Kelski loved the sounds Mosa pulled out of her violin. She hoped to someday be as good as the woman was, and knew it would take lots of practice. But gemcutting had taken a lot of practice. So too had dagger. Kelski was wiling to put in the time and put in the work. That had to count for something. And she could tell already, much like she knew the first time she’d laid eyes on Kynier that she loved him… that the first time she’d heard a violin she’d felt a calling to it as well.
But Mosa had more bowing techniques, so Kelski could not pick up her midnight dark violin but instead picked up her quill and ink again.
“Loure is a Eyktolian movement where the bow stroke is used to slow the tempo, slurring and separating the notes to slightly articulate them without stopping the bow. It’s normally used in a passage of a cantabile character. And before you ask me what a cantabile character is, I’ll tell you. A cantabile character indicates a measured tempo and flexible, legato playing. Legato means your playing notes with a full bow, which have the shortest silence, often barely perceptible between notes. Its like a pause in a sentence that’s not really a pause but you notice the hesitation. These are done with controlled wrist movements of your bowing hand, and can be masked or enhanced with vibrato or finger shaking motions. It makes a very basic student sound advanced. That’s why its important.” Mosa replied to Kelski, as she frantically took notes.
Then Mosa stepped up, set the violin under her chin, and began to play, demonstrating all of those techniques in a row including Loure and vibrato along with legato. And as she played she moved into a strange motion she hadn’t explained yet that looked like a bouncing stroke. Kelski tilted her head, curious, and listened until Mosa was done. Then the old woman explained.
“Arpeggio is a bouncing stroke which you play on broken chords so that each note of the arpeggio is played on a different string. It was the second one to the last that I showed you. The last one is called Termola, and is used in small group quartets or trios. It consists of moving the bow back and forth in short rapid strokes, unmeasured by rhythm, that is quite lively and fun. You will excel at it because its very beginner friendly.” Mosa said as Kelski noted down that technique as well. The jeweler felt like she was filling up her Songbook rather fast.
“Relax girl, there is just a few more left.” She said, raising her violin again and tucking it under her chin.
Kelski watched and thought she heard an echo of the violin playing some of the unusual techniques Mosa had just reviewed. The Sea Eagle was more than annoyed now. Little Rhaus was driving her crazy and she didn’t even know if he was doing it on purpose.
Count: 502