My FingeringBoard Journey: Think its hard? Try thinking patterns!

So, did you think that what I just played was hard? Well, it may be difficult, but did you notice anything with my left hand? Perhaps? Okay, so why don't we look at it again then? Something didn't change. Did you notice what it was? Okay, let's watch it again then while looking at it on the staff.

Okay, then let's watch it again while we map it out on my fingering board. So, what do you see? Yes, that's right. The intervals between the fingers don't change. The patterns between the fingers stay the same.

Perhaps if we move the fingers to the G string, you can see it better. Perhaps it'll become more obvious.

You see, looking at it this way is as if they were tetrachords. Clearly shows a whole step, whole step, whole step pattern.

All we need to do then is to put the second, third, and fourth fingers on the D, A, and E strings. And we have our written A, F sharp, D sharp, B sharp. So, when we look at the music and see all the sharps, flats, naturals, they mask the fact that we are only looking at patterns.

Patterns which simplify what look difficult and in doing so makes it easier to perform, easier to remember. Okay, so with finding patterns in mind, let's have a look at this excerpt from the first movement of the Vieuxtemp's fifth concerto. So, first let's look at the intervals in this passage starting with the first four notes. First of all, we have the A sharp to G. Let's pretend that the A sharp is B flat.

Doing this makes it really visibly a major sixth, which in my thinking, on my fingering board, looks like a B flat to a C or a whole step. Then G to E, again on my fingering board, it looks like a whole step. And then E to C sharp or a whole step.

And so it goes throughout the passage as this pattern just repeats itself again and again and again, all the way up to the top. You see, thinking of it in pattern changes, I believe dramatically, once perspective on its difficulty.

I mean, just understanding that it's whole step, whole step, whole step, and you are simply moving higher, higher, and higher, well, it almost becomes a revolutionary idea.

And to memorize the passage, well, I mean, it's so much easier remembering it through the patterns. Okay, so let's look at this passage from the first movement of Wieniawski's D minor concerto.

First, there is a D sharp to C, which for me is a whole step. I mean, as we did before, if we turn the D sharp into an E flat, it might be easier to see. Then C to A is a whole step as well. So the pattern is whole step, whole step.

You can see this very clearly on my fingering board.

So again, looking at it this way, looking at it through creating patterns from the intervals, can simplify things. Oh yes, this is also a good way of understanding, explaining why fingers should stay on the strings when doing this kind of passage.

I mean, if you remove the upper finger all the time, you have to find it again and again. As well, you have to coordinate it with the bow. I think it's just much easier to leave them all down.

So do take care. And if you haven't done so already, subscribe to my channel. But don't forget to click on the notification bell so you can choose how to be notified when new videos have been published.

Again, thank you and take care.

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