Exercise six: Speed exercise + Pressure exercise
Lesson time: (0min 55sec)
Simon Fischer combines the separate speed and pressure bow exercises into one, where varying bow speed and weight at the same time demands a whole new level of control.
Course preview
This lesson is part of the course The Secrets of Tone Production Part 4: Final Fundamental Tone Exercises
Watch a preview of the full course below.
Lesson transcript:
The Importance of Separating Exercises
As we've discussed, one of the important things about the pressure exercise is to do it with as little extra speed in the heavy part of the stroke as possible.
In contrast, during the speed exercise, it's essential to use as little extra weight as possible in the fast part of the stroke.
Key Points to Remember:
-
Pressure Exercise:
- Focus on minimizing extra speed in heavy strokes.
-
Speed Exercise:
- Aim to reduce extra weight in fast strokes.
The goal is to separate the factors so that:
- One exercise is wholly dedicated to speed
- The other is centered around pressure or weight
The Effect of Combining Techniques
However, it feels like an entirely different new exercise when you do both things simultaneously.
When you play:
- Very fast,
- Slow,
- And also very heavy light,
It results in:
- Vastly more energy
- A need for a different sort of control
By understanding and applying these principles, you can enhance your playing technique significantly.
About the instructor
Simon Fischer enjoys a distinguished and wide-ranging career as a performer, educator and recording artist. He has performed worldwide as a recitalist, and committed three Brahms Sonatas to record, a recording that received high praise in Gramophone Magazine. Simon is recognised as having a place amongst the world's elite teachers. He is a professor at the Guildhall School of Music, and has held positions at the Yehudi Menuhin School, Wells Cathedral School and the Purcell School, and for 15 years was a visiting professor at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music. Having studied in London with Yfrah Neaman, and in New York with Dorothy DeLay, Fischer's approach unites the best elements of the French, Russian and American violin traditions. Fischer's published work greatly influences the teaching of the violin. Having written for The Strad magazine since 1991, his monthly articles have attracted a worldwide following. Published by Edition Peters, his technique books Basics and Practice (translated into Korean, Italian and German), Scales and The Violin Lesson, and the DVD The Secrets of Tone Production (now available to stream via MusicGurus), have become standards on many continents. His book and DVD Warming Up was described by The Strad magazine as "23 pages of pure technical gold". In 2014 Simon Fischer was awarded the European String Teachers Association prize "In celebration of a lifetime contribution to String Teaching". In his four-part Secrets of Tone Production course, Simon guides you through getting to know your instrument and then working through his fundamental tone exercises step by step, so you can produce a richer, more controlled and more beautiful sound on the violin. read more