Hi everyone.
This video is on a second position and if you're watching it, chances are you, like myself,
and like most violinists, have a general sense of insecurity playing in second position.
It's harder to play in tune.
It's harder to feel where our hand should be on the neck of the instrument
because in 1st position and in 3rd position we have these tactile touch points where
we subconsciously feel the instrument.
And it signals to the hand that the hand is locked into the right place.
But in second position there's nothing to feel.
There's no edge of the violin shoulder or curve here of the neck..
Where it curves to the scroll.
We don't have those things. So we feel like we're swimming a little bit here
in the middle of the ocean of the fingerboard.
So what I hope to do is to give you ways of thinking about how to frame your thoughts,
so that you can have ways to practice getting to second position;
where you can start to create more awareness about where your hand is on the neck of the instrument.
And I have some little pieces for you to work on. I think that will just help you feel more
comfortable in second position.
So the other problem with second position is that it's a transient position.
It's not a home base for anything.
We use second position to get us out of sticky situations.
In 1st or 3rd positions, where let's say, there's some awkward string crossing and second position just makes more sense.
So we don't often spend a lot of time in second position.
And then lastly, the reason it's I think more difficult learning than the other positions
is that there are two hand placements.
Two thumb placements here on the neck.
There is the low 2nd position placement and the high 2nd placement.
And they both are frequently used, unlike in 1st and 3rd position.
We are generally locked into one placement.
Most of what we play is in this one placement,
in 1st or 3rd positions (There are exceptions of course).
But I'm talking about most of the time.
However, most of the time when you have to shift to second position you could be shifting
to the lower or the higher placement.
So because of that, you don't spend a lot of time in just one hand placement, for 2nd position,
and that leads to the fact that we feel more insecure with second position.
So here's an example.
I just want to show you first I want I'm going to show you where these thumb placements are.
So if you had this arpeggio:
A minor.
And you have an extension with your fourth finger, you would think "well, I'd like to avoid that extension.
I'll play this in second position.
So my first finger will go to the C natural".
Ok, let's say that you have A major.
That's a big extension.
I'm gonna play that in second position.
Now my first finger is on c-sharp.
Well, so when I shift, the goal is for my thumb to come with my hand all the time,
that means the thumb is also landing in different places.
So when I landed on the C natural, my thumb landed closer to the scroll.
So I would say from just what I can see via the monitor, the tip of my thumb looks to
be about an inch from the end of the neck.
And then when I play the higher placement....
So there, I would say that's maybe.. I don't know...
An inch and a quarter.
It's wider and my hand feels higher.
So I want you to kind of start your second position education by just memorizing the
note names for at least the first fingers when the hand is in that lower placement versus the higher placement.
So when we're in the lower hand placement,
our first fingers are on: the G string is on a B flat.
Our first finger on the D string is on an F.
On the A string it's on a C.... E string it's on a G.
So you just memorize that right away.
You can also go ahead and memorize those fourth fingers as well.
So on the G string we have the E flat.
On the D string we have first thing your F. B flat.
C to F on the A string.
And G to C on the E string.
So I think just keeping that in mind will help you already start to establish more reference.
Now I want you to think of this lower hand position it as a half step up from first position.
Now of course there are exceptions, but what I'm what I'm basing this on is our strongest
muscle memory for notes in first position.
And our strongest muscle memory would be our regular natural first finger placements.
So in 1st position our first finger is on A, g-string.
E, B, and F sharp right?
So if I'm going to the lower placement second position, I am moving my hand up a half-step.
So just think of this second position like we have two second positions, ok?
This second position, this lower one is a half step up from first position.
Because so much of the time when you shift to 2nd position, you will be using that feel
of moving the hand a half step.
That's what you are going to be thinking about.
That's how you're going to be framing the choreography of moving to second position.
Now higher position, ok the higher 2nd position
is when for our first finger notes we have B natural, F sharp, C sharp, G sharp.
And I want you to think of this as a whole step up from first position.
So go ahead and practice those whole step shifts.
So this higher position .....is completely different.
It's not the same 2nd position anymore.
So maybe that's more helpful is to think: we have two second positions.
So which one am I going to and which one should I be in?
So now I want to give you some examples.
I'm gonna take three examples from the D minor 2nd Partita from Unaccomanied Bach, the Giga movement.
And we're gonna think about the fact that these are all second position moves,
and are we going to the lower one or the higher one?
And how are we gonna get there?
So the first one.
This is the end of the A section going to the B section.
We have....
We have a shift to second position at the beginning of the B section.
And you see that my 1st finger is on a c-sharp.
So the C sharp on the A string, if my 1st finger is on that, is that the higher or the lower?
It's the higher?
And like I mentioned earlier,
when we shift we want to keep thumbs and fingers together when we shift.
That's that's a big goal in shifting.
So I have to shift to that C sharp.
Now, I'm gonna be thinking: "as I shift, I'm moving up a whole-step."
I'm shifting after up an open string, so I have to imagine, that my first finger could
be on a B shifting up to a C sharp.
Whole Step
I was lucky that time.
So let's look at a different example.
With this next one.....I have to shift again after an open string: open D.
I have to go to second finger C. Well how far am I going?
Am I going to the low second position?
Am I going to the high second position?
I don't have a first finger down right there.
I'm shifting to a second finger, so which second finger?
I mean which one?
The higher or the low?
If I keep playing, eventually I get to that 1st finger B flat.
So in reality, I am shifting up a half-step.
My hand is coming up a half step to my low second position.
There's my thumb.
So if you could measure the tip of my thumb to the end of the scroll, or the end of the neck
And here was the first shift, the previous example....
So there's my hand there....
And there's my hand there...
So in the same piece, I had different placements; different second positions that I had to shift to.
Now here's another one.
I'm gonna try to stump you.
After I show you this example, I want you to stop the video and see if you can determine the answer to this question.
So in this this example here, should one shift up to the lower or the higher second position?...
There's that C-sharp.
My first finger is on a c-sharp right here.
And I demonstrated in the first example when I shifted to the C sharp, my thumb came with my hand.
Is this the same thing?
So figure it out.
All right, assuming that you worked it out in your mind, hopefully the answer you came to,
is that I am actually shifting to the lower second position.
Even though I have that C sharp, that C sharp is just very brief, but,
my first finger after that C sharp is on an F.
And that's where my hand needs to be.
So it needs to be in this spot, because the majority of those notes
are in the low second position.
It's just for a second that I just have to scoot my first finger high and play that c-sharp.
So you can see how my second position is so hard.
So in the first example C sharp my thumb is here, but in the third example my thumb was
here, and then I had to reach up and play the C sharp.
So it's kind of brutal.
But I think I think the more you are aware of these these details, the quicker you will
get at knowing where your hand should be, and getting it in tune.
Now I have three three pieces for you and go ahead and print them up so you can see
what I'm talking about when I reference them.
And for you Youtube subscribers, I have links to where you can download the pdfs and audio files.
These pieces are on my website: Violinlab.com
If you haven't ever visited Violin Lab, please do.
I do have some free videos to watch that aren't here on Youtube.
I also invite you to join me on Violin Lab.
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