Fine Points, Part 3

Just ‘dismounted’ from the violin. You know, many are the days I rebuild my playing from the ground up – focusing on the horizontal travel of the bow; the position of my left hand; the independent, light action of each finger, etc.

They are the ultimate basics of playing and always worthy of holding in one’s consciousness. Today I felt rather stiff from a workout at my gym last night, so I gave myself the pleasure of a nice, slow warm-up with these in mind.

Now should you be in the least concerned about the ‘form’ of the above here’s a link you’ll find Very worthwhile.

And by the way, what I said yesterday about string crossing also applies to shifting. That is to say, I use the change of bow to trigger the horizontal movement of the hand to the new position – when the shift occurs under one bow I pick the spot on the bow that, when reached, triggers the movement.

Remember, no anticipatory movements in the left hand.

Ok, there’s one thing in all this that I’d like to go a little more deeply into.

Our bodies like to work automatically. It’s the way our brain is wired – think of walking, breathing, etc. And by doing so the Conscious mind is left unencumbered with such tasks. It’s an efficient system.

Yet sometimes this system works to our disadvantage.

For example, once our conscious mind senses a rhythmic pattern to what we’re trying to do, bingo, it puts as much of our movements as possible into an ‘autopilot’ mode, so to speak.

Problem is, the rhythm of music has nuance to it. It is not Really so predictable as the automatic mind would think.

And secondly, in the case of creating and holding an image of where you next mean to go on the violin, the body tends to react immediately to the image – this is the anticipation I talk about.

So, what is key to your success, in large moves around the violin, is to break that reflexive response that is triggered either by the rhythm the body is in or the newly formed image taking shape in your brain.

Again, this is something we can all fall into and which creates audible imperfections in our playing.

The question is, are you patient and passionate enough to ferret these things out. If you do, wham! You’re playing just went to a new level.

All the best, Clayton Haslop

P.S. Again, Kreutzer for Violin Mastery is a great place to find instruction on all that I’ve been saying.

Fine Points, Part 2

Had some great responses to yesterday’s newsletter, including one from a gal with considerable orchestral and solo experience.

Laura pointed out that the little rest on the tied note was, in large ensembles, useful for clarity’s sake.

And in large, acoustically ‘wet’ halls I might be persuaded to agree.

Yet in such cases I would still pay close attention to the way the held note was sustained – with energy, that is – and to maintaining the flow of time.

I’ve been in close proximity to many a violinist who seem to be ‘reacting’ to beats – perceived as ‘digital’ events – rather than staying present with an analogue ‘flow’ of time.

And that is my real point.

Well, not entirely, I was guilty of a little venting too. Many are the times I’ve had conductors promote ‘the rest’ as a rhythm cure. And THAT makes my skin crawl.

There is one more thing before I move on. It relates to the ‘clarity’ point.

Some of you may remember what was referred to as ‘the Normandy sound.’ No, it wasn’t a jazz style coming from the north of France.

It was the quality of orchestral sound that many associate with the Philadelphia Orchestra when Eugene Ormandy was at the helm. Ormandy was himself a string player and he reveled in what I might call ‘continuity of sound.’

If you watch old video of his conducting you can see it in the way he moved. I myself find it extremely affecting.

It’s been a few decades since I watched him, and, if your interest is peeked, it might be useful to see what’s on YouTube of his.

Now, today I wanted to discuss another, somewhat related, concept. I’m talking about how one can place two notes, separated by more than one string, side by side with no apparent space in between them.

Again, we’re talking about the ‘continuity of sound’ here.

When many players are faced with a large movement between notes they have a tendency to anticipate the move. And with that anticipation you will find a tendency to drop the tone of the first note prematurely.

When I say ‘anticipate the move’ I’m referring specifically to the reflexive, unconscious movements of the right arm – the left hand may also play into this – in the direction of the next note.

It’s a bit of a fear response, actually, having to do with negotiating that large distance.

Well, let me tell you something. In quantum physics I believe space and time turn out to be illusionary. If this is so, and I believe there’s something to it, then what are we so worried about?

The anxiety comes from not having clear vision.

The clear, certain vision of one note down bow, and another note up-bow – I am talking separate bows, for the sake of discussion here.

Actually, the trick to putting to these notes together is to relax and maintain yourself on the first note, while holding in your mind a very clear visual image of yourself playing the next note.

And bear this in mind, the change of string, note and BOW DIRECTION will occur simultaneously.

The change in bow direction, in my mind, is the point at which everything moves. It’s the trigger.

Now, in volume 1 of ‘Kreutzer for Violin Mastery’ you will find the visuals worth ‘a thousand words.’ Go right to etude #7.

All the best, Clayton Haslop

P.S. I’m referring to my Kreutzer course a lot this week. That’s because those etudes, the ‘violinist’s Bible,’ come to mind so easily. Yet you’ll find this skill talked about in EVERY course I’ve put out. Advanced fiddlers may want to take it to the ULTIMATE level by tackling Caprice #2 of Paganini. Here’s where you find my in depth thoughts on that and 7 other wonders of the violin.

The Fine Points of Playing, Part 1

Summer’s turned hot here in Red Rock country. And that’s a good thing, actually. Soon we’ll be treated to spectacular thunder storms as moisture from the gulf rushes in behind the rising air. A great season in Southwest.

Now, for the next couple days I thought I’d look at what I call ‘fine points’ of violin playing. Today’s could be seen as rather controversial.

You see, there is a popular belief, especially amongst conductors trying to get large ensembles to play together, that putting little holes in the fabric of sound helps folks play more in rhythm.

Specifically I’m talking of notes tied over from one beat to the next which are immediately followed by quick notes – for example, a quarter note tied to a sixteenth, which is then followed by detached sixteenth notes.

And very often, in such places, players are told that it is best to stop the sound on that tied over sixteenth so that they won’t be late on the following notes.

Now in my humble opinion, one has nothing to do with the other.

Sustaining the tone or dropping the tone have neither to do with whether one plays in time.

To begin with, stopping the bow on the tied note and restarting it, in itself, requires time. Seems to me keeping the bow in motion without interruption to the change of bow is actually MORE efficient, not less.

And secondly, the interruption of sound often creates a break in the flow of energy – once I have an audience’s attention I don’t want them to have any excuse for taking their attention elsewhere, if you get my drift.

No, the secret to good rhythm are efficient fundamentals – no wasted movements impeding bow changes; a continuous, ongoing awareness of the flow of time; and an eye to what’s ahead.

For my ears, the ‘tidiness’ that comes with inserting rests where they are not indicated often misses the very point of the fast music.

Drive. Forward progress. Finding the edge, and staying on it.

That’s the kind of velocity that gets, and keeps, my attention.

All the best,  Clayton Haslop

P.S. Now, if this has your engine started and you’re looking for a great course to test it on, try Kreutzer #31. This etude is just the kind of music we’ve been talking about. And you’ll find today’s advice and much more on this virtuosic caprice in volume 3 of my best selling program, ‘Kreutzer for Violin Mastery.’

How to Improve Tone

It’s not often that I have dreams related to violin playing. Rather surprising, given the amount of time I spend thinking about it.

Last night was one of the exceptions that ‘proves the rule,’ though.

In it, my first violin teacher, by the name of Sybil Maxwell, was showing me a device for developing a straight bow arm. It was a strange contraption where a shuttle was moved back and forth on a horizontal track laying in front of us.

No, it’s not something I’m going to patent anytime soon.

Yet the dream did get me thinking about the bow arm. And just what needs to be in mind for the bow to move smoothly and efficiently from tip to frog.

The first thing that came to mind is sound. You really must be ‘hearing’ the tone you will produce BEFORE you even raise the instrument to your chin.

This is VERY important, especially as you begin learning the instrument or make changes in old habits.

Now, become aware of your breathing as you hear the note – I’m hearing, and breathing, a whole note ‘G’ as I write this.

OK, next you will raise the violin to playing position while you continue to hear that tone and breathe. As you do, you will also be holding in mind an image of the position you want to arrive at as well.

Remember to stay focused on breathing the whole time. This is your ticket to relaxation.

The really challenging parts of the bow to handle well are the extreme frog and the extreme tip. As you bring your right hand toward the violin – up bow – there comes a point somewhere just after mid-bow where you the wrist begins to flex forward.

Soon after, perhaps 3/4s of the way up the bow, the upper arm must come into play. And this is the point where many folks begin to get into trouble.

The upper arm must move laterally, totally within the ‘plane of motion’ established by playing solely on the G string. So it goes laterally up, and then laterally back at the beginning of the next stroke.

And in order for the bow to remain straight your wrist will FLEX laterally in the same plan of motion.

If this is getting too complicated, my apologies – you’d do well to head back to month 1 of Violin Mastery Beginners Circle or Dynamic Breath Control for the picture is ‘worth a thousand words.’

Yet if you are with me, let’s forge ahead.

The next point of challenge comes in continuing the down bow. Remember that you are in one ‘plane of motion.’ And remember to breathe.

In others words, you want to relax, and think of pushing the bow horizontally away from the body – the hand, forearm and upper arm remaining in a 2 dimensional zone.

Well, this is getting long, now. I will say one last thing, however.

There IS a point, in down bows particularly, where the bow wants to ‘chatter’ on the string. I won’t go into WHY it happens because then we start in on physics, and who needs that right now.

What you need to now, however, is that you’re best shot at keeping this ‘chatter’ well below an audible level is by ‘thinking horizontal’, as I like to put it, and staying relaxed.

All the best, Clayton Haslop

And Where THAT Leaves Relaxation

This morning I further amplified something I’ve been doing in my practice for many years. And if you are working with one of my courses – and PRACTICING – I’m happy to say that you are doing it too.

And you might not even realize what it is.

But whatever it is, and I’ll get to it eventually, it doesn’t answer the question posed in your inbox today. Specifically, where does ‘timing is everything’ leave relaxation?

It doesn’t leave it. In fact, without relaxation there can be no timing. Not really.

You see, trying to time, or coordinate, the many precision movements the body makes to play without relaxation is about as hit or miss as duck hunting with a blindfold on.

So getting relaxed is something that by all rights should ‘go with the territory’ when it comes to violin playing.

When it comes to ANYTHING you are becoming effective at, in fact.

And what, may I ask, is the greatest single tool God gave us for staying relaxed. Why, the ability to breathe.

When I type and breathe, like right now, it sure feels good.

The only thing is, we – yea, you AND me – often forget what’s good for us. We forget how potent and important this gift of breath truly is.

Some folks are so forgetting, in fact, they won’t Consciously draw air into their lungs for weeks on end. They’re too busy loading up their shoulders with the weight of the world.

Well, if this is you, too, all you’ve got to do right now is chuckle, and then draw a nice, deep sweet breath of air all the way down to your toes. I bet you’re feeling an order of magnitude better.

All the best, Clayton Haslop

So What’s in a Bow Hold

Pretty funny scene here. I’m seated in the library of a high school writing, and in walks my daughter, along with 20 or so compatriots, to rehearse their role in a Missoula Childrens Theatre production of ‘Princess and the Pea.’

They are ‘dust bunnies.’ Decibel level just went up about 12 fold. Ok, concentrate.

Now, a good bow hold can be rather elusive, in spite of all the schools of thought that have developed over the years. In fact, what makes it elusive for many players has little to do with the shape or form of it.

Understanding how to use balance, friction, and tactility to control the bow is the real secret of the bow.

It’s a continual game – how to do more with less.

You see, challenging movements of the bow, if met with a clench, will spread tension right up the arm, into the shoulder, across the upper body, and even down the opposite side into the fingers of the left hand.

And the tone that comes out won’t be too good either.

Thus grasping the bow as if in a caress, with all the sensitivity this implies, is exceedingly important. And to do so one must never lose the ability to relax; I ‘breathe’ my bow hold in the same way I ‘breathe’ music.

There is no separation.

So when you find your right hand in a clench set the fiddle aside for a bit and get in touch with how you’re breathing – some very valuable help with this, and the specifics of a good bow hold position, may be found here. http://www.violinmastery.com/order_breathcontrol.htm

Once you get yourself breathing from your diaphragm allow the relaxation to flow up your torso and down your arms, right to the tips of your fingers.

When you pick up the bow again I think you’ll find things have changed for the better.

Just keep breathing as you set bow to string.

Now, you may be surprised to learn that, though my hand is as soft as fleece on the bow, my fingers are quite still; you will rarely even see my fingers flexing at bow changes. What you WILL see is a flexible wrist, elbow and shoulder joint.

These are the real heroes of a fluid bow arm.

Now, before I leave you I want to remind you to keep an eye on your inbox. Summer’s about to arrive in a big way.

All the best, Clayton Haslop

P.S. Wow, I never knew that ‘dust-bunnies,’ those little balls of fluff you find under beds, could sing and dance. Pretty cool.

A Great Way to Enjoy Time

Well, here I am. And I’m happy to report the master class went extraordinarily well over the weekend. Matter of fact I’d say it was, as promised, the best so far.

‘So what were the differences that made it so,’ you may be thinking.

Each time I conduct one of these I become clearer on how to best structure the class, how much to allow folks to play versus how much I demonstrate and explain.

This class went seamlessly and fluidly, covering virtually are aspects of violin playing in a way that could benefit many levels of playing.

That’s no small feat, me thinks.

In fact I was so inspired by what took place I’m thinking to celebrate the arrival of Fall with another one. So do stay tuned.

Now, one of the marvelous accomplishments of the class was bringing home what it means to ‘play in time.’ In order to fully enjoy playing the violin one must, after all, understand something of playing in time.

And as you yourself may feel, quite a number of players find this challenging to do, when the music starts filling up with black – you know what I’m talking about, the fear of getting behind or losing time when you’re confronted with difficult passages.

Most folks actually rush forward and get ahead of ‘the time’ when confronted with a lot notes. Fact is, there is more time than you think.

And that’s just for starters.

The trick to overcoming the tendency to lose track of time is the trick of learning how to breathe.

It’s the trick of truly learning how to take possession of the beat.

It’s the pleasure that comes from understanding and taking the time to enjoy the rich combination of pure, efficient movements that comprise violin playing.

Funny thing about the whole thing is, the more one enters into all the above, the more enjoyment and gratification gets extracted from each passing moment.

Well, that’s about all I have to say today. But before I go let me just leave you with this little tidbit. In a couple of days it will be celebration time for a couple of other reasons than the completion of a master class.

And I’m going to bring you into the celebration in a very SPECIAL way. Maybe you know what I’m getting at. In any case, don’t go far from your computer this week. You don’t want to miss what I’ve got heading your way.

All the best, Clayton Haslop

Radical Acceptance

In just two days, now I’ll be sequestered with a small group of violin doers looking deeply at the process of playing the violin. I wish you were going to be here.

There is, however, one concept that will be central to the weekend that I can share with you right here and now.

It’s the title of this newsletter.

The concept of personal acceptance is certainly not new; one can find it in any number of self-help books. What may be new, as it was for me, however, is to hear it paired with the adjective ‘radical.’

Yet to make real, substantive progress on the violin I think it very true that a radical acceptance of what is, in this moment, is essential.

To RADICALLY accept a way of playing something is to know it and take possession of it at a very deep level. The ‘wishful thinking’ type of violin playing gets checked at the door.

Radical acceptance implies owning up to and indeed taking possession of that which is, in an inspired and creative way.

Surprisingly, many violinists, those raised in a censorial environment particularly, have difficulty doing this.

The self-criticism born of this reaches such heights, in fact, that often fear and denial preclude any real creativity and enjoyment from the process; meaningful growth, as you can well imagine, quickly grinds to a halt.

Well, happily, this will not be the case for those spending the weekend with me. The violin, like life, is a game to be played for fun and enjoyment. And knowing ‘what is’ is just the first play in the game.

All the best, Clayton Haslop

P.S. One of the secrets of practice is knowing how to find out what you really know versus what you fool yourself into thinking you know. For an intermediate player this secret is revealed in Kreutzer for Violin Mastery, my best-selling course to date.

Those Annoying Little Finger Sounds

Just returned from the City of Angels last night. No recording sessions this time. Just a special screening of the movie ‘Up’ – for the orchestra – and some family time.

‘Up’ was indeed an up experience; a touching, genuinely funny, worthwhile way to spend a couple of hours.

And the music was more effective than even I thought it would be.

Anyway, this morning I took a look through emails piled up from the past days. A few came with questions. Here’s one you might find interesting and relevant to yourself.

“Hi Clayton. Greetings from Singapore!

“I received your Kreutzer for Violin Mastery (1+2) last week and started viewing them. From the intro, I read that you are willing to entertain our questions via email. I jumped with joy as I am currently without a teacher (though I do try to practice “with much thinking” 2 hours a day in addition to taking care of 2 young kids).

“Please enlighten me regarding my long-standing difficulties:

“1) e.g. first playing a G (first pos, D string) then a B (first pos, A string). Short, detache strokes. Somehow when I lift the 3rd finger (which corr. to the first note), it will make quite a very audible ring.

“I have seen this discussed on Youtube, but the answer didn’t really help me.

“What is the fundamental technical flaw there? I always thought I was quite good in finger lifting, putting down and articulation in general.

Thanks for your help,
Renee

Ok, no problem. There are 2 possibilities here. Renee, either you are drawing your finger slightly sideways as you lift it, hence the little pluck, or there is ‘surface tension’ developing between your finger and the string, resulting in a ‘pop’ when the finger is lifted.

In both cases I would take a look at the amount of finger pressure you are bringing to the string.

The less pressure you can use, and still maintain the tone you want, the better.

That being said, in humid conditions a little ‘tackiness’ between finger and string may be unavoidable. In recording sessions, in fact, I’m very careful not to lift fingers from the string at the end of quiet cues – many times I’ve heard sound engineers complain of having to trim those little sounds away.

As far as plucking the string goes, the cure must be pretty self-evident – lift straight up. But again, using less force on the strings will make everything more relaxed, fluid and clean; and you may find that just doing this one thing remedies the problem.

Now, in my Beginners Circle program I do teach a little left hand pizzicato exercise; it’s excellent for developing control and flexibility in the small muscles of finger and hand.

It is not, though, meant to be the model for left hand articulation in general.

And one last thing. In slow, quiet sections one can avoid the surface tension I talked of by sliding the finger slightly up or down the string as you lift it. Obviously one’s bow cannot be in motion as this is done. We’re talking the ends of phrases or before rests here.

So, this evening you do have my permission to take the night off to see ‘UP’. In fact, it’ll make my day if you do. Enjoy the violin solos too!

All the best, Clayton Haslop

P.S. Developing ‘touch’ in one’s left hand is essential to the full enjoyment of the violin. That’s why my Beginners Circle program, for those new to the violin, is filled with in-depth demonstrations and explanations of just how it can be cultivated and maximized.

Better Not to Jump, Before You Can Swim

Pleased to report that ‘Up’, the latest Pixar animated feature – with yours fiddling madly on numerous violin solos – is now in theaters everywhere.

In fact, my little family and I will be heading out to LA shortly for a special screening of the film courtesy of the music’s composer, Michael Giacchino.

Should be a hoot an’ a holler.

Today whilst practicing, however, my mind was not on cinematic entertainments, I can vouch for that. Nope, my hands are full when the violin is in them.

I trust the same is true for you.

What DID occur to me was this. It is incredibly tempting to ‘let it go’ and play fast before the mind and body are prepared to do so.

Unfortunately, it’s also a GREAT, BIG time waster – ought to know, done it more than I’d care to admit.

The good news, however, is that once we make the commitment to get our act together, and leave the test firings for when they stand an excellent chance of success, the whole game becomes inherently more pleasurable and rewarding.

So go ahead, make my day. Slow those hands down, and rev those gray cells up yet another notch.

And if you need a little assistance with what to PUT IN those gray cells to insure the odds are way in your favor, you can rest easy. Pretty sure I’ve got a terrific instructional program waiting in my studio with your name on it.

All the best, Clayton Haslop

P.S. Oops, not all. I’m just restocking scores and notes for Kreutzer for Violin Mastery. It’s worth the wait, though particularly if you’re itching to get in world-class shape on the violin. Nothing better, in fact.