Why I Don’t Use My Wrist and Fingers

Last night, as I lay awake staring at the ceiling, I thought about some of the things Milstein said to me. I then remembered a fellow playing for him at the class at the first class I attended who was having a devilish time getting through the 5th Caprice of Paganini.

He kept tying himself up in knots when he came to the parts with a lot of string crossings.

As I watched the guy’s bow arm I could see nothing particularly wrong with it. But something was certainly going on with it. He kept starting and stopping like an car with a bad alternator.

Finally Milstein stood up and put an end to it. He said, with his strong Russian accent, ‘Vhy you play with so much wrist?’

‘Because I need my wrist to get the bow to bounce,’ the student responded.

‘I don’t use my wrist to play spiccato,’ Milstein replied.

At this point my jaw began to drop. Don’t use your wrist for spiccato? I thought Everybody used their wrist to bounce the bow.

‘Play from shoulder,’ Milstein went on, ‘like this.’

He then proceeded to start the presto section of the Caprice. And let me tell you, it was incredible; fast, fluid, and full of ‘caprice’ and invention.

Now, I didn’t see his shoulder moving one bit. What I could see moving was his upper arm and, to a lesser extent, his fore-arm. His wrist and fingers looked like they were sculpted from stone. Absolutely no movement there.

I must admit that I was at first a little confused by what I was seeing. After all, he had said ‘play from the shoulder.’ But it just looked relaxed and down. Later that day, as I walked back to the place I was staying, it came to me. He meant to use the muscles Behind and in front of the shoulder to move the upper arm.

Wow, who would’ve thought to play spicatto with the muscles in your back and chest.

Today I have reached a compromise with my own physique. My arms are long. And I would also venture to say that Most people’s arms are longer than Milstein’s – he stood about 5’2’’ in his stocking feet. So I use mostly forearm to generate a spiccato and I recommend Most students who work with me do the same – short armed players get to use the upper arm.

But I Definitely counsel against flapping around with the wrist and fingers. And here’s why.

You want the use the fewest moving parts possible to play the instrument. If you’ve got your fingers, wrist, forearm, and upper arm all active as you manipulate the bow across the strings you’re asking for trouble, big time.

Now, I won’t say it’s Impossible to be effective that way. But it will be one in a hundred that is, truly.

Milstein was a master of efficiency. His career spanned 70 YEARS as a result. In fact, his career stands as one of the longest careers of a world class performer in music history.

Learning his way of Thinking about violin playing is the smartest move a player at any level can make. Well, that’s the kind of thinking you’ll get at the master class in Sedona – and tailored specifically to your individual needs.

By the way, I’ve decided to accept only 12 players into this master class. I want each participant to get all the attention he or she deserves for putting their trust in me.

I hope you will be one of them.

All the best,

Clayton Haslop
P.S. A couple of spots have already been spoken for. The low, earlybird tuition will not last long so I’d make up your mind double quick if a nice discount is something you appreciate. http://www.violinmastery.com/masterclass.htm