Left Hand Intelligence

You know, in all my teaching, the recent masterclasses included, I can count on one hand the number of people who did not have an issue with tension in the left hand.

Part of this I think stems from a misunderstanding of proper relationship the fingers of left hand should have with the strings.

We’re just pushing them down too hard!

It’s time to lighten up, to focus on gently stretching the hand along the horizontal plane of the fingerboard, and acquiring an independence of the fingers.

So here’s a little exercise that I just gave participants at the recent masterclass. Start with all 4 fingers resting on the G string in first position. The first finger will be on A natural. The others on B, C, and D respectively.

Now, without pushing the string down, and without moving the other fingers, gently slide the first finger back to A flat. Next, SLOWLY lift the other fingers so they are poised just over the string.

Now, put some gentle pressure on the string with the first finger but not enough to push the string all the way down to the fingerboard.

Now you are ready to begin playing a chromatic scale moving up the G string in half-steps; 1-1,2-2,3-3,4-4. You will arrive at D#.

As you go keep the fingers you have played down, gently resting on the string.

After the G string you can gently extend your first fingers back and over to E flat on the D string. Again, gently lift 2, 3, and 4 off the string but keep them suspended out over the string. Now repeat the process going up the D string.

Do this slowly using one bow for each finger’s movement.

And remember, the string should never be pushed all the way down to the fingerboard. Play this in piano listening for a very transparent quality to your tone. Do use a full bow for each pair of notes, however.

This little exercise will relax your hand, give it the proper shape over the string, and stretch it laterally. It is important to us a very light touch on the fingerboard.

OK, I said I was going to make an announcement about the next masterclass and share something written by an attendee at the recent class. These will have to wait until tomorrow. I suggest, however, that you stay tuned.

All the best,

Clayton Haslop

P.S. This is the kind of approach that makes violin practice akin to meditation. ”Kreutzer for Violin Mastery”
will take you deeply into this way of playing.