I use other rhythms, like Ivan Galamian’s, but this one separates the octaves by repeating the “home note.” It helps you be sure to know where each octave starts and ends, which helps you understand the scale better. Then you can break it up into octaves in your head. I also like how it sounds, because you are emphasizing the tonic so much.

Here’s a natural pattern on the guitar that’s kind of “twisty.” Going down is more of a pattern, going up is a loose pattern. The accents are important. I’ll have to start posting sound clips, too, but for now, here’s the sheet music.

One latest obsession of mine is practicing vibrato and scales together, in various different ways, working on the infinitessimal shadings of vibrato that are possible.

In general we have the following types to work with: arm, hand and finger vibratos, fast, slow, wide, narrow, speeding up or slowing down.

In this exercise I’m using a specific speed combined with crescendos (what the bow does is really connected to vibrato and you have to adjust your bowing according to the type of vibrato and the ammount of shaking that may be going on…a whole lot for some of us…ok now, I’m getting silly).

This one is very bluegrassy. If you get good at pentatonic stuff, if you gain command of where you’re headed in using pentatonic scales (there are more than one but the main one is this major one) then you’re pretty cool.

You can do a similar one ascending. The descending I have posted is actually the same as the first measure or so of the Texas fiddle tune “Brilliancy.” Brilliancy has pickup notes…I’ll post the first part of it on here later.

Another similar thing occurs in the chorus of “Hoedown” by Oliver Nelson (I think). Darol Anger teaches this tune in workshops as a jazz impression of a fiddle tune.

Here’s something that will slow you down– force yourself to do a 2 or 3 octave scale on one bow, with the slowest possible yet constant bow speed with good tone. I found it possible to go about 76 without compromising the sound.

It’s the best scale variation I’ve found for relaxing. Playing slow with mind and body awake, makes me feel like I’m tapping into the slow-moving essence of Tai Chi, though I’ve never studied Tai Chi.

For an even slower challenge, you can throw away any concern about the sound and move your bow as slow as it is possible to go without having it stop and start. If you are too slow, the bow hair will “catch” periodically. We want one notch faster than that, but no more.

This taps into the famous 1 minute bow of Ivan Galamian (not sure if he originated it or not), we’re just adding notes. And then there’s the 3 minute version…

Somehow bowing staccato helps your clean sound and clean, efficient finger movements. This is one staccato variation I like, suitable for intermediate/advanced. The bow should dig into the string when you do up bow staccato. That creates a good crisp start to the note. You should also keep pressure on string between each up bow note. Normally we lift the weight off the bow to change notes, but here that is not the case.

Connie Heard told me when I was studying with her, that the best person she knew at doing up bow staccato practiced it in front of the TV! I’m not sure I recommend that, but it’s a good anecdote.

Rapid up bow staccato finds its way in some gypsy music as kind of an effect and it’s also in some Fritz Kreisler pieces I like.