Violin Posting No 1: Homepage

Bangkok Violin Postings has MOVED to its new location on my official website: http://andrewfilmer.wordpress.com/ (under the heading "String Postings").

Welcome to the Homepage for Bangkok Violin Postings, a section of Medieval Marsupial Meanderings by Andrew Filmer. This homepage is for all newcomers to violin postings on this blog, as well as to have a easier link to updates on blog postings for those who have been following it for some time. Scroll down to view the three sections: A list of postings on violin technique, an introduction to the nature of the blog, and ways you can contribute.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License. Please contact the author at the email address at the bottom of the page if you have any queries.

List of postings (click on the underlined titles to link to the individual postings) Alternatively, you can go the main blog, and click on the links in the side-bar. There are other links to more informal postings that deal with things outside of technique from this sidebar.

Find the Errors - an exercise for students to think about how many common mistakes there are for basic violin posture.

Error Answer List - check with the answers for the first posting.

An Example of Good Violin Posture - Now that we have looked at what not to do, we can focus on what's good to do.

Bowing - With focus on the position of the hand/wrist and fingers, as we bow.

Tone Production - A compilation of different ideas and approaches to getting good sound. See also posting no. 10.

Open Strings - Exercises the student can try with just playing on open strings

Basic Intonation - using intervals to help us play in tune and recognize good intonation.

Slurs for Beginners - trying out playing more than one note per bow, for the first time.

Practice Methods - learning to structure practice time to get the most out of it... as well as not making mistakes permanent.

A Relaxed Bow Arm - this is the basis of making good sound, as well as getting being able to try out new bow technique.

Basic Vibrato - a basic guide to starting vibrato, and more importantly, what to avoid.

A Bangkok State of Mind - an article on strings in Southeast Asia, by Andrew Filmer in Strings Magazine June/July 2006.

Scales - different ways to look at scales, acting also as a more advanced posting on intonation.

Pizzicato - new ways to approach something that's more difficult than it looks - or sounds.

More on Vibrato - vibrato speeds, and other additional elements of vibrato.

Phrasing I - with a focus on ending a phrase and starting the next one.

The Left Thumb - experimenting with the position of the left thumb in helping vibrato and sound quality.

Playing With A Straight Bow - the advantages, practice techniques and exceptions to playing with a straight bow.

Shifting I - the first of a three-part series on the essentials of shifting.

Shifting II - the second of the series, on the fundamentals of shifting.

Shifting III - the last posting on shifting, including the position of the thumb.

Moving the Instrument - a discussion on how moving the instrument left, right, up and down can have productive or unproductive effects.

An Introduction to the Bowed Strings - two videos of an overview of playing bowed stringed instruments

Sound Production 2 - further discussion of producing the best tone possible'

Experimenting With the Bow - finding ways to make practice a productive process of discovery

What is this blog?
Medieval Marsupial Meanderings is a web-log, or "blog" - a public forum for discussions, and a place to share information, and creative ideas. Occasionally a posting is placed on violin and viola technique, for use of my own past and present students, and to a wider community of violin enthusiasts in Bangkok. These postings are entirely non-profit.

How can I be involved?
Your participation is welcome. You may choose to use each posting as a forum in your language of choice by clicking on the Comments link at the end of each posting. If you have a question for me, feel free to post it from the main blog, at the chatbox/tag-board in the side-bar, or email me at andrewfilmer79@yahoo.co.uk.