Update: Over the last couple of weeks we’ve focussed on preparing a practice of Bach’s music. View and/or download these related resources at this link.
Already this month we’ve created a clarified vision of our final musical result and instilled a bit of variety in our Peasant Cantata bow strokes.
It’s great to divide our practice into these discrete but related activities. This “simplify” strategy creates an atmosphere of ease around our practice time.
I can say unequivocally that a practice defined by ease will always connect you to your instrument (and your life) in a more mindful and joyful way.
Said more simply: with easeful practice, your skills and enjoyment will both improve while boredom and struggle fly out the window.
Continuing with the simplify strategy, this we’ll discover to play the Bach with improved left hand intonation. We’ll learn practice tactics that give us better control over pitch.
The ability to play well in tune is a hallmark of good musicianship. Every level of violinist from novice to professional needs this in her toolkit.
Luckily, Peasant Cantata, draws upon a relatively modest palette of pitches. We only need to control a single finger pattern within the A major scale. That’s great news, since the A major scale is perhaps the most accessible in all of violin technique.
Instructions
Tips:
By separating the pitch from other challenges in this music, we can create more ease when later adding back other elements of the music.
This would also be a great time to review last week’s bowing practice on open strings. At our upcoming live class, we’ll begin to reassemble all the elements of the piece into a unified performance.
Register for the Free June Class
Create a violin practice that really works! Learn how to bring a joyful ease to your practice in my next live online class on June 24, 2017. The June class is The Violin: Your Companion Along the Journey to Becoming Fully Awake and Alive.
Update: Last week I posted a recording of Bach’s Peasant cantata along with the sheet music and bowing practice. View and/or download these items at this link. I’ve updated the practice handout to make things more clear, so you may wish to download a fresh copy.
If there’s one thing you need to know practicing music, it’s that the sheet music on the stand in front of you doesn’t begin to capture the heart and soul of the music.
It’s your job as a musician to create that aura or mood around the music while your playing it. It won’t happen by accident.
Beginning and intermediate violinists don’t get a pass on this idea. Your job as artist and interpreter starts on day one. Leave out this crucial step and your music resembles playing a tune using the keypad of a telephone. Dull and lifeless.
The heart and soul of your interpretation begins with the bow arm, so that’s where we’ll begin our work.
The Peasant Cantata, like much of J.S. Bach’s music is adaptable to almost any style of playing. For our purposes, create interest and variety in the music by introducing variety of bowing styles.
We’ll use three separate bowing techniques:
Practice tip:
Taken together, this practice sequence will give you a nimble and dynamic control over the bowing process. At the same time, your performance gains in variety and color.
Experiment with “hamming it up” by moving your bow arm with the grace and fluidity of a ballet dancer. It’s fun to try this in front of a mirror.
Resist the temptation to immediately add the left hand (pitches) to your practice. Waiting a few days will give your bow arm the attention it truly deserves. I like to say the bow is 90% of your performance.
Also, it’s great to enjoy the sonorous quality of open string playing. Playing on open strings is under-rated! Just be sure your strings are in tune before you begin your session.
Next week we’ll expand on our bow work by adding a relaxed control over pitch in our left hand. In the mean time, enjoy your Bach bowing! Remember, ham it up! It’s your job to entertain the listener. 🙂
Bowing Practice Guide for Bach Peasant Cantata
Musicians young and old love to spend most of their practice time learning songs. I admit, song time does seem a lot more interesting than practicing scales and exercises.
But there’s a trap that catches so many song learners. It snares even experienced musicians.
It’s kind of an optical illusion: it appears that the music lives somewhere in those little black notes on the page. So we spend a lot of time looking at the page.
Somewhere along the way we lose track of the music itself. We are stuck in the quicksand of those black dots while at the same time trying to navigate our instruments.
Here’s the truth that explains why people who can’t read music at all are often fabulous musicians:
Songs contain more than a series of pitches, one after another. A lot more.
It’s a long list: articulation, phrasing, tone, groove, harmonic motion, and much more.
Yet too often, we can’t see the forest for the trees with our noses buried deeply in a music book, and our limbs mirroring a plodding rhythm that faintly resembles the original.
With that said, this month we’ll explore a better way to learn songs. Not from the printed page but instead from the inside out. We’ll try to capture the true energy that powers a song and learn to share it with our listeners.
J.S. Bach is mostly known for his serious religious music. But remember, the famous composer was a real human being, not made of marble. The Peasant Cantata beautifully illustrates Bach’s lighter side.
Let’s begin our journey inside this music by simply listening and enjoying the short video above.
You may have heard this song (aria) performed like a church hymn. But this lively performance illustrates the text (lyrics) beautifully.
The music opens with a rustic dance tune. A young couple then sing a happy duet to celebrate the arrival of a new lord of the manor who gives them beer — “real strong stuff.”
Clearly, this isn’t the Bach you might have expected to hear! So this week, let’s enjoy the music by watching the video a few times. You can also download the sheet music, which we’ll be using beginning next week.
Next week we’ll learn the two bowing motions that bring this music to life. Stay tuned!
Psychologist and Buddhist teacher Tara Brach has me nailed.
Perhaps you too?
Tara talks about the “over controller” in all of us.
It’s that misguided part of our inner being that works overtime to help keep us safe, but in the end puts us in more peril.
For me its the feeling of being driven. It’s an endless quest to fix some part of me that’s “not OK.”
When it happens, I’m never exactly sure what’s broken; it’s a stressful, dull feeling that’s hard to shake.
The over-controller is endemic in aspiring musicians. It’s a deadly virus that can kill your violin practice!
I once thought that a healthy dose of perfectionism was actually good for my practice. What a myth!
When you practice under the spell of the over controller, you’re working in a tunnel vision universe. Creativity and resourcefulness (what you need most) are nowhere to be found.
So your practice becomes dull and lifeless.
Your best practice happens when (and only when) you bring your best self to your violin.
That’s why I write and teach. It’s our lifelong journey as aspiring musicians and fulfilled human beings.
Free Class: Live Online Violin Instruction by Bill Alpert
Your best self and your best practice is the core topic of my June 24 live, online session of Power Up Your Violin Practice. It’s a free class; to sign up just click here.
Last, but not least: Are you ready for some honest, yet supportive feedback on your practicing habits? I’m seeking a few more readers who’d like to send in a video and be featured as part of my upcoming online sessions.
If you’d like to send a video, drop me a quick note (bill@thealpertstudio.com) and I’ll send you the simple instructions. I promise it will be fun and easy to participate, and you’ll be glad you did!
May your violin practice be joyful and liberating!
—Bill Alpert
P.S. My next online live class is Saturday, June 24, at 10:30 a.m. PDT (Los Angeles).
Register here! (complimentary registration for my readers). See you at the class!
I’ve written a lot about the (all too common) destructive beginner violin habits that can easily stop you in your tracks.
But there’s a bright side to the story: you don’t have to become another victim of these rookie playing errors.
There are several “big picture” strategies that can steer you clear of these problems.
On April 22, 2017 I’m laying out these strategies into a playing “mindset” that is simple to understand and accessible to all levels of violinists.
Please note: If you’re already signed up for a 4/15 class, look for an email update: This class was originally scheduled for 4/15 but performance commitments require that I move it back a week.
Class Description:
This one hour session for new to intermediate violinists will provide you with tools to evaluate your current playing as well as a high level mindset about how to avoid common counterproductive practice habits. We will:
The class is free for all levels of violinists, though it will be geared toward violinists from 0-3 years of experience. Nothing will be promoted or sold during the session.
There will be a Q&A period at the end of the class, and I’ll invite a few readers to submit videos of their own playing for discussion. Full instructions will be sent in advance to everyone who signs up.
So, sign up now; it’s free! If you have questions, drop me a note: bill@thealpertstudio.com.
>>Click here to register for my free April 22 class
See you in the class!
— Bill Alpert
p.s. You’ll obviously need a computer or smartphone with internet access to participate in this live class.
p.p.s. Optional: If you’d like to appear in front of the group, you’ll also need a webcam.