Speedy Violin Lessons

Speedy Violin Lessons -How to Play the Violin Fast and Easy -

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INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................... 1 VIOLIN HISTORY ...................................................................................................................... 1 BOW HISTORY ........................................................................................................................... 1 VIOLIN STRUCTURE ..................................................... ......................................................................................................... ........................................................... ....... 2 VIOLIN SIZES.............................................................................................................................. 4 BOW STRUCTURE ................................................ ..................................................... ..................................................................... ................ 4 HOLDING THE VIOLIN ............................................... ...................................................... ............................................................. ....... 5 HOLDING THE BOW ...................................................... .......................................................................................................... ........................................................... ....... 6 BOWING ....................................................................................................................................... 6 THE STAFF .................................................................................................................................. 7 TREBLE CLEF (G CLEF) ....................................................... .......................................................................................................... ................................................... 8 OPEN STRINGS STRINGS AND STRING NAMES ......................................................... ........................ 8 NOTES .................................................... .......................................................................................................... ....................................................................................... ................................. 9 WHOLE NOTES.................................................. ..................................................... ..................................................................... ................ 9 HALF NOTES ............................................. .................................................... ............................................................................ ........................ 10 QUARTER NOTES ....................................................... ........................................................................................................... ......................................................... ..... 10 EIGHTH NOTES ................................................. ..................................................... ................................................................... .............. 11 SIXTEENTH NOTES .................................................... ........................................................................................................ ......................................................... ..... 11 THIRTY-SECOND THIRTY-SECOND NOTES .......................................................................... ........................ 12 SIXTY-FOURTH SIXTY-FOURTH NOTES..................................................... ...................................................................................................... ................................................. 12 DOTTED NOTES ................................................................................................................... 13 POSITIONS POSITIONS ..................................................... ......................................................................................................... ............................................................................ ........................ 14 TIME SIGNATURE ................................................ ..................................................... ................................................................... .............. 16 THE CIRCLE OF FIFTHS................................................................ FIFTHS................................................................ ........................................ 17 SCALES .................................................. ...................................................... ..................................................................................... ............................... 18 C MAJOR ................................................................................................................................ 20 G MAJOR .................................................... ........................................................................................................ ............................................................................ ........................ 23 D MAJOR ................................................................................................................................ 23 A MAJOR ................................................................................................................................ 24 Copyright 2010 SpeedyViolinLessons.com SpeedyViolinLessons.com -Page ii-

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INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................... 1 VIOLIN HISTORY ...................................................................................................................... 1 BOW HISTORY ........................................................................................................................... 1 VIOLIN STRUCTURE ..................................................... ......................................................................................................... ........................................................... ....... 2 VIOLIN SIZES.............................................................................................................................. 4 BOW STRUCTURE ................................................ ..................................................... ..................................................................... ................ 4 HOLDING THE VIOLIN ............................................... ...................................................... ............................................................. ....... 5 HOLDING THE BOW ...................................................... .......................................................................................................... ........................................................... ....... 6 BOWING ....................................................................................................................................... 6 THE STAFF .................................................................................................................................. 7 TREBLE CLEF (G CLEF) ....................................................... .......................................................................................................... ................................................... 8 OPEN STRINGS STRINGS AND STRING NAMES ......................................................... ........................ 8 NOTES .................................................... .......................................................................................................... ....................................................................................... ................................. 9 WHOLE NOTES.................................................. ..................................................... ..................................................................... ................ 9 HALF NOTES ............................................. .................................................... ............................................................................ ........................ 10 QUARTER NOTES ....................................................... ........................................................................................................... ......................................................... ..... 10 EIGHTH NOTES ................................................. ..................................................... ................................................................... .............. 11 SIXTEENTH NOTES .................................................... ........................................................................................................ ......................................................... ..... 11 THIRTY-SECOND THIRTY-SECOND NOTES .......................................................................... ........................ 12 SIXTY-FOURTH SIXTY-FOURTH NOTES..................................................... ...................................................................................................... ................................................. 12 DOTTED NOTES ................................................................................................................... 13 POSITIONS POSITIONS ..................................................... ......................................................................................................... ............................................................................ ........................ 14 TIME SIGNATURE ................................................ ..................................................... ................................................................... .............. 16 THE CIRCLE OF FIFTHS................................................................ FIFTHS................................................................ ........................................ 17 SCALES .................................................. ...................................................... ..................................................................................... ............................... 18 C MAJOR ................................................................................................................................ 20 G MAJOR .................................................... ........................................................................................................ ............................................................................ ........................ 23 D MAJOR ................................................................................................................................ 23 A MAJOR ................................................................................................................................ 24 Copyright 2010 SpeedyViolinLessons.com SpeedyViolinLessons.com -Page ii-

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E MAJOR................................................................................................................................. 25 B MAJOR................................................................................................................................. 26 F# MAJOR ................................................... .................................................... ............................................................................ ........................ 27 C# MAJOR .............................................................................................................................. 28 F MAJOR ..................................................... ......................................................................................................... ............................................................................ ........................ 29 B FLAT MAJOR .................................................. ..................................................... ................................................................... .............. 31 E FLAT MAJOR .................................................. ..................................................... ................................................................... .............. 32 A FLAT MAJOR.................................................. ..................................................... ................................................................... .............. 33 D FLAT MAJOR.................................................. ..................................................... ................................................................... .............. 33 G FLAT MAJOR MAJOR ........................................................... .................................................... ......................................................... ..... 34 C FLAT MAJOR.................................................. ..................................................... ................................................................... .............. 34 RESTS ..................................................... ........................................................................................................... ..................................................................................... ............................... 35 TECHNIQUES TECHNIQUES ................................................ .................................................... ............................................................................ ........................ 37 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................... 37

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SOUND 1: ELECTRIC VIOLIN VIOLIN C SCALE SAMPLE. .................................................... ......................................................... ..... 21 SOUND 2. C MAJOR SCALE ON THE PIANO. ................................................................... 21 SOUND 3. G MAJOR MAJOR SCALE. ............................................... ................................................. 23 SOUND 4. ELECTRIC VIOLIN VIOLIN G SAMPLE ABOVE. ABOVE. ................................................... ..... 23 SOUND 5: ELECTRIC VIOLIN VIOLIN D SAMPLE. SAMPLE. ................................................. ...................... 24 SOUND 6. ELECTRIC VIOLIN A SAMPLE. ................................................. ...................... 25 SOUND 7. ELECTRIC VIOLIN VIOLIN E SAMPLE. .................................................. ...................... 25 SOUND 8: SONATA 1 SOUND FILE. FILE. ..................................................... .................................................................................... ............................... 31

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EXERCISE 1 ................................................... .................................................... .............................................................................. .......................... 7 EXERCISE 2 ................................................... .................................................... .............................................................................. .......................... 9 EXERCISE 3 ................................................... .................................................... ............................................................................ ........................ 10 EXERCISE 4 ................................................... .................................................... ............................................................................ ........................ 21 EXERCISE 5 ................................................... .................................................... ............................................................................ ........................ 22 EXERCISE 6 ................................................... .................................................... ............................................................................ ........................ 22 EXERCISE 7 ................................................... .................................................... ............................................................................ ........................ 26 EXERCISE 8 ................................................... .................................................... ............................................................................ ........................ 26 EXERCISE 9 ................................................... .................................................... ............................................................................ ........................ 28 EXERCISE 10 ................................................. .................................................... ............................................................................ ........................ 30 EXERCISE 11 ................................................. .................................................... ............................................................................ ........................ 32 EXERCISE 12 ................................................. .................................................... ............................................................................ ........................ 35 EXERCISE 13 ................................................. .................................................... ............................................................................ ........................ 35 TABLE OF FIGURES SECTION

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FIGURE 1. IMAGE OF AN ERHU. ................................................ .......................................... 2 FIGURE 2: DIAGRAM OF THE VARIOUS VARIOUS PARTS OF THE THE VIOLIN. ............................ 3 FIGURE 3: THE SOUNDPOST CAN BE SEEN THROUGH THE F-HOLE INSIDE THE VIOLIN. .................................................. ...................................................... ....................................................................................... ................................. 4 FIGURE 4. VIOLIN BOWS BOWS AND FEATURES. FEATURES. ...................................................................... 5 FIGURE 5. STACCATO NOTES. NOTES. ................................................... .......................................... 6 FIGURE 6. SLURRED NOTES. .............................................. ................................................... 6 FIGURE 7. DOWN BOW AND UP BOW SYMBOLS. SYMBOLS. .................................................... ........................................................... ....... 7 FIGURE 8. FERMATA.................................................... .................................................... ........................................................... ....... 7 FIGURE 9. LINES AND SPACES IN TREBLE CLEF. CLEF. ................................................... ....... 8 FIGURE 10. G CLEF. CLEF. ...................................................... .......................................................................................................... ........................................................... ....... 8 FIGURE 11. THE OPEN STRINGS, STRINGS, G, D, A, E ON THE STAFF. STAFF. ....................................... 9 FIGURE 12. WHOLE NOTE AND WHOLE REST. ............................................................. 10 Copyright 2010 SpeedyViolinLessons.com SpeedyViolinLessons.com -Page iv-

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FIGURE 13. HALF NOTE......................................................................... ............................... 10 FIGURE 14. QUARTER NOTE............................................... ................................................. 11 FIGURE 15. EIGHTH NOTE. ................................................ ................................................. 11 FIGURE 16. SIXTEENTH NOTE. .................................................. ........................................ 12 FIGURE 17. THIRTY-SECOND NOTE. ................................................. ............................... 12 FIGURE 18. SIXTY-FOURTH NOTE. ................................................................................... 12 FIGURE 19. DOTTED NOTES.................................................................................. .............. 13 FIGURE 20. FINGERING CHART SHOWING WHERE FINGERS GO IN THE FIRST POSITION. .................................................................................................................................. 15 FIGURE 21. TIME SIGNATURE EXAMPLES. .................................................................... 16 FIGURE 22. MEASURE AND BAR. ............................................... ........................................ 17 FIGURE 23. ¾ TIME SIGNATURE......................................................................................... 17 FIGURE 24. NATURAL SYMBOL. ................................................. ........................................ 18 FIGURE 25. CIRCLE OF FIFTHS. ................................................................. ........................ 20 FIGURE 26. C MAJOR SCALE. .............................................................................................. 21 FIGURE 27. NOTES ON LINES AND SPACES. .................................................................. 22 FIGURE 28. G MAJOR SCALE. .............................................................................................. 23 FIGURE 29. D MAJOR SCALE. .............................................................................................. 23 FIGURE 30. A MAJOR KEY SIGNATURE. .......................................................................... 24 FIGURE 31. A MAJOR SCALE VARIATION. ................................................ ...................... 24 FIGURE 32. E MAJOR SCALE. ............................................................................................. 25 FIGURE 33. E MAJOR SCALE VARIATION AND C# MINOR SCALE VARIATION. 25 FIGURES 34. B MAJOR KEY SIGNATURE. .................................................. ...................... 26 FIGURE 35. B MAJOR SCALE VARIATION. ................................................ ...................... 26 FIGURE 36. F# MAJOR KEY SIGNATURE. ................................................. ...................... 27 FIGURE 37. F# MAJOR SCALE VARIATION. ................................................................... 28 FIGURE 38. C# MAJOR KEY SIGNATURE. ................................................. ...................... 29 FIGURE 39. F MAJOR KEY SIGNATURE. ......................................................................... 30 Copyright 2010 SpeedyViolinLessons.com -Page v-

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FIGURE 40. F MAJOR SCALE............................................................................................... 30 FIGURE 41. SONATA 1 FOR UNACCOMPANIED VIOLIN. ........................................... 31 FIGURE 42. KEY OF B FLAT MAJOR. ................................................. ............................... 31 FIGURE 43. B FLAT MAJOR SCALE. ................................................................................... 32 FIGURE 44. KEY OF E FLAT MAJOR. ................................................. ............................... 33 FIGURE 45. KEY OF A FLAT MAJOR. .......................................................... ...................... 33 FIGURE 46. KEY OF D FLAT MAJOR. .......................................................................... ..... 33 FIGURE 47. D FLAT MAJOR SCALE. .................................................. ............................... 34 FIGURE 48. G FLAT MAJOR SCALE. .................................................. ............................... 34 FIGURE 49. C FLAT MAJOR SCALE. .................................................. ............................... 34 FIGURE 50. A WHOLE NOTE AND A WHOLE REST................................................. ..... 35 FIGURE 51. HALF REST. ....................................................................................................... 36 FIGURES 52. QUARTER REST. ............................................................................................ 36 FIGURE 53. QUAVER REST. ................................................ ................................................. 36 FIGURE 54. MULTI-MEASURE REST.................................................. ............................... 37

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INTRODUCTION The violin is the smallest and highest-pitched instrument in the string family, including the viola, cello, and upright bass. Violins are a common instrument in orchestras as well as string quartets and other musical groups. Violins are sometimes referred to as fiddles. A fiddle is the exact same instrument as a violin, the names are interchangeable.

VIOLIN HISTORY Many instruments of old are similar to the modern violin. Such instruments are the Greek kithara dating as far back as the 7

th

th

century BC. One is said to date back to the mid-8 century

AD but there are different views on how old it is. It is the Chinese Ehru and is bowed like the modern violin but only has two strings. The violin as we know it today is believed to have th

emerged in the 16 century in Italy and borrowed from some other instruments of the past such as the Arab rebec, the fiddle, and the lira de braccio. Some of the most famous violin makers were the Guarneri, Amati, and Stradivari families in the 17

th

th

and 18 centuries in Cremona, Italy.

The Guarneris did not work solely in Cremona.

BOW HISTORY The bow is believed to have originated in central Asia among those who used horses such as the Hun and Mongols, who used horse hair for military bows. When the modern bow was brought th

to France in the early 19 century, the man who is credited with evolving it to its current glory is Francois Tourte. He was a trained watchmaker and decided that Brazilian wood would be the best wood for the purposes of the bow. Today there are professional bow makers but luthiers can also make bows.

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Figure 1. Image of an erhu.

VIOLIN STRUCTURE The top of a violin, which is also called the top plate, is typically made of spruce wood. The ribs and back of the violin are made of maple. The upper and lower bouts are the parts of the violin that are arched and the smaller arches that are arched in, toward the F- holes or “F” shaped holes in the top of the violin, are the C bouts or waist. Without the waist, there would not be enough room for the bow to hit all the strings efficiently. The tailpiece is the long piece with fine tuners on them it runs to the base of the violin. To the left of the tailpiece is the chinrest. The bridge is a piece of maple wood that holds up the strings and keeps the tension on the strings and contributes greatly to transmitting the vibration from the strings to the body of the violin. The neck of the violin runs from the body of the violin to the scroll where the tuning pegs are located. The fingerboard, usually made of ebony, runs on top of the fingerboard and the spruce top. The strings run down the fingerboard from the pegs in the pegbox to the fine tuners.


Figure 2: Diagram of the various parts of the violin. Image courtesy of Sotakeit from Wikimedia Commons under the GNU Free Documentation License

Inside the violin is the sound post, which is a small dowel. It is placed between the top plate and the back plate and is located under the treble end of the bridge. The violin would cave in on the treble side of the bridge, where the E string is sitting, if the sound post was not in place. A sound post is typically made of spruce and is between 5.5 and 6.0 mm in diameter for a full – size violin. On the bass side of the bridge, where the G string sits, is what is called the bass bar, which is a long and thin strip of wood on the top of the inside top of the violin, lying almost parallel to the strings. The bass bar helps in transferring energy to more area of the top plate. Copyright 2010 SpeedyViolinLessons.com -Page 3-

Figure 3: The soundpost can be seen through the F-hole inside the violin.

VIOLIN SIZES Violins can come in a range of sizes all the way up to full size to accommodate for those with shorter arm lengths such as children. They can come in sizes as small as 1/16 or even as small as 1/32. Full size would be a 4/4 violin.

BOW STRUCTURE The finest violin bows and the bows for the instruments of the other instruments in the string family are usually made from Pernambuco wood which is found in Brazil. The hair is horse hair or can be nylon or synthetic and is stretched from one end of the bow to the other. Bow makers or luthiers will usually use approximately 150 hairs for a bow. For the frog and finger grip, materials are often inlaid such as tortoise shell, ivory, ebony, pearl shell and others. Some of these materials are rare today so alternative materials will have to be used. Less expensive bows can be made of materials of a synthetic variety such as fiberglass or other types of wood. Some of the synthetic bows can come in a rainbow of colors for the player who wants to add a little spice to their playing experience. The stick of the violin has to be properly tapered. The horse hair is connected to each end of the bow through mechanics inside the ends of the bow. It is important to slightly tighten the bow with the screw when beginning to play and to make sure to loosen the hair every time the violin


bow is not is use or is stored. The frog is where the end of the hair at the one end is found and is tightened. Rosin, made from maple tree sap, must be rubbed onto the bow hair in order to get sound from an instrument. The rosin allows the hairs to grasp the string and produce a robust sound.

Figure 4. Violin bows and features.

HOLDING THE VIOLIN The violin is held in the left hand. If you are standing up and just holding your violin before your are beginning to play, with your hand around the neck of the violin, bring the violin up to your left clavicle and place your chin on the chinrest. The neck should rest between your thumb and your first finger with the rest of the fingers curving over the fingerboard so that they can be positioned for fingering the strings. Keep your elbow beneath the violin and not swinging out. Players may find that the violin digs into their shoulder or clavicle. In this case, the use of a shoulder rest is beneficial. There are many styles to choose from, and the violin player can try many of them to find the best one. The shoulder rest attaches to the bottom of the violin on the back plate. It often attaches through rubber feet that affix to the instrument. They can be made Copyright 2010 SpeedyViolinLessons.com -Page 5-

of many substances including wood and sponge-like materials. Ensure when playing the violin, whether sitting or standing, that your posture is perfect. It will make it much more difficult to play if you are slouching.

HOLDING THE BOW The bow is held in the right hand. The thumb can rest against the frog while the other four fingers curve around the top of the stick by the pad and the coiling above it. Make sure to not hold the bow tightly but to keep the hand loose. The wrist must also be kept loose when playing.

BOWING Staccato is an example of a bowing technique. It is indicated by a dot over a note and is played short and quickly. The notes in the example below are called double-stops and the two notes linked together are played simultaneously.

Figure 5. Staccato notes.

A slur is when a series of notes are to be played in one bowing, or one up bow or down bow. It is indicated by the arcing line from one note to the end of a series of notes.

Figure 6. Slurred notes.

An up bow is when you start playing with the tip of the bow and push the bow up. It is indicated by a “V” shape above the note. A down bow looks like a square with the bottom line erased out of the square. See the diagram below. Copyright 2010 SpeedyViolinLessons.com -Page 6-

Figure 7. Down bow and up bow symbols.

A fermata above a note or rest means to sustain the value of that note or rest a little longer than its value.

Figure 8. Fermata.

There are many more symbols and techniques that will be encountered over the course of a violinist’s career.

THE STAFF The staff is the group of lines upon which music is written. For the violin, we are going to focus on the part of the staff that the violin player will use. A piano player will use what is called a grand staff, which involves more staff lines since they will be playing music in both the treble and bass clefs. The staff is made of five lines and four spaces. Exercise 1 Number the lines of the staff from the bottom up numbers 1 through 5. Number the spaces from bottom up numbers one through four. Every line and space is actually the equivalent to one of the white keys on a piano. An easy way to remember the line names from the bottom up, which are E, G, B, D, F is the saying “Every Good Boy Deserves Favors.” From the bottom up, the four spaces ar e the notes F, A, C, E, which are easy to remember by themselves because they spell “face.”


Figure 9. Lines and spaces in treble clef.

TREBLE CLEF (G CLEF) Music for the violin is written in treble clef, or G clef. If you look at the bottom curve of the G clef, it curves around the line where the G note is placed, thus the name G clef. A clef indicates the pitch the notes are written in. There are additional clefs such as the alto clef and the bass clef that music for other instruments is written in.

Figure 10. G clef.

OPEN STRINGS AND STRING NAMES The violin has four strings, the E string, being the highest pitched string, then the A string next to it, followed by the D string and then the G string, with each string getting subsequently lower in pitch. If one is holding the violin to their chin, the E string is the string to the far right. The violin strings are tuned to perfect fifth intervals. If one goes up a perfect fifth from G, they get Copyright 2010 SpeedyViolinLessons.com -Page 8-

D; go up a perfect fifth from D, get an A; go up a perfect fifth from A, get an E. One way to think of it is to count. Include the letter of the string you are starting with, such as the lowest pitched string, the G string. Start with the G string being number one and count your notes up to five: G (1), A (2), B (3), C (4), D (5). So, a perfect fifth from G would be D.

Figure 11. The open strings, G, D, A, E on the staff.

Exercise 2 What would be a perfect fifth from A? Answer: E

NOTES

WHOLE NOTES A whole note, which looks like a big circle, represents four beats in a 4/4 time signature that are played. A whole rest looks like a bar or rectangle hanging onto one of the staff lines and also represents four beats of silence in a 4/4 time signature.


Figure 12. Whole note and whole rest. Exercise 3 In a 4/4 time signature, how many whole notes or whole rests can be in one measure? Answer: 1. HALF NOTES A half note is worth two beats in a 4/4 time signature. There can therefore be two half notes in a measure in a 4/4 time signature. A half note looks like a quarter note except that the center is not blackened.

Figure 13. Half note. QUARTER NOTES A quarter note has one beat in a 4/4 time signature and is solid, unlike a half note. In a 4/4 time signature, there can be four quarter notes in a measure.


Figure 14. Quarter note. EIGHTH NOTES An eighth note looks almost exactly like a quarter note except that it has what is called a flag hanging off of it. In a 4/4 time signature, an eighth note gets a half a beat. It is half the value of a quarter note or an eighth of the value of a whole note. In a measure in a 4/4 time signature, there can be eight eighth notes.

Figure 15. Eighth note. SIXTEENTH NOTES Add an additional flag to an eighth note and you get a sixteenth note. In a 4/4 time signature, a sixteenth note is 1/16 the value of a whole note and gets ¼ of a beat. To get an eighth note, add together two sixteenth notes.

If there are eight eighth notes in a measure in the 4/4 time

signature, there will be sixteen sixteenth notes in a 4/4 time signature.


Figure 16. Sixteenth note. THIRTY-SECOND NOTES Add an additional flag to a sixteenth note and you get a thirty-second note.

In a 4/4 time

signature, a thirty-second note is 1/32 the value of a whole note. Adding two of these notes together is equal to a sixteenth note.

Figure 17. Thirty-second note. SIXTY-FOURTH NOTES There is even a sixty-fourth note when an additional flag is added to a thirty-second note. This note only lasts as long as 1/64 of a whole note. Two of these are the equivalent to a thirtysecond note.

Figure 18. Sixty-fourth note.


DOTTED NOTES Adding a dot to a note changes the value or number of beats of the note. When adding a dot to a note, it adds half of the value of the note it is added to. If it is added to a half note, then the value of the note is three. See the dotted notes figure. A half note is valued at two beats and half of that value is one beat, or a quarter note. Adding a half note and quarter note or two and one equals three so the value of a dotted half note equals three. Looking at a half note with two dots, the half note with the first dot equals three calculated the same way as above. With the additional dot, take half the value of what the dot indicates, which is one beat, or a quarter note, so it is a half a beat, or an eighth note. Adding the three beats and a half a beat equal 3.5 for a half note with two dots. A half note with three dots would be the original half note, plus a quarter note (first dot), plus an eighth note (second dot), plus a sixteenth note (third dot). This equals 3.625.

Figure 19. Dotted notes.


POSITIONS When starting out with the violin, the beginner will typically start in what is called first position. The lowest note that can be played in first position is the open G on the G string and the highest note is the fourth finger on the E string, which is a B. Second position is when the player shifts the left hand up so the first finger will be placed where the second finger normally is placed in first position and the rest of the fingers will follow in place. Third position is where the player shifts the hand up so the first finger will be placed where the third finger normally is placed in first position and the other fingers end up in third position and playing notes higher on the fingerboard as well. Fourth position is when the player shifts up to where the fourth finger would normally be in first position. Fifth position is where it starts to get a little harder as you do not have a guide finger from first position to help you. If you are in fourth position, move your first finger up one step and let the rest of the fingers follow through. If you want to move to sixth position, move up a step from fifth position. To move to seventh position, move a step up from where you were in sixth position. There is also a half position where the player is a half step from the nut.


Figure 20. Fingering chart showing where fingers go in the first position. Attributed to Just Plain Bill on Wikimedia Commons through Gnu Free Documentation License.. To be able to hear ogg files, go to http://www.xiph.org/dshow/ and scroll down to downloads. Windows installer and save it to your computer and then run it.


Choose the correct

TIME SIGNATURE The time signature of a piece of music appears after the clef symbol and after the key signature. The time signature usually only appears once, at the beginning of the piece, unless the meter changes in the piece. The top number of a time signature tells the reader how many beats are in a measure. The bottom note tells the reader what type of note gets one beat. In a 3/8 time signature, there are three beats per measure and an eighth note gets one beat. In that case, there can be several combinations of notes in a measure as long as there are three beats in each measure, allowing for an eighth note to have one beat. There could be a measure with three eighth notes, one with six sixteenth notes, a measure with a quarter note and an eighth note, one with a dotted quarter note, or one with two eighths and two sixteenths.

Figure 21. Time signature examples.

The C with a slash through it that looks like a cent sign means cut time or the same as 2/2. This means that there are two beats per measure and a half note gets one beat. Look at the figure below. Since there are no sharps or flats the key signature is C major. What looks like a big “C” means that the key signature is 4/4 time, or common time. There are four beats per measure (the top “4”) and the quarter note gets one beat (the bottom “4”). Instead of having to write in the 4/4 time signature, a “C” symbol can be written in instead to convey the same information. Moderato refers to tempo or speed in Italian and means to play moderately or to play 108 to 120 beats per minute (BPM). The measure is indicated by the bar line after the second half note. The “mf” at the bottom is a dynamic meaning mezzo-forte and to play moderately loudly.


Figure 22. Measure and bar. In a ¾ time signature, there are three beats per measure (top note), and the quarter note gets one beat (bottom note). See an example below.

Figure 23. ¾ Time signature.

THE CIRCLE OF FIFTHS The Circle of Fifths is a way to visualize how the various keys are related to each other. It is called the Circle of Fifths because as you go from each section of the circle, you are moving an interval of a fifth. On the outside of the circle are the letters for the major keys and on the inside are the letters for the minor keys. Keys are more closely related if their keys are the same or similar. For example, the key the closest to C major is A minor since both have zero sharps or flats in their key signatures so they will be in the same area on the Circle of Fifths chart. The next key closest to C major would be G major or E minor, which both have one sharp, and is therefore one unit to the right of the C sharp slot in the Circle of Fifths. The next rational thought is that the following key would have two sharps. This would be the D major scale and the B minor scale. This is also the next clockwise slot on the Circle of Fifths chart. Continuing on the Circle of Fifths chart are the keys with three sharps, which are A Major and F minor and continues on to keys with four sharps then five sharps and finally six sharps when the bottom of the circle is reached. A major key and its relative minor key have the same key signature, Copyright 2010 SpeedyViolinLessons.com -Page 17-

meaning they have the same sharps and flats in their scales. A difference is the note you start with. For example, a C major scale is first identified by there being no sharps or flats in the key signature. However, the key could actual be the relative A minor. This would be identified by looking at the first note in the scale. If the first note is an A, then the key is most likely A minor and not C major. For looking at flats, you move counterclockwise around the Circle of Fifths. For a key signature with one flat, it could be a key of F major or D minor. The key signature is next to the G clef and shows how many sharps or flats are in the song and indicate the key of the song. If someone saw five flats in a key signature, they would move five increments around counterclockwise on the Circle of Fifths and would arrive at the D flat major key or the B flat minor key. At the very bottom of the circle is the key of F# which has six sharps. Its relative minor is D#.

Figure 24. Natural symbol.

SCALES There are also different patterns differentiating major and minor scales. A major scale is as follows with W meaning whole step and H meaning half step: Major scale:

W W H W W W H

The major scale has an interval pattern between each note of whole step, whole step, half step whole step, whole step, whole step, half step. Minor scale: W H W W H W W A minor scale has a different interval pattern. It goes whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step. Copyright 2010 SpeedyViolinLessons.com -Page 18-

Sharps and flats appear in the key signature in the order they appear moving clockwise or counterclockwise from the top of the Circle of Fifths. For sharps, it is F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#, and B#. In a sharp key signature, for major keys, look at the last sharp in the signature and the key is a semitone or half step above it. So if the last sharp is an F, then it will be a G major key unless it is the relative minor of E minor. A minor scale usually has accidentals. For flats it is B flat, E flat, A flat, D flat, G flat, C flat and F flat. By looking at the last flat on the right in the key signature, you know the name of the key. When looking at a song, the last note of a song is usually the same as the tonic, or first note of the scale so you can also use this tip to identify if the song is working from a major or minor scale. Songs in a minor key also have a more somber sound. An accidental is when a note needs to be a sharp, flat, or natural but is not previously indicated by the key signature so has to be signified in the measure. When a note has a sharp, natural, or flat note next to it, for example, a C# in a measure, all C’s in that measure will be C sharps and do not have to be further noted with the # indication. Once the barline is passed in the music, the accidental is no longer in effect unless there is a tie between the two notes with an accidental in place on the first and the second note is the same note. A sharp typically raises a note a half step while a flat lowers the note a half step. st

When talking of an eight-note scale, the notes each have a name. The first note or 1 degree is called the tonic. The second note, or 2

nd

degree is called the supertonic and is one whole tone or

one whole step above the tonic. The third note, or 3

rd

degree is the median and is halfway

th

between the supertonic and the next note, the 4 degree, also called the subdominant. In the 5

th

degree is the dominant, which when matched with the tonic can be used to define the key. The th

th

sixth note is the 6 degree and is the submediant. In the 7 degree is the leading tone, leading up to the tonic, which in addition to being in the first position, is also in the 8 position.


th

degree, or octave

Figure 25. Circle of Fifths.

Have Windows Media Player installed to hear the following MP3 files.

C MAJOR The below MP3 file is an example of a C scale on an electric violin. Follow along on the music below for the first eight notes and continue back down.


The C major scale begins and ends on a C note. There are no sharps or flats in its key signature so it is the easiest scale to remember for the beginning violin player. The relative minor of the C major scale is A minor.

eviol_c_vbr.mp3

Sound 1: Electric violin C scale sample.

Figure 26. C major scale.

The below .ogg file is the C major scale on piano.

C_major ogg.ogg

Sound 2. C major scale on the piano.

Exercise 4 In this exercise, place the first finger on the D string an inch to 1 and ¼ inch up from the nut, or where the peg box and fingerboard meet. Hold down the note on the string with the tip of your finger so your fingernail is straight up and down, not flat. This is a whole step from the open E.


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Figure 27. Notes on lines and spaces. Exercise 5 Play the song below.

Exercise 6 Play the song below and identify what makes it A minor and not C major.


G MAJOR The G major scale has one sharp, an F sharp. Its relative minor is E minor.

Figure 28. G major scale.

Listen below to a G major scale on the violin. The scale begins and ends on G.

Violin_démanché,_on_G_major_scale,_on_G_string.ogg

Sound 3. G major scale.

eviol_g_vbr.mp3

Sound 4. Electric violin G sample above. D MAJOR The D major scale has two sharps, F sharp and C sharp. The scale begins and ends on D. B minor is its relative minor.

Figure 29. D major scale.


eviol_d_vbr.mp3

Sound 5: Electric violin D sample.

A MAJOR The A major scale has three sharps, F sharp, C sharp, and G sharp. The scale begins and ends on the A note. Its relative minor is F# minor.

Figure 30. A major key signature.

Figure 31. A major scale variation.


eviol_a_vbr.mp3

Sound 6. Electric violin A sample.

E MAJOR The E major scale has four sharps: F, C, G and D. It begins and ends on E and its relative minor is C# minor.

Figure 32. E major scale.

Figure 33. E major scale variation and C# minor scale variation.

eviol_e_vbr.mp3

Sound 7. Electric violin E sample.


B MAJOR The B major scale has five sharps: F, C, G, D and A. It will begin and end on B and its relative minor is G# minor.

Figures 34. B major key signature. Exercise 7 Using the fingering chart as a guide, try playing the line of music in the figure below in B major.

Figure 35. B major scale variation.

Exercise 8 Try playing the tune below. The two dots near the bar at the end of the piece mean to repeat and go back to the beginning. Allegro means to play it fast.


F# MAJOR The F# major scale has six sharps: F, C, G, D, A and E. It will begin and end on F# and its relative minor is D# minor.

Figure 36. F# major key signature.


Exercise 9 Using the fingering chart as a guide, try playing the line of music in the figure below in F# major.

Figure 37. F# major scale variation.

C# MAJOR The C# major scale has seven sharps: F, C, G, D, A, E and B. The scale begins and ends on C# and its relative minor is A# minor. Did you notice that as we went clockwise around the Circle of Fifths a sharp was added to each subsequent scale?


Figure 38. C# major key signature.

Let’s go back to the top of the Circle of Fifths to the C major scale with no sharps or flats. Instead of building all of our major scales with sharps and moving clockwise, we are now going to go counterclockwise and build our major scales with flats. F MAJOR F major scale has one flat, B flat. Its relative minor is D minor. In an F major scale, the scale begins and ends with an F. Notice that if the key signature already shows the B flat, it normally will not indicate the flats throughout the piece unless it had previously indicated that a B was a natural or a sharp.


Figure 39. F major key signature.

Figure 40. F major scale.

Exercise 10 Play the tune below. Largo means to play very slowly and the small “P” means to play softly.


Figure 41. Sonata 1 for Unaccompanied Violin. by M. Reger (1873 – 1916) Source: Jos. Aibl Verlag G.m.b.H Leipzig, 1900 Arranger(s): ed. Willy Burmester

Opus: 42, Heft 1 No. 1

sonate-1.mid

Sound 8: Sonata 1 sound file.

B FLAT MAJOR In the key of B flat major, there are two flats, B flat and E flat. Its relative minor key is G minor.

Figure 42. Key of B flat major.


Figure 43. B flat major scale. Exercise 11 Play the below tune. The “f” means to play louder and “p” quieter.

E FLAT MAJOR The key of E flat major has three flats, B flat, E flat, and A flat. Its relative minor key is C minor.


Figure 44. Key of E flat major. A FLAT MAJOR The next major key has four flats: B, E, A, and D. Its relative minor is F minor.

Figure 45. Key of A flat major. D FLAT MAJOR The next major key, D flat major, has five flats: B, E, A, D and G. The scale begins and ends on D flat. Its relative minor is B flat minor.

Figure 46. Key of D flat major.


Figure 47. D flat major scale. G FLAT MAJOR G flat major has six flats: B, E, A, D, G and C. The scale starts and ends on G flat. Its relative minor is E flat.

Figure 48. G flat major scale.

C FLAT MAJOR C flat major has seven flats: B, E, A, D, G, C and F. The scale starts and ends on C flat. Its relative minor is A flat minor.

Figure 49. C flat major scale.


Exercise 12 Play the open strings above as noted by the red arrows. D is the open D string as is A the open A string and E is the open E string.

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Exercise 13 See how far you can get on the below piece. The key is C. The numbers below each note indicates which finger to use. 0 is open string. 1 is pointer finger, 2 is middle finger, 3 is the finger next to the pinky and 4 is the pinky. Also use the fingering chart.

RESTS A whole rest is the same value as a whole note, whatever that value may be according to the time signature. The whole rest is attached to the bottom of the staff line the second from the top line.

Figure 50. A whole note and a whole rest.


A half rest is the same value as that of a half note. In a 4/4 time signature, that would be a value of two beats. On the staff, it sits on the top of the third staff line.

Figure 51. Half rest.

A quarter rest, also called a crochet, is worth one beat.

Figures 52. Quarter Rest.

A quaver is a rest with the same value as an eighth note.

Figure 53. Quaver Rest.

A multi-measure rest indicates that the player needs to rest for however many measures the number indicates. In the figure below, the player needs to rest for 21 measures. Copyright 2010 SpeedyViolinLessons.com -Page 36-

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