Another "Brainjo Bite" from Dr. Josh Turknett was in my inbox this morning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97USpCmyRFQ
Thanks, Hank. The video about frustration was so interesting to me that I watched several other videos by Brainjo.
This article reminded me of Turknett's video; they are pretty much saying the same thing, and it's an important message. For those unfamiliar with this cast of characters, Dorothy DeLay taught at Juilliard for ages and was particularly well-known for her work with child prodigies. Simon Fischer, who wrote the article, has recently written some very well received books on violin technique and practice. Midori was a child progidy (soloing with the New York Philharmonic at age 11) who has become a philanthropist, an educator, a champion of music education, and one of the best violinists around.
Interesting article, Louise; thanks. I wanted to say "Yes!" but what came out was "Yeah, but ...". Question: what about a doublestop third is difficult for a violinist? On a mandolin that would be like an index finger on the E string at the second fret and the ring finger on the A string at the fifth fret. Right? Is it a matter of having perfect finger placement with less than $0.01 error in pitch on a fretless fingerboard?
It depends on the context. One, in a nice comfortable key, no big deal. A bunch of them, odd keys, tons of accidentals, all at breakneck speed, led to the rumors Paganini had sold his soul to the devil. I can't seem to attach the screenshot, but check out pp 16–17 of this.
Yikes.