Movement Functionality, Shifting, and use of Rib Cage in Left Hand Viola/Violin Technique

Shifting has long been a potential stumbling block for many string players. The challenge to move up and down the fingerboard with ease at the crucial moment is the real goal so one can express musical ideas effortlessly. Therefore what is easiest in terms of playing technique must be the most innate movement from the standpoint of functionality of the skeleton. It is indeed the skeleton that gives our muscles cues, whether we are willing to listen to them or not. For example there is some confusion among some about what it means to 'relax the shoulder' . In fact, the shoulder girdle rests 'atop' the rib cage. It is, in a sense, a passive component from a functionality standpoint. That said, it is a perfect hinge in the cog initiated by lower back muscles whether one is bowing or shifting.

In terms of shifting, it is first of all essential the shoulder be relaxed and not gripping the instrument. This creates a chain effect leading to difficulty in reaching the left hand around sufficiently to reach higher positions. The real question is 'where do we shift from and how can we relate to the violin/viola with ease so the left hand is free to shift unfettered?' The logical answer by most would be the arm, wrist & fingers. But the most innate momentum for the hand & wrist is actually the rib cage and more specifically, use of the vertebra to raise and lower the rib cage.

Shifting with ease necessitates the left hand be completely unfettered when upward movement is actually executed. How can this possibly be done? Using the law of gravity as a starting point, it is optimum we find the place where the viola/violin is 'falling' into the neck/upper body so the left hand is free to move, unfettered by need to hold up the instrument.

Watching virtuosos like Heiftetz or Primrose, it seems extra dramatic that they would hold their instruments up so high. So dramatic and virtuosic. And yet when you look at the actual angel of the violin, it is falling into the body, facilitating left hand freedom.

So how is this proper angle achieved so the instrument is falling into our body when shifting up the instrument and how can this be done without 'raising' the shoulders? It is the rib cage, and specifically the vertebra that initiate the movement and momentum to shift. One of the most basic awareness movements both in Alexander & Feldenkrais along with other flexibility disciplines - is feeling of vertebra raising & lowering one at a time, whether initiated from the lower spine or top of the head. This too becomes the basis for exploring range of motion with the torso and with respect to playing the violin or viola. This also applies to the most basic technical components of shifting.

Discovering Torso As Basis of Bow Stroke Through Motion Study

For many players, learning to use the bow seems to clearly involve training the arm. In fact, the movement of the arm is initiated by the torso. The image of torso involvement might be likened to the wings of a butterfly in relation to the thorax.Our bodies open out in similar fashion and the arms are then weighted by the body where the movement stems. Because we can access the torso and back muscles we can have greater technical freedom than by focusing on training the arm movement alone. We can ultimately have greater control because we are able to balance the bow in relation to the back muscles. The should blade/wing then acts like a fulcrum, responding to the raising and lowering of the arm.


The following Motion Study facilitates initiating the bow stroke through the torso and assists in incorporating the torso when bowing. Although it an impractical fete one could, if necessary draw the bow from frog to tip using the torso to move the bow entirely. The swivel mobility in the waist is an aspect of this movement. In addition, similar to how a baseball player might throw a ball, involves one shoulder swiveling forward as the other shoulder pivots in the opposite direction, the two sides of the torso balance each other as the bow is drawn from frog to tip and back. This further enables the chest to open out as the strokes are played. Discovering that one can actually draw the entire length of the bow from frog to tip without even moving the arm enables players make a concrete connection with the use of the back. Making this discovery on a Kinesthetic level will ultimately lead to greater ease and naturalness in playing. One's sound will become like spun silk, as the bow caresses the string.

1. Have student position the violin for playing, violin resting on the shoulder, with contact points at the collar bone, shoulder and side of neck.
2. Have student take the bow and place it on the A string at the frog.
3. Stand in front of student and place right hand on scroll then gently move the violin scroll towards the right then left, allowing students upper body and torso to freely follow along in the direction initiated by teacher. In fact it’s possible to observe how the back swivels from the waist and hips as these movements are being initiated.
4. Encourage student to allow torso to be relaxed so left side of body can follow direction initiated by the teacher.
5. Encourage student to also observe the movements, noting the sensations in the back and shoulders.

6. In this way, student learns to access the torso as part of movement involved in bow stroke.
7. Repeat this action of gently moving the violin scroll to the left side of the student and then towards the right side of the body, observing that it’s possible to make a bow stroke entirely with the torso alone.
8. Allow student to try this movement without teacher’s assistance.
9. Then play naturally without trying to isolate the torso, from the frog to the middle and back a few times.
10. Observe whether the playing feels more comfortable then before the motion study. Observations cement the learning process.

Open String Work, Motion Study and Learning From the Skeletal System

OPEN STRING WORK OUT ON ALL STRINGS
So much of string teaching involves the teacher telling a student what to do, what to fix. And yet, for so many years I felt a key element was missing - namely the student's ability to discern comfort from discomfort, and it's relationship to playing with ease and naturalness. Motion Studies, designed to help the beginning student and advancing player to use the arm and particularly power from the back muscles and torso to get maximum sound and beauty of tone, can be an important component to the advancing player.

All violin or viola playing incorporates many of the same principals understood by science and physics. The question is whether the student can make physical sense of that principal when approaching technique. For example, producing a beautiful rich tone requires the use of gravity to one’s advantage. Gravity makes it possible to power the bow by dropping the weight of the arm and back into the violin string with the bow as the shock absorber to that weight.

This is most effectively done with a modified circular motion. But where does the circle derive? Commonly we look to the arm, perhaps the shoulder and a vague notion the back is involved. Most people assume it's a muscular issue. But while the muscles are involved and give clues, the real source of movement is initiated by the functionality of the skeletal system. The rippling movements of a flexible skeleton along with the 'butterfly wing' type movement of the shoulder and rib cage, make possible the use of the entire torso. Much like butterfly wings open out from the thorax, there is a similar opening out of the chest and arms, with the vertebrae functioning like a fulcrum.
1. Start with arms relaxed to one’s side.
2. Begin to make circles with arms as you raise them into the air.
3. Complete circle with both arms, allowing them to naturally cross in the middle as they come down.
4. Repeat

As this study is done, notice:
1. The effort to raise the arms in the air
2. The natural ease in lowering them because of gravity, which allows the weight of the arms to fall in the direction of the floor.
3. When playing violin or viola, this same weighty feeling can be applied to drawing a sound on the violin.
4. The whole bow scales are a particularly good chance to develop sound.

This circular feeling can be applied when holding the bow and violin. In particular scales are a perfect opportunity to develop sound, power as well as accurate intonation and a good rhythmic sense.

It may seem like using the bow involves arm movement, but that’s not all! The entire torso is involved in playing violin. While it seems obvious to most people that playing a violin requires the use of arms and somehow the back assists, it is the torso itself that initiates these movements and once that connection is made, the movements of the arms can become fluid and balanced.

Developing Accuracy and Ease in Left Hand Technique

As a soloist in various capacities throughout the years, a simple goal has become clear over time.  Regardless of the technical difficulty presented by certain compositions, the challenge is to make difficult passages easy to play.  The audience should never feel any insecurity come from the performer and the playing should feel and look effortless. This begs the question: How do we get to the point where difficult passages are easy to play? 
 

The best way to develop accuracy in the left hand is to be able to arrive at the desired pitch correctly from the proceeding note, rather than fixing the finger after you’ve landed on it. Most students tend to practice this way but it’s benefits are short term since the challenge is to arrive on the desired note accurately from the proceeding note. Because the violin doesn’t have frets like the guitar or banjo, it is necessary to develop a KINESTHETIC sense of where the finger should go.  This means that through repetition one can begin to ‘feel’ where the finger needs to go as well as relying on the ear. Therefore in general if there is a finger pattern that constantly needs ‘correcting’ the best approach is to practice going to the note from the note that comes before it, with the goal of arriving on the desired pitch accurately the first time.  This may require much repetition and slow practice.  It also requires that one’s technique is sufficiently developed so there is a physical ease when going from one note to the next.  If there is excessive tension in the hand, neck, or any other part of the body then playing with difficulty will be built into one’s overall technical approach.