Scan 12
21882.a.10 – How to hold a violin and bow / C. H. Mitchell., 1882
12 lines. Read by computer on 18 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1from the left, and the right foot be placed a little in advance: the position will then be both graceful and secure. Ferdinand David places the toes in a line, but, for the reason indicated, this position is faulty. The left foot may be pointed straight towards the desk: as, however, the body will face a little to the right, even this foot will point outwards. The right foot should point outwards a little more than the left. The upper part of the body should be neither too lax nor too stiff, but maintained in a healthy position, the attitude being, as Spohr puts it, dignified and unconstrained.
3The head is often mismanaged. It cannot, from the nature of the work, be held as gracefully as it might if the individual were perfectly free; still that extreme inclination to the left, almost as if the player were converting his instrument into a pillow, ought to be avoided. The head ought, in short, to be as erect as the nature of the work will allow. If it must incline, as in shifting, let the inclination be to the left, never to the right. The proper location of the chin, however, will render improbable any error with regard to the head. The violin must, of course, always be held securely and kept steady, but still there are times when sufficient steadiness can be obtained without drawing much upon assistance from the head and shoulder, and when the nature of the music and the position and work of the left hand admit of this, it will conduce to comfort if the positions of the head and shoulder be relaxed.
5Some players sway the body from side to side. This practice is most deplorable. Other unseemly habits are: making wry faces, stopping the breathing, and breathing audibly. A perfect master of an art works without apparent effort, keeping, so to speak, all the machinery out of sight.
7The student will do well to practise much before a mirror. He will then be able to examine his attitude and the various motions used in playing. When practising thus, he should either use the open strings or play some piece committed to memory, in order that there may be nothing to distract his attention.
9HOW TO HOLD THE VIOLIN.
11The student will place that portion of the neck which is near the nut between the thumb and forefinger of the left hand, the
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