Andrew
Victor
Registered User
Posts: 324
(5/29/01 9:44:08 am)
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Re: cello to
violin
Many, many years ago, I went the other way: from being a violin
player to studying cello. I never had any trouble distinguishing the
fingerings and strings (one from the other) in sight reading bass
clef, and instantly larned tenor clef. Treble clef was a natural -
as a violinist. The "double-treble clef" I'm still strugggling with
that - trying to sight read, I can't decide whether to try to play
viola on the cello or just read it as tenor clef one note down. When
I was in my teens I could play a violin in cello position and sight
read violin music that way - but about 20 years later when I tried
that again I found that if my left hand is in cello position, my
natural read is the cello fingerings in bass clef. If my left hand
is extended in violin/viola position, my natural read is violin
treble celf. Both of these are "autonomous" "black-box"
transformations; any other clef requires some thought.
The
thing that plagued me for a long time was confusion of the bow
holds. It is important to hold the violin and cello bows
differently. The uses are much the same, but done differently. I
think the single key to the differences in the bow holds and strokes
is in this simple statement:
"The cello bow is typically held
aproximately perpendicular to the right arm axis. The violin bow
would typically start out at about a 30-degree angle to that axis,
changing toward perpendicularity as needed for particular stroks.
The bow is more easily controlled if the arm is above it, as it
is with the cello. The violin bow can be more easily controlled the
more of the arm you can keep above it while you are playing - this
is a prime reason for using a Russian bow hold and initially
intersecting the index finger with the violin bow between the second
and third joint. This will allow you to use the wrist joint very
naturally in bowing. Keep the pinky tip on the top of the violin bow
(although it can be lifted when not needed) and it is better to bend
the pinky a bit instaed of keeping it straight."
The left arm
posture on violin/viola is unatural and "twisted" - compared to
cello which I consider natural and "straight." This twisting is
necessary to get a straight enough "line" through hand-wrist-forearm
to keep consistent strength in the fingers and support a smooth
vibrato. Because of this twist, the natural fulcrum and axis for
vibrato on violin and viola are different than on cello. You will
see how these work out for you as you gain proficiency on the
instrument. If you aready have a decent vibrato on cello, you will
probably start playing violin with a vibrato - and can probably go
from there. I know for me, already having a vibrato on the violin
when I started cello - I started it with a vibrato - even before my
first cello lesson (but the teacher quickly fixed it). As with
cello, the left elbow should move as your fingers go from one string
to another.
More power to you!
Andy
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