Chats To 'Cello Students - free ebook by Arthur Broadley

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Chats To 'Cello Students

Arthur Broadley

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CHATS TO 'CELLO STUDENTS.

CHATS TO 'CELLO STUDENTS.

PRINTED BY E. SHORE AND CO., 3 GREEN TERRACE, ROSEBERY AVENUE, LONDON, E.C. ARTHUR BROADLEY. "THE STRAD" LIBRARY. No. VII. Chats to 'Cello Students BY ARTHUR BROADLEY COPYRIGHT. London: "THE STRAD" Office , 3, Green Terrace , Rosebery Avenue , E.C. E. DONAJOWSKI, 26, Castle Street , Berners Street , W. D. R. DUNCAN, 186, Fleet Street , E.C. 1899...

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PREFACE.

PREFACE.

In introducing this little work on Violoncello Playing, a few words of thanks and explanation are perhaps necessary. My thanks are due to the professional friends, and students—and also to others with whom I am not personally acquainted, who have spoken or written concerning the benefit they have derived from the study of the "Chats" during the serial "run" in The Strad . It is a great pleasure to find that through the perusal of these crude literary efforts, some few have derived pleasure or as

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The 'Cello a Difficult Instrument to Master.

The 'Cello a Difficult Instrument to Master.

If the reader has already commenced the study of the 'cello, it will be advisable for either his parents or himself to make direct enquiries of his professor, whether the latter thinks the pupil is sufficiently gifted to continue the study of this most difficult instrument. Of course every 'cello player cannot be a Becker or a Klengel, but unless the student has a very correct ear, and if he is old enough a fair amount of ambition, it would be better for him to study some less exacting instrumen

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The Choice of a Teacher.

The Choice of a Teacher.

The pupil is caused to suffer much inconvenience and perhaps even spoiled altogether for any real artistic work, if his early studies are not directed in an efficient manner. One smiles when one sees an advertisement in a local morning paper after the following fashion. Mr. ----, Professor of Music. Lessons on Piano! Singing! Violin! 'Cello! Guitar! and Zither! also French! and German! All one man, remember, not half-a-dozen, and yet learned as he evidently is, I would not trust him to show a pu

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The Choice of an Instrument and Bow.

The Choice of an Instrument and Bow.

Do not let my reader imagine that in the present work I am going to weary him with a long discourse on a matter which is so much controlled by the length of the purse; I flatter myself, however, that the advice will at least be sound. To those who can afford to buy a real genuine Cremona of good name, I have nothing whatever to say; if they can afford this, they can, or ought for their own satisfaction and safety, to pay for professional advice as to the real merit of their purchase. It is to th

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Attitude of the Player.

Attitude of the Player.

Most pupils are surprised I have no doubt, at the evident discrepancy seen in the plates usually published with 'cello schools, when compared with the manner in which our first class artists hold their instruments. I will endeavour in some measure to explain this away. The correct way to hold the 'cello if the instrument is not fitted with a sliding pin is as follows. The player to sit on the front part of the chair with the feet advanced, the left a little more forward than the right. The 'cell

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How to Hold the Bow.

How to Hold the Bow.

Fig. 2. Fig. 3. There can be no departure from the acknowledged way of holding the bow if the best results are to be obtained, that is to say, that the rules must be strictly observed as far as the individual shape of the hand will allow. It will be observed that the nut of the 'cello bow is scooped out on the inner side, which forms two projections, one of these, the lower one, is surrounded with metal through which the hair of the bow passes, the upper projection fits against the stick. The ex

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General Knowledge, etc.

General Knowledge, etc.

The general education of the student must on no account be neglected, in prematurely or unduly developing his talent for 'cello playing. The life of a musician is distinctly social, and it should be the aim of all aspirants to the title of artist, to fit themselves for the society into which it is likely their professional duties will take them. It is well known that some people believe that musical talent can only be in a high state of cultivation, at the expense of every other branch of learni

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Musical Notation.

Musical Notation.

With the help of the theoretical works mentioned previously, the student will soon learn the various clefs, key-signatures, rhythms, and scale forms, etc. My remarks will be confined to various peculiarities in the clefs used in 'cello music, and I shall also try to explain away some of the difficulties over which learners generally stumble. The violoncellist ought to be happy in the knowledge that his music is written for him in at least three clefs; but on the contrary this very abundance, to

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Early Exercises.

Early Exercises.

The first attempts at 'cello playing must be made with long, smooth bow-strokes, care being taken to have a nice even tone from heel to point; great vigilance is here required on the part of the master, in observing that the motion of the arm and wrist is correct. The pupil must not think that practising these long, slow bowings is a waste of time, it is the only way to obtain a good round tone, and afterwards, when whole bows are used for a quicker tempo, a command of the bow. In practising stu

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The Left Hand.

The Left Hand.

To a great extent the work of the left hand is mechanical, and like everything which is mechanical in true art, must only occupy a secondary place. This is particularly true about the elements of fingering, i.e. , placing the fingers on the strings in the proper manner, fingering the intervals in tune, etc., but does not apply to the close shake, gliding and various vocal effects obtained by changing the fingers on one note, or playing passages up the strings in various positions, which might be

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Bowing.

Bowing.

The student should always strive to produce a beautiful pleasing tone from his instrument. Rapidity of execution can be acquired with downright hard work, but great skill, prompted and controlled by a fine sense of tone quality is necessary to obtain a full tone, without it partaking of a hard, forced quality, or accompanied by scraping so pronounced as to be most unpleasant except perhaps to people at a great distance from the player. To acquire this skill, and also in some measure to educate t

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Various Bowings Applied to Scale Practice.

Various Bowings Applied to Scale Practice.

It is a mistake for a young player to imagine that after he has once "been through" the scales with his teacher, he need never bother himself about them again. When the major and minor scales in three octaves can be played from memory, it will be found to be of great assistance in keeping the intonation correct in all the keys, to adopt a system of daily scale practice. The number of scales taken each day must depend upon the amount of time which each student has at command; it is advisable, how

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Smooth Bowings.

Smooth Bowings.

The scales in semibreves, must be played with whole bowings. The student should endeavour to produce a clear, round tone, which must be of even volume throughout the whole bow-stroke. To accomplish this, a correct motion of the arm and wrist is necessary, the first finger must gradually increase the pressure on the bow as the head is reached, being again relaxed as the bow is pushed to the heel; to apply the necessary pressure without causing any inequality in the tone, is the secret of fine leg

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Struck Detached Bowings.

Struck Detached Bowings.

This style of bowing (Ex. 14) is known as martelé . It consists of a smart heavy stroke, with the upper third of the bow. The bow is stopped suddenly at the end of each stroke, without allowing the pressure of the first finger to relax; the bow stroke being suddenly checked, causes the abrupt stoppage of the smartly vibrating string, and allows a short pause to be made between each note. The effect might be represented thus: Short detached crotchets may be played with the upper half of the bow.

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Mixed Bowings.

Mixed Bowings.

This bowing is performed by commencing at the middle of the bow; with a smart, light stroke, draw the bow to the point, the three quavers played very smoothly take the bow back to the middle. The bowing in Ex. 19 has the phrasing just reversed, this bowing gives a very beautiful effect if nicely executed. For the three tied quavers commence at the middle of the bow, draw it smoothly to the point, then relaxing the tension of the muscles in the right hand, carry the bow smartly over the string, b

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Staccato.

Staccato.

The staccato bowing, if neatly executed, has a very brilliant effect; to obtain anything like mastery of it the student must first be careful to see that the bow is held correctly, and from the commencement, the bowing must be practised only in the recognised fashion, and according to the hints here given. If any movements other than those described are allowed, the student will find that he can never execute this difficult bowing beyond a certain speed, or if he does flatter himself in to the b

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Spiccato, or Springing-Stroke.

Spiccato, or Springing-Stroke.

The introduction of the springing-stroke in the interpretation of a composition, is left almost entirely to the discretion of the performer. It will be observed (Ex. 26), that the same signs are used for this, as for short detached solid bowings. Although this lack of clearness in our system of musical notation is to be regretted, one cannot help but think that this very general way of expressing the whole variety of detached staccato bowing, is really a gain to the artist. What is now admired a

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Slurred Springing-Strokes.

Slurred Springing-Strokes.

Slurred spiccato is very useful as a relief to the staccato proper. It is performed after the same style as detached springing-stroke, except that instead of the bow being reversed at each stroke, a number of notes are played with the bow springing in one direction. The bow should be given a preliminary bounce by a smart downward turn of the wrist, then gradually moved forward, which will cause several detached strokes as the bow falls after each rebound. For long, quick passages, it is necessar

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Sautillé.

Sautillé.

Although this bowing is often called Spiccato, Springing-stroke, Dancing-bow, etc., etc., it must not on any consideration be confused with the bowing previously described as such, that is the springing-bow applied to passages at only a moderate tempo; the method of production and the effect of these two bowings are entirely different, the sautillé, varying from the heavier class of springing-stroke, in not being produced by any studied action of the right-hand, wrist, or fingers. The work of th

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Dotted Notes.

Dotted Notes.

The rhythm given in Ex. 30, is frequently met with in almost every class of instrumental music. It may be bowed in four distinctly different ways. The way mostly adopted, especially in chamber, or orchestral music, where occasionally whole sections of a work have accompaniments for the strings in this rhythm, is to tie the two notes in one bow as marked in Ex. 30, this is done, even if no bowing marks whatever are given in the parts. The upper half of the bow may be used, the bow being almost dr

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Positions, Shifting, etc.

Positions, Shifting, etc.

Although learning the various positions used in violoncello playing is neither so interesting a study nor so quickly mastered as are a few of the seemingly more difficult styles of bowing, a thorough practical knowledge of them is absolutely necessary both for orchestral and solo work. It is interesting to note, however, that extraordinary ability in any one direction is generally obtained at the expense of the other branch of 'cello playing. A long experienced orchestral player, although having

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Portamento.

Portamento.

The subject of gliding, although referring more directly to phrasing, is so nearly connected with shifting and the choice of positions that one is insensibly led into its treatment. A melody should never depend on the characteristics of an instrument for its effectiveness, although much individual charm is given to a composition by such characteristics being allowed to assert themselves without spoiling the intentions of the composer. Thus the phrasing should never be marred just because it is c

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Double-Stopping.

Double-Stopping.

In consequence of the great distances which separate the notes in the neck positions on the violoncello, nothing very extraordinary is written, or is expected in the matter of double-stopping. However as a training for the left-hand, there is nothing to equal a series of well planned studies in double-stopping; by practising such, the student obtains a command of the various "stretches" necessary for a correct use of the fingers of the left hand. Dotzauer, in his famous studies, seems to have re

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Chords.

Chords.

Owing to the arching of the bridge, it is impossible to sustain more than two notes during the whole stroke of the bow. Therefore, three or four part chords are only possible as "broken" chords (Ex. 43). A bold attack is necessary to play chords at all effectively, the fingers of the left hand should be placed simultaneously on the strings, the necessary changes in fingering for a succes sion of chords, being accomplished rapidly and neatly during the moment of reversing the bow-stroke. It is ge

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Arpeggios.

Arpeggios.

Arpeggios are chords, the notes of which are sounded separately. A modified way of expressing that chords are to be played in arpeggio, is by placing a curved line immediately preceding the chord, thus: Key arpeggi are formed from the common chord, that is the tonic, mediant and dominant; they may be practised as running arpeggi in three octaves. These arpeggi are published for 'cello in a very useful form, together with the major and minor scales, etc., by the St. Cecilia Music Publishing Co.;

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Arpeggios (Bowing).

Arpeggios (Bowing).

The manner of bowing the various forms of arpeggio, offers difficulties of a peculiar nature to the student; this is chiefly occasioned by the crossing and recrossing of the strings, which although greatly adding to the possibilities and brilliance of many of the various modes of phrasing, also in most cases adds to the difficulty of a quiet performance. A thorough knowledge of the arm and wrist movements which are brought into use in approaching any of the four strings with various parts of the

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Graces and Embellishments.

Graces and Embellishments.

There are various embellishments in use, some of which are expressed in notation, such as the cadenza, the group of grace notes, the appogiatura. Others are expressed by signs. The most important of these are the trill, or shake (tr), the pralltriller, or short shake ( ), and the mordent, or turn ( or according to the variety). Besides the above, and not included in these two divisions, are numerous graces, or ornaments, which perhaps come under the head of effects, and both in their introductio

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The Trill.

The Trill.

To acquire a good trill on the violoncello, the student should practice trilling with each finger, commencing very slowly at first, then gradually increasing the speed. Each finger should be perfected separately, the fourth being generally the weakest, will require more attention. The following exercise (Ex. 50) if properly practised, should be the means of perfecting the student in this essential and pleasing ornament. To study this exercise properly a week should be devoted to each figure, tha

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The Vibrato.

The Vibrato.

The vibrato or close shake is produced by shaking the left hand from side to side, the finger tip—which stops the note on which the vibrato is produced,—forming the pivot. The soft fleshy cushion which forms the tip of the finger, seems to grip the string, and should not on any account be allowed to slide out of tune; thus the effect must never be so exaggerated as to allow the beats to be varied in pitch, the result should merely be a kind of throbbing. A good effect is produced in a sostenuto

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The Cadenza.

The Cadenza.

The cadenza may be said to range from the group of notes taken ad lib. , to the brilliant virtuosic cadenza introduced, or added to concerto compositions. The first form is generally used as a connecting link between one section of a composition and another, and although the time is marked ad lib. , the student should always strive to correctly phrase these little solo passages in accordance with the character of the movement or composition, so that the desired effect may be given. The latter an

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Grace Notes.

Grace Notes.

Grace notes expressed in groups of small notes are not essential in any great degree to the musical structure of a composition, they are supposed to add to its effectiveness; the success of their introduction and their chief charm, consists in throwing them into the melody with ease. Sometimes a ritard is made, especially in song-like compositions, so that the grace notes may be played quite deliberately; in other pieces where strict time is essential, the time must be stolen from the note which

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Pizzicato.

Pizzicato.

Notes are played pizzicato by pulling the strings with the fingers, instead of causing their vibration with the bow; the player should grasp the bow firmly at the nut with the little finger, and perhaps the third finger, according to the requirements of the pizzicato passage. In scale passages it is wise to use the first and second fingers alternately for the purpose of plucking the strings, the thumb resting on the edge of the fingerboard as a support for the hand. For arpeggios and chords, the

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The Use of the Thumb.

The Use of the Thumb.

A knowledge of the correct use of the thumb for the purpose of stopping notes on the violoncello, is of the utmost importance to any who wish to have anything like command of the instrument. It is quite certain that the 'cello would not be anything like the perfect instrument it is, if the player was confined to the neck positions. As already explained, the neck positions only extend to a couple of notes beyond the half-string. When it is necessary to go beyond this, the thumb is taken from its

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Extensions.

Extensions.

The use of extensions, that is, the fingering of certain notes which are foreign to the position in which the hand is placed, is of more frequent occurrence in the thumb positions than in the lower range of the instrument. To a great extent these have to be studied as special passages. However, each passage of this des cription thoroughly mastered, will make similar passages easier and assist in giving a greater command over the fingerboard. To acquire a general knowledge of these extensions, th

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Octaves.

Octaves.

Octave passages are usually played across two strings, with the thumb and third finger, the thumb stopping the lower note on the lower string, and the third finger stopping its octave on the higher string. The most difficult progressions in octaves are those which are played in unison, that is, the higher and lower notes being sounded simultaneously—the slightest faults in intonation are here most painfully evident. Where the octaves are sounded separately, one part moving independently to the o

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Harmonics.

Harmonics.

In considering harmonics, the names of two of the greatest violin players the world has ever seen force themselves to one's mind:—Paganini and Spohr; the exponents of two schools of violin playing as diametrically opposed to each other as darkness is to light. Paganini the weird, fiery Italian, astonishing the world with hitherto undreamt of effects, not the least marvellous in the eyes of critics and multitude alike, being his wonderful command over every possible form of harmonic playing. Spoh

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Artificial Harmonics.

Artificial Harmonics.

The name "artificial" is used merely in contrast to "natural," they are only artificial in the sense that they are produced on an artificial or "made" basis, instead of being in the key of the open string. If one was restricted to the use of natural harmonics it would be impossible to play scale passages, or any passages foreign to the key of the four open strings. However by causing the string to be shortened by the employment of a stopped note the pitch of the fundamental note may be raised to

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Special Effects.

Special Effects.

There are various effects possible on the violoncello, which one often finds introduced in modern solo compositions, but on which most works on the art of violoncello playing are strangely reticent. Some of these effects may perhaps come under the head of trick playing, but as they are to be found in the works of such masters as Servais, Davidoff, Popper, etc., it will be advisable to devote a little time to their consideration. Servais—who is credited with doing more by his compositions and pla

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Sul Ponticello.

Sul Ponticello.

A style of bowing which seems to be either very little understood, or very much neglected, is "sul ponticello" bowing. In string quartets, orchestral music, etc., a very fine effect is possible if all the players execute it in a proper manner. The bow should be drawn quite close to the bridge, with only medium pressure applied, the stroke should be performed more rapidly than ordinary bowing. This bowing executed by a number of strings gives a very weird effect, the only objection to its use bei

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Flautando.

Flautando.

Of more real use than the preceding, is the bowing sometimes styled sotto voce , or more properly "flautando"; the tone produced by this manner of bowing is of a beautiful soft flute-like character, and serves as a grateful change to a continued hard tone. It is accomplished by causing the bow to be drawn near the fingerboard, and without any pressure being applied; the strokes should be drawn much more rapidly than for the usual way of bowing, the change of bow-strikes being accomplished almost

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Pizzicato Effects.

Pizzicato Effects.

Various effects are possible in pizzicato playing, such as the close shake, the pizzicato glide; the latter if done well has a very good effect, especially in chord passages, the fingers should glide to the next chord almost as soon as the strings are plucked. Grace notes are also possible in this manner; the string is plucked for the grace note, then the finger rapidly glides to the principal note during its vibration; the string only being plucked once for the two notes or chords. Delivery—Sty

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Delivery, Style, etc.

Delivery, Style, etc.

Up to the present chapter the student has been instructed how to interpret and perform that which he sees on the music sheet before him; to give a soulful and intelligent reading of any composition, he must look beyond the mere written notes, and see if it is not possible to discover some meaning , some effect which the composer has been unable to express in musical notation. True music is conceived in the mind of the composer, in some more or less perfected form, before any attempt is made to t

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THE STRAD

THE STRAD

A Monthly Journal for Professionals and Amateurs of all Stringed Instruments played with the Bow. Published on the First of every Month. Price 2d., Annual Subscription, Post Free, 2s. 6d. THE STRAD is the only recognised organ of the string family and has subscribers in every country of the civilised world. Our circulation has increased to so great an extent that we are enabled to engage as contributors THE LEADING WRITERS in the VIOLIN WORLD. The following eminent Authors, Critics and Players a

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Technics of Violin Playing

Technics of Violin Playing

ON JOACHIM'S METHOD BY CARL COURVOISIER. With Folding Plates, Containing Fifteen Illustrations. LETTER FROM DR. JOACHIM [ Copy ]. My Dear Mr. Courvoisier : I have read the book on Violin Playing you have sent me, and have to congratulate you sincerely on the manner in which you have performed a most difficult task, i.e. , to describe the best way of arriving at a correct manner of playing the violin. It cannot but be welcome to thoughtful teachers, who reflect on the method of our art, and I hop

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THE BOW Its History, Manufacture and Use

THE BOW Its History, Manufacture and Use

BY HENRY SAINT-GEORGE. With Full Page Illustrations (exact size) by Photo Process. MONS. EMILE SAURET writes—"I have read it with great interest, and think that it supplies a real want in giving musicians such an excellent description of all matters referring to this important instrument." SIGNOR GUIDO PAPINI writes—"Thanks so much for your splendid and interesting book. You are quite successful and all the artists and amateurs are indebted to you for a so exact and correct ' Texte ' on the subj

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PRESS NOTICES.

PRESS NOTICES.

"Those who love their fiddles better than their fellows, and who treasure up every detail that can be found and recorded about their favourite and cherished players will not fail to provide themselves with a copy of this book."— Musical Opinion. "This book of 280 pages is a most interesting and valuable addition to the violinist's library. It contains 89 biographical sketches of well-known artists, ancient and modern, of all nations. This is not intended to be a perfect dictionary of violinists;

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Copy of Letter received by the Author from the great 'cellist, SIGNOR ALFRED PIATTI.

Copy of Letter received by the Author from the great 'cellist, SIGNOR ALFRED PIATTI.

Cadenabbia, Lake of Como, March 9th, 1898. Dear Sir ,—I received the book you kindly sent me on "The Technics of Violoncello Playing," which I found excellent, particularly for beginners, which naturally was your scope. With many thanks for kindly remembering an old ex-violoncello player. Believe me, yours sincerely, ALFRED PIATTI....

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Copy of Letter received by the Author from the eminent 'cellist, HERR DAVID POPPER.

Copy of Letter received by the Author from the eminent 'cellist, HERR DAVID POPPER.

Budapest, February 22nd, 1898. Dear Sir ,—In sending me your book on "The Technics of Violoncello Playing" you have given me a real and true pleasure. I know of no work, tutors and studies not excepted, which presents so much valuable material, so much that is absolutely to the point, avoiding—I might say, on principle—all that is superfluous and dispensable. Every earnest thinking violoncello student will in future make your book his own and thereby receive hints which will further and complete

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PRESS NOTICES.

PRESS NOTICES.

"Among the recent art publications, of which the increasing number gives the measure of popular appreciation, may be mentioned the production of L. J. Cowen's 'The Old Strad.' The picture was exhibited at the Royal Academy as far back as 1886, and attracted considerable attention on account of the thoroughly Dutch feeling and humour the artist had thrown into his work. It has now been reproduced by the Swan Electric Engraving Company, of which the methods are probably unsurpassed by any other pr

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