What a wonderful website you have!! http://StringSkills.com ! Thank You!! I suggest that all Suzuki Teachers visit your wonderful site!

I just wanted to add two small ideas…

You said that “Panda” is about relocation of the fulcrum. Yes- absolutely! However, I believe it is actually putting the fulcrum where it has naturally belonged all along (recalling your observations about the thumb). We are the ones who have artificially relocated the fulcrum to the index finger through our greed and selfishness.

Also, Panda is a spiritual concept about focus and enduring to the very, very end. Dr. Suzuki began this movement “for the happiness of all children” . We seem to be forgetting this! “We count them happy who endureth to the end” ~ (James 5:11)

As I put in the article in the SAA journal
“When one honestly believes in the progress and development of all of one’s companions and does everything possible to help them, experiencing the harmony of ‘this moment’ becomes easier.”

Thank you for your time, efforts, thoughtful observations and sharng! Let’s contnue to study Dr. Suzuki’s ideas – “Perhaps it is music that will save the world” ~Pablo Casals

Here’s a way to explain PANDA.

The problem of producing a good tone stems from the fact that it is easy to bring the weight of the arm into the string at the frog, but increasingly difficult as we move to the tip. We reject the notion of pronating the forearm (turning the ulna and radius bones) or raising the elbow as these cause considerable tension.

Our bow hold is a simple lever with the thumb at the fulcrum. We can shift weight towards the tip end of the bow by bringing more force to the index finger end of the lever and reducing weight on the pinky end (hence the need to avoid the canceling role of pushing with the pinky).

A physicist will point out that there is another way to rebalance a lever: RELOCATE THE FULCRUM. The slightest movement of the thumb tip towards the frog accomplishes a huge change in balance. In fact, a tiny thumb shift reduces the need to rebalance with the fingers; the finger muscles can remain relaxed and dedicate themselves to guiding the pathway of the bow on the string.

Physiologists will tell you that our thumb is by far our best finger. It has very strong muscles. The thumb has vastly more nerve and brain connections as any other finger. The thumb can move is several planes easily. The up/down movement of the thumb doesn’t change much since this maintains the hold of the bow stick; but the thumb flexes left and right to rebalance by displacing the fulcrum.

We all teach our beginners to have curved thumbs. In reality our thumb takes several shapes (as do the four other fingers). There is not a single shape to the thumb, but rather a range of shapes. Of course, a curved thumb is capable of changing shapes–more curved or less curved; a straight thumb is locked.

PANDA is about the relocation of the fulcrum

I wish you well as you prepare for teacher trainer status. Hope you get it!

Your playing is beautiful – thank you for sharing!