Posted on May 25, 2008 by Fabienne Castel in Shifts - Left Hand/Arm
I’ve seen many teachers talk about different ways of preparing shifts- some use a big wind up motion from the elbow, others simply raise the elbow. It seems to me though, that any of these preparation methods are simply tricks to loosen the back and employ the bigger muscles of the upper arm and back in the shift. I prefer to cut to the chase and consciously release the back muscles a moment before shifting upwards (upwards in terms of pitch). I teach my students to do this by having them place their left hand in a high thumb position and just sitting there for a moment, while bringing their attention to the position of their shoulder and upper back. Then I have the student jump back to first position to feel the contrast in the shoulder and back position. Unless the student has extremely long arms, there should be a significant difference. After jumping back and forth a few times to get accustomed to the position of the back in the two different locations, I have the student return to first position. Without actually shifting, I ask them to allow the muscles in their back to fall to the position that they would be in if the hand was much farther up the fingerboard. This is the homing device. As soon as the back muscles are relaxed into that position, the hand wants to fall to join the group, and by releasing the fingers from the string, the hand should do exactly that. I think it feels like the hand is attracted to that new position and is being pulled there by gravity. It takes some practice to be able to fall down the string rather than off the cello and down to the ground, but it really should be a feeling of falling, not controlled movement.
To return to a lower position the opposite motion must happen. First the back muscles must return to first-position position, and then the hand will want to go back. To shift backwards, the feeling in the back is not so much that of release, but more of drawing the muscles back into their regular upright position.
With practice, the student should be able to fine-tune the degree to which they release or draw the back muscles back up. This controls what position they land in. For example, if the student wants to shift to a very high position, the back muscles will need to be released more completely than if they are only shifting up to the middle of the fingerboard. It is also important to remember that this release or drawing in of the back muscles should happen a split second before the shift actually takes place.
Personally I love the feeling of relaxation that this technique provides on shifts, especially on big shifts to high notes that could otherwise be somewhat scary. My shifts are a million times more accurate and comfortable ever since I starting thinking of it in this way, and the homing device sensation provides a real sense of confidence that I cannot miss. I admit that it takes most students quite a while to really get it, because they have trouble just letting themselves fall to the note. Often they over-exaggerate the back motion by forcing their shoulders down or forward, rather than just allowing it to soften and drop. I’ve seen many students attempt this by contorting their shoulders into all kinds of terrible shapes, which of course I discourage. If any other teachers have a better way of explaining this same idea, I’d love to hear about it. It really works, but it’s difficult to put into words.