Posted on May 28, 2008 by Lachlan Roberts in Articulation (Bow Arm) - Bow Hold/Bow Arm
This idea is an oldie but a goodie. I have no idea where I first learned about this, but I’ve used it with many students and have found it to be the most effective way to teach and talk about articulations.
For any note or group of notes, ask the student to decide what consonant or consonant-vowel combination best represents the articulation of the notes. The selected consonants will likely vary a great deal throughout a passage. For example ta or ti could be the chosen syllables for a very crisp, staccato articulation, whereas wa or la represent a smooth, legato beginning to a note.
My favorite articulation syllable is bum, which has a clean but gentle attack, followed by a resonant, ringing tone.
Once a student has clearly defined his desired articulations in speech, it is much easier to get him to produce that sound on the cello.