Fearless Shifting

It’s early morning here in Los Angeles. A layer of fog covers the San Fernando Valley, which lies just below my perch in the Santa Monica Mountains. Imagine it will burn off soon and turn into another day of hot weather.

In any case, I’ve been thinking about violin playing, as the sky brightens, particularly of those things that separate the well-trained player from the rest of the pack. One that came to mind immediately, perhaps because I think of it often in practice, is the way in which we get from position to position; shifting.

Shifts often bring with them a certain kind of anxiety, or insecurity, do they not? We all miss the mark at one time or another.

Now, if the root cause of a miss isn’t dealt with quickly and effectively, the insecurity will take hold, along with the potential bad habit(s) that led to the error.

Here is the chain of events. The eye sees, in the music, a large interval jump that requires a significant shift. In a flash you realize, “I really don’t know the position of that note or what it feels like to get there!” There is a fear response.

Adrenaline races into the bloodstream, the “fight or flight” decision must be made. There are two possibilities.

One can run away from the shift; either stop playing or skip over a note(s).

Or, one can go for it – project the hand toward your ‘best guess,’ and hope for the best.

Neither scenario sounds or feels appetizing to me now. Years ago I had some good instruction, you see. And I invested time and money, building an understanding of what “deliberate practice” is all about as it pertains to shifting. There are a number of critical elements that apply.

A sense of the “timing” of the shift (how much time is allowed for it) is imperative. Of course, the distance must be known quite intimately for us to set the timing. Knowing the distance is a matter of learning the fingerboard with as uniform a hand position as is possible.

In my two weekly instructional DVD courses, “Beginners Circle” and “Allegro Players,” these and other fundamentals aspects of good shifting are covered in great detail, beginning with simple shifts and moving forward. I can’t imagine a better investment of time and money for beginning and intermediate violinists wanting to improve.

Click here for more info on Beginners Circle.

Now go shift yourself into HIGH gear!

All the Best, Clayton Haslop

P.S. Learn more about Allegro Players for Intermediate Players and Above