Mendelssohn Violin Concerto: shaping the opening
Summary
- Phrase in layers – think of the Mendelssohn Concerto opening as blocks stacking toward the highest point, not one flat line.
- Bow speed and bow weight shape the emotional color – faster bow = more "whoosh" and energy; heavier bow = deeper, sadder sound.
- Use these tools together to make the second phrase sound sadder than the first, and to shape the call-and-response that follows.
Practice focus
- Play through the opening phrase of the Mendelssohn Concerto slowly, identifying each "block" of the phrase and where the highest point of the first phrase lands.
- Practice contrasting bow speed (quicker for a brighter, "whoosh" sound) versus bow weight (heavier, sinking-in bow for a deeper, sadder sound) on the same short passage, until you can switch between them intentionally.
- Work on the second phrase specifically, aiming to make it sound noticeably sadder than the first by combining slower bow speed with more bow weight.
- Practice the call-and-response passage, using quicker bow speed for the "call" and a slower bow for the "response," as demonstrated .
Details
Layering the phrase like stacked blocks
In the opening of the Mendelssohn Concerto, the phrase isn't one continuous line of equal intensity — it builds, like blocks stacked on top of each other toward the highest point of the phrase . Identify each "block" in the opening: the first block, then a second block that continues to rise, and finally the peak. Playing it this way gives the phrase a clear sense of direction and arrival rather than sounding flat throughout.
After the main phrase, there is a call and response figure . Treat the "call" and "response" as two distinct musical ideas — the response can be played differently in color and bow approach from the call, which sets up the sadder character described below.
Using bow speed and bow weight to create character
The core technique from this lesson is that bow speed and bow weight are your main tools (along with the left hand, though this lesson focused on the bow) for shaping the emotional color of a phrase .
- Bow speed — a quicker bow creates more "whoosh," a brighter, more energetic sound.
- Bow weight — leaning in with more weight into the string creates a deeper, richer sound, appropriate for more emotional or sad moments.
The second phrase of the concerto opening should sound sadder than the first . To achieve this, combine slower bow speed with more bow weight — leaning into the string rather than moving quickly across it . This combination produces the deeper, heavier sound needed for that emotional shift.
Within the call-and-response figure, alternate approaches are used: leaning in with more bow weight where you want to "lean into" a note , using a quicker bow ("more whoosh") for a lighter, more forward-moving moment , and then slowing the bow speed back down for the answering phrase .
Why this works
Bow speed and bow weight directly control the volume and timbre of the sound — more speed brightens and energizes the tone, while more weight (sinking into the string) darkens and deepens it. Learning to combine these two variables independently, rather than always moving them together, is what allows a single phrase to carry contrasting characters (bright versus sad, calling versus answering) without changing notes or fingering at all.
All right, so in the opening of the Mendelssohn Concerto, you want to make sure that you layer the phrasing. So you're kind of like stacking blocks on each other, right? So that you're aiming for the highest point. And the highest point is here,
at least for the first phrase, right? So here's the first block.
And then the second block.
And then finally
Right? And then you have kind of a little call and response.
Do you feel how that second phrase there is a little bit sadder? So you want to make that sad sound. Now, how do you make a sad sound? All right, so we've got a few things we can do, which is all in the right and left hand. So we'll talk about the right hand first. You got the bow speed and bow weight to help with these phrasing things, right? Like, so quicker bow speed equals more whoosh. So if you do whoosh like... Right, then you got more whoosh. And then if you do heavier... Bow weight then there's more depth
Do you hear that that sound is like deeper so you want to kind of do both so when you start
So don't really lean when you want to lean into things then you use a bit more bow weight
And then here you can do more whoosh quicker bow speed
And then a little slow down the bow speed
Right, so