It’s always fun to write about technique. Perhaps this is a sign of madness, but I really enjoy being assigned a massive task—in this case, creating a primer on thumb technique for beginners through advanced players—with a hard word count and limited space for illustration. In the writing of such pieces, I am forced to distill ideas down to their essence, taking extra care to be clear, because I will not be there to correct misapprehensions or common mistakes should someone try their hand at what I suggest.
This particular piece will probably remain one of my favorites for another reason entirely, though. I was allowed to start of with a completely bonkers rat metaphor (you read that correctly), based upon the Monty Python clip below, and run with it through the entire article.
I learned thumb position a few years into my studies, like most other folks who are going to be professional cellists. We had not yet pinned down the source of the pain and odd tingling that would shoot down my arm into my left hand, but it became clear early on that thumb position was the most provocative technique in terms of causing the symptoms. Later, heavy use of my pinky would supersede the thumb as provocateur number one, and I remember standpartners staring wide eyed at some of the Byzantine fingerings I would come up with to avoid extensions and fourth finger. Still, I did these things in survival mode, not because they were the best option to serve the music. I minimized repertoire that featured thumb position, and over time, I built it up in my mind as something I could never really be good at like the rest of my colleagues.
I was only able to avoid it so long as I had instructors guiding me through the repertoire, some of them unwittingly confirming my self-limiting fears and avoiding things they knew would aggravate my hand. As I started teaching my own students who were destined for the conservatory, I had to confront my technique and fears in order to equip them for the road ahead.
Long story short-ish, I really like thumb position now, and that relationship was cemented during the pandemic, when I decided to follow Josh Roman’s example and get better acquainted with all of the Popper studies, not just the ones I had studied in college. What I learned, particularly by working on number 9, is that even the most challenging piece is possible for anyone willing to work on it with discipline and patience. This is not some exotic point of academic erudition. What I think I am trying to say, and have always been trying to say, is that you are not an exception. You are not the one person in the world who is so terrible and cursed that, try as you might, is not allowed to get to where you want to be on your instrument. I am not that person. You are not that person. If it was easy, everyone would be doing this thing. Let’s just keep working on this, together.
I’ll be working on a few thumb position selections Monday night, if you’d like to join me. 🐀