Velocity 201

Maybe you’re wondering, ‘what happened to Velocity 101,’ or, ‘I’ve got Velocity 201, I just can’t get myself quite up to Velocity 301, or X-01.’

The fact is, though, at times music calls for us to rise up off our backsides and haul arse, to put it poetically.

And 99% of violinists asked if they’d like to play with greater velocity and precision in fast tempos would answer ‘yes, most definitely’.

So here we go.

Preparation is everything.

And often we’re wasting much of that time trying to play fast too soon.

Sometimes it’s boils down to basic things, like taking the time to REALLY know the notes, where they fall relative to the beat – are you counting? – and whether we’ve considered all the fingering choices available.

There may be an issue with our left hand, the fingers not being out over the strings.

Or maybe we’re articulating too hard generally, or hitting harder with one digit than another.

Or our shifting isn’t dynamic and efficient – perhaps the left wrist is flexing during shifts, introducing inefficiency in the movement.

Or our bow stroking and string changing aren’t concise and knit to the movements of the left hand fingers.

Or we haven’t connected to the patterns and harmonic movements in the music that promote ‘flow.’

Yes, there are a lot of better ways to increase facility in fast passages other than by ‘running over them’ again and again.

And fortunately this kind of error is quickly shown the light of day when you begin practicing with my instructional courses.

All the best, Clayton Haslop