Getting Rid of the Beginner's Sound

Hi everyone, this is your instructor, Joy. Thank you for watching. Please check the description below for our website and donations. Thank you for all the nice comments and questions. Please be encouraged to keep sending so, no matter how many times you do. Remember, there are no wrong questions. So, all the questions are welcome. A violinist is wondering, how does one get rid of the beginner sound? I think we all experience that. It's not just for beginner violinists. Sooner or later, sometimes our sound is not as ideal as one wishes. So, since this violinist specifically has to get rid of the beginner sound, I will focus on that. I'm not going to go what I would normally do for an advanced violinist, but rather focusing on this entry level violinist. First, be generous with using your rosin. Yes, it starts with that. Often, I find that beginner violinists don't always understand the importance of rosin. So, I tell all my beginner violinists to start using rosin 10 times every time. Like 1, 2, 3, 4, 10 times. And your violin will get dusty and then you just have to clean. But rosin plays an important role when it comes to producing nice sound. So, that will certainly help you, number one. Another one that can be helpful is put rosin on the string straight. You're wondering, what? Never heard of it. Yes, it was new to me too. My husband is a bass player and I saw him doing that and I'm like, it's weird. I tried it myself, it works great. Especially when it's really, really dry. What it does is, I like to use colston, in this case it's a bass rosin. Very, very sticky. So, something like this. So, I rosin straight on the string, like this. So, it helps for the bow hair to grab a little better. You just have to clean afterwards very well because those sticks to the string. So, you want to clean that one well. So, number one, just put rosin everywhere. On the bow hair, on the string. You just have to clean afterwards, but that will improve a lot. Number two, I like when violinists use whole bow. But if you are a beginner violinist, stay away from the frog for now. You will learn, and it's important to learn how to use the frog in this part as well. But because near the frog, it requires a little more control of your hand and joint. Therefore, when you are a beginner violinist, I often suggest use two thirds of bow from the tip. So, divide the bow to three. And if you want, you can put a little tape there. And then use from the tip until two thirds. So, don't use the frog yet. I'm not saying never, but for the time being. Until you master this nice sound first. Then you can move on to extending the length of the bow usage. But for now, you will just use from two thirds. So, just from here. And stop here again. And once you hear the significant sound improve, then also one gets motivated and then you go to the next step. So, one step at a time. For now, just try to use upper two thirds of the bow from the tip until there. Don't use the near frog yet if you are a beginner violinist. Then, when the sound is squeaky, it can be two reasons. Either it's too heavy. I'm sure it's not that bad, but I have to exaggerate. Or too light. Whatever it is, we're having a hard time to control the weight of the bow. Because it has to do with the weight of the bow. Because we think we have to move our bow like this. Instead of trying to move our bow a certain way, see if you can imagine yourself pushing the weight sideways. Like this. Just allow the bow to fall. And instead of trying to move every movement, rather push it like this. Sideways. Sideway movement. And when you get towards the tip, allow your arm to fall. You don't have to keep fighting or try to forcefully keep there. Just allow your bow to fall. Later on, you can work on details to keep the bow in the perfect spot. But for now, again, one step at a time. Allow your arm to move sideways. And when it gets towards the tip, which is this one, your arm wants to drop and let it drop. Not like this. And then again, see in any open strings, we can just move the bow sideways. Make sure the bow is on the string. Not like this, on the string. But sideways. Simple movement. Later, you can work on specific perfect bow position. But for now, try to find an easy spot to make a nice sound. A squeaky sound or ugly sound happens when the bow is too close to a brick. Or too far away. So, what I suggest to my beginner violinist is keep the bow at the end of the fingerboard. It's not too hard for you to see even though we are at a weird angle. So here, from 2 thirds using the bow, just stay near the end of the fingerboard by pushing the bow to the side. Like that. Then, do a lot of open string practicing. And then sometimes when you start playing a piece, you're losing the sound. Even though when you play open strings, you do perfectly fine. But as soon as you start playing, that's hard. Because there are so many things you have to multitask. So you don't get to observe or you don't get to keep an eye on the spot where you want to do. Which is normal. Don't be discouraged. And that's how we all do. What I suggest to my students is learn to read ahead. So that you can take your eyes off the music in order to keep looking at your bow spot. To secure a nice sound. Let's say... This is the spot that you want to do. And you read quickly. And they can be trained. But you have to do it little by little with pause. So read... In your head... That way you can always look at the bow and then control the way you use your bow. Stop for a second, then read the next one. Memorize in your head. Eyes back to the bow. Music. Next music. Memorize in your head. And then look back to the bow. Like that. So you're teaching your brain to work ahead of your muscle. That way your eyes can be always there to control your bow for a nicer sound. I hope this video was helpful. Let me know how it went with you. Thank you for watching. Please subscribe and check the description below. Bye bye.