Knowing Where You Are Going

I'm reminded of the story about a French violin student who was talking with his teacher and said to him how difficult it was for him to play in tune. Well, the teacher looked at the student and said the following, "But, you know, what's the problem? I mean, all one has to do is to figure out where the note is, and then you simply keep putting your finger there." Some of my colleagues have been annoyed by that story, but you have to admit that, just like the teacher said, he did solve the student's problem, at least from a certain point of view.

So, what exactly do I mean by telling the story? Well, I guess I'm simply saying that you need to know where you're going in order to get there, that you need to understand where you're going to put your finger on the string, before you can know where you're going to put your finger on the string. So how can we know this? Well, it requires a slight shift in our understanding of how to practice, as practicing will become the understanding of, or knowledge about what you need to do to get your finger to a predetermined place. In other words, knowing where you're going before you get there.

So, I guess this all starts by determining where you're going, like this. Suppose I wanna find a C-sharp. Well, now I know where that C-sharp is. And what do I need to do? I keep putting my finger there. How do I know that? Well, let's look. First off, there's an A, a B, a whole step away and a C-sharp. So if I find that pattern, I keep putting my finger there, and, voila, it's done.

So, why don't we look at a shift on the G string, say, from a first finger A on the G string to a harmonic, very high up, like in the last movement of the Wieniawski D minor concerto. Rather than trying to get to the note from the bottom to the top, wouldn't it be simpler, maybe a better idea to find out where the note is and then slide back down to the A first finger and then immediately return to the harmonic the same way we came down, like this? I mean, isn't that logical? We started from where we were going, went back to where we started from, and then went to where we were going. That seems very logical to me. But, you know, my students often tell me that what I say is a bit counter-intuitive. Well, perhaps that's true. But, I mean, it does work.

Okay then, what about trying to get from an A first finger on the G string to a third finger C-sharp on the E string? To do this, I need to introduce you to my fingering board. This fingering board came into existence when I was teaching in France. You see, I needed a tool to help the students visualize the fingerboard, and, voila, I came up with this graphic. Each dot is a half step away from the other so we can map out how to get from one place to another. Over the years, though, it's gotten more precise, so the latest one looks like this.

Now that we have it, let's map out a way to get from that A to that C-sharp. First, let's do it on the fingering board, my fingering board, okay? Here is the A. From there, we will go straight across to the F-sharp, then to the A with the third finger. That's on the E string. Now, I'm gonna replace it with the first finger, then my C-sharp is only two whole steps away.

So, tell you what, using that diagram, why don't we look at my fingers doing this on the violin? First we have the A. Now, going across E, B, F-sharp, I'm now going to go whole step and a half step, and I have an A. I'm now going to go and replace that A with my first finger, whole step, whole step. So, here we go. You see, I've now mapped out how to get from here to here. Doesn't mean I have to do all the steps. I reduce the steps. Now, when I have to play, I can find it, it's reliable, it's accurate.

Okay. So, once I wanted to visit my cousin in Gary, Indiana. I decided to drive to Gary from Nashville, Tennessee, where I lived, but I didn't have his address. I just remembered what it looked like the last time I was there. Well, I got to Gary, but five hours later, I still had not found his house. I finally went to a phone booth and called my grandmother to get the address and telephone number so that I could call them and ask for directions. What a waste of time. You know, it would be like leaving from an A on the G string and trying to find that harmonic without having an address, or without having any knowledge of where I'm going. It would be like leaving from the A and trying to find that harmonic I have no idea where it is. It'd be like leaving to Gary, Indiana without an address. I think you really need to know where you're going.

So, as I've just explained, knowing where you're going is something quite useful. One might say that it is a prerequisite to achieving, as you really do have to know where you're going before you can figure out how to get there. My name is William Fitzpatrick, and I am the Temianka Professor of Violin at the Hall-Musco Conservatory of Music, which is located on the campus of Chapman University, and I am the Artistic Director of the MusiShare Young Artist Program.

Automatic video-to-text transcription by DaDaScribe.com

Thank you for your comment, question or request!

Comment/Question deleted successfully.

Post a comment, question or special request:

Comments or questions must be between 3 and 10,000 characters long.

You may: Login  or  

Otherwise, fill out the form below to post your comment:

Add your name below:


Add your email below: (to receive replies, will not be displayed or shared)


For verification purposes, please enter the word MUSIC in the field below

---