Violin Tips: How to Improve Your Intonation (How to Play the Violin)

[@SarumChoirmaster]

2ND BEST VIDEO I HAVE EVER SEEN ON UTUBE! I am a 62 year old concert level professional and principal violist / violinist. I wish ever teacher in the world would see your video and do this. I am creating a methods book for string player, students and teachers of all ages and levels based precisely on this method - and stating double stops on this level, must come first before regular old fashion scales. I do this and variation of this every day before scales and it has made ENORMOUS difference. There is only one methods book that suggests this and its over a hundred years old and almost no one knows of it. YOU ARE A GREAT TEACHER!Read more

[@ameerah2959]

For a student, thank you so much for that!

[@Borka642]

Can you share the method book you mentioned?

[@MetHerInBaghdad]

Laurel, excellent work as always. Your tips on listening for the sympathetic vibrations are some of the best advice. I can't always tell where the exact note should be, but once I hear the other string vibrating, I know I am in the right place.

[@laurelthomsen]

So good to hear!

[@apostasiaelegcho5612]

Pinky on the E @1:29, during your drone, was a microtone flat. A perfectly executed drone will sound like a single note is being played.

[@SarumChoirmaster]

MY ADVICE FOR BETTER PLAYING, SOUND, INTONATION AND BOW CONTROL - Please, may I make 2 suggestions. Practice making a tone on a crystal goblet filled 1/3 to 1/2 full with water and extremely clean finger(s); especially the right hand fingers. If you do not know how, you wet the finger tip and rotate the finger around the top rim of the glass. This will teach you pressure and speed concepts which are critical in using the bow. Secondly, practice playing - extremely slowly - two open strings at the same time until they sound perfect and beautiful together. This you need to learn for several reasons, especially for tuning. Then, do the same thing with an open string below and the 3rd finger octave above; the first level of playing a double stop octave. When you can do all these things with great accuracy and beauty, then you are ready for the next level of double stops within a one octave scale. If playing the violin, start on the D and A strings. For the viola, the G and D strings.

[@mickscrafts]

Very helpful. Arthritis makes it difficult at best, but I'm going to try it. Thank you so much.

[@fyzu.medicine]

nice video. im going to travel to phillipines this summer and can you make a video about how to prepare a violin for an air travelling?

[@csmihaly]

Good night sleep, act previous day as if nothing happened, play as usual, watch body language, light breakfast.

[@clorystella4892]

@@csmihaly LMAO

[@elektrathebombardier509]

Great tips! Thanks for sharing!

[@shupesmerga4694]

I was about to ask this... "I always ask this in every intonation video i find on youtube, Does overtones travel downwards? Because before i consider my C# a dead note, but now i think it's not because i hear A ring for C#(except for C# on A string, obviously). If you're gonna ask me what made me think that. It's because I think A is the Major 3rd of C# if we're counting the overtone series downwards/backwards. I find many similar notes that i consider dead notes before but rings now like G#, Bb,Eb,F and F#. I'm just wondering if my basis on practicing intonation is right or am i just making up a whole another theory?" But now you've said UNDERTONES, It cleared thing for me now. Thanks a lot, really.

[@LatchezarDimitrov]

All overtones are pure intervals. The problem is that one pure fifth have 7 half tones wich are bigger than the 12 half tones of the pure octave. If you use the overtones for reference it mean like you play in the different temperaments in the same time. Simply said-out of tune ;-) If you are interested about right intonation, please visit my site here: www.temperamentegal.simplesite.com/

[@rafael.beirigo]

You may benefit from this: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmonic_series_(music) The technical term is «sympathetic resonance». Each note has a frequency and corresponding period. For two notes, it will happen when you can get the same period of one of the notes with an integer amount of periods of the other note. This is trivially true for unison: 1 period of one of the notes is exactly enough to get the same period as the other note. Other example is the octave: 2 periods of one note will have the same period of the other note.

[@dylanabrokwa7648]

Awesome

[@Caff68]

Smashing video - thank you :-) xx

[@edwardward5481]

All really good advise. I was really interested in your thumb ( I'am weird, I know). Most of the video your thumb is just were I place mine except around 4:55. It might have been due to camera angle you were using to make your point. Again, all in all, Great Advise! Thanks!

[@LeMortso]

Don't I remember you from Ifshin Violins in Berkeley? HI! Great lesson!!!

[@jacobandcharlie]

Dear Lauren. Thank you so much. Very helpful. I even got he book you recommended. I have a question - how important is it to check the sympathetic string with the third finger while playing the fourth finger? When I check with the third finger my Hand tilts a tiny bit. This does cause the fourth finger to lightly touch the open string which obviously affects the sympathetic click. This does not happen when I touch the open string with the first finger. Does it matter which finger to use for checking? And if it is crucial would you suggest exercises that prevent this. I can see vibration and I can hear it.

[@Zephyrhine]

This is so helpful!! What is the piece that you're playing? It is lovely and I would love to pick it up. Thanks :)

[@laurelthomsen]

Thanks! It's one I wrote. It eventually goes into a jig. Google me and send me an email if you'd like to get copy.

[@jujuu1339]

i just have fat fingers

[@Zalemones1]

say that to Itzhak Perlman hueheuehu

[@PieEatinSuicideGrunt]

You’ll be great at fifths!

[@catitse2]

What violin do u play?

[@LatchezarDimitrov]

Hello, I have a question about the places of the notes in the violin. Have each note a fixed place to use ever? Thank you

[@laurelthomsen]

Good question. It depends on who you consult. The use of finger tapes and tempered tuning systems put forth that every note has a single perfect pitch on the fingerboard. Personally, my ear informs me over whatever "muscle memory" I might have and I find there are many situations where my ear guides me to slight variants of pitches that sound better in tune. Thankfully, others agree with me. Simon Fisher gives a great treatise in his book "Scales." I've come across literature speaking of Dorothy Delay and Kurt Sassmannshaus also addressing this in their pedagogy. Quite fascinating.

[@LatchezarDimitrov]

Any link to reading about? I have little suggestion-it's maybe a illusion or simply imperfection to use different places.For exemple when we tune the violin it mean we use a fix place for the note A4. If this note have a fix place, why not all of them? I think that generally we have a memory for all the notes before to play them. If one note is heared in the same place like in our memory then we consider that is in tune.It is not possible to memorise more of one place for each note and also it's useless. Good question can be how big must be a half tone (in the equal temperament) ;-)

[@laurelthomsen]

Check out the Fischer book I mentioned for starters. In any case, I appreciate your passion for the idea that each pitch is set and any variations are illusion at best. Could totally be. I'm not in the business of changing people's minds, but rather providing information and knowledge gleaned from my teachers, literature, my own experience, and my experience with students over the last two decades. I suspect that through your personal experience, you are right. Certainly, as you mention, the fact that we tune our strings to perfect fifths gives those open strings a set pitch. However, I also can't deny my own personal experience (or illusions as the case may be) and I resonate for others who put forth similarly fluid ideas of intonation with regard to scale degree function across the various keys. If it's so hard to memorize various placements as you say, I'm curious if you've ever studied (and played) the Blues, with their blue notes reportedly sung by slaves between notes, the microtonal ragas of East Indian music, or any Middle Eastern music such as the maqam, and what you think about the mircotones they supposedly use? Certainly, when considering that concert A has only been 440 since 1926 I find it hard to just swallow tempered tuning as God in light of the entire history of the world's music! All that aside, an example I can't find a way to deny, but maybe you can...If we play the first tetrachord of a D major scale and find the F# that sounds right to our ears (mine anyway), then we play that F# against an open A string, why does it sound out of tune until we rock back slightly to a flatter F#? And, for a moment, considering that as you say, maybe we were just "imperfect" the first time and playing too sharp, how do we account for the fact that, if we play again melodically up from D, but now use that slightly flat F# that sounded perfect against the A, why does the F# sound incredibly flat when used melodically? Should I pick whichever I feel is the lesser of two evils because "It is not possible to memorize more than one placement for each note," or split the difference even though on a violin I I have the luxury of not having to? I can't help but feel that both must be valid in regard to melodic and harmonic context. To each his or her own. As long as it sounds right to you, go for it! Cheers!

[@LatchezarDimitrov]

Well, first thanks a lot for your long post :-) You know, it is more 60 years I play violin, but now because I'm retired, I have enoght time for learning and teaching. I discovered a new equal temperament where we don't use any pure intervalle! Only the unisson must be perfect. If you are curious how it sounds, here is a link: app.box.com/s/9badc2wtp416q1dx5lnnn7m1avcpf9s6 Maybe you know about the differencial tones ? For exemple one fifth A/E produce one A octave down. If A=442Hz and E 663(pure fifth) then the differencial tone = 663-442 or 221 Hz. The problem is than if we divide a pure fifth in seven half tones they are bigger than if we divide the pure octave in 12! But if our fifth become to be stretched in the same time the differencial octave become wider! And only in ONE value of the fifth the both half tones are sames. A half tone like this can be used without restrictions. This is the universal one :-) My TEDJ(equal temperament with juste differenciale) use it. Now the violin can be tuned with this slightly stretched fifth and we can have fixed places for all notes. To avoid perfect intervalles we must respect the follow: 1) Minor third-less big than juste 2)Major third -bigger. 3)Fourth-bigger than juste. 4)Fifth-smaller(when tunning) 5)Minor sixte - smaller 6)Major one-bigger 7)Octave-bigger. The corrections are so smalles than the ear agree without problem :-) More one exemple how sound my violin tuned in TEDJ: app.box.com/s/9emwg9oyjpahjnj350g5wgw2qc5bm7yy If you have any question I will respond with pleasure :-) .

[@LatchezarDimitrov]

Nothing about? :-(

[@Alinkamarkina1]

Thank you so much for the tips! Is it possible to find sheet music for the song you are playing? it is absolutely beautiful

[@laurelthomsen]

I'm working on compiling a sheet book of my compositions and hope to have it printed by the end of the year. Feel free to send me an email with your email so i can let you know when it's in print. Cheers!

[@thepowertutorials]

​@@laurelthomsen​Thank you for the tips Laurel. They are very helpful. What is the name of the piece you played. It is beautiful. Is there any way I can get the sheet music for the piece.

[@KiraHelenRose]

What is the name of the piece she is playing early on in the video?

[@thepowertutorials]

HI Laurel What is the piece that you are playing. It is beautiful! How can get the sheet for this.

[@khern4747]

what was yhe name of that one song she played please tell meee

[@gentil8838]

anyone knows that piece in the video ?

[@laurelthomsen]

It's a piece I wrote, called Pajama Jig :-)

[@gentil8838]

Could you send the sheets to "[e-mail]" perhaps ? you're not obliged but I'd be happy :)

[@guerrero4982]

Laurel Thomsen I'd like to just tell you that the piece you made is very beautiful. I love it a lot. Through the little part you gave in this video, it's very expressive. Good job.

[@shupesmerga4694]

certainly, double stops uses Just intonation.

[@laurelthomsen]

Yes, a slightly sharp C#, that might work melodically going up into a tonic D, for instance, would sound out of tune when played against the open E.

[@LatchezarDimitrov]

It is a mistake to use just intonation. If you respect your A 442Hz you must avoid any just interval to stay in tune.

[@LatchezarDimitrov]

If you play in tune, you must have fixed place for all notes in all melodic or harmonic aspect.Imagine your A442Hz wich must be one time 442.5 or 441.5 ! Then why tunning the violin?

[@emmanuelb8443]

Great tutorial from a beautiful women : - D

[@ChillRainyDrives]

I still didnt even get what intonation IS... -.-'

[@LatchezarDimitrov]

www.temperamentegal.simplesite.com/ for more info or email me,pls

[@froggydoodle808]

Intonation refers to whether you're playing in tune rather than sharp or flat. I always thought it referred to tone, like sweet versus bright, but no... it's about pitch.

[@Survival_Shelter]

You're tips are awesome and very helpful. But please try to avoid in your next videos these champing noise you do in the beginning of EVERY sentence. It drives me crazy...

[@JesusTVs]

The chopping of the lips before she talks is so annoying 😂