Sex and Violins...

  1. catmandu2
    catmandu2
    Page 61:

    http://books.google.com/books?id=MNZ...PA61&dq=violin ...the violin..."a ruthlessly honest seismograph of the heart."

    From "Free Play: Improvisation in Life and Art" by Stephen Nachmanovitch.
  2. farmerjones
    farmerjones
    Watching the biathlon in the olympics, makes me wonder what it would be to try and play something delicate with a racing pulse.

    De-ja-vu, somewhere else they're arguing about playing in tune, vs. the bow. I never wanted frets on a guitar nor banjar either, so i guess, i'll stay out of it.

    How is Nachmanovitch getting paid for this book?
  3. catmandu2
    catmandu2
    I'm with you FJ. This came up in a thread that Bill started on the FHO. FWIW, here's what I wrote there regarding Nachmanovitch's essay:

    I disagree with the assertion: "As everyone who has tried playing a violin knows, the biggest problem is playing in tune." Rather, I think the biggest challenge in violin playing, by far, is bowing.

    As the author goes on to state, intonation is a process of constant correction--and therefore, IMO, rather simple and straightfoward: the ear hears that the pitch is slightly off and guides the finger, fore or aft, to the correct location; the finger, itself, does not "run, slip, slither...bounce, scratch, caress, gush, pound, attack, (or) whisper," such as the bow may in its quest for the "correct" sound. If the "seismograph of the heart" is the violin, surely it is the bow that registers its sensitivity, and not the finger upon the string.

    I appreciate the "male/female" analogy, and the section on practice. I'll have to read more later.
  4. Mandoviol
    Mandoviol
    Plus, the only way a note actually sounds good is if the bow is moving properly on the strings--heck, even the bow itself can affect intonation. I'm with you on this, the bow is definitely the more "difficult" (that is, unless we're talking about 4th position and higher...still need to master that).
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