By Claire Allen: It's time for the third event in the "Violympics" - violinist Nathan Cole's summertime program, inspired by the Olympics and designed to improve skills by posing a series of technical and musical challenges. Several hundred violinists and violists from around the world - including me - are participating in his paid course this summer.
The theme for technique this week was shifting, and it was toughest one yet for me.
![shifting]()
My challenges began the moment I started watching Nathans introductory video, titled "Goodbye, Ghost!" The first step in developing our shifting technique, he said, was to banish use of ghost tones in shifting. (Ghost tones are the floaty, airy sound that you get when playing a harmonic. These are different from guide notes, which one uses in old-finger shifts.) He pointed out that while he knows many teachers use this method when teaching students to shift, its not how he or "the greats" really shift, so its better just to learn it the right way from the beginning.
Having spent a long afternoon working on shifting with several of my own students - asking them to release to a harmonic, then shifting, then replacing the weight -- using "ghost tones," in other words, Nathan's statement brought up my defensive shields. I felt almost personally attacked!
Its easy, in some cases, to say, "Teacher is the expert, who knows far better than me, so I must be wrong and he/she must be right." As students, many of us fall into this mentality. But what if youve had multiple teachers, all experts in their fields, and their pedagogy conflicts?
To give a brief summary of the conflicting expert opinions I had in my head:
So who is right when the experts disagree? With so many teachers and players creating online courses and tutorial videos that anyone can access, its easier than ever to find different viewpoints on violin technique. Its common for each teacher to have their own following of students who firmly believe they have found "The One True Way" and that all other Ways are simply inferior. Also, there can be some disparity in the way teachers teach, and the way that their students interpret and apply those instructions.
When my own students are preparing to play in masterclasses or attend programs with different teachers, I tell them to try anything they are asked, to see if it works, and then to talk to me afterwards. Maybe we will decide to stay with how we have done it in the past, or maybe we all will have learned something new!
Learning to navigate different viewpoints with grace is an important skill - and as I was reminded this week, it's really hard when you encounter a new teacher who tells you the way you've been doing things (and the way your teacher, who you respect) is wrong.
So, what did I do? I took my own advice, and I followed Nathans assignments to the best of my ability, using the techniques that he recommended. Our material for the week was selected exercises from Otakar Sevciks Op. 8, which you can access for free on IMSLP:
Sevcik Op. 8
For Nathans helpful strategies for shifting, you can watch his YouTube video:
Never Miss A Violin Shift Again
One of the keys for shifting without a ghost tone is to be playing with minimal left hand pressure, and Nathan also has a YouTube video on that.
How To Find Your MVP
My shifting *did* improve quite a bit this past week. I found Nathan's focus on the timing of the shift, particularly in coordinating it with bow changes or slurs, to be really useful, as well as his method of practicing the shift slowly enough that you can actually hear your arrival to the new pitch. I have heard that advice from multiple teachers, so it was nice to be reminded.
So, whats the "right" shifting technique? For me, I think it depends a lot on musical context. Im sure that there are musical examples where each of the shifting techniques I described above would be applicable and effective. In my own playing, I'll try multiple strategies and see what works the best for each shift.
For my students, I am going to continue teaching as I have been. It is working for me and for them, and I think theres a big difference between teaching a young player to shift for the first time and teaching professionals and adults to refine their already-existing shifting technique.
This week brought up a lot of questions about what forms a shifting technique, and I encourage you to reflect on these for yourself and see if clarifying the answers also helps you in your shifting technique:
- Nathan was saying to play with what he calls "MVP" ("Minimum Violin Pressure"), with the left hand, to leave the weight of the finger into the string when shifting, and to initiate the shifting motion with the finger. Nathan, of course, is first associate concertmaster of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, a soloist, and a teacher whose students have improved their professional careers due to his coaching.
- My grad school teacher taught me to strike the strings forcefully with my left fingers, and almost to leap when shifting. The point of reference for big shifts is the angle that the hand and wrist make against the violin for each position. This idea comes from an equally qualified professional violinist who is a teacher at a major conservatory, has won multiple awards in international violin competitions, and has several students who have gone on to careers as performers and teachers.
- My pedagogy teacher, and most recent private teacher, taught me to release to harmonic finger weight, shift from the whole arm with the finger lightly gliding on the string, and then to drop the weight back into the string when arriving at the new position. This comes from a highly respected pedagogue who performs professionally as a chamber musician and orchestral player, teaches at the preparatory and conservatory level, and has had several students go onto become professional performers and teachers.
- What part of your body initiates the shift?
- Does your finger change shape when you shift? Do you *want* your finger to change shape as you shift?
- How heavy is your finger when you shift?
- How do you measure the distance between positions?
- Are you really listening to yourself when you shift?
- Do you use guide fingers? Why or why not?
- How fast do you shift?
- How are you coordinating the shift with the bow hand?