Technique – Page 7
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FocusHow to play fast passages without tension, by cellist Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi
Sometimes our hands know exactly what to do, if only we'd let them, says the Japanese artist
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Focus
Getting articulation right is vital for performing minimalist music
Pwyll ap Siôn explores minimalism’s leading works for strings and provide tips on how to play them
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Debate
Why are string players today so afraid to use portamento?
Composers expected it and the music itself seems to demand it. Tully Potter argues for a return to swoops and scoops
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Focus
Should string section bowings always be synchronised?
It is generally accepted that string sections should bow as a collective, but could this uniform approach sacrifice the composer's intended sound? Violist James Boyd argues in favour of greater freedom
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Article
Violinist Ray Chen gives masterclass on smooth bow changes
Imagine that the paper is the instrument, the brush is the bow, and your musical line is the ink' Ray Chen continues his video masterclass series by analysing, with the aid of a paint brush, exactly what happens at the moment of a bow change. Watch: Violinist ...
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Blogs
'Bach should be played with vibrato,' says violinist Pinchas Zukerman
The veteran violinist, violist, conductor and pedagogue is interviewed in The Strad's September 2016 issue
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Focus
How to encourage a relaxed left-hand thumb in string students
Top viola teacher Bruno Giuranna answer a reader's question for The Strad's Teacher Talk section
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Focus
9 perspectives on spiccato
Like riding a bicycle, mastering spiccato is all about striking the perfect balance between control and release, as these excerpts from 100 years of The Strad demonstrate
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Blogs
12 ways to encourage your student’s pickiness about pitch – part 2
Meredith Arksey, violin and viola professor at Washington State University, gives helpful hints for teachers wanting to improve their students' awareness of intonation
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Blogs
12 ways to encourage your student's pickiness about pitch - part 1
Meredith Arksey, violin and viola professor at Washington State University, gives helpful hints for teachers wanting to improve their students' awareness of intonation
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Focus
'Extremes of constant vibrato or none at all do not solve musical problems,' says violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter
The violinist speaks about vibrato as an expressive device
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Blogs
Mastering up-bow and down-bow staccato
Dr Tomas Cotik gives an introduction to the bow stroke and demonstrates techniques and exercises
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Focus
The importance of lateral movement in the left hand for string players
Surprisingly little has been said in the literature about the sideways left-hand movement, although any passage over more than one string uses it. Rok Klopčič researches
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Article
The Strad Technique: Michael Frischenschlager’s Violin Scale System Part 2
Michael Frischenschlager, professor emeritus at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna, explains Part 2 of his two-octave violin scale and arpeggio system, as featured in The Strad's December 2015 issue. In this exercise the focus is on shifting - playing two-octave scales, arpeggios, dominant and diminished 7ths on ...
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Focus
Violist Tabea Zimmermann on technique, teaching and competitions
The German violist talks to Carlos María Solare about her teaching philosophies and the role of competitions in the development of young musicians
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Article
Violinist Christian Tetzlaff on whether or not to practise scales
Sometimes in a concert if you feel tense or unsure, you might want muscle memory and motor skills to take over for a while so you can remove yourself from the performance and calm down...' Violinist Christian Tetzlaff and neurologist Dr Steven Frucht talk about whether scales and technical exercises ...
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Blogs
Cellist Alban Gerhardt on the importance of open string practice
The German musician also advocates bringing a broader perspective to the interpretation of great concertos
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Article
The Strad Technique: Michael Frischenschlager's Violin Scale System
Michael Frischenschlager, professor emeritus at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna, explains his two-octave violin scale and arpeggio system for improving tone and intonation in The Strad's December 2015 issueStudents work in pairs, playing in harmony, and perform each exercise ppp and fff, in major and ...
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Focus
How to improve your playing with slow practice
Does slow and steady win the race when it comes to practice, or does a more up-tempo approach bring the best results, asks Rok Klopčič
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Article
Cellist Ralph Kirshbaum on varying bow speed
When playing Bach we tend to use a slightly faster bow speed - with less core and more resonance' Cellist Ralph Kirshbaum speaks about varying bow speed depending on period and genre for the Play With A Pro Music Academy. The full masterclass is available here. Kirshbaum ...
