Violin Positioning:
Hello, I have a question about how to achieve optimal posture for our body. I've noticed that some violinists use chin rests, some position the violin slightly to the right or more to the left, others point the scroll inwards and others outwards, some hold the violin with the f-holes pointing more towards the audience, others more towards the ceiling… I'm frustrated.I've been playing violin for 16 years, but I'm not a professional. I reached a certain intermediate-advanced level, but due to work and other obligations, I didn't continue with lessons with my teacher or with an orchestra. However, I continue practicing on my own. About a year ago, I started thinking about how I hold the violin. Suddenly, things that were difficult for me became extremely easy just by pointing the violin slightly outwards; but other things felt difficult, strange, and uncomfortable. From there, I started experimenting with countless positions, temporarily moving the violin to the left, then to the right, then down, then up… I was improving, but something always felt uncomfortable or wrong.
More than just posture, it's about how to do it, or what path to follow, so that "your angles" work correctly and what that does to how you position the violin. I think that, aside from rules to follow, I would also appreciate your own experiences of how you arrived at positioning and aligning the violin the way you hold it now. Any older publications, YouTube channels, or books on the subject would also be helpful.
Note 1: It's true that there's a certain bias in changing positions very often because everything will feel strange at first, but I'm taking that into account.
Note 2: My English is about as good as Google Translate.
Thank you very much, I hope you can help me.
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Replies (4)
2. You should not be contriving to stay in one "ideal" position. In fact that's one way you can get injured. You should feel quite free to change your position as you need while you play.
Richard and Cotton are right. Remember, do not be rigid. Relax more. Look at how far your feet are apart, are you balanced? Don’t be too concerned about how other violinists look. Take breaks BEFORE you feel sore. And always remember, have fun.
I had been having trouble relaxing my left hand because I didn’t feel totally secure that my instrument would stay in place. It was a subtle psychological thing, but my teacher and I made some significant adjustments to my posture when I explained my discomfort.
You mentioned flat vs angled positioning of the instrument, and that is very important to maintaining bow pressure with minimal effort. A steep angle means the right arm can be totally relaxed on the E string, whereas a flat position means the tip of the bow will provide more weight over the G string. There is an ideal balance for every player.
Where you place your chin depends on your particular anatomy and comfort while achieving a proper bow angle with the strings. In my case, I had to place my chin more centrally - further over the tailpiece - with the scroll also pointed more forward. This all worked together to relax my neck and my left hand while improving my bow control. I also adjusted the shoulder rest much higher on the treble side to change the bow pressure point.
There is no one right answer, and my teacher warned me that certain pieces would still require that I play over the shoulder. However, the default should be whatever makes you the most comfortable 90% of the time. Don’t be afraid to keep experimenting!
By the way, I ended up replacing both my chin rest and my shoulder rest… but that is another story.
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