Violin and Viola Shifting: A Technical Means to a Musical End

Shifting Possibilities

There are generally two kinds of shifts: audible and inaudible. Students must understand that both are equally essential and need to be used in different circumstances.

Audible shifts are used to create an expressive moment in the music. One name given to them is a portamento shift. A portamento shift makes a gliding sound. Shifting between two notes that are connected by a glide makes this sound. The sound made by a portamento shift is similar to a singer connecting two notes that are far apart. The expressive element is how the note is filled between the shift. The listener is made aware that this is an important musical moment. The sound provides an accent in the music. Carl Flesch used the term expressive shift. ¹ Shinichi Suzuki called a portamento shift a glissando–melodic shift. ² Nicolai Paganini popularized this shift when he played Air on the G String by J.S. Bach. ³

Inaudible shifts take a few forms. They are mechanical shifts, the sole purpose of which is to get from one note to another without the listener hearing the shifting motion. Inaudible shifts should not take away from the phrase but rather enable the performer to stay on one string, to play difficult passages without string crossings, and to play notes that are not in one position.

Within inaudible shifts are three basic forms, namely complete shifts (as termed by Ivan Galamian), delayed shifts, and extension/contraction shifts. Galamian termed the latter styles half shifts. ⁴

In the complete shift, both the hand and thumb move to the new position. This shift is an inaudible shift, the purpose of which is to get the fingers from one position to another. In the half shifts—both delayed and extension/contraction shifts—the thumb does not move and acts as an anchor. A delayed shift is when the hand follows later. ⁵ This shift is used to move to another position without the listener hearing but to help when the intervallic distance is large. This shift is good to use when the player is shifting down from a higher position to a lower position and helps to make the shift inaudible and successful.

Extension or contraction shifts are when players stretch their fingers into a new position. The hand stays in one position and the fingers then move either by extension or by contraction to borrow notes from other positions. Carl Flesch called this “creeping into positions” and added that when delaying the shift, players should be careful not to glissando in the process. ⁶

Shifting positions is an essential component of playing a stringed instrument. Webster's Dictionary defines shifting as “a change in direction, in music, a change in the position of the hand, as on the fingerboard of a violin.” Without shifting, a player would not physically be able to play higher notes, many passages would be impossible to facilitate, and a variety of musical ideas would not be realized. Leopold Mozart believed the three reasons to shift are necessity, convenience, and elegance. ⁷

How Shifting Emerged

As compositions became more demanding and treatises incorporated position work, violins and violas were adapted so that string players were able to play entire phrases in one position. ⁸ Later, as players experimented with sound and shifting possibilities, shifting in the middle of phrases became more common—not only in order to play high notes but also to create new colors in sonorities and to enhance phrases. Performers realized that shifting allowed them to better succeed in their musical intentions. In the 1800s, Baillot acknowledged a correlation between fingerings and musical expression. ⁹

Structurally, in the 1800s, the fingerboard on the violin and viola was lengthened, making it possible to play notes in higher positions and still retain the clarity of pitch. During this time, violas were rather large and awkward. The music composed for violas was not as demanding as that for violins, so a violist did not normally shift positions. As violas were altered and compositions became more demanding, shifting on the viola became an essential technical and musical element.

Today, some viola makers have altered the instrument design yet further with modern viola playing demands in mind. Makers have constructed violas so that the right shoulder of the instrument is no longer equally curved, but instead the shoulder is closer to the fingerboard of the instrument. This makes it possible for a player to move around the bout of the instrument with greater ease. Modern compositions often require violists to shift positions fast and use large intervals.

Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Shifting Views

Ideas about how to shift became more common in the late 19th to early 20th centuries. Pedagogies and taste in styles dictated rules about when to shift in musical compositions. As musical tastes and personalities experimented with shifting, many views on when to shift became part of the violin pedagogical tradition. Nineteenth century violist William Primrose advocated using open strings. ¹⁰ Primrose was concerned with the open-ring sound of the viola. In passages that required Primrose to play high notes—or when he wanted a particular expressive quality—he did shift, however.

Carl Flesch was troubled by the excessive use of shifting with no musical purpose. In his writings, he specifically mentioned portamento. Flesch felt that in shifting positions so frequently, the violinist created false accents in the music, and usually the shift was more for the performer's convenience rather than for an expressive effect. He felt that the musical line was disturbed by so many glissandos and that more inaudible shifts should be used. He stressed that audible shifts should only be used to bring out special moments in the music.

As we reflect on the historical progression of shifting and master teachers’ ideals about shifting, teachers must keep in mind that the main purpose of shifting today is to achieve a stylized musical interpretation. Shifting allows tone quality to be more varied and adds colors to musical phrases. Depending on the performer and genre, a player must keep in mind the intentions of the composer and choose fingerings that are related and appropriate for the music composed. When choosing a viola fingering, players must remember that Primrose cautioned, “to finger the viola like the violin is a cardinal error.” ¹¹

Some views on when to shift are noted below:

New players rely on their teachers to choose fingerings for them. As students become more knowledgeable, they can begin to address these questions and decide for themselves. Is this the sound I want to project to the audience? Is that the tone, timbre, or musical stress I need for the phrases to work? Does the shift allow me to move fast if the composition calls for it? Does the placement of my shift keep me in the musical boundaries set by the composer?

Useful Strategies in Teaching Shifting

Teachers should give students basic shifting exercises early on in their study. Once a student is able to play in first position and understands finger placement, basic glissando exercises are appropriate. These should then be followed with instruction on moving the whole hand from first to third position. Subsequently, when they need to shift in music, they have already experienced shifting their hands to another position.

Teachers can have students play a passage in first position and then—when they know what it sounds like—have them play the same passage but this time shifting positions. This exercise gives students confidence. When a student is working on a passage that has a difficult shift, help him or her to isolate the shift and practice the shift only. Then put the shift into the music. Another strategy is to play the passage backward. This procedure helps finger placement and also helps students to think about half and whole steps from a different perspective.

Flesch believes that musicians should apply their own ingenuity in solving fingering problems. The chosen fingering shows the performer's personal taste and understanding of the composer's musical intentions. Musical expression is dependent on the temperament, personality, and physical characteristics of the performer. Regardless of the many different ways to shift physically, the main issue should be the music itself.