Trills on harp

[carl-swanson]

The next time I get back to practicing I’m going to make trill practice a part of my routine. In French method, it’s called oscillation of the wrist, and when Catherine Michel demonstrated her one handed trill for me,(21212121) the fingers were virtually immobile and the wrist was oscillating but only very slightly. The trill was fast and very even. She did it for perhaps 6 or 7 seconds and could have gone on longer I’m sure.

[carl-swanson]

Elizabeth- Just curious. Did you learn to do Xaviers strumming trill yourself? If so, how long did it take to get it?

[Bonnie Shaljean]

David Watkins uses wrist oscillation (probably as one technique among many at his command).

[carl-swanson]

I’ve never heard of trilling with 414141 fingering. I’m gonna have to try that.

[Bonnie Shaljean]

Yes, I would not have believed it if I hadn’t seen it, up close in personal.

[Bonnie Shaljean]

PS: In his Method book, when speaking of double trills (i.e. in thirds, for example E and G opposite F and A) his fingering is

2 – 1 , 2 – 1
4 – 3 , 3 – 3

leaving the strings after each paired articulation.

[Bonnie Shaljean]

Wooops (I can’t even type the damns things, never mind play them…)

The third pair of numbers, which read 2-3 above, should actually be 2-4.

[helen-rudd]

You can see the 4 fingered trills here-
Start watching for it at about 2:25 or so
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0z58jYV2oY

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

My problem with shaken trills (shakes) is that it seems like you can’t musically control the intensity or dynamics very well, they just seem to work mechanically, which is not how a trill should be musically played. .

[helen-rudd]

I don’t think he sounds mechanical, quite the opposite really, of course I can’t do it so I can’t speak from experience just observation (and only of that one video as I don’t know anyone else who can do it either).
Helen

[carl-swanson]

I’m lucky enough to have a copy of the 10 minute film(transferred to DVD) of Mildred Dilling playing the Fountain by Zabel. That also has a one handed trill using the 4321 fingering. She does it incredibly well. The film by the way was made in 1941.

[Elizabeth Volpé Bligh]

I figured out Xavier’s strumming trill after you posted his fingering in the previous thread, but I have not mastered it. I understand how it works, so I show it to my students, as an option. I am used to 2, 1, 2, 1 fingering for my one-handed trills, but I am sure they are not as fast as those played by the virtuosi who have a special knack for these things. I am just glad that orchestra repertoire doesn’t frequently require one-handed trills.

[Mel Sandberg]

Carl, is this Fountain of Zabel that you mention something else than La Source (Am Springbrunnen)?

[Mel Sandberg]

I have tried all sorts of things for trills, and can’t do a successful one-handed trill at all, but my best result is with 21-21-21-21 (better than anything else).

My 2nd teacher, who was a student in the lineage of Parish-Alvars – Grimm – Posse ……. taught me that for a good one-handed trill, on eg. D and E, the 3rd finger should hold on to the C just below, (for support) and the 2 + 1 should trill on the D + E.

[carl-swanson]

Mel-I just pulled out that DVD and looked at it again. I know the Zabel but studied it many(MANY) years ago, and I don’t seem to have a copy of it now. Mildred plays a truncated version of La Source. But twice during the piece she does a one handed 4321 trill. The first time is the transition into the B(melodic)section, then again at the very end before the final measures. Maybe that was something she added because she had to chop up the piece. I don’t know. All I know is she does that trill beautifully.

I don’t think any of these trills are easy to learn. They take lots of practice to develop the very specialized muscle memory that they require. And some work better for some people and not for others. I think you have to practice any of them like a difficult piece of music, practicing a million different ways to get it even and fast. It doesn’t just happen, unfortunately. My best shot at a one handed trill is the 21312131 version, and when I practice it it sounds pretty good. I use it mainly at the beginning of the Serenade of Parish-Alvars, right after the harmonics on the first page.

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