- Exercise 1 The first four lines are to be played in crotchets, slowly (andante)and piano, with very little tension in the uptight left hand. At first the fingers should not be kept down. Pressure must be light: the string should not be pressed closely to the fingerboard.
It is important to concentrate on a feeling of elasticity in touch. To be practised at first detache in the middle, repeating every bar several times. Subsequently, every bar should also be taken several times slurred, whole bow. Then, the printed original variants should be practised in quavers and semiquavers.
On principle, every acceleration to double the speed.
This method is applied to all four lines.
The exercises in semiquavers now following should be fingered just as lightly as the crotchets. They should be played at first piano, andante, as quavers, detache, in the middle of the bow. Here too, fingers should at first not be kept down. Every bar to be repeated like this several times.
After this, every bar should be practised slurred, whole bow, but still slowly, until the speed can be doubled without impeding the grasp. Every exercise should be repeated several times. Movements must be light, effortless and fluent. Only then may the lower two fingers be kept down. - Exercises 2, 3 and 4
are to be played in the same manner. - Exercise 5
This especially important exercise should be practised very slowly at first, deache, in the middle of the bow, and mezzo piano. fringer attack should be light (string not to be pressed closely to the fingerboard). Then, at the same speed, each triplet should be played slurred, then two triplets to a bow, thereafter the whole bar. Then the whole bar with whole bow at the same speed, the first note of each triplet to be stressed. Accents are produced by a slight pressure of the right index finger. As soon as the intonation becomes faultless and the grasp is unimpeded, the exercise should be played at double speed, each bar slurred, and without stresses. This is an exercise for constant recapitulation. The daily ration is 4 to 8 groups of double bars, from memory and functionally perfect, i.e. fluent and relaxed. - Exercises 6 and 7
to be practised as Exercise 1 - Exercise 8 In this important exercise, use is made of the independence of the fingers acquired through the previous exercise. First detache in the middle of the bow. Tempo: andante, fingers placed lightly. Next, always at the same speed, 4 notes slurred (middle), then 8 notes (whole bow), and then 16 notes (whole bow). There should be no increase in tempo until the several bars of the exercise can be produced with pure intonation, and the shifting of semitone intervals can be fingered effortless and without strain. Only then may the speed be doubled, with fingers gliding closely over the strings. First slur 8 notes, whole bow.
- Exercise 9
contains shifting of semitone intervals in groups of triplets, and should be practised like exercise 5. - Exercise 11 should now be dealt with, before No. 10.
Exercise 11
To be played in the middle of the bow. Small elastic wrist movements should be used for crossing strings. Bowing variants 2 to 64 should be played in the middle of the bow, unless half or full bow is required. - Exercise 10
To be played at first detache in the middle, and repeated bar by bar. The change of string has to be effected smoothly and imperceptibly through slight wrist and forearm movements. Next, 4 notes should be slurred (half bow, middle), then 8 notes (whole bow). Similarly, bar 2 is to be practised, and then the first and second bars together (whole bow). Next the given semiquaver variantes. - Exercise 12 The scales are first practised detache, andante, piano, in the middle of the bow. The fingers should be placed on the fingerboard with little tension and not lifted higher than absolutely necessary. Pulling inwards of the fourth finger to be avoided: if it tends to do so, it should lean lightly against the third finger.
After this, the scale should be played, in groups of five, up and down.
Then, the variant marked (b) in the original is practised with whole bow. Next, one octave in the middle of the bow, with light fingers, at double speed. The hand should not turn round its lateral axis. - Exercise 13
Scales in broken thirds require absolutely faultless finger action, due to the mutation of fingering. The placing of fingers should be as light as possible. Ex.
(b), twice as fast in groups of 5 notes.
The left arm should not be pulled in more than necessary, the hand should not turn round its lateral axis.
- Exercises 14, 15 and 16
These exercises are to be practised detache in the middle of the bow. Every two bars of the exercises
in sixths as follows:
Exercises 15 and 16 should be practised with whole bow, up and down stroke. Then in the middle, changes of strings to be effected by movements of the wrist with only slight use of the forearm.
- Exercise 17
First to be practised broken up, in quavers, then in double stoppings, one bar at a time.
The double stoppings detache for two bars, then one bar to a bow. If intonation is faulty, double stoppings must be broken up and intonation corrected.
As soon as it is satisfactory, the given variant may be practised. - Exercise 18
To be practised daily in a different key. Groups of triplets to be practised first as follows:
Then apply two to three variants of the given bowings. - Exercise 19
First detache with light fingers, piano, in the middle of the bow. Watch clean semitone shifts. Then bar by bar with light finger placing and full bow. - Exercise 20
The back fingers (mute fingered notes) should be kept down during the whole bar, but only if the remaining fingering can function without undue strain.
The aim is to place both mute and sounded stops on so lightly that no strain results. Bowing variants as given. First detache in the middle, then legato whole bow, excepting the upper semiquaver variant where one triplet should be played detache in the middle, the next legato in the middle. - Exercise 21
Should be practised at first as follows:
Then:
Thereafter the original exercise is to be played detache, middle of the bow, then half a bar to the bow (whole bow) and then the whole bar slurred (whole bow). - Exercise 22 First to be practised:
If possible the hand should not be turned round its lateral axis. Then practice should proceed detache (middle) slowly, .evenly and with minimum tension.
Next, slurs as given. - Exercise 23
Double stops, with light finger attack only. As a rule, if intonation of the double stoppings is faulty, each tone should be played separately to trace which of the two notes was out. At first detache middle, then whole bar slurred. - Exercise 24
To be practised slowly, with little tension, and no more than mf. First every half bar full bow, then whole bar with full bow. - Exercise 25
First the semiquavers alone to be played at fluent speed (whole bow). Then half speed, adding the minims (whole bow to half bars). If tension results, reduce the speed and lighten the finger pressure. - Exercise 26
First, the double bars are to be played detache; then slurs to quarter bars, half and full bars. Correct faulty intonation by tracing single tones. - Exercise 27 First detache. Chords must be fingered before they are bowed; to be practised at first in broken chords:
When playing staccato on down bow, the right hand should be slightly tilted upwards from the wrist so that the stick turns inwards, the hair outwards. - Exercise 28 To be practised as 27.
- Exercise 29 This is an important bowing study and for daily use. The study may be shared between two variants, so that half the exercise is practised with one and half with another variant. To be played from memory as soon as possible so that attention may be concentrated on the bowing. The first aim is to achieve a well sounding detache. The bow is only moderately tightened. The intensity of the tone will depend upon the intensity of the bow hold. The muscular tension devoted to the bow hold must never be excessive, since this would block the mobility of
the wrist.
Spiccato is to be practised through a circular movement of the forearm and the hand, above the string, so that the rotating bow produces the spiccato tone by touching the string ; this both in up and down bow.
Sautille results from a quick detache when the tension of the bow hold and thereby the pressure on the string is reduced. By virtue of its own elasticity, this will make the bow bounce from, or on, the string.
(Spiccato and Sautille see under bowing technic).
