Violin Forum/Message Board

[lovetheviolin]

I had my first lesson today and it went really well. My instructor is a super nice guy and I feel is genuinely interested in my progress, so that's good. My bow grip feels a little uncomfortable and we didn't really talk much about it though I did ask him a lot of questions because from all my reading and such, I know how important it is; however, he said it looked good, so I'm going with it (my hand is a little sore though, but I've just been practicing for a while). We practiced playing all the strings with a full bow stroke and breaking up the bow into 4 sections. I'm not really making any scratching sounds except at the part closest to the frog, so if you know why that is please let me know. Then i've been going through Twinkle Twinkle and it's sounding good, but still scratchy at some points, but it seems that when I fret a string it gets scratchy and then I somehow adjust. ...? I dunno. But ya, I got some exercising I'll be practicing for the week and ya, that's it. I'm super excited! Thanks for all your input and help thus far!! =)
_________________
That's the beauty of music. They can't get that from you... Haven't you ever felt that way about music?
-Andy Dufresne; The Shawshank Redemption

[mshikibu]

You should be playing the Twinkle variations in the middle of the bow.

I'm not sure what you mean by when you "fret a string." There are no frets on violin, and that's not a violin-y thing to say...

[DynamicMoves]

http://www.scasd.org/2497_1251020151756/lib/2497_1251020151756/vln_vla_bowhold.jpg

Though, it is different for everybody.
I tend to hold the bow with pointer, middle, and thumb, while the other two are just floating around, for the most part. Spiccato is different though...

[Jack Rushing]

I think what lovetheviolin means by fretting a string, is when he presses
it down on the finger board. Yes, you will get some strange, scratchy, sounds
when you first try to make notes with your fingers, but keep at it, it will begin to sound better. There are several ways to hold the bow correctly. get
your teacher to show you these, and select the one that is most comfortable,
and gives you the best sound. Then, Practice, Practice, Practice.!!!
Good Luck.

[lovetheviolin]

thanks for all your replies, and yes, i most definitely meant pressing down the string. Thanks for all you encouragement, it helps having friendly people to ask questions to or to just seek encouragement from, especially in the beginning. Thanks again!
_________________
That's the beauty of music. They can't get that from you... Haven't you ever felt that way about music?
-Andy Dufresne; The Shawshank Redemption

[LSOviolinist]

In regards to your comment about having that scratchy sound near the frog, I can think of two reasons. The first is that you're probably not used to playing that far down the bow. I've been playing for some time and still find it difficult to stay clean and smooth at the frog. The second possibility is that your bowing hand might be in the wrong position. When you're playing that close to the frog your wrist comes up as if it were being pulled by a rope. Resist the urge to let that happen. A great way to practice the correct bowing is this simple task. Imagine that your holding a giant beachball in front of you. From this position, turn your right hand counterclockwise while keeping your arm at the same position, and then turn your left hand counterclockwise towards the ceiling. If you did everything correctly you should have both the ideal bowing hand and fingering hand. I hope this makes sense and I wish you the best of luck.
_________________
- LSOviolinist

[mecqna]