Three Common Left Hand Problems (Violin) and How to Fix Them

[erjoy1]

GOD bless you,you are a very good person ,and you are a super teacher.thank you very much.

[brian777999]

okay....that sounds good.

[naidamarie11]

I have the problem of not having my palm facing the neck for notes on the A and E string. How can I fix that?

[RedDesertViolin]

@naidamarie11 Naidamarie11---this is not necessarily a problem. Try this: Put all 4 fingers on your E string, let them lightly rest on the string. (don't press) Make sure they are ALL curved. (observe your palm) Then place them on the G string, relax, lightly touch the string, keep them CURVED (especially pinky). observe your palm. The important thing is the curvature of your fingers (esp.pinky), not so much strictly keeping your palm facing the neck. There are no absolutes! --L

[brian777999]

But the shoulder rest tends to make students clench the violin between their jaw and their shoulder causing all sorts of physical problems. By learning to play without the shoulder rest or, at least, not relying on it to hold up the violin, alleviates these problems before they happen.

[RedDesertViolin]

@brian777999 I don't agree. I think some people can learn to play naturally without a shoulder rest, but other body types most definitely need one. I use a shoulder rest, and my posture is perfectly relaxed, and so are my students. But,I would never force my students to use a shoulder rest if they didn't want one, and it has happened. ---L

[brian777999]

What about playing without a shoulder rest ? The violin neck must rest on the knuckle of the thumb ; this is the way it was played for hundreds of years before shoulder rests were invented.

[RedDesertViolin]

@brian777999 To each his own, Brian. Of course playing without a shoulder rest is another approach, but it's not my approach, so I don't pretend to be an expert in it.

But I offer you this: mountain climbers also didn't use goretek or oxygen for hundreds of years! ;-) That doesn't mean that goretek and oxygen has somehow fouled the sport!

[tmerlin31845]

great. thanks for this vid. sooo helpful.

Terry, England

[fleite34]

This was a very, very nice explanation. I'm dealing with the pinch problem using my thumb and the index first finger to do it and it all has to do with the shoulder rest problem. Thank you so much !

[aimson]

Thanks. I was having trouble with the first problem and gripping too tightly. The technique of moving the thumb back and forth while playing was the most effective way of dealing with it for me.

[maplehillacademy]

Here I was hoping you were going to show a solution to the "flat wrist" problem.... I am trying HARD not to become a parent that threatens her children because they play with the flat wrist.

[RedDesertViolin]

@maplehillacademy By "flat wrist" you mean that it doesn't bend in OR out? In my opinion, that is a GOOD thing! --L

[maplehillacademy]

@RedDesertViolin No - I mean the pancake hand - where the wrist bends so the violin is being held up by the palm of the hand.

In this video - for number 3 problem you show the wrist/hand bent out, and said it is often caused by overcompensating (being threatened by the parent) for the problem my kids have....

[RedDesertViolin]

@maplehillacademy LOL! I understand now! Well...at least you can't be blamed! And at least their wrists bend IN. It's MUCH worse for them to bend out! Hey, here's an idea. I find that applying OPPOSITE pressure to what you want causes the child to make the connection.

I'll explain: If someone holds their violin too low, I hang a grocery bag with a weight inside from their scroll to make them ACTIVATE the muscles of holding the violin UP. If you (continue on next post)

[RedDesertViolin]

@maplehillacademy If you take your child, help them get their wrist STRAIGHT, then tell them, "I'm going to try to push your wrist IN. I bet you can't stop me from doing it". Or make some sort of "challenge" out of it. Then, your child will be using his/her OWN muscles to push their wrist OUT instead of being lazy and holding it in. Let me know if you try this! --Lora

[ernyberny]

Returning to violin after 25 years, great to see your clear demo and explanation, thank you.

[anonymuis]

anyway thanks for the vid! I'm left handed playing right handed. at this time i don't see i have problem from the three problems you've mentioned. But who knows...I'll get a mirror and look at my left hand during playing my violin.

[RedDesertViolin]

@anonymuis Good for you! I always say what my mom always said: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" It's the only time I heard her use bad grammar!!! LOL

[Schonentag]

@RedDesertViolin thank you so much you are a great teacher

[RedDesertViolin]

@Schonentag Thank you for the kind words, Schonentag! --L

[anonymuis]

I got shocked and almost dropped my violin when watching your vid bcoz I heard someone farted! for second I thought it was you because I was totally alone, or so i thought! But my dog came out of my walk-in closet and I was like,"WTF?!?!?!" -__-

[RedDesertViolin]

@anonymuis HOW DID I MISS THIS COMMENT??? LOL.....well....if it was ME, I would have EDITED it out!!! LOL

[TheClassicalist]

i had the 3rd problem too, but that's because i'm a guitarist lol

[bballrocks85]

Thanks this helped a lot!

[RedDesertViolin]

@bballrocks85 @dfmarie07 You're welcome! I'm glad to know the video was helpful.

[dfmarie07]

Thank you so much. :D You helped me so much thank you.

[fortune47]

I call the "S" curve the "twisty wristy". My students like the sound of the name....and all I have to do is say the words to point it out to them. ALSO - left hand pinky pizz on the D or G helps to straighten the wrist out.

[RedDesertViolin]

@fortune47 I LOVE THAT IDEA! (I'd heard that somewhere once before, but had forgotten about the left hand pizzicato to straighten out the left hand......) Thank you for reminding me!

[fortune47]

I call the "S" turn the "twisty wristy". My students like the sound of the name....and all I have to do is say the words to point it out to them.

[misterjoescan]

I'm finding left hand so difficult to correct after years of playing in a completely wrong hold : - (

[RedDesertViolin]

@misterjoescan Yes, breaking old habits and forming new ones can be very frustrating. But first ask yourself if you are happy with your playing as it is now.....are you able to do the things you want to do on the violin? If the answer is yes, then maybe you don't need to change anything! But if the answer is no, then some of your bad habits are probably holding you back, and it will be WELL WORTH IT to make the changes!

[misterjoescan]

@RedDesertViolin i'll give it one year and see how i get on. Yeah my poor hold is holding me back alright.

Thanks for the reply

[HEIGHTSIXFIVE]

I've been playing for a few months, never had a real lesson (just one on how to tune the violin off Youtube) and I can play almost any song I can think of (not perfectly of course). I already play the Irish tin whistle, guitar, and piano, and I'm pretty good at those. The violin is my newest instrument to overcome.

[RedDesertViolin]

@HEIGHTSIXFIVE I'm jealous of people who are versatile and can "pick up" on instruments quickly. Good luck on violin!

[HEIGHTSIXFIVE]

@RedDesertViolin Thank you. I'll need it, and a lot more practice. :)

[EuPrieto]

HO NO I GOT I ALL !!!!! NOOOOOOO

JAJAAAJ

WELL NO VERY HARD BUTTTTTTTTT I FOUND SOMETIMES I DO I PERFECT AND SOME I HAVE ONE OF THE 3

IS SUCKS :(

[RedDesertViolin]

@EuPrieto LOL! You make me laugh! The first step is AWARENESS of the problem, which you have! Next, you need to correct ONE at a time.....I'd focus on ONE problem per week, start on easy stuff, then see if you can get through your toughest material without "relapsing". Once you have worked for a week on each problem, then go back to your EASY stuff (a scale, your beginning songs) and try to concentrate on ALL THREE. Then try your hardest song. You'll find it BENEFITS you to do it right. goodluk!

[EuPrieto]

this is great !

thank you I have problems wit he second and third ho my god!!

[dwaynedibbly]

thanks ill give it a go

[dwaynedibbly]

I have an issue wehre I go to put my finger on another string but my finger touches the previous string so the note on the previous string messes up and sounds scratchy as I move the bow form one string to the other. I don't know what this would be called. What would it be called plus how do I fix it?

[RedDesertViolin]

@dwaynedibbly This sounds like a BOW issue, not a Left Hand issue. Well, I take that back. It is an issue with getting BOTH HANDS in sync with one another. Your bow is arriving at the new string more quickly than your left hand.

To fix this, I would practice hopping your fingers from the G string, to the D, to A, and to E.

More in the next comment....

[RedDesertViolin]

@dwaynedibbly So, you would play 1 on G, 1 on D, 1 on A, and 1 on E. Then play 2 on G, 2 on D, 2 on A, and 2 on E, etc. You will focus on getting the BOW and the FINGER onto the new string at EXACTLY the same millisecond.

Get creative, and try to make it more difficult, maybe try doing 4 fast bows, then change strings, and to 4 fast bows on the new string. (G:1111, hop to D1111, hop to A1111, hopt to E1111) Then I'd try THREE fast bows in a row. This forces the string x on an UP BOW. Harder!

[situkwokhan]

hi many i just asked. when you trying to break the habit of squeezing the violin you play w/o the thumb. then how do you press the strings?doesn't it gives you harmonic notes?

[RedDesertViolin]

@situkwokhan That is a common misconception. The THUMB does not oppose the downward pressure of the fingers--the shoulder rest and the weight of your head does that job. Also, it only takes a tiny amount of pressure to make a "real" note as opposed to a harmonic note, so your neck and head should not suffer. Use your left thumb to give STABILITY to your fingers, but not to OPPOSE them. Get a good shoulder rest! Let me know how it goes! ---Lora

[RedDesertViolin]

Where are you? Italy? Are you really rude? :-) Thanks for the kind words! I will be launching my online violin lessons soon....keep an eye out. And I'll continue to post helpful hints on YouTube as well. By the way...I loved the Bach Prelude on your channel....beautiful playing!

[RedDesertViolin]

I hope I interpreted your screen name correctly...."Rude Italian"?

[ruuditalien]

The teacher I would like to have in my area is YOU! But life plays strange tricks: we're thousands miles apart!

[questezza]

Exactly the video I needed! Thank you. Will try the arrow across the knuckle trick.

[RedDesertViolin]

@questezza Thanks for the nice comment! Feel free to visit my blog at RedDesertViolin, and you can ask other questions if you need to. --Lora

[RedDesertViolin]

Thank you, "Deathviolin247"!

[deathviolin247]

such a great teacher!