How Rodney Friend's "The Violin in Fifths" Fixes Violin Technique

Comments · 42

• IL

  @ilhommuhiddinov4285 · 1 month ago

  I never comment on YouTube, but Rodney Friend has changed my life, even though I have never met him. I remember being in lock down during COVID times, coming across his masterclasses and trying it out. A semester later, my teacher couldn't believe how much I improved and now I got a job at the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. I truly believe I wouldn't have gotten this job, if I didn't come across his masterclasses during lock down, this method was the key for unlocking so much of the violin secrets. I'm glad people are starting to realize how good of a method this is

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• MA

  @mathewmckelvie1241 · 1 month ago

  I gave this approach a go just out of curiosity but the new finger placement literally improved my tone and intonation overnight. I’m amazed!

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• PA

  @patsymcnulty5674 · 2 weeks ago

  Hi Tobias. I have never been brave enough to respond on your channel although I have learned so much from your videos. I am just an old lady learning to play the violin, so why should anyone care what I think. But this video has made such a positive change in my violin playing I just had to say thank you. <br><br>Your presentation of the subject matter is simple and direct so that a person at any level &nbsp;of learning can understand what you are asking them to do. For example clarifying the point of adjustment, forearm, for intonation is so important. I really feel like I have jumped a year in my playing ability in just a few weeks. <br><br>Hopefully other violin instructors are taking note. I have spent years in education and my humble recommendation is that this technique be introduced very early on in a violin student&apos;s education.<br><br>Again, thank you.

• WH

  @whpalmer4 · 1 month ago

  Also youngest-ever concertmaster of the London Philharmonic, and founder of Solomon Trio, which did some fabulous recordings, available here on youtube.<br><br>Disclaimer: Rodney is a Friend who is a friend of a friend 😀

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• MY

  @Myco_Cainiovski · 1 month ago

  I can proudly say to my friends I have been studying MMA for 8 straight years... <br><br>These hands.. are lethal weapons now! <br><br><br>Thank you sensei Murphy!

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• RO

  @RobFlaxMusic · 6 days ago

  This makes so much sense! And… just as I was thinking “if this helps vibrato it will surely also help with shifting” you went there! <br><br>Two of my favorite jazz violinists are Stuff Smith (who swings like nobody’s business!), and Zbigniew Seifert (whose mind-blowing lines rival Coltrane like nobody before him)… and they both use an unusual amount of fifths in their playing (for different reasons). This is blowing my mind! It’s also like 1:30 am and I have no business practicing right now… but this video is going to be top of mind tomorrow. My mind is buzzing with ideas for how to share this with my students…<br><br>Bravo, thank you for this!

• LE

  @leonardobastos1945 · 1 month ago

  The genius idea of R. Friend is the configuration of hand and fingers position along the fingerboard, in order to facilitate the playing and make it easier...

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• BI

  @bigol7169 · 1 month ago

  Can’t wait to try this. I’ll get his book too

• DV

  @dvides89 · 1 month ago

  Glad to see you analyze this topic Tobiah , and to have mentioned it in your comments years ago :)

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• AR

  @artie496 · 3 weeks ago

  Very useful. I watched the Rodney Friend masterclasses on this but found them a bit hard to follow. This breaks it down much more simply for relative beginners.

• AN

  @annaabanina6962 · 1 month ago

  Thank you

• BR

  @briancherenaacosta923 · 1 month ago (edited)

  Very cool. I think for some people who don&apos;t have fat fingers fifths get harder down the fingerboard because the strings get wider. This is a luthier question but you can chime in of course, I&apos;ve often thought if a new bridge needs to be cut. There is a cool part in that Paganini Caprice that does a lot of trilling where near the end it goes an octave higher and is played in a fifth. That one always gets me. It&apos;s a very important part of the piece but that fifth is a killer if your fingers are not wide enough. That piece is a strange one because in certain parts you need the opposite of wide fingers and in others you need wide fingers, lol. Paganini Caprice 6.

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