A Quick and Easy Approach to Developing and Maintaining Left Hand Balance for Viola

This approach is designed to be used as both a warm up for general playing and for remediation of specific challenges. It is divided into three sections.

 1. General warm up
 2. Finger specific intonation challenges
 3. Basic shifting

The first section is a general overall warm up which allows the player to focus on one specific area. I teach students to think about only one side of the body at a time which I call the hemispheric approach. A player should only focus on one hemisphere, or side of the body (left or right) at a time. So when a player is thinking about left hand issues, they should NOT also be thinking about bow hand/arm issues. I call this cross hemisphere thinking. In my teaching experience thinking about both sides essentially negates any positive action and often results in a negative action!

The exercises in this approach are meant to be memorized and done without looking at the music. Most of the exercises are short and repeated in exact sequence on each string to facilitate memorization. They are also structured to be simple so that the player can focus on the technique and not be visually distracted by the music.

The very first exercise is the most important in the book. Playing open strings helps the player focus on many issues – basic body balance, basic left hand balance (over the fingerboard), check of bow hand shape, bow relation to string, bow weight, tracking of the bow, and “warming up the sound” of the instrument. I encourage students to start slowly and use this as a daily check in to set up their postures before beginning to play. Experience has shown that when a player does this and other preparations as needed, they significantly reduce positioning errors which directly impact optimal sound production. In my teaching I use the word “optimal” when asking a student to evaluate their position and tone. There are many levels of “correct”, but students learn to listen and effectively do self-criticism to obtain their optimal sound.

The second section of the book addresses specific intonation challenges. I stress balance over the 3rd finger, not the first finger, to effectively balance the hand. When balance is placed over the 3rd finger the 4th finger is easily played in tune and the hand is freed to play both backwards and forward extensions accurately. A correct left hand balancing eliminates the “stretch” of the hand which often results in inaccurate intonation and physical stress of the hand. I ask students to do these exercises first looking at them and then playing them with their eyes closed. This accomplishes two things – they are more able to listen to themselves, and they are relying on muscular memory to play accurately.

The last section of the book focuses on basic shifting. Once the student understands how to correctly focus the balance of the left hand and is secure with their chin/shoulder relationship (creation of the “shelf”) or in cello the balanced seating position, they are ready to start shifting. I teach shifting very early. Traditional shifting in violin methods is not usually introduced until an intermediate/advanced stage. As the mother of a cellist I observed that cellists MUST learn to shift early on in order to play in different keys. If cellists can do it, why not violinists/violists? For very young students I will have a fingerboard tape for the 3rd finger when I first introduce this section. If done daily, the tape can soon be taken off. Again, playing these exercises first while looking at the music and then playing it with closed eyes quickly develops muscular memory and auditory acuity.

This book addresses many basic issues and can be used by beginning, intermediate, and advanced players. I have successfully used these exercises with all levels. While advanced students initially give me the “are you kidding?” look when I ask them to play some, they quickly see that while the exercises look simple, many can be beneficial for them. In fact, I have often used these exercises as a pretest for a student who has started with another teacher and is now working with me. I can quickly evaluate areas that may need remediation.

I consider this book a working document which I will be periodically updating. I hope it is helpful in your teaching.

-Rhona Reagen