Kato Havas: "The Twelve Lesson Course"
© Goh Tong Keat
A New Approach
The left-hand and right-hand techniques for violin playing were often addressed separately. In a nutshell, the right hand/the bow arm, is responsible for producing tone, varying dynamics, and managing rhythms and articulations, whereas the left hand is responsible for vibrato and the accuracy of pitch. Kato Havas, however, believes that for violin playing to become an expressive form of creative art, it requires a unifying control and coordination of all physical and mental aspects.
Her book, The Twelve Lesson Course, is a series of instructions and exercises for both beginners and advanced players to achieve the concepts that were presented in her New Approach to Violin Playing, which aimed to eliminate all forms of obstacles and anxieties faced by violin players.
Her book, The Twelve Lesson Course, is a series of instructions and exercises for both beginners and advanced players to achieve the concepts that were presented in her New Approach to Violin Playing, which aimed to eliminate all forms of obstacles and anxieties faced by violin players.
The Twelve Lesson Course
- Lesson No. 1
- Lesson No. 2–4
The up-bow is once again initiated by the upper arm, with the motivating balance in the back muscles. A swift "scooping" action from the upper arm inward against the body will help to raise the forearm and hand to bring the bow to the frog. This whole-arm movement creates the momentum to counter the increasing bow weight towards the frog.
The fingers of the bow hand, particularly the thumb, functions like the tip of a paintbrush. While all bowing actions involve the arm, it is the fingers that ultimately give the sound its subtle shade and color.
- Lesson No. 5–9
Havas believed that the left-hand actions should always lead the playing while the bow responds. Through the use of intermediate fingers (a term used for notes that are fingered but not played), violinists can develop a sense of security for intonation and allow for better coordination. Apart from that, Havas also emphasized on cultivating "inner hearing" by singing or hearing the note and relating it to the sensation felt in the base joints of the fingers before producing it on the violin.
- Lesson No. 10
- Lesson No. 11
- Lesson No. 12