I recently started playing the violin, this is my 4th month and I was trying to avoid any bad habits from the start, somehow the left squeezing crept up on me and I didn't notice. It gave a sense of security since I could easily measure where my fingers should be it became a crutch to find the notes.
Then a callus was forming in the spot where the violin was resting! Its been really difficult to let go of that crutch, I've been playing out of tune a lot. Thank you so much for the tips.
She is talking an Energy Conservation Technique to mantain adequate tension in the left hand. The concept is applicable in Occupational and Physical Therapy. I will use it with patients I treat.
ive been playing for 17 years and have stuggled with not being able to progress for years!! I know I am too tense, i am squeezing with my left hand, supporting my violin with my left hand, I can not do proper vibrato, etc, etc, etc, im now having neck problems and back problems. I give violin lessons, and i am seeing that my students are picking up MY BAD HABITS!!!!! this is sooo very discouraging!! i have been doing different exercises for what seems like forever and its like I can not overcome
I'm trying to learn how to play with vibrato, but I seem to be struggling. I've been playing for several years and I still can't vibrato. It's starting to frustrate me. I'm not sure what the problem is, I just can't do it.
Your advice is, I'm sure, very useful, but when saying how much force to put on the strings or how loosely to grip the neck, etc, I am not really sure what kind of force is best. I don't think my teacher is that great because I don't feel we've spent enough time on technique
Hey Beth, I'm about to start Violin lessons and I wanted to ask you if you've got any specific guidelines for "what to look for" in a Violin Teacher to comfirm whether they're "good" or not?
@nile012 You want a teacher who has an agenda for you. A good teacher can anticipate what your needs are and will know how to set you on that path. I would say a bad teacher is one who only reacts to what you've played without giving you specific ideas on how to practice and improve your technique. You don't want someone to just give you pieces to play, but one who thoroughly addresses and explains technique.
@violinlab Thanks a lot; so pretty much I want a meticulous teacher who'll approach me by slowly observing my weaknesses and strengths and one who will give me in-depth ways to better my strengths and eliminate my weaknesses with a creative and well-informed explanation; overall I want a picky/discernful teacher, very much like yourself!
@violinlab Hey ! I have a small problem, as my thumb is double jointed, therefore if it is pushed it collapses back (so my thumbprint is 90 degrees to the rest of the thumb, do you have any advice I could take to work with this ?
hi mrs. blackerby, i have a weird question, i have the same shoulder rest as u do, bonmusica. but i have a large violin (14.2 inches or 36cm), bonmusica fits too tight on my violin, how do i fix that? and does bonmusica have effect to your violin's sound? because whenever i use wolf forte secondo i notice the different, wolf produces a better sound than when i use bonmusica. Or did i do something wrong?
Well since i got a new antique violin it has a bigger size than the average size of violin. I think bonmusica shoulder rest fits me better and im gonna buy it. I actually didnt know that lots of ppl squeeze their left hand. I dont do it but I'd like to see an example of squeezing left hand bcoz i've never seen someone does it.....
@anonymuis I have a video: Violin Vibrato: Slow Motion: Dos and Don'ts on my channel. Take a look at that. I show how squeezing the neck prohibits the vibrato motion.
Hi Beth: could you comment on sweating on the left hand? I found it adding much friction to shifting from time to time. Any advice? BTW what's the brand of your shoulder rest?
@luboxing My shoulder rest is a Bon Musica, and I love it. It is by far the most adjustable one on the market. As for the sweating, I used to have that issue in college, and I became dependent on talcum powder. I would dust a little on my hand before playing. It took care of the problem, but like all dependencies, I finally forced myself to stop. Fortunately my hands don't sweat too badly, or else I manage it better now.
I'm in the 7th grade and almost 8th and still don't get how to stop squeezing. I played the violin for 2 years and I can do vibrato without the violin and can't do vibrato with the violin. Is it also because of left hand squeezing and I still can't seem to stop it.
hi, I've been playing the viola for about two years now and found your videos here on youtube and thought they were quite informative. Would some of your advise apply to the viola as well as the violin?
@o0okgo0o Hi. Yes, viola technique and violin technique are 95% the same. Violists need to play more deeply into the string to get a full tone, but certainly all left technique is the same. I actually just interviewed a violists about the differences a few days ago and posted on my website at ViolinLab(dot)com. If you scroll down the thumbnails on left side of the page, you'll see the title "viola and violin: what's the difference". Hope it helps.
This may sound weird and maybe is a bit off-topic... But as a beginner I use my left thumb to know if I am in tone and thats why I always end up with a tense thumb to make sure that I am not moving my hand from the right spot.
I am having so much problems with this, its driving me crazy. I doing my Grade 3 just now and I cant get my violin stable on my shoulder without the extra addition of a small cushion on my shoulder rest so that the violin sits right, otherwise I have a small gap bewteen the violin and my shoulder and the violin falls off, or it slopes down and falls off. So I have been gripping the neck and I am trying to break the habit....
@xXTheBlackStarx It is almost impossible to break that habit if the violin is not supported well. I've tried many shoulder rests and found the bon musica to be the best. It hooks around the shoulder and is very pliable so you can bend it to fit your shoulder shape. Expensive, but worth it.
@violinlab Hey, yes I am thinking of getting the bon musica, I have tried so many, the Wolfe, all of them, Viva, all of them, Kun... and Mach One, perhaps the Bon Musica is what I am looking for. Thank you for the videos btw, your a very good teacher!
Thank you Ms. Beth ^_^. I always look forward to your videos on youtube. My parents wont let me use their credit card for online purposes for fear of scams (sigh), so I cant convince them to pay for violinlab -_-
I recently started playing the violin, this is my 4th month and I was trying to avoid any bad habits from the start, somehow the left squeezing crept up on me and I didn't notice. It gave a sense of security since I could easily measure where my fingers should be it became a crutch to find the notes.
Then a callus was forming in the spot where the violin was resting! Its been really difficult to let go of that crutch, I've been playing out of tune a lot. Thank you so much for the tips.
VarnasBaltas 1 week ago
She is talking an Energy Conservation Technique to mantain adequate tension in the left hand. The concept is applicable in Occupational and Physical Therapy. I will use it with patients I treat.
dekzan 1 week ago
ive been playing for 17 years and have stuggled with not being able to progress for years!! I know I am too tense, i am squeezing with my left hand, supporting my violin with my left hand, I can not do proper vibrato, etc, etc, etc, im now having neck problems and back problems. I give violin lessons, and i am seeing that my students are picking up MY BAD HABITS!!!!! this is sooo very discouraging!! i have been doing different exercises for what seems like forever and its like I can not overcome
MrsLegz84 3 weeks ago
I'm trying to learn how to play with vibrato, but I seem to be struggling. I've been playing for several years and I still can't vibrato. It's starting to frustrate me. I'm not sure what the problem is, I just can't do it.
Your advice is, I'm sure, very useful, but when saying how much force to put on the strings or how loosely to grip the neck, etc, I am not really sure what kind of force is best. I don't think my teacher is that great because I don't feel we've spent enough time on technique
PandaManMk2000 1 month ago
Thankyou. You have shown me the beginings of a science.....
45Shallon 1 month ago
dare I say... a "Valkyrie" of fiddlers !
45Shallon 1 month ago
Once again, thanks for a very useful instruction.
Danofnj 1 month ago
gracias es usted muy genial papayesca :)
elocuazzz 1 month ago in playlist Más vídeos de violinlab
I have heard about violin with five strings.. as far as I know common strings on violin are GDAE. but the fifth strings?
saiplayer2525 1 month ago
Hey Beth, I'm about to start Violin lessons and I wanted to ask you if you've got any specific guidelines for "what to look for" in a Violin Teacher to comfirm whether they're "good" or not?
nile012 1 month ago
@nile012 You want a teacher who has an agenda for you. A good teacher can anticipate what your needs are and will know how to set you on that path. I would say a bad teacher is one who only reacts to what you've played without giving you specific ideas on how to practice and improve your technique. You don't want someone to just give you pieces to play, but one who thoroughly addresses and explains technique.
violinlab 1 month ago
@violinlab Thanks a lot; so pretty much I want a meticulous teacher who'll approach me by slowly observing my weaknesses and strengths and one who will give me in-depth ways to better my strengths and eliminate my weaknesses with a creative and well-informed explanation; overall I want a picky/discernful teacher, very much like yourself!
nile012 1 month ago
@violinlab Hey ! I have a small problem, as my thumb is double jointed, therefore if it is pushed it collapses back (so my thumbprint is 90 degrees to the rest of the thumb, do you have any advice I could take to work with this ?
kelechi96 2 months ago
hi mrs. blackerby, i have a weird question, i have the same shoulder rest as u do, bonmusica. but i have a large violin (14.2 inches or 36cm), bonmusica fits too tight on my violin, how do i fix that? and does bonmusica have effect to your violin's sound? because whenever i use wolf forte secondo i notice the different, wolf produces a better sound than when i use bonmusica. Or did i do something wrong?
vanezcha 2 months ago in playlist Uploaded videos
Well since i got a new antique violin it has a bigger size than the average size of violin. I think bonmusica shoulder rest fits me better and im gonna buy it. I actually didnt know that lots of ppl squeeze their left hand. I dont do it but I'd like to see an example of squeezing left hand bcoz i've never seen someone does it.....
anonymuis 3 months ago
@anonymuis I have a video: Violin Vibrato: Slow Motion: Dos and Don'ts on my channel. Take a look at that. I show how squeezing the neck prohibits the vibrato motion.
violinlab 3 months ago
@violinlab thank you i'll take a look
anonymuis 3 months ago
how come there aren't any videos teaching how to play the violin without a shoulder rest.
MoonBHAA 8 months ago 4
@MoonBHAA cause it's uncomfortable.
joeb0 2 months ago
Hi Beth: could you comment on sweating on the left hand? I found it adding much friction to shifting from time to time. Any advice? BTW what's the brand of your shoulder rest?
Thanks!
luboxing 8 months ago
@luboxing My shoulder rest is a Bon Musica, and I love it. It is by far the most adjustable one on the market. As for the sweating, I used to have that issue in college, and I became dependent on talcum powder. I would dust a little on my hand before playing. It took care of the problem, but like all dependencies, I finally forced myself to stop. Fortunately my hands don't sweat too badly, or else I manage it better now.
violinlab 8 months ago
Beth Blackerbee, your video has helped me alot
MoonBHAA 8 months ago
I'm in the 7th grade and almost 8th and still don't get how to stop squeezing. I played the violin for 2 years and I can do vibrato without the violin and can't do vibrato with the violin. Is it also because of left hand squeezing and I still can't seem to stop it.
coolgirl1335 8 months ago
do not support the violin with the left hand? gee i guess players like hiefetz primrose, milstien, perlman and zukerman are all bad players...
playing with out an sr is ok, you gotta know how to do it...
cameronsanati 9 months ago
hi, I've been playing the viola for about two years now and found your videos here on youtube and thought they were quite informative. Would some of your advise apply to the viola as well as the violin?
o0okgo0o 11 months ago
@o0okgo0o Hi. Yes, viola technique and violin technique are 95% the same. Violists need to play more deeply into the string to get a full tone, but certainly all left technique is the same. I actually just interviewed a violists about the differences a few days ago and posted on my website at ViolinLab(dot)com. If you scroll down the thumbnails on left side of the page, you'll see the title "viola and violin: what's the difference". Hope it helps.
violinlab 11 months ago
This may sound weird and maybe is a bit off-topic... But as a beginner I use my left thumb to know if I am in tone and thats why I always end up with a tense thumb to make sure that I am not moving my hand from the right spot.
Tr0jan1337 1 year ago
I am having so much problems with this, its driving me crazy. I doing my Grade 3 just now and I cant get my violin stable on my shoulder without the extra addition of a small cushion on my shoulder rest so that the violin sits right, otherwise I have a small gap bewteen the violin and my shoulder and the violin falls off, or it slopes down and falls off. So I have been gripping the neck and I am trying to break the habit....
xXTheBlackStarx 1 year ago
@xXTheBlackStarx It is almost impossible to break that habit if the violin is not supported well. I've tried many shoulder rests and found the bon musica to be the best. It hooks around the shoulder and is very pliable so you can bend it to fit your shoulder shape. Expensive, but worth it.
violinlab 1 year ago
@violinlab Hey, yes I am thinking of getting the bon musica, I have tried so many, the Wolfe, all of them, Viva, all of them, Kun... and Mach One, perhaps the Bon Musica is what I am looking for. Thank you for the videos btw, your a very good teacher!
xXTheBlackStarx 1 year ago
Thank you Ms. Beth ^_^. I always look forward to your videos on youtube. My parents wont let me use their credit card for online purposes for fear of scams (sigh), so I cant convince them to pay for violinlab -_-
Arrow9100kj 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
thank you, this was very informative
xenniex2 1 year ago
Comment removed
xenniex2 1 year ago