Shift, Don’t Schlep

Those of you working with my course will perhaps know by now that a shift is a decisive move, made with the arm, from one position to another.

That being said, it is possible to be highly expressive with the movement. Obviously it is in slow tempos that a portamento – expressive slide – becomes attractive.

Now, there are portamenti and there are schleps.

The schlep is a lazy, unconscious movement that can either sound like the music is suddenly being played backwards or like an ‘unsightly bulge’ that mars the flow of the music.

Here is what you should be aware of while making a portamento slide.

Keep the bow speed constant. This is the biggest contributor to the ‘unsightly bulge’ schlep. There is a natural tendency for the right hand to mirror the left. When you make a quick move with your left hand the bow will want to speed up. Don’t make that mistake. All it takes is your awareness.

Next, keep the shape of your left hand left hand stable during the portamento. Many people start reaching with the finger they are shifting to before the shift. Not a good idea.

Also, the wrist should not flex either. The hand and forearm are one unit. If the shift will take you up into a high position then the wrist will flex during the portamento only to the extent necessary to accommodate the shape of the violin.

Portamenti can be made with any number of finger combinations. I can’t go into the permutations here, however, but I can say that all good expressive slides, whatever the fingering, display the same basic mechanics.

The last factor to consider is timing. The length of the portamento must fit the flow of the music and the effect you want to convey to the listener. Obviously this must be worked out on a case by case basis; but one should have some reason, however intuitive and personal, for the portamento. The shift speed should purposefully convey the meaning to the listener. In other words, feel, and infuse your shift with that feeling.

”Kreutzer for Violin Mastery, Vol. 1” deals with ‘clean’ shifts. It is a good idea to master those before exploring expressive shifts.

All the best,
Clayton Haslop

P.S. To really hear the beauty of expressive shifts one must, of course, listen to Kreisler. But don’t neglect the other masters of the 20th century, like Milstein, Shumsky, Grumeaux, Heifetz, Thibaut…the list goes on.