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Comfort with Your Bow – Lesson 8 – Approaching the Tip and Elbow Trick

Taught by Dr. David Wallace

March 4, 2014

Fiddle • Viola • Violin • All Levels

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Vi Wickam

Vi Wickam

Vi Wickam of Loveland, CO has been performing fiddle and writing music since before he could read. Along with his brothers and dad, The Wickam Family Band performed regularly on Blinky’s Fun Club, a nationally syndicated TV program. Vi’s fiddling can be heard on numerous CD recordings, including two of his own. He’s played with many different bands throughout the United States, and even briefly in England. Among his fiddling honors, Vi has won the Colorado State Championship twice, and been a finalist four times at the Grand Masters’ Fiddler Championship. He has judged fiddle contests throughout the US, and directed regional and state level fiddle contests. Read More About Vi→

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Comments

  1. kcfiddler says

    April 4, 2014 at 1:32 am

    David,

    Vi has helped me with this some, too, but I’d love to watch a lesson about how much to grip the fiddle with the left hand. I find notey fiddle tunes difficult because I’m just simply holding on too tight and so it’s tougher to shift (even small amounts) without slowing down. Would love tips on this as well as exercises for playing faster with intonation.

    Thanks,
    KcFiddler

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    • David Wallace says

      April 4, 2014 at 9:39 pm

      Hey, Casey,

      I’m planningon a few series dealing with all those questions on my back burner- one similar to the Comfort with Your Bow series covering left hand ergonomics, some lessons on intonation, a series on shifting, a series on double-stops, as well as some tips for velocity somewhere in the mix.

      Just a couple of short answers- don’t grip at all with the left hand. . . touch and balance, but don’t clamp, clasp, grip, etc.

      Left hand tension can come come from a lot of different places- the fingers and wrist might be tight, but the origin could be that the shoulder is clenched and lifted (which makes everything else tight).

      During a shift, your finger should release. . . without letting go, your finger can glide on top of the string to the new position without pressing the string down to the fingerboard. Once you arrive in the new position, it comes back down.

      Check and make sure your thumb is free. . . I’ll have some tips on left thumb posture & state, just like the right hand.

      I hope that helps a little for now; more soon!
      -DW

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  2. kcfiddler says

    April 4, 2014 at 1:33 am

    And this video was helpful, too, by the way. Thank you! Glad she asked the question. Me, I’m not short at all. 😉 Tall enough to reach the ground and get traction.

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  3. kcfiddler says

    April 9, 2014 at 2:08 am

    David, thank you. I’ll print this out and read it and work on it and look forward to coming videos when you get to it. I’m grateful.

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Series Lessons

Comfort with Your Bow

  • Comfort with Your Bow - Lesson 1 - General Principles Fingers
  • Comfort with Your Bow - Lesson 2 - Naturally Setting the Fingers
  • Comfort with Your Bow - Lesson 3 - Light Bulb Trick
  • Comfort with Your Bow - Lesson 4 - Freeing Trapezius and Pectoral Muscles
  • Comfort with Your Bow - Lesson 5 - Balancing with the Fingers
  • Comfort with Your Bow - Lesson 6 - a Quick Tip about Thumb Posture
  • Comfort with Your Bow - Lesson 7 - The RePull and Neck Release
  • Comfort with Your Bow - Lesson 8 - Approaching the Tip and Elbow Trick

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