Principles of Violin Playing and Teaching

A celebrated instructor explains his philosophy of teaching and practice methods, including the appropriate combination of technique and interpretation. Ivan Galamian , a longtime Juilliard professor, incorporates aspects of both the Russian and French schools in a system both ingenious and logical. His tutelage has produced astonishing results with students, many of whom rank among the world's most acclaimed concert artists and orchestral concertmasters. Suitable for violin teachers and students of all ages and levels, this guide presents general principles and offers practical suggestions related to posture, holding the instrument and bow, vibrato movements, intonation, tone production, bowing patterns, double stops, trills, and many other facets of playing and practice. This edition features a new Introduction by Sally Thomas, violin virtuoso and Galamian's former student.

CONTENIDO:

Introduction to the Dover edition
Ivan Galamian: A biographical sketch
Preface to the first edition

Introduction: Deficiencies of some present-day systems

1. Technique and interpretation
Absolute and relative values. Types of technique. Technique and correlation. Interpretation. Acoustical elements in performace: "vowels" and "consonants"

2. The left hand
Body and instrument posture; holding the instrument; left arm; writs; hand; fingers and thumbs. Movements of the left hand: vertical movement of the fingers, horizontal movement of the fingers; crossing of strings; sliding motion of fingers and hand; vibrato movements. Intonation. Timing. Special technical problems: shifting; double stops; trills; left and pizzicato; harmonics; chromatic glissando. Fingerings. Vibrato: types of vibrato; study of the vibrato; special problems in the vibrato.

3. The right hand
Fundamentals: the sytem of strings; holding the bow; the physicial motions; drawing the straight bow stroke. Tone production: the three main factors: speed, pressure, sounding point; the slightly slanted stroke; character and color of the tone and various styles of tone production; faulty tone production. Bowing patterns: legato; détaché; fouetté or whipped; martelé; collé; spiccato; sautillé; staccato; flying staccato and flying spiccato; ricochet. Special bowing problems: bow attack; change of bow; alternating fast and slow bows; harmonics; chords.

4. On practicing
Mental alertness in practice. Objectives in practice: "building time"; "interpreting time"; "performing time". The critical ear. Basic exercises: scales; son filé; "spring" exercises.

Conclusion: A few words for the teacher