Posted on May 27, 2008 by Joel Rosenberg in - Bow Hold/Bow Arm
This etude is god’s gift to the right hand. It’s great for working on string crossings and virtually any bow stroke. It also sounds cool so students generally like it.
Don’t take the bowings in the part at face value. There are millions of possible variations. To name a few…
-Very small, repeated up or down bow circles at the frog- keep these really small and use the fingers only.
-Up and down-bow staccato in groups of 4, 8, or 16 notes- at the frog this stroke should be fingers only, adding more wrist and arm as you move out toward the tip.
-Ricochet- to work toward this goal, start out with a barely controlled bounce thrown from above the string. First bounce just one note at a time, then bounce in groups of 3, 6, 9, etc. (drop the bow from above the string and let it bounce the number of times that you want, while moving the upper arm to get the string crossings).
-Slurred groups of 4, 8, or 16 notes
It’s not a bad idea to have students practice the left hand slowly with double stops for intonation. I also like to put the pinky on top of the stick and use it to control the string crossings. This is exhausting at first, but will strengthen the pinky quickly and develop finger flexibility in the bow hand.