I have seen Nate Cole's videos on MVP pressure, and Professor Fitzgerald's vid on 'finger pressure', he says a piece of paper can be slid between finger board and finger.

They both play really well I am inclined to believe "them".

The finger does touch the finger board, however the fleshy part of the finger tip yields before the string touches the fingerboard, unless there is a hard callus developed from excessive pressure. I lost my callus after I stopped playing mandolin, now if I press too hard the finger tip hurts.

My latest Thoughts are, each phrase or passage must be ergonomically arranged and practiced until the target tempo is achieved. This i think is entirely a personal exercise, as every individual has different ways of achieving this. Using their own bowing , fingering, slurs, shifts etc.... And don't be afraid to alter any of these things to make the phrase sound right and feel natural at the required tempo. Someone could show you this but i think it is better to find out what works for you,as each persons solutions may be different. 

After 2 phrases are up to tempo and sounding/feeling good i practice the transition between them, and may have to re-evaluate my bowing, fingering etc.

I think if you have been making a tune sound good at a slower tempo, you cannot just try to play faster. Things have to alter to play at higher tempo's, maybe even your perception of where phrases begin and end, and where lead in notes are etc.
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by buckhenry

I have seen Nate Cole's videos on MVP pressure, and Professor Fitzgerald's vid on 'finger pressure', he says a piece of paper can be slid between finger board and finger.

They both play really well I am inclined to believe "them".

The finger does touch the finger board, however the fleshy part of the finger tip yields before the string touches the fingerboard, unless there is a hard callus developed from excessive pressure. I lost my callus after I stopped playing mandolin, now if I press too hard the finger tip hurts.

---

This is contradictory. First you cite the claim that a piece of paper can be slid underneath the string, then you say the finger does in fact touch the fingerboard. If it touches, regardless of where you believe the string is hiding in folds of flesh on the finger, then the paper can't slide under the string without at least hitting the finger. It can't be both ways.

Even good players can have kooky ideas. Menuhin, as great a player as he was, had some pretty wild ones about practicing. If you want the best advice about playing from the greatest teacher in history, read Auer. 

Scott Cole is not one whose ideas I would call 'kooky'!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SC4oO9l8P-8

"This is contradictory"

You have criticized such a trivial detail of my post, I just repeated what Professor Fitzgerald said, I have never actually tried it!

And Auer said...."there is no single "right" amount of absolute finger pressure, the correct pressure depends entirely on the physical and anatomical qualities of the individual's hands and fingers".

If I achieved the desired result with the pressure I exert 'without the string touching the fingerboard', then that's right pressure for me..

And, it's called a 'fingerboard' not a 'stringboard'.

Coming from fretted instruments I was surprised the first time I learned it was possible and even desirable to achieve a
pure tone without the string contacting the fingerboard. But it makes sense given that the flesh of the finger contacting the string is the effective fulcrum for vibration either way. As soon as the finger edges press the board with sufficient force it seems to become a stable fulcrum.