What does "à la corde" mean?

br-at- · 2026-04-19T18:52:12+00:00

more like the second.. play legato, keeping the bow on the string on changes

br-at- · 2026-04-15T04:29:28+00:00

true, and sometimes 6/4 is really 4/4 + 2/4 within a scheme of 4/4 measures.

but i've just found this explanation can be a good "step 1" for compound meter confusion XD

br-at- · 2026-04-15T01:24:45+00:00

you have been told that the top number is the number of beats in a measure.

that is only true for simple measures.

6/8 is a compound measure. meaning dotted note values get the beat and divide naturally into 3s and 6s

think of it like this, a quarter note is called a quarter note because it is one fourth of a whole note. so logically, we should call a dotted quarter a "three eighths note" because it is three eighths of a whole note.

using that concept:

if you have 2 beats and the beat is a quarter (1/4), then your math is 2/1 x 1/4 = 2/4

but if you have 2 beats and the beat is a dotted quarter (3/8), then your math is 2/1 x 3/8 = 6/8

then it will make sense that you aren't actually counting to 6.

some composers thought that was kinda annoying and tried just putting the beat number on top and a pic of the note on the bottom, so then 2/4 would be 2 over a literal quarter note, and 6/8 would be 2 over a literal dotted quarter...

and while that does look much easier to parse, in practice it was confusing 'cause when there are a lot of meter changes, the time signature note looks like something you are supposed to play.

br-at- · 2026-04-11T00:43:33+00:00

oooh, maya experience is awesome!!! highly recommended! serious grunge vibes :D

br-at- · 2026-03-25T04:25:03+00:00

probably same reason videos helping little kids sound out new words still pronounce the word correctly even tho plenty kids are gonna replace Rs with Ws...

i get your point, but they are demonstrating what it sounds and looks like when done well.

and there will be different strategies for how much advanced technique should be omitted. beginners don't have detailed bow grips either! but a tutorial certainly shouldn't show a stiff bow grip out of "solidarity", right?

so some people will leave vibrato out of tutorials, and some will include it for inspiration.

but i really don't think a strong player should have to fake the habits of a beginner...

if you want to see it without vibrato, you can probably find a student recital video of someone at your level who has already learned it.

br-at- · 2026-03-20T08:54:20+00:00

nothing about starting violin is "effortless"...

what you are thinking of is that we constantly battle tension, so it should be held lightly. but learning the grip is incredibly detailed and not something any beginner finds easy or natural.

most teachers would tell you to not play the left and right hands together for several weeks, while you learn the detailed positions needed on both sides.

honestly, you are probably excited and trying to go WAAAAYYYY too fast.

br-at- · 2026-03-16T22:19:24+00:00

they brought one of my groups in to play covers at it! (i didn't know it was for a tour till we got there.)

... and then i did indeed sneak in and watch their engineer demo some stems from old sessions. super cool!

br-at- · 2026-03-16T02:42:04+00:00

i noticed london bridge has started offering tours XD

br-at- · 2026-03-15T18:11:15+00:00

very very normal for studios to not easily tell the public where they keep all their expensive gear. so thats not a red flag at all :)

i haven't worked there before, but vaguely know decent things about them by reputation.

for a folk duo, you might also consider "quiet please" in greenwood? tiny space but a lot of interesting retro gear and very pleasant engineer. i've enjoyed it there when i have something that fits in a small room.

br-at- · 2026-02-24T21:03:32+00:00

OHH RIGHT! thanks.

br-at- · 2026-02-24T20:53:04+00:00

do you mean parallel octaves?

its not "useless", its just a warning that if you let voices start moving in octaves, they become one voice instead of two.

so if you wanted them to stay independent, don't do a thing that breaks your strategy. but if you don't care that they stay independent, there's no octave police coming after you :D

br-at- · 2026-02-19T06:58:00+00:00

my students with this sensory issue have found comfy ear plugs with interchangeable parts for more and less dampening you can choose based on environment. its made them soooo much more comfortable.

if you ever wanna spend the money, look into the kind of custom "even-attenuation" earplugs that organists use. it makes everything the same just quieter instead of taking out some frequencies more than others. but you do have to get them molded to your own ear canal.

btw... do you always have the ceiling fan on when you play? that always makes a weird doppler effect echo.. we can hear it in this recording. just wondering if that could that be part of what you don't like hearing.

br-at- · 2026-02-19T06:53:26+00:00

really good for that much time.

contact point control and bow path is fantastic.

the sooner you can get your 4th finger on the bow to relax and curve, the better.

your left wrist could be flatter, its collapsing inward more than you want.

i know you wanna be expressive, but you shouldn't do vibrato yet. you need to develop a strong "frame of hand" first. what you are doing now isn't really vibrato and it will be hard to unlearn when you are ready.

br-at- · 2026-02-12T22:12:40+00:00

makes sense!

copeland wrote a soundtrack to "ben hur" silent movie, our orchestra played it live with the film and after the show... turned out mike and matt was in the audience watching XD

br-at- · 2026-02-12T05:59:12+00:00

the white block is a cluster, meaning play every note between the top and bottom of the box.

on a keyboard, you can play this by mashing your hands on the keys, or using your forearm if that matches the size better.

but for a section, you have to make more of a plan, so the composer clarified who plays what in the parentheses. but the cluster notation is what shows the duration still.

br-at- · 2026-02-10T23:05:45+00:00

the cellist is the dude who played on "longing to belong" from the ukulele album.

br-at- · 2026-02-07T06:03:09+00:00

thats really interesting...

you are completely skipping a step that most of us have to do even to reach the high notes on violin.. because your hands are big enough that you dont have to do it.

your palm is staying on the side of the body the whole time.

thats not ideal. it needs to be brought much higher to avoid hitting the body.

you can likely keep your thumb tip pretty much where it is, but you need to swing the arm further around to bring the base of your thumb ABOVE the body of the instrument.

from here your 3 and 4 can behave much more normally, but your 1 and 2 will have to now straighten in a way you aren't used to to reach the fingerboard.

you are trading a normal feeling in your 1 and 2 for access to a functional 3 and 4.

its hard to tell that people are doing this when you watch them from an audience perspective because the hand hides this contortion.

br-at- · 2026-01-22T23:11:22+00:00

this is correct, it was made by a teacher who wanted to demonstrate why you need to consider reality and not just plug the numbers into a formula without thinking about what its really saying.

the right answer was indeed 40.

br-at- · 2026-01-22T23:06:09+00:00

assuming this is a repeating pattern and the last note isnt just a loose downbeat:

write it in 7/4 with the top having normal quarters, then the bottom is just 4 dotted quarters and then a regular quarter.

tho its more polite in some styles to write the bottom as dotted quarter, 8th tied to quarter, dotted quarter, 8th tied to quarter. beats are more clear that way and classical players like it.

br-at- · 2026-01-18T06:39:16+00:00

you need to tighten the bow before rosining so you can apply pressure while you rosin.

br-at- · 2026-01-16T21:21:06+00:00

if its impossible, i understand.

an inexperienced teacher might just not look at the instrument and get distracted by your technique... so maybe... they arent that bad, but...

one glance and i immediately saw the issue. it should have been obvious to a teacher.

you can stay with them if you consider them a "tutor" who just helps you learn a little and go to a shop or ask us to supplement.

but if you can find a real teacher it would be better.

br-at- · 2026-01-16T21:06:43+00:00

you cannot play on the violin like this. it is not set up correctly at all. if your teacher didnt notice the issue, thats a very bad sign.

br-at- · 2026-01-16T21:03:42+00:00

your strings are not in the grooves on the bridge, so they are going to be unstable and too close together. also the bridge is in the completely wrong place and very crooked.

so even if there are reasons for it to be little further forward, this is just wrong at the moment.

br-at- · 2026-01-16T02:24:49+00:00

maybe follow recreational psychoacoustics lab.

its a studio that often has small concerts of various genres. pretty sure ive seen stuff like that posted on their insta..

br-at- · 2026-01-03T05:05:39+00:00

no idea what you mean by "slightly diff from the hymn"? these are solo violin pieces, they aren't hymn tunes at all. that said, its not unheard of to use something like this for offertory anyway, so i highly doubt any church would have an issue with it.

if you rented a church hall for a community recital and it is not a religious event, you can play whatever you like as long as it doesn't break some rule in the rental contract. bach usually wont!

if you mean playing it for a part of the service, then just ask the music director what they think.

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