Instructional/Informational Videos

Someday we hope to have these (and more) videos encoded for all the popular media players; right now, however, we support only the QuickTime player, which you can obtain for free here.

Click on any title below to get streaming video, or where it says "Downloadable version" to download the entire file first. Note--these are large files, up to 12 MB in size, so the download might take a while if you are using a dial-up connection. On the other hand, the bitstream made available to your player is compressed in proportion to the speed of your connection, so if you choose streaming video with a low-bandwidth connection you will get a smaller, grainier image. Also, if you are using a high-bandwidth connection on an intranet that is inside a firewall (common in the corporate world), the streaming link probably won't work. In any event, the downloadable version always has the best detail.

The new 2003 video clips are not available through streaming yet, only downloads. They're in a compressed mp4 format that may play back a bit jumpy. We're working on fixing the jumpy parts and making streaming versions available, but we wanted to get them out to you as soon as we could.

Here are the new videos! To save these files on your computer, right click on the links and choose the "save as" option. Since streaming has not been activated for these clips yet, if you do the regular left click, your computer will start up Quicktime (or whatever other media program you have told your browser to associate with mp4 files) and then wait until the download is complete before playing them. The files are pretty large -- if you have only dial-up access to the internet, consider taking a zip disk or writeable CD to the nearest internet cafe to copy the files via a high-speed connection.

John Mark Rozendaal: Beginning with La Folia (10.2 MB)
John Mark uses this popular viol tune to teach bowing techniques to a young student.

Wendy Gillespie: Consort tuning (11.5 MB)
How to get your group in tune quickly and accurately; non-equal temperaments are also briefly discussed.

Martha Bishop: Tablature (10.3 MB)
Read tablature notation and teach yourself lyra viol technique.

Julie Elhard: Plucking with the bow (7.0 MB)
Put a crisp edge on your bow stroke.

Sarah Mead: The gamba speaks (11.3 MB)
Sarah shows how to imitate consonant and vowel sounds through different bowing techniques.

Lisa Terry: Finger pressure (5.6 MB)
Use the fingers of your left hand the right way, avoiding squeezing with the thumb.

Lucy Bardo: Beginning tuning (10.7 MB)
Lucy demonstrates how beginners can put their instruments in good tune.

2002 Videos (streaming and downloadable files)

Sarah Mead: Finding the Slot (Bass Viol, 10.35 MB)
A method for "getting the feel" of where to bow on the string. (Sarah Mead teaches viol at Brandeis University and recently produced the VdGS-New England CD of Ferrabosco Fantasias.)

Lisa Terry: The Airplane (Bass Viol, 4.68 MB)
A method for practicing bow control "off the string." (Lisa Terry lives in New York. She performs as a member of the viol consort Parthenia and the Baroque ensemble Louis-Louis.)

Grace Feldman: Making a Beautiful Sound (Treble Viol, 10.67 MB)
A method for holding the bow and practicing bow strokes. (Grace Feldman is the author of the series The Golden Viol and teaches in New Haven.)

Brent Wissick: Slow Practice With Fast Motion (Bass Viol, 7.53 MB)
A method for string crossing with good sound. (Brent Wissick is President of the VdGSA. He teaches at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and performs with Ensemble Chanterelle.)

Laurie Rabut: Multiple Bow Gestures (Treble Viol, 9.80 MB)
A method for grouping notes into phrases. (Laurie Rabut teaches strings in Amherst, MA. She has been chair of Education for the VdGSA and edited the column Ask your Viol Teacher for the VdGSA News.)

Alice Robbins: Beginner's Arm (Bass Viol, 6.67 MB)
A method for practicing relaxed and healthy bow strokes. (Alice Robbins lives in Northhampton, MA and teaches at Smith College and Boston University. She performs as a member of the Handel & Haydn Society.)

Robert Eisenstein: Bow Lifting and Replacing (Bass Viol, 10.89 MB)
A method for practicing "off the string." (Robert Eisenstein directs the Early Music program of Five Colleges in Massachusetts and performs with the Folger Consort.)

John Pringle: Bent Out Of Shape? (11.84 MB)
A demonstration of how to straighten your own bridge. (John Pringle builds viols in North Carolina and serves on the board of the VdGSA.)

Tina Chancey: Pardessus de Viole (8.50 MB)
A demonstration of this small treble viol. (Tina Chancey lives in Arlington, VA and performs with Hesperus. She has written a thesis on the pardessus and made several pardessus recordings.)

Roland Hutchinson: The Baryton (6.41 MB)
A demonstration of this viol with plucked sympathetic strings. (Roland Hutchinson lives in New Jersey and has recorded baryton duos with the Hauschka Ensemble.)

What is the sound of 200 gambists bowing? (8.84 MB)
From the mass play-in kicking off the VdGSA's 2002 Conclave in the Fieldhouse at Franklin Pierce College in Rindge, NH on Sunday, July 21. (The piece Jack Ashworth is conducting is the pavan Patientia by Anthony Holborne.)