Mazas Étude Op.36 n.2 : Moderato

Whole bow marcato ( or "emphasized" grand détaché ). Here is quite a special bowing to start the study off. The tone must be very intense throughout the note... equally intense, with no shape to the note ; in other words, do not let the tone die down half way through each note. Sustain is paramount. I have fingered the first bar to take advantage of the rich, warm, deep sound of the G string. Keeping a melody on the same string helps to tie the notes together by having the same string tone applied to each note. Within this whole bow evenness, one may suggest accents, by marking the notes slightly, and suggesting emphasis. I do think the notes should be tied and joined together, rather than breaks applied in between them, however, the exact execution of this particular marcato may vary from school to school. 

Vibrato : Vibrato should have the same consistency and character for each note. If for example you do not vibrato your 4th finger, then that particular "white" note will stick out from the phrase, and rather spoil it. So if you have a weaker finger for vibrato, try and learn from the stronger fingers, and follow their example by applying roundness and finger strength to your weaker 4th finger. Another important point is not to stop your vibrato after the start of the note... it should continue throughout the length of the note... along with the bow tension, and if possible, vibrato should continue between the notes, so that it almost never stops. This is best achieved by wanting to "solder" the notes together. One must want to do this, and feel it, otherwise it is unlikely a good technique will form.

 

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Last modified: January 31, 2001