Violin Bow Hold: Step by Step
January 24, 2007 at 5:07 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: bow, education string, form, hold, lessons, strings, teaching
Violin Bow Hold
by Paula Verdicchio Ailshie
Preparatory Movements
Training starts with preparation. Pay attention to your body, each muscle and joint. Stand comfortably and balanced.
- Hold your arms down to the side of the body and just let them hang and relax.
- Staying relaxed, bring your forearm into a right angle slightly above the stomach.
- Make sure that you don’t change the position of the hand from the way it was just hanging beside their body.
- The natural way that the hand is shaped is not flat, there is an arch, and the hand looks as if it could hold an object, like a small orange.
- Squeeze gently into a fist, then let go. Notice how weightless the fingers feel when relaxed.
The Bow Circle
Be comfortable, flexible and relaxed before moving on.
- While maintaining this relaxed, round hand position, bring the thumb and touch it to the first joint of the middle finger. This is the fulcrum, and center of balance.
- The thumb and middle finger hold the bow. The index finger and the pinky will change the center of balance and direct weight and leverage.
- The pinky finger and index fingers should hover curved and relaxed slightly above the ring and middle fingers.
- Practice rotating your bow circle from its vertical position to almost “upside down” so that the hand ends up with the pinky on top, at a 45° angle to the horizon.
The Pencil Bow Hold
Don’t grasp, squeeze or press. Too light is better than too heavy.
- Starting with the bow circle in the vertical position, gently slide a pencil between the thumb and middle finger. Take care to keep the same relaxed circle you formed earlier.
- The pinky finger and index fingers should hover curved and relaxed slightly above the ring and middle fingers.
- Gently curve the ring finger over the pencil, next to the middle finger. Rest the index finger on its side near the first joint. Rest the pinky on its tip, on the inside of the pencil.
- Practice rotating only your forearm from its vertical position to horizontal. Do not change anything else! When the pencil is horizontal, hand hold should form a 45° angle to the horizon.
Adding the Violin Bow
First, do this over a bed or pillows, so you won’t worry about dropping the bow.
- Hold up the bow stick using the left hand, to eliminate the fear of dropping the bow.
- Follow the first three pencil bow hold steps in order, then let go with your left hand.
- Rotate only your forearm from its vertical position to horizontal, catching the bow in your left palm. When the bow is horizontal, hand hold should form a 45° angle to the horizon.
- Once comfortable, begin doing strength exercises with pencil and then bow, to develop a proper hold without stress, strain or pressure.
TOO LIGHT IS ALWAYS BETTER THAN TOO HEAVY! Don’t strain, stress, press or squeeze!
Violin Posture and Stance
January 24, 2007 at 5:05 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: education string, instruction, lessons, pedagogy, Posture, private, strings, teaching
Violin Posture and Stance
by Paula Verdicchio Ailshie
Your posture should balance your center of gravity, and allow for movement while playing without losing your center. Every body is shaped differently, and therefore each person will look slightly different.
- Place feet about shoulder’s width apart. Stand balanced on the feet.
- Keep your feet parallel, as if on a railway track, or place the left foot slightly in front.
- Stand at ease with an even balance on both feet. Don’t try and play on one foot, and don’t lean back or to the side.
- Your torso should not be twisted.
- Keep the head, shoulder blades, chest, hips and rear all in balance. Don’t let anything stress, strain or stick out.
- Feel the imaginary grounding line pass from the center of the top of your head, through the neck, down the spine, & exit your body throught the sacrum, ending directly between your feet.
The weight of the head (close to a bowling ball) holds the violin on the shoulder.
- Keep head balanced over the spine, and turn it slightly to the left.
- Place the base of the violin under your chin and rest the shoulder rest on your left shoulder.
- Gently rest your chin on the chin rest.
- The elbow should be under the center of the violin.
- Gently rest the neck of the violin between the thumb and first finger.
- Be sure not to allow your palm to rest up against the neck of the violin.
- Keep the hand, wrist and forearm in line with each other.
- Do not allow the left shoulder to add leverage. Keep the posture as you would normally for both shoulders.
- Be flexible and relaxed.
Different shoulder rests and chin rests should be explored to find which combination best fits your body. Try a simple padded cloth, Zaret sponge, Kun or Super Kun, Mach One with grip, Wolf Primo and Segundo and Bon Musica. You should use a system which allows you to hold the violin properly, without twisting the neck too far to the right.
- For nearly all body types, the shoulder rest fills in the gap between the collarbone and violin, making it easier to relax and enabling movement, including finger action, shifting and vibrato.
- A good way to tell if the shoulder rest is “doing its job,” is by measuring the ease in which you can hold the violin steady without your left hand, arm or shoulder helping.
- The button of the violin goes in the middle of your neck, and stays in contact with your neck. You can use a soft cloth to go between the wood and your neck, or any type of chin rest pad or gel rest that you prefer to add comfort.
- Each chin rest will have different concaveness, shape and height. In general there are two major types: one fits on the left side of the instrument, and one fits over the tailpiece, in the center of the instrument.
Blog at WordPress.com. | Theme: Pool by Borja Fernandez.
Entries and comments feeds.
