No. 29.
We have now had so much practice in double-stops that this étude offers little that is new or interesting; nevertheless, it is valuable. Do not allow the accompaniment to stand out too prominently. Keep the theme as an example of pure legato playing. The bow must lie well over two strings, and no note in the accompaniment should be held too long. Notes must fall simultaneously, if so written. The tempo must be maintained throughout. The movement is earnest, yet not adagio. Grave refers to the character of the work, not to its tempo.
At this point play the up-bow notes with a running stroke, not the short staccato:
Observe the same manner of playing in the last line:
THE MODERATO.
It may be a good plan to play the staccato and legato notes with a decided contrast in style. The French school teachers play the staccato notes short and crisp near the point of the bow. The German school prefer a less detached stroke, using about one-third of the bow. You will observe that the short bowings are more frequently required throughout the study of Fiorillo than a broad style of playing. The wrist must be very free. The bow-stroke is not a lateral one. Do not make a wide difference in length of bow-stroke. Sing the theme. Place the fingers on the strings at once. Read in advance of the measure which you are playing. Anticipate string changes with the wrist in short transfers. Do not slide into positions.
In the sixth and ninth lines think the position changes at once. If we can sing a theme before taking a position, true intonation is assured. Many students who are beginning the study of the second position, using the Wohlfahrt and Sitt studies, ask if the second and fourth positions are useful. One must turn to the études of Kreutzer, Fiorillo, Rode, and Gavinies, showing many examples. As a means of ear training I consider the second position very valuable. The student who has difficulty with the fourth is likely to have the same with the fifth and sixth positions. One cannot stress too much the value of the careful study of positions. Beginning at the second page of this étude, it is well to play a somewhat shorter staccato stroke. The string-transfers are made by throwing the wrist over the string, in cases in which one goes from G to A or D to E. I sometimes review parts of the étude with spiccato bowing at the middle of the bow, single strokes. You will observe the term sempre staccato in some editions. Play a little broader stroke than this term would indicate. The last three lines, not including the last line, are very difficult. Play lightly, using little bow. Move the left thumb far round. Keep the middle joint flat. Bend the finger toward the G string to command the positions; also keep the fingers down when not in use. Do not use the vibrato in any case except one in which a broad free bowing is desired, as in an adagio movement. Be very careful of intonation.
