▲ Perlman plays "The Devil's Trill
The violin has always been known as the devil's instrument: Tartini was inspired by the devil in his dreams to write the immortal Devil's Trill, and Paganini's extraordinary skill was regarded as a trade from the devil at that time …..
These legends aside, the instrument itself is endlessly magical. It is extremely expressive and recognized as the most difficult instrument to master!
01
You have to use your ears as "keys"
The violin does not have fixed keys like a piano or woodwind instrument, nor does it have fixed pins like a guitar or lute, nor does it have corresponding strings like a harp or guzheng. Therefore, with just your eyes, you can only lock on to the general pitch position, far from being able to guarantee pitch accuracy.
One of the major difficulties of playing the violin is that you need to have a good sense of pitch, to perceive the pitch through the cooperation of your ear and hands, and to develop a keyboard-like precise ear. The violin has a shorter fretboard than the viola or cello, and the higher you go, the smaller the spacing between each note, and the harder it is to control the pitch! Even master violinists struggle with intonation problems throughout their lives, and the decline in finger technique and hearing can affect intonation.
The top masters generally agree that the most difficult violin piece is not the showy pieces of Paganini, Sarasati and others, but rather the simple and concise sounding Beethoven's Violin Concerto. The seemingly simple arpeggios have so many variations and test the intonation of the player that even the greats like Heifetz say it is difficult.
Heifetz: Beethoven's Violin Concerto
02
Lightning-fast finger runs
Violinists need to have lightning fast hands, especially the fingers of the left hand, which are necessary for playing very fast arpeggios and chromatic scales.
The "speed" of the fingers is not only reflected in the running, but also in the speed of the handle change and the speed of the jump across the strings. The speed of the hands, while taking into account pitch, timbre, rhythm and artistic expression, is a major challenge for learners!
The "infinite movement" is a special genre of classical music, which requires the player to move as fast as possible while maintaining musicality. Many of Paganini's violin works have a distinctive "infinitely dynamic" style, and the following piece is titled "Infinitely Dynamic".
Menuhin: Paganini's "Infinite Motion
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Accardo: Paganini's "Capriccio No. 5
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Fischer: Sarasati's "Dance of the Clogs
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03
Various Difficult Bowing Techniques
Many people see the dazzling fingering of a violinist and mistakenly think that "the right hand must be easier than the left", but it is not. The bowing style of violin playing is so varied that it determines the weight of the notes played and the relationship between each note.
Are the first two notes connected or broken? What is the contrast between strength and weakness? Is it grainy or sustained? The evenness of the double tone depends entirely on the distribution and use of the bow.
In addition, there is no shortage of highly expressive and individual bowing techniques in violin playing, such as the flying bow, the jumping bow across the strings, the continuous bow on the line, etc., which are as difficult and complex as the best kung fu in the martial arts.
Vengerov: Bacchini's "Dance of the Pixies
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Sarah Chang: Paganini's "Concerto No. 1
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Ning Feng: Heifetz's Adaptation of "Hora Dance
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04
Playing Multiple Voices on One Piano
It's hard to play the piano with several voices. Don't worry, it's the violin that really kills you when you play multiple voices. As we all know, the violin is a monophonic melody-based instrument, and diatonic, triatonic and tetrachordal chords are hard enough to master.
To play multiple melodies at the same time requires a very difficult bowing and fingering technique, and the independence of the fingers is very demanding in order to keep the melodic lines clear and smooth.
In many unaccompanied violin works and in the splendid passages of violin concertos, polyphonic passages abound. Listen to the following pieces.
Leben: Ernst's Adaptation of "The Magician
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Kavax: Ritchie's adaptation of "Memories of the Alhambra
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Ritchie: Paganini's "God Save the King
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05
Abusive Left and Right Hand Plucking
In violin playing, there are not only pieces that need to be played with a bow, but there are also pieces that require finger plucking. There are two types of pizzicato, right-hand pizzicato and left-hand pizzicato.
Right-hand pizzicato is relatively simple, and can be played on a single string or with a violent sweep of the fingers across multiple strings. Left-hand pizzicato, on the other hand, is a very difficult and special style of pizzicato that Paganini transplanted from guitar playing, and can be heard in many showcase pieces.
Usually the left hand plucking is accompanied by a simultaneous plucking of the right hand, or by a bow strike with the right hand, which produces a very grainy sound and a great show-off effect!
Kramer: Ernst's "Last Rose of Summer
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Perlman: Paganini's "Capriccio No. 24
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Corgan: Sarasati's "Basque Medley
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06
Delicate and subtle emotional control
The violin is a very sensitive instrument, and its tone is influenced by many things, just like a diamond, the slightest change will give it a different luster.
Besides the bowing technique, there is nothing that affects the tone more than the vibrato of the fingers. The frequency and amplitude of the vibrato, together with the speed and strength of the bow, can produce a very richly layered emotional color. It can be cool and cold, or warm and lingering. …..
Sibelius' Violin Concerto in D minor is an epic masterpiece for the violin, with its iceberg-like cold personality and volcanic, fiery rhythm. Mutter's emotional grasp of this work is exquisite, and the magnificent, sober Nordic iceberg-like scenes depicted in her sound are awe-inspiring.
Mutter: Sibelius' Violin Concerto
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07
Some Special Performances Are So Difficult That You Cry
There is no such thing as the most difficult, only more difficult, and those composers who are proficient in the violin have never been shy about performing various "acrobatics" on the four strings.
In particular, some of Paganini's original techniques, such as G-string playing, double overtones, and double trills, have been widely used by later composers.
Markov: Paganini's "Concerto No. 6
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Kahler: Paganini's "Concerto No. 9
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Roman King: Paganini's Variations on a Theme of Moses
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08
To master various styles and genres
Each period has different difficulties: Baroque music requires a strict sense of structure and a special way of holding the bow, classical music requires dignity and elegance, romantic music requires a high degree of technical and emotional control, and modern works are even more difficult to grasp.
The performance of works from different countries is also very demanding: the profound rigor of German, the boldness and rudeness of Slavic style, the hot and enchanting gypsy style, the folk dance rhythm of Nordic music ….
Milstein: Bach's Suite No. 2 unaccompanied
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Although the violin is really difficult
But with the aid of today's scientific teaching system
If you are persistent and willing to learn and practice
you'll be able to play a few pieces of your choice
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