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.