Whichever Way the Wind Blows

classicalmusicart:

MENUHIN TIPS: Menuhin always practiced with a heavy metal mute. He only heard the full voice of the violin when on stage! -This could have been mostly due to his having to practice in hotel rooms, but he writes that he actually preferred the peacefulness of the sound. Menuhin used alcohol to clean his fingerboard, but he used fine steel wool to clean rosin off his strings and violin top. ( ! ) “Many people don’t realize that it takes considerably mort art & skill to play the violin lightly than it does to play it loudly. The best possible training for a young violinist is learning to play pianissimo and without pressure.” He considered rubato to be a form of improvisation, and urged that this be practiced and accentuated as much as possible. BREATHING: (esp when lying on one’s back) “Feel the air pushing against the spine.” -this is a wonderfully simple way to describe a somewhat complex physical act. On the bow-hold: “It is absolutely vital to hold it as lightly as possible - rather as one might pick up a newborn bird…” “One should feel, in the right arm, the sensation of the bowhair on the strings… The moment tension or hardness enters… the vibrations will not be felt.”

MENUHIN TIPS:
Menuhin always practiced with a heavy metal mute. He only
heard the full voice of the violin when on stage! -This could
have been mostly due to his having to practice in hotel
rooms, but he writes that he actually preferred the
peacefulness of the sound.
Menuhin used alcohol to clean his fingerboard, but he used
fine steel wool to clean rosin off his strings and violin top.
( ! )
“Many people don’t realize that it takes considerably mort
art & skill to play the violin lightly than it does to play it
loudly. The best possible training for a young violinist is
learning to play pianissimo and without pressure.”
He considered rubato to be a form of improvisation, and
urged that this be practiced and accentuated as much as
possible.
BREATHING: (esp when lying on one’s back)
“Feel the air pushing against the spine.” -this is a
wonderfully simple way to describe a somewhat complex
physical act.
On the bow-hold: “It is absolutely vital to hold it as lightly as
possible - rather as one might pick up a newborn bird…” “One
should feel, in the right arm, the sensation of the bowhair on
the strings… The moment tension or hardness enters… the
vibrations will not be felt.”