I am in our school string program, and ive been playing for about 2 years, but we have a shifting test soon, but ive never learned how to do that! Can n e one help me?

I think you are SOL on that one. It takes more than words. Sorry.

im afraid i agree. shifting is a pretty hard thing to do right. it takes lots of time to get it down and guidance. you should talk to your teacher or a fellow classmate. good luck! sorry i cant help out more

You should try using the finger you shift with and go back and forth with it.....kinda like just slidding up and down the finger board for fun. But not. You just go from that spot to the next over and over again and you`ll get it down. and remember to have your palm curved in and thumb placement right throughout the shifting.....GOODLUCK!!!!

k, we are suppose to go on the g sting, d string, and the A string, then we have to shift. do i put down 4 fingers then shift? how far do i go down the fingerboard and how many fingers do i put down??? :S im so confused, ive never done this before!

does anyone have any basic tips???

im desprate

Lol those were basic tips......If you can`t shift by your 2nd year you might want to ask a teacher or fellow student to teach you

You only use one finger

Shelby I can help you! Well, maybe. Okay, first you need to be familiar with the different positions: 1/2 position, 1st position, 2nd position, and so on. How do you know which one is which? I`ll tell you: the C major scale! Pretend you`re going up the C major scale on the A string (starting a A, the relative minor). The natural position for your fingers - the one that you usually play in - is first position. Why? Because it`s the first place you put your fingers! Just keep going up the C major scale on A. When you need to shift (after E) you`ll be in (I might be wrong here) 4th position, with your first finger on F. Then 5th position will be your first finger on G. Just keep going until you run out of room. I hope my tips are helpful (I have trouble with shifting too)!

you shift????!!!
lucky, the only people in my orchestra who do that are 1st violins, and they always complain about it!

Haha! Same here! But shifting is a useful tool for violists as well.

Ironically, violin, cello, and double bass use shifting near constantly, whereas it is assumed [by the composer] the we violists are too stupid to figure out how to do it!

The normal reach of the cello except in thumb positions is a minor third (with extended first finger--a major third). Since the cello is tuned in perfect fifths, this makes nearly constant shifting a necessity. The normal reach of the bass is a major second. Since the bass is tuned in perfect fourths, this makes nearly constant shifting a necessity for the bass as well.

The viola and violin use the same fingering and normally reach a perfect fourth and are thus not required to shift nearly as much. One of the many oddities about the viola is that its size has never been standardized; it`s very much a work in progress. Acoustically speaking, its proper length would make it impossible to play perched on the neck like a violin (as it IS played) or upright from the floor like a cello or bass. Where an instrument`s size is not standardized, I should think its standardized fingering a dubious prospect.

Re: "Okay, first you need to be familiar with the different positions: 1/2 position, 1st position, 2nd position, and so on. How do you know which one is which? I`ll tell you: the C major scale! Pretend you`re going up the C major scale on the A string (starting a A, the relative minor). The natural position for your fingers - the one that you usually play in - is first position. Why? Because it`s the first place you put your fingers! Just keep going up the C major scale on A. When you need to shift (after E) you`ll be in (I might be wrong here) 4th position, with your first finger on F. Then 5th position will be your first finger on G."

I think you skipped a letter. On the cello (which numbers its positions diatonically from its high A string as well) at least, fourth position uses the first finger on E, not F.

Cellists traditionally learn fourth position after first position, picking up second, third, and the half (chromatic) positions later because fourth position is easiest to find; the thumb goes all the way to the end of neck, which makes fourth position on the cello even more secure than first position.

Yes, I learned that about fourth position in the brief time I played cello. That was in 6th grade, I believe...

Thank you for once again bludgeoning all my ideas with your "knowledge" and "intelligence". Thanks a lot! (*Sob*)