-IVIOLIN FORUM 1 - - - - - - - - -
A Comparison of theViolin Techniques
of Havas, Rolland, and Suzuki
Dr. MarianneMurrayPerkins has taught
violin in her studio in northern Virginia
since 1986. She has also taught in a Suzuki
Method program in Saudi Arabia, taught
strings in England and Japan, and was a
sceondary school string teacher for the
Hamilton Township (NJ) Public Schools.
She ison theboard ofdirectors oftheSuzuki
Association of Greater Washington, DC.
Perkins received herbachelor's degree in
music education from Temple University,
her master's degree in education from the
University of Pennsylvania, andherDMA
inmusiceducation from Catholic University
ofAmerica. She also earned a Graduate Vio-
linTeachers Certificate at theTalent Educa-
tion Institute, Matsumoto, Japan.
This article is derived from her recent
doctoral dissertation, "A Comparative Study
oftheViolin Playing Techniques Deoeioped
by Kato Havas, Paul Rolland, and Shinichi
Suzuki,"which isavailable from University Approach, the Rolland Method, and the
Microfilms, 300North Zeeb Road, Ann Ar- Suzuki Method. But first, it is important
bor, Michigan.
Kat6 Havas, Paul Rolland, and
Shinichi Suzuki have firmly established
themselves as the three leading violin
pedagogs of the second half of the twen-
tieth century. Much has already been
written by each pedagog and others
about their methods or teaching ap-
proaches. But little objective information
is available concerning the playing
techniques they created especially for
their methods and how these compare
with other methods.
This article is an attempt to fill that
void. It will briefly summarize and com-
pare the major features of the violin play-
ing techniques included in the New
Elizabeth Ivanoff Holborn, Editor
8522 Enramada Avenue
Whittier, CA 90606
AUTUMN 1993
Marianne Murray Perkins
Paul Rolland was born in Budapest,
Hungary, in 1911and died in 1978.Like
Havas, Rolland studied violin (and viola)
atthe Royal Academy under Waldbauer
during the 193Os. Rolland was also greatly
influenced by Waldbauer's ideas and by
the writings of Carl Flesch. In 1938,
Rolland came to the U.s. as a member of
a quartet-in-residence and shortly there-
after began his string teaching career in
Iowa. He later joined the University of
Illinois string faculty, where his leader-
ship of the String Research Project from
1968-70culminated in the film series and
text, TheTeaching ofActionin String Play-
ing. Among his many achievements,
Rolland helped to found ASTA and was
the first editor of American String Teacher.
Shinichi Suzuki was born in Nagoya,
Japan, in 1898. He received his basic
musical and violin training from Karl
Klingler (a former pupil of Joseph
Joachim) during an eight-year period of
to examine the background of each study in Berlin during the 1920s. Al-
pedagog to gain insight into the origins though Suzuki claims that most of his
of their ideas about technique. newer ideas are based on his own teach-
ing experiments and observations dur-
Backgrounds ing the past 50 years, many of his tech-
Kat6HavaswasborninTransylvania, niques bear a remarkable similarity to
Hungary, in 1920. Shewasa child prodigy those of the Old German School. Suzuki
on the violin and studied from the age of actually credits listening to recordings of
eight at the Royal Academy of Music in JacquesThibaud, FritzKreisler,and Pablo
Budapest under Imre Waldbauer. Casals as being the chief influences in the
Waldbauer had been influenced by the formulation of his technical ideas.
writings ofF. A. Steinhausenabout natu-
ral violin playing movements. Havas The Goals
attributes the germ of her ideas about Havas, Rolland, and Suzuki each
playing technique to the teachings of created their techniques with specific
Waldbauer and to the influence of the goals in mind. Havas considers her vio-
gypsy violinists of her homeland. She lin teaching approach to be truly holistic,
began teaching in 1958 in England and addressing the needs of the mind, the
has written five books on violin playing body, and the spirit of the player. She
and teaching. Havas has named her says that her technique is really a system
method the "New Approach." She is a for organizing the body's natural bal-
popular lecturer and specializes in the ances for the purpose of creating music
subject of the prevention of string play- and facilitating musical self-expression.
ing injuries. In 1992, Havas received Havas utilizes a great deal of imagery,
ASTA's International Award. vocalization, and visualization to aid in
55
 to vocalizations) he has developed to
improve tone. Suzuki's playing tech-
niques are introduced to the student via
developmental, progressive teaching
points, whichare includedin nearly every
piece in the repertoire. These techniques
are reinforced throughconstantlistening,
review, and repetition.

A Technical Comparison
The Stance
The standing position advocated by
both Rolland and Suzuki are very simi-
lar, while Havas's is unique to her ap-
proach. Rolland taught that the weight
should be equally balanced on both feet.
He said that while playing, there is a
natural shift of weight onto the left leg,
but that it should return again onto both
legs. For Suzuki, the weight is primarily
centered over the player's left leg, al-
though the weight may shift between
both legs slightly while playing.
Havas teaches that in standing posi-
tion, the weight of the entirebodyshould
be distributed between the heels of the
right and left foot, with the center of
balance being situated over an imagi-
nary "third leg" that emanates from the
base of the spine. Havas says the body
should tilt backward slightly onto this
imaginary leg, while the knees remain
springy, in order to drive the "rhythmic
pulse" of the music while playing.
For sitting position, Havas and Rolland
concur that the weight should be evenly
distributed over the player's feet and
bottom. Suzuki teaches that the weight
should be centered primarily over the
left leg, while the right foot rests lightly
on the ball of the foot under the chair. The
right heel is off the floor, and the right
knee should slope downward slightly.

The Violin Hold

The three pedagogs have very differ-
ent ideas about how the violin should be
held. Havas teaches what she calls the
teaching and playing the violin. She in- keenly interested in applying research "no hold" violin hold, where the violin is
troduces her techniques through a series from the fields of physiology and kinesi- neatly balanced, not gripped, between
of singing, miming, and rhythmic exer- ology to his techniques. In his method, the player's chin and shoulder. Instead
cises that may be applied to any reper- students are introduced to new tech- of keeping the violin on a horizontal
toire. Havas claims that her techniques niques through a series of developmen- plane with the floor, the player is en-
can prevent or cure such playing-related tal exercises he called"Action Studies." couraged to let the violin slope slightly
injuries as tendonitis, bursitis, and Car- These actions are reinforced via his spe- downward, "gypsy-style." Havasclaims
pal Tunnel Syndrome. cially designed repertoire. that this position prevents static ten-
Rolland often summed up the pur- Suzuki's violin technique focuses on sions from developing in the neck and
pose of his method in one word: natu- developing superior tone production. the shoulders.
ralness. He taught that balance and He stresses that musical tone must be Rolland taught that the violin should
movement are the foundations of all vio- developed to a very high degree, ulti- be equally balanced between its six
lin technique. The primary goal of his mately becoming the purist expression contact points-the collarbone, chin,
technique is to enable players to perform of a player's "living soul." This is accom- thumb, side of first finger, fingertips,
effortlessly, efficiently, and without ex- plished primarily through listening and and also the inside of the wrist (when
cess physical tensions. Rolland was also a series of tonalization exercises (similar playing in the upper positions). Suzuki

56 AMERICAN STRING TEACHER

teaches that the violin should be sup- forearm, and wrist to produce arc-like created a series of tonalization exercises
ported primarily by the chin and shoul- bowing patterns. He believed that such to help studentsachieve this type of tone.
der(collarbone),sothatthelefthandand movements originate deep within the
arm remain mobile. body. Havas recommends a unique "fly- Conclusions
ing bow" stroke, where the arm folds The Rolland and Suzuki Method
Left-Hand andLeft-Arm Movements and unfolds segmentally, like the wings techniques have many features in com-
Rolland's and Suzuki's left-hand po- of a bird, also creating arc-like patterns.mon, while Havas's technique differs
sitions are similar and in the traditional She says that these movements emanate considerably from the other two. Yet
style, while Havas's position is unique. from the muscles located in the back and each individual technique has much to
She recommends a relaxed "gypsy-style" upper arm. Suzuki teaches that all bow offer string players and teachers. Before
left-hand position, which she calls the strokes should trace circular or semi- using any of these techniques, violin
"Giving Hand." In this position, the left circular patterns but that these move- players and teachers should read the
wrist is collapsed inward and the palm ments should originate in the right up- writings of each of these pedagogs to
faces the underside of the violin neck. per arm and elbow. understand fully how technique func-
Left-finger actions originate in the base tions within each method as a whole.
knuckle joints and move exclusively in a Tone Production String teachers contemplatingadvanced
horizontal direction. The pedagogs have an ideal tone in study in any of these three methods will
Rolland stressed that the balance of mind, but the way to achieve this tone find this research useful in determining
the left hand should be centered on the differs across the three methods. Havas which technique iscompatible with their
secondand third fingers, whilethe thumb says that each tone should ring like a 'own personal and professional goals.
remains relaxed and mobile. He also plucked open string. To produce this
recommended three types of left-finger tone, players should strive to focus the
movements: vertical, horizontal, and mind, body, and spirit to transmit per- A BRIEF BIBLIOGRAPHY
across strings. Suzuki's left-finger sonal energy to the audience through Havas, Kato. The Twelve Lesson Course.
movements are predominantly vertical; musical performance. As a preparation London: Bosworth & Co., 1964.
however, some horizontal movement is for playing, Havas prescribes a series of
necessary for his vibrato actions. actions involving singing (or vocalizing) Havas, Kato. A NewApproach toViolin
All three pedagogs differ significantly the pitches and miming playing actions Playing. Cumbria, England: Lakeland
in the area of vibrato. Rolland's ideas before playing on the instrument. She Home Music, 1991.Available c/o The
about vibrato are basically traditional. calls this "inside-outside" playing. Lorberbaum,300W. Schuster, Unit 28,
Suzuki currently teaches what he calls Rolland believed that good tone was EI Paso, TX 79902.
"two-toned" vibrato, where the flat of the natural result of careful listening and Rolland, Paul, and Marla Mutschler.
the fingertip should be placed a semi- balanced movements of the bow arm The Teaching ofAction in StringPlaying.
tone below the desired pitch and then and body. He designed a series of devel- Farmingdale, NY: Boosey & Hawkes,
rolled forward quickly onto the upper- opmentalexercises to help players refine Inc., 1974.
pitch, producing two distinct tones. their tone. Suzuki, Shinichi. Tonalization. Prince-
Havas's "natural vibrato" technique Suzuki has named his ideal tone ton.N]: Summy-Birchard Music, 1955.
is unusual. She says that the fingers "Diamond Tone." He describes it as the
should be placed lightly on the string so perfect combination of tonal resonance,
that a small column (or cushion) of air tone color, and volume. Suzuki has
remains between the string and the fin-
gerboard. When the bowis drawn across
the strings, this air column should vi-
brate, causing the finger to vibrate sym-
pathetically. Havas claims that no other
vibrato movements are necessary.

The Bow Hold

Each pedagog recommends signifi-
cantly different bow holds. Rolland's
bow hold is modeled on the Franco-
Belgian School. Suzuki's bow hold most
closely resembles that of the Old German
School. While Havas's bow hold bears
some resemblance to that of the Russian
School, it can best be described as a
"gypsy-style" bow hold.
Movements of the RightArm
All three pedagogs agree that bow-
arm movements should be sequential
and follow a curved line to avoid linear
strokes. Rolland advocated rotary or
cyclical movements of the upper arm,
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AUTUMN 1993 57