Proper Violin Position Shifting
A lot of new violinists and even experienced ones get caught up the act of shifting.
It can be complex and awkward, and having improper technique only makes it several times more so.
But don't worry too much as there are a number of exercises you can do to make this particular aspect of violin playing simpler and a lot more enjoyable both for you and the audience.
Just don't go it alone too much! While some of these tips and exercises will help, best thing to do is practice them with a good tutor.
Violin position shifting should happen with incredible smoothness and should be very quick and unnoticeable.
There are many ways in which a violin player does this.
Between the notes, there is actually quite a lot going on that is very important to playing the instrument.
A good shift should happen literally by sliding the finger along to replace and advance on the previous finger's position, all while keeping the string muffled so as not to produce a sound.
Let me clarify this concept a bit more.
Think of playing a C on your A string with your second finger.
If you want to shift from here up to third position with your first finger, you want to remember the position of your second finger, then slide the first finger up alongside it so that it lines up with third position by advancing the second finger's note one step.
That is the smoothest and easiest way to shift.
You are essentially leveraging off of your brain's auditory memory and position placement to pull up a note and continuing where your second finger left off.
Now the key to making this motion without producing a sliding sound is to keep your finger on the string very gently as though playing a harmonic note.
If you place to much weight into your finger while shifting, it will hold down a note in between each note you are playing, and as a result, you will get extra sound in between each note.
This is not the effect you want.
By sliding along lightly as though playing a harmonic note, you create a natural muffle on the bow's sound.
And assuming you shift with speed and accuracy, the slight sound this motion might produce will go completely unnoticed in between notes.
Overall violin position shifting is not terribly difficult if you are willing to practice often and get the right methods down.
Just be sure to get a good teacher and a good system for learning or your progress will be stunted.
Anyone with a good teacher on the violin will be light years ahead of you!
It can be complex and awkward, and having improper technique only makes it several times more so.
But don't worry too much as there are a number of exercises you can do to make this particular aspect of violin playing simpler and a lot more enjoyable both for you and the audience.
Just don't go it alone too much! While some of these tips and exercises will help, best thing to do is practice them with a good tutor.
Violin position shifting should happen with incredible smoothness and should be very quick and unnoticeable.
There are many ways in which a violin player does this.
Between the notes, there is actually quite a lot going on that is very important to playing the instrument.
A good shift should happen literally by sliding the finger along to replace and advance on the previous finger's position, all while keeping the string muffled so as not to produce a sound.
Let me clarify this concept a bit more.
Think of playing a C on your A string with your second finger.
If you want to shift from here up to third position with your first finger, you want to remember the position of your second finger, then slide the first finger up alongside it so that it lines up with third position by advancing the second finger's note one step.
That is the smoothest and easiest way to shift.
You are essentially leveraging off of your brain's auditory memory and position placement to pull up a note and continuing where your second finger left off.
Now the key to making this motion without producing a sliding sound is to keep your finger on the string very gently as though playing a harmonic note.
If you place to much weight into your finger while shifting, it will hold down a note in between each note you are playing, and as a result, you will get extra sound in between each note.
This is not the effect you want.
By sliding along lightly as though playing a harmonic note, you create a natural muffle on the bow's sound.
And assuming you shift with speed and accuracy, the slight sound this motion might produce will go completely unnoticed in between notes.
Overall violin position shifting is not terribly difficult if you are willing to practice often and get the right methods down.
Just be sure to get a good teacher and a good system for learning or your progress will be stunted.
Anyone with a good teacher on the violin will be light years ahead of you!
