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FILM #6: PRINCIPLES OF LEFT HAND FINGER ACTION (book chapter 8)

OVERVIEW: Principles of left hand placement and finger action are explained and demonstrated by artists and students. Concert and recording artists Robert Gerle, Leonard Sorkin and Paul Rolland demonstrate the principles of left hand balance, angle, elevation, and thumb placement in a variety of action shots.

1. Preparation of the left hand and fingers and their placement on the fingerboard

2. Don’t hold the violin neck in the palm; temporarily favoring the lower or upper fingers by shifting the balance of the left hand

3. Left hand elevation; lower and higher hand placement according to the shape of the artist’s hand and fingers; over elevation and under elevation of the left hand

4. Thumb placement; the problem of excessive thumb pressure and rigidity; the problem of squeezing the neck between the thumb and first finger

5. The angle of finger placement; elbow position under the violin and how it affects finger angle; demonstration of these principles by artist players