Page 94 - Glasbenopedagoški zbornik Akademije za glasbo v Ljubljani / The Journal of Music Education of the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, leto 7, zvezek 16 / Year 7, Issue 16, 2011
P. 94
SBENO-PEDAGOŠKI ZBORNIK, 16. zvezek
The left hand stays free and is able to grip accords or tonal sequences on one or
two strings.
Through this technique, the cellist is able to produce full chords, to combine
strings which are not adjacent, to vary the number of strings he is bowing from
one to four, generating different sound colors, depending on the bowing angle.
And, he can use his left hand for gripping, which simply means for playing
different tones and tone combinations.
Of course, there is a price to pay!
Analyzing the skills for the left hand, two new characteristic movements are
found:
– Series of four-part chords without breaks.
– Simultaneous gripping on strings which are far away from each other in
melodic lines.
Both skills are demanding for the cellist and need to be implemented carefully
and consciously.
Long series of chords, since all fingers are constantly gripping, are exhausting
for the hand. And also the finger combination matters: they will need to be
changed at the same time from one grip to another.
In the case of two melodic lines on non-adjacent strings, the finger spread is
going in all directions. Especially combinations of extension and flexion in one
grip or even in one finger challenge the left hand to a significant degree.
I am glad that I was introduced to the medical side of the musician’s hand by
piano didactics professor Ulrike Wohlwender, who assisted Prof. Christoph
Wagner in publishing his standard book Hand und Instrument (Wagner 2005).
She told me that research on the requirements of extended techniques is in
demand.
Curved bow
The cellist who founded his cellistic approach on the possibilities and limitations
of chordal playing on the cello is Michael Bach with his book Fingerboards and
Overtones (1991) Bach had to solve the problem of chordal playing for his own
invention of a modern curved bow, which allows him to play one to four strings
together.
To make the possible fingerpositions available, he put Japan paper under the
strings and colored his fingertips. The prints of his fingers left marks for all
possible combinations, which you can determinate under a translucent tabulature
of the fingerboard.
94
The left hand stays free and is able to grip accords or tonal sequences on one or
two strings.
Through this technique, the cellist is able to produce full chords, to combine
strings which are not adjacent, to vary the number of strings he is bowing from
one to four, generating different sound colors, depending on the bowing angle.
And, he can use his left hand for gripping, which simply means for playing
different tones and tone combinations.
Of course, there is a price to pay!
Analyzing the skills for the left hand, two new characteristic movements are
found:
– Series of four-part chords without breaks.
– Simultaneous gripping on strings which are far away from each other in
melodic lines.
Both skills are demanding for the cellist and need to be implemented carefully
and consciously.
Long series of chords, since all fingers are constantly gripping, are exhausting
for the hand. And also the finger combination matters: they will need to be
changed at the same time from one grip to another.
In the case of two melodic lines on non-adjacent strings, the finger spread is
going in all directions. Especially combinations of extension and flexion in one
grip or even in one finger challenge the left hand to a significant degree.
I am glad that I was introduced to the medical side of the musician’s hand by
piano didactics professor Ulrike Wohlwender, who assisted Prof. Christoph
Wagner in publishing his standard book Hand und Instrument (Wagner 2005).
She told me that research on the requirements of extended techniques is in
demand.
Curved bow
The cellist who founded his cellistic approach on the possibilities and limitations
of chordal playing on the cello is Michael Bach with his book Fingerboards and
Overtones (1991) Bach had to solve the problem of chordal playing for his own
invention of a modern curved bow, which allows him to play one to four strings
together.
To make the possible fingerpositions available, he put Japan paper under the
strings and colored his fingertips. The prints of his fingers left marks for all
possible combinations, which you can determinate under a translucent tabulature
of the fingerboard.
94
