Are You REALLY Hearing Your Tone?

Wow, what a competition it was. Women’s all around gymnastics final, not determined by mistakes made, but rather by one young lady’s brilliance outshining the rest of the field.

Nastia peaked at the absolute perfect time. Flawless form, breath taking grace and amazing difficulty coming together in a way that left my heart soaring and my pulse racing.

Awesome.

Now, this morning I was transported to lofty heights myself. And guess what, I was only playing a couple etudes from Kayser, book 1.

Hold on, before you think, ‘this guy must be deluding himself – you can’t reach ‘lofty heights’ with the likes of Kayser etudes,’ hear me out.

First of all, H. E. Kayser was a master violinist and a very gifted composer. His etudes have formal integrity as well as harmonic, contrapuntal, AND dramatic interest. Makes them quite rewarding and fun to play.

Second, when the fullness of one’s Attention is combined with the maximum of one’s Intention, and both are brought to bear on the sonority of one’s sound, well, one is hard pressed NOT to become transported into ethereal realms.

And I mean that.

Now the question is, are you ‘hearing’ your tone in the fullest sense of the word. Doing so implies you’re allowing yourself to be a resonator, right along with the violin itself. At the same time you must also be an activator; the one ‘driving’ the tone forward from moment to moment.

Once that connection is established one has only to add fuel to the fire.

One’s ‘hearing’ expands outward and inward looking for increasingly agreeable and efficient ways of getting to the core of the tone. When resistance is located, light is shed on it and solutions are found; usually through relaxation and increased clarity on how the bow is being moved across the strings and the fingers of the left hand are being brought into contact with the strings.

When I began the practice session, the pain, stiffness, and restriction lingering from my shoulder injury were intimidating. I didn’t know if I could get anywhere.

Yet after 45 minutes with Herr Kayser and the mindset outlined above, I felt like a different person. Yes, there was soreness and muscle fatigue. But a wonderfully beauteous light had pierced through the heavy fog of discomfort; right to the inner recesses of my soul.

Naturally what I’m saying here would Seem to speak more to a developing player than one considering him or herself to be ‘accomplished’. Yet beware, many are the players that become complacent, take too much for granted, and in the bargain break connection with a sacred, and dynamic Law of Creativity.

All the best,

Clayton Haslop

P.S. The real ‘nuts and bolts’ behind today’s observations will be found in the soon-to-be-released Month 5 of my Allegro Players. And a word to the wise. What with the packed instructional DVDs, accompaniment CDs, music and written notes that go into each and every month’s installment, the tuition for this program won’t remain where it is much longer. I’d jump on board Right Now if you even SUSPECT it is right for you. You may always cancel at any time should your trust prove unfounded. I doubt it’s going to happen.

Sub-divide, and conquer, pt. 2

I happen to having my morning espresso in a Starbucks this morning – after all, Someone has to keep the empire from collapsing. Anyway, a couple of ladies are sittin’ next to me having their morning ‘coffee clutch’ in voices none too subtle.

I’ll press on.

After I sent my last newsletter I was reminded of other compelling cases for sub-division; namely, in the outer movements of classical period music.

– Uh-oh, another member of the coffee-clutch just showed up; fresh peels of laughter, more talk of grooming –

Take Mozart’s wonderfully effervescent and virtuosic ‘Sinfonie Concertante’. The first movement is marked in 4/4 time, also known as ‘common time.’

And when the movement is played in this pulse it has a way of sounding that way; common. It lacks gait, and the music comes off sounding heavy and plodding.

On the other hand, hang the music on a sub-divided 4 (one-and-two-and) and the music immediately shifts into a higher gear. For me it like driving along at 40 mph in an old ’67 VW bug with worn rings, versus doing the same speed in a well-tuned Jag E-type.

No comparison.

The same applies for the last movement, marked in 2/4. Play it in a sub-divided 1 and the music immediately gets air born and bubbles with energy.

Now, sub-division can be quite useful in slow movements as well, actually. The 2nd movement of the ‘Concertante’ is marked in 3/4. Most conductors, however, will revert to beating the music in 6 as the music is marked ‘Adagio.’

To me this is a mistake. It’s not that I would play in 3, either. That would come off flippant. It’s in a sub-divided 6 that the movement finds its real home. It has flow without flippancy. And there is still the space for nuance and expansion.

So, when you’re playing those classical period sonatas, concertos, chamber music, and symphonies, take advantage of what sub-division can bring to the music. The game just gets more and more interesting.

All the best,

Clayton Haslop

P.S. Speaking of some interesting games. The Caprices of Nicolo Paganini are some of the most challenging games a violinist can undertake. I’ve some wonderful tools to help you play to win.

Sub-divide, and conquer

Yesterday afternoon the wind kicked up, the sky darkened, and nature let loose with a doozey of a storm; the kind that quickens your pulse, demands you drop everything – including your jaw – and gaze in amazement.

After a time my daughter couldn’t resist having a more up close and personal experience, so she grabbed my hand and pulled me outside to join her in a good soaking.

And how simply refreshing it was. Such are the gentle pleasures that remind us how wonderful life can be.

Only thing is, we forgot to sing.

Next time.

Now, let’s talk counting. I think in the past I’ve spoken of sub-dividing mainly during slow practice. A very good thing to do.

Yet there are also occasions when sub-division can make the difference between muddy and sparkling fast playing. Let me give you an example.

In Kreutzer number 2 there are numerous little melodic and harmonic movements that take place in an eighth note time frame. If one is only aware of quarter notes it is very easy gloss over these, loosing opportunities for nuance and musicality in the process.

Another example, though not strictly involving sub-dividing I’ll admit, is the Presto movement of Bach’s G minor Sonata, unaccompanied. Though marked in 3/8, many violinists can’t resist sliding into ‘one’.

The result is often a meaningless flood of notes that says very little.
What I tell myself, is this. ‘Play as fleetly as you like, providing you stay in 3.’

Now, I can tell you my G minor Presto ain’t slow. At the same time, by remaining in 3 I have full control over the flow of the notes, and can illuminate ALL of the rich harmonic and melodic detail in the music.

The bottom line is this, don’t allow yourself to think only in one way about the pulse of a piece of music. Each way you conceive of the pulse will produce a different musical effect. And only by experimenting will you find and present the strongest case the music has to offer.

All the best,

Clayton Haslop

P.S. For many an experienced player time remains something of a bugaboo. Here’s the course that will give you the rock-solid control over time you’ve always wanted. Kreutzer for Violin Mastery