Starting a New Piece – Violin Bow Technique +

Look at the Score

To play with musical intent, we need to look at the music and analyze the score. Just as we warm up our bodies, we need …read more

Doing the Ironing

With a new piece, we need to work out our musical shape before playing. If we don’t direct our arms what to do, we may …read more

Is it a Sicilienne?

Perhaps the new piece is a Sicilienne. What is a Sicilienne? The Sicilienne has a distinctive dotted rhythm. Fintan sings the basic sicilienne r… New …read more

Is it a Gigue?

Perhaps it is a gigue. The gigue has a distinctive musical character, a cheery, uplifting character. We often find a gigue as the last movement …read more

Mozart Sonatas

Let’s look at some Mozart sonatas. Take for instance the little Bb sonata. Mozart marks it in four beats in a bar, but the feel …read more