9/3/2018 How to develop left-hand finger strength | Focus | The Strad
How to develop left-hand nger
strength
13 AUGUST 2014
Up and down movement is the basis of left-hand technique and many pedagogues have invented endish
exercises to improve it. Rok Klopčič takes a look at some of them
To play even the most simple
melody we must stop the string
in order to de ne pitch, making
vertical nger motion the
central element of left-hand
technique. As a result it has
received much attention, many
different kinds of exercises and
more than the usual amount of
incorrect advice.
This includes the
recommendation, made by
Flesch, Dounis and Menuhin,
that every nger should fall with
its natural weight. S. Mittelmann
and František Ond?í?ek disagree
with this idea in their 1909
violin method. They argue that
nger movements are made
with the ne-control muscles of
the arm, hand and ngers.
Natural weight, therefore,
cannot play any role; even if the
ngers could function without
muscles, using their own weight,
this would not involve enough
force. To stop a string the
necessary weight is
approximately between 170 and
360 grams, depending on the
string and the point of contact
of the left-hand nger, as Otto
Szende observes. Any suggestion of the in uence of gravity on ngers is equally invalid.
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The placing of the ngers on the string and the roles of different muscles in the arm and hand during this action are
very complicated. The two aspects of the vertical movement have been given different names: what Dounis
describes as the ‘down’ impulse is also called ‘ nger fall’ by Galamian or ‘ nger drop’ by Rolland; Dounis’s
corresponding ‘up’ impulse is termed ‘lifting’ by both Galamian and Rolland, who also calls it the ‘release of the
string’. All these terms are clearly not in accordance with the physiology of this movement. Nevertheless the terms
‘dropping’ and ‘lifting’ are generally used: hopefully they will not obscure understanding of the real action.
The dropping of the ngers should be done with ‘a live, springlike action’, according to Rolland. The authorities warn
against using too much force in this action. Galamian warns that ‘banging and pressing is apt to build tensions that
are dangerous,’ against which Rolland suggests: ‘After an articulate impact, relax the nger and allow it to vibrate.’
Dounis offers the following way of judging whether the movement is relaxed enough:
‘A free vibrato [is] the only real test of using… ngers in a correct way.’
Dounis also recommends that the lifting off should be done in the same ‘energetic manner’ as dropping the nger
on to the string. Along with Rolland, he also recommends practising with exaggerated action, although Galamian
disagrees with this. The most practical advice is that of Ricci, who urges practising oft-neglected left-hand
pizzicato.
The trill is the most elaborate form of vertical nger movement. With its many variants it is a sparkling element of
virtuoso playing and provides a valuable area of violin exercise. Short trills are a frequent and characteristic
ornament from Tartini to contemporary times, with Kreisler’s cadenza for Tartini’s ‘Devil’s Trill’ being one of the
most tricky examples. Among the most dif cult types of trills are those on a pedal, either above or below the
melody, while thematic material is played on one of the adjacent strings, for example in Wieniawski’s Souvenir de
Moscou. Even harder and more expressive is the tremolo trill in different intervals above or under the melody.
There are countless exercises for vertical movement, the best of which aim at improving the actual movement and
the trill as well as the general mechanics. The works of Henry Schradieck and Otakar Šev?ík recognise the
importance of the vertical movement, abounding with different approaches to the problems. Successors had
dissenting opinions of Šev?ík’s works: Flesch praised them, while Yankelevich rarely used them.
In his Urstudien, Carl Flesch presents some exercises without the bow; among them are some for vertical nger
motion. Heifetz acclaimed these exercises, saying: ‘Perhaps the best studies for the trill and those I use myself are
written by Carl Flesch.’ (picture 2, example 1)
According to Ricci: ‘Short trills develop strength, but with elasticity,’ and he considers Study no.6 from Dont’s op.35
as ‘perhaps the best’ for this purpose. He has transcribed it for left-hand pizzicato (picture 2, example 2).
Dounis wrote his work The Absolute Independence of the Fingers as a ‘lifetime study companion’ for developing
what he describes as ‘strength, solidity, surety, pliability and individuality of the ngers… in a phenomenal degree of
perfection’. Picture 2, example 3 is one of his exercises in which there is a different type of movement happening on
every string. On the E string a note is held with the fourth nger; on the A string there is the vertical movement of
the third nger; on the D string the second nger moves horizontally; and on the G string the rst nger is engaged
in lifting for the pizzicato. Dounis describes this as ‘combining all four movements’, saying that it ‘demands constant
mental activity and the utmost concentration of the brain’.
It is important to practise all the variations of movement, and Mittelmann and Ond?í?ek assert that ‘exercises in the
high positions deserve special attention. They strengthen the small muscles in the hand.’ Konstantin Mostras
invented exercises which bring ‘simultaneous metrorhythmic joining of notes with different values’. He claims that
these exercises strengthen the ngers more than any other exercise, helping to attain ‘rhythmic discipline’ (picture
2, example 4).
For Henryk Szeryng, in the quest for excellent intonation it is not enough to practise dropping the ngers in the
right place. With small intervals one must be able to draw the ngers close to each other, and to strengthen the
appropriate muscles he recommends practising thirds in the harmonic minor.
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Harold Berkley recommends
Paganini’s Caprice no.6, saying
that: ‘Probably no ner etude
has ever been written for
developing strength,
independence and exibility of
the ngers.’ In this piece tremolo
illuminates the melody, but this
exquisite beauty is created by
some sadistic combinations of
concurrent vertical, horizontal
and lateral movements. Further
left-hand pizzicato can be found
in Šev?ík’s op.1 no.4 and in many
compositions by Paganini and
Sarasate, which can be used as
an energising element for
vertical movement of the ngers
and therefore one’s whole
technique.
This articles was rst published in The Strad's February 2005 issue. Subscribe to The Strad or download our
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