A Treatise on the Fundamental Principles of Violin Playing

("Versuch einer grndlichen Violinschule")

Versuch einer
grndlichen Violinschule is a textbook for instruction in the violin. This work made a reputation
in Europe for Leopold, and his name begins to appear around this time in music dictionaries and
other works of musical pedagogy. The work was influential in its day, and continues to serve as a
scholarly source concerning !th century performance practice. Leopold wrote his textbook
during the year "##, when he was $% years old, and it was published in "#%. &ntil that date no
guide exists as yet to violin playing. Leopold had these in mind goes without saying, when at the
end of "#$ beginning of "#' he sat down to the composition of his method and he owes it to
this example that his work also is far more than mere instruction in techni(ue. )e considered that
this treatise was a work well done and he took on the work of publication himself. *n the spring
of "## he entered into negotiations for its publication with +ohann +acob Lotter! ,a printer in
Leopold-s home town of .ugsburg/, as we can read in a letter 0st +uly1 234ou must always say
that you did not know how costly it would be, but that it might possibly cost as much as $55
6ulden37 Leopold shipped copies of his book far and wide and received his share of the profits
when they were sold. 8n the 0!th of .ugust "## he was still working on the elaboration of the
book as a letter dated on this very date shows1 2. . . *n conse(uence of your writing that you do
not know what length the manuscript will be, owing to the copious music9notation, * have, in the
meantime, ended with the eleventh chapter37 )e was writing during the last semester of "##
and finished during the initial months of "## as a letter written in :ebruary "#% shows
,;olfgang .madeus <o=art was born on 0" +anuary "#%/. *n a letter written on"th :ebruary
"#% he was really impatient because Lotter was being very slow with the printing!17. . . ;ell, to
come to my Violinschule * am very much surprised that you wish to say something concerning
the engraving and ask for more manuscript, as you are only now beginning to set up the fourth
chapter. *f you prove to me by your diligence that the delays are my fault, and if you finish what
you have in hand within the promised time, * will take the blame on myself. >o you remember
what you said to me? That * was to be easy in my mind and believe in your word. * did so. @ut
the 0!th of this month is the birthday of )is 6race Athe .rchbishop Bigismund v. BchrattenbachC.
Dould there have been a better opportunity to present my work?...7
.t last, presumably in the late summer, the work appearedE at any rate, Leopold-s Freface is
dated the 0%th of +uly "#%. >uring the beginning of this year Leopold <o=art made great efforts
in its final elaboration. Leopold was anxious to finish his work as a letter sent on 0 :ebruary
"#% to his editor! shows and in which a certain irritability about the birth of his latest son
<o=art can be seen and why he could not carry out all his activities correctly1 23* can assure
you, * have so much to do that * sometimes do not know where my head it. Got, to be sure,
because of composition, but because of the many pupils and the operas at Dourt. .nd you know
as well as * do that, when the wife is in childbed, there is always somebody turning up to rob you
of time. Things like that cost money and time7
.ll these facts mark the elaboration times of this book and reveal that in this period he was
working both intensely and meticulously on the book. Translation this to the tempos of
;olfgangHs life he was submitted to a peculiar 2atmospheric contamination7 during the final
months of prenatal development and the first neonatal weeks. This was caused by the sounds
produced by all the musical activity carried out daily by his father1 both teaching and
professional with great anxiety to finish his work shown in his letters and which suggested his
intense musical work. Dhristian >aniel Bchubart, Bwabian poet, music author, and song9
composer, wrote of Leopold in his *deen =u einer .esthetik der Tonkunst ,!5%/ I about the
good election of the exercises showed in the treatise1 2@y his Violinschule written in very good
6erman and with deep insight, he has earned great merit. The examples are excellently chosen
and his JfingeringJ is by no means pedantic.7 Leopold created with real meticulousness,
reflexion and insistence suitable academic sounds for a correct learning of the violin and with a
clear intention as will be described later on. : 6hering5 wrote about Versuch einer grunlichen
Violinschule1 2:or a long time this was the only instruction book for the violin which went
through numerous editions, and was translated into several languages. To thoroughly appreciate
the elder <o=art we must read this book. *t displays the greatest thoroughness and variety of
ideas, and it abounds in treasures of pedagogic lore. .ll through he insists on the necessity of the
student-s becoming thoroughly ac(uainted with every detail of his art. )e must gain an insight
into its principles, not trust to chance and accidental taste, but to the laws of nature and art.
)owever highly gifted a man may be by nature, he must study and work hard. Extraordinary
natural gifts, no doubt, fre(uently compensate for the absence of study, but such cases do not
affect the universal rule, and by no means lessen the Kustice of the demands which one makes on
every violinist. *t was in such principles that he afterwards trained his son3. to watch care fully
over his children-s education, and when his son soon afterwards came out as a composer, lie very
wisely avoided any rivalry with him.7,>r : 6ehring, ;olfgang .madeus <o=art "#%9"I0/.
Luth )alliwell reviews the core of the work thus1 J.t the level of practical comments on
improving aspects of violin techni(ue, Leopold showed himself to be full of common sense, and
to be capable of expressing his explanations in robust and clear language3 Leopold knew
exactly what he wanted to do, that he had strong opinions on how pupils should be taught to play
the violin, that he had thought out how to present his material in the clearest possible way, that he
wanted even impoverished pupils to be able to afford his book, and that he was prepared to put in
all the necessary work to get the details Kust right3 a man very sure of his own abilities...7 *n
conclusion, all the considerations regarding this book coincide with the fact that it was a high
(ualities treatise, well meditated, and presenting well directed and brilliant ideas for playing the
violin. @ut perhaps the most interesting thing about this work is the footnote written by the man
who translated the work into English. The translator to English wrote about a topic in which
Leopold insisted in this treatise01 2There is no English noun of to9day which (uite conveys the
meaning of -.ffect- as employed by eighteenth9century 6erman writers on music. The
corresponding English term of the period was -the passions-E but this again does not (uite mean to
the present day reader what it did to the English poets and aestheticians of that epoch. The notion
underlying the doctrine of the -.ffecte- was that each piece of music expressed, and could only
express, one -passion-, one -movement of the soulM tenderness, grief, rage, despair, contentment,
Nc. and Leopold <o=art is at pains to insist that before a player can perform a piece of music in
accordance with the composer-s intention he must understand the -.ffect- from which the music
originated. Bo rooted in the eighteenth9century mind was this doctrine that a work could
delineate only one -passion- that some aestheticians even contended that the new sonata, with its
attempt to run in harness together two -passionsH, represented by two utterly contrasted subKects,
was an impracticable form.7 The book is an intense effort from Leopold in teaching of the
2affect7. This is the essence of the manuscript and the key to his success. )e constructed his
excellent Versuch einer grndlichen Violinschule choosing the scores in an intentional way to
understand and transmit a correct 2.ffect7. Leopold wrote about the fact that mere technical
instruction would not produce fine violinists. :or instance, concerning a particular aspect of
bowing, Leopold insisted in the .ffect ,approximately, emotion/ intended by the composer, so
that the most appropriate bowing could be chosen. Leopold envisaged that the performer should
be capable of studying a piece for clues about the intended .ffect... The player must prepare the
violin and all the interpretation to get the ade(uate .ffect. Leopold was an expert a laborious and
persevering violin teacher and as such each paragraph in the treatise had its own intention in
order to reach this obKective.
Versuch einer grndlichen ViolinschuleE this is he world of
sounds that invaded the <o=artHs house. )is son ;olfgang was one of the first to know the work
in a phase of extreme plasticity in his nervous system. This treatise could hold the key to where
the basis of one the first fetal lessons in coded language is described9 ;olfgang .. ;ould have
been the first truly prenatally educated pupil allowed to assimilate knowledge before birth and
the development of one of the most important brains in the history of mankind. This code for
fetal learning is to be found in these scores and his way of interpreting them in a correct -.ffect-.
The result of using this method could have achieved and exciting stimulus during fetal life which
would open doors to antenatal education.
The argument laid forward in the article has a certain relationship with the <o=art effect1
listening to <o=art-s music may induce a short9term improvement on the performance of certain
kinds of mental tasks known as 2spatial9temporal reasoning7 ,ability to mentally manipulate
obKects in three9dimensional space/. This effect of the music of <o=art was described by :rench
researcher, >r. .lfred .. Tomatis in his book Four(uoi <o=art ,II/$. Gicknamed J>r.
<o=artJ by his patients, he was the first to mention Jthe <o=art effect.J .ccording to Tomatis,
the ear-s primary function is to help the brain of the unborn child grow. 8ur nervous system can
be JchargedJ or JdischargedJ by the sounds around us. The positive effects of the music of
;olfgang .madeus <o=art on spatial reasoning ability have become a popular topic. Lauscher,
Bhaw, and Oy ,II$/' investigated the effect of listening to music by <o=art on spatial
reasoning in a group of $% college undergraduates. The authors found that the mean standard age
scores converted into *P scores were ! to I points higher after listening to 5 minutes of a
<o=art sonata and lasted for 59# minutes. This study was published in Gature and had a great
diffusion. .fter these results >on Dampbell published a book ,Dampbell, >on ,II"/ entitled
The <o=art Effect1 Tapping the Fower of <usic to )eal the @ody, Btrengthen the <ind, and
&nlock the Dreative Bpirit# where he claims benefits far beyond improving spatio9temporal
reasoning or raising intelligence, defining the mark as Jan inclusive term signifying the
transformational powers of music in health, education, and well9being.J )e decided to make a
trade mark1 2<o=art Effect7 Q. ,&nited Btates Fatent and Trademark 8ffice Trademark
.pplication and Legistration Letrieval ,T.LL/. JLatest Btatus *nfo ,"#5I'"0!/J. :iled II%95'9
0%./Letrieved 055I95'90!. JLatest Btatus *nfo ,"#5I'"0"/J. :iled II%95'90%. Letrieved 055I9
5'90!./ )ere it was the begging for the diffusion of the <o=art effect. :rom this moment on
some studies have suggested that listening to <o=art has a positive effect on spatial *P", !,I.
8thers authors state that this effect has not been proved. )owever, what different researchers
suggest is that while we listen to <o=art music our intellectual capacity improves 05,0,00,0$.
This association seems interesting and should be and should be analy=ed0'.
*n summary, Leopold <o=art was appointed to a position ,fourth violinist/ in the musical
establishment of Dount Leopold .nton von :irmian, the ruling Frince9.rchbishop of Bal=burg.
)is duties included composition and the teaching of violin ,later, piano/ to the choirboys of the
Bal=burg cathedral. )e wrote while the fetus of his son ;olfgang was growing his excellent
Versuch einer grndlichen Violinschule where the laws for antenatal learning with the essence of
the2.ffect7 as a basic principle for fetal knowledge could have been codified. The last semester
of "## we assisted the true <o=art effect from sounds that Leopold wrote in the Versuch einer
grndlichen Violinschule and played during the fetal development. Leopold provided
intelligence and ;olfgang genius. *n summary, we were spectators of a true effect of the sounds
over the fetal development1 the miracle was called ;olfgang .madeus <o=art, a Leopold
<o=artHs effect on <o=art, that is, a <o=art effect on <o=art.
LE:ELEGDEB. . The Dambridge <o=art Encyclopedia. Edited by Dliff Eisen and Bimon F.
Oeefe. Dambridge &niversity Fress. The Edinburgh @uilding, Dambridge , &O
Fublished in the &nited Btates of .merica by Dambridge &niversity Fress, Gew 4ork.
Dambridge &niversity Fress 055% 0. 6rove >ictionary of <usic and <usicians, article J<o=artJ.
Dliff Eisen. Dopyright 055" by 8xford &niversity Fress. 8xford. I!#. $. @rion <. 2<o=art7.
Editorial +uventud, @arcelona, II5. '. @arrington. 2.ccount of a Very Lemarkable <usician7.
JFhilosophical Transactions,J vol. %5, ""5, pp. #'R%'. #. Bolomon, <aynard. <o=art1 . life.
Gew 4ork1 )arper Ferennial, II%. %. Einstein, .lfred. <o=art, )is Dharacter, )is ;ork. Gew
4ork1 8xford &niversity Fress, I'#, xi9xxxi. ". <o=art L. . treatise on the fundamental
principles of violin playing. Early <usci Beries %. 8xford &niversity Fress. 8xford, I!#. !.
.lfred Einstein. Freface. <o=art L. . treatise on the fundamental principles of violin playing.
Early <usci Beries %. 8xford &niversity Fress. 8xford, I!#. I. Dhristian >aniel Bchubart *deen
=u einer .esthetik der Tonkunst ,!5%/. ;ien. @ey +. V. >egen. @uchdrucker und @uchhSndler.
5. 6ehring :. ;olfgang .madeus <o=art. :oreword by :rancesco @erger. London Bampson
Low, <arstpn N Do, LT>. Frinted in 6reat @ritain by Furnell and Bons Faulton, Bomerset,
England. <>DDTD*V. . )alliwell, Luth ,II!/ The <o=art :amily1 :our Lives in a Bocial
Dontext, 8xford &niversity Fress. 0. Onocker E, Translator of . treatise on the fundamental
principles of violin playing. Leopold <o=art. Early <usci Beries %. 8xford &niversity Fress.
8xford, I!#, xxxii9xxxv. $. >r. .lfred .. Tomatis. Four(uoi <o=art ,II/. >iffusion,
)achette. '. Lauscher, :.)., Bhaw, 6.L. and Oy, O.G., <usic and spatial task performance,
Gature, $%# ,II$/ %. #. Dampbell, >on ,II"/ entitled The <o=art Effect1 Tapping the
Fower of <usic to )eal the @ody, Btrengthen the <ind, and &nlock the Dreative Bpirit. )arper
Dollins Fublishers. Gew 4ork, 055. %. Lauscher :), Bhaw 6L, Oy OG. Listening to <o=art
enhances spatial9temporal reasoning1 towards a neurophysiological basis9 Geuroscience Letters
!# ,II#/ ''99'" ". Lauscher, :. )., Bhaw, 6. L., N Oy, O. G. ,II#/. Listen9 ing to <o=art
Enhances Bpatial9Temporal Leasoning1 Towards a Geurophysical @asis. Geuroscience Letters,
!#, ''9'". !. Lideout, @. E., >ougherty, B., N ;ernert, L. ,II!/. Effect of <usic on Bpatial
Ferformance1 . Test of 6enerality. Ferceptual and <otor Bkills, !%,0/, #09#'. I. Lideout, @.
E., N Taylor, +. ,II"/. Enhanced Bpatial Fer9 formance :ollowing 5 <inutes Exposure to
<usic1 . Leplication. Ferceptual and <otor Bkills, !#, 09'. 05. ;ilson T<E @rown TL,
Leexamination of the effect of <o=art-s music on spatial9task performance The +ournal of
Fsychology,II"E $1 $%#9$"5. 0. Thompson ;:, Bchellenberg E6, )usain 6. .rousal, mood,
and the <o=art effect. Fsychol Bci. 055 <ayE0,$/10'!9#. 00. Bteele O<, @ass OE, Drookl
<>. The mistery of the <o=art effect1 :ailure to replicate. Fsychological Bcience III, 51 $%%9
$%I. 0$. Bchellenberg, E6. <usic and Dognitive .bilities. Durr >ir Fsychol Bci. 055#, ', $"9
$05. 0'. Fietschnig +, Voracek <, :ormann .O. <o=art effect9Bhmo=art effect1 . meta9analysis.
*ntelligence, 055E $! ,$/1 $' >8*1 5.5%UK.intell.055.5$.55