Variation 21

#wholebow #upbowstaccato #options

            This variation builds upon the up bow staccato bowing technique introduced in Variation 14.  In the even measures of this variation, use the entire bow and employ a clearly articulated on this string staccato. In the odd measures, be sure to use the entire bow from frog to tip for the slurs marked with a G. and stay at the tip for the subsequent pair of two note slurs marked with the Sp.

The challenge here is twofold: to combine a very fast bow speed slur with two slow bow speed slurs, and to master the clearly articulated up bow staccato technique in the following measure. The most difficult measure to properly execute this combination of techniques is the third measure of the second line. Since the D and G strings do not respond as easily to very fast bow speeds, make sure to play the first slur very close to the fingerboard to avoid a surface sound on that measure that is also marked forte.

As the journey through Ševčík’s variations continues, the complexity of bowing patterns increases, and variations more frequently combine different bowing techniques. It is helpful to isolate these by practicing one technique at a time, then combining the measures only when the techniques are mastered on their own.