Playing in tune

This week we learnt the second past of the waltz Leaving Brittany.

We spent some time familiarising ourselves with some of the unusual notes in the tune, by playing through the following run of notes a few times, while focusing on playing in tune:

A (open string)

B flat (first finger)

B natural (first finger)

C natural (second finger)

C sharp (second finger)

D (third finger)

It’s worth doing this sort of thing before playing tunes that are in unfamiliar keys, until you can play the sharps and flats in tune.

We also learnt a short new tune. I’m still struggling to remember the name of it – hopefully it will come back to me!

We spent some time working on vibrato. We tried out using our third finger, sliding it backwards and forwards up and down the string a short distance. As we continued the motion with our hand, we gradually reduced the distance the finger was sliding, until it came to a stop on the string.

We played through the Road to Banff and the Aird Ranters for a quick reminder of playing in more common key signatures!