Meghan Brueggemann's Basic Webpage

Checkpoints on Posture

Before you can pick up or play anything on a stringed instrument, you must ensure that your posture is at it's best. The correct playing posture will include the following checkpoints:

Rearend is at the edge of the chair
Both feet are flat on the floor
Back is straight with shoulders square over the hips

Depending on your age, some of the above list items can be quite uncomfortable. Studies have shown for years that when it comes to learning an instrument, the younger the better. This is very similar to learning something like a foreign language. However, this does not mean your window has passed to learn! Push through initial discomfort (not PAIN...pain is a bad sign!) and you will quickly develop strength in those key areas.

How to Hold Your Instrument

According to Carol Porter McCullough at http://alexandercenter.com/pa/stringsiii.html:

"The most fundamental aspect of violin and viola playing is how the instrument is supported and held."

In this section, we will focus on the right and left arms separately, as they both play and equal, but separate role from one another. More or less, on your instrument, you will become ambidexterous!

Developing the Left Arm

To begin, start with your instrument on your left knee, with strings facing away from your body. Your left hand will go on the left shoulder of the instrument. In my beginner's classes, I teach "Ready, Aim, Fire." The READY position simply lifts up the left arm (from where it was holding the instrument on your knee). The AIM position is two-fold: 1.) Rotate the instrument towards your right shoulder (essentially just flipping your start position upside-down) and 2.) laying the instrument down flat on your arm. The FIRE position completes the instrument hold by following the trajectory of the arm and placing the chin rest of the violin underneath your jaw.

Developing the Right Arm

The bow hold can be one of the most challenging parts of learning how to play a violin. With it's inverted design from the original form of the bow (it looked like a bow Robin Hood would have used!), the bow hold has had to transform, to allow for more types of bowing, one's that weren't possible with the baroque design. In nearly every class I teach and have observed, some furry pets show up to help us remember the parts of the bow hold. Below are the steps needed to achieve the correct right hand posture:

In the right hand, place your middle and ring fingers tip-to-tip, creating a circle in the hand. My students always call this the "bunny" face.
Slide those two fingers over the thumbnail. Now our bunny is buck-toothed!
Open the overlapped fingers just far enough to insert the bow, then get back to the same position (thumbnail should still be hidden, and the top of the thumb will touch the stick.) At this point, your "hungry bunny" should have two fingers overlapping the stick, and the thumb should be bent.
"Lay" your index finger down on the stick by tilting the whole hand towards that finger. The "sleepy bunny" should have your index finger overlapping the stick the most, and progressively less towards the ring finger.
Finally, place your pinky on it's tip (not the tip of the bow, the tip of the finger!). This finger is "along for the ride," and should more or less force the hand to tilt in the correct direction.

Now that we have the basic set-up, you can move on to the next chapter to learn how to make your very first sounds!

Lesson 1 Lesson 2