Double Stops – An Introduction
A great benefit of keyboard and fretted instruments such as the piano and the guitar is their sublime capacity to play both melody and chords equally well. Arguably however, none of these wonderful instruments has the expressive power of the violin and the other stringed instruments, chiefly because of the particular magic of the bow on strings. The trade-off is the ability to play complex chords easily. Not that violinists really mind, of course. We are happy with our lot. Alone, we cannot match the harmonic colours of the piano, but we can fly.
Despite these limitations, violinists and composers haven’t sat on their harmonic hands and have come up with wonders like J.S. Bach’s Chaconne, which turns apparent disadvantage into strength and beauty. Sustained bowed notes can produce double stops and chords ranging from sweet shimmering concords to dark and strident discords.
The first piece in the Suzuki violin repertoire that has a double stop is Gavotte in D Major by J.S. Bach. Here it’s a simple C# + E, an amiable minor third with the open E string – meaning there’s only one note to tune. Bourrée, the next piece, has a couple of double stops with open strings and is followed up by Volume IV’s three Seitz concertos. The third one, No. 5, 3rd movement, of course, contains a challenging double stop section, and it’s onwards from here.
The 6 Most Common Double Stop Problems
- Pressing too hard with the bow, usually when trying to find both strings.
- Uneven weight across the two strings.
- Pressing too hard with fingers.
- Undetermined foundation or base note.
- Poor left hand position.
- Inadequate vibrato.