Books › Modern violin-playing, 1920 › scan 133
Scan 133
Modern violin-playing, 1920
18 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 65. See the scan on archive.org.
1low finger has been carried from the first position to its proper position in the third (or, perhaps, the second). The higher finger then stops the note desired.
3Let us give an example on the A-string. If we are to shift from C in the first position (second finger) to F in the third position (third finger), the thumb, hand, and forearm are moved until the second finger reaches E. At that exact moment the third finger is placed on F, and the second finger is raised.
5The other method of making the shift 1y is to place the tip of the third finger close to the tip of the second; and, as the shift is begun, to transfer the third in place of the second to the string. The shift is then continued with the third finger, until the latter arrives at F.
7In shifting downwards from the third to the first position, the chief difference lies in the thumb-technique. So long as movement was towards the body, there was no difficulty in supporting the violin. But now, in moving the hand away from the body, the tendency to draw the violin from under the chin has to be counteracted by a backward movement of the thumb, preliminary to moving the hand.
9It is scarcely convenient, when in the third position, to move the thumb so far back that it will be in its normal comfortable position when the hand reaches the first position. The thumb is therefore moved backwards only so far as is comfortable; and the movement is completed after the hand is in the first position.
11The shift 2z is, except for the difference in thumb-technique, performed in the same manner as the shift in the upward direction; and the same precautions are taken against moving the knuckle from the striking-plane.
13The shift 1z is performed by drawing the hand backwards until the high finger is in its normal position in the first position. It is then raised from the string, as the lower finger is pressed down. Thus, in shifting from F to C on the A-string, the third finger is carried downwards from F until it reaches D. At that exact moment it is raised and the second finger pressed down upon C.
15In making the shift 3z, the low finger moves backwards with the higher finger placed against it just above the string. Then, at the exact moment that it is passing the note to which the shift is being made, it is drawn out of the way and raised. At the same moment the higher finger is pressed down to the finger-board.
17This concludes our analysis of the whole shifting-technique, as between the first and third positions—a technique which is best
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