JAVS Fall 1995

35

SHIFTING

by Roland vamos

T he art and skill of shifting from one position to another on stringed instruments has been examined in detail by numerous pedagogues over the span of the past two hundred years. Perhaps the main reason that new shifting study books keep coming out is that the techni cal and musical demands made on our string players are continuously evolving and expanding. This article outlines the kinds of shifts available to the performer, some of the major prob lems to be overcome, and some hints as to how these problems can be solved. My hope is that in this article I can organize a bulk of information into a useful outline that may have value to both the professional pedagogue and the student. any intelligent discussion of shifting can take place, we must be assured that the per former has a secure and stable hand-setting in all the positions. I am convinced that a good shift starts in one position (with hand correctly balanced to play in that position) and grad ually moves through all the intermittent positions in such a way that if the hand were suddenly stopped before the arrival point, it would be in the correct hand-setting for the position at which it was stopped. I that the student practice exercises in each position gradually going up each string. In position the student should develop a kinesthetic sense of how the hand feels in that position. Certain parts of the hand should be touching the neck or bout of the viola (depend on which position is being played). Once the student knows how each position on each string feels, it will be easier to maneuver from one position to another. In life, most of our concepts and expectancies are developed by hindsight. What was, gives us a rational basis for what probably will be. In shifting, I like to think in terms of "hind-feel." For example, in shifting from 1 st to 5th position, if we start by placing our finger on the arrival note (with the hand and arm in the proper position), we should be able to develop a kinesthetic sense of we are going and how it will feel when we arrive there. We should be sensitive to our points of contact with the bout of the instrument. Now we are ready to start on the note preced ing the shift. We must try to remember how the arrival note feels before we leave the old note. In this way we develop an a priori sense ofwhere we are going before we start the shift. Let us say for the purpose of analysis that there are two basic kinds of shifts: the Utilitarian shift and the Expressive shift. The Utilitarian shift is (as the title implies) a shift that is meant to move cleanly from one position to another. object is to make this shift so smooth that it is not audible. The Expressive shift, on the other hand, is intended to be heard. When discussing the Utilitarian shift, I find it best to temporarily replace the word "shift" with the term "finger replacement." By this I mean that the old finger rises straight up as the new finger comes straight down (as a pianist would do when playing two consecutive notes). The hand (and forearm in leaps) moves up or down the fingerboard, depending on the direction of the shift. What needs to be practiced is the coordination between the finger replacement and the arm or hand motion. At the exact moment that the fingers move, the arm must move.

2 I ~

2 1 I 2

2 1 1 2 :".

2 I 1 2 ,.,-.... :'\

Example 1