I moved this post to start a blog. 

Emily's Journey Down The E/V Road!

@Gordon Shumway -

Think badges might be getting redesigned. 😊

I can't remember (can't look right now) where I talked about this amp - it's tiny, sounds GREAT (I didn't crank up the volume very much - a little made a huge impact in the house) and it also has a battery (great for anywhere). 

ELCBK said
Well, since my earlier, embarrassing, recorded fumble with a scale on my tuned-down C string (without a shoulder rest) - I re-tuned standard.  Then, I wasn't happy with not being able to play any worthwhile vibrato on the C string for my Wexford Carol GP submission... but this helped start in motion something very important. 

Looked closer at my left thumb & hand position.

Many have helped me rethink my problems with my left thumb slipping, but I also needed to be able to reach, more comfortably, across to my 5-string Viola fingerboard and clear my E string in the process. 

I've posted quite a bit about it, all the details are in Katie M's Left Thumb Thread.

So... started more experimenting! 🤗  

As mentioned in the other thread, I put my low shoulder rest back on, but then removed my chin rest! 

Haven't had a lot of time to practice, with all the Holiday bustle - but even with a little time each day, it feels more natural!  I have more freedom to move my Viola, but in a much more controlled fashion - I started trying better vibrato & I'm slowly getting more brave with intonation, using new hand form.  

Still, I haven't been able to completely clear the E string with my left hand, while playing on the C string - but hoping it may yet be possible, without damaging my already decrepit body! 

Just thought I'd see how it goes & continue my 'experimenting' over here, in this thread.

Think I go a little overboard experimenting? 

- Emily 

To be honest, I've taken quite a detour, as evident in my Emily's Journey Down The E/V Road! blog. 

I did spend a little time on my left hand & thumb balancing when I switched from Viola to Violin, but all the 'newness' of learning about EV got the better of me.  So, I reverted back to holding my violin neck between my thumb & index finger knuckle, again - not getting my hand away from the E string side of the neck. 

Changing from a string lineup of CGDAE to FCGDA has made my violin moving around in my hand even more of an issue - because of my focus on reaching & hand position, to best play the far left strings. 

Then I watched this video by Eyal Kless - it was a real eye-opener for me!   Even though I have already been changing the position I hold my violin, I didn't realize just how much it could interfere with my left hand movement! 

...guess I needed to hear it said 'one more time', another perspective, to help it finally start to sink in 🤔 I need to completely free my thumb from the neck!

Vibrato on the violin - Typical mistakes. 

I KNOW people can do this without a shoulder rest, but it's too hard for me.  Removing my chin rest on my viola helped tremendously, though - actually let my jaw fall into a more comfortable position, but my violin is a different story. 

It's not as deep or long, but close to weighing the same - can't change the chin rest because of the electronics.  I've tried quite a few different shoulder rests, settling on a low Resonans (there's also a med & high) - after I tried one for my viola.  It had to be man-handled a bit, the arms had to be bent in - were a little too wide for my violin.  The rivet on each arm (that allow the rest angle to pivot) are the weak point of the arms, so by bending the arms they loosened too much to really help me hold my violin. 

Today, I finally got around to asking Kevin to tighten the rivets on the shoulder rest... HUGE DIFFERENCE!!! 

Along with a violin position change, I actually think I can make some progress with my left hand, now!  WOW!  A couple simple fixes to what has seemed like an insurmountable problem for me -  still might be too good to be true, but I'm running with it!  🤗

...just hate having to 'put on hold' everything else I've been working on - even for a few days... again.