UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI Date:___________________ I, _________________________________________________________, hereby submit this work as part of the requirements for the degree of: in: It is entitled: This work and its defense approved by: Chair: _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ ViolinScaleBooks fromLateNineteenth-Centurytothe Present -FocusingonSevcik,Flesch,Galamian,andSassmannshaus Adocumentsubmittedtothe DivisionofGraduateStudiesandResearchofthe UniversityofCincinnati Inpartialfulfillmentoftherequirementsforthedegreeof DOCTORAL OFMUSICALARTS inViolinPerformance 2006 by HeejungKim B.M.,Seoul NationalUniversity,1995 M.M.,TheUniversityof Cincinnati,1999 Advisor:DavidAdams Readers:KurtSassmannshaus Won-BinYim ABSTRACT Violinists usuallystart practicesessionswithscale books,andtheyknowthe importanceofthem asatechnical grounding.However,performersandstudents generallyhavelittleinformation onhowscale bookshave beendevelopedandwhat detailsaredifferentamongmanyscale books.Anunderstanding ofsuchdifferences, gainedthroughtheidentificationandcomparisonofscale books,canhelp eachviolinist andteacherapproacheachscale bookmoreintelligently.Thisdocumentoffershistorical andpracticalinformationforsome ofthemorewidelyused basicscalestudiesinviolin playing. Pedagogicalmaterialsforviolin,respondingtothetechnicaldemands andmusical trendsoftheinstrument , haveincreasedinnumber.Amongthem,Iwillexamineand comparethe contributionstothescale bookgenre bythreemajorteachers,chosen becausetheirworks are the staplesinstandardviolintechniquelearning,andfrequently requiredfor internationalviolincompetitionsandgraduateschooladmissionscaletests. Manyotherscalesystemscoordinate basic conceptsfromthe scale systems byOtakar Ševčík,CarlFlesch,andIvanGalamian. Thescale books by Flesch(1873-1928)and Galamian(19031981),publishedinthetwentiethcentury,arecurrentlyregardedasthe most prevalentandessentialtext books.The bookbyŠevčík(1852-1934),published aroundtheturnofthe century,revealingtheuseoftonal practicesfromthenineteenth- century,helpedfoundthescaletechniquemovementandservedasthe basisforother books.Alongwiththese three,KurtSassmannshaus(1953)isworthyof being consideredafuture contributortothiscanonwithhisviolinscale book.Sassmannshaus’s 1 methodisthefirstthatalsoincludesacomprehensivemultimediawebsite. Thescale booksoftheabove fourteachersareimportantforunderstandingthedevelopmentofthe scale bookfromthelate nineteenth-centurytothe present. Thisdocumentwill presenthow Ševčík,Flesch,Galamian,andSassmannshaus influencedandmodifiedthedemandfortwentieth-centurytechniquesandhowthey approachedthefundamentaltechnique problems.I will beginmydocumentwithashort backgroundoftheaforementionedauthorsforunderstandingtheir personality and philosophy.Second,Iwillcomparesimilaranddifferentaspectsamongtheir booksin termsofcontents,organizing,fingering,andpracticalguides.Finally,Iwillsuggest guidelinesfor performersandstudentsfortheeffectiveuseofthescalesystemforeach person.Iwillincludemusicalexamplestosupportanystatementmade by fourteachers forclarification,whichwillgiveanideaoftheinnerlogictoeachofthemethods.Sucha coursewillsimplifytechnical problemsandhelp violinistsconcentratefor thenextstep ofinterpretation. 2 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I wouldliketogivespecialthankstomy documentcommitteemembers:David Adams,KurtSassmannshaus,andWon-binYim.Their generousencouragementand precioustimehavemade this document possible.AspecialthankyougoestoProfessor Sassmannshaus,mydearestviolinteacherduring mystudiesatCCM,forhisenthusiastic attitudetowardeverystepofmymasteranddoctoraldegrees. I amespecially gratefultomyfamilyfortheirloveandsupport.Mostofall tomy parentsandmyhusbandwhohave enabledmetogetwhere Iamtoday. 4 CONTENTS I. Introduction: Importanceofscale exercises andthesisstatement……………7 II. Short biographicalsketchemphasisonthe pedagogicalstatusandreviewof relatedworks…………………………………………………………………10 1. OtakarŠevčík 2. CarlFlesch 3. IvanGalamian 4. KurtSassmannshaus III. Comparisonoffourmajorscale books andpracticemethods……………….18 1. Contents:oldandnewelements 2. Organizationof book a. Orderofcontents b. Indicationmarks c. Orderofkeys 3.FingeringandShifting a. Scales:Diatonicscale b. Arpeggios c. Brokentriads d. Chromaticscale e. Doublestops: 1)ThirdsandSixths 2)Octaves3) Tenths 4.PracticalGuide a. Intonation b.Articulationandagility c.Tonequality IV. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………53 BIBLIOGRAPHY …………………………………………………………………58 5 I. INTRODUCTION Violinists usuallystart practicesessionswithscale books,andtheyknowthe importanceofthem asatechnical grounding.However,performersandstudents generallyhavelittleinformation onhowscale bookshave beendevelopedandwhat detailsaredifferentamongmanyscale books.Anunderstanding ofsuchdifferences, gainedthroughtheidentificationandcomparisonofscale books,canhelp eachviolinist andteacherapproacheachscale bookmoreintelligently.Thisdocumentoffershistorical andpracticalinformationforsome ofthemorewidelyused basicscalestudiesinviolin playing. Pedagogicalmaterialsforviolin,respondingtothetechnicaldemands and musical trendsoftheinstrument , haveincreasedinnumber.Amongthem,Iwillexamineand comparethe contributionstothescale bookgenre bythreemajorteachers,chosen becausetheirworks are the staplesinstandardviolintechniquelearning,andfrequently requiredfor internationalviolincompetitionsandgraduateschooladmissionscaletests. Manyotherscalesystemscoordinate basic conceptsfromthe scale systems byOtakar Ševčík,CarlFlesch,andIvanGalamian. Thescale books by Flesch(1873-1928)and Galamian(19031981),publishedinthetwentiethcentury,arecurrentlyregardedasthe most prevalentandessentialtext books.The bookbyŠevčík(1852-1934),published aroundtheturnofthe century,revealingtheuseoftonal practicesfromthenineteenth- century,helpedfoundthescaletechniquemovementandservedasthe basisforother books.Alongwiththese three,KurtSassmannshaus(1953)isworthyof being 6 consideredafuture contributortothiscanonwithhisviolinscale book.Sassmannshaus’s methodisthefirstthatalsoincludesacomprehensivemultimediawebsite. Thescale booksoftheabove fourteachersareimportantforunderstandingthedevelopmentofthe scale bookfromthelate nineteenth-centurytothe present. Beforethe appearanceof Ševčík’smethod,studentswerenottaughttechniques withany realmethod. 1Healonereconstructedthe wholeapproachtothetechniqueofthe violin,andthemajorityofhistreatisesarecomprisedofmechanicalexercisesfortheleft hand.Hisconceptionandapplicationofthetechnicalmethodresultedinmany followers, andviolinplayersstillusehis bookstoday.Fleschattemptedtoorganizemanytechnical elementssuchasscales,arpeggios,anddoublestopssystematically,influencedby Ševčík’slogicalapproach.Galamian’s bookisanextensionoftheFleschmethod;it expandstheavailablestudymaterial.Forexample,Galamianextendsscalesfromthree octavestofour andtheharmonicandmelodic formsofminorkeys aredealtwith separately.However,withhis Contemporary Violin Techniques, 2italsocoversthe unusualtechniquesoftwentieth-centurymusic andusesascalesystemtointroduce bowingstylesandrhythms.Sassmannshausisconsideredoneoftoday's preeminent violinpedagoguesasa conductoroftherenownedStarlingChamberOrchestraandasa celebratedteacherofthe StarlingPreparatoryStringProject andtheUniversityof Cincinnati.His yet-to-be-publishedbook, Kurt Sassmannshaus Violin Master Class, 3 covers basictechniques atalllevelsandconsiders their practicaluses.Heisalsothe 1 M. Montagu-Nathan, "Ottakar Ševčík," The Musical Times vol.75 no.1093 (March 1934): 217. 2 Ivan Galamian and Frederick Neumann, Contemporary Violin Technique (New York: Galaxy Music Corporation, 1963). 3 Kurt Sassmannshaus, Kurt Sassmannshaus Violin Master Class, Unpublished, 2006. 7 authorofviolinmasterclass.com,acomprehensivewebsitethatdemonstrateshis innovativeteachingmethods. Ševčík,Flesch,Galamian,andSassmannshaushaveallraisedthe artofviolin teachingtonewheights,bothtechnicallyandpedagogically.Whilerecent books naturally reflectmore complexdevelopmentsofmodernviolintechniques,violinists still use thesefour bookstoday.Since eachpossessesdistinctivelydifferentadvantages, teachersandstudentscanselectandapplythe advantagesthatare bestsuitedtoeach individual’s physicalabilities.However,thismust be basedonathoroughunderstanding ofthe basic principlesof eachvolume. Thisdocumentwill providea briefhistoryofviolinscale booksfromthe nineteenth-centurytothe presentthroughthecomparisonoftheoverallcontents by Ševčík,Flesch,Galamian,andSassmannshaus.Althoughthe basicingredientsofleft- handandright-handtechniquesare equallyimportant,I willfocusspecificallyontheleft- handtechniquesofscalesandarpeggios.Then,Iwillobservewhatdifferencesthereare amongthe books andhowscale bookshavedevelopedtomeetthedemandsofdifferent typesofmusictoday.Throughthisstudy,pertinentquestionscanbeanswered:which bookismore practicalandeasiertolearnfrom?Whatfingering patternismore practical indifferent pieces?Whatcontentsare addedincomparisonwiththe previous books? Howdothefourteachersdealwithcommoncontent?Finally,I plantogiveguidelines onhowtoapplythe exercisestothe performersandstudentsinpracticing.Asa performer,Ihopethisdocumentwillleadtoa betterunderstandingofscaleexercise systemsandgiveideasforcontemporaryviolintechniques,whichwillinturnprovide interesting andprofitableresultsfor bothteacher andstudent. 8 II.Shortbiographicalsketchemphasisonthepedagogicalstatusandreviewof relatedworks. 1.Ševčík (1852-1934) “Ševčík seemstohave beenthefirsttorealizethatthe practicingofdifficult passagesasthey