Performance posture

   In this section I would like to explain the posture of the beginner regardless of the age.
   The posture learnt as a beginner becomes the posture that one will assume for life: therefore it is very important to be carefully aware from the start.
   I'm comparison to other instruments such as the piano, cello, flute, etc. the violin is a very uncomfortable instrument to play. The left arm is twisted on one side, the neck is in constant contact with the violin, the shoulder supports the violin and the bow constantly holds the bow while it moves up and down the strings. The posture looks as if the player is being punished. The shoulder rest is used to make the holding of the instrument a little more comfortable up the discomfort remains. Even wind instrumentalists can keep bad postures when the instruments droop down low. This is because the posture at the beginning was badly taught. As a rule, the violin should be held in parallel line to floor but in reality the violin is often held slightly higher than this while performing. The reason is because in order to press the left hand the instrument is pressed down also and in order to draw a straight bow the violin needs to be held a little higher than the parallel line.
   In order to avoid discomfort caused by the raising of the left shoulder, a shoulder rest is used and is adjusted according to the shape of the body: a suitable shoulder rest is acquired depending of the shape of the chin, shoulder and the chest. As the physiche is an individual feature, the bone structure also depends on the individuals also and the right choice of shoulder rest could determine the violin technique of the player.
   When the player faces the music, the violin should be held at a 45 degree angle to the stand. In this way the angle of the player and violin naturally becomes 90 degrees when the player is performing and the music is easy to see. This is also another reason why the music stand is placed at a 45 degrees when the performer is facing the audience: the stand is not placed right in front of the player. The result is that the violin is parallel to the audience and the the sound from the f-hole travels to the audience with ease.
In many cases, beginners continuously move the violin towards the music stand. Children often just rest the scroll of the violin on the music stand itself when their arms are in pain. This should obviously be avoided because these kind of habits can develop many bad habits.
   I will explain the movement of the left hand in more detail. If we call the tip of the finger that define the notes the head of a hammer, then the rest of the joints on the left arm ( even the shoulder and the elbow ) plays the role of the handle of the hammer. But if the left hand is unnaturally twisted the movements will obviously be restricted. There will be pain that will result from this kind of bad position and as a preventive measure the player should do so me simple exercises.
   Each joint on the left arm should be exercised: the shoulder, elbow, wrist, knuckles, finger joints should be equally isolated so that each joint is prepared in the warm-up exercises. For example, the 360 degree possible in the shoulder, wrist and the knuckle joints together with the restricted movement of the elbow and the finger joints should be moved so that the movements are smooth. In day to day use, the knuckle is only used in two ways to close and open the hands. Therefore it is not surprising that many find the movements needed for the violin difficult and unnatural. The fact that the wrist is twisted in an odd, unnatural position can cause discomfort at first but the initial pain can be overcome with in time with practice after the beginner stage. It is easier of the player understands the function and the possibilities of each joint at the beginner's level.
   The same kind of understanding is adviseable for the bow arm. It is good to assume the bow as an extension of the right arm. A good analogy would be the way we use every day utensils such as forks or chopsticks. When we study the way the shoulder, elbow, wrist function when we reach for food placed near us and food placed in the distance, it gives us a clear indication as to how our arm works. Perhaps the way the asians use chopsticks helps the agility of the fingers and the arm in general and explain the rise of many oriental violinists in recent days.