Scan 13
21882.a.10 – How to hold a violin and bow / C. H. Mitchell., 1882
6 lines. Read by computer on 24 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1palm being, of course, towards him. Further directions will presently follow. The broad end of the violin is placed on the left collar-bone, and tolerably, yet not too close, in to the neck of the player. Although the chin proper would be found well-adapted for preventing the violin from slipping, its employment would bring the head too far towards the left, whilst the use of the left side of the jaw-bone would lack pointedness, bring the head too far round to the right, and cause it to lie too much upon the instrument. For thus securing the violin, therefore, the player should use that part of the lower jaw which may, perhaps, be called the left side of the chin. This part of the lower jaw ought to be pressed on the violin, close to the tail-piece, and to the left of it, the left shoulder being slightly raised to ensure a good grip and steadiness. The right half of the front of the chin will touch the tail-piece, but should not press upon it. If the violin be too close in to the neck of the player, the lower jaw will be brought too far over the belly, and a sufficient hold will not be obtained. It has been recommended that the chin ought to be placed upon the tail-piece, but as we have seen it is, in the first place, not exactly the chin which ought to be used, and, besides, pressure upon the tail-piece might interfere with the tension of the strings and cause pain.
3With regard to violin-holders several points suggest themselves for consideration. These adjuncts may be divided into two kinds, which may be called respectively the plate form and the block form. Spohr's invention was of the plate form. He placed his holder above the tail-piece, in order that the violin might be held exactly in the centre, and observes that the bowing thereby gains in freedom and regularity. When it is considered that control over the instrument is lost as it moves to the extreme left, the propriety of the central position is open to doubt.
5Advantages of the plate form are that it helps the player to keep the violin steady, particularly in shifting rapidly from high to low positions, thereby aiding both bowing and intonation; that, by keeping the chin off the instrument, it prevents checking of vibration; that it helps to fill up the space between the chin and left shoulder, thus diminishing constraint, the bending down of the head, and the elevation of the shoulder; and that it prevents the chin from injuring the varnish. It is alleged that, by increasing the fixity of the instrument and so
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