Sunday, November 23, 2014

Achieving Perfect Violin Hand Posture

By Ora Dickson


The right posture is crucial when learning any skill especially instrumentation. This is the aspect that allows you to achieve balance. This can be achieved by ensuring that you distribute your weight evenly on both feet when standing. The right violin hand posture will affect intonation, shifting, bow stroke, vibrato and tone, among other instrumentation aspects.

Balance is fundamental for movement and the duration you can stand as you practice or perform. When in a standing position, the distance between one foot and the other should be shoulder width. This allows you to stand tall and lengthen your spine. It will increase the hours of practice and keep you off fatigue.

Slouching is dangerous because it will lead to very serious problems. The issues that arise out of slouching affects how you hold the instrument and your bowing position. Students are advised to practice under the instructions of a professional. Where this is not possible, a mirror will do the trick. It is necessary to identify the professional pose before perfecting it with the assistance of a mirror.

Students should understand the importance of the right pose before learning to hold or even play the instrument. These are the basics that will eventually affect how easy you hit your professional targets. It also is advisable to learn the standing position before the sitting one. It makes it easier to associate the other basics with attaining a professional level.

Playing the violin at a standing position gives you a lengthened feeling. It is easier to achieve balance as you play. Balance is a major challenge for students during instrumentation. Learners who make this a priority find it easier to attain professional level of instrumentation.

Learners of violas, basses and violins make a common mistake of crossing their legs during practice or performance. It is common to see others overburdening one foot by using the wrong position. The aspects that will suffer due to wrong positioning include the length of bowing, finger movement and duration of practice or performance. You will easily get tired during performance. Slouching is another mistake that mainly affects the upper body. Any skill, and especially instrumentation, is easy to master when the basics are right.

The trick to achieving a professional pose is to consider musical instrumentation as a physical skill before anything else. Emphasis is on achieving the professional position during initial sessions or for the first month. This will be followed by the central role of sound in instrumentation. The rush should not be to learn the first song at the expense the correct pose.

Though the weight should be distributed evenly between the two feet, the right foot carries more than the left. This is done by placing it slightly to the front. If the session is long, weight shifting is advisable where you alternate the leg that is in front. It helps you relax the muscles and therefore play or practice longer.

Proper positioning makes it easy to advance your instrumentation skills. It makes learning of the first song as well as advancing the skills easier. It is the best shortcut to becoming a professional. All other aspects will be light work when the basics are mastered.




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