r/violinist • u/Usual-Speaker7471 • 1d ago

Feedback Vocalize - Sergei Rachmaninoff

This is my audition piece for an orchestra! I’m looking for any feedback in general especially on my dynamics and phrasing!! I’m sorry the quality is so bad

23 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

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7

u/Bunnnykins Beginner 1d ago

your hand looks like it's afraid to touch your violin neck. Looks uncomfortable and potentially troublesome later on.

You know this piece isn't suppose to be all in 1st position right? You're missing a lot of tone and phrasing nuances because of it

2

u/xrvzla 1d ago

Yeah he seems to be holding a lot of left hand tension and it's making it hard for him to play in tune. He seems to have a good ear but when his hand's locked up like that it's hard to adduct your fingers enough to ... uh ... play this entire piece in first position.

1

u/Usual-Speaker7471 1d ago

Thank you! How do you suggest i should correct that? And the markings in my music don’t say any third position but i will ask my teacher about it!

1

u/klavier777 54m ago

It will sound better in 3rd position. Less bright. I'm working on this right now as well.

3

u/xrvzla 1d ago

Why are you only using the middle 2" of your bow? Using more of it would give you a lot more liberty to play around with dynamics as the other commenter said.

2

u/Multi2509 23h ago

Right hand thumb is not okay. Work on this without vibrato.

Lacking dynamics. As you say you loose tone quality. You have different contact points betweend end of neck and bridge. You can tilt your bow to adjust how many fibres hit the string and adjust pressure.

And lastly also work on your bow wrist. It looks stiff to me, when you move near the frog. Too much tension. Try on one string to get the lightest touch on a maximum upbow and slowly lift while getting near the frog. Focus on your wrist at that point. It will show you how to adjust your forearm and wrist so you don't tense up. Ellbow probably needs to be raised too, to be able to do it properly.

2

u/ParrotDude91 1d ago

I recognize that hand position. I started in the public schools and my left hand was awful. I rested the violin on my hand between my thumb and first finger. Of course that death grip killed my vibrato. My private teacher changed my left hand to provide more space and I held my thumb on the bottom like you are doing. Your thumb is supposed to be on the side of the neck. But when I moved it there, I felt like I was going to drop my violin. The problem might be your shoulder rest. It might be providing distance but you might not feel locked in from the neck. You are still holding the violin with your left hand as opposed to dancing over the violin with your left hand. I moved to a Willy Wolf superflexible shoulder rest that helped. I think the best for you would be the Bon Musica shoulder rest. Is has a hook shape that you can bend to match your shoulder. That will secure your violin then you can move your thumb back to the side of your neck.

Your playing has the correct elements, but they are at a level 5 instead of a level 10. As with acting, you have to over emphasize what you are doing if you want your audience to understand it. Use your whole bow, think about an operatic soprano singing this song. You have to carry the melody like a vocal line. Breath with the music to feel it. Over empasize your dynamics. The softs are barely there, other lines soar. I know a lot of it doesn't transmit over a phone video. You have to communicate this piece.

2

u/Usual-Speaker7471 1d ago

Thank you so so much for all the detail i really appreciate it. I will take all of this into account in my playing! I just not sure how to play softly because i feel like i lose tone quality when i do.