Finger Faddle

When I think of the greatest left hand I have ever seen, it is, of course, the hand of Jascha Heifetz that comes to mind. Of course, mine is a close second…joking.

Few will ever match the crystal clear articulation, the sheer velocity, or the virtual perfection of intonation he exhibited.

We mustn’t be discouraged. We can all play beautifully in our own way. You know, it’s kind of like looking at trees. Yes, there is that occasional specimen that is soo perfect and majestic it takes your breath away.

But there are also those whose twisted trunks and branches fascinate the eye and captivate the imagination.

In short, there are many shapes and sizes of left hands. Most have unique strong points and weaker points.

But in every case, there are things to strive to DO with them, and things to avoid doing.

You do, for instance, want to position your hand such that all your fingers are out over the string you are playing on. You also do want to relax your forearm and keep you wrist in line with your forearm.

What I really want to bring to your attention, however, are pitfalls that are readily evident to a trained ear. Pitfalls that mar the results of some of the most touted players on stage today.

And ones that are really unnecessary to fall into.

Number one, be conscious of your use of vibrato. If you are playing a melodic line that calls out for your most luscious and beautiful tone, make sure you ARE vibrating on every note. There is nothing so disconcerting to me, as a listener, than hearing a vibrato which appears and disappears like the Chesire Cat in ‘Alice in Wonderland.’

Number two, stop using vibrato all together when the notes are moving at a clip such that you can’t get At Least one full oscillation in on each note. The classic example is in Bach.

I can’t tell you how many times I have heard violinists trying to vibrate the 16th notes in the first movement of the Bach Double. Bad Idea.

Number three, listen to your ‘portamenti’ with an objective ear. By this I mean, don’t just assume a slide sounds good because you are making it. LISTEN to it. I hear many otherwise very good fiddles today who are just lazy in this regard.

A ‘portamento’ is an expressive device and must be made with intention; with focus.

They are never lackadaisical drifts from one position to another. Unless, that is, you want your audience drifting away as soon as intermission arrives.

So, the bottom line is this. If you’re going to the trouble to play cleanly and with excellent intonation, don’t mar the final result not being on top of these little details.

All the best,

Clayton Haslop

P.S. I just learned that attendees to the Masterclass/Seminar must make their reservation with the Biltmore Inn by Monday, 5 pm EST to qualify for the exceptional rate we have been given. I am going to leave the ‘special’ in effect on the class until then to make the remaining few spots irresistible. Come join us.