haslop

Recently, a violinist came to play for me, and I almost had to leave the room due to motion sickness.

Now, before I go further, let me just say that what I am going to describe is more common in players today than white tails on a rabbit farm. Well, that might be a slight exaggeration, but its no exaggeration to say that this unfortunate mannerism has reached epidemic proportions.

The most prominent symptom is what I can best describe as an unsightly bulge in the middle of each bow stroke.

The perpetrator begins each note with mouse-like timidity. Once he or she has ascertained that it is in tune a lion roars forth in full voice.

The whole drama is then repeated on the next stroke.

It’s like driving with a two-footed driver. You know, the type who is either pressing on the gas pedal or pressing on the brake. From a side view, passengers in the car sway forward and backward like those little bobbing ornaments you see mounted behind the back seats of some older cars.

Oh yes, there is another component to this sorry tale that must be told.

The ‘testing-the-waters’ phase of the stroke will usually display a conspicuous lack of left hand movement. Once the green light is given, however, and the bow surges down or up the string, the left hand looses all restraint and behaves like the guest at a party who’s had a few too many.

OK, OK, I am having a wee bit o’ fun here. But there is a serious point to be made. I see – hear, really – much playing that displays much of what I have described.

Your vigilance against this tendency must be ever present. Especially when you are feeling at all uncomfortable or nervous.

One of the best ways of beating this habit, if you find yourself so afflicted, is to practice using my counting method.

All the best,
Clayton Haslop

P.S. Given that this mannerism manifests itself more prominently in pressure situations, it is almost a given for it to be accompanied by tension. My DVD course will show you how to rid your body of unwanted tension, permanently.