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.

Karen Tuttle

I remember vividly, as a 17 yr. old, arriving fresh from Ohio where I was plucked from high school because Karen Tuttle wanted to teach me viola.  I had just arrived at Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins U. and I was excited of course.  Leaving high school early was a perfect chance to escape from the anxieties of adolescence.  But there was no one more welcoming, loving or protective as KT, which we fondly called her.  She was the truest mentor imaginable, pouring her entire energy into forming our talents.

And perhaps it was that she would stick her head out the window of the 3rd floor of the music building, and at the top of her lungs bellow 'Rosie!!!' that told me this was no ordinary teacher.  Not only would I learn something about viola playing, but I would learn something about life from this true trail blazer. While Karen always managed to teach at the best schools in the country, she was never a slave to formality when teaching her charges. She lived and loved with a passion that could not be bound by any shackles, but expressed itself fully to each pupil.  She was the mother, best friend, and biggest fan to each one of us.  In each of us she saw our unique possibilities in ways most teachers could not.

She would often tell me I should find ways to marry playing with acting and other mediums, seeing that my personality couldn't fully express itself in the most conventional ways. Few teachers would even consider such a possibility, but thank heavens I found  teacher who made room for who I was. And she had the love & patience to work with me when, after breaking my neck at age 15, was faced with the challenge of rebuilding my playing, and even my self esteem. But she saw possibilities yet unformed, which inspired my own unique path. And how lucky I was to work with someone who tirelessly challenged her own playing, mastering open strings and a profound understanding of the physical and emotional components of great artistry.  And in each student was forged a sense that is was not just about how well you played, but the human being that shone threw in the music. This was surely one of her greatest contributions.

My dearest Karen Tuttle, I determine to reply to all your expectations and be for others what you have been for me.

Sound vs. Visual Effect: Does it have to be either/or?

Recently, having the good fortune of making new friends as I introduce our new product to the industry, an important question came up:  Is your focus for Designer Violins the sound or visual effect?

Simply put,  it is both. Children may not naturally understand the aesthetic value of a beautiful piece of wood or even the fine carving of the violin.  But they do relate to stimuli that engage their imagination and senses.  Our aim is to achieve both quality of instrument plus an aesthetic that is relatable to young children.
In addition, it's our philosophy that engaging children in music in a manner that stimulates multiple senses, can develop a more complete musical understanding and experience.

But we are also responding to a larger picture, namely the currents of the music world and how they are playing out on string players.  Certainly there are opportunities that didn't exist years ago, despite the fact that certain sectors of the industry are having a more difficult time in the tough economy.  With rock stars that include violinists in their band and string players finding their way into mainstream media, it is impossible not to be influenced by the large and multiple scale productions in pop music.  Years ago it might have been fine to play on a standard body violin, but now, now there's Mark Wood and NS Design and now there's Rozanna's Violins, which explores the visual and sonic possibilities of the performer who's artistic output may incorporate visual drama, including the look of the violin.  Is it sacrilege to take a cue from the thriving guitar world and develop instruments with visual impact beyond the traditional look that has proven it's worth for centuries? Or is it Darwinism in action? Is it the violin and the violinist being forced to  evolve so that it may continue to serve a purpose in the world at large?

These are questions that percolating string players may choose to ask themselves. In the meantime, we'll keep making instruments, if for no other reason than the fact that they put a smile on children's faces.

Enterprise, Inspiration and Designer Violins

It's a funny thing being a classically trained violist, honed on concertos and International competitions, and at the same time, passionate about an enterprise that includes creating a line of string instruments, and having to evaluate my moves like a business person. Most of my career I considered the two paths - music and business - to be mutually exclusive.  As an artist I felt it important to share music without calculation. As a business person I must calculate the effects of my decisions on a monetary level and my ability to get the general public to respond positively to my business enterprises. I think the only way I can make sense of these opposing impulses is through spirituality and finding a way to create value in life.

Having a spiritually humanistic path in life, I am inclined to think the most certain road is one forged with hard work & planning plus illuminated with compassion. I suppose that may sound idealistic but the reason it makes sense to me is because for me, gain isn't just monetary, it's also the ability to create value, put simply, do some good through one's personal pursuits.

And so, when I originally conceived this concept for a line of instruments, starting with 'Designer Violins' that could stimulate children artistically on many levels, it was because I knew it was for perpetuating a musical evolution in the 21st century and had to begin with the way children are taught music.  Reading, not long ago, an article in the New York Times tracing the careers of several Juilliard graduates 10 years after graduating, there was a significant number that had to find jobs outside their musical training.  While some analysts might speculate this is because of the dwindling job market, such an attitude places zero responsibility on the artist to remedy the situation.  From my perspective this was primarily because their musical training didn't adequately prepare them to survive upon graduation and so they may have lacked the tools to adapt.

Mind you, my own path hasn't always been easy, despite some glowing moments and doors now opening. But I think there was something really great about my talent and life being forged amidst the flames of reality and having to hopefully turn into a diamond in the process. Because in the end, evolution, in it's cruelest Darwinian sense means we must adopt to survive. And compassion teaches me I must contribute something of value at the same time.

And so, as the business side of my thinking cap goes on, I fret over one design, vs. another, wonder if people will be open I am certain my pet project to create a line of children's and adults violins that delights children's hearts, and gives professionals the creative tools to be part of the huge landscape of possibilities, I'm quite certain our baby is right in rhythm with the universe.
The time has finally come.