There are two reasons why I'm posting it here: one, obviously, to show those students who are learning this skill the path they're supposed to follow, and, second, to show those who are interested the way in which these common technical points are generally handled in the Suzuki books. (Dr. Suzuki was really smart.)
I fully intend to post more of these, because I think the world needs them. The high third finger, the low fourth finger, the extended fourth finger, the up-bow staccato, the spiccato . . . the list is endless. Stay tuned for more.
In brief, the low first finger is introduced in Book 2 and continued through the literature in nearly every song. The first instances are on the E and the A strings, and the finger is preceded by an open string. More difficult ways of approaching the note are added. I find it particularly interesting to observe the different intervals that are made with the low first finger during string crossings; not only does this challenge the student’s ear to be able to find the note from a fourth, a seventh, or an augmented second, but it sets up the student’s hand for double stops that will come later on.
The first instance of the low first finger in the Suzuki books is in Two Grenadiers. This song uses both F natural and B flat, and approaches both from the open string. The hand position L1-L2-3-L4 alternates with the hand position 1-H2-3-4 in the opening phrases. The first hand position is required in measure 11 in one of the more rigorous hand-position tests in Book 2. The perfect fourth and the whole step between B flat and C are hard to maintain.
The low first finger is required in this song in the minor section, measures 25-31. It is only F natural that is used. There are three phrases in this section; the first phrase uses the F natural, the second phrase moves up to F sharp, and the third slides back to F natural. The hand positions are, in order, L1-L2-3-L4, 1-L2-3-L4, and L1-H2-3-4. The first phrase approaches the low first finger from above, coming down 3-2-1 in a scale. The second is the trickiest because it requires a contraction of the hand between F sharp and B flat on the E string. The third would be the trickiest, except that the string crossing avoids the first finger on the A string. As it is, the open string gives the student’s hand a chance to “travel” up to the C sharp.
Gavotte from “Mignon”
Some instances of the low first finger in this piece seem almost as if they were carefully crafted to be little etudes. The first instance is in measure 24, where the same sequence is played first starting on B natural and then starting on B flat, thus allowing the student to concentrate solely on that one changing note. Again, like the Two Grenadiers, the B flat is approached from the open string. What comes next in measure 25 and following is a small etude in which the B flat is approached alternately from the open A string and from the third finger on the D string, and the B natural in measures 27-8 completes the student’s exploration of the first finger, showing the relationships between the open A, B flat, and B natural.
The three wonderful notes in measures 35-6 approach the F natural from above as in “Witches’ Dance,” except that this time the third finger is on the A string, thus giving the student additional practice in the perfect fourth from D to G. This complicates the placement of the F natural considerably, because the student’s customary frame of reference is threatened by the uncomfortable perfect fourth. The following eight notes are a lesson in the hand position L1-L2-3-L4, as before in the previous songs, but this time the emphasis is on the whole step between 4 and 1 across strings. The B flat that follows is approached by a perfect fourth from F natural on the D string (fourths are big in “Mignon”). In measures 43-44, the B flat is approached this time by the open A string and the C natural. The student now knows the relationships between open A, B flat, B natural, and C natural.
Gavotte by Lully
There is only one low first finger in this song. It is approached from above by a G sharp, which is the first augmented second between the first and second fingers. It is complicated by the extension in the preceding measure, which pulls the student’s hand up to reach the C, right after which it must tilt down to reach the F natural. Even if the student shifts, the augmented second is still harder in this context than it normally would be.
Minuet in G by Beethoven
This piece, compared to the very pure and diatonic style of the previous Suzuki pieces, is a chromatic nightmare. In it, the low first finger on the B flat is approached from above by the same finger on the B natural, after which half position is seen for the first time. This measure, the fifth, is a neat little exercise for exploring half position and returning again to first. It requires the student to match the pitch of the first and second fingers on the same note. The low first finger is used again in the fifth measure of the trio section, in much the same way as before.
Gavotte by Martini
Following a brief vacation from the low first finger in Minuet by Boccherini, the B flat and F natural pop up again in Book 3. The B section of this Minuet contains one of each, and both are approached from above by a 3-L2-L1 finger pattern. There is a complex network of finger patterns in this little section, because of the F sharp on the D string and the raised C sharp and B natural in the sixth full measure of the B section. The finger patterns go from A string 3-L2-L1 to D string 3-H2-1, then E string 3-L2-L1 alternates with A string 3-H2-1.
In the C section, we have the first low first finger on D sharp, which forms a diminished fourth across the string to the low B. (Augmented second across strings.) The low first finger is approached from above by the first finger on E. In this instance, the low first finger can be thought of as outside the actual hand frame, which is arguably 4-3-H2-1. The D sharp is the hand-position equivalent of an “accidental.” (The same holds true for the A sharp in the Beethoven Minuet.)
The E section of the Gavotte is another complex hand-position minefield. The E string is L4-3-L2-L1, the A string is 4-3-L2-1, the D string is 4-3-H2-1. (Depending on how literally you take the melodic minor G sharp at the end of the first full measure.) The F natural on the E string is either approached by a double string crossing from the preceding G, or started by itself, depending on how much you phrase the G.
Minuet by Bach
The minor section of this piece contains a review of many previously learned low-first-finger skills. The first instance is in the third measure of the minor section, a G minor scale with the B flat approached by the open A. The fifth measure has the “Mignon” spot again, followed by a L4-3-L2-L1 on the A string. Measure 61 (of the piece) has the F natural approached in a true minor third hand frame, which I think is the first we’ve seen, and it is joined on either side by the G natural and fourth finger E flat, both whole steps.
Measure 65 has the low first finger B flat approached from a major third, the same note (D) as used in the pickup to measure 61. Measure 68 does quite the same thing. Measure 71 is more interesting: a perfect fifth, the first we’ve seen since Brahms’ Waltz, on two low first fingers.
Gavotte in G Minor by Bach
The low first fingers in this piece are almost exclusively by step and in the same G minor hand position. The B section has an interesting B flat major scale which requires taking care of the whole step between 4 and 1, and it contains a perfect fifth again between F natural and B flat, but other than that, this piece is not much of a challenge, only an incessant repetition of older lessons. There are no new low first finger skills in here.
Humoresque
The low first finger F natural occurs at the end of the A’ section, in a very difficult string-crossing maneuver in which it is approached both by the open A string and the G sharp on the D string. This requires having a pretty accurate map of the fingerboard by this time.
The low first fingers in the minor section do not add anything to the student’s repertoire of skills.
Gavotte by Becker
The skill added in this piece is sliding the first finger back and forth between the low and high positions. The opening statement of this piece relates the B flat to the third finger on both the A and the D strings, minor and major thirds respectively. Measure 8 slides up from B flat to B natural, in much the same way as the Beethoven spot. This time, it is actually the higher first finger that harmonically does not belong, instead of the low first finger; the low finger is more “normal” than the higher one.
This sliding of fingers happens in measures 12 and 38.
Gavotte in D Major by Bach
The low first finger in this piece is an A sharp, of which there are two. Both times, it is approached from above by a C sharp, forming another augmented second. The first time, the A sharp is framed on either side by two C sharps, forcing the student to learn both sides of that interval. The next one requires a slide back to B natural.
Bouree by Bach
There are no low first fingers in this piece until the minor section, and then there are plenty. The first ones are not till the third measure of the minor section, which teaches notes of the G minor scale from D down to G. This whole first segment uses only one hand position on the A string: L1-L2-3-L4. The E string changes because of the idiosyncrasies of the minor mode.
The beginning of the next section starts out on a B flat major scale, teaching almost all the way up the octave. In the fifth measure of this second minor section, the B flat is approached from a major seventh above. The ninth and tenth measures are the most interesting: in C minor, the E is flat and the B is natural, thus creating a contracted hand position like in “Witches’ Dance.”