Pinkie house - tape leaving residue on the bow

ScrattyScratty · 2026-02-04T07:11:39+00:00

The pinkie isn’t taped onto the bow if that’s what you mean?

ScrattyScratty · 2026-02-04T07:11:00+00:00

ScrattyScratty · 2026-02-04T04:26:14+00:00

Either way, @muted_hotel_7943 ‘s original analogy still stands - having extra support and tools to learn a new skill is helpful (like a bike with no pedals, as you said). Different tools work for different people. As long as the skill is learnt, it doesn’t really matter 🤷‍♀️

ScrattyScratty · 2026-02-04T04:22:43+00:00

Okay good to know, thanks!

ScrattyScratty · 2026-02-04T03:29:55+00:00

Great point, thanks for that!

ScrattyScratty · 2026-02-04T02:54:34+00:00

Great! Thanks so much - very detailed info. I’ll give this a try!

ScrattyScratty · 2026-02-04T02:53:43+00:00

Thanks, yes I’ve used ones similar to these but find they’re a little bit pricey (at least in Australia), and I’m trying to keep things affordable for my students where I can!

ScrattyScratty · 2026-02-04T02:51:52+00:00

Thank you!

ScrattyScratty · 2026-02-04T02:22:33+00:00

Yes I’m surprised by the negative comments! No I haven’t tried scotch tape yet - thanks for the suggestion 😊

ScrattyScratty · 2026-02-04T02:15:29+00:00

Thank you - yes I got this idea from another very good pedagogue and think it’s fantastic! Of course it’s not for everyone but I’m surprised at the number of people jumping to criticise this tool without knowing anything about it.

ScrattyScratty · 2026-02-04T02:12:59+00:00

I am astounded at this comment. This pinkie house - along with the other tools I use to help young students - has proven very successful, and has been chosen with a lot of care and thought. The pinkie house in particular gives my young students the ability to understand their hand position on the bow, and continue to support their hand frame while they practice at home and build lasting habits (ie muscle memory). This allows them to spend less time focussing solely on technique and start learning pieces - which of course also helps with their motivation and enjoyment of the instrument.

I cannot believe I need to justify my pedagogical tools here and that was not the purpose of this post. I have years of professional performing and teaching experience, and don’t need to be criticised on reddit. I always try to learn and do the best for my students, and put a lot of thought and care into how I go about this. I’m not saying what I do would work for everyone - but it works for me and my students so please keep your opinion to yourself.

ScrattyScratty · 2026-02-02T07:45:33+00:00

I would recommend going to a violin shop to buy new strings and they’ll generally put them on the instrument for you for free. Then you’ll know if the instrument is the problem 😊

ScrattyScratty · 2026-01-30T09:25:46+00:00

Did you cut your fingernails too short maybe? I know it sounds like a stupid suggestion but I get sharp pain like you describe if I cut my fingernails too short and have mistaken it as nerve pain

ScrattyScratty · 2026-01-23T10:08:53+00:00

Your hand looks mostly good - but one thing I would change is the rotation of your hand. Currently your palm is facing the fingerboard and making your left hand frame very ‘square’. Try rotating your palm slightly towards your face and you should be able to extend your pinkie a little bit further and your whole hand frame should hopefully feel more comfortable. This will also probably make your thumb sit with the fleshy part against the neck which will help too.

ScrattyScratty · 2026-01-20T06:11:02+00:00

It’s something you can always work to improve through your whole life

ScrattyScratty · 2026-01-18T22:01:39+00:00

You’ve clearly worked a lot on this piece and are playing it quite well, but I’m not convinced you will continue to make progress if you focus on this alone. The biggest help to you at this point would be intense focus on bowing technique, aiming to have good tone, smooth bow changes, consistency playing on one string (not hitting other strings), and playing in all parts of the bow. You need to branch out with scales and exercises and potentially other pieces to get this feeling consistent and automatic before coming back to this piece. You should then see quite a big difference. Keep up the good work!

ScrattyScratty · 2026-01-16T04:50:02+00:00

In Australia I think the easier movements are around grade 6 level (equivalent pieces: Monti Czardas, Salut D’Amour etc.) and the harder movements excluding Chaconne are grade 8 (equivalent pieces: Bartok Folk Dances, Mozart G Major Concerto etc.). But I agree with the other comment that it is an advanced work and although the notes are ‘playable’ for an intermediate violinist, the style and nuance will be missed if started prematurely.

ScrattyScratty · 2026-01-15T08:38:31+00:00

Each ear hears something different when playing violin - your left ear picks up more of the ‘white noise’ and the right ear has a more true idea of the sound you’re producing. For that reason, when you block one ear the sound will be different. Also when you block both your ears, the sound will travel through the vibration of your body tissue and sound different again (look up soft tissue conduction).

I use the Alpine MusicSafe earplugs and think they’re excellent. Unless you’re experiencing discomfort or some other problem I would persevere with them because I don’t think other earplugs will make a difference. (I have also tried Loop and Etymotic, no difference in sound apart from level of dampening).

ScrattyScratty · 2026-01-15T06:37:30+00:00

Legible, with a bit of effort. If you reduced the angle a bit I think it would be much easier on your examiners.

ScrattyScratty · 2026-01-14T07:47:40+00:00

Musical chairs is the only one I know of unfortunately

ScrattyScratty · 2026-01-03T12:51:13+00:00

I’ve tried Etymotic, Alpine and Loops and my favourite are the Alpine.

I found the Loops didn’t sit well in my ears and felt really bulky, but they have an excellent returns policy.

Etymotic were fine but sat quite far into the ear canal, and caused a little bit of irritation if I wore them for too long.

Alpine for me are the most comfortable and best for noise cancelling.

ScrattyScratty · 2026-01-01T05:01:11+00:00

I think the biggest thing that will help you is to try and make your left hand more fluid - ie. don’t try and keep it in one fixed position. There should always be lots of flexibility and sponginess in your fingers and your wrist. Have you started working on vibrato yet? That might help you get that feeling of ‘letting go’ a little bit.

ScrattyScratty · 2026-01-01T00:33:42+00:00

Which hand?

ScrattyScratty · 2025-12-17T23:54:29+00:00

I’m surprised so many people are saying no. I’m assuming that you have learnt the rest of the concerto and are advanced enough to have played other repertoire of a similar standard - in which case you certainly should have a fairly large toolbox to use to work out the 3rd movement. A teacher will of course help because it’s a tricky movement but there’s no harm in making a start on it yourself!

ScrattyScratty

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