Violin Technique's "Pro-Secret"

[@MurphyMusicAcademy]

This is not an easy concept to explain, especially in a video, but it's been on my mind for a long time, and it really does help your technique IMMENSELY when it starts to sink in. My explanation for this has gotten better in my teaching, and perhaps I'll make another video when I feel I've an even clearer way of explaining it. But for now, the "touch-leverage-balance" method is the most effective way to start with this.

[@soloviolin6949]

Could possibly reduce click off rate if you hopped right into the value of the video.... idk your stats but it took 1:22 to finally get past the promotions and such and the twosetviolin video in my side bar looks really appealing during those promotions... overall great video with great form tips tho!! :)

[@MurphyMusicAcademy]

@@soloviolin6949 I’ve given this some thought, actually. Stats on this video so far are good. . . very good, but I have some concerns about how much promo to do and where to put it. So far at the beginning of the video seems best, but I have had concerns about people clicking off. Maybe I’ll skip everything except the school admin email in the future.

[@gilashroot8697]

I thought this was extremely eloquent. At least I understand what you are saying. I think there might be other ways to express this that would work for other people, but for me it was extremely clear. Thank you.

[@richins3]

Dude I've played 30 yrs and thought I'd heard it all. This is new to me and a great concept. Articulates something I sensed watching great violinists but couldn't explain.

[@jacc88888]

I’ve been playing professionally in orchestras for years and have always struggled with left hand tension resulting in difficulty speeding up my vibrato or playing complicated fast passages. This is fascinating and a completely new insight into left hand technique for me. Thank you for a fantastic video! Can’t wait to try this now.

[@Baras7556]

great and very clear - and very inspiring, also for a 60-year-old violinist who has worked professionally since he was 16

[@pluutoop]

You are such nice person. You Always give us hope that we can become good violinists! I truly wish more teachers are like you. 👏👏👏👏

[@MurphyMusicAcademy]

Thank you so much! I'm glad you are enjoying the videos!

[@pauljohnson6233]

All your videos are brilliant. Sort of advanced techniques that are explained so well, any ambitious intermediate can have a try.

[@TimTranGuitar]

thanks Murphy! This technique apply wonderfully on guitar (I'm a beginner violin player), I find myself to have a lot of unnecessary tension sometimes and wasn't able to move at high speed, this clears up everthing!

[@gilashroot8697]

I actually did not think of that. Thank you for the tip. I use this in guitar too, but still with tension. I never thought of using this thinking to apply to guitar! Now I have 2 instruments to try this out on. Thank you. Good luck with both instruments 🤠.

[@karenpeaden271]

This is brilliant!!!!! It made all the difference!!!!I'm so pleased and thrilled....it worksgreat

[@gilashroot8697]

Thank you. This is 1 of the best video I have seen on the violin. I have become a very fast fan of your channel because what you reach works. I learnt 1 other worthwhile thing from someone else's channel otherwise everything else worthwhile has come from your channel. Thank you for all your videos and hard work. You are a very impressive teacher. I do not live anywhere near you otherwise I am convinced that I would hire you as my teacher. However I get you as my virtual teacher for free+or the cost of my time watching your video, which is still less than a lesson) and come out with great value. You have something incredibly valuable to offer as a teacher, the ability to teach 🤔🤓. I am so happy that you share your knowledge and expertise. I would love to hear you play some violin pieces.

[@vivasvanparanjape3425]

Thank you for this, the fingers feel so much lighter on the string. This is a great visual explanation.

[@willy_wombat]

Great concept. I think I do it instintively to a certain extent. But I am definitely going to experiment conciously with it now. Thanks for the clear explanation!

[@Gingerharry2011]

Great channel, only started learning violin late last year, got a really good tutor, but always like finding little hints and tips (or big ones too) like this.

[@simon0yeung]

Thankyou! I recently started to play without the shoulder rest and as such, a vague concept of leveraging and balancing has pop-up naturally to me, as I wanted to keep a dynamic base with the instrument with everything loose instead of clamping it down with my chin and fingers. It felt like balancing the violin in 3D controlled way. Your explanation made I clear to me how to practice it.

[@missculture570]

Thanks for sharing this you got a new subscriber👍😊

[@adriendecroy7254]

I'd love to see more about LH thumb.... how to stop the neck from falling into the abyss between the thumb and first finger.

[@netspie66]

I applied it to my guitar practice routine for both hands... instant precision achieved.

[@tullochgorum6323]

Love the concept of leverage and walking the fingers. If I'm understanding correctly, this primarily comes from a free swing of the elbow? With runs, I find it helpful to visualise the phrase as a single flowing movement rather than a series of separate notes. The Kavakos clip in the video seems to exemplify this fluidity. The reason I'm posting is to hopefully get some feedback on an idea that seems to work well with the leverage concept - something I carried over from the cello. Because of the string tension on the bigger instrument, stopping all the way to the fingerboard can lead to injury. So many ergonomically inclined cello teachers now recommend stopping the string with a crisp touch near the top of the side away from the knuckle (so to stop the violin A string, you'd touch the side nearest the D). Hard to describe, but perfectly simply in practice. I find that this works equally well on the violin - you can achieve crisp articulation and nice tone without the string or fingertip going anywhere near the fingerboard. There is virtually no pressure required so it's easier to keep the hand soft and relaxed. When needed, it's easy to pluck the string a little on lifting, for a little added articulation. With double stops, it works just as well if you touch the top side of the string. Works fine with vibrato too - in particular I find it easier to achieve the shimmering Kreisler-style vibrato this way. For my hand, it works best with the old-style high thumb position that Tobiah explains in another video. In listening tests with pro-musician friends, they can't detect any significant difference in tone between this and a conventional string stop - at least on my fiddle, which is a pretty good instrument. So this has a fair claim to be the most efficient way to stop the string - yet you rarely if ever see it mentioned in the context of the fiddle. So far it's been all upside - at least for my intermediate-level playing. When it clicks, you get a sense of the fingers dancing along the string with good balance rather than the clawing and thumping I was struggling with as a beginner. The difference when I tackle an agility exercise like Sevcik 1.1 is striking!

[@vivolin6521]

Excellent video! So much important and valuable information in less than 15 minutes, really well explained, easy to apply and fun to watch. Are you familiar with Ruggiero Ricci's method?

[@gerrykan3437]

Dear Tobiah: This concept and exercise are actually covered in Menuhin and Primrose (yes I am old school). Until I saw your explaination I didn't quite understand why it was done like that (touch the string and then press ... maybe it is the violin's equivalent of the one-inch-punch). So thank you very much.

[@eugeneysaye2685]

😂😂😂 one inch punch! The best!

[@augustinechinnappanmuthria7042]

Super teaching Augustine violinist Malaysia

[@ronaelf]

Thank you! This will be very helpful for improving my playing!!

[@ivrz]

Makes more sense than any analysis of this I've ever seen. I understand it. Will begin practicing it. Is the fulcrum the base of first finger and thumb together? The hinge on which the motion rocks. Does the thumb always remain closer to the scroll than the first finger? Thanks

[@arielboyce6737]

This is great!

[@ludwigsugiri4916]

Thank you!!

[@keith-kessinger]

Clear teacher. Sub!

[@monobgantonina5577]

Would you say you do this for every note? I mean I can imagine thinking about it and implementing it for longer notes but what about faster passages? Or maybe it's supposed to be like a state of mind and learn it and not think about it and have it be present in all around playing of whatever it is? Hopefully you understand my question.

[@MurphyMusicAcademy]

Yes. This is something that can actually be activated consciously at fairly fast tempos, but ultimately it is a feeling in the left hand that needs to be cultivated to be ever-present. Once it becomes a part of how your left hand just IS, where the leveraging and balancing just happens, then it does simplify the playing a lot. It's not an easy thing to grasp, however, and takes a long time to develop if you don't tend to do it naturally, which most of us don't

[@philnewton4844]

Apart fro the exception of the heart kidney intestines and other internal organs being asymmetrical, I ve difficulty with any "secret " only that the .Iimbs are a mirror image of each other .such as the violin being re built and re strung For left handed playing.

[@1annelenna1]

what is your string height at the nut and at the end of fingerboard?

[@bernardauvity9669]

Thanks !

[@MurphyMusicAcademy]

Absolutely!

[@jowr2000]

What about descending? Leverage in opposite direction?

[@MurphyMusicAcademy]

No, the finger action as far as the depression of the strings is concerned remains the same. These introductory exercises are there to try and develop a specific, yet nebulous, feeling that should be ever present when playing

[@jowr2000]

@@MurphyMusicAcademy thx

[@evasapphiree]

Hello, I’ve recently started playing violin and I got a problem with A,E strings. If I play them like the open ones, they sounds great. But if I’m gonna play some note on them (like F#), sounds so scratchy.. are there any tips for it ? Thanks!

[@MurphyMusicAcademy]

Do you have a teacher?

[@retrops4261]

3 factors: 1) the higher strings require relative to lower strings, a slightly closer to the bridge contact point 2) consider that with added fingers, the string is effectively shorter than an open string, again therefore the bow needs to be slightly closer to the bridge. 3) finally, the added left hand fingers will relatively require a bit more weight to the bow. My best suggestion to learn these delicate balances, practice STRAIGHT bows at all the different sound points from bridge to fingerboard. Pay attention to your sound quality!! Quickly you will learn the closer to the FB the less weight but more speed can handle, closer to the bridge, the more weight and less speed will yield best sound:) When you have a handle on weight and speed, practice isolating soundpoint (on a down bow or up bow, move intentionally from the bridge to the fingerboard, note when and how speed and weight must be adjusted to allow smooth transition through the whole bow. Then do the same for upbow. A potential 3rd factor is the weight used for the left hand fingers! Pressing not enough will cause a harmonic whistley sound, too much however will cause unnecessary tension. Experient with how much weight you sink your left hand fingers into the string!

[@edwinjumbomedina2107]

...entiendo que el pulgar relajado es contraparte de cada nota de la mano izquierda....?

[@MurphyMusicAcademy]

Sí.

[@momoma533]

"Which, by the way, you do!" Haha 😁 Nice, that you've been upgraded your academy.

[@cecilia7259]

Indeed we all do.

[@JustFiddler]

sangat bermanfaat ! matur suksma

[@infinitepawer]

Hi. I have a question about left hand if you don't mind. I found it is quite difficult to keep hold down the 1st whenever I need to play the 4th finger, is that normal or it has something to do with my short pinky ?? I believe my pinky consider short, I mean even if I cut my ring finger one joint short it is still like 2mm longer than my pinky. Hope I can get some tips about it. Thanks for your time & take care.

[@pluutoop]

You need to work on your left hand/fingers flexibility. There are many KZbin videos on this subject.

[@philnewton4844]

Is it "both haNds" rather than left hand or right hand?

[@MurphyMusicAcademy]

Leveraging is something that is part and parcel to all good violin technique, bow included, but the idea I'm introducing here is specifically related to the left hand. When understood properly, however, it should allow for more "leading with the bow arm" which always produces better results, in my experience. Learning to play in this manner ultimately makes the left hand much more efficient and looser, so more mental energy can be spent on other aspects of playing. This is why it is so important

[@JustFiddler]

mereka keren !

[@dileepramapuram6833]

👌👌👌❤️

[@robertpadgett4192]

A vigilant violinist must pay attention to tension.

[@lexbro]

Would be more enjoyable if you relaxed your presentation

[@DivaDeb1234]

Which by the way you do ! Lol Word

[@AC5SH]

: )

[@leopardtiger1022]

Talking and talking no patience for bla bla.

[@TurmoilDot]

Is there any other way? Pay-free on-line teaching for "all" is quite often more general than private/personal teaching. Many important technical advices are given only during personal teaching, mainly because people are different both physically and mentally. Your "weak" patience level tells quite much about you (to me). You could ask yourself, if you are in some hard situation in your life so that it's hard to concentrate. At least, do not say "bla bla", it's unpolite. We all can read it here, and who wants to teach that kind of person? I hope that you have good friends or family members for discussing about these kind of things! 👍