Self-Assessment Questions                     

Bow Hold

            Could we use a picture of your bow hold to instruct others properly?

            Are all of your joints (especially on the thumb) flexible?

            Do your finger joints bend and flex as you move the bow up and down?

Holding the Instrument and Left Hand Finger Placement

            Do you maintain good posture while playing your instrument?

            Do all of your fingers land comfortably on the fingerboard?

The Bow Arm/String Crossing

Can you produce a full, beautiful tone?

Does your bow stay parallel to the bridge from the frog to the tip?

Are your string crossings smooth and effortless in slurs and separate bows?

Do you have a wide range of dynamics and colors in your sound?

Bow Strokes

Are you familiar with each of the following and can you execute them?

Detaché, Collé, Martelé, Staccato, Spiccato, Springing bowings: sautillé, richochet

Intonation and Tuning

            Do you play in tune?

Do you know any practice techniques to check or improve your intonation?

Tension vs. Relaxation

            Do you have any pain after playing for any length of time?

            Do you feel a lot of tension in your body when you play your instrument?

Vibrato

            Do you use vibrato regularly?

Can you control your vibrato, varying width and speed?

Shifting

            Do you know how to practice shifts?

Resources

Scroll down to find cello or bass. Copy and paste the channel name into YouTube. Then search for the lesson title.

Violin/Viola 

YouTube Channel: professorV

            Todd Ehle is a professor of violin at Del Mar College, a Junior College in Corpus Christi, Texas, where he has taught students of all ages and abilities for the past 12 years. Before arriving in TX, Mr. Ehle taught violin at the Wausau Conservatory of Music, a community music school located in Wausau, WI.

The Bow Hold

Violin Lesson #1 Holding the Bow, pt. 1

Violin Lesson #2 Holding the Bow, pt. 2

Violin Lesson #3 Holding the Bow, pt. 3

Violin Bow Hold- Curved thumb trick

Does your violin bow hold slip? Try this trick.

Violin Bow Hold Trick for Relaxation

Holding the Instrument and Left Hand Finger Placement

Violin Lesson #4 The Hold and Finger Placement, pt. 1

Violin Lesson #5 The Hold and Finger Placement, pt. 2

Violin Lesson #6 The Hold and Finger Placement, pt. 3

Does Your Left Wrist Collapse? Try this trick.

Violin lesson: Avoid flying fingers

Violin Hold Trick: The Sensation of Relaxation

Violin Lesson: Problems with 4th Finger

Violin Lesson: Even More 4th Finger Help

Violin Lesson- Curved Pinky Trick

The Bow Arm

Violin Lesson #11 Straight Bowing Techniques, pt. 1

Violin Lesson #12 Straight Bowing Techniques, pt. 2

Violin Lesson; Figure 8 Bowing (Straight Bowing pt. 3)

Violin Lesson #13 The Balance Point and Lifting the Bow

Violin Lesson #15 Tone Production Techniques

Violin Lesson # 16 Retakes-lifts

Violin Lesson #17 The Rebound (see Retakes-Lifts first)

Violin Lesson #40 Legato bowing; smooth bow changes

Parallel or Straight Bowing Trick for Violin

Violin Lesson: Getting to the Frog

Tone Production Techniques for Violin (see lesson #15 first)

Tone Production Techniques for Violin (part 3)

Tone Production Techniques for Violin, Part 4

Bow Strokes

Violin Lesson #14 Detaché Bowing

Violin Lesson #29 Bouncing Strokes (spiccato)

Violin Lesson #30 Martelé bowing

Violin Lesson #44 Collé bowing

Violin Lesson #49 Sautillé Bowing, pt. 1

Violin Lesson #50 Sautillé Bowing, pt. 2

Violin Lesson #53 Sautillé Bowing, pt. 3

Violin Lesson #55 Springing Arpeggios

Up-Bow Staccato for Violin

String Crossing

Violin Lesson #7 String Crossing pt. 1

Violin Lesson #9 String Crossing pt. 2

Violin Lesson #10 String Crossing pt. 3

Violin Lesson #27 String Crossing pt. 4

Violin Lesson #47 String Crossing pt. 5 (fast)

Violin Lesson #48 String Crossing pt. 6 (slurs)

Violin Lesson #52 String Crossing pt. 7

Intonation

Violin Lesson #8 Playing in Tune

Violin Lesson #18 Playing in Tune, pt. 1

Violin Lesson #19 Playing in Tune, pt. 2

Violin Lesson #34 Ear Training Exercise

Violin Lesson #35 Tuning the Violin, pt. 1

Violin Lesson #36 Tuning the Violin, pt. 2

Violin Lesson #37 Playing in Tune, pt. 3

Violin Lesson #38 Playing in Tune, pt. 4 (review #8 first)

Violin Lesson #39 Playing in Tune, pt. 5 (Drone pitch)

Violin Lesson #45 Playing in Tune pt. 6 (ringing notes)

Violin Lesson #46 Playing in Tune pt. 7

Relaxation

Violin Lesson #20 Relax! Relaxation Techniques

Violin Lesson #21 Relaxation and Balance

Violin Hold Trick: The Sensation of Relaxation

New Violin Vibrato Trick for Relaxation

Violin Bow Hold Trick for Relaxation

Violin Lesson; Relaxation Techniques

Vibrato

Violin Lesson #22 Vibrato (hand/wrist)

Violin Lesson #23 Vibrato part 2 (arm)

New Violin Vibrato Trick for Relaxation

Violin Vibrato: Getting Help from a partner

Violin Vibrato Tutorial: tips for Relaxation

Violin Vibrato Trick (please view other vibrato vids first)

More Violin Vibrato Help

Shifting

Violin Lesson #28 Finding 3rd Position in Vivaldi A-minor

Violin Lesson #31 Finding 2nd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th positions

Violin Lesson # 33a Four types of shifts pt.2

Violin Lesson # 33b Descending shifts

Violin Shifting Trick #2

Descending Shift Trick for Violin

Double Stops (playing two notes at the same time)

Violin Lesson # 41 Introduction to Double Stops pt. 1

Violin Lesson #42 Introduction to Double Stops pt. 2

Violin Lesson #43 Introduction to Double Stops pt. 3

Violin Lesson #51 Octaves

Violin Lesson #54 Intro to 3rds

Violin Lesson #60 10ths

Harmonics

            Violin Lesson #55 Artificial Harmonics

Miscellaneous

Violin trick: avoid the whistling E string

Using Patterns

Violin Lessons; Introduction and purpose

YouTube: BarnesandMullinsUK’s channel

            David LePage, Professor of Violin, Birmingham Conservatoire, UK

                        Violin Technique- Portato

                        Violin Technique- Vibrato

                        Violin Technique- Tuning Techniques

                        Violin Technique- Sul Tasto

                        Violin Technique- Spiccato

                        Violin Technique- Slurs

                        Violin Technique- Sautillé

                        Violin Technique- Rosin and Cleaning

                        Violin Technique- Ricochet

                        Violin Technique- Ponticello/ Sul pont

                        Violin Technique- Point of Contact

                        Violin Technique- Pizzicato

                        Violin Technique- Barriolage

                        Violin Technique- Martelé

                        Hildersine Violin Technique- Finger Positioning

                        Violin Technique- Detaché

                        Violin Technique- Holding the Violin

                        Violin Technique- Violin Bow Basics

Other YouTube Channels to check out:

Strings Magazine

Violinmasterclass

Red Desert Violin

Violin Lab Channel

Viola Specific!

YouTube Channel: Interlochen Center for the Arts

            Viola Lesson: Shifting Exercise and many more

Cello 

YouTube: BarnesandMullinsUK’s channel

            Steven Doane from New York's University of Rochester Eastman School of Music runs through essential Cello Techniques for all players.

            Cello Technique- Vibrato

            Cello Technique- Using the Whole Bow

            Cello Technique- Sul Tasto

            Cello Technique- Crossing Strings

            Cello Technique- Spiccato Brush Stroke

            Cello Technique- Slurring Notes

            Cello Technique- Seating Position

            Cello Technique- Sautillé

            Cello Technique- Ricochet

            Cello Technique- Shifting Notes- The Basics

            Cello Technique- Portato-Parlando

            Cello Technique- Ponticello- Sul Pont

            Cello Technique Point of Contact

            Cello Technique- Large Note Shifts

            Cello Technique- Finger Flexibility and Rotation

            Cello Technique- Finger Extensions

            Cello Technique- Detaché Bowing

            Cello Technique-Classes of Shift 1

            Cello Technique- Classes of Shift 2

            Cello Technique- Detaché- Casal’s Crawl Exercise

YouTube: Virtual Sheet Music, Prof. Mendoes

            Cello Lesson- The Best Posture for Playing the Cello

            Cello Lesson- Bow Changes: How to Make them Smooth

            Cello Lesson- The Arm-Weight Concept, Explained

            Cello Lesson- Left Hand Fingering Tips

            Cello Lesson- How to achieve the best tone on the cello.

            Cello Lesson- How to shift on the cello

            Cello Lesson- Cello Tips for Beginners- Basics of Cello Playing

            Cello Lesson- Cello Bow Fundamentals

            Learn Vibrato on the Cello

            Cello Lesson- Thumb Position on the Cello

            Cello Lesson- Memorization on the Cello

            Cello Lesson- How to Practice on the Cello

Cello Lesson-How to Hold the Bow on the Cello

Cello Lesson- Everything about endpin on the cello

Cello Lesson- How to Increase the Power of Your C String

Cello Lesson- How to Play Fast on the Cello

Cello Lesson- Bow and Endpin Tips

Cello Lesson- How to Prevent Injuries on the Cello

Cello Lesson- Thumb Position Vibrato

Cello Lesson-How to approach the Dotzauer Etudes

Cello Lesson- The Importance of Score Study on the cello

Cello Lesson- What’s the Relationship between Technique and Musicality?

Bass 

YouTube: Andrew Anderson Teaches the Bass

Part 1 Positioning the bass and preparing the left hand

Part 2 Introducing the bow

Part 3 Bow Hand Concepts

Part 4 Bow Placement Speed and Weight

Part 5 Developing Smooth Bow Changes

Part 6 Developing Articulation in the Bow

Part 7 Developing Spiccato

Part 8 Deep Analysis of the Spiccato Stroke

Part 9 Different Spiccato Strokes for Different Situations

Part 10 Developing Left Hand Efficiency

YouTube: BarnesandMullinsUK’s channel

            Cathy Elliott of London Mozart Players, Rambert Orchestra and Academy St Martin in the Fields takes us through a range of Double Bass Techniques - from basic to advanced.

Double Bass Technique- Shifting Positions

            Double Bass Technique- Detaché

            Double Bass Technique- String Extensions Tunings

            Double Bass Technique- Sul Tasto

            Double Bass Technique- Pizzicato

            Double Bass Technique- Bow Choice

            Double Bass Technique- Slurs

            Double Bass Technique- Note Positions

            Double Bass Technique- Ponticello Sul Pont

            Double Bass Technique- Tune Your Bass

            Double Bass Technique- Fingering Patterns

            Double Bass Technique- Orchestral and Solo Tunings

            Double Bass Technique- Care of Your Bass