Bach Partita Fingering

[sonnichs]

In the Bach Partita in Dm, No. 2 I am interested in what fingering others use for measures 10 and 11. I always find myself stumbling here when trying to play at the usual speed. Of particular interest here is the upper e's. Do you use the 4th finger or an open e string?

Thanks,

Fritz

[Stephen Fine]

First position. The first E is open, the second is covered. That's how Milstein plays it.

It depends on how you're bowing it though. There could be a case made for playing an open E the second time as well (if, for example, you were slurring the E into the F). If I had to hazard a guess, I'd think that your troubles are coming from coordination problems between the l.h. and r.h. at the points of string crossings. And maybe you're playing it too fast.

[zefir68]

In the Bach Partita in Dm, No. 2 I am interested in what fingering others use for measures 10 and 11. I always find myself stumbling here when trying to play at the usual speed. Of particular interest here is the upper e's. Do you use the 4th finger or an open e string?

Thanks,

Fritz

It is a tricky spot. I am guessing that the problem really is getting from the E string to the D string in a timely manner with the bow for the 3rd beat. There are no easy solutions. What I was taught, is somewhat counter-intuitive: practice holding the note before the big string crossing longer so that it rings, thus giving you a little more time to get there. If you exaggerate while practicing it slowly, very slowly, then speeding it up, but still exaggerating holding the note before the crossing longer and out of proportion, when you try it at speed, your body and ear will make it work.

Lymond: I agree with the musical thought of changing up the fingerings, but playing an open E string both times keeps the voicing consistent.

(I hope I got the place in the giga right for my response)

[DutchViolins]

First E open then the last 16th note in Position II. Measure 11: stay in Pos. II till second beat where the E is played with 4th finger. Fourth beat in measure 11 is in Pos. III. The f just before beat 4 is with little finger! This is greatly in accordance with the suggested fingering from Edition Peters.

Frits

[oldgeezer]

First E open then the last 16th note in Position II. Measure 11: stay in Pos. II till second beat where the E is played with 4th finger. Fourth beat in measure 11 is in Pos. III. The f just before beat 4 is with little finger! This is greatly in accordance with the suggested fingering from Edition Peters.

Frits

Interesting fingering. Werner Icking is in all in first position as is Galamian and Auer. The open E's seem natural. It's not easy and using less bow the second time thru doesn't make it easier either.

[Stephen Fine]

OK, I just realized that I didn't see "giga" in the post's title and my answer was meant for measures 10-11 of the Corrente (the "No. 2" movement).

Here, both times the E should be open. Zefir68's rhythmic trick is a good one. Also, make sure that you're traveling the minimum distance from the E-string to the D-string. Pay close attention to the angle at which your bow is hitting the string and I'll bet you'll discover you don't need to go as far as you are.

[thom]

All of those Es appear to be in sequences where you will be going higher on the E string. Therefore, I would opt for open E each time. Fourth finger makes most sense if the E is the highest note in your sequence.

[sonnichs]

I finally got out the score and looked over your posts---

I was really happy with all the feedback that I got here! Of course as expected in this type of problem there is no single fit for this question but the discussion helps a lot to evaluate this type of problem. I think the approach now is to sit down and try the various fingerings to find the best fit. My big problem with this type of thing is that I always start a passage like this very slowly and then work up to speed with a metronome. It seems as though the fingerings that worked well at lower speed, fall apart at higher speeds, and then I have to "unlearn" what I have done.

Zefir's comments on holding the crossover note are interesting-I am eager to experiment here. Frits's fingerings defy my instincts but often these are the solutions that work best in the end.

Thanks all again. You are very helpful.

At expense of appearing "greedy" for information, I am positing another question on the Fingerboard concerning bowings for Vivaldi.

Cheers,

Fritz