Two in a row, two at once, or a wobble

This is the confusion that started this whole course. Somewhere in a Vivaldi line there's a little knot of tightly-drawn notes, and it's not obvious whether it means two fast notes, two notes at once, or a wobble. Three different things, and you tell them apart by looking at one thing: which way the noteheads sit.

What you see	What it means	Not to be confused with
noteheads side by side, joined by a horizontal beam	play them one after another, fast — the beam just groups them by beat	a double stop
noteheads stacked vertically, one on top of another at the same spot	play them together — two strings at once — a double stop	a beam
a wavy line, a `tr`, or nothing at all, on one held note	vibrato — the pitch shimmers; there are never extra noteheads for it	either of the above

60 bpm

Left: two eighth notes joined by a beam — D then E, one after the other. Right: two noteheads stacked at one point in time — open D and open A sounded together, a double stop (you'll learn to play these in Stage 6). Same page, opposite instructions.

The "double things" are just fast notes

Here is a run in the style of the Vivaldi line — a beat of sixteenth notes on the A string, beamed in a group of four. It looks busy. It is not a chord and it is not vibrato; it is four separate notes, played quickly, in order.

50 bpm

Eight sixteenth notes, two beamed groups — A B C♯ D, twice, up the A string. Slow the tempo right down and read them one at a time; the beam is only telling you they belong to beats 1 and 2.

Read one that has both

54 bpm

Each bar: a beamed group of four sixteenths (play them in a row, fast), then a stacked pair held for two beats (play them together — a double stop, two open strings), then a rest. Work out which is which before you reveal.

Three layers, always

When a line looks impossible, split it into three questions and answer them separately: pitch — which notes? rhythm — how long is each? bowing — one bow or separate? Sort those one at a time and the knot comes apart.

The usual mistake

Freezing at a cluster of small notes and reading it as a chord, or deciding it must be "vibrato" and skipping it. Look at the beam: side-by-side means one-after-another. Then slow down and read the notes.

Check yourself