 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: jenna
Date: 2001-04-18 20:28
ok, if anyone wants to give me anytips.. it'd be greatly appreciated.
i have an old stradivarius violin that actually belong to my grandmother years and years ago. i had to cleaned up and restrung and all that good stuff about 2 years ago, but i'm just not getting ready to really learn it. my high school is offering an orchestra class next year featuring stringed instruments. being the spotlight hog i am, i want to go into this thing with some experience, unlike the majority of my counterparts. does anyone have any hints on learning to play the violin easily for someone with absolutly no string experience? i've got a method book, but there are a lot of things i'm still not sure about (down/up bows, fingerings, etc)
thanks =)
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Author: Mandy
Date: 2001-04-18 20:51
Use your ears! this is the most importamt part of beginning strings,as there are no frets on a violin you ears have to guide you as to whether you are fingering correctly.If for whatever reason lessons are out at the moment the there are some
OK beginner videos around or try the Eta Cohen series of tutor books.Get a good shoulder rest (Wolf or Kun) and above all try and stay physically relaxed while playing.If you fiddle has a Strad label in it then in all honesty it is not a Strad,if it were you could sell it and retire on the proceeds.Victotian and Edwardian makers and dealers thoght it would be a witty jape to stick these bogus labels in run of the mill fiddles,we see a lot in music stores,people phoneup saying things like "great Auntie Beryl left me an old violin and I think it's a Strad,"
Good luck the violin is a hard prospect but very rewarding if you find you have a talent for it.Iplayed violin for 10 years and had some fun along the way but personally I prefer the clarinet.
PS a tuner is a great help!
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2001-04-18 21:10
Jenna -
Violin is about as different from clarinet as you can get. I tried hard a few years ago to learn to play it, but couldn't get beyond the very beginner's stage, and I couldn't stand the scratching.
First, you have to be a contortionist. Your practically have to stick your left elbow in your right armpit to get your fingers on the fingerboard.
Second, unlike the clarinet, there's no particular place your left fingers go. They have to go everywhere, without any guides, and you have to keep shifting your left hand around.
Third, on clarinet, you try to make both hands operate together, as a single unit. On violin, your hands are doing completely different things and have completely different functions. The left hand determines pitch, and the right hand is the equivalent of your breath.
Fourth, what you depend on when you play clarinet is breathing. That has little to do with playing violin, so you don't get to use what you've trained and rely on.
Still, there are 100 great pieces for violin for every 1 great piece for clarinet.
By the way, instrument makers -- even on their student instruments -- have always made Stradivarius copies. Thoughtfully, they include a Stradivarius label, to let you know what they copied and confuse collectors.
Give it a try. You never know. You may be The Natural.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Don Poulsen
Date: 2001-04-18 21:30
If the instrument really was a real Stradivarius, it would be worth at least $1 million. But, it is much more likely made by someone else, as Ken indicates.
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Author: jenna
Date: 2001-04-18 22:56
i didn't expect it to be anything worth money, actually.. i've heard the copy thing before.. the way the story was told to me, though.. the violin had belonged to one of my grandmother's older sisters (she was the youngest of 7 with at least a 15 year span between her and the oldest). when my grandmother wasabout 13, her parents decided she should learn the sister's old violin and sent it to a shop to be repaired. appearantly the store owners offered the family a new violin as a trade for the original, which was very old at that time.. my great-grandfather knew as much about music as i probably know about aerospace enginneering, so he agreed.. really makes you wonder, eh?
but again, thank you everyone
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Author: Mike Irish
Date: 2001-04-18 23:01
something that may help for a while.... and propbably not completely full proof,
is once you find the right spot for a peticular note, put a little sticky lable dot under with the note... then as it becomes more natural to you then you can remove them.....
as for the make model and such, I dont know
I would love to learn to play the fiddle.... but dont want a cheapie if I do
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Author: Hiroshi
Date: 2001-04-19 01:16
There is a string BBS called 'maestro'. You will easily find it by search engine.
By the way, I would suggest not to inform your violin is a Strad. No body will believe it. A Strad costs at least 200K$, I guess.
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Author: Willie
Date: 2001-04-19 02:50
Just as trombones have no keys, fiddles have no frets. You gotta KNOW where that note is and how to compensate if you're a tad sharp or flat. It takes a good ear for pitch. Its a good instrument to learn and I envy anyone who can play it. One of our trumpet players plays her horn in our concert band and in a jazz band. She makes her money though, by playing fiddle in a country band.
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Author: Tracey
Date: 2001-04-19 05:10
Hehe, violins are all pretty wimpy and very small compared to violas. Now, there's an instrument Believe me, the reaches for left hand on violin are pretty small. Also, don't think that you don't need to breathe on a stringed instrument. It is essential for cueing and also in string quartets!
Okay, I guess I had nothing really relevant to say, but still...
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Author: Gene Wie
Date: 2001-04-19 06:32
I've played violin for seventeen years (it was my first instrument before committing to clarinet) and as mentioned in a previous post, the develop of the independent activities of each hand (fingering and bow arm/hand) is the greatest obstacle. That and making them work together!
The left hand position is not as "contorted" as you might be led to believe. The elbow is held away from the body, and the entire arm has to be fairly relaxed. The aim for the bow arm and hand is to be able to draw the bow in a straight line from frog (where you hold the bow) to tip. Given that your arms rotate in sockets, coordinating the joints to make that hand move in a straight line is fairly difficult. There are studies for the instrument that focus on fingering as well as developing good bow technique.
A teacher is an absolute must. You have to be able to see someone doing it right and be able to demonstrate the various elements of playing (and then correct your positioning when appropriate).
Most beginners' teachers will mark the spots on the fingerboard for the 1st or "root" position fingerings with strips of colored tape. They're only useful in the instrument is in tune though. =)
Think buying reeds is a pain? Violins need strings, rehaired bows, and rosin (though one block usually lasts a VERY long time). If you're going to get strings for your instrument, go with Thomastik Dominant. They're very popular, "middle of the road strings" good for just about any kind of playing, and only cost around ~$26 a set (all four strings). Cheap student bows are about ~$35 (brazilwood and horsehair), and a rehair with decent quality horsehair is around ~$50 (this all depends on where you go though, give or take ten or twenty bucks).
I could go on but this is an endless stream. =) Fire me off an email and I'll be happy to elaborate more....best of luck to you!
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Author: Boffin
Date: 2001-04-21 11:28
Maybe you should think about playing the clarinet. It's dead easy and you'll get the hang.If it's a real Strad, you'll be able to sell it off and buy a fantastic clarinet and have money left for proper lessons.
A flawless plan!
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Author: jenna
Date: 2001-04-21 15:44
i've been playing clarinet since i was 8 years old.. thanks anyway! =)
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The Clarinet Pages
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