Principles of Violin Playing (IX)

1 September 2017 – 10:08 pm Posted in Articles' List, General Information, Instrument & Playing, Western Classical Music

4.3.1. To practice playing of doubles of notes involving two different fingers, each note is played at separate bows with slow tempo, each note is played perfectly regarding its bass and tenor sounds and then the considered double is played at another bow while considering the resulted sound of the double

To increase the dominance of left hand fingers at playing doubles, it is suggested to keep the first finger on the string while playing the second note.

4.1.4. To play a double involving a finger(Quint), player should follow the method mentioned in the paragraph 3.1.3.3 without allowing finger to turn right or left on the fingerboard.

Notification 19: the study of playing continuous doubles which require position changing is according to the general rules of left hand position changing that will be discussed later in this article.

Notification 20: to play doubles, it is necessary to correctly adjust the latitudinal distance of the strings on the nut and the bridge.

Patterns 1/5

Left hand positions

In the different positions of left hand, finger placing should be according to the following essential rules:

5.1.1. at the beginning of doing the practices of positions, in order to acquire a better understanding of the process of finger placing at different positions and to play the notes perfectly, it would be more beneficial to practice Bar by bar the notes playable at the first position, at this position and then practice them at their corresponding position (notes out of the domain of the first position can be also played at bass octaves)

5.1.2. at positions first to forth, as it was mentioned about the point where thumb is placed at first position in the paragraph 1.2.2, thumb is placed at the side of neck, just opposite of the touch point of the first finger on the fingerboard, and it’s better to be in line with it and not before or after it.

5.1.3. At positions fifth and sixth due to the special shape of violin neck, first finger is not in line with thumb and it gradually shifts under the neck.

5.1.4. At position seventh, left thumb is completely under violin neck and after this position elbow moves gradually from its original place under fingerboard toward right. As hand moves to higher positions, elbow moves out more and more and thumb gradually moves out of the underneath of the neck.

5.1.5. The point referred at paragraph 3.2.1.3 about finger placing from left half at first position is true about other positions too. That is, if we assume a line in direction of the finger length, that divides the length into two right and left haves, it’s necessary for the player to touch the fingerboard with the left half of her fingertip.

Pattern 1.6

Changing left hand positions

Changing left hand position on a string due to longitudinal shift of a finger on the fingerboard which results in change throughout the vibrating string and produce different sounds is according to the following rules:

6.1.1. During changing position, from position first to forth, set of thumb and left hand should move harmoniously and simultaneously from elbow; avoid any unharmonious movement of thumb in relation to fingers and hand.

Notification 21.quick increasing glissando of left hand occurring at a short moment and by momentarily passing of hand over several positions, does not follow this rule and thumb always shifts with lower speed and longitudinal movement comparing to hand and other fingers.

In this type of glissando, if the source note is in the first position, from position first to forth thumb shifts thoroughly to underneath of the neck.

In momentary glissando, a part of the distance between two notes in source and destination positions, is passed by opening the interior curve of the finger.

6.1.2. The time spent for usual changing of position over fingerboard is dependent on the optimal tempo in the destination position. The spent time for shifting should not affect the tempo at the destination position, regardless the direction of hand movement; upward or downward.

Finger placing from left half at seventh position

Thorough twisting of thumb to underneath of the neck at seventh position

Momentary glissando and opening of the third finger’s interior curve

Thumb and first finger being in the same direction at the fourth position from another view

Gradual movement of thumb under the neck

Moving the first finger out of the line of thumb at fifth position

This entry was written by Ali Nourbakhsh
Tagged: .

Five Major Myths About Mozart’s Life

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the renowned Austrian composer, is undoubtedly one of the greatest geniuses in the history of classical music. However, his life is surrounded by numerous myths and legends, some of which are not based on facts. This article explores five of the most common misconceptions about Mozart’s life.

Bahma Rajabi Passed Away!

Bahman Rajabi, the renowned tonbak (Persian goblet drum) player and educator, passed away at his home at the age of 86 due to a heart condition. He was the founder of a distinctive school of tonbak playing, and his teaching methods have been widely used by instructors of the instrument for decades..

Latest posts

From Past Days…

Principles of Violin Playing (III)

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.

Harmony in the Iranian Music (II)

One of his works was the translation of Harmony, which was carried out with the help of Mozayyan al-Dowleh, and included a pamphlet based on which he used to teach the subject to the students of the school of music; the pamphlet was never published. It was, in fact, a kind of simple harmony for the piano with no quadriads, it rather featured the engagement of both the right hand and the left hand which was being taught at the music school for the first time. Salar-Mo’azez also composed military marches and hymns for schools, which he harmonized to be performed and piano. Likewise, he used to compose for military orchestras.

From the Last Instrumentalist to the First Composer (II)

Rouhollah Khaleghi was the master of composing beautiful melodies. He was the premier of the course of history which was first established by Ali Naghi Vaziri and which improved the Iranian music from simply a gathering music to the classical music of the country. First efforts to compose independent and instrumental music can be also traced in Khaleghi’s works.

The Structure of Kurdistan Daf (II)

With its simple physical structure and captivating sound, the Daf never belonged to a particular culture or location, and every nation had different usages for this instrument considering their dominant customs and traditions.

A Note on the Occasion of Houshang Zarif’s Demise

No introduction is needed when talking about the position of the late Houshang Zarif (1938-2020) in the Iranian music. His character and personality are so well-known among musicians that his name per se is a symbol and role model for the Iranian youth. “Becoming Houshang Zarif” is the dream of many young people who enter the world of music in Iran and many of whom retire regretting the realisation of this dream.

From Tradition to Trend: The Evolution of Decorative Arts in Iranian Dafs

Daf is one of the percussion instruments associated with the Kurdistan region of Iran, which has a special place in Iranian music. In the past, animal skin was used for the drum head, but now most of the tambourines in the market are made with artificial skin, which are designed with various decorations.

Non-profit “Microtona” Project Released

Microtona is a sixty-eight-page Booklet with personal comments by the contributing microtonal artists. The booklet also includes a DVD which consists of 8 original video tracks and 9 original audio tracks. The project is an international one featuring unpublished pieces by composers from Iran, Japan, U.S., France, Austria, Germany and Belgium.

Reza Vohdani; Unveiling unpublished works, preservation of Iranian classical music

Reza Vohdani is a renowned name among tar (traditional Iranian instrument) players, especially within the Iranian music community that values the meticulous practice and teaching of traditional music. While Vohdani honed his skills in music theory and tar playing under the guidance of masters like Ali-Naghi Vaziri, Ali-Akbar Shahnazi, Hossein Dehlavi, and Ahmad Forutan-Rad, it is his unwavering dedication to studying, documenting, and teaching the Iranian classical music repertoire that has solidified his prominence in the field. Recently, Vohdani’s family decided to make his preserved works accessible to the wider art and music community. In this regard, The Persian-language newspaper ‘Iran’ spoke with Sadjad Pourghanad, a musician, university instructor, and music researcher, who shared his opinion into the project, as detailed in the interview below.

Harmony in the Iranian Music (I)

Translated by Mahboube Khalvati The article you are about to read was written by Rouhollah Khaleqi (1906-1965), composer, and conductor of Golha Orchestra (established in 1956). Khaleqi was one of the most prominent promoters of polyphony for the Iranian music and is one of the best representatives of the school of Ali Naghi Vaziri. In…
Read More »

Hossein Dehlavi: the Composer

With Dehlavi it is not all about fame but recognition. Hossein Dehlavi is not a popular musician (like pop singers) whom everybody might know when he is walking on streets of Tehran; however, he is recognized by both amateur and distinguished musicians of the country.