OF THE MANNER OF PLAYING—TREATMENT OF BRIDGES ETC.
It has often occurred to me that violin players of all kinds find fault when the strings are not arranged in the manner to which they are accustomed, and almost every one believes his method to be correct. This subject shall be discussed here, so that a clearer insight may be obtained and the correct method ascertained.
There are violin players who have a greatly arched bridge, and others a very flat one, on their instruments. The latter, therefore, more than the former, have the advantage of being able to play on all violins, because they are accustomed to a bridge which is flatter. These different methods mostly arise from the different arrangements of the violins upon which pupils learn to play.
Ole Bull was an exception to this rule; with him it was not chance; of all violin players he used the flattest bridge on his violin; but it was his principle. His music pieces required it, and in his method he became a master.
I. B. Poznanski played at one time on a violin with almost as flat a bridge as that on Ole Bull's instrument, and I believe it will not have been forgotten that he produced, as if by charm, a great tone from his instrument. This proves that a great tone can be gained on a flat bridge. Therefore it depends only on the skill with which the bow is handled. Many violin players, however, are of opinion that they must press the bow on the strings very much, in order to bring forth a strong tone on the violin; but the pressure of the bow is limited; for when it is too strong, the ear becomes disgusted with the tone, nay, a scraping and jarring tone is produced by too strong a pressure, because the G string touches the finger-board in this case, in consequence of which many violin players wish to have the finger-board very hollow. But it must not be believed that in such a manner the right tone is produced; on the contrary, the full tone, which lies ready in the violin, is very easy to be gained by the knowledge and skill of handling the bow.
The rule is, that the tone must be drawn forth by the bow, and it must not be forced forth by pressure. The bow must not be led oblique, but straight over the strings, so that the hair lies flat on them; it also depends on the flexibility of the arm, that the bow may not touch the strings stiffly, but in an elastic manner. Those who attract attention to their elbows cannot expect that the bow and the violin alone will do their service.
The most perfect condition of a violin requires the instrument to be so arranged that it can be played easily; therefore, I determine that the height of the strings must be three-sixteenths of an inch at the end of the finger-board, and that the arch of the bridge must have the same measure, three-sixteenths of an inch, between its two extremes, for bridges more arched than this cause difficulties to the player, because the movement of the bow is too much abstracted when passing from the E string to the G string. In such a manner, David in Leipsic had the violins arranged for his pupils.
On such arched bridges the two middle strings lie too high from the top towards the G string and E string, and it is an acoustical mistake, because it produces an inequality of the character of tone.
Such knowledge should be taught to the pupils in conservatories of music; but it is generally believed that when a violin player has been made a professor he is able to satisfy the requirements of his position in this regard.