So with enough months of just orchestra music, my skills have gotten a little rusty and one-dimensional.
I figure it’s time for some kind of technical reset, and I’ve decided to review &/or learn one new etude per week at least for the summer, and possibly for the forseeable future.
I’m going to be trading off between Kreutzer & Gavinies. (Yes, those are two completely different levels. Kreutzer will be the “easy” week.)
Kreutzer No. 1 is all about bow control over looooong bows
And shifting on single strings
And runs
Today, I have the metronome set at 72=quarter, which is definitely fast for Adagio sostenuto, but it helps me remember where everything goes. My main focus is getting the runs under my fingers so I can play them in tempo when I reach them
I’m going to be using Galamian’s fingerings for the runs, even if they’re a bit different than I would usually use for myself. It won’t hurt to get my fingers used to different patterns
Coming back to this weeks later
I’ve been struggling a lot with motivation. My body is changing as I age, and I have to experiment with what works for my body NOW as opposed to 15 years ago. I *can* get my playing back up several levels, but I need to be patient, kind, and creative with myself
I’m currently playing this at 60=quarter note. Which is a little faster than Adagio sostenuto, but is still plenty slow for me now
The runs all feel pretty much fine now, it’s actually making musical decisions and not playing this like I’m a dang MIDI file that’s the current challenge
Just a few more days of this, then new Etude on Friday!
Thank the lordt, finally on to Rode 1! Kreutzer 1 was sucking my will to live. My fault, probably: I needed to do more with the phrasing
Anyway, this week is Rode 1. Unlike the Kreutzer etudes, the Rode 24 Caprices are designed to go through all 24 major & minor key signatures. So this week we’re in C major. With lots of ornamental chromaticism, of course
The cantabile slow intro (opera recit + aria, anyone?) lets me use the shaping I was working on in Kreutzer 1. Then lots of 3rd finger trills and triplets
Using Galamian fingerings is interesting. One of my most influential teachers was Galamianesque, and I thought I’d retained more of his fingering tendencies than I have. More half-step slides on 1st or 4th than I remember. Gotta make sure my hand is balanced so the shift works
For whatever reason, I never worked through the Rode caprices when I was in school. So this one is brand new to me, and I really like it. It focuses on octaves/double-stop style handframe while consistently crossing strings.
Not terribly difficult, but needs pristine intonation
(I mean, what doesn’t?) #TheEtudes #Violinist #PierreRode
Violinknitter