[First let me say this:
The low grade virus has stayed around....we're all under the weather...literally.
Snowstorm last night....and snow projected for the next five days.
Youngest son is still two.
Think I will ignore these facts for now. ]
On the Yahoo Viola List there is a *heated* (and entertaining!) discussion about the use of shoulder rests. If you are at all interested in the viola, go check it out. This is one of the email lists where there are world experts posting regularly. Very informative.
For the record I do use a Kun shoulder rest. However my viola does. not. like. it. I know this because in every rehearsal or concert, suddenly there will be a great CRUNCH coming from my general vicinity. The Kun will collapse against the back of the viola and then crash to the floor. Leaving me to play sans shoulder rest. This used to bother me. Not anymore.
Last night DH and I were watching the Great Violinists of the Bell Telephone Hour. I was fascinated with the part when Igor and David Oistrakh are playing the Bach Double Concerto. Not only they not use shoulder rests (actually no other violinist on the DVD did either), but also David Oistrakh kept lifting his jaw right off the chinrest at least once every 15 seconds. Didn't hurt his shifting or fast passages one bit.
This make me realize that I know *nothing* about the history of string pedagogy. Maybe you dear blog reader(s) can help me with this.
Was it Galamian who first advocated the use of the shoulder rest?
Maybe you can also help me with some other questions as well:
Why do most modern method books start off with D major? A hundred years ago it was C major (for the violin). Is it because of adapting to classroom use or is it Suzuki?
Why do many method books ignore the use of the bow in shifting? Every thing's always in a nice slur. Not really a real life situation in playing.
Why do people not use the Wohlfahrt, Dorflein, and Hohmann books more for beginners? Why have duets with your teacher gone out of style?
When I reached high school I started to use a Kun shoulder rest. Just because everybody else was using one. Never really questioned it until now.
Maybe it's time to examine the teaching practices of the past. They may still have some use. In our quest to be innovative we still have to respect tradition.
In my case, tonight I will play the viola with the Kun. (The violin....well, I don't have one anyway) Tomorrow though...will be a different story. Time to give it up.....
2 comments:
As a die-hard non-shoulder rest player, I have been following that viola list discussion quietly. I do think that playing without a shoulder rest requires a different kind of muscle development than playing with one (which is why people usually are not happy to switch either way). People who do a lot of orchestral playing, where they pick up and put down their instruments often to play those "rest-eighth-eighth-eighth" passages for long periods of time tend to rely on the extra lift of the shoulder rest when there's limited time to get everything in balance before playing. After a long concert with a lot of middle voice rhythm, my neck and shoulders do get tired. Then again, I imagine that they would get a little tired with a shoulder rest too.
I really don't know how to put a Kun type shoulder rest on a violin or a viola, so I never start students with them. The most that I ever offer to them for support is a cosmetic sponge. Nobody every complains. Once they build up the muscles to hold up the instrument they are fine, and then the benefits of feeling the actual weight of the instrument become a factor for they way they express themselves. I am convinced that the physical relationship to the instrument is very important for developing an early concept of expression.
Speaking of method books, I once had a book called something like the "Baby Sevcik." It was the best beginner book I ever used. Unfortunately a student walked off with it, and I never saw it again. It was kind of like the Doeflein book, only much clearer. It had easier-to-read charts of half steps and whole steps.
To answer your specific questions:
My father studied with Galamian, and he never used a shoulder rest.
C major is difficult because of the position of the second finger. I think that young people can hear and feel whole steps before they can hear and feel half steps. It took me years until I was really comfortable with feeling half steps. Also the f natural first finger in C major complicates the "simplicity" of the process of learning.
I think that the bow-shifting thing missing in books is a very good point, and I think that students get a lot out of playing duets with their teachers. I often use it as a reward for a good lesson.
Hi. I just found your blog after a chat with my friend Kate (Oh For Fun). I'm also a violist and after years of using the Bon Musica shoulder rest, I've recently switched to the Kun Bravo. I like it a lot and it falls off much less than the Bon Musica. I have a very long neck and playing without a shoulder rest just isn't an option. I was also a Suzuki kid and as far as I know there is no way to hold up a violin or a viola using just the weight of your head without a shoulder rest or at least some sort of anti slip device. For years as a kid, I just used a piece of foam and a rubber band, but that was the 70's and Kuns may not have existed. At some point, I graduated to a Play on Air and for many years that worked well. This may have been before the long neck thing happened.
I use Wohlfahrt books 1 and 2 with my students. I also use Whistler for shifting. It's a great book. The other great book I use now is one that my teacher had me use when I was a kid. I'd forgotten about it, but my mom reminded me. It's a percussion book that's great for teaching rhythm. The author is Phil Perkins and the title is The Logical Approach to Rhythmic Notation. My students hate these excercises because they involve a metranome and I make them count out loud, but overall, rhythm has improved.
I also play duets with some of my students, which they love, but I've turned it into sort of a reward for a good lesson. It seems to be working.
I don't know about the whole C Major/D Major thing. I start students with both of these scales because they are the lowest on the viola and involve less shifting. This logic doesn't hold for violin.
Post a Comment