AboutDavid Expertise I mainly aim to answer questions about playing techniques--intonation,
vibrato, bowing etc. I am somewhat familiar with Baroque and Classical music, though not as much with Romantic. I am unable to answer questions about advanced music theory, violin crafters/brands or the monetary value of a violin.
Experience I have played the violin about nine discontinuous years. Most of my work has been orchestral, with some soloing throughout. I was principal 2nd violinist of the Disney Honors Orchestra in 1998, a six-time All-State Orchestra violinist, a two-time assistant concertmaster and two-time concertmaster of my All-County Orchestra. I also have perfect pitch, which I believe can be learned (though I do not claim to know how to teach it).
Since starting medical school in 2004, I have had fewer chances to play, but I hope to someday resume on a regular basis.
Question I have isolated my intonation problems to C natural on the A string. My second finger is constantly jamming itself against my first, (a bad habit i got myself into because I took my teacher too literally)Now i cant get my C naturals or F naturals for that matter in tune, they are constantly too low. How can I retrain my fingers to go down in the right spot so i dont have to slide and make my songs sound like an old country western song.
Answer Hi Jordanne,
I'm glad to hear you're at the point where you know exactly what you want to fix and just want a little help doing so.
I believe there would be a number of approaches here. First, you can play the two adjacent notes (e.g. B and C on the A string) one after the other, very slowly at first, then working up to speed until you are playing them in a trill. Don't expect this to necessarily happen in a few hours though, and if you practice this for a while it will start to become second nature. Second, and I know this may be less desirable, you could try putting a small spot of dark tape on the C natural and F natural spots. It doesn't need to go around the violin neck, you could just tear it small enough that it would be on the fingerboard only. You could use black electric tape, which would be very hard for others to see. After playing with that for a while I think your fingers will adapt. One important thing to remember is whenever you find yourself going back to the old habit, stop and play through the passage the correct way--it does not have to be up to tempo. Once you can play it correctly slowly, be very gradual about speeding it up. You'll find that when you have the fine muscle control mastered at a slow speed, it will not be too difficult to increase the speed...but if you try to speed it up before you are ready, it will be considerably more challenging. Hope this is of some help and good luck...
Sincerely,
David
