I can’t emphasize enough how lucky we are to have access to such high quality instructions. Thank you so much

I cannot express how big my gratitude is towards your teaching. It is very informative, detailed and open-minded. Thank you so much for making KZread videos!!

Your videos are life changing. Thank you so very much.

Thank you so much! No one has ever said to me that it was ok to adjust my hand frame for my small hands and short fingers. This video has given me a sense of relief!

Thank you for this useful lessons! I’m watching you through all pandemics and you really helped me. I’m a violinist (Teo Gertler) and I know that the main to a elegant and quality playing is the right and correct technique. It is what makes the violinists greater then others. Continue doing these wonderful videos. I hope you stay healthy. ;)

@ViolinClassUSA

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for your nice comment and good wishes! I hope you, too, are staying healthy!

@f-stop8550

2 жыл бұрын

I've not had such an in-depth explanation of the left hand frame and how the fingers should approach the neck. Great video, can't wait to watch your other instructions.

Thank you 🙏. This has put me on the right track. Now ... practice practice !!

Very clarifying, as always. Thank you very much Mrs. Bushkova. 

God Bless Itzakh Perlman two bad legs two great pinkies and a shite load of passion and talent!!🙏🏻🙏🏻

Most helpful video about the hand frame I have seen so far...and I've been searching for some time now! Thank you so much for this :)

ur insights inspire me to think of how to play violin cleverly

Thank you Professor for your excellent videos. Unlike modern sports training, violin playing (according to my limited exposure) has barely taken advantage of the modern physiology/sports medicine to account for individual differences and to promote better/safer training. Your videos are very helpful, informative and much appreciated.

I've been looking for the contents of such a video for 4 years now. Thank you loads

The best Professor, simple as that! Thank you very much for this two videos now I understand the correct placement of the left hand. Could you please do a video for short fingers violin learners? That would be awesome. Thank you again! 🙌🙌

Thank you so mucho, dear teacher ❤❤❤

THANK YOU THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT I WAS LOOKING FOR I HAVE SMALL HANDS WITH SHORT FINGERS ESPECIALLY MY PINKY HOW WONDERFUL YOU EXPLAIN IT THANK YOU

Your tutorials are mines of information and everytime I watch them, I find a new gem. Thank you. My first finger has been suffering pain and I thought I was just going to have to lift on the last two strings so only my thumb and first finger are touching but I just caught onto the proper movement. The best way I can describe the difference in feeling is, instead of bringing my first finger to the string, I'm "laying it to bed".

Thank you Professor Bushkova for the video. This is a very good exercise. I do try .

Great as always, I really thank You!

Excellent instruction. Thanks.

Thank you from Saudia Arabia

@ViolinClassUSA

3 жыл бұрын

You are welcome

You are a phenomenal pedagogue. Thank you. 🎻👏👏👏

Thanks! This was very helpful.

Thank you, very helpful!

Your videos are immensely helpful to me. I am trying to rebuild my technique, and your lessons have helped me so much. Thank you, Professor Bushkova!

Thank you so much for this video! I thought my inward pinky meant I was doomed. Loved the clarity of the left-hand frame explained here. Love your videos Ms. Julia!

@ViolinClassUSA

3 жыл бұрын

You are so welcome! Glad I am relieving some of the doom :))

@aliceformica

3 жыл бұрын

@@ViolinClassUSA Ms. Julia, do you have any tips for when the second finger needs to be in a C natural and the pinky needs to be at E when the hand/fingers' naturally curved distance between the two fingertips are quite close/short?

Your instruction is so precise and clear! You are helping me in areas that I have struggled to understand. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

thank you~ I am a beginner and I love your Video~

Very interesting and informative

Your videos are amazing, so helpful and so on point, perfectly explained, it improved my Playing so much, thank you ! ♥️

@ViolinClassUSA

2 жыл бұрын

You're so welcome!

Thank you so much for this great and again very helpful video!! ❤❤❤ As already the first part in this topic helped me a lot this one addresses exactly the problems I'm dealing with due to long fingers and proportions as well as shape and angle of the pinky! Never seen such a good explanation before on how to establish a relaxed and good left hand position! I'm also struggling on getting rid of an outward collapsed wrist, as you show here. Warm regards from Germany, Eva-Maria

Perfect ❤️ Please make a video about thumb. Relax thumb without having pressure

@ViolinClassUSA

3 жыл бұрын

Noted!

Matur suksma bu !

Thanks

Really enjoyed this I've been practicing your wonderful Vibrato exercise too.

Much Appreciated. !!

Thank you so much for your great video! Very good explanation! Спасибо, Юлия! Я живу и преподаю в Калифорнии, Раньше преподавала в России, В общей сложности 35 лет. Очень люблю ваши видео, Всегда нахожу в них что-то очень полезное и такое, чего я раньше не знала! Мне это помогает В работе с учениками и я сразу вижу результаты!!! 💖

@ViolinClassUSA

3 жыл бұрын

Спасибо за Ваш комментарий, Эльвира. Если нужна консультация, пожалуйста, обращайтесь через мой сайт.

I need to practice

You really are amazing... No need to say more.

@ViolinClassUSA

2 ай бұрын

So nice of you:)

loved this video! i was hoping you could do a video on memorizing music soon too

@ViolinClassUSA

3 жыл бұрын

Great suggestion!

Wonderfull and very educative and cristal clear.

thank :)

Wow..... 😊😊😊😊😊

Hello from Brazil. That's an awesome video In realizing my hand was too high in relation the fingerboard, I also noticed I relied too much on the base joint of the index finger as an extra contact point. My challenge now is how to do proper finger placement while playing having only the thumb as the contact point. Any tips around that ? Thank you

@ViolinClassUSA

3 жыл бұрын

Please watch my video "How to fix dexterity problems in the left hand" - there is your answer

Thank you . I learned a lot from your videos. I have a question , should I tilt my bow ( a little bit ) when I wanna make a sound from the frog on the strings ?

@ViolinClassUSA

3 жыл бұрын

"do I just have to depend on muscle memory and getting my hand in the right spot more often than the wrong?" - YES:) "drastic slope from index to pinky and my middle finger is longer than my ring and index" - That is how it should be:) The "drastic slope" from the index to the pinky is more problematic but also common to some degree. If you are a beginner with a long neck, you should not really play without some shoulder 'support'... I would not recommend it...

In my opinion I think that there is actually a standard hand position for any hand size that allows one to play as comfortable as possible and you can see it in all the violin greats even when they where kids they had a hand shape that allow to them to place the fingers with ease in the fingerboard even the pinki. There is a method called the violin in fifths by Rodney Friend that has has helped me a lot there are videos in youtube of him explaining in detail on how to play the violin without tension in tune and with ease in the left hand and also the arm just by practicing fifths.

@ViolinClassUSA

3 жыл бұрын

I respectfully disagree. Just like there are different sizes of hands, there are different positions to accommodate those sizes Have you ever tried pants three sizes too big or three sizes too small? Your hand is mute and cannot tell you how uncomfortable it is to move in "pants of the wrong size" -- the wrong position.

👏👏👏👏

thank your fir your video its help alot, i would like to ask what scale did you do in last part and what scale for exercise for the fingers? thank you

I observed that my left hand has less steeper index/pinky curve compared to my right hand. I am not sure I was born this way or violin playing stretched my left pinky somewhat. I wish I have kept photos of my hands before I started violin lessons.

First comment from India 😀😀👍👍

@ViolinClassUSA

3 жыл бұрын

I have several students in India :)

Such great and thorough advice - thank you! Some teachers advise not to touch the index finger on the side of the fingerboard at all and to have a gap here ie to only have contact with the thumb and finger that is on the fingerboard. Personally I touch the fingerboard as you suggest but are there any advantages/disadvantages with this no-contact approach?

@ViolinClassUSA

2 ай бұрын

First and foremost., I believe it is very individual and depends on what was trained early on. The benefit of not touching may be that one's hand is more turned toward the fb (=better for the 4th finger) and there is no needs to get into this position for vibrato. (Those of us who play with touching the fb, have to come away from it to vibrate.) Yet, having said all this, I would not switch to not touching since I am used to my touching:)

@jacc88888

Ай бұрын

@@ViolinClassUSA Thanks for the reply - very helpful! I realise I still touch the neck very lightly with my index finger even when doing vibrato but it seems to work. Will experiment.

hello dear, I have a different position but after I saw ur video I try it, and a little bit comfortable but I can't play for a long time it feels like a beginner. pls if u have any recommendations to improve? thank you.

Enjoyed the video! I’m a beginner. I’m learning without tape on the fingerboard(adult). Is there a good rule of thumb you can give me to always get my right hand in the right position to play in tune before even playing a note? I know the right frame is key. But I’m talking about the initial placement. Or do I just have to depend on muscle memory and getting my hand in the right spot more often than the wrong lol? I am a female with small hands, short fingers, drastic slope from index to pinky and my middle finger is longer than my ring and index😂. I’m progressing fast(been a month playing) but having trouble figuring out the best setup for my hand to play with my fourth finger. Your videos are helping. I’m playing without a shoulder rest...so I have other techniques and adjustments I will have to learn as well. I have a long neck. Sorry for this long comment!

@philipq6906

3 жыл бұрын

If your hand finger is much smaller than average you may try a 7/8 violin which will help you alot.

@ViolinClassUSA

3 жыл бұрын

Good that you are not using the tape! "do I just have to depend on muscle memory and getting my hand in the right spot more often than the wrong" - Yes:) "drastic slope from index to pinky and my middle finger is longer than my ring and index" - That is good (normal) The "drastic slope" itself is more problematic although not uncommon. I would not recommend that a beginner with a long neck plays without some sort of shoulder support... Good luck to you!

My pinky goes to the palm, and, it is at least a joint shorter than my index, and a joint and a half o my middle one. Quite a struggle to accommodate them! Would you please make a video also about fifths, specially from the third position and ahead for slim fingers? Quite difficult to play in tune in without collapsing them (and even doing so), as they fit between the strings on higher positions.Would it be advisable to go to the Luthier to getting maybe a mm. closer the strings?

@ViolinClassUSA

3 жыл бұрын

The luthier cannot really change the distances between the strings if the neck is a certain width. What you may need is a violin with narrower neck... My fingers were super thin in my youth, so I know exactly the problems you are facing.

Hello professor Bushkova! I've been following your videos since the milstein exercise and I'm a hobby violinist who recently started learning again! I did not really take childhood lessons seriously and I found my love for violin playing a little too late... I've been really struggling with getting my pinky in "playing shape" and I'm starting to get discouraged. It snaps randomly and some of my fingers start leaving the fingerboard once I place my fourth down to accommodate for the discomfort. Is this normal for lots of players? Any encouragement or even criticism will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks again, I can maintain the correct frame (3rd first, ..., 1st last) easily while I'm on only one string, but when I change string the correct frame is hard to maintain, mostly because my elbow is not used to swing simultaneously. Which exercise from Schradiek do you recommend for maintaining correct frame when going from one string to another? Thanks

@josephmcmahon7470

3 жыл бұрын

G one octave scale. D one octave scale. A one octave scale. Pretty much any one octave scale in first position

@ViolinClassUSA

3 жыл бұрын

You are correct. Work on that elbow helping you rather than sabotaging the fingers!

thanks professor, I am a student who is learning violin via wonderful videos like yours. I am wondering: is that OK for beginners just use equal temperament and follow midi organ’s reference to locate finger position when practicing etudes (like the one you shown in this vid)？in this way the strings are also tuned to equal temperament not pure fifth. (I can tune fifth by ear though)

@philipq6906

3 жыл бұрын

BTW I found the just intonation sounds really weirded in scales. Although the Pythagorean sounds better but equal temperament is much more easier to make the reference sound file and consistent in learning figure positions

@ViolinClassUSA

3 жыл бұрын

I cannot help you on this, I am afraid. To me, equal temperament will sound very out of tune, unfortunately. But, maybe it is OK for the very beginning steps... for a little while.

@philipq6906

3 жыл бұрын

@@ViolinClassUSA Thank you very much professor! Because the Pythagorean tuning system is always changing depends on different root note, this means violinist has to learn much more notes than pianists.

@ViolinClassUSA

2 жыл бұрын

@@philipq6906 That is correct. Our sense of pitch has to be much more acute.

A teacher I saw today told me I should not touch the side of my index finger to the neck of the violin😳 so basicly only the tip of my fingers and my thumb should be touching the violin. Is that correct? I’m really confused😕

@ViolinClassUSA

2 жыл бұрын

Some people play one way, some the other. All violinists around me (in Russia) played the way I explain. Choose what suits you better and BRINGS BETTER RESULTS - then follow with practice.

@pluutoop

2 жыл бұрын

I play my violin without touching my index finger. It takes time to get comfortable but it is very freeing and you are much less tense

Do you teach online lessons on the violin? I'd really love to have a good teacher. . .

@ViolinClassUSA

3 жыл бұрын

I teach some - contact me via my website if serious

My pinky is small and twisted toward the center 😑

@ViolinClassUSA

2 жыл бұрын

Not an unusual situation, unfortuntately!

Hi, Prof. Bushkova! Di you think it’s sometimes possible that an adult requires a 7/8 or 3/4 size violin? I am a normal sized woman, but my hand proportions are odd. My fingers are short, and my palms are so big that they really get in the way. I can never get comfortable, and my hand tires so quickly that I can’t play very long.

@harmonyrose7344

3 жыл бұрын

*Do, not di

@ViolinClassUSA

3 жыл бұрын

Absolutely. Unlikely 3/4ths, but 7/8ths - sure.

@jaanat

3 жыл бұрын

I have very small hands. I found a luthier who was able to slightly slim the neck of my violin. This was a real game changer for me. Those couple of millimeters helped me move with less tension and stretch to reach chords that I couldn’t reach before.

Heifetz had long fingers but he seemed to keep his fingers quite high up as well as quite a flat fourth finger. 🤷🏻‍♂️

@ViolinClassUSA

3 жыл бұрын

Yep... He was Heifetz! :)

@untonsured

3 жыл бұрын

@@ViolinClassUSA can't argue with that :)

should people with smaller hands not just play smaller sizes?