Sunday, November 23, 2014

Achieving The Right 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.

The problems associated with slouching are numerous and will affect your bowing as well as how the instrument is held. The best way to achieve the desired position is to be guided by a professional when training. Practice sessions should be held in front of the mirror where a trainer is absent. The mirror only helps you achieve the desired position. There are graphical demonstrations that will simplify these positions.

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.

A standing position gives you a feeling of a lengthened body. It also makes it easier to achieve necessary balance when playing the instrument. Balance is considered the biggest challenge when students are learning instrumentation. Its importance cannot be over emphasized.

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.

Parents, teachers and students must address playing any instrument as a physical skill. This is should happen during the first month or lessons. This skill is then followed by the centrality of sound to all musical instruments. It is common to see students running to learn the first song and therefore ignoring very crucial aspects.

Some experts insist that the right leg can carry slightly more weight than the left instead of even distribution. The way to achieve this is to place it slightly in front. For longer sessions, weight can be shifted by alternating the legs during breaks. The muscles will relax and allow better performance.

Achieving the right position makes it easier to learn the other skills. The maiden songs, that are the primary focus of most parents and teachers, will be easier and rapid to get. This is the easiest way to master advanced skills. It forms part of the basics upon which all the other aspects are built.




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