• Quick Tips

    • Quick Tips

    Rhythm

    Mark the Beats: There will be pieces with rhythms that you’ve never encountered before. These are the rhythms to mark in beats. I generally use long, light vertical slashes to mark main beats, and shorter slashes to mark weak beats. 
    Use a metronome: Many times, just having the measured beats will help you keep track of your rhythm in the measure.
    Sing or Clap it: Turn on a metronome and make the rhythm with your voice or hands; something that takes less brain power than playing it on your instrument. Then, use your bow but without your left hand before finally adding in the notes.

    Shifting

    Sing the Goal: Sing the note before you play it. Having an aural understanding of the note will help you get to it more easily.
    Relax: Relax your hand just before you begin your shift.
    Familiarize Yourself: Play several little songs or scales in the new position for a couple minutes.
    Mark it: Place a tiny bit of tape on your fingerboard to mark your landing place. After 2-3 weeks of never missing the shift, you can take off the marker.
    Match Motions: Have your right hand motion mirror your left. Shifting up? Try it on an up-bow. Shifting down? Try it on a down bow.
    Measure the Shift: Answer these questions: What position did you start in? What position do you end in? What is the interval?
    Choose a Driver: Which finger is taking you where you're going? Old finger or new?
    Find a Buddy: Two fingers shifting together is more reliable than one; plus it helps to stabilize your hand frame.

    Intonation

    See It: Watch the vibrations of your strings. The wider the vibrations, the more in tune you are (to your instrument).
    Ringtones: Listen for the "ringtones." The clearer the ring, the more in tune you are. The open string notes (C, G, D, A) will ring more easily than others.
    Beats: When two notes are nearly but not exactly in tune, you will hear beats, a phenomenon caused by sound wave interference. The faster the beats, the more out of tune the two pitches are; the slower the beats, the closer they are to being in tune. When the beats disappear, the two notes are in tune.
    Vibrato: Do practice for perfect intonation, but in a pinch, vibrato covers a multitude of sins!

    Bow Distribution

    Saving: If you need to save your bow, move closer to the bridge with more weight.
    Spending: If you need to spend your bow, move closer to the fingerboard with less weight.

    Tone

    Extra sounds? Sounds lower than the played pitch = too much weight. Sounds higher than the played pitch = not enough weight.
    Fuzzy sound? On low strings, play nearer the finger board. On high strings, play nearer the bridge.
    Scratchy? Make sure your stick/wood isn't scratching; this happens if your bow is tilting too far.
    Feel it: Try this: play an open string. With your left hand, touch different parts of the instrument, e.g. scroll, upper bouts, lower bouts, tail piece, etc. Can you feel the vibrations in all those places? If not, you need to adjust your bow weight, speed, and placement.
    Feel it Again: Try this: play a note with your left hand. Notice your jaw and collarbone where your instrument touches you, under your left finger through the strings, at the neck where your thumb touches, under your right fingers through the bow. Can you feel the vibrations in these places? If not, adjust your bow weight, speed, and placement.

    Harmonics

    Heavy bow at medium speed will make them pop (if your fingers are in the right place)

    Performance

    Perform ten (10) mock-performances before the actual performance. These should be in ten different locations for ten different audiences.


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