When it comes to the avoidance of an audible slide such as from G sharp to A on the D string, the former note performed with the third finger and the latter performed with the first finger, Ozim suggests to lift the first finger immediately after the G sharp has sounded and to not slide the finger along the string whilst moving to the next note if that next note is performed by another finger. This is important for all flawless, inaudible executions of shifts, in his opinion.
Masin believes that, when shifting, the last note before the change of position should
be played to its full length so as to allow the player to have more time to go to the next note, especially in passages where an audible shift is not desired.
During fast slurred passages that span several beats, there can be an abundance of position changes, many of which might be audible due to the slurs. Those audible, as opposed to silent, shifts often occur because of technical problems, ones that can, to a certain extent, be eradicated without sacrificing the quality of sound in a phrase or the line of a phrase. In many cases, there are various options when it comes to the change of position, for instance, moving from the third to the first position could take place on note X, Y or Z. Aside from considerations such as whether to move on a semitone (which is often desirable, and suggested by all the latter-day teachers mentioned in this thesis), when reflecting on which of three possible notes to make the shift, Ashkenasi suggests that its helps to make a shift in position on a beat as opposed to before or after a beat. This is because one can mildly show the beat by way of the bow, thereby allowing for the shift to be nearly inaudible.
If a shift is bigger than a fourth, Ashkenasi suggests opening the hand. To describe what is meant, I take two descending notes to a bow, in this case F played on the A string in the third position with the third finger, followed by B on the A string in the
first position played by the first finger. Instead of directing the shift over an intermediary note of D, as played by the third finger in the first position, opening the hand entails playing the E stopped by the third finger on the A string as the intermediary note. If ascending, that is, playing from B to F, the intermediary note is a C sharp played by the first finger in the second position.
When it comes to lucid, fluid, quick position changes, Bron engages a particular technique in case of the following. For example, a situation where in a G is followed by an A flat on the E string, where G is played by the first finger in the second position and A flat is played by the first finger in the third position and both notes are slurred, practise a very legato change going from G to A flat back down to G, then back up to A flat and so on.
The finger should be highly flexible, moving reminiscent of a belly dancer. The movement is fast and fluid, hardly remarkable when one hears it.
Trills
In a situation where a D on the A string is written in the music, where the note is played with the second finger in the second position and the trilling note, E, with the third finger in the second position, one places the second fnger on the string and then lets the third finger fall on the string to trill.
Bron disagrees with this and suggests that both fingers fall on to the string simultaneously.
If trilling the note from above, one should definitely land with both fingers on the string at the same time as opposed to first the third and then the second finger being placed on the string, and if trilling from below, the third finger should hover above the string very close enabling it to react quicker when the trilling starts. This technique underlines one particular feature of technique that students from the class of Bron excel at: the left hand being prepared in advance of motions being made by the right hand.
Another example of this readiness of the left hand is in the following instance whilst playing the note A in the third position with the first finger on the E string, followed
by G natural in the fourth position played by the third finger on the A string. Bron advises that the third finger should hover above the string level to the note it will play, literally ready to pounce. However, this should not compromise the quality of the vibrato on either note at any point. Generally, Bron teaches his students to prepare fingers of the left hand in time regardless of the tempo one is playing at.