THE

.~

Department for Violinists

Edited by ROBERT BRAINE

No. I.

on an article describing a
new style violin, which has slight grooves
on the fingerboard, a! an aid to the beginner in placing his fingers at the proper
points, a correspondent
writes from Vancouver, B. c.: "1 have read the column
on page 744, entitled a 'New Style Violin.'
I don't know what they want wit; any
new style; the present is the Lest that has
been or will be, I think.
A5 to making
.'~ easier to play, I do not think that it can
be done in any other way than by hard
work. Croovcs or frets on the fingerboard will never train a pupil's ear, on the
contrary they will ruin it. Such aids may
train the sight, but not the ear, because in
having frets one wants to look, and when
using your e) cs you don't use your ears
the same as you would when depending
entirely on the musical hearing.
Then
again frets arc of no use if the string
gets flat or harp while you are playing.
The only 11~t' frets are on a violin is in
teaching das es, a number of pupils at
the samt' tillH, since the teacher can stand
in front of till' class and tell the pupils on
which frd to ptlt the finglr. They are
also of :-ome slight service to beginners
who arc 1mt 11111 lcal. I n~t."d them twelve
years ago in c1~:,,~ ,vork, and found them
of a little me i1l the way I mention, but
anyone.: \\1J) nquircs
frets on his violin
in order i h.:arn had best try some easier
instrument.
'I he frets I speak of were
raised th sam as un a mandolin, but only
(fourth
linger on the E
up to U (r
string in tIlt' tirst IJusition).
A paper
chart IS
, d al~(l to put on the fingerboard fl
a ~hl)rt time, but even with
that some up 15 are slow to learn."
The points of our correspondent
are
J or artistic
violin playing a
well taken.
perfectly
sm oth
fingerboard
without
frets, groove or other guides is required.
The only excuse for such aids is in the
caSe of pup 1 with hope1e5sly defective
musical it aring, and such pupils, as
Spohr sa) 5 m his Violin School, had best
study some
h l' instrument. such as the
piano or or n, where the pitch does not
depend on t e performer.
Some teachers
1\ ing lines showing where
paste a chart
to put the
r.:o,on the fingerboard in
but
the earlier
s of instruction,
teachers of th b st class do not use any
such aids,
they are of questionable
Yalue. Th
might as welt search out
the proper
to put the fingers. with
o~ly his ear
guide. from the very begmning . a
pupil with a good ear
does not
d fficult to do this.
Artistic
ould not be done on a
viOlin
t
h frets,
for several
t place a violinist with
reasons.
a refined
s according
to the
natural S
not according to the
t:mpered
b ch is used in tuning
~Ianos-th
D playing
in dtfferent
en ace
the natural scale F
.
' the
sharp , f
IS not exactly
not
C natural as B sharp,
~ c. IdIf f
ed the notes named
.
ou be
e same, Just
as t bey
COMMENTING

w. T.

BEST'S PAINSTAKING

CA:llE-

il

IN an ex.,.,lIent chapter on W. t. Bet!

in Hd.thcote Stathatft's work. The OrgtM
and its PO,fltJon in MtUicol Art, are ~e-

t. given

counttd

man)" anecdotes

and

rOllUn~

cenee, 01 the gr t English organist.

Notbing i, m re illuminating however
than the foil wmg "",count 01 the elabo
rate care which Best took over t
'mallest details.
.
"Best was 011 f the mos.t consClentl
01 artists and d!ollll\ndedtar more Ir
hnn,elf than li~pUblic ever demande
IrOll1 him He once remarked l<f In
alter a perforlnance 01 Elijah with a
gan accompaniment alone: 'Getting
was the bare
those a com~nlments

day's work I ever bad in my lile: No

it i. quite certain that he could 'have
comp nled the whole oratorio th.rough tothe entire. tisfact c>nof the aUdience a
even of the ingers (who, in f.att,
very bttle about ~. aceol\1\l&!llment
long as it d G not interfere w th th
own voices). w1tbout any 'getting uti
2.11' but that would not have satisfi

b oqa1\1 in use
'Fir

Superiority

m Con truction,
d 6wett.nealofT one

VIRGINIA

bi':"'tr:

be wanted to get all Mende&-!

sobn'. orcbeftr'al effects as fat' as thni
could be got Oft tbe organ
"At a performance of the MlSnah
only the OTg&n lCcompaniment, at w
I was present n order the more dit

to represent tm. orebestra he de1iber

,uppre"ed a great deal 01 the most
leal organ tone playing the Pe<1al
for instance, with violine tone in
the Open DlapalOn; arranging the

JAi2~' ,JU

Of Classics

P.~:1 .........

11_01-.1'0_.-1._Iloo01
VIoII..n_\_
~
__
E'"

......

Walter

___

..

".11 _-

J'" '='"

IItilaa, Mala.
afUDl_ --.

... ......-..

nil

an thr,ougb 50 as to get as much the

feet 0" strine tone as possible w
strings were to be represented.
mltet have been entirely fot' bis own
thetic satiafaction, for I doubt if
was a ~r.son in the hall except my
who would pert:eive what he was ai
at, As to his representations of the w
instrument parts in Mozart's accornp*

ment I remember the late John H

itta

his astonishment at it.

If ft welJ,t to
a perfonnanee witho1it
band,' he aid, 'and I heard all the

expres

s:me

are on a piano. Then, as our correspondent states, if one of the strings became
flat or sharp all the notes played on that
string would be flat or sharp, since it
would be impossible to finger the notes
slightly higher or lower, on account of
the frets. This is a very important matter
in the case of an instrument as liable to
get out of tune as easily as the violin.
One or more of the strings of the violin
may get out of tune in the middle of a
solo. where there is no chance to tune, but
by fingering flat or sharp on the string
the intonation can be kept fairly good,
except where open s\rings are absolutely
necessary. It would also be impossible to
execute the glissando (the sliding from
one note to another on the string with a
single finger) on a violin with frets.
Metal frets are also an abomination because they make playing extremely fatiguing on account of the additional weight on
the fingerboard.
Every little while some alleged improvement comes out in the way of a "royal
road" to violin playing, which witt enable
one to ma5ter its difficulties in a half or
a quarter the usual time. ~he pupil with
a musical ear does not need these aids,
and no one without a musical ear should
try to learn violin playing.

VIOLINS

:-:=:
~:mW5gl.
. .

".."..

"..

=--=--".. ':?

FOR ALL PLAYERS

Stuclento Outfits $10 up

-(

Some writers
the following:

indicate

the martele

No.2.

;t;

FRETS ON THE VIOLIN.

609

ETUDE

Ca&alor 110 1 B

. Real Old Vialins, $40 up

as in

Catalofr

"GEMUNOER
$156 UP

FJ

marcato.
This bowing is extremely

useful and
remarkably effective in executing mareato
passages where extremely vigorous staccato tones are required.
Notwithstanding
its frequent
use I have known many
experienced violinists who neither understood the true nature of this bowing, nor
were able to execute it. Kreutzer in his
directions for executing the martele says,
"This stroke must be executed firmly at
the point of the bow. All notes both
in the up bow and down bow must be
executed with equal strength, necessitating the application of more force in the
up bows, since these are naturally weaker
than the down strokes."
Kreutzer's direction to play this bowing with the point
of the bow is somewhat misleading, since
the bowing "is executed more with the
forearm
in the upper half of the bow
than str-ictly at the point.
HOW TO EXECUTE IT.

The martele is produced by a certain

strong, swift pressure of the forefinger on
the stick of the bow. This pressure
is
instantly relaxed.
The stick of the bow
dips swiftly down to the hair and back
again, and the string flans in a wide
vibration momentarily.
The effect of this
is to produce a' sound of extraordinary
vigor, which COI1\'eY5 an idea of great
'Virility and etrength.
Single notes marked
Jlz are sometimes
pla)'ed
martel1ato.
HOW TO STUDY MARTELE
although such notes are oftener executed
BOWING.
at the nut.
Martele bowing is not for the beginner.
and the student should be well advanced
MARTEtt (French)
or martellato (Italian) bowing for string instruments gets in his bowing before attempting it. When
the beginner attempts
it he is apt to
its name from the word martel (French),
stiffen his whole arm.
The advancec.l
It
or martello (Italian)
for hammer.
student
attempting
martele bowing
for
is literally "hammered" bowing. Passages
the first time usually make5 the mistake
for the piano also, as for example several of continuing the pressure with the forein MacDowell's
well-known
JVitclles finger after the first attack.
This makes
Danu, are often specifically marked and a long tone instead of a short one and
executed "martellato."
For the piano the the tone is apt to be of very bad Quality.
~he very essence of the martele
is a
"martellato"
signifies that an extremely
forcible, inelastic stroke is to be used, as sudden explosive pressure on the stick of
the bow which is instantly relaxed. The
if the keys were being struck with a
mistake is also frequently
made in athammer.
tempting this bowing of keeping the hair
In violin playing the martele is ex- too far from the bridge.
In all loud
ecuted in the upper half of the bow by tones, accented notes, and tones where
is applied generally,. the
a strong pressure of the forefinger which gr~at pressure
must be attacked
comparatively
is instantly relaxed so as to produce a string
very strongly accented
staccato
note. close to the bridge, otherwise the resu1t4
The martelti is used either for a single ing tone will infallibly be of very bad
quality.
It i.; also evident tbat this bownote or series of notes. which require to
ing cannot be used in playing very fast
be heavily accented, and the bow i5 not
passages, as there would not be time to
lifted from the string between the notes. produce the successive pressure of each
Kreutzer considered this bow stroke of note.
sufficient importance to devote two whole
In learning
the rnartele the student
exercises, the 6th ami 7th in his famous
would find it an advantage
to practice
Forty Etudes, to its acquirement.
and such studies as if there were rests bethere are numerous other passages in his tween the notes. The interval of silence
Etudes for this bowing.
between the notes gives the player time
I n violin music this bowing is often to remember all the proper elements which
must be present in the production of each
specifically marked martele, or martellato,
For instance the 6th study of
or accent marks are placed over the notes. note.
and the judgment of the player is relied Kreutzer might at first be practiccd as if
upon as to wbether the passage is to be written as follows:
No. 3.
played martellato
or not.
In the 6th
Etude of the original Leipzig edition of
the Kreutzer Etudes the martele bowing
is indicated by both a dot and accent
mark placed over each note as follows;

No a E

ART" V10UNS
Co...........

_J! .!iriDt. &Chait'.".But

FREE. Our BoHlet.

Eu,Pa,t.
_

..

ael.diar .101. f. per

HiatwJ 01 the Bow.

...

RUGU5T 6EMONDER .. 50N5

SEND THlS AnV.

141 W .. 142c1ST. NEW YOH

ROOT VIOLINS

.~
'fl'

ma.t .atidaetory
Seed f. cal.l~

.iad.

Old...........
,II

For more thaD fifty

)'eean bave beea the
choice of mu,iciaD'
and
dillCTLmiDatial
buyen.
The.mootb.
rich, mellow
aod
evea tone. that deenote
pcerieeetioo i D
con.tructioD
aDd
.killful
ad,u.tmeDl
havee made them the
violio at aD1 price .
J ..._
U
tiIM.

1.......

"'1'"

e.t..

J eU1 -.-it f. ,..,........

_l~.

E. T. ROOT'"

1530 E,55th STREET

SONS
CHICACO, ILL.

~~-~:~
~
&=~
~
Chart
~~. -5'

Marcy'l

of Intonation

FOR THE VIOLIN (Sb 11Iuotra&ns)

Te.d~.
how to locate aDY ~od,
DAtural. .harp
or aat and prove. them to be correct in all poIitlon.,
with chart. whicb 'touchn
Hook of innructioa.
upon bow to diterimiaate
betweeeD. mUllcal loOuncl
and 1I0ile. effect iDtenala,
mu.ical vibration.
and
."und-wavel
UpOD wbieh thee chart
II fouDdced.
lIudied and applied to the \ jolin, are 6ne polOU
invaluable to every leuner.
Price, III, .. U.
1.........
,.

,.II ,..

H. W. MARCY
2S Bra)'ton

Park PI.ce

N. Y.

Utlc.,

NEUNER ro,VIOLINS

are now lad have been

IC'ver,l yeau UlC'd
by Jeadin, IQleand Ofcbeaua player. tbrou,bout
the world.
Price $25.00
We don't C'On.ider a "Kolio told ulltil the cu ..
torner i' ..ti.lied in tveery pafllcular.
Cltalot
ol6ne Violin. and Cello. K'DI lr~.

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