Books › The Violin: How to Master It, 1880 › scan 38
Scan 38
The Violin: How to Master It, 1880
6 lines. Read by computer on 18 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1elsewhere. A strong peg of tough wood might be run through the top of the tail-piece and the entire length of the holder, firmly glued into a hole drilled before the cutting of the design; or the whole might be made of papier-maché, which is lighter and less brittle than ebony; but I am not sure if this last material would stand the strain of the strings on the tail-piece.
3The Position of the Shoulder.
5We have now adjusted the violin so far as the chin and collar-bone are concerned; let us turn our attention to the position of the left shoulder, arm and hand. The first fault which a teacher generally notices is that the student holds the instrument too far back against the left shoulder, which would necessitate him playing the bow over his shoulder, and make it literally impossible for him to draw a full length bow while keeping the bow in a line parallel with the bridge during its entire passage across the strings. Nor is this fault confined to mere pupils. I have met many professionals who deliberately play with the violin against the shoulder, the result of which is that, when the point of the bow is used, it is, instead of running parallel with the bridge, describing an angle as acute as the forks of the letter V. To escape this difficulty, I lately noticed one holding the bow some inches from the bottom of the hair, thus shortening it and depriving it so much of its power, and creating a new defect, instead of applying the real remedy. To overcome this tendency is a somewhat painful process; but as it must be done, it ought to be boldly attacked from the first. The left arm is brought forward till the elbow is directly below the body of the instrument, the left shoulder being moved slightly forward to accommodate the arm in its new position. As this contortion is a little painful at first, when long continued, a second fault will probably spring from it. The student will try to relieve the fatigue of the arm and shoulder by allowing the elbow to rest on his own ribs. This is not allowed, and, indeed, cannot be done if the rule to keep the knuckles of the left hand level with nose of the performer be sedulously attended to. There is a reason for everything in violin playing, and that for this is, that the violin, when held nearly horizontal, supports the bow without any action of the fingers of the right hand; while, if the elbow be allowed to rest on the front of the student's ribs, there
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