Essentials, every now and then - vibrato. Vibrato is a bit of an elusive subject, as everyone has different rates of nerve conduction. Slowing down, quickening the vibrato can be trained though.
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I’ve always struggled with a vibrato that would spazz out, many times unfavorably so in regards to the specific character of a phrase - especially when the adrenaline rush hits. Over the years, I’ve learned to not “slow it down” per se, but rather develop specificity in how the mind conceives the motion at hand.
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I’ve realized that it’s more helpful to un-categorize finger, hand, or arm vibrato, as the impulse I believe comes from the finger pad. The distal joint ideally is flexible. The questions in turn then are: what are the active and passive movements in vibrato? Are there differences in the pressure the finger has on the fingerboard? How does one achieve continuity and evolution in vibrato?
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I’ve experimented a bit, and I find that thinking of vibrato as consisting of an active, forward impulse initiated by the finger pad / distal joint followed by a passive, rebound movement back helps. The pressure as such changes - leaning into the string as the finger goes forward, and releasing a bit as the finger moves backward. Essentially, the springy nature of the string (which is suspended) is at work and facilitates the vibrato. Speed and width perhaps depends on how the mind conceives of the motion and which participating joints are more actively involved. Generally, the narrower the vibrato, the smaller the joint, and the less active the bigger joints - vice versa for a wider vibrato.
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Doing some nitty gritty but mindful work with vibrato - leaning my wrist against the side rib to encourage the isolation of the hand from the larger parts of the arm. Focusing on feeling that precise, active forward movement. Different rhythms used (dotted rhythm, inverted dotted rhythm, quavers, triplets, semi-quavers). Haha, I’m also paying homage to David Oistrakh my releasing my head from contact with the violin to eradicate any emerging pockets of tension. Closing eyes to tune into my tactile and kinesthetic awareness.
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Exploring the foreboding tension in the final movement of Ysaÿe’s Solo Sonata no. 2 - for me, there is at once stifled distress and furious outcry at the core of this movement. The interlocking array of 2nd and 3rd intervals in the “Dies Irae” melody, which Ysaÿe quotes in different constellations throughout the movement, make for an atmosphere of obscurity and doom.
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The symbolized fear of the Last Judgment provokes in me questions about the matters that we have to reckon with as humans and as a part of humanity - what splits are there in our essence and how do we reconcile those splits? Courage and dread, immaterial and material values, integrity and ambition, egoism and reversed egoism, on and on. I’m reminded of Arnold Böcklin’s “Isle of the Dead”.
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Scales as an intermediary between motor / mental exercises and études. I decided to give scales a serious try again after thinking about rhythmic uniformity, which oftentimes for me becomes irregular when fingering patterns are not aligned with musical interest. In the case of scales, one has to find a good balance between motor convenience and musical interest. Sometimes, a convenient fingering (esp. during shifts) doesn’t favorably allow one to carry the streamlined lyricism implied in a scale. That for me is the challenge! Selections are pulled from Ivan Galamian’s Contemporary Violin Technique, Vol. One (four octave scales - G diatonic major, G harmonic minor, G melodic minor). Two tempi at the moment.
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Some issues that I find myself often mulling over are: 1) simultaneously acknowledging the inherent gravitational pull towards certain notes and avoiding kinks in the sound, 2) balancing the bow at all parts to produce an even tone, 3) thinking of adjustments in soundpoint on each string and its corresponding ratio between bow weight and bow speed (therefore, bow distribution), 4) avoiding accents in shifts, which even when shifting in a supple way, can happen due to frequency of shifts and resulting changes in momentum - the bow oftentimes can come to the rescue and “disguise” the slide, and 5) bringing out the unique musical interest in each type of scale.
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“Here and there” with scales practicing might become daily now, as I’ve further realized that it is a necessary application of fundamental exercises that one does. The tactile and kinesthetic senses are amplified!
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