Teaching The Art Of The Shift In Orchestra Class
by Thomas Tatton Retired String Specialist
ttatton43@gmail.com
Reprinted from News Magazine of California MEA
alone. The ability to shift extends the range on each string including the upper string which then broadens the available repertoire.
T
or fingerings; avoids objectionable open strings or long notes on weak
It often eliminates awkward string crossings and/ fingers; facilitates
vibrato; and provides multiple
opportunities for expressivity. Now, we need to teach shifting to thirty or forty youngsters
all at the same time. Perhaps we want to provide guidance for better accuracy, smoothness and expressive qualities for our more advanced high school students. Even for a native string player this might seem a daunting task. The following are graduated tips and suggestions for motivated teachers who understand the possibili- ties and efficacy for an orchestra program which is engaged in the art of the shift. When do we start to teach shifting? The answer is: almost immediately. That is, when we first teach and insist upon accept-
Fingers, relaxed and curved, above the strings
1. the thumb seems jammed into the neck, 2. a feeling of sticky fin- gers on the fingerboard, 3. a heaviness in the arm and hand, and the 4th issue, which can be rem- edied early, is the fact that the floor does not support
the violin and viola as it does with cello and string bass. The up- per strings might be aided in the exercises below by bracing the scroll against a wall – being careful to place a cloth, pad or sponge between the scroll and the wall.
The solutions for successful shifting are both mental and physical.
able posture with our beginning students including a well set up left hand position. Checking left hand position for future success includes making sure the forearm is connected to the base of the palm in a relative straight line. For upper strings the elbow goes under the instrument; for the lower instruments the elbow points away from the instrument. For upper strings the thumb is placed on the neck of the instrument in a relaxed convex curve opposite the 1st and 2nd fingers. For lower strings, the thumb is centered in a relaxed convex curve under the neck opposing the 2nd and 3rd fingers. The final test of a well-positioned left hand is when the fingers are relaxed and curved, they fall on a middle string in a relative straight line.
TEMPO 44
A. The Rolland Shut- tle is an early shifting ex- ercise, but also an integral, efficacious exercise for ev- ery string class. Place the four fingers on a middle string in low position and tap four times; slide the whole hand up, including
the thumb, to a middle position and tap four times; slide the whole hand up to a higher position, tap four times. Repeat as desired. Paul Rolland (Footnote 1) and Loretta McNulty (Foot- note 2) and others recommend the use of the 8va harmonic – a positive variant! The “Shuttle” exercise can be effectively used in warm-up beginning with the first days of instruction through the most advanced orchestra program.
JANUARY 2014
he ability to shift and play in positions can catapult a beginning orchestra program, almost immediately, into an intermediate ensemble by that simple skill
The Rolland Shuttle on
When teachers insist appropriate
posture
they make the future shift possible. When they don’t insist, they make the fu- ture shift much more dif- ficult! Youthful players of- ten express four objections or difficulties in shifting:
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