bow distribution Archives

The Joy of Feuillard – A Sequential Approach to Teaching Bow Technique (Part 34 – Feuillard No. 36 – Variations #39-42)

This will be the final Blog in this series on using the Feuilliard "Daily Exercises" to teach bow technique. Variations #39 and #40: Variations #39 and #40 address chords over four strings. For #39 we have to use the full bow with the bottom two notes as grace notes. That means that they are played before the beat, with the top two notes on the beat. If playing with a piano, the pianist would probably play on the downbeat with the top of the chords. The string crossing is not too difficult at the frog, but playing the grace notes at the tip and then getting the main notes to sound strong is harder at the tip. I addressed two other important issues with [...]

By Robert Jesselson|2019-05-20T20:46:54-04:00May 6th, 2019|Categories: In the Practice Room, The Joy of Feuillard, Teaching|Tags: grace notes, string crossings, bow distribution, chords|

The Joy of Feuillard – A Sequential Approach to Teaching Bow Technique (Part 32 – Feuillard No. 36 – Variations #10-29)

Today we will continue our journey through Feuillard with No. 36, Variations #10 - #29 on string crossings over four strings. Many of these variations are about sustaining the sound with legato or detaché strokes. As mentioned before it is very helpful to use the left/right motion in order to make it easier to get a big sound in the upper half of the bow. It is also helpful to use the "twist" motion of the upper torso in order to release tension from the arm and fingers, and to keep the vibrato going. Rather than lifting fingers, the twist in the upper body automatically helps to release the fingers. Variations #10 and #11: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7Rh2uf9f-I&w=560&h=315 Variations #12, #13, and #14 The arm levels that I mentioned here were [...]

By Robert Jesselson|2019-04-22T03:17:45-04:00April 22nd, 2019|Categories: In the Practice Room, The Joy of Feuillard, Teaching|Tags: Feuillard, bow distribution, Detaché, contact point, legato, string crossings|

The Joy of Feuillard – A Sequential Approach to Teaching Bow Technique (Part 23 – Feuillard No. 34 – Variations #26-40)

Today's variations will work on 16th note rhythm patterns using a detaché stroke with the lower arm and string crossings with the upper arm. The problems are all similar, so the video clips will show Tristan playing just a few measures of each variation. However, during the lesson he played each variation in its entirety. Variations #26-29: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yD_uJxpomPM&w=560&h=315 Variations #30-33: These variations are similar to the previous ones, but they add bow distribution into the mix. That means we have to try to get the same sound at the frog and the tip. At the tip the main issue will be to use the down bows to get back to the tip each time so that we don't creep to the middle. It is helpful to use [...]

By Robert Jesselson|2019-02-18T02:39:21-05:00February 18th, 2019|Categories: In the Practice Room, The Joy of Feuillard, Teaching|Tags: Feuillard, bow distribution, staccato, Detaché, Teaching|

The Joy of Feuillard – A Sequential Approach to Teaching Bow Technique (Part 14 – Feuillard No. 33 – Variations #10-20)

This week we will continue with variations dealing with staccato, flying spiccato, bow distribution, and some asymmetrical bowings. Variations #10 and #11: These next two variations continue with the issues of alternating staccato and legato, plus bow distribution. In Variation #10 I reminded Iestyn about his left arm level and vibrato while he was playing. Using "sign language" can help heighten awareness while playing without stopping the "performance". Even though these are right arm bowing exercises, it is important to also pay attention to the left arm as well. Students can get into bad habits - or they can correct bad habits - since there are so many repetitions of the variations. In this case, I was reminding him that there is a twist motion from the back when going [...]

By Robert Jesselson|2021-02-23T21:55:28-05:00December 17th, 2018|Categories: In the Practice Room, The Joy of Feuillard, Teaching|Tags: Teaching, Feuillard, bow distribution, staccato, flying spiccato, asymmetrical bowings|

The Joy of Feuillard – A Sequential Approach to Teaching Bow Technique (Part 13 – Feuillard No. 33 – Variations #4-9)

In today's blog we will continue Feuillard No. 33 with the Variations #4-9, dealing with legato playing, staccato strokes, and bow distribution. Variation #4 and #5: Notice in the video that Iestyn knows the tempo of these variations when I asked him, because he has written in the tempos that he thinks are good as he works on them at home: It is important for the students to be able to imagine their tempos before playing them in the lesson. Having practiced them well at home, they should be able to predict the tempos pretty closely. If they can't then it is a sign that they are not using the metronome in their practicing. Although rhythm is one of the most basic music elements, teachers often forget to stress [...]

By Robert Jesselson|2021-02-23T21:55:36-05:00December 10th, 2018|Categories: In the Practice Room, The Joy of Feuillard, Teaching|Tags: Teaching, Coordination, legato, Feuillard, bow distribution, staccato|

The Joy of Feuillard – A Sequential Approach to Teaching Bow Technique (Part 12 – Feuillard No. 33 – Theme and Variations #1-3)

Part 12 - Feuillard No. 33 - Theme and Variations #1-3 The theme of Feuillard No. 32 was all in first position. With this week's blog we will start looking at the next page, Feuillard No. 33, which has a scalar theme that goes up to fourth position. As a result of the shorter string length in the higher positions, there are some new playing issues that involve the contact point. The rule that was mentioned in an earlier blog is: "the shorter the string length, the lower the contact point". And since the contact point is lower (closer to the bridge), we must also adjust the weight accordingly ("the closer to the bridge, the more weight"). This page is a good example of how Feuillard presents the bowing material in [...]

By Robert Jesselson|2023-06-26T14:15:49-04:00December 2nd, 2018|Categories: In the Practice Room, The Joy of Feuillard, Teaching|Tags: Teaching, Coordination, contact point, Feuillard, bow distribution, staccato, Detaché|

The Joy of Feuillard – A Sequential Approach to Teaching Bow Technique (Part 8 – Feuillard No. 32, Variations #12-17)

Part 8 - Feuillard No. 32 - Variations #12-17 We will continue this week with Feuillard No.32 Variations #12-17, which introduces the essential detaché stroke, sometimes colloquially called a "scrub" stroke. Detaché is perhaps our most important basic stroke, but it is difficult to execute well. Detaché means "detached" but the bow changes are connected in a somewhat legato fashion. So it should not sound "pumped" or disconnected like a staccato stroke. This means keeping the weight in the string constant, but at the same time trying to find a good "ring" in the sound. Variation #12: It is vital that a student recognizes how to produce a good detaché in different parts of the bow, and with different parts of the arm. This variation works on the detaché in the middle of [...]

By Robert Jesselson|2021-02-23T21:56:16-05:00November 3rd, 2018|Categories: In the Practice Room, The Joy of Feuillard, Teaching|Tags: Detaché, Teaching, contact point, Feuillard, bow distribution|

The Joy of Feuillard – A Sequential Approach to Teaching Bow Technique (Part 7 – Feuillard #32, Variations 8-11)

Part 7 - Feuillard #32 - Variations 8-11 In watching these videos, you will have noticed that I am continually asking Caroline questions. This is part of the so-called Socratic or Talmudic method of teaching, in which we ask questions rather than just telling the student what to do. The student is encouraged to consider the problem and verbalize a response. I think that this is a really important approach to teaching because we are constantly challenging the students to analyze and talk about what they are thinking. If the students can verbalize something they will understand it better, and it will be lodged deeper in their psyches. And instead of just spoon-feeding information we are helping them to figure out the answers. When students understand how important that is, [...]

By Robert Jesselson|2021-11-01T17:29:35-04:00October 28th, 2018|Categories: In the Practice Room, The Joy of Feuillard, Teaching|Tags: Feuillard, bow distribution, staccato, questions, Teaching, contact point|

The Joy of Feuillard – A Sequential Approach to Teaching Bow Technique (Part 6 – Feuillard #32, Variations #4-7)

Part 6 - Feuillard #32 - Variations 4-7 Before working on the next few variations, I like to help refine the student's understanding of intonation. In Part 5 we talked about the basic concepts of using the perfect intervals to check the intonation with the open strings. We also helped to organize the left hand in first position by checking the first and fourth fingers with the open strings, thus creating a clear "structure" for the left hand (for most people the tendency is for the first finger to be sharp and the fourth finger to be flat in first position). I usually like to give the students at least a week to sort this all out, so that they can play the theme with more stable intonation, especially regarding [...]

By Robert Jesselson|2022-01-31T12:09:57-05:00October 22nd, 2018|Categories: In the Practice Room, The Joy of Feuillard, Teaching|Tags: Feuillard, bow distribution, left hand frame, staccato, multi-tasking, Teaching, intonation, fundamentals, expressive intonation|

The Joy of Feuillard – A Sequential Approach to Teaching Bow Technique (Part 5 – Feuillard #32 – Theme and Variations 1-3)

Part 5 - Feuillard #32 - Theme and Variations 1-3 Now we are ready to start working on the Feuillard bowing exercises themselves. I usually begin explaining how to approach the Theme and Variations in the very first lesson. But since most of the time in the first lesson is taken with all the necessary "preliminary" information about the bow (as discussed in Blogs 3 and 4), and with basic information about the scale/arpeggio system and etudes, there will be just a brief introduction to the Feuillard project in that initial lesson. First I explain to the students how these Feuillard exercises are organized, with a theme and then a set of variations. Theme of No. 32: Theme from Lesson 1: https://videopress.com/v/6vwb5UKn Then I explain to them how we check for [...]

By Robert Jesselson|2021-10-02T12:48:41-04:00October 13th, 2018|Categories: In the Practice Room, The Joy of Feuillard, Teaching|Tags: tone production, Feuillard, Teaching, bow distribution, bow speed, intervals, right hand, intonation, contact point, bow technique, bow control|

The Joy of Feuillard – A Sequential Approach to Teaching Bow Technique (Part 1 – Introduction)

Part 1 – Introduction I started playing the cello seriously in 1971 when I was 22 years old. I had played somewhat earlier, but had very few lessons and was certainly not even considering music as a career. When I went to college I thought I was going to be a doctor, and I majored in anthropology and linguistics. It was only when I finally recognized that I really didn't want to pursue those career goals that I decided to “try” this music thing. When I went to Freiburg, I played for cellist Marçal Cervera, who ultimately became my teacher. He heard me play, and told me that there was “no way” that I could be accepted into the Conservatory. I just didn’t have the technique or background to make [...]

By Robert Jesselson|2021-03-01T19:07:39-05:00September 17th, 2018|Categories: In the Practice Room, The Joy of Feuillard, Teaching|Tags: bow distribution, Teaching, sound production, bow technique, bow control, Feuillard|