Zimbalist Tango Breakdown - The American Viola Society

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DEFINITION OF TERMS: WB – whole bow HB – half bow LH – lower half of bow UH – upper half of bow *rtk* – retake Medium/resonant lane or “md lane” – one in which you can most comfortable produce the most naturally warm, ringing sound with ease Away – near the fingerboard Tug – pull of the bow “in,” toward the bridge Imaginary string – an imaginary line which runs up and down the fingerboard between the two sounding strings when playing double-stops -------------- A CAUTIONARY NOTE: What you will find here is what I call my personal “skeleton” of Zimbalit’s <strong>Tango</strong>. That is to say, what I have written down in this document is a record of all of the technical directives which I have spent hours in the practice room slowly ingraining into both my mind and body (muscle memory) – until every motion and thought has become habitual. However, since performing a piece EXACTLY the same way every time one plays it is never the goal for any musician, this state of ‘habit’ is meant ONLY to be a stable foundation upon which one can fall back upon during any performance for physical comfort and ease along with technical confidence and consistency. Please note that it is the conscious, purposeful, and delightful(!) deviations FROM this foundation which can make a performance come alive and breathe. <strong>The</strong> purpose of developing a safety net of a solid “game plan” is merely to help lend the confidence needed to take those risky deviations in performance and ultimately to enjoy creating a version of the piece which is unique to each performer. I gladly offer whatever of these technical directives that any reader would like to take in and make his or her own, but I also challenge readers to take the time in the practice room to create their own personal, unique skeletons – as each violist is built differently on so many different levels (physically, mentally, musically…). ONE FINAL GENERAL THOUGHT: Overall, the three BIG technical ideas that help the most in playing this piece are… 1) Thinking, hearing, and visualizing intonation AHEAD of the right hand. That’s right. You know EXACTLY where those notes lie on the fingerboard, so give your brain a head start and NAIL them every time! 2) Staying balanced in the right arm and keeping bow arm motions simple - moving back and forth along each string’s horizontal plane (or imaginary string’s horizontal plane if it’s a double stop), and therefore eliminating extraneous motions which can lead to tension and therefore inaccuracy. 3) Bow division (or ‘bow planning’) within these horizontal planes in order to remain relaxed and released – and therefore comfortable whilst creating a vibrantly resonant and expressive sound. When the brain has a plan, it gives up the need to panic during any ‘hard spots.’
L Hand: Flat, fleshy fingers and leaning more toward 1 st finger hand balance for warm, vibrant, expressive sound. R Hand: Flat hair. Middle of the hand balance & pivot pt. BOW DIVISION: frog to mid UH // save/Move to TIP/WB /WB // (½ /½ ) / (½/ ½) /*retake* ¼ of WB of HB LANES: resonant lane // --- /closer to /pull into /away// medium lane/ slight tug toward bridge bridge bridge SHIFTS: shift on new (up) bow OTHER: Shoulders back, ribcage released and open, & shoulder blades hanging for open and resonant sound. L Hand: release flat fingers …………………………………………………………move hand balance toward second finger RH BD: [(½/½ )/ (½/ ½ )] /*rtk*¼ // 5/5 of WB //from tip:(½/½ ) //save/move down/save // move/save/ mv //frog to / ¼ / ¼ /to frog/*rtk* ¼ of 2/3rds bow of 1/2 bow mid UH (~2/3) LANES: md lane/ slight tug……………….//resonant md lane // AWAY // tug/ away /tug for G//away/md lane…………………………………………………… OTHER: Different sound and character. Take the time to sing!!
Page 1: Molly Carr’s HOW-TO MANUAL for Zi
Page 5 and 6: L Hand: balance between fingers of
Page 7 and 8: L H: RELEASE!!! (hand/arm/back/ches
Page 9 and 10: LH: ….still flat, juicy, fleshy f
Page 11 and 12: LH: released, fleshy, expressive fi
Page 13: L Hand: ………………………

Zimbalist Tango Breakdown - The American Viola Society

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