Hi everyone. Thank you for subscribing to my channel. In this video I'm gonna
present a really great practice technique to increase speed in passages
where you have to move your fingers quickly. This technique is
from my new Practice Course ,which I'm thrilled to announce! I just launched a
large scale step- by -step method for learning music. So if you find yourself
stuck learning a piece, or you just want to become a better player
faster, then do check out this course. it's on ViolinLab.com. I already have
English subtitles, and the Spanish subtitles will be coming soon. So check out the link
below. Okay, this technique addresses two problems that we have with
playing fast. One is mental processing speed, the other is mechanical speed, or
what violin teachers like to refer to as "facility". There are places in our
music where our fingers really can move as fast as they need to, but for some
reason it might be a little complex and so we cannot think fast enough, and that slows
us down. This is something that students don't often realize. They don't
realize it's their brain, not their fingers that are preventing them from
playing fast. However, there are places where mechanical speed is a problem. We
know exactly what we have to do, but due to inefficient finger action we're
really not playing it as fast as we should be. So here's how this works.
Find a passage in your music that you need to play quicker,
and the first step is ,without the bow, is to start laying your fingers down in
order. Just start reading note to note. Put fingers down and leave them down.
okay I'm going to give you two examples. One is from Wohlfahrt
Opus 45 #1. This is very familiar. You probably know it. The other
is a tricky little section in the Vivaldi A minor concerto. So we'll use
these as examples. So looking at the Wohlfahrt to start, I'm gonna
just start putting my fingers down. So C is the first note, and then B. okay now
moving to C. Well my second finger is already down so I don't need to do
anything. Back to B, back to C. Okay, so I've got those notes covered. Next finger
is third finger, D, and then fourth finger. Reading ahead, I see that all my fingers are
covering those pitches, so what you're gonna do is keep reading until the point
where a finger that you already have down has to move locations. So in this
example, the second measure right here, this G, my third finger, has to cross over
to the D string. Okay so that's my stopping point. So now I'm going to put a
box around all these notes that I am covering with these fingers, and this is
gonna be my first block. okay I'm calling these sections blocks, and I'm gonna
number this one. This is my first block. All right now I'm starting a new block
because a finger has to change locations. So now my third finger here,
this G on the D string, the next finger is an E. Okay, I have that down ,then we
have the C over here. Alright, this is the next block because the next note ,that B,
that first finger B, I would have to lift my first finger and put it on the a
string. Okay ,so that's my boundary line. Now there are not strict rules to this.
iI you want to create boundaries between string crossings that's okay too.
I could put a box around these notes, because they're on the D string, and then
I could start my new block here when I move back to the A string, but let's just
keep with the rules that I stated. So I'm gonna put everything in a box that I can
cover without moving a finger to a new location. Now back to that
original blog because this is the same music as the first measure, and then
here's the next block. Ok, so let's move on, so back to the A string here C,B C,B C,D,
the open E we skip opens, obviously, because we don't use a finger, alright my
first finger has to change location, so here's my new block :F, G, A, B, A, G, F, ok all
those fingers I can cover.Now I have a new block coming with that D because my
third finger has to to move. Alright so there we're gonna stop with this example
right here ok. The next step then is to look at the blocks and I want you to, as
quick as you can, go from block to block, putting all the fingers down on the
notes that are in that block. so here's the first block .I want to put
down my fingers ,all my fingers as fast as possible there.
boom-boom-boom . Alright those are all the fingers in that block. Here's the
next block, block 2, block 3, block 4. block 5, block 6. And then it'll be back to
the same music as the beginning again.
Alright, so block 1, 2, 3. You're just gonna go block to block to block. You're gonna
put all the fingers down simultaneously ,as quick as you can, and
what this is going to do, is to increase your processing (speed). You
are not thinking note- to -note anymore. You are clustering the directives from
your brain to your fingers. You are instructing the whole crowd ;you're
telling the whole crowd what to do, not just each individual. Okay, the next step
is one that will help with facility. It's going to help with efficiency so
now that you have your blocks what you're going to do is you're going to
put your fingers down on the notes in your block and you're gonna lightly
press with your fingertips. You're gonna make little pulses in order that the
notes occur in the music, so you're essentially going to be playing the
left-hand notes, but you're gonna just rest all the fingers in the block down
at the same time. so here's my first block. I'm gonna press
down those notes. okay I'm not playing them so you won't be able to hear them
but hopefully you can see my fingers pressing, so 2 1 2 1 2 3 4 3. ok that's
the first block, well actually it keeps going to 1 2 1 2 .ok that's the
whole block. Now I'm gonna do that, I'm gonna start trying to get that faster
and faster and faster. I'm gonna try to make those little presses really really
really really fast. So what we're doing is we are getting these muscles, and
the ends of our fingers really fast. This is what's gonna help get our
fingers moving faster. Watch out for the thumb. Try not to press back with your
thumb.
just try to get your fingers the ends of your fingers pressing really
fast. so here's as fast as I can do it. Let me
get my fingers in place. okay here I go.
I'll do it again. as I was just pressing the fingertips and then I move to the
next block and I press those as fast as I can.
dda-da-da, da-da-da, and back to the first block, next block, next block, next block.
Okay and then you would then play it try playing it you you will feel a
difference but you'll notice is that your bow might be slowing you down
that's something else to work on so let's do one more example this is a
section from the Vivaldi a minor you may not have played this piece yet maybe you
have played this if you have you know that this section toward the end where
you have sixteenth note after sixteenth note you know it can get really bogged
down this is one of those places where it's difficult both mechanically as well
as with reading and processing so I'm gonna take these these two measures
because I think this is really in the thick of the difficult passage and so my
first block here is the third finger in the first finger okay and then I have to
move my third finger, so I'm going to start my next block ,so I've got 3, I
can put a 3 down. I can put a 4 down. I can put 1 down. and then I
would have to move that. My third finger again for the G sharp .so this is my next
block. so block 1, block 2, now block 3. My 3 finger, 4th finger, 2nd
finger, 1st finger .alright that's my next block, and then I have to go to the
E string. those two notes are a block because my first finger has to jump over
the A string. and that's just a block by itself because it has to move back (to F) then here we go again okay so I'm gonna go ahead and and just show you
where these blocks are and then back to back to just practicing the blocks so
for the brain first look second blog third block fourth block fifth block six
block seventh block okay you get the idea
then we do the little presses I call this speed typing like you're on a keep
type a typing a computer keyboard and you're just typing like this as fast as
you can so now the typing and you can even do repetitions you can just
concentrate on one block and do it over and over so here's the second block I'm
gonna do this one over over three four one three four one three four one
now the next block three four two one
next block next block okay you get the idea and then then you play it and you
just think whoa how how did I not know that I could play
it that fast you will be amazed at what you're really able to do you just didn't
know you could do it so practice techniques work good practice techniques
work miracles you will go so much further in such a
shorter amount of time when you know how to practice ,so I do hope you visit
Violinlab.com. I hope you check out the practice course. so much to learn and
Thank you for watching!