Chats To 'Cello Students Part 7

It used to be customary for singers and instrumentalists to take more liberty in the introduction of graces and embellishments than is allowed in modern times, or is possible with modern compositions. The early Italian vocal school must be held responsible for many early extravagances in this direction. The representatives of this school, fitted as they were by nature, climate, language and training, for brilliant vocalisation, never lost an opportunity of displaying their wonderful feats of execution; in the opera even the simplest melody being overloaded with trills, turns, grace notes and especially by the introduction of long bravura pa.s.sages, in the shape of variations on the melody, or as cadenzas. An amusing instance of this was the compet.i.tion between Farinelli, the celebrated singer and a trumpeter (Rome, 1723), which took place before a large and enthusiastic crowd. I suppose each of these artists tried to outshine the other in the brilliance of their improvised cadenzas and coloratura pa.s.sages. With the exception of added cadenzas in some concertos, it is not now considered good taste to embellish a composition--even the simplest melody, by the addition of anything to the written notes. The modern artist, especially the instrumentalist, must content himself with his individual treatment of what is before him, depending solely on this, and the beauty of the composition for his effect.

THE TRILL.

To acquire a good trill on the violoncello, the student should practice trilling with each finger, commencing very slowly at first, then gradually increasing the speed. Each finger should be perfected separately, the fourth being generally the weakest, will require more attention. The following exercise (Ex. 50) if properly practised, should be the means of perfecting the student in this essential and pleasing ornament.

[Ill.u.s.tration: EX. 50.]

To study this exercise properly a week should be devoted to each figure, that is to say, one figure must be fairly well perfected before the next is attempted; the student should devote several minutes at various times of the day to its practice. This system of dividing the time devoted to the practice of a mechanical study like the perfection of the trill, will prevent the muscles being over exerted. In slow movements, especially on a long sustained note, a good effect may be produced by commencing the trill slowly, then gradually increasing the rapidity of the beats. In quick movements the trill should be generally commenced and continued quickly.

The chief beauty in the introduction of the pralltriller and the various turns, consists in throwing them into the melody without disturbing the time or phrasing; to acquire this ability, the student may first play the pa.s.sage without introducing the turns, etc., then when the structure of the phrase is clearly grasped, the embellishments should be added. As a good concert composition which may be of use both in acquiring a neat method of introducing the turn, or of displaying such accomplishment, may be mentioned the "Arlequin" by Popper. It is very pleasing and fits the instrument.

THE VIBRATO.

The vibrato or close shake is produced by shaking the left hand from side to side, the finger tip--which stops the note on which the vibrato is produced,--forming the pivot. The soft fleshy cushion which forms the tip of the finger, seems to grip the string, and should not on any account be allowed to slide out of tune; thus the effect must never be so exaggerated as to allow the beats to be varied in pitch, the result should merely be a kind of throbbing.

A good effect is produced in a sostenuto theme by commencing the vibrato slowly on a crescendo note. As the crescendo gathers in force, the throbbing of the vibrato is increased in rapidity; much practice is necessary to accomplish the gradual increasing or diminishing of the speed, without any break being observable in either the increasing of the tone, or the vibrato beats. The natural law with respect to the variety in vibrato effects may be given as follows. A note low in pitch, or a note played _piano_, requires a slow vibrato, a higher note, or a note played forte and pa.s.sionately, requires a rapid vibrato. The student must be cautioned not to introduce the slow vibrato too freely, although he may see many players constantly wag the hand in sustained or pa.s.sionate pa.s.sages, this is not always done to produce a vibrato effect, but is often intended to give a thrilling tone by a clearly defined stopping of the note.

THE CADENZA.

The cadenza may be said to range from the group of notes taken _ad lib._, to the brilliant virtuosic cadenza introduced, or added to concerto compositions.

The first form is generally used as a connecting link between one section of a composition and another, and although the time is marked _ad lib._, the student should always strive to correctly phrase these little solo pa.s.sages in accordance with the character of the movement or composition, so that the desired effect may be given.

The latter and "big" form of cadenza, is generally given to allow the performer an opportunity to show his skill, although Schumann did not favour this idea; the cadenza to his 'cello concerto being merely a few bars of recitative leading into the brilliant coda (finale), in other compositions he adhered to the same idea, the cadenza being thoroughly and wholly "Schumann," without any attempt to serve as a means of display. In compositions where the cadenza is not written out, the player is expected to supply one; this should be constructed from motives taken from the work, the skill of the player being shown in the manner in which these motives are treated. As the composition of a cadenza will necessarily be of a free character, the introduction of brilliant arpeggios, double-stops and rapid scale pa.s.sages all skilfully woven around and connecting the motives introduced, may be taken as the basis on which to work.

GRACE NOTES.

Grace notes expressed in groups of small notes are not essential in any great degree to the musical structure of a composition, they are supposed to add to its effectiveness; the success of their introduction and their chief charm, consists in throwing them into the melody with ease. Sometimes a ritard is made, especially in song-like compositions, so that the grace notes may be played quite deliberately; in other pieces where strict time is essential, the time must be stolen from the note which precedes or follows. It may be accepted as a general rule that the grace notes should not delay the enunciation of a heavily accented note, so that the rhythm may remain undisturbed.

PIZZICATO.

Notes are played pizzicato by pulling the strings with the fingers, instead of causing their vibration with the bow; the player should grasp the bow firmly at the nut with the little finger, and perhaps the third finger, according to the requirements of the pizzicato pa.s.sage.

In scale pa.s.sages it is wise to use the first and second fingers alternately for the purpose of plucking the strings, the thumb resting on the edge of the fingerboard as a support for the hand. For arpeggios and chords, the thumb may be used for the lower string, and the fingers for the upper strings. Chords in rapid succession are best played by striking across all the four strings with the thumb and first finger alternately; when the thumb is used, the lower strings receive the first vibration, the higher strings being struck first when using the first finger; the chords should be struck so smartly that the four strings seem to vibrate simultaneously. The advantages of this method is that with each motion of the hand a chord is sounded, thus, when using the thumb, the hand moves from right to left, returning from left to right when using the first finger.

In all pizzicato pa.s.sages the strings should be plucked in such a manner that they oscillate from side to side during their vibration; if they are allowed to snap against the fingerboard, the sound will be instantly checked. The student should remember that taste may be brought into play in the method of executing pizzicato pa.s.sages. It is not necessary to play all the notes with one volume of sound; a crescendo on a series of notes can be produced quite as effectively as with the bow. In chamber music there is often a better opportunity for the display of taste in the execution of pizzicato pa.s.sages than in solo compositions; pizzicato pa.s.sages in the latter being generally introduced for display rather than accompaniment.

THE USE OF THE THUMB.

A knowledge of the correct use of the thumb for the purpose of stopping notes on the violoncello, is of the utmost importance to any who wish to have anything like command of the instrument. It is quite certain that the 'cello would not be anything like the perfect instrument it is, if the player was confined to the neck positions. As already explained, the neck positions only extend to a couple of notes beyond the half-string.

When it is necessary to go beyond this, the thumb is taken from its position behind the neck of the instrument, and firmly placed in a horizontal position across two strings, thus stopping a perfect fifth.

The student should attend very carefully to the hints here given respecting the part of the thumb which actually stops the strings. The first joint of the thumb should be slightly bent outwards, the higher string should pa.s.s across the side of the thumb just under the root of the nail, the strings being about half-an-inch apart, the lower string will be that distance nearer the tip of the thumb. On no account must the thumb be so placed that the higher string interferes in the slightest with the joint of the thumb: this would make it impossible to quickly slide along the strings without disturbing the relative positions of the two strings. Continued practice with the thumb will form two grooves on the under side of the thumb, exactly the width of the strings apart; when this comes about, no inconvenience will be experienced either in rapidly sliding along the strings, or in putting on sufficient pressure. A common experience with students first learning thumb positions, is the feeling that the fingers are too long. To remedy this and also to gain sufficient weight on the fingers, some young players will allow the knuckles to protrude and the finger joints to bend inwards. I have noticed this time after time in pupils, even when they have overcome the same difficulty in the neck positions. In a short time the hand will get accustomed to the change of posture, in the meantime the knuckles must be kept quite flat, and the finger joints bent outwards. When the muscles, which have hitherto remained idle, are fully developed, the player will be able to put sufficient pressure on the strings without any a.s.sistance from the weight of the hand.

With respect to the introduction of the thumb; it is not always necessary in the high positions to use the thumb to actually stop certain notes, occasionally certain scale pa.s.sages occur which may be fingered as the ordinary scales--that is, with the thumb following behind at the distance of a tone. However, the most important reason for rejecting the thumb for speaking notes and "fingering" the pa.s.sage, is that of phrasing. In expressive movements, exactly as one finds it necessary in the lower range of the instrument to leave out the use of the open strings, or play in a higher position than necessary, so in the high thumb positions the same unity of feeling must be observed by a nicely arranged system of fingering. The reason for an objection against the indiscriminate use of the thumb in slow cantabile pa.s.sages, is that the tone produced when the note is stopped by the pressure of the thumb, is not of the same character as that produced when the tips of the fingers are used. Perhaps it takes a very fine ear to distinguish this difference. In quick movements it is not discernible, but on a sustained note the tone produced by the thumb is to a great extent colourless. That there should be a difference in tone is hardly to be wondered at, when one considers the acute sensibility of touch at the finger tips. It is possible that the necessary varieties of pressure, or more accurately, "touch," which are requisite to a soulful performance, may be more readily accomplished with the tips of the fingers, owing to a greater concentration of nerve matter there than at the side of the thumb, but this we must leave to physiologists; those whose ear is so delicately formed that they notice these slight varieties in tone colour, will perhaps be thankful for the hint whereby a soulful manner of fingering and phrasing in the high positions may be acquired.

The fear of being thought dogmatical in this work, prevents me giving examples of this method of fingering in the thumb positions, as, of course, each player will naturally adopt the system which suits his style the best, but to the student I would advise that the pa.s.sages are phrased exactly as one would sing them, entirely irrespective of strings or positions; using the finger tips in preference to the thumb for the speaking notes wherever possible.

In quick movements the use of the thumb is indispensable. In many cases one is compelled to use it even in the lower neck positions so that certain pa.s.sages may be possible.

EXTENSIONS.

The use of extensions, that is, the fingering of certain notes which are foreign to the position in which the hand is placed, is of more frequent occurrence in the thumb positions than in the lower range of the instrument. To a great extent these have to be studied as special pa.s.sages. However, each pa.s.sage of this description thoroughly mastered, will make similar pa.s.sages easier and a.s.sist in giving a greater command over the fingerboard. To acquire a general knowledge of these extensions, the student may practise a series of "running arpeggios" in the various keys, similar to those given by Coward Klee in his arrangement of scales for 'cello. The student may play them in three or four octaves according to the possibilities of the instrument.

OCTAVES.

Octave pa.s.sages are usually played across two strings, with the thumb and third finger, the thumb stopping the lower note on the lower string, and the third finger stopping its octave on the higher string.

The most difficult progressions in octaves are those which are played in unison, that is, the higher and lower notes being sounded simultaneously--the slightest faults in intonation are here most painfully evident. Where the octaves are sounded separately, one part moving independently to the other, the difficulty of intonation is nothing near so great.

Occasionally one comes across octave pa.s.sages which are either impossible to be played in the usual manner of thumb and third finger--or else sound better to be played with different fingering. An example of the former is met with in Popper's well-known "Elfentanz."

This is an extremely brilliant descending pa.s.sage in octaves, with the ninth used as a pa.s.sing note. Here the octaves are played with thumb and _second_ finger, thus leaving the third finger free for the added ninth. An example of the latter exception is the final octave pa.s.sage in the Rondo of the favourite Beethoven Sonata for 'cello (No. 2). This pa.s.sage, which remains in the lower range of the instrument, sounds much more brilliant if taken as an ordinary pa.s.sage across the strings, than if attempted with the usual octave fingering.

CHAPTER XIII.

THE SCIENTIFIC BASIS OF HARMONICS--SOME PECULIAR LAWS WHICH GOVERN A VIBRATING STRING--"NATURAL" AND "ARTIFICIAL" HARMONICS--THE MANNER OF BOWING HARMONICS.

HARMONICS.

In considering harmonics, the names of two of the greatest violin players the world has ever seen force themselves to one's mind:--Paganini and Spohr; the exponents of two schools of violin playing as diametrically opposed to each other as darkness is to light.

Paganini the weird, fiery Italian, astonishing the world with hitherto undreamt of effects, not the least marvellous in the eyes of critics and mult.i.tude alike, being his wonderful command over every possible form of harmonic playing. Spohr with his solid, cla.s.sical, German temperament, attempting nothing out of the established limits of real, solid playing, countenancing nothing which the "great in music" before him had not accepted and stamped with their hall-mark. Considering this, and also that Spohr may have been annoyed at the allegiance which nearly the whole music-loving public were only too eager to pay to the Italian violinist, it is not to be wondered at that he should find it necessary to denounce the whole art of harmonic playing as trick playing and unworthy of a great artist. One can hardly forgive Spohr's description of harmonic tones as "foreign and childish"; they certainly are entirely different to the tone produced by stopped notes, but this very difference, instead of condemning them, should rather recommend them to the instrumentalist as another means of adding variety, that essence of life, to his playing. It is really surprising what an electrical effect on an audience has a well executed pa.s.sage in harmonics; "harmonics excite wonder"! true, but if well played they also excite enthusiasm.

Spohr is to be praised for his recommendations to young violinists not to neglect that which is useful, in the prosecution of the study of harmonics; young violoncellists please attend to the advice! yet every player should be thoroughly conversant with the science of harmonics even if he has to defer perfection in the art of their production until a later period. "Harmonics" are described as "the accessory sounds generated with the predominant and apparently simple tones of any vibrating string or column of air." Science teaches us that a single note is impossible; immediately a note is sounded, certain tones more or less related to the fundamental note, are generated. These overtones may be distinctly heard if one of the open strings of a good old violoncello is vigorously sounded; as the fundamental note decreases in power, the harmonic over-tones will be easily heard in their order of production--first the octave, then the fifth to the octave, then the major third to the octave above. Another method of hearing these harmonics is by causing a note in unison with one of the open strings of the violoncello to be sung, or played upon some other instrument, the string in unison with the note sounded, through sympathetic vibration will give out the overtones only, as previously described. However it is not these fleeting overtones which demand our attention, although they form the natural basis to the whole matter, it is the production of harmonic tones in the form of independent or primary notes. To accomplish this on the violoncello the string must be touched lightly with the finger at certain places, not as for the production of a stopped note, by pressing the string firmly against the fingerboard, but by allowing one finger to lightly rest upon it with sufficient "touch" to divert the vibrations. It will be found that only at certain places are harmonic notes possible. These places are called nodes or nodal points; they are to be found at the mathematical divisions of the strings into halves, thirds, quarters, etc. The cla.s.s of harmonics produced in this manner are termed "Natural Harmonics." As each string gives out the same notes relative to the pitch of the open string, one description will suffice.

If a string is lightly touched at its half length during vibration, the octave to the open string will be produced; at one-third or two-thirds its length, measuring either from the bridge to the nut or _vice versa_, the fifth above the octave; at one-fourth or three-fourths the double octave; at one-fifth, two-fifths, three-fifths and four-fifths the major third above the second octave; at one-sixth and five-sixths the fifth above the second octave, and at one-eighth, three-eighths, five-eighths and seven-eighths a harmonic note three octaves above the open string will be produced. The difference between the vibration of a musical string during the production of a stopped note, and a harmonic note is of sufficient interest, and of enough importance to merit description.

Most of my readers will be aware that when the string is pressed firmly against the fingerboard for a stopped note, the portion between the finger and the nut does not vibrate, the string is practically shortened to the dimensions of that portion which lies between the finger and the bridge; when a harmonic note is played however, the finger being lightly placed on the string merely diverts the vibration; the whole length of the string vibrates, the part between the finger and the nut a.s.sisting as actively in producing the note as the part between the finger and bridge. The following rough sketch will ill.u.s.trate this more clearly than is possible in words alone; Fig. 5 represents a vibrating string; (_a_) is the nut, (_c_) the bridge, the string being stopped at its half length (_b_), the only portion which vibrates is that between (_b_) and (_c_). Fig. 6 represents a harmonic note produced at the half string (_b_) in this case the whole string vibrates yet the string is divided into two equal parts, the part between (_a_) and (_b_) vibrating in unison with that between (_b_) and (_c_). The student will here see the importance of keeping all the fingers quite clear of the string except of course the one producing the note, so that the vibrations may not be impeded. So far this seems quite logical, it is in proceeding further that one realizes the wonderful laws which govern the production of harmonics. Fig. 7 represents the string touched lightly at its fourth part (_d_) or (_e_) giving the harmonic note two octaves above the open string; the student will observe that it is quite immaterial whether the fourth be calculated from the bridge or from the nut; the vibrations in each case will be thus:--If the string is touched at (_d_) the portion between (_d_) and (_c_), that is between the finger and the bridge, will naturally divide itself into three equal parts, each part vibrating in unison with the part between (_a_) and (_d_); again, if the finger is placed at (_e_) the part behind the finger, that is, the portion of the string between (_e_) and (_a_) will divide itself into equal parts in like manner. One of the fourth parts is to be found at (_b_); how is it then that if the string is touched there a harmonic note of lower pitch than those given out at the first and third fourths is produced?

The reason is that the portion of string at each side of (_b_) being of equal length, the string naturally divides itself into halves; we have found that this gives the octave to the open string. The student may work out for himself the reason why the fifth above the second octave is only playable at the one-sixth and five-sixth parts and not at the two-sixth, three-sixth and four-sixth, and why the third octave is not possible at the two-eighth, four-eighth, and six-eighth parts.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig 5]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig 6]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig 7]

ARTIFICIAL HARMONICS.