Taught by renowned violist
Christian Kim
Join tonebase Lead of Viola, Christian Kim, in his comprehensive course "Bowstrokes: A Comprehensive Guide" where he explores the essential bowing techniques every violist needs to master. The course covers a range of bow strokes, including détaché, accents, collé, sautillé, and staccato, with detailed explanations, exercises, and examples of their application in repertoire. Christian's expert guidance will help you develop control, versatility, and confidence in your bowing, elevating your overall viola playing.
Introduction
In this introductory segment, Christian Kim explains the importance of mastering various bow strokes and having command over these techniques. He provides an overview of the course content, setting the foundation for a comprehensive exploration of bow strokes and their application in viola playing.
Detaché
Christian Kim begins with the détaché stroke, the fundamental building block for all subsequent bow strokes. He breaks down the movement into simple components, focusing on increasing the range of motion and controlling the sounding point. This section includes practical exercises to help you develop a solid and versatile détaché technique.
Accents
In this segment, Christian defines the execution of accents and explores the variables that allow you to adjust accents to suit musical needs. Through a series of exercises, he demonstrates how to control and apply accents effectively, with examples from the repertoire to illustrate their use in context.
Bow Preparation
Christian introduces the concept of bow preparation, explaining its significance and demonstrating its benefits in achieving smooth and controlled transitions between strokes. He provides exercises to practice this technique and shows how to apply it effectively within musical pieces.
Collé
Explore the collé stroke with Christian Kim, who defines what collé is and discusses different methods of execution. This part includes exercises to develop a clean and precise collé stroke, along with examples from the repertoire to demonstrate its practical application.
Sautillé
In this section, Christian delves into the sautillé stroke, explaining how to find the right feeling for this bouncing bow stroke. He emphasizes the importance of utilizing the bow’s natural qualities and offers exercises to help you master sautillé, with examples from the repertoire to highlight its use.
Staccato
Christian covers two techniques for executing slurred staccato, providing exercises to develop control and clarity in this challenging bow stroke. He also discusses the fundamental principles to keep in mind when practicing and performing staccato, ensuring a consistent and polished execution.
Closing Thoughts
Christian Kim concludes the course by summing up the key concepts and techniques covered.
Click here to download the course workbook PDF and see the full syllabus →Click below to access hundreds of exclusive cello courses, available only on tonebase.
Unlock Course →Violinist & violist Christian Kim enjoys an extensive solo career, with performances in over 30 countries across 5 continents. He taught as Professor for Violin and Viola at the Kangnam University, Seoul, South Korea, until taking on the position as Lead of Violin & Viola at tonebase.
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