Principles of Violin Playing (III)

1 April 2016 – 6:45 pm Posted in Articles' List, Instrument & Playing

Continuation of Pattern 2/1

Points Regarding Left Hand

4/1/2 Left Thumb:
Violin players should always pay attention to the proper position of the left thumb and other points related to it and to its joining point to the palm.

Normally, the left thumb is stretched and is not bended in first and last knuckles (last knuckle is the one which joins the thumb to the hand), there is no need to bend the left thumb while holding the instrument or playing it.

NB 7: Knuckles are rows of connecting joints where the last phalange joins the palm. The order of counting finger joints in these series of articles has been selected from finger tip toward knuckles arbitrarily.

NB 8: There are two possible bending forms for the thumb in the first phalange: The first one is bending inward which causes the fingertip to be inclined toward the fingerboard. The second is bending outward in which the finger tip is diverted toward the left side of player or outside the fingerboard.

As the thumb is not used in general state of playing violin, it should be noticed that in the first manner of bending, digression of the tip of thumb toward fingerboard makes the thumb disturb other fingers through finger placement. This disturbance increases to the most when the player places his finger on G string.

On the other hand, bending thumb inward causes a kind of pluck in thumb and also in part of left palm which is near the thumb. Not only this may cause early tiredness during exercise, it decreases the speed of playing.

In the second state of bending, digression of thumb outward decreases skill in playing. Thumb and edge of first finger of left hand play the main role in holding the instrument. Outward digression of thumb decreases hand’s reliance on the neck as well as the player’s energy while holding the instrument.

NB 9: Usually, only inward bending occurs in the last phalange of the thumb. This kind of false bending, which causes a sort of outgrowth in internal part of palm which is joined to thumb, decreases the movement of other left hand fingers.

NB 10: After this introduction we will attend to the most common mistake of players related to bending the left thumb, i.e. a state that occurs due to the mixture of the above-mentioned mistakes. In this position the thumb is bent inward simultaneously at first and last phalanges. Occurrence of this position causes the player to suffer from all of the above-mentioned errors resulting from false bending which leads to deficiencies in playing.

NB 11: In general, it is better to raise the left thumb, form the fingerboard, about the distance between the finger tip and the first phalange (or central point of the first phalange). Doing this makes the necessary “central gap” between player’s left hand and the back of violin neck balanced (it is worth mentioning that the amount of the gap varies according to the form and size of players’ hand.)*

2/1/5 Left Elbow:
When the left hand lands on lower positions of the fingerboard it is better to keep the elbow exactly under the central part of the violin or in line with the fingerboard. It is better to prevent the left elbow from excessive bending to the left or to the right.

NB 12: If the elbow inclines excessively toward left, player will encounter problems in landing his finger on G string. Moreover, he will face difficulties reaching the last string of the violin.

This critical state in the fourth finger of the left hand is problematic even for players who have long and slim fingers.

NB 13: If elbow inclines more toward right, the player will encounter problems in correctly landing his finger on E string.**

*If the left hand is raised excessively upper or lower than the neck, in both above mentioned states, central distance (gap) is lost and causes some problems in manner and form of finger placement on the fingerboard which will be discussed in finger placement section.

** It will be discussed in finger placement section.

Wrong Rightward Elbow Bending

Bending of Thumb Toward the Fingerboard by Mistake

False Outward Bending of Thumb

False Simultaneous Bending of Thumb

Correct Position of Thumb

False Method in inclining Elbow to the Left

Viol.ir

This entry was written by Ali Nourbakhsh
Tagged: violin.

Nasser Masoudi: The Voice of Gilan and a Legacy of Iranian Music

In Iranian music, certain singers have become emblematic of their homelands through their distinctive voices. Historical figures such as Eghbal Sultan, who epitomized the grandeur of Azerbaijani music, and Taj Isfahani, who conveyed the authentic essence of Isfahan, serve as notable examples from the Qajar era. Nasser Masoudi occupies a similar position; his voice emerged as a symbol of Gilan while also achieving national acclaim. Before him, Master Ahmad Ashurpur represented Gilan’s musical landscape, but his extended residence outside Iran limited his continuous engagement in the music scene. In contrast, Masoudi’s consistent presence allowed him to introduce the voice of Gilan to audiences across Iran.

Farhad Poupel: The Voice of the Shahnameh in the Orchestras Around the World

In an era when almost no trace of contemporary Iranian music can be heard in international concert halls, except (so-called!) avant-garde works that owe their existence solely to the fashionable slogans of the “pseudo-intellectual” crowd who have seized the already meager resources for performing classical music from the true artists of the field, the numerous performances of Farhad Poupel’s works shine as a ray of hope for lovers of sincere musical art. Without resorting to trendy slogans, he has kept the flame of Iranian classical music alive purely through the power of his artistry.

Latest posts

From Past Days…

Iranian Fallacies – School of Vaziri

The term “School of Vaziri” is often used in writings on Iranian music, but the exact meaning of the term is not clear; some of the authors have used the term to only refer to the group of Vaziri’s students, including a large group of his conservatory students and his Tar students such as Abolhassan Saba, Rouhollah Khaleghi, Ahmad Foroutan Rad, Hossein Sanjari, Heshmat Sanjari and others. But can we consider all Vaziri’s students as followers of his school of thought? This is definitely a mistake, because we know that some of Vaziri’s students have chosen a completely different path than that of Vaziri.

Call for papers SIMF 1396

The Association of Iranian Contemporary Music Composers (ACIMC) and SHAHREAFTAB Art & Cultural Association are pleased to announce a call for papers for SIMF 1396.

Layla Ramezan, Iranian Pianist

Iranian pianist Layla Ramezan has always sought to create a connection between her Persian origin and the contemporary music which she encounters daily. Sound, phrasing, a particular sense of rhythm and a refined understanding of the “time of musical development” are the foremost qualities of her interpretations. Her musical and pianistic education began in Tehran at the age of 8 with Mostafa-Kamal Poortorab. Having moved to Paris and received a scholarship from Albert Roussel Foundation, she integrated the classes of Jean Micault and Devi Erlih at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris Alfred Cortot, where she received a Diplôme de Virtuosité in piano performance and chamber music.

A brief examination of Ardavan Kamkar’s Santour playing style

I still think of those fish in a crystal bowl for the Haft sin table and those disappointed old men who went out to sell blackfish.

Interview with Farhad Poupel (II)

Fantasia on One Note was my first professional work for piano, which had its world premiere by the great pianist Peter Jablonski in Sweden, and it has been performed by various pianists in the UK, Germany, France, and the Czech Republic. The recording of this work has also been broadcast on the Dutch public radio, NPR Radio 4.

The Legacy of Khosrow Jafarzadeh

This year marks the fifth anniversary of the passing of Khosrow Jafarzadeh (Khosrow Djafar-Zadeh), a distinguished architect and pioneering researcher of Iranian music, whose contributions to the magazine “Harmony Talk” have left an indelible mark on the field. The absence of this remarkable individual has significantly impacted the expansion and advancement of his theories, which are heralded as some of the most progressive in the history of Iranian music

Principles of Violin Playing (VIII)

1.5.1.3.sometimes, a player, due to different reasons, may decisively want to play continuously two notes with a half-step by means of the same finger, in such a case, it’s necessary to open the interior curve of the finger like a spring. Naturally coming back, the curve of finger should be closed and the finger should become curved shape again (see paragraph 3.1.2.1).

Parviz Meshkatian’s Heart Beat for People (II)

As such, the young Meshkatian reached the position of a great maestro in the Iranian music. Up until 1997, Meshkatian remained prolific and composed many pieces which were characterized by progressiveness while drawing on the music of the past Iranian musicians. In some of Meshkatian’s works, one can trace the influence of maestros such as Faramarz Payvar; however, this influence is so balanced that one can neither say that Meshkatian is a progressive and deconstructionist composer nor does he use cliché forms in his compositions.

Transition to Enlightenment: Six Lectures on Mozart’s String Quartets (2)

Innovation and Creativity The Enlightenment era championed innovation, creativity, and the relentless pursuit of knowledge, values that resonate prominently in Mozart’s string quartets. Mozart, a luminary of the Enlightenment, used the quartet form as a playground for his inventive spirit, pushing the boundaries of traditional structures and harmonic progressions. Mozart’s innovative approach is evident in…
Read More »

Ennio Morricone’s music for Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight

After watching Quentin Tarantino’s latest movie, The Hateful Eight, everyone was excited by its novel music besides the beautiful scenes of blood and guts.
The Hateful Eight is the first collaboration between the world-famous film music composer, Ennio Morricone, and Quentin Tarantino as a famous director.