Day 3 of #violympics with Nathan Cole complete. Today is my 611 day of consecutive violin practice. I’m beginning to see some improvement. The violin is a familiar place. Today’s #violympics work included Nathan’s targeted exercises on: Fingers a step ahead; Shift timing; Arpeggios; Double stops; Finger and arm prep; Trills. Intense. I’m not the only violympian who felt today’s work. Break it down. Fingers a step ahead: get fingers in motion before the note happens; No matter how fast passages are, there is time to move between the notes so you’re ready for what comes next; Practice slurring every pair of notes in a sixteenth note passage, first start with down bow, then start with up bow. Shift timing: Practice with a metronome and time the shift so you land on the new note with the new bow on the click; Shift takes place on the old bow. Arpeggios: we played a three octave arpeggios in all twelve minor keys; Follow suit with the two octave minor arpeggios; focus on the patter and fingers a step ahead; have groups of notes within one hand and arm position. Double stop: be a detective; you have all the information to solve the investigation; sit on the out of tune notes and decide what needs to move where; only after you decide, lift and replace finger. Invaluable. Finger and arm prep: combining fingers a step ahead with arm levels: build the motion, preparation, and choreography of each move at slow tempos. Violin Life Changing. Trills. Trills define the left hand set up. They are more important than I ever knew. Check out Nathan’s Violympic Trials Day 3 of 5 Video Replay here.
Happy Practicing! ||:Eat Sleep Practice:||
