I'm having trouble with the reach. I'm on a 15" viola, and have only been playing for a couple of months. I've also been dealing with chronic shoulder bursitis/tendonitis for the past three years almost, and no matter what I do, I can't get that fourth finger up to the C string. Sometimes, I can get to G, but it's a struggle. The teacher I have now, virtually the only one in my state, within my country, told me that most violists barely use their fourth finger anyway, so not to worry. That...seems not quite right to me. I'm not looking to become a soloist or anything of that nature, but I do want to be able to play as well as I can. How is not being able to get my fourth finger up to the G and C strings going to impact my playing? Could I simply play the open string below, instead? I don't want to give up the viola for anything, but I also don't want to stay on bare beginner books, unable to progress because of my reach.
Hi there! Yes, we need to be able to use our fourth finger! You can try VERY SLIGHTLY collapsing your left wrist towards the neck to make it easier for your 4th finger to reach. The other thing I would suggest is only keeping your 3rd finger on the string to support the 4th finger- in other words, you should not keep your 1st and 2nd fingers depressed on the string when playing 4. Please let me know if either of these help!
These tips are great! I'm working on the last songs of the Suzuki book 1 and my poor left hand position was really causing me intonation issues when "jumping" between strings (like third finger positions weren't in the same spot on all strings), this solved that. Will make this part of my warm-up. Thank you!
Very helpful tips! I am placing my fingers on the tips. I struggle with finger placement and playing in tune. Do you have any videos that help with that?
That's half the battle! Are you practicing with a tuner or a drone? Are you singing the pitch before playing it? These tools will also greatly help improve your intonation. Lastly, if you are using the tuner make sure if the note is incorrect you don't go "fishing" for it- take note of whether it's too high or low, lift it up and make the adjustment, then reset it.
@@stringswithdrsulbaran I’m practicing with a tuner. I will try singing the note before playing it. And I will make note of the incorrect note rather than fish for it. Thanks.
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Thank You, have been looking for viola tips and your website came up. Much appreciated!
I'm so glad they help!
I'm having trouble with the reach. I'm on a 15" viola, and have only been playing for a couple of months. I've also been dealing with chronic shoulder bursitis/tendonitis for the past three years almost, and no matter what I do, I can't get that fourth finger up to the C string. Sometimes, I can get to G, but it's a struggle. The teacher I have now, virtually the only one in my state, within my country, told me that most violists barely use their fourth finger anyway, so not to worry. That...seems not quite right to me. I'm not looking to become a soloist or anything of that nature, but I do want to be able to play as well as I can. How is not being able to get my fourth finger up to the G and C strings going to impact my playing? Could I simply play the open string below, instead? I don't want to give up the viola for anything, but I also don't want to stay on bare beginner books, unable to progress because of my reach.
Hi there! Yes, we need to be able to use our fourth finger! You can try VERY SLIGHTLY collapsing your left wrist towards the neck to make it easier for your 4th finger to reach. The other thing I would suggest is only keeping your 3rd finger on the string to support the 4th finger- in other words, you should not keep your 1st and 2nd fingers depressed on the string when playing 4. Please let me know if either of these help!
Great instruction style Cassie.
Thank you! Not sure I can help much with clarinet left hand issues!
These tips are great! I'm working on the last songs of the Suzuki book 1 and my poor left hand position was really causing me intonation issues when "jumping" between strings (like third finger positions weren't in the same spot on all strings), this solved that.
Will make this part of my warm-up. Thank you!
I’m so glad they help! if there’s anything else I can help with please let me know🙂
Very helpful tips! I am placing my fingers on the tips. I struggle with finger placement and playing in tune. Do you have any videos that help with that?
That's half the battle! Are you practicing with a tuner or a drone? Are you singing the pitch before playing it? These tools will also greatly help improve your intonation. Lastly, if you are using the tuner make sure if the note is incorrect you don't go "fishing" for it- take note of whether it's too high or low, lift it up and make the adjustment, then reset it.
@@stringswithdrsulbaran I’m practicing with a tuner. I will try singing the note before playing it. And I will make note of the incorrect note rather than fish for it. Thanks.