The Left Hand
Edmund Severn's activity in the field of violin music is a three-fold one: he is a composer, an interpreting artist and a teacher, and his fortuitous control of the three vital phases of his Art make his views as regards its study of very real value. The lover of string music in general would naturally attach more importance to his string quartet in
D major, his trio for violin, 'cello and piano, his violin concerto in D
minor, the sonata, the "Oriental," "Italian," "New England" suites for
violin, and the fine suite in A major, for two violins and piano, than
to his symphonic poems for orchestra, his choral works and his songs.
And those in search of hints to aid them to master the violin would be
most interested in having the benefit of his opinions as a teacher,
founded on long experience and keen observation. Since Mr. Severn is
one of those teachers who are born, not made, and is interested heart
and soul in this phase of his musical work, it was not difficult to draw
him out.
The Joachim Bowing
"My first instructor in the violin was my father, the pioneer violin
teacher of Hartford, Conn., where my boyhood was passed, and then I
studied with Franz Milcke and Bernard Listemann, concertmaster of the
Boston Symphony Orchestra. But one day I happened to read a few lines
reprinted in the _Metronome_ from some European source, which quoted
Wilhelmj as saying that Emanuel Wirth, Joachim's first assistant at the
Berlin _Hochschule_, 'was the best teacher of his generation.' This was
enough for me: feeling that the best could be none too good, I made up
my mind to go to him. And I did. Wirth was the viola of the Joachim
Quartet, and probably a better teacher than was Joachim himself. Violin
teaching was a cult with him, a religion; and I think he believed God
had sent him to earth to teach fiddle. Like all the teachers at the
_Hochschule_ he taught the regular 'Joachim' bowing--they were obliged
to teach it--as far as it could be taught, for it could not be taught
every one. And that is the real trouble with the 'Joachim' bowing. It is
impossible to make a general application of it.
"Joachim had a very long arm and when he played at the point of the bow
his arm position was approximately the same as that of the average
player at the middle of the bow. Willy Hess was a perfect exponent of
the Joachim method of bowing. Why? Because he had a very long arm. But
at the _Hochschule_ the Joachim bowing was compulsory: they taught, or
tried to teach, all who came there to use it without exception; boys or
girls whose arms chanced to be long enough could acquire it, but big men
with short arms had no chance whatever. Having a medium long arm, by
dint of hard work I managed to get my bowing to suit Wirth; yet I always
felt at a disadvantage at the point of the bow, in spite of the fact
that after my return to the United States I taught the Joachim bowing
for fully eight years.
"Then, when he first came here, I heard and saw Ysaye play, and I
noticed how greatly his bowing differed from that of Joachim, the point
being that his first finger was always in a position to press
_naturally_ without the least stiffness. This led me to try to find a
less constrained bowing for myself, working along perfectly natural
lines. The Joachim bowing demands a high wrist; but in the case of the
Belgian school an easy position at the point is assumed naturally. And
it is not hard to understand that if the bow be drawn parallel with the
bridge, allowing for the least possible movement of hands and wrist, the
greatest economy of motion, there is no contravention of the laws of
nature and playing is natural and unconstrained.
"And this applies to every student of the instrument, whether or no he
has a long arm. While I was studying in Berlin, Sarasate played there in
public, with the most natural and unhampered grace and freedom in the
use of his bow. Yet the entire _Hochschule_ contingent unanimously
condemned his bowing as being 'stiff'--merely because it did not conform
to the Joachim tradition. Of course, there is no question but that
Joachim was the greatest quartet player of his time; and with regard to
the interpretation of the classics he was not to be excelled. His
conception of Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Brahms was wonderful. The
insistence at the _Hochschule_ on forcing the bowing which was natural
to him on all others, irrespective of physical adaptability, is a matter
of regret. Wirth was somewhat deficient in teaching left hand technic,
as compared with, let us say, Schradieck. Wirth's real strength lay in
his sincerity and his ability to make clear the musical contents of the
works of the great masters. In a Beethoven or Spohr concerto he made a
pupil give its due emphasis to every single note.
A PRE-TEACHING REQUISITE
"Before the violin student can even begin to study, there are certain
pre-teaching requisites which are necessary if the teacher is to be of
any service to him. The violin is a singing instrument, and therefore
the first thing called for is a good singing tone. That brings up an
important point--the proper adjustment of the instrument used by the
student. If his lessons are to be of real benefit to him, the component
parts of the instrument, post, bridge, bass-bar, strings, etc., must be
accurately adjusted, in order that the sound values are what they should
be.
"From the teaching standpoint it is far more important that whatever
violin the student has is one properly built and adjusted, than that it
be a fine instrument. And the bow must have the right amount of spring,
of elasticity in its stick. A poor bow will work more harm than a poor
fiddle, for if the bow is poor, if it lacks the right resilience, the
student cannot acquire the correct bow pressure. He cannot play
_spiccato_ or any of the 'bouncing' bowings, including various forms of
arpeggios, with a poor stick.
DRAWING A LONG BOW
"When I say that the student should 'draw a long bow,'" continued Mr.
Severn with a smile, "I do not say so at a venture. If his instrument
and bow are in proper shape, this is the next thing for the student to
do. Ever since Tartini's time it has been acknowledged that nothing can
take the place of the study of the long bow, playing in all shades of
dynamics, from _pp_ to _ff_, and with all the inflections of _crescendo_
and _diminuendo_. Part of this study should consist of 'mute'
exercises--not playing, but drawing the bow _above the strings_, to its
full length, resting at either end. This ensures bow control. One great
difficulty is that as a rule the teacher cannot induce pupils to
practice these 'mute' exercises, in spite of their unquestionable value.
All the great masters of the violin have used them. Viotti thought so
highly of them that he taught them only to his favorite pupils. And even
to-day some distinguished violinists play dumb exercises before stepping
on the recital stage. They are one of the best means that we have for
control of the violinistic nervous system.
WRIST-BOWING
"Wrist-bowing is one of the bowings in which the student should learn to
feel absolutely and naturally at home. To my thinking the German way of
teaching wrist-bowing is altogether wrong. Their idea is to keep the
fingers neutral, and let the stick move the fingers! Yet this is
wrong--for the player holds his bow at the finger-tips, that terminal
point of the fingers where the tactile nerves are most highly developed,
and where their direct contact with the bow makes possible the greatest
variety of dynamic effect, and also allows the development of far
greater speed in short bowings.
"Though the Germans say 'Think of the wrist!' I think with the Belgians:
Put your mind where you touch and hold the bow, concentrate on your
fingers. In other words, when you make your bow change, do not make it
according to the Joachim method, with the wrist, but in the natural way,
with the fingers always in command. In this manner only will you get the
true wrist motion.
STACCATO AND OTHER BOWINGS
"After all, there are only two general principles in violin playing, the
long and short bow, _legato_ and staccato. Many a teacher finds it
very difficult to teach _staccato_ correctly, which may account for the
fact that many pupils find it hard to learn. The main reason is that, in
a sense, _staccato_ is opposed to the nature of the violin as a singing
instrument. To produce a true _staccato_ and not a 'scratchato' it is
absolutely necessary, while exerting the proper pressure and movement,
to keep the muscles loose. I have evolved a simple method for quickly
achieving the desired result in _staccato_. First I teach the attack in
the middle of the bow, without drawing the bow and as though pressing a
button: I have pupils press up with the thumb and down with the first
finger, with all muscles relaxed. This, when done correctly, produces a
sudden sharp attack.
"Then, I have the pupil place his bow in the middle, in position to draw
a down-stroke from the wrist, the bow-hair being pressed and held
against the string. A quick down-bow follows with an immediate release
of the string. Repeating the process, use the up-stroke. The finished
product is merely the combination of these two exercises--drawing and
attacking simultaneously. I have never failed to give a pupil a good
_staccato_ by this exercise, which comprises the principle of all
genuine _staccato_ playing.
"One of the most difficult of all bowings is the simple up-and-down
stroke used in the second Kreutzer _Ètude_, that is to say, the bowing
between the middle and point of the bow, _tÍte d'archet_, as the French
call it. This bowing is played badly on the violin more often than any
other. It demands constant rapid changing and, as most pupils play it,
the _legato_ quality is noticeably absent. Too much emphasis cannot be
laid on the truth that the 'singing stroke' should be employed for all
bowings, long or short. Often pupils who play quite well show a want of
true _legato_ quality in their tone, because there is no connection
between their bowing in rapid work.
"Individual bowings should always be practiced separately. I always
oblige my pupils to practice all bowings on the open strings, and in all
combinations of the open strings, because this allows them to
concentrate on the bowing itself, to the exclusion of all else; and they
advance far more quickly. Students should never be compelled to learn
new bowings while they have to think of their fingers at the same time:
we cannot serve two masters simultaneously! All in all, bowing is most
important in violin technic, for control of the bow means much toward
mastery of the violin.
THE LEFT HAND
"It is evident, however, that the correct use of the left hand is of
equal importance. It seems not to be generally known that
finger-pressure has much to do with tone-quality. The correct poise of
the left hand, as conspicuously shown by Heifetz for instance, throws
the extreme tips of the fingers hammerlike on the strings, and renders
full pressure of the string easy. Correctly done, a brilliance results,
especially in scale and passage work, which can be acquired in no other
manner, each note partaking somewhat of the quality of the open string.
As for intonation--that is largely a question of listening. To really
listen to oneself is as necessary as it is rare. It would take a volume
to cover that subject alone. We hear much about the use of the _vibrato_
these days. It was not so when I was a student. I can remember when it
was laughed at by the purists as an Italian evidence of bad taste. My
teachers decried it, yet if we could hear the great players of the past,
we would be astonished at their frugal use of it.
"One should remember in this connection that there was a conflict among
singers for many years as to whether the straight tone as cultivated by
the English oratorio singers, or the vibrated tone of the Italians were
correct. As usual, Nature won out. The correctly vibrated voice
outlasted the other form of production, thus proving its lawful basis.
But to-day the _vibrato_ is frequently made to cover a multitude of
violin sins.
"It is accepted by many as a substitute for genuine warmth and it is
used as a _camouflage_ to 'put over' some very bad art in the shape of
poor tone-quality, intonation and general sloppiness of technic. Why,
then, has it come into general use during the last twenty-five years?
Simply because it is based on the correctly produced human voice. The
old players, especially those of the German school, said, and some still
say, the _vibrato_ should only be used at the climax of a melody. If we
listen to a Sembrich or a Bonci, however, we hear a vibration on every
tone. Let us not forget that the violin is a singing instrument and that
even Joachim said: 'We must imitate the human voice,' This, I think,
disposes of the case finally and we must admit that every little boy or
girl with a natural _vibrato_ is more correct in that part of his
tone-production than many of the great masters of the past. As the Negro
pastor said: 'The world do move!'
VIOLIN MASTERY
"Are 'mastery of the violin' and 'Violin Mastery' synonymous in my mind?
Yes and no: 'Violin Mastery' may be taken to mean that technical mastery
wherewith one is enabled to perform any work in the entire literature of
the instrument with precision, but not necessarily with feeling for its
beauty or its emotional content. In this sense, in these days of
improved violin pedagogy, such mastery is not uncommon. But 'Violin
Mastery' may also be understood to mean, not merely a cold though
flawless technic, but its living, glowing product when used to express
the emotions suggested by the music of the masters. This latter kind of
violin mastery is rare indeed.
"One who makes technic an end travels light, and should reach his
destination more quickly. But he whose goal is music with its
thousand-hued beauties, with its call for the exertion of human and
spiritual emotion, sets forth on a journey without end. It is plain,
however, that this is the only journey worth taking with the violin as a
traveling companion. 'Violin Mastery', then, means to me technical
proficiency used to the highest extent possible, for artistic ends!"
XXI
Violin Mastery