Scan 16
21882.a.10 – How to hold a violin and bow / C. H. Mitchell., 1882
4 lines. Read by computer on 18 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1height. He has next to consider how far the body of the violin must be inclined to the right. That it cannot incline to the left or be horizontal may be proved by experiment. If, however, the instrument be inclined too much towards the right the player will not be able to play conveniently upon the E string, and his right arm might graze the body. Some writers put the matter as though the inclination or sloping of the violin to the right were a purely voluntary act, or as if an object of such inclination were to facilitate playing on the G string. In point of fact the student needs not to be told to incline his violin, that he cannot avoid; he simply needs to be cautioned as to over-inclination. Let him feel that the instrument sits comfortably, and the position will probably be right. The inclination has been variously expressed, but on this head Spohr, who gives the angle at 25 to 30 degrees, may be taken to be correct. As in many points relating to violin-playing, there will be variations according to the build, shape, and size of the player.
3When the violin fits comfortably as above indicated, the proper inclination of the scroll to the left will follow as of course. This inclination makes such an angle with the front of the body that the player can look down the whole length of the finger-board between the G and D strings with his right eye, and sees that his nose obstructs the view of the left portion of the bridge. It has been said that the violin ought to project at right angles from the front of the body, but this position is both disadvantageous and inconvenient, if not impossible. Let the student test this by complying with this foolish direction, shifting rapidly from the first position so as to reach on the G string near the bridge the harmonic which gives the double octave to the string, and returning with equal rapidity. The evil to be avoided here is an excessive inclination in this direction, causing the right hand to be brought too far towards the left side of the body in order to preserve the parallelism of the bowing. But for the fact that the error is sometimes met with, the injunction might seem to savour of surplusage, especially as it is difficult to understand how the excessive inclination is maintained. Besides, necessary directions and suggestions as to motions and positions of paramount importance cannot be superfluous. In reality it is impossible to be too particular in the matters under consideration. The
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