TECHNIQUE

CARL-HUBTER WONG

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BORN Taipei, Taiwan

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STUDIED WITH David Takeno, Yehudi Menuhin, Peter Norris, Michael Tree, Samuel Rhodes

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TEACHES Conservatoire students aged 16+

When I was a student at the Curtis Institute of Music, my teacher Michael Tree lent me a 16.5-inch viola. It was quite large for me, because I’m only 5’1” tall, and I remember saying, ‘Mr Tree, this is too big! I don’t think that I can play it.’ He just said, ‘Don’t worry. Take it, make it work and don’t hurt yourself.’ That was some of the best advice that anyone has ever given me.

Of course, violas and violists come in different shapes and sizes. I have small hands, long arms and a wide back, which helps me to embrace my instrument. Someone with small hands, a narrow back and short arms might need to downsize, and I really wouldn’t advise playing anything bigger than 16.5 inches. I don’t think I could ever make a 17-inch viola work, and nor would I try. Always try to find an instrument that is proportionate to you:

● First position is a big stretch for a violist with small hands, because the notes are spaced far apart. If this applies to you, look for a viola with a thinner neck or shorter fingerboard.

● Higher positions can also be difficult. If you struggle to reach over the instrument shoulder, look for a viola with a narrower body (it doesn’t have to have a reduced length).

● The bigger your viola, the further its centre of gravity is from your body. If this makes you lean forward, causing tension in your neck or spine, try a smaller instrument.

Everyone has different amounts of flexibility in their joints, so an instrument that suits one person won’t necessarily suit someone else, even if they are of a similar size. There are no rules, so experiment until you find a viola that is comfortable, sounds good and that you can play in all positions without an uncomfortable stretch. If you have small hands, it does not make you a lesser viola player. In fact, it can make you more conscious of staying flexible and loose, and you will always be looking for better technical solutions, without ever becoming complacent. You will learn to use your body as your instrument.

EXERCISES

It is especially important that small viola players warm up at the beginning of every practice session:

● Begin with some stretches to warm up the whole body and improve your physical awareness, whether it’s by doing a little bit of yoga or some qigong

● When you pick up the viola, think of your body as a tree trunk with branches that expand into the space around you, from the upper back. Embrace that space, and build on that feeling as your arm extends out from the elbow on the down bow

● Exercise the fingers daily with 30–40 minutes of scales and double-stops – including chromatics and arpeggios, to help agility – in different keys

Once your mind and body are awake, you will be able to connect more effectively with the music. Everything else will fall into place from there.

REPERTOIRE

Even when you have warmed up, some fingerings can be a real stretch on the viola. Once you have a solid technique in place, you can start to find solutions to any problems by breaking the ‘rules’, using half positions, cello fingerings, jumps and bow techniques to keep your hands and body relaxed and pain-free.

FINGERINGS FOR SMALL-HANDED VIOLISTS

First position can be especially difficult for violists with a small frame when there are a lot of F, D and G sharps. Stretching to reach them can put a lot of strain on the wrist.

● Use cello fingerings (example 1) so that you don’t have to stretch

● Move between normal and half positions to give yourself freedom, so your left hand becomes like a caterpillar crawling flexibly and seamlessly up and down the fingerboard (example 2)

● Keep the hand free. Don’t let the viola neck slip into the nook between your finger and thumb, or your hand will become locked

STRENGTHENING THE FOURTH FINGER

If you have small hands, it can be hard to make a clear sound using a fourth finger on the C string. The tendons of the third and fourth fingers are connected, so use this to your advantage:

● Put the third and fourth fingers down at the same time

● Bring the left arm around the instrument, to give the fingers strength and support. Using a big muscle to support the smaller muscles in this way will reduce tension and help you to produce a beautiful, strong and rounded sound.

LEFT-HAND JUMPS

Players with small hands have to make left-hand jumps more frequently than players who can stretch. It is important to be able to do this cleanly, particularly in something like example 3!

● Create an imaginary map of your fingerboard in your head, so that you can visualise exactly where you are going

● Memorise how it feels to play each individual note in the leap

● Repeat each leap many times, until it becomes automatic. Great intonation comes from a combination of listening and feeling.

Example 4 requires many jumps and shifts between unconnected notes. Let your entire left arm lead each motion, and drop your fingers with confidence. There is no room for doubt.

COLLABORATION BETWEEN HANDS

The right hand is the left hand’s best friend. To communicate your musical message without compromising on quality, use bow speed, weight and timing to disguise difficulties in the left hand. For example, the chord in example 5 falls in two different left-hand positions, so break it down into two gently connected pairs rather than try to play all four notes at once. Identify your musical priorities and let your ears lead you to where you want to go.

IN YOUR PRACTICE

Plan your practice daily according to what you feel you can accomplish. Have a realistic expectation of what you would like to achieve and make that your number one goal. If you get bored, take a break so that your quality of focus is always really good. Never compromise on sound quality or intonation.

I divide practice up into ‘cold’ and ‘hot’. Through ‘cold’ learning, build up your skills gradually and methodically, like slowly laying down bricks, row by row. Too often string players try to fly before they can walk, but if you go too fast, you could make mistakes with intonation, rhythm and even expression, if you don’t take time to understand the music deeply. In ‘hot’ practice, work on communicating your musical message, without overthinking or judging. Both skills are separate and necessary.

So often, musicians suffer because they think they’re not good enough. Don’t beat yourself up if there is a passage that you can’t yet play. Keep trying, but don’t ever feel discouraged. Sometimes you will just have to accept that something is not physically possible for you, and that’s OK too. At 5’1” tall, I cannot pretend I’m 5’6”, and everybody has to work with what they’ve got. Nobody is perfect. The smart people just capitalise on their strengths.

TIPS FOR TEACHERS

When I was a student, I met many amazing teachers who simply said, ‘Go, explore, make it work, and don’t hurt yourself ’. David Takeno retrained all my string playing fundamentals, with hardly any words; Yehudi Menuhin taught me to respect my body through yoga, and never to give up. Peter Norris questioned my decisions and really taught me to listen. Michael Tree was obsessed with Houdini, believed that there was another solution to everything and was a genius at finding new fingerings. Sam Rhodes taught me to hear and play music from a composer’s point of view.

Thanks to these experiences, I never tell my own students that they have to do anything, because that puts them in a prison. When a student is young, yes, they need guidance, but at some point they also need encouragement to learn to think for themselves and find solutions on their own, suited to their own bodies. We then discuss these ideas and others that they might not have considered in their lessons. It’s much harder for them to think for themselves than it is for them to copy other people, but they’ll also find it more rewarding and fun to come up with their own solutions. ● 

INTERVIEW BY PAULINE HARDING

FURTHER MATERIALS

My bible, by Heinrich Neuhaus, is The Art of Piano Playing. It explains how any musician can build a better understanding of composition and rhythm, and it has taught me a lot about string playing.

Violist Nobuko Imai has a small frame, but she plays with such a strong core to her sound, despite her size. Watch her perform on YouTube at bit.ly/3kU9soU

NEXT MONTH Double bassist David Allen Moore on building on bow curves