Smoother Shifting

One thing I’ve been working on in general (but particularly in scales, arpeggios, et al. and in the Bach) is smoother, more accurate shifting. Somewhere along the line I developed a habit of clenching my left hand too tightly as I played, and this habit was right there again when I re-started this violin thing in October. Ms. L. has convinced me that this tension interferes with accurate shifting.

I have to admit that when she first told me that, I wasn’t totally convinced. I knew that playing with too much tension in my left hand would tire it out too fast and possibly lead to other problems, and knew that I needed to address it, but I didn’t think that tension was making shifting/intonation suffer. In the first week or two of my lessons, Ms. L. pointed out an inaccurate shift I’d made in a scale and talked me through loosening up my hand and not pressing my fingers so hard on the string. I went along with it, but thought the intonation problem was just about me not having played a three-octave G major scale in about 17 years until that week. I figured that shift just needed some brute force repetition. But ever since then, she has gotten after me periodically to loosen up my hand.

And, what do you know? At the same, time, in the Bach, some persistent intonation issues and Ms. L.’s coaching in lessons have gradually convinced me that I need to deconstruct some of my shifts. For example, on a shift from first position to third position where I’m playing two third-finger notes in a row (e.g., G in first position on the D string, then B in third position on the D string), I truly need to keep my first finger down as a guide finger and even listen to the upward slide (in practicing, at least) in order to land accurately. I was practicing that in the time leading up to my last lesson or two, but not really worrying about tension in my left hand.

In my lesson last Friday, we worked through one of these difficult spots in the Bach, shifting from first position up to a first-finger A flat on the E string. It’s not really second position, it’s not really third position, and I kept not really getting it. Though I didn’t realize it, I was clenching my left hand all the while. As I worked at sliding my first finger up to the right spot, Ms. L. kept telling me, quietly but firmly, “Too much pressure. Still too much pressure.”

Finally it clicked—not the actual note, but letting up pressure when I shifted. And it felt good. And then the shift came easier, and then others did too. And as I’ve worked on it in practice yesterday and today, it’s coming more naturally!

So, OK, OK, OK. Playing with less tension in my hand, or at least consciously releasing tension in my hand when I shift, is not just good on general principles—it actually helps me shift more accurately. Hopefully I will get better at playing with more looseness in my hand in general, not just on shifts.