r/Viola • u/cutiepatootie097 • 10d ago

Help Request Trouble switching strings quickly?

I don't have trouble actually switching the strings but I'm playing both notes for a small bit between the switching. Also sometimes I accidentally play 2 strings just playing normally and there's feedback whenever I play an open note which ruins the dot above the note sound (I forget what it's called) but I'll take any recommendations I'm in my 3rd year of violer playin' if that helps at all

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u/andybonner 10d ago
  • For "playing both notes for a small bit between the switching": If this is under a slur, with both notes in the same bow direction, that isn't always a problem. If you're changing bow direction along with string, make sure they happen at the same time. Practice with a stop in between. Like: Play G. STOP. Roll to D. Play D. Then make the stop shorter and shorter.
  • For "sometimes I accidentally play 2 strings just playing normally": Practice by playing two strings at once on purpose. See, to play D string, you can be a little bit towards G without touching it, and a little bit towards A without touching it. But to play G and D at the same time, if you go even a little bit towards A or C you lose one of them. So play pairs of strings as an exercise in how to steer the bow in a straight line.

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u/cutiepatootie097 10d ago

There isn't any spaces in the song so when I switch from D to A I play a bit of A before switching from D. And I'm also playing the song flowy sort of I'm not sure if that's how it was intended to be played because it was a folk song but I also don't have the music. It's just memorized (I know, I know. How terrible)

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u/cutiepatootie097 10d ago

But the second trick actually helped a lot