Violin Forum/Message Board

[WhiteWolf]

I've been playing for about 4 1/2 years now and I really do like playing, but I'm having a bit of a problem with it now. I’ve been working on the Devil’s Trill for quite a while, and when I first started going to a new teacher I came in playing it well and we made a lot of progress on it. Because of this, she assumed that I was well educated in music theory, which I am not. I had been playing it by ear although I do look at the notes and can read them. But I can’t read key signature and I wasn't keeping time. She finally realized this when I had difficulty with a much simpler piece that I hadn't heard often enough. She had me do about four months of the basics in music and this is where I got screwed up. She treated it like I just needed a refresher on it instead of needing to be taught it. As a result I understood very little and have made miniscule progress. Now I'm stuck. We are not doing music theory any more, we're only playing simple songs (no Devil's Trill) . I don't think she knows what to do with me anymore. On the one hand, I can play difficult pieces succsessfully, on the other, I don't know music theory very well. I have also not learned how to vibrato yet. She showed me an exercise and when I asked how to do use vibrato is songs, she just told me if I kept doing it I'd eventually (magically) start playing with it. Maybe I'm just slow, but I fail to see how sliding your hand up and down and flapping it back and forth will result in vibrato. (If someone would be kind enough to explain it to me technically and thouroughly?)
I guess what I'm trying to ask is what do I do now? Now that I've lost my motivation for playing, I'm not learning anything and a huge amount of my enjoyment went out the window when we stopped playing Devil's Trill. I suppose I could stop lessons and just play on my own, but what if I lose my motivation? How will I find new pieces? Who will correct my mistakes?
Sorry this is so long, any advice?

[caeman]

I am getting the impression that both of you are guilty. Your teacher failed to ask some simple questions from the start, and you failed to inform your teacher of what you actually knew or wanted to accomplish.

So, I am going ask.

What exactly is it that YOU want to accomplish on violin?

[techfiddle]

Devil's Trill is a virtuosic work which should only be approached when the student has mastered lots of other technical material, including (with respect to études) Wohlfahrt, Kayser, Mazas, Dont Op. 37, Rode, Kreutzer, Dont Op. 35, Fiorillo. It is on a par with, say, the Mendelssohn concerto, and you cannot do it justice without the technical preparation.

See:
What is the usual progression of violin études?
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[Amalia]

Well, I went to youtube.com and listened/watched someone play the Devil's Trill, and I must admit that it would take me quite a while to learn it myself, and I've gone through the Mendelssohnn with my teacher twice. So, yes, it is a very difficult piece that a 4 year student would not be able to master unless by some miracle.

However, let it be your goal, what spurs you to keep practicing.

It sounds to me like you need a different teacher, one who can give you a mix of enjoyable music you can learn to play more by ear, AND at the same time keep guiding you through learning to actually read music well. Suzuki relies heavily on ear and memory so that would be good for you, but Suzuki is also weak in sight/music reading, so you'd have to find a teacher who could incorporate both areas of learning.

OR, teach yourself the music reading part. It sounds like your teacher already gave you a start on the timing and notes and really, that's about all you need. What is it that you don't understand about the different keys? Did she explain how to read the key signature? Or is it that you don't understand the process of getting in a particular key and continuing to play in it without analyzing every note in depth? (I'm not really sure what I meant by that, LOL!)

If I were your teacher, I'd prescribe that you spend 15 minutes or so a day just sight-reading easy pieces or etudes. Pick music that is WELL within your playing abilities, not stuff you have to study and practice before you can play it. Start with things you can play fairly well the FIRST TIME through them. Keep sight-reading (only playing the piece once or twice, then moving to the next piece), at that basic level but in different keys, until you feel comfortable moving up to harder notes, or timing. Repeat, repeat, repeat. 15 minutes a day will really help.

If you have a good ear, I would also urge you to study up on reading music by "interval" rather than just by name of note and finger number. I can't explain that in a few sentences, but start by going to a site like this one: http://musictheory.net/trainers/html/id90_en.html and practicing recognizing and being able to identify the sounds of the different intervals. Then make yourslef some flashcards and learn to recognize and identify them when you see them on the page.

Anyway, don't get discouraged. There's a lot to learn with the violin, which is why we violinists never get bored with our instrument!

[techfiddle]

I agree with Amalia; you need a teacher who teaches theory along with the works you're studying. I don't have any students who don't start scales early on, know key signatures, time signatures, and a whole host of other issues. This may help:

Handout: Violin/Viola, Piano - 3 octave scale fingerings
• Makeup of Major and Minor Scales
• Identifying Key Signatures
• Method for Memorizing Fingerings - Violin | Piano

You might start with these:

Free one- to three-octave Printable Violin and Viola Scales
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Connie's Violin Page
Internet resources for string players,
string teachers, parents & students
http://beststudentviolins.com/Home.html