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archery and violin playing
what is the connection between archery and violin playing. thanks.
Replies (20)
I think I remember seeing an ad for a conference in Israel which included both.
It explained the connection in some detail, but it's lost to me now.
Anyone remember more about this?
With archery, the ricochet is generally fatal. But there are some viola players who couldn't hit a barn door at mm30.
"with violin playing, if you miss the target, you can hurt someone:)"
Seriously? I'd better order my seats for any concerts near the exit then. First to get to the ambulance. :-)
Just a thought but I imagine Archery would be good for strenghtening your arm muscles, also for helping to focus hard on the target! so it might help violin play, physically and psychologically. Better ask the pros at Keshet Eilon !
what David B. is referring to is The Archery project at Keshet Eilon which is integral to the Mastercourse and is a unique innovation pioneered there, which has gained recognition internationally in the music world.
" The founders of the course discovered a striking similarity between violinists and archers in terms of coordination, posture, use of certain muscle groups, and the need for precision and concentration. A violinist who shoots a bow and arrow for the first time, the Keshet Eilon staff discovered, will achieve much better results than someone who isn't a violinist. The connection between the two disciplines continues to prove itself consistently. Heading the project is violin master Amnon Weinstein, together with professional archery coaches. The project is implemented with the cooperation of the Hapoel Archery Club of Givatayim, which organizes training at the Mastercourse on a volunteer basis. Equipment is supplied by the Archery Manufacturers Organization (AMO) at no charge. AMO is a worldwide group of manufacturers, dealers and archery media who support this distinctive program."
Seriously, somehow I have this feeling that if archery didn't use a bow, they wouldn't do it.
The Keshet Eilon thing? :) I suspect it probably has something to do with balance, upper-body strength and mental focus.
In the early 1970's a book "Zen in the Art of Archery" was very popular and it initiated the Inner Game Series. The first to appear was "The Inner Game of Tennis" and much later "The Inner Game of Music". Since violin playing involves so much, there must be a connection with archery as well as with golf as well as with ....etc
I did archery when I was a teenager. I don't know if it helped my violin playing but I suppose it strengthened my arms and hands. I never shot any animals with it but I tried once. I went hunting for rabbits with it one freezing cold afternoon. I saw them hopping around some big rocks and quietly crept up to them. I sat on top of a big rock for about an hour, until slowly a rabbit reappeared from under a bush. He was only 5 feet away but I was so nervous I missed him by about another 5 feet. So much for my hunter/gatherer skills.
Archery is interesting because you don't have any sights on the bow, as in a rifle or whatever (well, on the type of archery I was doing, anyway). You just have to concentrate on the centre of the target, and almost 'will' the arrow toward it, and then let go the bowstring. The arrow generally flies exactly to where you imagined you wanted it to fly to. Follow through is important. It is a zen sort of thing I am told. For inanimate targets I was a pretty good shot. But not for rabbits.
When you jump from one end of the fingerboard to the other, and must land exactly in tune, you are relying on the same form of imagination and confidence to get you there exactly on target.
Jon, modern archery gear comes with accurate sights and every scientific improvement. I'd imagine they use that since archery professionals seem to be involved.
On the other hand -- what you're talking about might be exemplified best by a blowgun. Yes a blowgun. Without practice you can consistently hit something the size of a grapefruit at 50 feet. It's entirely intuition, like throwing, and has about the same range, but it's much, much more accurate. Stone age man wasn't no dummy. The one I had was about 4 ft long and came with darts of sharpened wire about 3 in. long with a plastic cone on the end to catch the air. Its accuracy is a good example of what you can do using intuiton, if that's the point. Interesting parallel to accurate fingering of music maybe, that never occurred to me.
We have a real blowgun from the tropics that was collected by an ancestor in the 1920s. It is about 4 feet long, and shoots long slender sticks of wood with a cotton-like end to catch the air.
As Jim says, they are amazingly easy to aim. And they are powerful! When I was a kid, we used to shoot these across the billiard room and they'd stick in the wood panelled walls to a depth of 3/16"!
Wow, your parents let you do that???!!! Or did they just not notice the holes in the wall...
JW
Do any of you know what your tonic reflex is? Both Archery and Violin use the tonic reflex. It has a lot to do with the extention and retraction of the body when your head is turned toward one side of your body. The more upper body strength you have to lift you chest, throw your shoulders back and keep your elbows in front of you the easier it is to turn your head in the direction you shift your weight to. The nose of an infant always points toward the most extended limbs when it is laying on its back. Many sports depend on this side to side rotation for locomotion. Look what runners and swimmers do when they extend their limbs. Mammals have a completely different way of using their spine than a reptile, bird or fish.
If you have the upper body strength and the flexibility of sidedness to do archery you have more than enough strength to play the violin.
Archery also connects up the vistibular system with fine motor, eye, hand coordination. The violin adds the auditory component to that equation.
The ballance problem also involves the lower brain activity that we need for walking like human beings instead of apes.
Ask any Occupational Therapist or neurologist. I wish more people who are teaching where interested in this. Especially if you plan to work with young bodies.
Great question.
it will be rude for me to suggest this is apple and orange. the division of right and left hand use is similar in both. i see the pull in the archery similar to the downbow in violin. and the concentration, the hand eye coordination...sure.
where is the upbow parallel? imo, what makes violin so profound is that moment when you transition near the frog, way beyond intonation and musicality:)
Incidentally, shotgun is another example. The basic idea is, again, look at the target, not the barrel, and you'll hit it. I've also used it in foil fencing: don't watch the sword, watch the target.
Incidentally, shotgun is another example. The basic idea is, again, look at the target, not the barrel, and you'll hit it. I've also used it in foil fencing: don't watch the sword, watch the target.
in basketball, we never look at the ball, only the basket.
in golf, we always look at the ball, never the target.
with Archery it is more ZEN-like.....be one with the target (don't aim, don't think, JUST BE ONE with it).
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December 3, 2006 at 08:34 PM · with violin playing, if you miss the target, you can hurt someone:)