Books › Grove's dictionary of music and musicians, 1904 › scan 64
Scan 64
Grove's dictionary of music and musicians, 1904
19 lines. Read by computer on 6 September 2026, twice; the two readings disagreed in places. Printed page 47. See the scan on archive.org.
1ascending, second finger going over first; the first is not held down. The movement described in the foregoing is a whole shift of the hand, first position to third, third to fifth, fifth to seventh. Whole shifts go also from second position to fourth, fourth to sixth, and so on. A half shift is from a position to its neighbouring one, viz., first to second, second to third, etc.
3This studied economy of finger and hand movement should be followed through all violin technical practice.
5A Position is the space on the finger-board which can be covered without moving the hand. A full command of the finger-board can only be attained by being well grounded in the different positions, which are eleven in number. In the first position, the first finger stands on F on the first string, and takes the corresponding notes on the other strings, B, E, A; really in each position there are two half positions easily shown by playing in the first position the scales of B flat and B natural. The hand stands half a tone higher in the one than in the other. This occurs in all positions. In the second position the first finger stands on G on the first string, and takes also C, F, and B on the other strings. In the third position the first finger stands on A on the first string, and takes D, G, and C on the other strings. In the fourth position, the first finger stands on B on the first string, and takes E, A, D on the others. In the fifth position C on the first string, etc., and so on up to the eleventh position, in which it stops B, E, A, and D. The distance between notes gets gradually closer as the hand moves forward to the higher positions (the same interval measured an octave apart will show a considerable difference. F# to B# on the first string, in the first position, measures 3 inches, the same interval in the eighth position measures 1 1/2 inches). The appreciation of this gradually lessening distance has to become instinctive by practice; it is too subtle to be thought out at the moment, and only careful practice will bring the instinct of true intonation.
7It will be found that the scales of G, G minor, A#, A# minor, A major, A minor, Bb, Bb minor, B#, B minor, and (with an extension of the fourth finger) C, lie in the first position. C, C minor, C#, C# minor lie in the second position. Db, Db minor, D, and D minor, in the third position. Eb, Eb minor, E, E minor in the fourth position. F, F minor, F#, F# minor, in the fifth position. Scales of two octaves through the twenty-four keys major and minor are therefore included in the first five positions. It will be well at this point to show the principle of fingering scales of two octaves, going through the keys in chromatic order, beginning on G. The fingering of scales of two octaves in the first position needs no explanation, as one finger follows the other, arriving at the scale of B, the fingering for that will carry the player through the rest of the keys by moving the hand forward a semitone for each major and minor scale, and following the order of positions until he arrives at F#, and F# minor, and so completes the cycle. The fingering for the minor scale is the same as the major in each case. The melodic form of the minor scale is of much greater musical importance than the harmonic; both are necessary in modern music.
9Arpeggi in two octaves formed of common chords, major and minor, subdominant major and minor, diminished and dominant sevenths.
11Formula for Arpeggi Working through the Keys. one of two readings
12Formula for Arpeggi Working Through the Keys. one of two readings
14—Scales and arpeggi practised in this manner with a strict economy of finger movement give firmness to the stop, strengthen the hand, enabling it to keep a true position, and form the first step in training the fingers to feel the closer stops as the hand moves forward to the higher positions.
16Intermediate scales between two and three octaves in compass, may follow the same order as those of two octaves, viz., chromatic progression of keys. The fingering for the scale of B will complete the round of keys as before, the fingering for those below B will be obvious.
18Intermediate Scale of B.
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