Toning the Intonation

Intonation is probably one of the most difficult elements in playing the violin or string instruments for that matter. It's a constant work in progress, a hit or miss (many misses sometimes), a precision in tone and outstanding listening skills, a constant correction and a desire to reach the perfect pitch. In other words: you're in tone or you're not!

My teacher once said, check the tone with the third interval when possible, playing double-stops should sound like ONE NOTE! That's really hard even in simple passages but nerveless, it's a good exercise.

I find orchestra rehearsals to hurt intonation more than helping it. Your sound gets mixed with the zillion decibels around you if it doesn't get totally buried by the brass section clashes or an alarming flute ensemble. Divisions in the violin sections can also be tricky; suddenly, you're not 2 violin voices (violin I & violin II) but you're multiplied by 2 so you are actually 4 voices. This requires focus in the midst of a crowded polyphony.

Individual work requires a concentration and a hassle free environment. It's like writing a news article, you go over your spell-checker, grammar guides and dictionaries to ensure you're writing well... It's the self-proofreading in music in my opinion.

Music theory and especially ear training is crucial for a violinist or any musician for that matter. Recognizing the intervals helps a lot in adjusting the tone. I'd like to read more about the physical mechanism behind it. From the moment you play a note and how your ears and brain interpret the whole thing to how you correct yourself. Human brain is astonishing in learning so much. Sight-reading in music is one of those examples where your brain understands a whole set of notes; in a way, you don't read each note one by one. Same with reading, you read words and phrases and not a letter by letter.

My plan is to review more often my tone and going back to basics is essential to put things in place. When I have so much music on my music stand, I tend to go through the pages and miss the details.

Below is a funny and strange TOYOTA robot playing the violin. That thing is in tone but mind the interpretation and feelings you need to put in music. And I'm wondering WHY does a robot need to look like an alien (especially those eyes!). Well, maybe better than an inflated doll looking :)

After a Rehearsal... and a Bowed String in Slow Motion

The rehearsal tonight with the orchestra was good. But for some reason, sometimes I'm not totally into the music. I wasn't distracted by anything else and at the same time I wasn't focused enough. Well, I think it's one of these days!

Browsing on You Tube I found an interesting clip showing, in slow motion, how the bow vibrates the strings. REALLY AMAZING and worth to check!

Bowed String in Slow Motion

Telemann Sonatinas: The Sonata Form On Diet

The use of the term "sonatinas" suggests often that the pieces are somehow "easy" simple mini-sonatas. There's a truth to this however it's a mistake to consider them "simple" when it comes to playing them. Sonatinas were apparently "popular" in the classical era and some still believe it's an archaic form similar to the 4 movement sonata form however, it's tiny... A sonata on diet!

It certainly has the sonata form with often an intro, an exposition, a development, a recapitulation and a coda. This varies between the pieces of course! What is not totally known is the fact that modern composers used the sonatina form: Martinu, Husa, Stockhausen, etc.

Tonight I had a coaching session on Telemann Sonatinas. I agree they are simpler than his sonatas, shorter, less challenging technically... However, they have their own mini challenges. If you're not sharp on intonation, anyone is able to notice you're off track. Another aspect of Baroque music is the interpretation; you really must do something with this music. After you're solid on playing the notes, you better work on ornamentation! If not, the music becomes dull very quickly.

These 6 sonatinas are also a good intro to baroque music in a way and should be studied before moving to something more elaborate like Vivaldi's 12 sonatas or the concertos for that matter. An edition I DO NOT RECOMMEND is the G. Schirmer edited by Rok Klopcic. The fingering is a complete disaster, even the slurs and bow strokes don't make total sense and need to be re-written.

I'm not a big fan of Telemann even though I consider that I've played his music very often in chamber music or solo pieces. I still like some of his violin concertos and his Canonic Sonatas for two violins or Methodical Sonatas for violin are fun to play. These pieces help putting things back in order in a way and can be worked as studies to refine the intonation or apply other techniques like the vibrato in the slow movements.

Elgar, I start to like you!

I found lately that I'm so ignorant about Elgar or if you're a purist, here's the pompous name of this composer: "Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet"! I knew a couple of his pop pieces like his "Salut d'amour" or "Chansons de Matin et de Nuit" that recording companies over-recorded and concert soloists played often in "encores" stamping the music somewhere in your musical memory.

Playing some excerpts at the orchestra from his Enigma Variations and Pump & Circumstances made me start liking his music and most importantly appreciating this composer. "Nimrod" from his variations is such a great piece where a melodic line keeps developing in some kind of mini variation and a progression to a huge climax before a couple of bars where the piece ends in total calmness. Really great stuff here; a "must listen"!