Learning Violin-Holding Your Violin Correctly

Did you know that there are five body parts involved
in holding your violin upright? I'm going to tell you
what those five body parts are, and how to use them to
hold your violin correctly, in just a minute.

If you've ever watched a school orchestra perform
you've probably noticed some students slumping a
little bit. This is a common mistake.

When you first start playing the violin it might seem
daunting to think that you have to sit upright and
hold the violin correctly for long periods of time.

It's not as hard as it seems, especially with the help
of Eric Lewis's ViolinMasterPro.

OK, I promised to tell you how to hold the violin
correctly and which five body parts you need to use
correctly, and this is based on what Eric Lewis goes
into into greater detail in ViolinMasterPro, so here
goes:

1. THE HAND: you should hold the violin at the end of
the fingerboard near the pegs, between the fleshy
upper half of the thumb and first finger between the
first and second knuckles. Holding the violin in this
way will keep your fingers nimble and dexterous.

2. THE FINGERS: the fingers on your left hand should
extend up from the big knuckles and curve downwards to
meet the fingerboard. You must avoid placing your
fingers flat on the fingerboard. Curved fingers are
essential to moving around the fingerboard and playing
your notes in tune.

3. THE WRIST: the left wrist should remain straight as
it supports the violin. Keeping your left wrist
straight stabilizes the left hand and allows the
fingers to move freely. A bent left wrist will flatten
the fingers as they come down onto the fingerboard.
This will result in bad intonation and a serious lack
of finger dexterity.

4. THE ELBOW: the left elbow should be sufficiently
elevated to hold the violin parallel with the floor.
It should not be at your side. The left elbow should
also stay parallel with the right edge of the violin.

Keeping the left elbow at this angle provides your
hand and fingers with leverage necessary to maintain a
useful hold on the violin. A sagging elbow will cause
the violin to droop. Allowing your violin to droop
will greatly diminish your ability to play the violin.

5. THE SHOULDER: the shoulder should be at rest and
situated normally. The left shoulder should not be
raised to pinch the violin under the chin. Rather,
place the chin down to the chinrest to steady the
violin. If this feels uncomfortable, use a shoulder
rest or a sponge to help secure the violin.

Note that the chin is not on the list. Avoid the
temptation to clamp down with your chin; you don't
need your chin to hold the violin, it merely rests on
the violin. I know I made that mistake as a beginning
violinist.
Any time you sit with your violin, do a quick check on
yourself, to make sure your hands, wrist, fingers,
elbow and shoulders are placed correctly. Before no
time you'll hold the violin correctly without even
thinking about it.

In ViolinMasterPro you'll get videos that show you
precisely how to hold the violin, which will be even
more helpful than written instructions.
I can't recommend this program highly enough. See you
inside!

P. S. Not only does membership in ViolinMasterPro not
require a monthly membership fee, even though you get
new lessons and content every month, but there is also
a six week money back guarantee.

If after paying the small one time payment you decide
ViolinMasterPro isn't for you, you'll get your money
back, no questions asked. Although, in all honestly, I
can't imagine you'll ever want to do that, but at
least you know the option is there.