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 My friend keeps do vibrato.His thumb sticks out when he does vibrato. I tell him that it is incorrect. Can you tell me the correct way of doing vibrato?
Answer Actually, his thumb can stick out to the side without hindering the vibrato too severely. If it sticks upward too much though, then there is the danger of allowing the neck of the violin to get stuck in the webbing between the thumb and first finger, which would prevent the natural motion of the wrist from occurring.
Before even starting vibrato, a student must understand that it is a backward motion of the wrist, which causes the pitch to alternate between flat and normal--the pitch of a vibrated note should never be above the normal pitch.
Vibrato comes in three forms: arm vibrato, wrist vibrato and finger vibrato. Students should concentrate first on wrist vibrato as it is by far the most commonly used. Finger and arm vibrato are rarely necessary and to be honest I've practically never used either one in all my years of experience. In the wrist vibrato, the hand gently rocks back and forth with the wrist as the pivot point. The finger playing the vibrated note will appear, in slow motion, to be collapsing and returning to the normal position again and again. This causes the pitch to alternate between flat and normal. Many students, when starting out, make the mistake of keeping the finger stationary but bending the wrist in and out.
There must always be a space between the webbing between the thumb and index finger of the left hand, and the bottom of the violin's neck. Also, on the right of the violin's neck from the player's point of view, the bottom of the index finger should not touch the violin neck or the motion will be hindered. The only part of the hand that should touch the violin neck (outside of the fingerboard) should be the thumb.
