Left hand
- Play with security in different positions and with fluency and speed when changing positions, further refining the use of different positions for musical effect
- Use a wide range of natural harmonics
Help learners choose fingerings that:
- support consistency of line and tone colour
- enable position shifts to take place where most beneficial to the phrasing
- exploit the availability of open strings without undermining line, tone colour and phrasing
Ask learners to choose a well-known tune or melodic passage from their repertoire and play it (by ear) in as many different positions and octaves as possible, and also in a range of keys. They might also play individual phrases in different positions, making sure the shifts are as smooth as possible.
Practising scales with different fingerings (including campanella or cross-string fingerings) is also helpful.
Encourage learners to explore fifth-, seventh- and 12th-fret natural harmonics individually (perhaps making up pentatonic melodies), in pairs, as triads, i.e. the top three strings make a first-inversion minor triad, strings 2, 3 and 4 make a second-inversion major triad, and as larger clusters.
Improvising and composing only with harmonics can help learners to think of them as actual notes and pitches, not just sound effects.
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