I haven`t noticed it so much here, but some of the beginner students when I was at school seemed to have this fear of shifting. They seem to think that you have to move your hand a huge distance, which doesn`t make sense, because you would be moving your hand further if you were sitting at a table and picking something up from the other side of it.
I`ve been playing for less than a year, and I can go up to about 11th position if I want to, and there`s people who are scared to play 3rd position! Why is this?

I`ve been playing for 30 years and I`m only learning now.

Why is it scary? Because it takes long at the beginning and you inevitably hit the wrong note in the process.

If you can manage 11th position (I don`t think I`ve even heard of that before) in such a short time, you get the honourary Paganini Award.

Maybe because they haven`t shifted a lot before, so they don`t know where to go. It`s a new thing to them. Besides that, some don`t even know why third position is called third position.

Yes, I agree with Nox. I suspect your definition of "managing 11th position" may be rather different from mine! I`m good enough to play in two symphony orchestras and I have to think above if I`m playing above 5th (OK OK I`m a viola player alright?!)

Liz

Nox- 11th position is what you need to get the E 2 octaves above the E-string.
I am hitting the right notes (mostly, I haven`t played for a while so I`m a bit rusty, but it`s coming back to me). I think the fact that I have perfect pitch helps a lot.
I don`t really think in terms of positions, anyway- just where the note is on the string.

Thanks for the info! I`ll go see if I can find my way there...

Just keep playing a major scale on one string, shifting as you go. The only thing with it is that it can be harder to get a good sound, but if you remember to press your fingers down properly it helps. I think you change your bow pressure too, but I`m not sure, and I can`t be bothered getting my violin out to check.

Liz Ward, is your definition of "managing 11th position" "playing the right note, in tune, with a good sound"? That`s what mine is.
I also have to think about what I`m doing for the higher positions. That doesn`t mean that I can`t do them.

When your first finger is at 11th position it should be a B note, not an E.

No, Rachel, I mean shifting up to it and down from it and playing in it at speed in context. Anyone can find the right note and play it if they find it in isolation.

liz

Violin addict- I meant 4th finger. Did I say 1st? I should read what I write before I hit send.
Liz Ward- of course I meant shifting up to and down from it. What would be the point of just going and playing a high high E on its own? I`m still working on the speed and context though (it isn`t helping that my E string snapped and I can`t afford a new one and my shoulder rest just fell off ) but they will come with practice. I`ve just had a 2-year break from the violin, so I`m having to practice a whole lot of scales and exercises to get the instrument under my hands again.

I just started shifting into third postion. I think that people have a fear a shifting since it`s new to them, and it`s easier to play in first position. They are also worried about playing the wrong note.

When I first started shifting I had trouble figuring out what finger I needed for what note. I think this could have been because I used suzuki a lot in the beggining and when I read music I mostly just thought of what finger each note was, not what the note actually was (if that makes any sense) after some practice with a couple studies I started to get it and now I`m pretty comfortable in 2nd, 3rd, 4th and can find my way higher than that but I have to think about it. I havn`t encountered a piece with eleventh position in it yet

the art of shifting is the variety of shiftings....
11th position? haha i doubt anybody practising those.. just get 2 - 5th positions sorted..
all the best

james
http://soloviolin.com
http://solomusic.net
Website for violinists

2nd- 5th position? How am I supposed to DO anything if I just stay there? I am already comfortable with those ones.