LESSON ELEVEN

Developing Your Tone

One of the most important things about playing the violin is learning to produce a strong, even tone. If you listen to a professional violinist, they always make the music sound great, even if they are playing a very simple piece.

A good way to improve your tone is to play only the open strings and listen carefully to the sound you are making. Experiment with more, or less pressure of the bow on the strings until you get a sound you like.

The following examples will help your bowing technique. Although you probably enjoy playing pieces more than these exercises, they will help you play pieces better. Listen carefully as you play each exercise and aim for a strong, even tone, as if the violin were singing the notes.

To achieve this, you will need to keep your wrist loose, your bow speed consistent and use just the right amount of pressure. When working on bowing technique and tone exercises, it is important to work closely with your teacher so they can show you how to correct any errors in your technique.

Open A and E Strings

The Open Strings D and G

This D note is played on the open third string. It is written in the space just below the staff.

This G note is played on the open fourth string. It is written under the second ledger line below the staff.

Open D and G Strings

This is similar to the previous exercise and uses the open D and G strings. Once again, listen carefully as you play and aim for a strong, even tone.

The Whole Rest

A black box hanging under a line is a whole rest.
It means there are four beats of silence.

Practicing whole notes is very good for developing your tone. Every second bar in this next exercise contains a whole rest, to give you time to prepare for the next note. All four open strings are used in this exercise.

Remember to lower your bowing arm slightly when moving from a lower string to a higher string (e.g., open G to open D) and raise the arm slightly when moving from a higher string to a lower string (e.g., open E to open A).

All Four Open Strings

Now try playing two whole notes on each string with alternating bow strokes. Once again, aim for a full singing tone.

Here is another exercise to help you get better at crossing between strings. As before, alternate your bow strokes.