| Author |
Comment |
sbwaters
Registered User
Posts: 2
(7/5/01 9:41:26 am)
Reply
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Fingerboard tape
measurements?
Hi,
Okay. I admit it. I still have my training wheels on:
One quarter inch of automobile detail tape on the side of my
fingerboard.
On the A string, B, C#, D, and E (and a bump
under my starting thumb position) have tapes. I have placed them by
ear and they are pretty close.
I can't seem to find on the
internet measurements so I can be sure that they are accurately
placed. Any help?
regards/sbw
BTW. The thing that
seems to help me most to feel confident doing without the tapes is
scales. I feel more confident running them at the beginning and end
of each practice and it helps me develop locations for higher
positions. At the beginning of practice I also draw the bow across
the harmonic at A to leave a temporary rosin mark to help me until
I'm warmed up with the scales.
The thing that helps me most
about finding my initial starting position is adjusting my endpin
out a long way, set so that my left hand naturally finds the correct
place on the neck.
S.
|
Tracie
Price 
Registered
User
Posts: 548
(7/5/01 10:26:08
am)
Reply
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Re: Fingerboard
tape measurements?
Each cello is different, so you need to place them by ear.
|
Victor
Sazer
Registered
User
Posts: 95
(7/5/01 10:54:17
am)
Reply
|
Why
tapes???
You might help yourself more by giving up your quest.
Tapes
on your fingerboard are likely to do more harm than good.
See the thread about "Where to place the thumb behind the
neck?" on the Professional Performers and Educators
board.
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gengranny
Registered User
Posts: 5
(7/5/01 11:26:44 am)
Reply
|
Re: Fingerboard
tape measurements?
I am an adult beginner. When I started playing about a year ago, my
teacher put a sticker dot on the fingerboard and another one on the
back of the neck for my thumb. After about one month of playing the
dots fell off. I declined replacement dots and have had no problems
playing without them. I have to play a scale to get the right
starting pitch, but that's OK with me.
Kathy
|
sbwaters
Registered User
Posts: 3
(7/5/01 12:31:14 pm)
Reply
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Re: Fingerboard
tape measurements?
Thanks! All useful.
Now I get to wean myself of the
habit.
regards/sbw
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CelloBass
Registered User
Posts: 9
(7/5/01 4:54:51 pm)
Reply
|
Re: Fingerboard
tape measurements?
I am new to the cello but I am an experienced bass player, and on
the bass the fingerboard is even longer, and just when you begin it
will often happen that you'll find yourself totally lost somewhere
between pos 1 and 6. :-) The fact that you can play scales without
the tapes shows that the distances between the notes have already
made their way into your brain. What you need is a feeling where you
are. My hint is: Take all information the cello and your body give
you when you change positions. For example: Do a very slow position
change from one to 3. So slow that your ear can tell you when to
stop. Then you stop at position 3, perhaps on the a-string,
comparing the d to the empty d string. Well, now you are there, you
might have done that many times, but the important thing comes now.
Not only is it your ear that has to memorize where the 3. position
is. Your whole body has to memorize how the 3. position on the cello
feels. You are in 3. position and you let the 3. position go through
your body. First your fingertips and your thumb. How does the 3.
position feel in your hand? How thick is the neck? How are the
fingers curved? Take all information the cello gives you about this
3. position. Then the angle of your lower arm. Is it flat, or steep?
What angle? Your upper arm and your shoulder. What are the angles?
What are the mucle tensions that hold your arm in the 3. position?
To get the feeling of the right pitch is only one thing, it won't
help you when you have to start from scratch in the 3. position, and
when you play fast passages, the feedback that your ear gives you
will always come late. Try to get a feeling for the correspondance
between the positions on the cello and the positions of your body.
And don't hesitate to stay in 3. position for 5 or 10 minutes, or
even longer, when it takes you this time to get the feeling. Then
you remove your left hand from the cello just for some seconds. Then
you try to find the position again, without playing. You try to get
the same feeling again. Then you do longer pauses with your hand
somewhere else, but always coming back to position 3. Always getting
this unique position-3-feeling. Try to imagine that it is really
important that you are in position 3, it's your position 3, there is
only one. Make it an event. Most people practise too fast, much too
fast. They play, reach position 3, it sounds good, OK, this was 3.
position, and then they go on. But they don't realize what is really
unique to the positions. The goal is that one day you won't feel 'my
left hand is in position 3', but 'I am in position 3, my whole body
is in position 3.' To get there, try to memorize each detail, each
position has got its unique feeling. Finally I think the tapes will
hold you away from doing so.
Regards,
Horst
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Victor
Sazer
Registered
User
Posts: 96
(7/5/01 6:26:41
pm)
Reply
|
Playing in tune
is easier than you think
Here is an example of approach that may make it easier and quicker
for beginners to learn to play in tune.
1.
Play a G on the D string with your second finger,
matching it to the open G-string.
(Since the octave is the
easiest interval to hear, this is a good place to
start.)
a. Alternate, using
down-bows on the upper string and up-bows on the lower one to
cultivate smooth, connected, figure 8 bowing patterns.
c.
Place your second finger on the fingerboard
between the D and G strings.
d. Lean
your finger toward the side of the D string or pull the string
gently to the side . (The only time your string must touch the
fingerboard is when you play pizz.)
e.
Allow your fingers to be released rather than keeping them in a
spread apart “position”.
f. Release
your thumb letting it go where ever it wants to (do not let it touch
the back of the neck )
g. Continue
matching the G on the D string to the open G in the same way with
each of your other fingers playing the upper note.
h.
Play the G on the D string an octave higher,
again alternating with the open G-string. Begin with your second
finger, then use your 1st and 3rd fingers in turn.
i.
Move your bow close to the bridge when playing
in the upper register.
By this time you will will know that
you can play any note anywhere on the cello with any finger.
2. Play 3 slurred 8th notes in
6/8 time, G-F#-G, using 212 fingerings followed by a dotted quarter
on the open G.
a. Alternate down-bows
on the 3 slurred notes and up-bows on the open G to continue to
re-enforce the clockwise bowing pattern.
b.
Continue playing the same note pattern using 323 and then
434.
c. Allow your arm to move freely
when going from note to note, using only one finger at a time.
d. Play the same pattern in the upper
octave using 212 and 323 (without holding your thumb
down).
This way, you can learn to play the 7ths and 3rds high
enough (in tune). Oversized half tones are the most common
intonation inaccuracies.
3. Play
four slurred note patterns using 4313 (major scale pattern) in the
lower registers and 3212 in the upper.
a.
Keep your hand in released position as much as possible. Open
your hand as needed to reach for a note, but release as soon as the
note is reached.
b. Play this pattern
in all parts of the cello, starting on various notes at random. The
idea is to re-enforce the relationship between the notes in this
major scale fragment regardless of the starting point.
It
can be fun to play all over the cello. Students who begin this way
are never fearful of playing any register.
c.
When the major pattern is well established you can use
the same procedure with the minor grouping of 4212 in the lower and
3212 in the upper registers.
ALWAYS holding your hand in a
position with your fingers spread apart, presumably, to be over the
notes and with your thumb opposite your 2nd finger creates tension
and rigidity. This makes it much more difficult to play in tune.
Releasing your fingers eliminates tension and freeing your
thumb makes thumb-clutching problems non-existent.
Imagine
holding the ends of a rubber band between your thumb and first
finger of each hand. Then repeatedly stretch and release it. You
would describe the rubber band as elastic. If you stop the flexing
and hold the rubber band, even just partially stretched, it is
tense.
The same is true of your hand. If you keep it even
partially stretched, it is usually more tense than when released.
Maintaining elasticity is more productive than holding a “position”.
Using tapes and trying to keep your fingers spread over
where the notes are supposed to be may very well be the worst thing
you can do!
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