Keeping Your Legato Pure
There are few things in this world more pleasing than a truly legato line played well on the violin. If you can do this deceptively simple thing you will never lack for enthusiastic listeners hanging on your every turn of phrase.
But, as I said, this is a deceptively simple task to accomplish.
It requires a solid understanding of bow and left hand technique. And you must have some ‘musical vision’ even before you set bow to string.
Last night I spent a few hours with a very gifted young man working on this very ability. He played some beautiful phrases by the end of the session, and we both enjoyed a heart-warming sense of accomplishment at the conclusion.
So, what did we focus on?
Well, first and foremost we needed to even out his bow distribution. The open string exercise I placed at the beginning of Kreutzer, Vol. 1 is excellent for achieving this.
Many folks will unconsciously slow the bow down just before a bow change and speed it up just after. This results in the kind of ‘unsightly bulges’ in tone that’ll disturb a legato line like a stone dropped in still water.
We worked with vibrato as well. When you want to create a singing line you must decide exactly what the ‘color’ of vibrato is going to be, and then make sure you are using it consistently.
Again, there is a tendency to vibrate some notes more than others due to level of comfort, or discomfort, felt by each finger.
Once aware of this tendency it is surprising how fast one can make the small adjustments needed to balance the left hand and get the vibrato consistent from note to note.
Now, the ‘guiding light’ to all of this must be your musical vision. You can help inform that vision by breathing well, just as a good vocalist would do. It feels good and immediately transforms what comes out of your instrument.
In the course of the 3 hour ‘intensive’ we went considerably further than what I’ve just outlined. In fact, due to my new friends interest, he went from a ‘Franco-Belgian’ bow hold to a ‘Russian’ bow hold within the course of the lesson.
It was quite a transformation and one he was thrilled about.
In short, this is the kind of progress that comes from both the three-hour intensives, and the masterclasses.
The Novice/Intermediate masterclass is well on its way to selling out. So if you are serious about your playing and are still contemplating where you want to be come January 10, 2008, I’d get off the fence now and secure your seat.
We are going to have a great time!
