AboutTodd Sullivan Expertise Hello, I am a NYC violinist performing for Broadway shows, symphony orchestras, opera, and sundry theatre/pop tours. I would be happy to answer your questions about anything related to being a performer in the music business. I play both violin and viola professionally, so questions on playing either instrument are welcome. The only thing I am not well informed on is information concerning instruments/bows...those questions are best left to luthiers.
Experience Professional experience includes a variety of on/off Broadway tours and shows, numerous orchestras, tours with Ray Charles and Ann Murray orchestras, leader of the 20-piece Todd Sullivan Orchestra.
Education/Credentials Bachelor of Fine Arts (violin) with honors from Carnegie Mellon University (1999)
Question Hello, I am a 52yr. old man that would love to play. The music shop suggested I rent first to see if its right for me,so I've rented an instrument and been taking lessons for two months. My teacher is very nice, but I'm having difficulty holding strings down without touching the others. She says to use the meat of my fingers when I play but it seems my fingers are to wide. As I am just learning I've compensated by slightly pushing the strings sideways so not to touch the others with the back of my fingers. My teacher tells me not to do this and just to tilt my left arm more to the right to make my fingers more perpendicular. Its as far as it can go and I'm still having problems. Could my fingers be to short and wide or do I just need more practice?
Answer Hi Bill, There is no reason why you need to completely avoid touching the other strings with the exception of certain types of double-stopping (playing notes on two strings simultaneously). Since you have only been playing for a short time I assume you are only playing one note at a time, so there is no problem with contacting the other strings because it does not affect the sound much.
Everything your teacher has explained to you is correct, both in terms of what to do and what not to do. I am pretty sure that I make contact with non-playing strings quite routinely, especially when vibrating upon a note. The tilting of the left arm is the best way to avoid such contact when necessary, such as the aforementioned double-stopping and when you need the sympathetic vibration of an open string, but complete evasion of contact is not needed.
Now, if your contact is so disruptive that you find it difficult to play with good velocity, you can have a violin maker look at your instrument to see if they can make adjustments to make the strings farther apart. I'll bet they can - merely making a new bridge with more arch will help significantly (and this can be done on a rental). More drastic changes include spacing the strings more at the nut of the fingerboard. Ask your teacher if they think a new bridge would help.
