Masel - 7-26-2008 at 09:30 AM
Hi, can someone tell me what is the way to hold a violin bow when playing moroccan style? I mean with the violin standing on your lap and the bow
moving left to right rather than backwards/forwards.
Thanks
Masel - 7-26-2008 at 09:47 AM
And more important, is there any hope for a 24 year old to start playing the violin and become good at it, or is it true that you need to start when
you are 6?
MatthewW - 7-26-2008 at 01:01 PM
hello Masel- There are highly accomplished Indian Carnatic violin players who play the violin sitting down in a similiar fashion to the Moroccan style
you are interested in.
Here is a clip of a Moroccan player which shows how he is holding the bow, there are more as well.
I think it's never too late to start learning to play an instrument if your heart is in it and you have the will to do it. regards, MW
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPZ2PWx51ME
patheslip - 7-27-2008 at 08:40 AM
I've been a fiddle player of forty years and I'm still no good but you can be if you have a good teacher, practice lots and play with other people.
Enjoy it. I've just started the oud and am loving every moment, despite being over sixty.
francis - 7-27-2008 at 02:31 PM
I think this way to play the violin is an old adaptation of the playing of instruments like rebec in northern africa, lyra in cretia ( Crête in
French...not sure with my english name ), gadulka in bulgaria and macedonia...etc...In french, this family of instrument is called "vièles à archet"
( bowed hurdy gurdy? ), because of they play with drones and continious sound with the melody.....
Examples of the way to hold the bow can be found in these musics when the bows looks like violin bows.
May be you can have a look at viola ( de gambe ) players....
24 years old is surely not too late to begin the instrument.....Good playing of any instrument need a lot of time.....you're not ending your life at
24. I'm not sure children learn faster than adults, they are more available....
John Erlich - 7-28-2008 at 04:55 PM
Shalom Masel,
This may be a totally dumb question, but aren't there still Moroccans in Israel who can play violin in the "old" upright "rebab" style? I remember at
the 1993 City of Akko Mimouna Festival a Moroccan band with a violinist who played that way. One of those guys who played violin on those piyyutim
recordings in the 1970s & 1980s (with Haim Louk, Emil Zrihan, David Abikzer, etc.) must still be around, no?
Kol tuv,
John "Vuzvuz Dipshi" Erlich
Masel - 7-29-2008 at 12:20 AM
You bet Amos! Last night was my birthday and to celebrate we went to this hole in the wall in Yaffa I discovered where they play maroccan music all
night! They have oud, violin and two percussionists (darbukka and the moroccan riq, small and deep I don't know the name).
Do you know the name of the moroccan music which uses maqams and sounds like arabic music rather than andalusian (still uses quarter tones)? songs
like Qitaru-l-hayat, and I'd love to hear the lyrics if anyone has them.
Anyway when they play this kind of stuff the violin player holds the violin the upright way and when they play egyptian music he holds it the western
way, on the shoulder. And this guy is not old, he is in his 30s but he's a killer on the violin. Also my generation in israel is a lot more open to
middle-eastern music (which was not the case in my parent's generation), there are relatively lots of people who play traditional instruments, I've
met a few kemenche players, cretan lyra etc.. I just hope that through music people will learn to be more open on all levels.
Salamat.