string crossings 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: string crossings, bow distribution, chords, grace notes|

The Joy of Feuillard – A Sequential Approach to Teaching Bow Technique (Part 33 – Feuillard No. 36 – Variations #30-38)

Today we will continue with Feuillard No. 36, Variations #30-#38. Most of these variations work on double stops with string crossings, and legato strokes involving the upper arm versus wrist/fingers over four strings. Variation #30: This Variation again involves both the Up-bow Staccato and Flying Spiccato strokes, which we have seen before dispersed throughout all the bowing exercises on these pages. It is one more opportunity to review the different ways of producing these two strokes - and George was able to verbalize the technical information required. Even though he had not practiced the Flying Spiccato as fast as I got him to play it here, it is always interesting to me that if one has absorbed the technique it is possible to speed up the tempos easily. [...]

By Robert Jesselson|2019-05-20T20:46:32-04:00April 29th, 2019|Categories: In the Practice Room, The Joy of Feuillard, Teaching|Tags: string crossings, upper arm, double stops|

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: string crossings, Feuillard, bow distribution, Detaché, contact point, legato|

The Joy of Feuillard – A Sequential Approach to Teaching Bow Technique (Part 31 – Feuillard No. 36 – Variations #1-9)

The final Theme and set of bowing variations in Feuillard is No. 36. This page deals with string crossings involving four strings. There are double stops, chords, various bowings, articulation issues, and different strokes. I use No.36 to reinforce many of the concepts from the earlier pages, and especially the "twist motion". The student should be aware of how the left arm moves in tandem with the string crossings, so that the elbow is higher on the C-string and lowest on the A-string. The student must also be aware that the contact point needs to change when going from the lower strings to the higher strings. The "rule" is: "The Higher the String, the Lower the Contact Point" If we don't pay attention to the contact point, the intonation [...]

By Robert Jesselson|2019-04-15T00:29:40-04:00April 15th, 2019|Categories: In the Practice Room, The Joy of Feuillard, Teaching|Tags: contact point, string crossings, double stops, chords|

The Joy of Feuillard – A Sequential Approach to Teaching Bow Technique (Part 28 – Feuillard No. 35 – Variations #42-51)

Today's Blog will deal with Feuillard No. 35, Variations #42 - #51, which all deal with legato string crossings using the upper arm and the wrist/fingers. As we started working on these variations I first reminded Zach about the Seven Arm Levels that we had discussed earlier (the four open strings and the three double stops), and we reviewed the "Seven Arm Level Exercise". Then I explained how these variations will involve a combination of the various arm levels and the use of the wrist/fingers to go between the double-stop levels. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZ6jTDH0etE&w=560&h=315 So, the model for these next variations is #45 - using the upper arm on the double stop level, and the wrist moving between the two strings. I often have the students play Variation #45 [...]

By Robert Jesselson|2019-03-25T02:42:53-04:00March 25th, 2019|Categories: In the Practice Room, The Joy of Feuillard, Teaching|Tags: fingers, wrist, legato, string crossings, Feuillard, upper arm|

The Joy of Feuillard – A Sequential Approach to Teaching Bow Technique (Part 27 – Feuillard No. 35 – Variations #26-41)

The Variations in today's Blog all deal with staccato and legato strokes across three strings in various combinations. The string crossings should all be executed with the upper arm. Because they are to be played in the middle of the bow the staccato strokes should be played with the lower arm. We should pay attention to the "catch and float" on all these staccato strokes: "catch" the string at the beginning of each note, and then "float" to release the sound for resonance. Each note should have a nice starting "k" sound. Variations #26 - #31: After he played Variation #26 fully (with four beats per measure) I asked Zach to only play two beats for each chord in order to save a bit of time in the lesson. By now [...]

By Robert Jesselson|2019-03-18T04:34:01-04:00March 18th, 2019|Categories: In the Practice Room, The Joy of Feuillard, Teaching|Tags: lower arm, legato, string crossings, Feuillard, staccato, upper arm|

The Joy of Feuillard – A Sequential Approach to Teaching Bow Technique (Part 26 – Feuillard No. 35 – Variations #10-25)

Today's Blog continues to explore the staccato and legato strokes over three strings, with 16 variations that coordinate these horizontal and vertical motions. Variations #10 - #13 I asked Zach to play the entire variations #10 and #11 with four repetitions to make sure that he was concentrating well. But then with Variation #12 I asked him to just do two repetitions in order to save some time in the lesson. Once the students have reached the point that they are concentrating well, and playing with more consistent accuracy, I usually ask them to cut some of the variations in half in order to save some time in the lessons. That will be the pattern in future lessons: doing a few variations full value, and then cutting them in half [...]

By Robert Jesselson|2019-03-11T01:03:22-04:00March 11th, 2019|Categories: In the Practice Room, The Joy of Feuillard, Teaching|Tags: horizontal, veritcal, legato, string crossings, Feuillard, staccato|

The Joy of Feuillard – A Sequential Approach to Teaching Bow Technique (Part 25 – Feuillard No. 35 – Variations #3-9)

The next seven variations of Feuillard No. 35 all combine legato and staccato playing in various configurations over three strings. The issues involve coordination, and figuring out how to play smooth string crossings alternating with "catch and float" staccato strokes. Variations #3 and #4: At this point, most students are still working with the underlying concepts that we discussed in the last Blog: the twist motion and the release of the fingers while doing these variations. Zach made a lot of progress while practicing these things during the week. Today's videos demonstrate that he is absorbing the new concepts, compared to the videos in last week's Blog. At the end of the next video, Zach had a "revelation" about the relationship between the twist motion and the release of [...]

By Robert Jesselson|2019-03-04T04:33:20-05:00March 4th, 2019|Categories: In the Practice Room, The Joy of Feuillard, Teaching|Tags: legato, string crossings, Feuillard, staccato, Teaching|

The Joy of Feuillard – A Sequential Approach to Teaching Bow Technique (Part 24 – Feuillard No. 35 – Theme and Variations #1-2)

With today's blog we will begin our look at the Feuillard Theme No. 35, and the variations on that page which deal with string crossings on three strings. The main issue will be trying to get smooth connections while crossing the strings. This is a lifetime occupation for cellists and other string players. It is relatively easy to play legato on one string, but to play legato while changing strings is truly difficult. There are a number of things we can do to try and get smooth string crossings. One of the concepts, as mentioned before, is to overlap the notes slightly - just as pianists do when they play legato. Another thing we can do is to make sure that there is a nice "ring" to the sound, [...]

By Robert Jesselson|2019-02-25T03:00:54-05:00February 25th, 2019|Categories: In the Practice Room, The Joy of Feuillard, Teaching|Tags: Teaching, legato, string crossings, Feuillard|

The Joy of Feuillard – A Sequential Approach to Teaching Bow Technique (Part 22 – Feuillard No. 34 – Variations #20-25)

The variations this week will continue the work with detaché bowings and string crossings. I also addressed bow changes and some more bow speed exercises. Variation #25 will again work with wave motions, though faster and in triplets. I also discussed how to approach vibrato while doing the string crossings. Variation #20: Because they are supposed to be played in the middle of the bow, variations #20-24 all require using the lower arm for the detaché stroke and the upper arm for the string crossings. These variations are great for developing a good, resonant detaché. But it usually takes some time to train the ear for the right sound, and the body for the right motions. A good detaché requires constant arm weight and steady bow speed. There should be [...]

By Robert Jesselson|2019-02-11T03:08:57-05:00February 11th, 2019|Categories: In the Practice Room, The Joy of Feuillard, Teaching|Tags: Teaching, bow speed, Coordination, string crossings, Feuillard, Detaché|

The Joy of Feuillard – A Sequential Approach to Teaching Bow Technique (Part 20 – Feuillard No. 34 – Box Exercises and Finger Exercises)

At this point I begin to introduce several exercises that isolate the various parts of the arm that will be involved in producing wave motions (eg. No. 34 - Variations #19, #25, #39 and #40). The three parts of the arm that can make these wave motions are the fingers, wrist and upper arm, depending on the part of the bow, the dynamics, and the speed of the waves. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6_G8KcKdaY&w=560&h=315 First we will do the wrist exercises that I refer to as the "Box Exercises". These isolate the movements that we need for using the wrist in string crossings, bow changes, and various strokes. I like to demonstrate the exercises in one lesson, and then have the students show me the exercises in the following lesson to make [...]

By Robert Jesselson|2019-01-28T01:14:29-05:00January 27th, 2019|Categories: In the Practice Room, The Joy of Feuillard, Teaching|Tags: box exercises, Teaching, Coordination, string crossings, finger exercises, Feuillard|

The Joy of Feuillard – A Sequential Approach to Teaching Bow Technique (Part 19 – Feuillard No. 34 – Variations #6-12)

Last week's Blog dealt with some Arc and Figure Eight bowing figures. Today's blog will continue the Feuillard variations in No. 34 with some Wave and Circle bowing figures, and add some detaché motions to the mix. The string crossings here should happen with the upper arm, and the detaché stroke is with the lower arm. Variations #6 and #7: In these variations we have both horizontal and vertical motions. The vertical motion is the string crossing - in this case going from the D-string to the A-string with the upper arm. The horizontal motion is the detaché with the lower arm. The important thing is that when there are two different motions going on simultaneously (vertical and horizontal) we should use two different part of the arm. For [...]

By Robert Jesselson|2019-01-21T01:49:37-05:00January 21st, 2019|Categories: In the Practice Room, The Joy of Feuillard, Teaching|Tags: Feuillard, circle, wave, Teaching, Coordination, string crossings|

The Joy of Feuillard – A Sequential Approach to Teaching Bow Technique (Part 18 – Feuillard No. 34 – Variations #1-5)

In the last lesson I gave Tristan lot of information about the parts of the arm that do the vertical and horizontal motions, and I showed him the four basic bowing figures. In the next lesson I usually ask the students to give me the "lecture" back. In this video, Tristan takes me through all the information from the previous week and he demonstrates all the bowing figures to make sure that he has absorbed all the information. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAOqGX-WK-c&w=560&h=315 Notice that I am not talking with Tristan about things like bow changes at this point. I want him to focus on the main issues of the bowing figures, bow angles, left/right motion, etc. Other subtleties will come later. As teachers we always have to pick and choose what the most [...]

By Robert Jesselson|2019-01-14T03:19:28-05:00January 14th, 2019|Categories: In the Practice Room, The Joy of Feuillard, Teaching|Tags: Feuillard, arc, circle, wave, Teaching, Coordination, string crossings|

The Joy of Feuillard – A Sequential Approach to Teaching Bow Technique (Part 17 – Feuillard No. 34 – Basic String Crossing Information)

With this blog we will start working on Feuillard No.34, which focuses on the important topic of string crossings. No. 34 deals with string crossings across two strings; No. 35 is about string crossings across three strings; and No. 36 works on string crossings across four strings. This topic is critical for string players – we work our entire life trying to make string crossings smooth, connected, and ergonomically correct. We try to use the correct parts of the arm, keeping the joints well-oiled and flexible. We try to make the hard bones of our arms look like they are soft and pliable like the “break-dancers” of the 60’s and 70’s. Fluent bow arms are not only beautifully functional, but they are aesthetically pleasing. Think of French cellists such as [...]

By Robert Jesselson|2024-05-13T13:32:40-04:00January 7th, 2019|Categories: In the Practice Room, The Joy of Feuillard, Teaching|Tags: Coordination, string crossings, Feuillard, Teaching|

Exploring Beethoven’s Fifth: Second Variation — by Jonathan Pegis

Picking up where we left off last time, at the conclusion of variation 1 it is a good idea to keep counting in between the two variations. You want to play this second variation in the exact tempo as the theme and first variation. I will say right at the outset that there is no ideal fingering for this excerpt! It just doesn’t lie well on the cello. My fingering is a bit unusual in that I do not use the thumb at all, or any open A strings. I do, however, use the A string for some of the notes. I highly recommend not playing the open A just because it tends to really stick out. Many cellists don’t use the A string at all which is also fine [...]

By Jonathan Pegis|2021-10-25T13:38:55-04:00January 9th, 2013|Categories: Artistic Vision, Auditions, In the Practice Room, Orchestra, Performance, Repertoire|Tags: cello excerpt, vibrato, tempo, Jonathan, cello, Pegis, cellobello, audition excerpt, Auditions, effortless, experimentation, Symphony, Northwestern, control, breathing, pacing, bow control, slow breathing, intonation, variations, string crossings, experiment, Beethoven Symphonies, variations on a theme, Beethoven, fingerings, Beethoven's 5th Symphony, bowings, phrasing|