Drill those scales with these punishing exercises! Get the metronome going and then lift and drop the fingers with energy and precision of timing and tuning.
Drill those scales with these punishing exercises! Get the metronome going and then lift and drop the fingers with energy and precision of timing and tuning.
Make sure there’s nothing makeshift about the way you make shifts! Glide smoothly between 1st and 3rd position on each string, landing perfectly in tune every time!
Sharpen your swords for this riotous Renaissance dance! This version of the piece is written entirely in 3rd position ... play it with loads of rhythmic energy!
Juuuuuuump! You’ll need really agile, accurate shifting and string crossing for this exercise. If you miss, the Lazy Dog could very quickly become an Angry Dog!
Telemann’s Canonic Sonatas are an absolute marvel. Both musicians play exactly the same thing, but one bar apart … and, amazingly, they still sound really nice!
Cross swords in this epic battle between the G string and the E string in 1st and 3rd position! Which string will emerge victorious as the master of intonation?
Louise Farrenc (1804-75) was a piano teacher at the Paris Conservatoire for over 30 years. Her Étude in A minor is a mysterious siciliana with lots of dotted rhythms.
Schubert’s Three Marches Militaires were originally written for piano 4-hands (not a 4-handed pianist!). The first one is the most famous, and definitely the best!
This is a gorgeous, idyllic, pastoral song by the excellently named Norwegian violinist and composer, Ole Bull. Those herd-girls must be having a really lovely Sunday!
This lilting lament is a lovely duet for two violins … it’s also great for practising string crossings, producing syncopated rhythms, and playing in 3rd position!
For a piece about witches, this is a surprisingly chirpy tune! It's full of crisp bowing and sparkling arpeggios. Play it nicely, or you may discover their dark side!
The melody of this sorrowful piano prelude by Armenian composer and musicologist, Gayane Chebotaryan, yearns and wails, ebbs and flows, grows and wilts. Intense stuff!
Anton Rubinstein was a Russian pianist, composer, conductor and educator (Tchaikovsky’s teacher!). He is best known for this delicious little sweetmeat, Melody in F.
This fabulous fantasia by Leo Portnoff features passionate melodies, a rip-roaring Russian dance, and plenty of different patterns and techniques for the bowing arm.
This sunny, chirpy melody by Charles Auguste de Bériot is great for practising 3rd position. That’s probably why it’s in the 3rd position bit of his Méthode de Violon!
Wheeee! Let's go up and down between 1st and 3rd position on your 1st and 3rd fingers!
