Choosing Fingerings – Part Two

In the previous entry, I discussed the importance of figuring out your own technical and musical path, instead of just copying pre-allocated fingerings and bowings (F&B).

Now I will talk about the 'how' part with regard to the left hand: "how to find the right fingering for you," as it is a process and there are guiding principles.

The Three Main Factors

There are several factors to consider, and let's begin with the most obvious (and important) three:

The sound – what version sounds best. Usually, that is the deciding factor for me. The sound possibilities (and limitations) are dictated by the instrument and bow you have, your own technique, and even the acoustics of the hall.
Safety – what is the easiest path to produce the right notes at the right speed. Remember that what is easy for one might not be easy for another, but easy usually means safe, and when you are relaxed and happy, you play better.
Musicality – sometimes you want to make an extra effort to give a certain color, a musical gesture, or even good ol' showmanship (look at me, so high on the G string…)

It is obvious that when all three factors are in agreement, you've got a winner, but many (so many) times you need to choose between being safe and doing something flashy or musical. There is no rule of thumb for what to use, but you have to recognize what your goal is with every set of fingerings (and bowings) you choose. I might take a chance on a big flashy shift and play it safe in the next passage. I might decide that playing on the melody A string gives it a warmer sound that I seek, or go for the more brilliant sound of the E string. Using an open string versus the 4th finger is always an issue.

Once you start experimenting, things get very interesting. In a world where the notes, rhythm, dynamics, speed, and even character are dictated, different fingerings open up far more possibilities for self-expression than you might think.

My first and foremost hard rule is that whatever fingerings I may choose, I must try and test them at the right tempo and with the right character for the piece.

It is a mistake to lock in fingerings when you are playing at a slower speed (the beginning of the learning process), and equally a mistake to choose fingerings by trying the passage faster than needed. This is because we use different arm, hand, and finger movements at different speeds. If I may give an extreme example: if I play slow enough, I could play any passage with one finger on the fingerboard and two on the bow.

Unfortunately, this means you need to learn the passage at the correct speed and intensity before you lock in a set of fingerings, so you might learn one, or even several sets of fingerings, only to discover they do not realistically work. You may later slow your practice to gain control and accuracy, but in the initial phase, your fingerings (and bowings) should be decided as soon as possible.

Other Factors That Tip the Balance

These three factors are definitely the most important ones, but at the same time there are added factors that might tip the balance towards a certain fingering decision:

The wish of the composer: Most composers do not ask for certain fingerings, but there are exceptions (E. Ysaye comes to mind). Make sure it is actually the composer who wanted me to use certain fingerings (and not somebody else). If it is the composer, I try to adhere to his/her wishes (In the solo sonatas and partitas, J.S. Bach left us with almost nothing but notes and bowings, so obviously he thought the bowings were important), but sometimes I either feel different or sound better different, and that's okay.
Tying it to the next part: Sometimes an interesting F&B works on its own, but it is difficult to get into or out of. This is tricky because we tend to focus on the problem itself, not continuity. Same goes for:
Fatigue: when we stop and start during practice, a certain run full of stretches or a continuous use of the 4th finger might seem viable, but when there is no place to stop and rest, some fingerings create fatigue or even damage and should be avoided.
Those annoying exceptions: Just like the English language, there are quite a lot of them. You might have your theory on fingerings down to the T, and still there will be places that just work when you do them completely differently. I have one of those moments in the famous variation in the Kreutzer sonata. I worked out the run to work precisely on the principles I laid out, but it was still off. Then Mátyás András, a fantastic violinist and colleague, gave me a suggestion that I thought was the exact opposite of what I was aiming for. He turned out to be right, and I ended up "cursing" him every time I perform this great piece of music.
Works for me, but not for them: arguing over bowings and sometimes fingerings takes a lot of rehearsal time when playing chamber music, especially in a string quartet. But the truth is, what might be a brilliant set of thought-out fingerings isn't working for the people who play with you for all kinds of reasons. My best advice is to let it go. It is usually not worth shoving your fingerings down someone else's fingerboard…
Cracks and Whistles: instruments have their sound, history, characteristics, and… limitations. I used to play a beautiful instrument that had a terrible "wolf" on the G string. There was nothing I could do about it except avoid playing the C on a high G, and that was that. I had to compromise and figure out which fingerings I needed for this particular instrument.
Tradition: Last but not least is "the T word." Someone played in a certain way fifty or seventy years ago, and it stuck. Even with awareness and a healthy disdain for the genre, I still find myself doing certain fingerings or bowings "because of tradition," usually out of habit (it stuck with me from my musical youth).

In the next entry, I will discuss the principles of choosing bowings.