The Violin in 5ths – Developing Intonation and Sound

Heifetz, Oistrakh, Stern, Menuhin, Milstein, Szeryng, Ricci, Rabin… The great violinists, still performing at their peak in the mid-20th century, dazzled colleagues and the public with a seemingly effortless and secure technique, leaving an inspirational legacy for future generations. Their innate talent and outstanding skills made violin mastery look natural and easy. Having been great prodigies, they continued throughout long careers to perform, apparently without physical complications and with an undisturbed method.

British violinist, esteemed concertmaster and respected Royal Academy of Music professor Rodney Friend had the privilege to collaborate with many of the virtuosos as a young man. During these encounters, he observed the simplicity of their practice patterns and a tendency towards effortless posture and natural hand freedom. These observations became the cornerstones of a teaching method that he has developed and perfected over the past decades.

In The Violin in 5ths, Rodney Friend shares his ideas on the development of intonation and sound with readers for the very first time. This 48-page workbook presents guiding principles for cultivating left-hand facility by using its natural design – including warm-up exercises followed by practice patterns and examples of how to apply this technique when preparing difficult passages frequently encountered in classical violin literature.