Before the Chinrest

Stanley Ritchie

Description

Unlocking the secrets of early violin performance

Drawing on the principles of Francesco Geminiani and four decades of experience as a baroque and classical violinist, Stanley Ritchie offers a valuable resource for anyone wishing to learn about 17th-18th-and early 19th-century violin technique and style. While much of the work focuses on the technical aspects of playing the pre-chinrest violin, these approaches are also applicable to the viola, and in many ways to the modern violin. Before the Chinrest includes illustrated sections on right- and left-hand technique, aspects of interpretation during the Baroque, Classical, and early-Romantic eras, and a section on developing proper intonation.

Preface and Acknowledgements
How to Support the Pre-Chinrest Violin
I. Right Hand Technique
General Observations
1. Tone Production
Basic Right-Hand Technique
The Importance of Arm Weight
The Use of Arm Weight
2. Bow-Strokes
Lifted strokes
Slurred notes
Retaking
Z-bowing
Martelé and Spiccato
Sautillé
Bariolage
Ondeggiando
3. Chordal Technique
4. Bow Division
5. Swift-Bows
6. Combination Strokes
II. Left-Hand Technique
7. Position-Changing Exercises
Some Basic Concepts
The Position Of The Left Hand
The Swing
Shifting
Half-position
Vibrato
III. Interpretation
8. Expression
Affect and rhetoric
The role of analysis
The importance of the bass-line
The tyranny of the barline
The significance of metre
Shaping notes and gestures
Beware of the beam!
The trouble with notation
The reality of rubato
9. Dynamics and Nuance
Harmony
Melody
Figures of musical speech
(i) Repetition
(ii) Sequences
(iii) Tessitura
(iv) The question
(v) The exclamation
(vi) Silence
10. Tempo
Metrical symbols
Harmonic motion
Technical complexity
Affective words
Cautionary and qualifying words
Baroque dance movements
11. Ornamentation
Symbolic
Notated ornaments
Un-notated ornaments
12. Baroque Clichés
The classic cadential formula
Slurred articulations
The hemiola
Pulsations
Suspensions
Syncopations
Melodic accents
"Down-downs"
The ultimate Baroque cliché
IV. Technique and Practice Guide
13. Tuning
A word about intonation
Tuning
Difference tones
Difference tone exercise
Visualizing
Warm-up exercises
A shifting exercise
14. Exercises Starting on First Finger
Scales
Broken Thirds
Double-stopped Thirds
Sixths
Octaves
Fingered Octaves
Tenths
Arpeggios
15. Exercises Starting on G
Scales
Broken Thirds
Double-stopped Thirds
Sixths
Octaves
Fingered Octaves
Tenths
Arpeggios
16. Half Position
Notes
Index

Sujets

• Musical Instruments
• MUSIC
• Musical instrument
• Multiple signal classification
• String instrument
• Strings
• Performance

Informations

• Publié par: Indiana University Press
• Date de parution: 16 juillet 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780253001115
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 10 Mo

Extrait

Before the Chinrest

Publications of the Early Music Institute Paul Elliott, editor

Before the Chinrest

This book is a publication of

Indiana University Press 601 North Morton Street Bloomington, Indiana 47404–3797 USA

www.iupress.indiana.edu

Telephone orders Fax orders

800-842-6796 812-855-7931

© 2012 by Stanley Ritchie

All rights reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses’ Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition.

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48–1992.

Manufactured in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Ritchie, Stanley. Before the chinrest : a violinist’s guide to the mysteries of pre-chinrest technique and style / Stanley Ritchie. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-253-22318-0 (paperback : alkaline paper) 1. Violin—Performance—History—18th century. 2. Violin—Performance—History—17th century. I. Title. ML850.R57 2011 787.2/19309 2011001028

1 2 3 4 5 17 16 15 14 13 12

To the memory of Albert Fuller, whose passionate vision and inspiring influence changed the course of so many lives

The Intention of Musick is not only to please the Ear, but to express Sentiments, strike the Imagination, affect the Mind, and command the Passions. The Art of playing the Violin consists in giving the Instrument a Tone that shall in a Manner rival the most perfect human Voice; and in executing every Piece with Exactness, Propriety, and Delicacy of Expression according to the true Intention of Musick.

—Francesco Geminiani

Preface and Acknowledgments Introduction: How to Support the Pre-Chinrest Violin

Part 1. Right-Hand Technique General Observations

1. Tone Production Basic Right-Hand Technique The Importance of Arm Weight The Use of Arm Weight

2. Bow-Strokes Lifted Strokes Slurred Notes Retaking Z-Bowing MarteléandSpiccato Sautillé Bariolage Ondeggiando

3. Chordal Technique

4. Bow Division

5. Swift-Bows

6. Combination Strokes

Part 2. Left-Hand Technique

7. Position-Changing Exercises

Basic Concepts The Position of the Left Hand The Swing Shifting Half-Position Vibrato

Part 3. Interpretation

8. Expression

Affect and Rhetoric The Role of Analysis The Importance of the Bass-Line The Tyranny of the Bar-Line The Significance of Metre Shaping Notes and Gestures Beware of the Beam! The Trouble with Notation The Reality ofRubato

Contents

9. Dynamics and Nuance Harmony Melody Figures of Musical Speech Repetition Sequences Tessitura The Question The Exclamation Silence

10. Tempo Metrical Symbols Harmonic Motion Technical Complexity Affective Words Cautionary and Qualifying Words Baroque Dance Movements

11. Ornamentation Symbolic The Trill Family Notated Ornaments Un-notated Ornaments

12. Baroque Clichés The Classic Cadential Formula Slurred Articulations The Hemiola Pulsations Suspensions Syncopations Melodic Accents “Down-downs” The Ultimate Baroque Cliché

Part 4. A Technique and Intonation Practice Guide

13. Tuning A Word about Intonation Tuning Difference Tones Difference Tone Exercise Visualizing Warm-up Exercises A Shifting Exercise

14. Exercises Starting with the First Finger Scales Broken Thirds Double-stopped Thirds Sixths Octaves Fingered Octaves Tenths

Arpeggios Exercises Starting with the Third Finger

15. Exercises Starting on G Scales Broken Thirds Double-stopped Thirds Sixths Octaves Fingered Octaves Tenths Arpeggios

16. Half-Position

Notes Index