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Showing content with the highest reputation on 02/24/2017 in all areas

  1. Just clarifying, my comment about "room to breathe" was more metaphorical than literal. The words "you" and "and" just feel crowded to my ear, but your point on emphasis is well taken.
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  2. Think about bowings in particular. There's a world of difference between the way a piece feels if you just saw back and forth, down-bow for one note, up-bow for the next note, and careful use of slurs to add small natural accents and dynamics. It's probably easiest to hear without the distraction of other things happening in a big orchestra piece, so maybe try looking at some pieces for solo violin and piano, or small chamber works. As a general rule, down-bows give the strongest natural accent, up-bows give a slightly weaker accent and anything slurred in between naturally tends to hairpin dynamics and rubato. Decide where you'll put your slurs so that when the bow turns around, it's somewhere that you want a little kick in the line anyway. But a slur with staccatos marked underneath it, so that you stop the bow for each note, and then keep going in the same direction can be really satisfying in a whole body sort of way too. Down bow followed immediately by another down bow is also immensely rewarding for strident, accented passages. (A "bow circle.") Lock yourself away from your roommates and try some air bowing. You'll find certain patterns just feel satisfying for a given line of music. It should feel a little like you're dancing. (You don't have to mark every up and down bow. String players know what makes sense. But think about them when you're deciding how to place your slurs.)
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