I started looking at the music for the symphony orchestra next season. It's a great season actually with one of my favorites, Schubert's Unfinished! Some other pieces by Tchaikovsky, Elgar, etc. Still working on a good fingering in high positions.
I've been doing quiet few Son Filé on open strings trying to reach 30 seconds in one bow. It's quiet challenging to keep a good tone in 30 seconds so I start gradually with 2 seconds in a bow and gradually increasing the number. I can sustain an acceptable tone in 24 seconds per bow stroke.
I'm also revisiting some of Wohlfart's studies to work slowly on intonation and most importantly, make something melodic out of a study. Luckily his Etudes are somehow melodic and offer some ground for interpretation.
There's also Kreutzer's 2nd study that comes back like a loop in my practice. I play it in a very slow pace to watch the intonation, control the bow movement and breath.
In concertos, I'm actually working on nothing at this time. I've played some Rieding lately; it's always fun!
I did randomly some 3 octaves scales. It's still very tricky with a fast tempo.
Oh! Before I forget, I took 2 bows to re-hair today. Will have them back on Monday. I also changed the E string and the D. The first one started breaking and the D was just too old. Now the new E sounds Cristal clear and the D is still in the adjustment phase.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
A bow to try: THE VERDICT!
OK! First of all, let me apologize for not approving my best friend's Marcus comments in a timely manner. I'm supposed to be receiving notifications when comments are left and it's not happening. I have to check this a bit further!
As for the bow, I thought I had to return it by Tuesday but actually Monday was the day. So I called the store and advised I will pass by at the end of the day.
I must admit after trying the bow and comparing it to mine (and I have a few bows - 2 woods I like a lot; 1 carbon fiber), I didn't see a HUGE difference with my bows. The projection of the loan bow is in a way better and I've noticed that the first time I played it. But when I started testing bow techniques (staccato, legato, sautillé, etc.), I thought my bows did better. The Roderich Paesold (see picture) I have is not only a beautiful bow (I like the unique frog, snake skin, color, etc.) but did well in the sautillé and especially when I played double-stops or chords. It was stable and controllable all the way even though it's on the heavy side. The projection was fair.
One important factor that could make a difference is the bow hair. The Roderich has old, broken and missing hair and this affects so much the sound. The Marco Raposo has fairly new hair that grips to the strings and gives a good punch to the staccatos.
I'm not too sure I would like to put so much money for a bow that I'm not 100% sure about. I used the following chart from Strings Magazine to evaluate the bow:
Bow Comparison Chart (PDF)
Monday, August 3, 2009
Darf Ich and a bow to try
First of all, I'm bad bad bad by not maintaining the blog. Of course I practiced the violin during all this period and most importantly, I played again with some very good friends and fellow musicians. I should bring back this blog to a current state.
Today I went trying some violin bows at a local music store. I created a checklist and had in mind a price range. I was isolated in a room with around 10 bows (wood and carbon fiber). I didn't ask for the price tag beforehand neither the maker's name. I tried them one by one comparing them to the best bow I own. The third bow I tried was the one that stood out from the others and remained, in my opinion, the most interesting bow in terms of sound clarity, penetration and weight. It's around 60 grams actually. At some point I was alternating my bow with the "chosen one"; it's a Marco Raposo bow made in Brazil. I terms of strength, flexibility and ability to play, the bows are the same. However, the Raposo has definitely a better projection. The sound is strong in the lows and penetrating in the highs. I finally brought it home. Let me be clear: I did NOT buy it YET! But I could bring it home to try it. So far, I'm very pleased by how the sound has improved but I'd like to try ricochet, staccatos and other techniques so see if there is REALLY a difference when played. By the way, the bow doesn't actually look beautiful, it's an ugly round stick with bright wood but it's nice to hold and is so far giving good results. I have the bow for a week so I'll certainly have an update next week ;)
Tonight I listened again to Darf Ich by Arvo Pärt for violin, a bell and strings. I actually knew Pärt's composition but Darf Ich was introduced to me by a good friend and I fell in love with this piece. There's something very deep in Arvo Pärt music that touches the soul.
Today I went trying some violin bows at a local music store. I created a checklist and had in mind a price range. I was isolated in a room with around 10 bows (wood and carbon fiber). I didn't ask for the price tag beforehand neither the maker's name. I tried them one by one comparing them to the best bow I own. The third bow I tried was the one that stood out from the others and remained, in my opinion, the most interesting bow in terms of sound clarity, penetration and weight. It's around 60 grams actually. At some point I was alternating my bow with the "chosen one"; it's a Marco Raposo bow made in Brazil. I terms of strength, flexibility and ability to play, the bows are the same. However, the Raposo has definitely a better projection. The sound is strong in the lows and penetrating in the highs. I finally brought it home. Let me be clear: I did NOT buy it YET! But I could bring it home to try it. So far, I'm very pleased by how the sound has improved but I'd like to try ricochet, staccatos and other techniques so see if there is REALLY a difference when played. By the way, the bow doesn't actually look beautiful, it's an ugly round stick with bright wood but it's nice to hold and is so far giving good results. I have the bow for a week so I'll certainly have an update next week ;)
Tonight I listened again to Darf Ich by Arvo Pärt for violin, a bell and strings. I actually knew Pärt's composition but Darf Ich was introduced to me by a good friend and I fell in love with this piece. There's something very deep in Arvo Pärt music that touches the soul.