Viola da Gamba Tutorial No. 11: Playing chords | with Sam Stadlen

Welcome to gamba tutorial no. 11. In this video, I talk about how to approach playing chords, looking at both fingering technique and bowing movements. I also provide exercises for practicing chordal passages and advice on how to interpret and phrase them.

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Thanks!

[coelhoigor]

00:00 Opening statements
01:25 Double stop bowing
04:39 Double stop fingering
07:26 Double stop example
09:44 Chord intro
12:00 Chord bowing
13:07 Chord fingering
14:44 Chord example 1
18:11 Chord bowing pressure and example 2
24:24 Faster chord bowing spread speed and example 3 (bowing 3-4 strings away from the bridge)
26:00 Slower chord bowing spread speed and example 4 (preserve a melody over chords)
27:07 Chord example 1 again with different spread speeds and weights (prioritize bass vs melody)
28:31 Spread speed and chords as opening gestures and example 5
29:49 Possibilities of chord bowing techniques and practise suggestions
32:54 Closing statements

[TheColoradoCranker]

Thank you! a very thorough lesson Sam, what a blessing to hear you speak it, play it and watch it! You demystify and inspire.

[willwilkin]

Excellence in every aspect! Clear explanations of each motion and considerations, plus video of the fingers, bow, and notation. Full of advice on playing artistically, nothing mechanical here! THANK YOU Sam Stadlen!

[lagiron]

Many thanks, Sam, for this brilliant and useful tutorial. Greetings from São Paulo!

[roberthillier]

Brilliant - the best lesson for its length (on anything, in any subject, musical or non-musical) that I have ever encountered! Many thanks.

[tabbycatz]

Excellent exercises to practice at the end! Thank you!

[classicalguitargirl]

Thanks ! You’ve made many good suggestions. One technique that I find very useful is to pluck the chords without the bow to learn the fingerings separately and then add the bowing afterwards to allow more interpretation in the harmonies and to connect the notes more.This also helps to more smoothly switch chords. I also found engaging open strings together helpful.

[FrogToTheFrog]

Is there any resource for chord diagrams anywhere?
Also, who made your bow?

[Duende]

Please help: What is the basic open string tuning of the gambe in this video?

[ianhamilton]

Thank you so helpful and thorough. What does it mean when there is a sharp above the chord not next to a specific note, often in Hume?

[mariaustralis]

Por favor, no olviden poner títulos en español. Muchas gracias!

[ngarber]

I believe "barré" (bar-ay) means barred, while "barre" (bar) is the thing you make with your fingers. You form a barre, not a barré. Someone who speaks French can correct me. Other than that bit of pedantic nonsense, great video. :)