JAVS Fall 2002

82

VOL. 18 No.2 & 3

JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN VIOLA SOCIETY

the vibrato to suit the mood, expression, and style of the music. Vibrato should be applied on every note, and for a beautiful legato not be stopped between notes and shifts; however, playing with out vibrato can produce special musical effects or colors. Dynamics The orchestral excerpts have a wide range of dynamics that should be carefully observed, and it is imperative to know how to use your bow to achieve the desired results. In soft legato passages, you should play with a focused sound using a slow bow speed with some pressure and centering the bow approximately between the bridge and the fin gerboard. Only for certain pianissimo color effects should the bow be played with a fast bow speed without pressure near or over the fingerboard. In louder legato passages, get closer to the bridge with increased pressure, still using a slow bow speed for a sustained expressive sound. A tilted bow for all these dynamics sounds more resonant because more of the string is ringing, and it gives the feel ing of "scooping" the sound toward the bridge. When playing fortissimo, use flat hair with more bow pressure and speed not as close to the bridge. Playing this way will take advantage of the strength and resilience of the stick and create the desired res onance, while tilting the bow would cause the stick to drag on the string, interfering with the sound quality. In spiccato passages, when playing soft it is bet ter to play slightly louder in order not to lose the articulation. When playing loud spiccato, play as full as you can without distorting the sound. Short strokes should always ring without any roughness or scratchiness. Due to the difficulty of orchestral excerpts, they often will sound like exercises in technical profi ciency rather than a musical performance. It is important to study the orchestral score and listen to several recordings so that you will understand the excerpt in its context and hear different inter pretations. With technical problems, in many instances the solution is a simple change of finger ing or bowing. Practicing bad fingerings or bow ings is a waste of time, but spending a few minutes experimenting with various possibilities makes a great difference. I encourage you to find your own fingerings and bowings through thinking and

experimenting. One word of caution, however: if what works best for you differs greatly from the tra ditional way of playing a particular passage, specif ically with regard to bowings, I recommend that you practice the traditional bowing as well. The audition committee may ask for it to see how flex ible you can be. Besides being as accurate as pos sible, make sure your performance is musically con vincing, and above all, enjoy yourselfl Seven practice methods that I find helpful for learning orchestral excerpts follow. 1. Use the metronome for fast, technically difficult passages as well as slow, lyrical ones. For fast passages start with a slow tempo until you mas ter the notes at that speed, then gradually increase it until you reach the tempo of your choice. In lyrical passages use the metronome to control the tendency to slow down whenever you want to be expressive. Remember: rubato and vibrato are devices that allow you to play expressively while maintaining a good rhythm. Of course, in an actual performance you will want to be freer, but practicing this way will prevent you from overdoing it. 2. Often the most challenging excerpts in the repertoire are spiccato passages at various speeds and dynamics. How well you play these passages could make the difference between a successful and an unsuccessful audition. The most com mon mistake is playing the stroke too high off the strings. Almost without exception, spiccato should be played as close to the strings as pos sible. When practicing spiccato, play ditache, pushing the bow into the strings but keeping your wrist and fingers loose. This way you will be able to practice the stroke correctly and for longer periods without tightening and tiring your arm. In all spiccato passages, use a combi nation of arm, wrist, and fingers. The actual sautille stroke that is used in works like Smetana's The Bartered Bride Overture and Rossini's La Gazza Ladra Overture should be performed with the hair staying practically on the strings while the stick bounces. When using the sautille stroke, the fingers and wrist are more involved than the arm, particularly in the low register. This stroke is more vertical than in a slower spiccato, where you will use more arm and less finger and wrist motion. Two examples of a slower spiccato can be found in Beethoven's